Refocus on who You really are

Spiritual life is not just about not being bad to others or even being good to others. It's about disentangling one's consciousness from day to day petty affairs or even from apparently important affairs of this world. And importantly, it is about practicing to enhance one's awareness of who we truly are - the spiritual being, soul, who is eternal. Unless we restrain our eyes, ears, tongue, hands, legs, mind, intelligence, etc., from engaging in mundane subjects, we cannot effectively focus on and practice genuine spiritual life; we will just not get the time, spare energy, and even the intelligence to do so. Since people in general are not even aware of their soul, it's difficult for them to appreciate talks about God, the Supreme Soul.

The Identity and the Goal

A genuine spiritualist is never impressed by material accomplishments of anyone. Of course, the spiritualist does not despise or envy material accomplishments, just that they are irrelevant for him. They are just ordinary, no matter how extraordinary they are in the eyes of the general public.

Instead a spiritualist is impressed by genuine spiritual advancement of others. He considers such persons extraordinary irrespective of their material aspects like wealth, education, beauty, fame, power, skills, and so on.

Spiritual advancement means recognizing that the body is temporary and the soul is eternal. Due to the influence of ignorance, the soul identifies with the body and things related with it. Then the soul thinks in terms of I and Mine, even though nothing around him, including his body, is under his control. It thinks that to live the way he wants is the best way of life. Due to the influence of ego, it does not think that there can be higher truths than he can currently perceive by his limited senses. And he is proud of this attitude.

The spiritualist tries to reduce his identification with things related to the body. Of course he continues to do his duties responsibly and maintain affectionate relationships with people of this world, but he cultivates the conviction that he is not of this world of temporariness.

The soul belongs to a realm of eternal bliss and knowledge and to attain that realm is the goal of the genuine spiritualist.

https://www.vedabase.com/en/bg/2/69

yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ
tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni
sā niśā paśyato muneḥ

Translation: 

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

Life Before Death

Life After Death is a popular topic with varying opinions about its possibility. But what about life before death? What characterizes life? The answer to this question heavily influences our opinion about the possibility of life after death. And in fact, it decisively influences our definition of death too.

If life is just about pumping of the heart and activity of the brain, then absence of these two can be called death. But life is more than the functioning of an electro-chemical mechanical system; life is about consciousness – about thinking, feeling, desiring. Life is about the ability to perceive. Consciousness is what differentiates a man from a machine, a live human from a dead one.

No characteristic of matter (atoms, molecules, electrons, etc.) suggests that it can be the source of consciousness or the seat of perception. What, or who is it, that perceives or is conscious? For example, a periscope helps me see beyond a high wall, but I can see not because of the periscope, but because I have eyes that can see. The periscope is merely the medium through which the light rays are reaching my eyes. Similarly, the eyes of my body are merely the arrangements of atoms that allow light to pass through. I see what I see, not because of the atomic arrangement of my eyes, but because I have the ability to perceive and make sense of the incoming light.

That I is the soul. I can see, hear, feel, think, will, etc. only because I (the soul) have these abilities. These perceptive abilities that characterize consciousness are the inherent qualities of the soul. Since matter does not have these abilities, we understand that the soul is unlike matter. The soul is non-material, it is spiritual.

The soul does not depend on matter for its fundamental abilities of perception. In fact, its fundamental abilities to perceive are conditioned by the nature and state of the body that it occupies. For example, going back to the periscope example, how well I can see beyond the high wall depends on how clean the lens of the periscope is. Even if my eyesight is perfect, a dirty lens will hamper my perception. Thus, to define life in terms of a pumping heart and an active brain is like defining eyesight in terms of the condition of the periscope. Just like my fundamental ability to see is not dependent on the periscope, the soul does not depend on the body for any of its fundamental abilities.

Since the soul, characterized by consciousness, does not depend on anything that makes up the body while it’s in the body, we understand that the soul does not need the body for its existence. The body is merely a lump of matter; it is always dead. Life is when a soul occupies a body and animates it; death is when the soul moves on to leave behind a dead lump of matter – the body.

Life exists not because of a functioning body, but despite being in an inherently dead body. If life exists even before death, it definitely can exist after death.

Spiritual Fundamentals

Spiritual Knowledge has to be obtained from a bonafide spiritual master or Guru. A bonafide Guru is one who has his own Guru, and so on. The original Guru is God who is perfect in all respects.

The Bhagavad Gita is a standard text for spiritual knowledge and we must be careful not to bypass it's essential message when talking about spirituality. Bhagavad Gita's essential message is to become a pure devotee of Krishna and get out of the cycle of birth and death that characterizes the material world.

To equate the individual soul with God is a mistake most atheistic spiritualists make. This is an obvious mistake, but due to the power of illusion, the deluded soul is convinced that he can become the supreme or that his powers are unlimited, independent. To take shelter of pure devotees of God is the only way to get out of this dangerous illusion.

My View of the World

My view of Religion changed,

When I came across the thought,

That it is all about Love,

And merely Rituals it is not.

My view of Rituals changed,

When someone made a comment,

They enhance expression of Love,

And are themselves not the end.

My view of Love changed,

When I read this principle deep,

Love for God embraces all,

Without which it is incomplete.

My view of God changed,

When I introspected a lot,

The object of highest Love,

Cannot be impersonal at all.

My view of Myself changed,

When it finally did register,

I cannot think, love, or Live,

If all I am is matter.

My view of Life changed,

When I accepted I am a soul,

Found a new way of life,

With Spirituality as its goal.

My view of Spirituality changed,

When my Spiritual Master taught,

It's not passive negation,

But dynamic Love for God.

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In Search of Truth!

Dear All,

Srila Prabhupada says "Inquisitiveness is the sign of intelligence." Who will disagree? Therefore, the most intelligent and scientific and logical minded person wants to understand everything from the basics. So, the most basic question is "Who am I?" Isn't it? Who will disagree? Or is the most basic question "Where will I get most salary?" Lets think about this.

Another example. Suppose you are lost in a forest. And you are wandering and wandering and are almost dead of anxiety! And now fortunately you come upon a village of people! So, whats the first question that you will ask? Will it be "Where is the nearest Cinema Theater?" or will it be "Where am I?" Just think about this.

So, there are some basic questions whose answers are most important to an intelligent person. That's because the intelligent person understands that his well-being is based on the answers to
these essential questions! And that is why that person is called intelligent. He who knows what his well being is in.

Therefore, we must all strive to search for the answers to the most essential questions of existence. Only when we understand the answer to "Who am I?", will I be able to lead a life in such a way that I will become happy. Just like, suppose an old 80 year old poet starts thinking that "I am a Rugby player!" So, do you think he will be able to remain happy? Even if he firmly believe that he is a rugby player, he will not find a place in any team! And that will cause him misery.. because of not having any qualities of a rugby player, and yet thinking that he is a rugby player!

Similarly, if I start thinking (as the media is trying to force me to believe) that I am this body. That my existence will stop as soon as this body is dead.. Then I will start doing things as if I am the body. So, all my activities will be based on this assumption that I am this body. So, I'll protect my body, feed it, entertain it, and so on.. and the body will be all I know. But then, I will not be happy! Just as the old poet was not happy thinking of himself as a rugby player! Because he does not have any qualities of a rugby player. Similarly, my qualities are totally different from what I think they are. I think that I am the body, that will die one day and therefore, till I die, I should enjoy as much as possible. On the contrary, I am actually not the body, but the soul, which is actually eternal and will never die!! Therefore, because of pampering the body, and neglecting oneself (the soul), I (soul) can never be happy, no matter how much I take care of what I am not (the body).

Well, this is not very difficult to understand. However, the inquisitiveness must be there to know the truth. That is the sign of intelligence. If the inquisitiveness is there, then the Absolute
Truth (God) will guide you to the Truth!

Your servant, Abhijit.