It all started twenty years back as I
was galloping along in my life, earning money and being concerned with
only materialistic comforts and wealth. Then, questions started
troubling my mind, in which direction should I lead my life? After all,
every new phase in life requires a change. Where should I go, either
towards religion, luxury or the various intoxicants of life? Why should I
seek any other direction and drift away from the current ecstasies that
life was offering me? How does one go about having a sound mind and
body? Who am I? Where have I come from? Question after question kept
pouring into my mind, from where the research commenced. Slowly, step by
step, I started to climb up the tree of life, in search of knowledge of
truth, where one discovers one’s true intentions, and now, writing
articles for you, to opine what this knowledge is all about.
On
reading the various articles in my book, you may realize how much
research one requires to acquire knowledge that reveals truth, defined
and identified your way and also whether truth is subjective or
objective, relative or absolute. Success in finding the answers to most
of my questions, led me to write these articles. Since they connect
many thoughts on the path to realization, I could not combine all under
one title. Right or wrong, these have settled as Truth in my mind, and
will remain so until I learn to transcend further into this subject.
Spiritualism,
spirituality or spiritual practices have their own connotations with
different meanings for different people. It may connect to religion,
science, philosophy, psychology, and personal development. It may also
depend on the intensity of your needs and beliefs in evolving
spirituality. What is important here is what you consider as true;
dedicating yourself blindly to lofty spiritual ideals, through million
dollars enriched spiritual gurus, with the quest for reaching heaven,
money and love; or awakening to your own realization of truth and its
values.
Traditionally, as we see now,
many religions have regarded spirituality as their own authority and an
integral part of their practices. Spirituality is to develop an
individual's inner life with a larger reality into a more comprehensive
self. Religion is imbibed with various beliefs and superstitions bending
towards any one supernatural God. On the other hand, we notice that
scientists, physicists and neuroscientists today consider science and
spirituality to be complimentary, not contradictory, to the extent that
they are even trying to learn more about how the brain functions during
reported spiritual experiences.
As
Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Everybody is entitled to their own
opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts." I truly feel and
believe that some spiritual practice is essential for personal well
being. Today, as we all know, unless we understand and manage our own
thoughts and emotions, we cannot be balanced, calm and happy. This
science or knowledge of obtaining the truth, how to manage the churning
of our thought processes, is the content in most of my articles, to the
best of my learning and experience. It is this realization of knowing
the truth within your inner self that is to me, the Enlightenment I wish
to seek in my life, rather than devote my time to praying, chanting or
believing in some mystical consciousness.
In
the section of Enlightenment in Wikipedia, I read this part given
according to Mandukya Upanishads, "Enlightenment is a state of freedom
from the ignorance that causes suffering. There is no necessity to
attain mere belief in God, but it is necessary to have profound
knowledge of the truth which lies behind the concept of the word God.
The idea is not to know God as a different being but to know, one's own
real self and its essential nature, which is the self of all. The
preachings of religion make a person dependent on priests, temples,
idols, blind faith and dogma, and dependence on these is a habit of the
lower mind. Such crutches may be useful at a certain stage for some
people, but they do not lead one to ultimate truth. A dependent mind is
not free, and without freedom, enlightenment is impossible. Religious
dogmas are full of beliefs and myths that do not satisfy the human
intellect and that bind believers to a narrow view of life and human
potential. Such preachings instill more fear than love in the hearts of
masses”.
Therefore, as you may
notice, my endeavor throughout my various articles has been to seek the
ultimate truth hidden in all of us, irrespective of the source or
belief, as long as I can understand the meaning of how to self realize,
without having to follow any blind faith in fantasies of religion or
otherwise. Such a journey will awaken the truth in me about realities of
life in totality, where there is no paradox, dualities, illusions or
egoism.
What you might notice in
yourself as I have, is that when you know the truth, it shall set you
free from bondages in life. Your behaviour will change for the better;
your mind will no longer be dependent on auto suggestions from the past
or nervous emotions; your mind would be under your control with clarity,
necessary for right behaviour, leading you towards the natural
flowering of your personality. This knowledge of being true to yourself
is going to change the way you are, your mannerisms, your personality
and probably your life.
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