O’ Lord ! O’ My Lord ! May I never forget You !

When man realizes the non-existence (lack of constancy) of all places, time, actions, things, persons, states, circumstances, incidents etc., only God (Divinity, Tattva) exists. The Self itself inheres God. Therefore, God (tattva) is never distinct from us, nor are we distinct from Him. God is never absent, He will never be non-existent, and He can never be non-existent. We are naturally situated in that God (Divinity, Tattva). He is not far from us, and we are not far from Him. He is neither without us, nor are we without Him. He cannot desert us, nor can we desert Him. He is all, the illuminator, base, support, preserver, creator, knower, and beloved of all. He is known as the indweller, the inner consciousness , the witness to the self and the universal consciousness, etc. and is called by various other names. No man is incapable, dependent, undeserving in realizing Him. He can be realized by having an intense desire (ardent longing and thirst for it).

If we insist on a particular doctrine of philosophy such as non-dualism (advait), or dualism (dwait), or special non-dualism etc. such as Vishishtha dwait, shuddhadwait etc. it proves to be a stumbling block to God-realization*, because God is one and the same for all.

*He who insists on his own sect is a sectarian and a sectarian can’t judge correctly. Saints declare -

मतवादी जानै नहीं, ततवादी की बात ।

सूरज ऊगा उल्लुवा, गिनै अँधेरी रात ॥

हरिया तत्त विचारियै, क्या मत सेती काम ।

तत्त बसाया अमरपुर, मत का जमपुर धाम ॥

हरिया रत्ता तत्त का, मत का रत्ता नांहि ।

मतका रत्ता से फिरै, तांह तत पाया नांहि ॥

A sectarian can’t understand the topic of Self-realization (God-realization) explained by a metaphysician in the same way as an owl can’t see daylight. Saint Haridasa declares that an aspirant instead of getting entangled in any sect should think of God-realization because the thought of God-realization leads to immortality while insistence on a sect can’t realize God.

There remains a difference in philosophical doctrines so long as egoism lingers in the aspirant. Egoism gives rise to individualism, while individualism gives rise to dualism. Therefore, as long as egoism persists, differences can’t vanish. But when egoism vanishes, all differences perish and only God remains.

‘अहंकार इतीयं में भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा’ (७/४);

‘महाभूतान्यहंकारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च’ (१३/५)

‘The five subtle elements, ego, intellect and also the unmanisfested (Nature)’ (Gita 13/5).

In Srimad Bhagwat, there is description of the three different kinds of egoism - Sattvik (more of purity), Rajasik (mode of passion), and Tamasik (mode of inertia). ‒

‘वैकारिकस्तैजसश्च तामसश्चेत्यहं त्रिवृत्’ (११/२४/७)

All the different “egos” mentioned above are parts of insentient Nature (matter, Prakriti) Therefore God has described ‘ego’ as distinct from the self as “that” इदंतासे कहा है; just as ‒‘एतद् यो वेत्ति’ (१३/१) “etad yo vetti” (Gita 13/1) It means that egoism can be illuminated and the Essence (tattva) is the transcendental illuminator. The illumination can never entirely be one with the illumed, and the knowledge can never be entirely one with the knower.

A man “Jeev” (embodied soul) assumes an identity with “I-ness” (ego) and experiences itself to be “I am”.*

*When a man identifies the self with ego, he distinguishes between ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘this’ and ‘that’. But when he ceases to have this identification, ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘this’ and ‘that’ will vanish but only their illuminator ‘Is’ (God) will remain. In “is’ all these four are not there.

In ‘I am’, the “I” is a part of “”Nature” (Prakriti) while “am” is a part of the “sentient” (chetan, Is, God). It means that “I” has an identity with “not” (the entire non-existent ‘transient and perishable’ matter), while “am” has its identity with “Is” (existent, God). It is called ‘am’ because of its relationship with “I”. If it (am) renounces this relationship with “I”, then it will not remain “am”, rather only “is” will remain. That “is” is the nature of God (the Essence, tattva).

When a person accepts the egoist notion in him (in the self), out of ignorance, modifications such as insentience, individualism, unevenmindedness, feel of lack, disquietitude, doership and enjoyership etc., emanate. Therefore in order to wipe out this assumed egoist notion, a person has to accept Divinity (‘Is’) in him self, because in Divinity, there is no “egoism”.

When egoism vanishes, he becomes totally free from evils such as individualism and unevenmindedness etc. Acceptance of Divinity in the self, prevents nurturing of dualism, rather it shatter it, because by accepting Divinity in the self, egoism vanishes. When there is no egoism then how can modifications or evils born of egoism subsist ?

In order to wipe out egoism, either accept existence of ‘Is’ in place of ‘am’ or merge “am” into “Is” (omnipresent God). By doing so, “egoism” will disappear i.e. “i”, “you”, “this” and “that” will disappear only “Is” will exist. As whether a knife falls on a melon or a melon falls on a knife, it is the melon which is cut. So is the case with “is” and “am”. Whether “is” is merged into “am” or “am” is merged into “is”, it is only “am” (individualism) which will vanish and “is” will remain.

It is better to merge “am” into “Is” than to merge “Is” into “am” because “am” has already got impressions of egoistic notion (individualism). So the egoistic notion does not vanish quickly. Therefore instead of getting established in the self it is better to take refuge in God Who is every one’s own. *

*No one excepts God can be our own, because in fact our own can be only He Who can never separate from us and we can never separate from Him. He who sometimes joins us and sometimes separates from us can’t be ours.

When the self turning Its back from egoism surrenders to God Who is one’s own i.e he accepts ‘I am only God’s and I am not of anyone else in the least’, he crosses the divine illusion (lower Nature) i.e. his egoism is totally annihilated -

‘मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते’ (गीता ७/१४)

“Those who take refuge in Me, cross the divine illusion of Mine” (Gita 7/14).

It means that if a man gets established in the self, there is possibility of the trace of egoism to persist. But when a man takes refuge in God, his egoism totally vanishes, because it is God Himself Who shatters egoism of the devotee who takes refuge in Him*. With the dying out of egoism, place, time and actions go into naught; only “is” (the real) remains. The knower does not remain, knowledge (self) (tattva) remains; joy and sorrow don’t remain, bliss remains i.e. only Divinity in the form of Truth, consciousness-Bliss solidified remains which in the Gita has been declared - ‘वासुदेवः सर्वम्’ (७/१९) “All is God” (Gita 7/19).

That Divinity prevails everywhere, all the time, in all actions etc., but is beyond place, time and actions etc. If anyone performs actions in order to attain that Divinity, it means that he is trying to be separate from that Divinity. The reason is that performance of actions involves doership. hence Divinity remains unattained. Similarly self-thinking does not lead to Self Realization because by self-thinking the thinker exists and matter contrary to spirit exists. A person tries to attain the Divinity only when he thinks that it is unattained; and he tries to renounce the matter and to reflect on the self only when he accepts the existence of matter.

If we try to know that Divinity, it means that we are far from it because if we want to know it, it means that it is the object to be known. But the fact is that Divinity is the knower rather than the object to be known. No one can be the knower of the knower of all, in the same way as we can see all objects with the eye, but we can’t see the eye with the eye because the power of vision is not an object of senses. Therefore, that Divinity alone is the knower of Divinity itself. Arjuna says to Lord Krishna - “You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Supreme Person” (Gita 10/15). Saint Tulasidasa in the Manasa declares” -

तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम् ।

ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते ॥

तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः ।

नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता ॥

"I give divine wisdom (equanimity) to those devotees of Mine, who are constantly dedicated to Me, by which they attain Me."

"Such devotees, being part of My existence, receive My divine grace which destroys the darkness of ignorance with the help of light of Knowledge."

The objects of senses are illumined by senses, senses are illumined by the gods of senses, the gods of senses are illumined by the self. But the Supreme Illuminator of all is the beginningless Absolute, Lord Rama Who is existent. We can’t think and reflect on Divinity without the aid of the evolutes of Nature. If we think or reflect on it, the mind or the faculty of reflection remains with us; if we decide, intellect remains with us; while seeing, hearing and speaking, eyes, ears, and tongue respectively remain with us. Similarly if we assume the existence of “is”, assumption and the individuality of the person who assumes remains. If we negate “not” (the unreal), the individuality of the person who negates lasts. If we renounce the sense of doership, “I am not a doer” - this egoism in its subtle form persists i.e. individuality of the person who renounces remains. Therefore we should neither make assumptions nor negate nor renounce but remain calm and quiet from within and without by being established in “is” (Divinity). We should also not have this insistence that we have to be calm and quiet because by doing so the sense of doership will usher in. In fact the state of quietness is spontaneous.

If we renounce the notion of “I”, “you”, “this” and “that” only “is” (the real) remains. We should remain established in that “Is” without thinking of anything else. Lord Krishna in the Gita declares - “An aspirant having a firm resolve that only God exists everywhere should think of nothing else” (Gita 6/25). If any thought comes to mind, we should have neither attachment nor aversion to it; we should feel neither pleased nor displeased, neither take it as good nor bad. We should neither take it as our own, nor should we accept it i our own self. We should become quite indifferent to it. In fact, it is not in us. Attachment and aversion is a part of opposites. This pair of opposites is the main stumbling block to God Realization. Lord Krishna declares - “Attachment and aversion are the way layers” (Gita 3/34).

In this way, if we become quiet from within and from without by being established in God, even for a second or two, it develops such a power which destroys the taste for contact - born pleasures and also for attachment to the world. The reason is that in actionless Divinity there is unlimited power. All powers emanate from that actionless Divinity (Is), they exist in it and also merge into it. In the world after every activity there is the state of inactivity, which replenishes that power. For example, when we get exhausted by speaking continuously, we remain quiet for sometime and thus regain power to speak. We feel fatigued by walking continuously and having rested for some time regain energy for walking. By working hard throughout the day, we feel tired by by sleeping we regain energy and are refreshed. Thus when one physical or mental activity is over and the other begins, in between the two there is actionless Divinity.

“All mental activities are cowherdesses while Lord Krishna stands witness. As between the two cowherdesses Lord Krishna is visible; similarly between the two activities the self shines. Thus we get unique bliss.’

If we become quiet in that actionless Divinity, we shall realize that self-evident Divinity. In fact the state of quietness is innate, axiomatic and natural. It needs no effort. Mere awareness of the non-existence of material objects should be there.