PART – 1
Today, let us understand, what are the reality check lists of Realization, because, in our spiritual journey, we go through various stages. And because, we don’t know the end point, the destination, every stage appears to be beautiful. It is like climbing a mountain. Because we have not gone to the top of the mountain we don’t know what is there, so from any point in the mountain, the scenario below looks very beautiful. We don’t know what is there at the mountain’s peak, and at every point of time, you start thinking that you have arrived – you have reached there, you are almost there, or you are there. And every point appears to be a beautiful place to settle down.
PART – 2
There is a story. One person wanted to get money, and he knows that there is a lot of wealth buried in the forest. He goes, and on the way he finds a monk in meditation. He asks the monk, ‘Where can I find some wealth?’ The monk gives him directions, ‘Go one kilometre, you find a tree, and dig below that. You will get something.’ This person goes there, he digs there, he finds silver coins. So, he feels very happy. He comes and bows down to the monk and goes and uses all the silver coins, builds a bungalow and enjoys life. After some time, again he wants to get some money. He comes and asks the monk, and the monk shows another tree and he goes there. There he finds golden coins. He brings that, and starts using it, builds a business – very happy. After exhausting that, again he goes to the monk. Monk says, ‘You go little bit further, you will find another tree, below that something is there.’ Now, this person starts getting a doubt. ‘If monk knows that there is so much of wealth in the forest, then why is he not going and taking it for himself? I guess, below him, there must be a big wealth.’ He tells the monk, ‘There must be some wealth where you are sitting.’ The monk says, ‘Yes, yes, it is there – there is peace, inner peace. Even after getting so much of wealth, you are not peaceful, but I don’t want any wealth, and I am peaceful. That is the wealth.’
PART – 3
So, what happens is that, in our spiritual journey, we come across many, many experiences. The Divine visions, the Divine intuitions, and lot of sensations in the body – joyful sensations or some pains also. Many times we get stuck. Like this guy getting stuck with gold and silver; everything is good, and everything is beautiful, but that is not the end point. We start thinking that we have arrived, and we live in that illusion. When I say ‘we’, it is the ‘ego’. You start talking about your experience to all the people, because, you think you are something gifted, you are special. What you don’t realize is that nobody is special. From the universal point of view, everybody is same.
PART – 4
So, you have some experiences, no doubt they motivate you to go further, but never get stuck to experiences. The key guideline in spiritual practice is that – do not crave for any experience, do not seek any experience; whatever experience comes just accept it, do not repeat and wait for the experience again tomorrow. If you have meditated today, you get some experience, tomorrow again don’t crave for that experience. All these experiences are temporary in nature – they come and go. They are more like dreams. Don’t get stuck to that.
PART – 5
Then, there are lot of subconscious impressions, that can give you some indications; or super-conscious mind can give you some indications. Now, the question is, am I getting something from my subconscious mind or super-conscious mind? Subconscious mind’s impressions are always related to mundane things – your house, your family life, your mental condition, your job. Super conscious understanding is always related to some spiritual truth. There is a way of verifying spiritual truth – either talk to your Guru and understand whether this the spiritual truth, or read some scriptures, try to correlate whatever spiritual truth you have, whether it is same. A spiritual truth has certain characteristics. First thing is, it is universal in nature. The God is same for me, or somebody in America, somebody in Australia, God is not going to be changed. It is same for all. We are all children of that one God. The truth or God is universal in nature. So, whatever truth you have experienced, is it universal? This is what you have to question. Second thing you have to question is, is it about mundane things? Why would God come and talk to you about mundane things? It can give you some comfort, I am not talking about emotional comforts, but I am speaking of spiritual truths. The spiritual truth has universal value – love, compassion, wisdom. Is your experience having any of these universal values?
PART – 6
So, now, another genuine spiritual experience, which comes from the higher part of the mind or the super-conscious mind, has a transformative value in your life. That means, you become a better person, deep inside. Have you transformed? Have you become better person? This is the question you have to ask.
There are 2 types of experiences. One is empirical experience, and the other is spiritual or transcendental experience. Empirical experience is related to the world. The mind is involved. The mind and the intellect intervene in the empirical experience. So, any vision, any communication with the Divine, will have a mind component in that. Mind can be subconscious mind or super-conscious mind, which can corrupt the communication. If it is super-conscious mind, it is good, because you get some truth. But, the characteristic nature of the empirical experience is that there is a three – the knower, known and knowledge. I am the knower, there is something known, God is known, and there is knowledge. This what we call Triputi. This is the nature of any experience which involves the mind and ego.
PART – 7
Whereas, in transcendental experience, which is beyond the mind, mind is silent, intellect is silent, body is silent, ego is silent. There is an experience which happens in the transcendental state. That experience is called transcendental experience, where there is no corruption which takes place because of no mind, intellect and ego. So, in the transcendental experience there is no possibility of any error, because there is no corruption. So in that transcendental experience, there is no Triputi – the knower, known, knowledge is not there. You experience the Divine Truth as Pure Awareness, Pure Consciousness. That Pure Awareness is Pure Knowledge called “Prajnana”. Prajnana has no concept of knowledge and ignorance, it is beyond knowledge and ignorance. It is Pure. There is no subject and object. The subject-object duality goes. This is the state of transcendental Realization. So, you have to ask whether the experience has this reality. The Triputi has gone or not?
PART – 8
Many times, in spiritual life, we think that whatever wisdom comes, is coming from God as inspiration. For all you know, it may be your subconscious impression, which may be corrupting it. A seeker of Truth, should go after Truth, not after experiences. A seeker of Truth or Realization or God, should seek Truth. What is Truth? Truth is universal in nature. It doesn’t depend on my religion or my culture. Truth is time-independent. It is eternal in nature. Truth is about infinite. Whatever mind is experiencing as Divine form is finite. Truth is Sat, eternal. Truth is Chit, Consciousness. Truth is bliss. Many times we confuse happiness with bliss. In meditation, we get lot of joy, lot of happiness. These are all temporary in nature. This is the mind. A bliss is eternal in nature. Bliss is not coming up and going. Bliss is serenity, where there is non-duality – there is no other. That is Bliss.
PART – 9
The closest example of bliss I can give is your experience deep sleep – there is no other. That is Bliss. The happiness is – ‘Oh! I ate a jalebi, I am very happy.’ That is mental. So, a genuine spiritual experience is Truth – Satyam, Chit – Consciousness, Bliss – Ananda. That is called transcendental experience. So, if you have a genuine spiritual experience, a transcendental experience, there is a deeper transformation which happens in you. Your self-identity shifts, your self awareness shifts.
After transcendental experience, again you come back to the body and mind, because you have to operate in the world. You have to come back to empirical experience. Whatever Sage he is, any Enlightened Sage, if he has to operate in the world, he has to use the body and mind. Don’t think that transcendental experience will be there throughout. In the transcendental experience, you have recognized the Self, there is a Self-recognition that takes place, and then you come back. Then, when you have an empirical experience again, you have an ego, which is a ripe ego, which is transformed ego.
PART – 10
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say that the ego after Self Realization is a ripened ego or transformed ego. Whereas, ego before Self Realization is a raw ego. So, ego before Self Realization is ‘I am the body, I am the mind, I am the intellect’. Ego after Self Realization is ‘I am the Divine child, I am one with the Consciousness, I am an Amsha of the Divine, I am a part of the Divine’, this is the ego which you operate with. Why is this ego there? For performing some meaningful functions in the society, may be teaching, whatever is that, but the ego has transformed. There appears to be ego, but there is no really a solid ego.
It is like this. There is a rope. After burning the rope, the ashes also appear like a rope, but it is not real rope. Similarly, a Realized person may appear to have some ego, but it is a burnt ego or ripe ego. But, again when he comes back to this world, there is a sense of empirical experience. But, the empirical experience is taken in the Light of Self Realization. In a sense, the world was real before Realization, the Consciousness was unreal; now after Realization, the Consciousness becomes reality, the world becomes a dream. This shift happens.
PART – 11
The question is, are you seeking Truth? Or are you seeking experience? All experiences are at the mental level. The Truth is beyond the mind. You have to transcendent the mind. That is why it is said that the spiritual seeking or spiritual Realization or the spiritual path is a walk on the razor’s edge. When you walk on the razor’s edges, any time there is a possibility of falling. That is not saying that it is difficult. It is not about telling about difficulty. It is about your own temptations. Every time, you start getting what satisfies ego, you start taking it as Realization, then you are trapped.