Spirtual Awareness

Gyan Yog

Gyan Yog

We are all spiritual beings, our real self is Sat-Chit-Anand (love – knowledge – bliss) & is eternal. Knowing thyself & being in that state every time, everywhere is Gyan Yog.

Our spiritual masters say that we are here on this earth plane for two specific purposes-

  • To learn lessons for growth & upliftment.
  • To attain salvation.

Until & unless these two purposes are fulfilled we are not able to step out of the vicious circle of birth & death, also the unlearnt lessons become the repeated patterns and are carried forward life after life, and if remain unresolved cause illness and misery. The knowledge of truth is the only subtle solution to come out of these false trappings. The ultimate truth is  ‘‘अयं आत्मा ब्रह्म’’  not this physical body, mind and intellect. In scientific term there is nothing but energy, which when compressed forms matter. Physical world including body, mind & intellect are nothing but gross form of energy. As per quantum physics this world is a quantum mirage. It says there is nothing physical, our mind creates it so. It further clarifies that there is 99.99% space and only 0.01% matter which itself is an illusion.

For e.g All materials in the world are basically made up of molecules which are combined form of atoms. Further if we talk about an atom it has nucleus in its centre comprising of neutrons and protons with electrons orbiting around the nucleus. Further magnifying the structural arrangement of an electron we find that it is made up of quarks. Looking at the quarks from different angles will give different views hence they are imaginary. So we draw a conclusion that the truth is that space which remains the same and all the rest is imaginary. Our spiritual masters say that the law which operates at micro level is the same for macro level too.

‘‘जो पिण्डे, सो ब्रह्माण्डे’’
“As The microcosm, so The macrocosm”

Now, unfolding the other aspect, Guru Bhagwan says there are two things :-

  • Changeable
  • Unchangeable

Changeable- In this physical world, things that can be perceived through five senses are changeable inclusive of our mind, intellect & ego.

Let’s examine the physical body. From the time this body was born till today it has changed tremendously.

Body is subjected to childhood, teenage, adulthood and old age but- I (Atma) remain same, I am the seer of all physical transformations. All events and happenings are restored in the memory and I have collective knowledge of it. Thus I am separate from this physical entity.

Further if we talk about mind. It is nothing but a continuous flow of thoughts. There are thoughts of love, anxiety, tension, happiness all messed up in the mind and we are unable to gain insight of our real self. To be in the state of bliss and serenity, it’s important to know that I am not this mind rather I am a detached observer of it. I can see its working. Identification with the mind separates us from spirituality. Mind is very unstable, unstoppable, uncontrollable and insatiable. A man is 98 % mental and only 2 % physical so everything that we experience as material reality is actually in the mind; what it conceives becomes true to us. Guru Bhagwan says- Mind is the cause of all miseries including birth and death, body keeps on changing but mind is the same. Until and unless the fact of separation from mind is drawn our eternity can’t be realized.

As in Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says:

Yog is difficult of achievement for one whose mind is not subdued; by him; however who has the mind under control and is ceaselessly striving, it can be easily attained through practice. (Chapter 6, Sloka 36)

Thus what is being seen is different from the one who is seeing, Hence I am detached observer of the mind and not the mind. Moving on to intellect (part of brain that takes decision) we find that it is never the same. As a child we say, I want to become a doctor but as years pass by, we say I’ll be a businessman or an engineer. Sometimes we say I’ll do this, sometimes we say I’ll do that. With passage of time decisions of intellect varies but I (ATMA), the awareness remain constant.

Now, coming to EGO, Guru Bhagwan says:- Ego is forgetfulness of our own self and limiting our consciousness in this body. It is the root cause of all problems and keeps on changing. For example- a man in front of his mother says- ‘I am your son’, in front of wife becomes husband and for children he is a father. His identity changes with change of roles he is playing on this physical plain. Identification with the roles and separating oneself from the consciousness what we really are is the biggest form of ego and is the cause of all miseries. Ego polarizes the mind and creates the world of good and evil, pleasure and pain; resultant we cling on to ‘i’ and want things to happen our way which makes our life miserable. Ego is basically due to ignorance. Considering ourselves as the body i.e. finite and changeable is ego, though we are the consciousness, whole and complete, always the same, as it is.

Thus, conclusion drawn out of this is- I am not this physical body, mind, intellect and ego as they keep changing. I am that consciousness, that awareness which is omnipresent, omnipotent.

Unchangeable- The power, the being, the consciousness due to which, the very existence of this whole Universe is possible, is unchangeable and that is our real self. We are spiritual beings with human experience. Ultimately our aim is to be connected to the higher state of consciousness, to realize our Divinity. This physical entity is just a medium not the truth. This point can be better understood by the following example :-

The appliances can be many as fan, bulb, tube light, mixer etc. and they are subject to change but the truth is electricity which remains constant. In the same way body keeps on changing but our very own existence remains unchangeable. Identifying oneself as Atma and walking with the flow of life is all we need to do.

Let us take another example to understand our Unchangeable Self. Imagine a room filled with steam – formless and colourless. The steam has no definite boundaries, it is everywhere in the room. When it is condensed it gets converted into water i.e. in liquid state. Further if it is cooled, water gets converted to ice blocks of definite shapes and sizes which exist till the temperature is maintained. As the temperature rises, ice blocks of different shapes and sizes again get converted back to liquid which later gets converted to steam. Initially it was only steam and finally there is nothing but steam. The name and form of water and ice blocks existed only for a short time.

In the same manner, the name and form that we see in the physical world is temporary. The operating force behind is permanent. That is, consciousness is the only truth. It is unchangeable because it existed before the creation of universe and will exist forever. This Universal Consciousness is our true self and being in our true self is YOG.