The Steps towards perfection

 Quote from the True charm and power of Vedanta

 

The Steps towards perfection

 With that intense longing of the soul  will transcend all limitations, and will be able to commune with the Lord, . The stronger the longing the quicker is the realization. We must have intense longing first but the longing will not come to the soul which has not been awakened. The awakening of the soul is the first step in the path of realization. The soul must be awakened from the deep of self delusion. We are now sleeping the sleep of self delusion. So we must wake up and see things as they are not as they appear to be. This awakening of the soul is called in Sanskrit Pratibha which is the first step on the path of realization. but when the soul is awakened it begins to see how fr the animal nature leads us and what is the next step where we are going what we are doing and what this all means. Then the soul tries to live a moral ethical and righteous life. Then it tries to correct its faults and errors, and purify its inner nature.

 

       
     Purification of the heart is the next step. It is called in Sanskrit shodhana or the state of neophyte. The awakened soul becomes a neophyte when he purifies his heart. The purification of the heart (chittasuddhi) is possible when we have controlled our animal propensities and when we keep them down, rise above them and conquer them.

 

            Some steps are absolutely necessary in attain to the purification of the heart. The practice of self –control means the control of the mind. The mind must be brought under control. We are the ruler of the mind; the mind is not our ruler, but we have allowed it to become our ruler and to enslave us. We must turn the tide and make it stay where it belongs. We are the master but we have lost our mastery over our minds and senses. We have weakened ourselves. So, how can we expect to have that realization when we are so weak” We cannot control our own mind and senses but we should remember that they are our slaves, and we are the masters. So, if we control our mind first then the senses will be controlled automatically.

 

Intuition is wisdom at its purest

 

By Anup Taneja

 

Science and philosophy, according to S Radhakrishnan, have common intellectual aspirations. However, while the former is heavily tilted towards the intellectual approach, the latter is totally inclined towards the intuitive school. Knowledge, as we understand today, has assumed an altogether different meaning over the centuries.

 

During the Vedic period, the concept of vidya, knowledge, largely centred around the idea of attaining atma-jnana, Self-realisation, and getting spiritual illumination. However, with the onset of colonial imperialism, characterised by the domination of Western philosophical thought, the concept of vidya came to be understood as empirical and rationalistic knowledge based on science and logic.

 

Under the influence of the ideas of Renaissance, the modern mindset endeavoured to arrive at conclusions rationally, restricting one’s analysis to the given set of facts; intuitive understanding of the subject at hand was relegated to the background. Radhakrishnan’s philosophical ideas posed a big challenge to these hegemonic narratives by presenting a different viewpoint to the one provided by Western thinkers.

 

Logical knowledge, in Radhakrishnan’s opinion, is avidya, non-knowledge, mainly because the logical intellectual mind poses an obstacle in understanding the Absolute Metaphysical Reality. The purpose of the ‘intellectual mind’ stands accomplished the moment ‘intuitive knowledge’ is manifested in the individual. Such manifestation, explains Radhakrishnan, occurs when the individual succeeds in purifying his mind and annihilating the ego. His separate individuality then gets dissolved in the infinite rays of consciousness from which the intellect emerges.

 

 

In the late-1920s, a debate took place that centred around the question: ‘Is there or is there not knowledge, which by its nature cannot be expressed in propositions, and is yet trustworthy?’ In response to this, Radhakrishnan delivered the famous Hibbert Lectures in 1929 in the University of Manchester under the title ‘An Idealist View of Life’. In these lectures, he contrasted ‘intellect’ with ‘intuition’ and presented his views in support of intuitive knowledge.

 

Radhakrishnan expressed the opinion that intellect, by its very nature, is finite and limited in its scope of application; in contrast, intuition is the infinite totality of consciousness which emanates from an intimate fusion of the individual’s thought process with Pure Consciousness. Here the individual experiences complete oneness with Absolute Reality and no duality of consciousness is observed; in this sublime state, the subject and object become one.

 

In Hindu philosophy, intuitive knowledge is the knowledge of the Self that helps us in understanding the Ultimate Truth about our true nature. Intuition, being the ground of all other forms of experience, is the most authentic realisation of the Eternal Truth. It is verily self-revelation of the Supreme Divinity and operates on a super-conscious level, unmediated as it is by conscious thought. This Self-knowledge thus is not analytical in nature; rather it is the edifice upon which other forms of vidya are fostered and made to grow.

 

Radhakrishnan, however, does not entirely reject the intellect; he does acknowledge the importance of intellectual knowledge which helps in providing us with a pragmatic outlook and enriching our informative awareness about the objects of the world; at the same time, however, he asserts that “it fails to give us access to the Absolute Reality”.

 

We may conclude by saying that while intellect is the logical awareness of the human mind, intuition forms a part of profound knowledge of the highest level of Consciousness. It would be wrong to consider intuition as an abstract concept; rather, it is wisdom at its purest.

 

IF HE EXIST

 I drive joy there was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting 7 precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

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