Lorne and Lucia have posted a 3 part series [now merged] on Awakening / Self Realization / Cosmic Consciousness. For your convenience, I have posted them here with their notes from YouTube.
Self realization has nothing to do with the person you think you are. It is not the person that becomes enlightened. It is the innermost sense of being, the inner clear Awareness, that awakens to itself as Infinity. Self realization is the first step in awakening to your total Reality.
You’ll notice they said “first step”. Self Realization is not full Enlightenment. It is simply the grounds for a full flowering. The highest teachings do not see awakening as the end of the journey. See “Divine Surrender” in the next post for what happens next.
Their web site:
http://www.lucialorn.net/
Last Updated on November 10, 2016 by Davidya
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Self realization is not something what we sometimes perceive it to be. Self realisation is the culmination of all things spiritual. More on self realization here
Dear Davidya,
Prolonging the discussion further… you would appreciate, the moment our real self of us… the soul atman within devoid of any karma regains its original pure pristine form… the need for the soul atman to manifest a human body ceases to exist. This is the stage of enlightenment also termed self realization… realization of the inner self!
Traveling the spiritual path… keeping a tab on the sexual indulgences to a maximum of two per month… every human being can gain enlightenment… realize self. Nowhere… are householders barred from traveling the spiritual path but practice of celibacy even as a householder for a minimum period of 12 years in continuation is necessitated.
Every single sage who gained enlightenment practiced absolute celibacy even as a householder. This is necessitated for full awakening of the Kundalini . In absence of absolute celibacy… the full awakening of the Kundalini is not possible. After self realization one is graced by God to such an extent that without reading any scriptural texts… one can decipher the complete meaning.
I have never read Bhagavad Gita in my life… nor Bible, Koran, the Buddhist scriptures and Jaina doctrines! Yet… after reaching the stage of self realization I can invoke all the messages contained in these sacred scriptures through the power of Shruti jnana. I can give a nonstop discourse on any of these scriptures continuously for days or months.
Hi Vijay
Thanks for your feedback. Part of this may be a question of how terminology is used. On this blog, I differentiate between first awakening, God realization, and Unity or Oneness. I, Lorne and others refer to first awakening as Self Realization as one has realized the Self. But this is not the culmination of “all things spiritual”. From the saints I’ve met or read about, I’m not sure there is a “culmination” in the sense that there is always more refinement possible.
On your page you link to, you mention only 2 people reaching God Realization in the last 150 years. I can name a few more. You also mention yourself as realizing God in 1993.
I can also comment that grace sometimes leads us to awakening before a full 8.4 million incarnations. The Bhagavad Gita is indeed a wonderful book.
You mention a number of traditional understandings but it’s important to note that some of those rules are changing. You mention the need for Brahmachari yet also that realization is possible for a householder. It has become much more possible. And its worth noting that the majority of such sages as those of the Rg Veda were householders.
You may find that statements of “only”, “never” and such are a barrier to being. Self awakens through whatever it chooses to and every process is unique. Any expectation of it coming a certain way and through a certain practice is a barrier to being it.
It is not the person that awakens but the Self that awakens to the person. The soul has only the Self to thank.
Of course, you may be on a very different path. But this is what I have learned works. And it has helped many to become self realized, in the way I define it here. And that is the ground of full unfoldment of whatever word you may choose, in this lifetime. It is not so rare as it once was.
Hi Vijay
I would not say I see the process like this. As Genpo Roshi observes, karma does not end with Self realization. It can seem to but this is just incomplete perception. The end of karma is the end of embodiment, unless there is some unique exception.
Of course, karma remains in the field of karma. It never was at play on the soul level. That has different, more causal dynamics.
I disagree entirely on the point of celibacy. It is true that for some paths, celibacy is needed. But for the vast majority, it is not. One can point to tantra as an example where sexuality is a path in itself. And to have rules of this many times or that years is irrelevant. Awakening of the kundalini happens naturally with purification. The most powerful purification comes from the direct experience of the then transcendent Self within. That purification is far greater or deeper than any tapas like celibacy.
Now, I do not deny what Patanjali observes. There is a big difference between sexual craving and sexual expression. Craving, like all attached desires are a barrier to realization. But they cannot be released on their own level. Some abstinence may be required to settle it some, just as diet may help with eating disorders. But the cure is not in the diet or abstinence. It is in the change within that releases the grip of fear that creates the craving in the first place. That can only arise in what is beyond fear.
None of the people I know who have become self-realized practiced celibacy for such a period of time. I know dozens. In some ways, one can resist awakening by the act of resisting what is natural. All forms of resistance are a barrier to what is. In that way, any rule can be a help or hindrance to awakening. It depends on the individuals relationship with it.
I agree that after awakening, all knowledge possible becomes available to us. We become both student and teacher to God-Self. But that is not the highest wisdom. Even the knowledge of all creation, its purpose and structure, all of Shankara’s 6 forms of God must be let go of. The fullness of Totality is not realized until we let go of all of it.
Yes, when the truth dawns, we become as a portal for Self to flow through and the knowledge of the ages flows out effortlessly in many shades.
We live in interesting times. Some people in the west are reaching Unity before they are fully God realized. Normally, God comes first (laughs). And it is only on that ground that Shruti, all knowledge can be perceived directly. We live in remarkable times. Full of surprises.
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