Why Atma - Jnan ( self realization)
Every human being has three types of energy, (I) Physical energy (ii), Intellectual energy and Internal Energy that is our Soul. Among all three , the energy of Pure Soul is the source for the other two forms of energy. When the soul leaves the living body Physical energy and Intellectual energy are no longer there in non living body. , . That is why the Pure soul is superior to Physical (Body), and Intellectual (mind) energy since it is the very source of our Existence. Now in many Vedic scriptures it is said that Atma, pure soul itself is Parmatma, meaning pure Soul is God which is why all scriptures say “Know Thyself”. Without this knowledge, one cannot attain the state of Parmarthma Atma - Jnan or experience of Pure Soul or self realization is akin to God realization. The consequence of this is One sees only the Pure Soul everywhere all the time and he is always remain in His Blissful state of mind unperturbed by the events and for ever living in the Present. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Gynani is that He is always living in the Present.
Where and how can we get Atma-Jnan?
It is common knowledge that to be able to swim or drive a car it is not sufficient to read books on the subject or watch others do so. . Books and other forms of instruction can give use useful guidance and understanding of swimming and car driving. In the same way. spiritual books or spiritual Video and Audio cassettes can give us guidance and knowledge (to an extent) what is Atma Gynan?? To be able to experience and truly live a life of a realized soul, one has to seek a Gynani who has and is living in body, mind and speech just like us and can lead us on the right path so that our mission is fulfilled. Again, he can only be a guide but a Living guide with whom we can freely communicate and seek proper guidance. Lord Krishna highlights the importance of the Gynais to Arjuna to bring out the Greatness of the Gynani, He categorically tells Arjuna that this Knowledge can only be obtained by Complete Surrender to the Gynani who will then guide you and take you to your final liberation. Why so??? Because Lord Krishna knows that the Gynani sees only the Pure Soul , God, in each and every living being and to him everything in this world is Only Atma and Avastha, the former being your true Self and the latter the circumstances that continuously come and go which are reflected in our mind, speech and body, again, due to the Existence of the SELF (Atma)within us.which is remains as the “ witness” of everything.
All the religious scriptures, Vedas , Upanishads proclaim after repeated negations of everything around us in this world that” “this is Not the I,” this is not the I (Brahman) that the “I,” is not something that is external to us but it is a State of Being. From this we can infer that what we refer to as a Gynani is not the Person but the Dasha---the State of Being. At all times while living in the mortal body the Gynani’s state remains UNPERTURBED, This state is the culmination of the search for ones true identity in many former births. from then on it is the Liberated State of the Gynani that we see and experience if we are fortunate to meet one in our life time. By living out his natural life in this state he is the exemplar of what the scriptures refer to as the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The Jains refer to this state as the Vitrag (no Rag and dwesh) state. Those whose have been sincere after the pursuit of liberation birth after birth, for the sake of those souls, Nature bestows amidst them in age after age a Gynani who , through his infinite Grace and infinite Karuna, liberates them from the shackles of birth and death. Lord Krishna affirms to Arjuna when asked what happens to those who seek the Atma Gynan but do not attain this in this lifetime ..
Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that In this path there is no return, you only go up and realize your True Self.. Vashistha was a Jnani himself, a self realized soul and he, through his divine grace, gave Atma- Jnan to Lord Rama The understanding that who you are, the knowledge of one’s true self enabled Rama. who was already ready for this Knowledge, to separate his roles and conduct himself in a way that ultimately led to Moksha.. Vashista was at the level of Pure soul that’s how he was able to see that Rama will reach the level of Pure Soul and achieve Moksha. In the same way, Lord Krishna the Atma –Jnani . gave Atman-Jnan to Arjuna through his grace during Geeta-Jnan. For Krishna, everyone was equal because he had vision of Atman in every living creature.
Another example of an Atma-Jnani is Lord Vrushabhdev ( Adi-Nath Bhagvan) who gave Jnan to his son Bharat ( after whom the nation, became Bharat Desh which is now India) . From these well established examples it becomes very clear that only a living Atma-Jnani can give the Jnan to others . The element of time, however. plays an important role in this and that is why it is Rare to come in contact with a living Gynani purush.
In Kaliyug, for reasons other than what we normally attribute to Kaliyug (dishonesty, jealousy etc) it is rare to come in contact with a Truly enlightened soul---one who is totally detached from mind, speech and body. Detachment that is referred to is not indifference but total detachment meaning not even a trace or speck of Rag or Dwesh. In all actions of the body, mind and speech. Of all this, at all times, the Gynanis total detachment to his own speech(not possessive) is the TRUE SIGN of Gynan ..
The Necessity for Reading Scriptures, Religious Books , Cassettes etc… The initiation and awakening within us starts by reading and associating our self with people who have similar interests . Lord Shankara extols the greatness of Satsang and it is also a common saying that the character of a person is very much influenced by the company he or she keeps. Just as we need food , water and air for our subsistence (physical and mental), we should also give Food for our spiritual development. Therefore the books, temples and all Adhyatmic activities should be balanced in our day to day life. By studying spiritual books, lectures etc and assimilating the knowledge and living a life of morality and sincerity one is prone to do good deeds which will result in Punya. By leading such a life, at the right time, we are given the gift of a Gynani by Nature (the birth and time of a Gynai in our midst is purely a Natural process) whose only purpose is to set the ripened and ready souls on the path of Liberation---Moksha.
What Books can not give : Books, Cassettes etc. cannot take away the Ego which is the source of our wrong belief starting with I am this BODY with a name and all other attributes. Along with this wrong belief we associate doership to everything that happens---I did, he did , she did, which is far from the truth. The Gynani in his unique way fractures these wrong beliefs and makes one realize One.s own true identity, At the same time, the ego in us is rooted out and in its place is seated. if you will, the Awareness that we are not the doer but only a witness all the time of what is happening. Gradually this awareness results in a state where we accept everything in the course of obligations or debts (and receive the benefits as gifts or credits) and use the ego only in the Functional needs of the body, mind etc ---eating ,sleeping, working etc but always careful to refrain from assertions , insistence, opinions, judgement etc which is the nature of the worldly ego.. Books Cassettes are non-living, it has no vitality, while Atma is Vital, it is Life itself/. How can a non-vital entity give experience of the vital?. Eyes and Ears can not see or listen by themselves without the primordial energy which is the Vital Atma, When the Vital Atma leaves the living body eyes can not see and ears cannot listen. So only a Vital media can give the experience of vital, give experience of vital. Another example, is the picture of a candle on paper can not give light, it can give understanding of how candle burns gives light. In order to get light ,a real lighted Candle is needed. .
If books were sufficient to give Atma-Jnan, Lord Krishna could have referred Arjuna to the sacred books . Instead, he imparted this Knowledge directly without any MEDIUM to Arjuna and having received the knowledge , Arjuna emphatically tells the Lord---All my doubts are dispelled Krishna, I am ready to fight now. The entire discourse of the Gita and the Essence of the Atma Gynan---the Pure Soul and its characteristics was given to a Single person in the battleground. This only shows the Power of the Giver of the Gynan and the gifted pupil Arjuna who was Ready and evolved to receive this Gynan inside (developed soul) but deluded by what he was seeing externally together with the belief that He is the DOER (ego). Once this was annihilated, the true vision dawns and the rest is known . .
What is Moksha ?
Moksha is not a state to reach as is commonly believed. It is the awakening and dawning which culminates in total freedom from all types of bondage which result in the repeated birth and death cycles of the physical body to dispense the Karmas(papas and punyas). Paradoxically while we dispense our past karmas, we also accumulate new karmas due to our wrong belief that we are the doer and our mind, intellect and ego endorse all our actions as “ours” which bears the consequence of repeated births. Atma Gynan imparts that Knowledge and Right Belief that leads to freedom from our actions even in this very life. It changes our understanding completely and that knowledge becomes the guiding light for the remainder of this life and the lives to come
Is there any rules or any requirement for having Atman Jnan ? No there are no rules at all, Jnani never tells do this or that or don’t do that. He never tells, give up this and accept that, He never tells anyone to give up his or her religious belief.
Atma Jnan is a Vision, the vision Arjuna got from Krishna.
The Only requirement is readiness to submit your ego and the firm conviction that I don’t know anything ( like Arjuna said to Krishna “ I don’t know anything” )
Special Note: This Article was writer solely due to the Divine Grace of Jnani Purush Kanudadaji. What Lord –Krishna was to Arjuna , Kanudadaji is to me he gave me same Knowledge and Vision through his Divine grace.
Special Thanks to Dr. Radhe Krishnan from oak Ridge TN for timely Contributing, correcting, editing and doing proof reading of this article.
Every human being has three types of energy, (I) Physical energy (ii), Intellectual energy and Internal Energy that is our Soul. Among all three , the energy of Pure Soul is the source for the other two forms of energy. When the soul leaves the living body Physical energy and Intellectual energy are no longer there in non living body. , . That is why the Pure soul is superior to Physical (Body), and Intellectual (mind) energy since it is the very source of our Existence. Now in many Vedic scriptures it is said that Atma, pure soul itself is Parmatma, meaning pure Soul is God which is why all scriptures say “Know Thyself”. Without this knowledge, one cannot attain the state of Parmarthma Atma - Jnan or experience of Pure Soul or self realization is akin to God realization. The consequence of this is One sees only the Pure Soul everywhere all the time and he is always remain in His Blissful state of mind unperturbed by the events and for ever living in the Present. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Gynani is that He is always living in the Present.
Where and how can we get Atma-Jnan?
It is common knowledge that to be able to swim or drive a car it is not sufficient to read books on the subject or watch others do so. . Books and other forms of instruction can give use useful guidance and understanding of swimming and car driving. In the same way. spiritual books or spiritual Video and Audio cassettes can give us guidance and knowledge (to an extent) what is Atma Gynan?? To be able to experience and truly live a life of a realized soul, one has to seek a Gynani who has and is living in body, mind and speech just like us and can lead us on the right path so that our mission is fulfilled. Again, he can only be a guide but a Living guide with whom we can freely communicate and seek proper guidance. Lord Krishna highlights the importance of the Gynais to Arjuna to bring out the Greatness of the Gynani, He categorically tells Arjuna that this Knowledge can only be obtained by Complete Surrender to the Gynani who will then guide you and take you to your final liberation. Why so??? Because Lord Krishna knows that the Gynani sees only the Pure Soul , God, in each and every living being and to him everything in this world is Only Atma and Avastha, the former being your true Self and the latter the circumstances that continuously come and go which are reflected in our mind, speech and body, again, due to the Existence of the SELF (Atma)within us.which is remains as the “ witness” of everything.
All the religious scriptures, Vedas , Upanishads proclaim after repeated negations of everything around us in this world that” “this is Not the I,” this is not the I (Brahman) that the “I,” is not something that is external to us but it is a State of Being. From this we can infer that what we refer to as a Gynani is not the Person but the Dasha---the State of Being. At all times while living in the mortal body the Gynani’s state remains UNPERTURBED, This state is the culmination of the search for ones true identity in many former births. from then on it is the Liberated State of the Gynani that we see and experience if we are fortunate to meet one in our life time. By living out his natural life in this state he is the exemplar of what the scriptures refer to as the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The Jains refer to this state as the Vitrag (no Rag and dwesh) state. Those whose have been sincere after the pursuit of liberation birth after birth, for the sake of those souls, Nature bestows amidst them in age after age a Gynani who , through his infinite Grace and infinite Karuna, liberates them from the shackles of birth and death. Lord Krishna affirms to Arjuna when asked what happens to those who seek the Atma Gynan but do not attain this in this lifetime ..
Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that In this path there is no return, you only go up and realize your True Self.. Vashistha was a Jnani himself, a self realized soul and he, through his divine grace, gave Atma- Jnan to Lord Rama The understanding that who you are, the knowledge of one’s true self enabled Rama. who was already ready for this Knowledge, to separate his roles and conduct himself in a way that ultimately led to Moksha.. Vashista was at the level of Pure soul that’s how he was able to see that Rama will reach the level of Pure Soul and achieve Moksha. In the same way, Lord Krishna the Atma –Jnani . gave Atman-Jnan to Arjuna through his grace during Geeta-Jnan. For Krishna, everyone was equal because he had vision of Atman in every living creature.
Another example of an Atma-Jnani is Lord Vrushabhdev ( Adi-Nath Bhagvan) who gave Jnan to his son Bharat ( after whom the nation, became Bharat Desh which is now India) . From these well established examples it becomes very clear that only a living Atma-Jnani can give the Jnan to others . The element of time, however. plays an important role in this and that is why it is Rare to come in contact with a living Gynani purush.
In Kaliyug, for reasons other than what we normally attribute to Kaliyug (dishonesty, jealousy etc) it is rare to come in contact with a Truly enlightened soul---one who is totally detached from mind, speech and body. Detachment that is referred to is not indifference but total detachment meaning not even a trace or speck of Rag or Dwesh. In all actions of the body, mind and speech. Of all this, at all times, the Gynanis total detachment to his own speech(not possessive) is the TRUE SIGN of Gynan ..
The Necessity for Reading Scriptures, Religious Books , Cassettes etc… The initiation and awakening within us starts by reading and associating our self with people who have similar interests . Lord Shankara extols the greatness of Satsang and it is also a common saying that the character of a person is very much influenced by the company he or she keeps. Just as we need food , water and air for our subsistence (physical and mental), we should also give Food for our spiritual development. Therefore the books, temples and all Adhyatmic activities should be balanced in our day to day life. By studying spiritual books, lectures etc and assimilating the knowledge and living a life of morality and sincerity one is prone to do good deeds which will result in Punya. By leading such a life, at the right time, we are given the gift of a Gynani by Nature (the birth and time of a Gynai in our midst is purely a Natural process) whose only purpose is to set the ripened and ready souls on the path of Liberation---Moksha.
What Books can not give : Books, Cassettes etc. cannot take away the Ego which is the source of our wrong belief starting with I am this BODY with a name and all other attributes. Along with this wrong belief we associate doership to everything that happens---I did, he did , she did, which is far from the truth. The Gynani in his unique way fractures these wrong beliefs and makes one realize One.s own true identity, At the same time, the ego in us is rooted out and in its place is seated. if you will, the Awareness that we are not the doer but only a witness all the time of what is happening. Gradually this awareness results in a state where we accept everything in the course of obligations or debts (and receive the benefits as gifts or credits) and use the ego only in the Functional needs of the body, mind etc ---eating ,sleeping, working etc but always careful to refrain from assertions , insistence, opinions, judgement etc which is the nature of the worldly ego.. Books Cassettes are non-living, it has no vitality, while Atma is Vital, it is Life itself/. How can a non-vital entity give experience of the vital?. Eyes and Ears can not see or listen by themselves without the primordial energy which is the Vital Atma, When the Vital Atma leaves the living body eyes can not see and ears cannot listen. So only a Vital media can give the experience of vital, give experience of vital. Another example, is the picture of a candle on paper can not give light, it can give understanding of how candle burns gives light. In order to get light ,a real lighted Candle is needed. .
If books were sufficient to give Atma-Jnan, Lord Krishna could have referred Arjuna to the sacred books . Instead, he imparted this Knowledge directly without any MEDIUM to Arjuna and having received the knowledge , Arjuna emphatically tells the Lord---All my doubts are dispelled Krishna, I am ready to fight now. The entire discourse of the Gita and the Essence of the Atma Gynan---the Pure Soul and its characteristics was given to a Single person in the battleground. This only shows the Power of the Giver of the Gynan and the gifted pupil Arjuna who was Ready and evolved to receive this Gynan inside (developed soul) but deluded by what he was seeing externally together with the belief that He is the DOER (ego). Once this was annihilated, the true vision dawns and the rest is known . .
What is Moksha ?
Moksha is not a state to reach as is commonly believed. It is the awakening and dawning which culminates in total freedom from all types of bondage which result in the repeated birth and death cycles of the physical body to dispense the Karmas(papas and punyas). Paradoxically while we dispense our past karmas, we also accumulate new karmas due to our wrong belief that we are the doer and our mind, intellect and ego endorse all our actions as “ours” which bears the consequence of repeated births. Atma Gynan imparts that Knowledge and Right Belief that leads to freedom from our actions even in this very life. It changes our understanding completely and that knowledge becomes the guiding light for the remainder of this life and the lives to come
Is there any rules or any requirement for having Atman Jnan ? No there are no rules at all, Jnani never tells do this or that or don’t do that. He never tells, give up this and accept that, He never tells anyone to give up his or her religious belief.
Atma Jnan is a Vision, the vision Arjuna got from Krishna.
The Only requirement is readiness to submit your ego and the firm conviction that I don’t know anything ( like Arjuna said to Krishna “ I don’t know anything” )
Special Note: This Article was writer solely due to the Divine Grace of Jnani Purush Kanudadaji. What Lord –Krishna was to Arjuna , Kanudadaji is to me he gave me same Knowledge and Vision through his Divine grace.
Special Thanks to Dr. Radhe Krishnan from oak Ridge TN for timely Contributing, correcting, editing and doing proof reading of this article.
