SELF REALIZATION v.s SOUL REALIZATION

 

 

 

In the Hindu or Barath religion , especially in the Advaita Vedanta branch, there is a term that have been presented to the western world referring to a profound spiritual awakening and is: Self Realization.  What does it mean?  Is the awakening from an illusory self identify image (Ego) to the true, divine, perfect condition that You really Are.  When a person is ready to “realize” the true reality of their being, behind all human notions and believes one can say that has enter into the path of Self Realization. We most define some concepts for you to understand more clearly what I’m talking about.

 

There is a part of you that is Immortal, perfect, divine, create to the image of God. In our Western Tradition we call this part the Soul. But what it is really the Soul? There are many definitions about the soul, but for the purpose of true understanding the concept of Self Realization we are going to define the Soul as:  The Eternal Divine Presence that you truly Are.  If you are created to the image of God then as son or daughter of the Most High you most be like the One that created you: Perfect and Divine. So in that light your true identity previous to the creation of then mind and body is that you are the Soul.

 

Let’s talk about what the soul is not: Is not the human mind full of knowledge, believes, ideas, impulses, feelings, sensation, needs, etc. It is not the body that is only a temporal vehicle for the Soul in this life. It is not you (place your name here) that have a history about your childhood, your experiences, your happiness and your losses, your likes and dislikes, that we call your human Ego. You are the Being or presence that was before all this untainted by human experience.

 

How can I be that presence alone if I have a clear image of what I am and am not? Well, go back to the time you were innocent as a child, before you have all that knowledge. You existed pure and experience all with the eyes of joy and wonder.  There was no hate, no believes, no religion, no dogma and no “I”.  Nothing can compare the laughter and natural joy of children, truly as Jesus said:  Theirs is the Kingdom of God.

 

So as a child (0 to 2 years old approximately) there were You (the soul) living in an uncontaminated body and mind. That pure you is the Soul and that pure divine awareness that is the soul have never been lost, because how can you lose your own Self?  How can the water even though full of contaminants, dirt, colorant cease to be water? So, the process of Self Realization begins by remembering who you truly are. Once you come into the true observation about your true reality as a soul, then we say that you have Realized. But to come to terms with this realization is not about “knowing the truth”, but “experiencing” it.  So, the true purpose to walk the spiritual path towards Realization is to come to a point that you no longer know or understand who you are, but by God’s Grace you Experience who you Are. Once this happens the experience is direct, pure (no drug induce) then you will have that Realization for ever and never loose it again. Now you know who you are and no longer identify with the false Ego self.

 

How can you do this? The Advaita Vedanta as teaches that by asking your self; Who am I? and looking for that “I” and realizing that is not Real, then the true Divine I, the Soul is revealed as your true divine condition.  Yet, many saints from the past have achieved this without looking for it in different path such as: prayer, devotion, meditation and service.

 

Once you realize you are the Soul, you start experiencing life as a Soul in this Body and not a little only as the ego in this body. What is the experience of the Soul? You will feel that you are not limited by the body, that the soul is connected to the Unlimited and Omnipresent Presence of God. That You the Soul is full of Peace. That you are not only a soul in your body, but you are One with God as you were created by Him with his own essence and that God’s Presence or Radiation permeates all beings and things, therefore you experience Unity with Life.  The soul or Atman as is called in that philosophy  re establish the Eternal relationship with the Para-Atman or Over Soul using their terminology.

 

Many of our students have already achieved Self Realization.  Something that was very rare in the past and happened to a few disciples at the feet of a Master or Guru in the past in the Hindu tradition and is accessible to happen to  many, many people now, as the planets vibration is being raise and the consciousness of humanity is being open to conceive a greater reality of love truth and brotherhood.

 

Now the main purpose of writing about this topic that has much depth is to make some points about our perspective about Self Realization that for us is in reality Soul Realization. In the Advaita Path of Non-Duality they equate the Self as being the same as God. This is a misconception as what is realized is not God, is the Soul that is created in the image of God.  God is God the Supreme Personality. The  Soul can tune and fully identify with His emanation or the presence of the Holy Spirit to that point that may feel as if the soul were omnipresent Itself, then mentally concluding that if I AM everywhere and I AM the only presence, the only pure Divine Consciousness therefore I AM God. That is a false conclusion as what is experience is only the radiation of God in his form as the Holy Ghost, but it’s not the totality of God, just one of his attributes.

 

 

We will write more about this under the topic “Comparative Religion” in the near future.

 

God bless you Now and Always. He the Almighty Loves you dearly with a bond you may never understand, but that can be lived.  Have Faith in Him the Creator of all things, your father and salvation in the times of change will be at hand.

 

Cyndarion and Galitica

 

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