All chapters17 of 19

The Path of God-Realisation

From the experience which God has granted him, Ramdas sets down here an outline of the path which an aspirant traverses, when he has made the realisation of God, the sole aim of his life. On this subject Ramdas’ authority is derived from the fact that his experiences at different stages of his Sadhana bear a close resemblance with those of all saints and sages of the world who had the vision of God.

What is necessary as the first step on the Divine Path is Bhakti. Bhakti means a keen burning desire to realise immortal peace and freedom. The Bhakta must be seized with a discontent which never ceases until the Goal is reached. But how could awakening in the heart of a being come? What does shake him to his very foundation and create in him this longing for the Eternal? The answer is ‘the society of real sages is the thing’. A sight and touch of him works on the Bhakta like a magician’s charm. As the bird unconscious of its captivity remains in its cage, apparently quiet and contented, but the moment it discovers that it is imprisoned within it, it leaves no stone unturned in its struggle for freedom; so also the soul of an awakened man flutters and trembles within him and becomes so restless that it is drawn inevitably on the path of vigorous discipline for self-liberation. This hunger of the soul which grows in volume day by day, gives rise in him to the second essential step on the path – Vairagya.

Vairagya means withdrawal of the mind from its attachments and attractions to the external objects of life. Now it is that he clearly understands that the cause of his bondage and ignorance is due to his deep love for those whom he holds very near and dear to him. His mind which was so long involved only in the interests, worries and fears, concerning those objects or beings to whom he was bound by ties of affection and sense of possession, now recoils. He further knows that the happiness which he enjoyed from those objects and beings was a passing chimera or illusion. Now he aspires for that peace and joy which is real and everlasting. Thus a spirit of dispassion for the world takes possession of him. At this stage he starts with earnestness and determination the Sadhana for control of mind and will, which leads him to the third step – Concentration.

Concentration is a waveless and fixed state of mind. To gain this purpose, he takes up any mental practice best suited to his nature, condition and environment. Concentration is attained by striving to fix the mind on one thought to the exclusion of every other. This thought must represent or symbolise the eternal Reality dwelling within his own heart. The world that we behold made up of five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether – is a projection from the supreme Truth; so by concentration on any element of the world manifestation taking it as the very expression of the Ultimate Reality, the mind through the attainment of one-pointedness is merged in the Absolute Truth. Hence for Upasana, for the purification and concentration of the mind, an image, a river, fire, air, light or sound is prescribed. Among the symbols for concentration those that are largely employed are air, light and sound. Air relates to Pranayama or breath-control; light denotes worship of luminous bodies like the sun, moon, etc.; sound stands for repetition of OM or any other Name of God; the greater importance attached to the first and third method among them is because in these cases the Sadhaka need not depend on an external object for concentration. However, whatever path he adopts, provided he is determined and persevering, he will arrive at the next step which is Meditation.

Meditation is purely a discipline of thought. The concentrated thought is continuously made to dwell on the glorious attributes of God, such as that He is Eternal, Omnipresent, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Changeless, Ever-Peaceful and Blissful Truth. The meditation continued with persistence terminates in self-absorption, i.e., a state of super-consciousness. Here it must be noted that the Sadhaka conceives a craving for solitude or for a place free from the noise and bustle of the work-a-day world. He adopts a Sattwic diet instead of hot, pungent and stale food. The changes that are now observed in him are a substitution of gentleness for harshness, kindness for hate, calmness and equal vision and love for attachment and egoism. Humility, sweetness and cheerfulness mark all his thoughts, words and movements. He avoids the society of the pleasure-seekers of the world, and finds solace, peace and joy in the company and service of the saints and devotees of God. Now the one theme of his thought and talk is God and His glories. Simplicity and child-like nature becomes manifest in him. From meditation to the next step – a step which is the crowning glory of his supreme attainment – Samadhi, is short and quick. The experience he gains when he gets the full vision of God baffles description.

Samadhi or God-vision

Attempts are still made to express something of this lofty experience. He says: “I am an illumined soul – illumined with the light of Divine Knowledge that I am the great Truth itself. My individual life has completely merged into the Universal and Eternal Spirit. Now I have reached the goal. I have become the very God in the human form. I live and move in Infinity and Eternity. I have come to the end of the path – God-realisation, i.e., to the status of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA!”

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram