God and My 'Self' are not Different
The surf may appear real, but in reality it is part and parcel of the sea. So, too, untruth or 'apparent' truth has a garb of truth itself. The world as we sense it today is really maya or illusion as it appears against the foil of the eternal truth, Brahman. When we understand or realize maya and its working and characteristics, we realize Brahman. In pursuing sensual objects and pleasures we live in maya, gasping uneasily in the chase; but when we realize that it is all nothing but a mirage, we achieve rest and peace.
The ultimate, everlasting, unmutable, essential truth is the Divinity; everything beside it is upadhi. To keep the mind fixed steadily on the Divinity is anusandhan. An awareness of one's ignorance is the first step in the spiritual journey, while a doubt-free realization of one's identity with God or Brahman is its fulfillment. To feel that 'God is the real doer of everything that takes place in the world, while we live only for duty', is detachment. 'What I do not get I will not desire, nor yearn for; whatever I get, accept un-grudgingly, cheerfully, with equanimity;' to live life with this attitude, is to act naturally.
To relinquish desire for or expectation of a particular result is non-attachment. To be free of desire for gratification of any sense or passion is an indication of true knowledge. An action leading to bondage of the individual soul arises from ignorance of the Absolute Truth; conversely, anything that leads to liberation indicates true knowledge. The path of action, the path of worship, the path of nine-fold devotion, all aim at one and the same thing, namely, attainment of God; just as the main object in arranging a wedding is to bring the bride and the bridegroom together in wedlock, the rest of the ceremonies being only incidental, supporting, and, may, differ in different communities.
The importance we attach to the body should not be allowed to become an impediment in our association with a saint. The 'body-am-I' feeling intervenes like a mountain between our 'Self' and God, that is, our real 'Self'. The aim of all sadhanas is the destruction of ego, that is, the 'body-am-I' feeling. Nama-smarana achieves this in the shortest time, and that is why it is the very essence of all sadhanas.
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