spiritual sadhana-illusion

[Guest guest]

friends,

 

Extracts from the book written by Late Sri

Rajagopalachari (Rajaji)

 

 

Those who have only heard of or have a superficial

acquaintance with the doctrine of Advaita can raise a

question. If the Soul’s separate existence is the

result of illusion and God alone exists, why should

there be this toilsome effort at so-called liberation?

Why should we not rest content with knowing the truth

that God alone exists? This might well be so, were the

illusion a mere optical illusion. The Maya has wrought

its effect not only on the eyes but on every one of

our senses and on our minds, and has produced

attachments, passions and turmoil’s of the Soul.

Rubbing the eyes alone will not do. We must wake up

every atom of our being to the reality, because the

illusion goes to the depth of our very being. Again it

is not enough to know that we should wake up. It is

necessary actually to wake up. This real and through

awakening of our being is called liberation, and this

process is just the same whether it proceeds on this

basis of waking up from an illusion, or is deemed a

process of self-purification and liberation of the

Soul as a real and separate entity.

 

Sense-enjoyments and attachment thereto confirm and

add to the illusion. It is necessary to get rid of

them in order to dispel the Maya. The knowledge gained

from the teacher, that God and Soul are one, but for

ignorance born out of Maya, may be an aid in the

process of liberation or waking up, but that by itself

is not enough. The need for personal effort to free

oneself from passions and attachments diminishes as

one approaches the goal of true enlightenment, and

diminishes in the measure of our progress towards it.

 

Whether the individual Soul be treated as a result of

Maya, liberation consisting then, in the removal of

the illusion that brought about the idea of individual

existence, or whether it be considered that the

individual Soul is a really separate entity

beginingless, free and clothed in matter, which must

work out its salvation by fitting itself for being

received by God- in either case, the process to be

gone through is identical. If the Soul’s separate

existence is an illusion, attachment to the objects of

sense-enjoyment, and lust, greed and anger add to the

illusion and must be avoided. With real

disillusionment, sins and attachments must

automatically cease. Conversely, a pure life and

unselfish performance of duties and serenity of mind

lead to realization of the truth behind the veil.

Where attachments have not ceased, we may take it that

knowledge is unreal, and that only lip service is

being rendered to theory, and the illusion within is

increasing, not diminishing. True Jnana can come, and

great illusion be dissolved only by the same process

as has been prescribed for liberation from karma on

the basis of the Soul being a separate spiritual

entity according to the Dvaita Philosophy. Thus it is

that the Gita is a book of Life for all, irrespective

of differing creeds as to the ultimate nature of the

Individual Soul.

 

 

______________________

Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE

Messenger http://mail.messenger..co.uk