Advaita more please/how advaita can help lifelong issues, my experience

[Guest guest]

Namaste, All

 

How practical Advaita is in one’s life?

I am sharing my own experience so far after my exposure to Advaita Vedanta.

Once Swamiji asked some of his disciples “what is the purpose of life?” Many

answers came, such as “for becoming famous”, “for getting ‘Mokhsa’” “to serve

others”, “to serve God” etc. etc. Swamiji said, “the purpose of life is to live”

and Vedanta, Advaita, “tells you how to live”.

It is one’s attitude towards him, others and also God (if he is a ‘believer’)

that helps him in “how to live” his life. Assimilation of Advaita Vedanta

changes one’s attitude in such a way that his approach to his life/living does

not cause any harm to others, including the animals, plants, etc. and he

himself.

Someone asked Swamiji “Swamiji, if someone slaps at your left cheek, what will

you do, will you show your right cheek also?” Swamiji said, I will not give a

chance to anyone to slap me and there is no question of showing the right cheek

or left cheek. The idea is, there will be no provocation.

One connects his status with what he possesses. Whatever one possesses do have

some utility value, but in no way do they affect his status. All possessions are

useful and one should go and get them provided they are useful. This applies

even to one’s body, mind and intellect, where one should continue to make

improvements in them so that they can serve him in whatever manner he wants.

Advaita unfolds that one is FULL and nothing can affect that FULLNESS. Such

possessions may be useful for one’s personality, where one thrives to make

improvements, whereas the person himself or the self cannot be improved upon nor

can it get worsened with any improvements one makes in his personality.

The preconceived notions that one has are the cause for all emotional problems

in life. Once the Ego gets enlightened with the knowledge, it knows, with the

shining of well assimilated self knowledge as wisdom, where and how to stop.

Because of the preconceived notions, one has expectations how others should be.

Since the notions continue to change, one’s expectations also change.

Emotions do take place, anger does take place, even hatred and jealousy, but

there is a very big difference inasmuch as there is no “carrying forward” or

“building up” as the next moment the wisdom shines and the Ego manages and

handles the situation.

To be very frank, I do not know what “moksha” or “liberation” is. However,

with the wisdom resulting from Self Knowledge, one is able to handle very well

his unhealthy attitudes and they cannot bind him any more.

One knows how to play his roles very well, which continue to change from

moment to moment. There is no carry forward of the problems of one role to

another.

I can continue this “bla bla” but whatever I write above is from my own

personal experience.

In short, Advaita is a Bhava or attitude, and we have to be in this empirical

world, but when we live our lives with this Bhava, it makes all the difference.

Warm regards

R.S.Mani

 

 

 

 

 

 

R. S. Mani

 

 

 

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