Tag: self realization

What is Self Realization?

Ever felt like you’re wearing a costume that doesn’t quite fit? Self-realization isn’t just a trend, it’s a radical identity reveal. It’s the moment you stop identifying with the temporary body and start living as an eternal soul. By practicing purification through mantra meditation, you peel away layers of material stress to reveal your natural state: infinite peace and ecstasy. Starting with discovering the vast energy of Brahman leading all the way to building a personal connection with Krishna, this journey shows what is that state of consciousness. Are you ready to wake up?

Note on Origin: This article is based on an online email exchange from late 2019. It documents a conversation between spiritual practitioners exploring the meaning and practice of self-realization. The original language has been preserved below.

Understanding Self-Realization: A Brief Guide

At its core, Self-Realization is the process of awakening to one’s true identity. Most people identify with their physical bodies, labels, and social roles. However, spiritual wisdom informs us that we are eternal spiritual beings temporarily residing in a material form.

What is Self-Realization?

It is the transition from “body-consciousness” to “soul-consciousness.” It involves realizing that the self is an eternal servant of Krishna. In this state, a person’s actions are motivated by the love of devotional service to Krishna rather than bodily or mental desires.

How is it achieved?

This realization is reached through:

  • Purification (Sattva Shudhi): Clearing the body, mind, and heart of material attachments.
  • Mantra Meditation: Specifically through the chanting of the Holy Names of Krishna(Harinam Kirtan).
  • Devotional Service (Seva): Engaging in acts of service to Krishna and those who are serving Krishna.
  • Guidance: Learning from a bona fide spiritual master (Guru) in disciplic succession who has already realized the truth.

The Three Stages of Realization

The journey typically unfolds in three progressive levels of understanding:

  1. Brahman: Realizing the all-pervading, impersonal spiritual energy.
  2. Paramatma: Recognizing the “Super-soul” or Divine presence within the heart of every living being.
  3. Bhagavan: The highest realization—entering into a personal, loving relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna.

The Original Q&A Correspondence

Tapas Chakraborty, 20 September 2019

Hare Krishna

Q. What is Self Realization and how to achieve the same? How Self Realization is related to absolute perfection in the path of spiritual journey for transcendental knowledge, hence blessed by infinite peace, ecstasy and wisdom?

Request the enlightened group members who have achieved the state to express their knowledge from experience.

Thanks Tapas

Annu bhatia, 20 September 2019

Self Realization is when we are following Nirguna bhakti or Sattva Shudhi. For this one, we are chanting the holy name and coming in either dasya rupa, vatsalya rupa, sakha rupa, to remember God all the time. We learn about how we are as servants rather than just saying that we are a servant. We accept a shiksha and diksha guru. We accept harinam kirtan. We accept the four principles of regulation. We offering humble obeisances to the deities, to the bonafide gurus through disciplic succession and the assembled devotees. This way we burn our paap (sins) and gain punya (piety) through seva(service).

The infinite peace ecstasy and wisdom we experience is where we are willing to even go to hell for Lord Chaitanya’s seva. The not so great part is where when the Lord’s principles are not followed that we temporarily feel as failures in society. We fail only when we fail in the seva of the Lord. The best ecstasy would be to raise the soul quotient of the fallen souls who still continue to live in darkness. Where we fail is where we use ourselves in the service for self which brings depression rather than for God.

your humble servant. Annu bhatia

Shridhar das, 1 October 2019

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisance,

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All Glories to Sri Guru & Sri Gauranga!

The answer is very proper. I would also like to take an opportunity to share.

There are different levels of Self Realization as stated in Srimad Bhagavatam and explained further by Srila Prabhupada.

Some realize the self as the infinite spirit soul (Brahman) beyond the material nature and experience liberated state of existence. Higher than that is realization of all-pervading Paramatma as well and yet higher is to know the fountainhead of creation and all incarnations, the Supreme Person & God, Sri Krishna; Know our relation with Him and engage in His transcendental loving service. This is the ultimatum.

One may personally not be situated on these levels but is to be considered as good, as long as one if faithfully following the process as chalked out by Srila Prabhupada, who certainly is the most perfected spiritual master from the topmost transcendental plane. By following his guidelines under his representatives who are properly following him and reaping the results, we are certainly assured to reach the desired destination. This is just as a sincere student following all the guidelines from a qualified teacher to perform well in a subject. If the student follows well the guidelines of an expert teacher, why won’t he score well in exam? Of course there will be inquiries.

At the stage of ultimate self realization, the ultimate activity is Devotional Service to Lord Krishna & His devotees and by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, we are already engaged in that activity, with all necessary transcendental knowledge available (elaborated and repeated throughout his books and lectures). The only difference is of material body and environment.

Also, the only difference between present and future destination is of time & struggle of faithful practice.

So let us simply remain engaged in following this simple process under some guidance and render service with a faithful and grateful heart. All realizations will gradually unfold in proportion to the sincerity of our purpose.

your servant Shridhar das

Bhakta Sunil, 1 October 2019

Hare Krishna Prabhu

Nice question and nice answers

Here are two audio links which will help you greatly:

Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Lecture

Please also read daily e-mails via ‘Ultimate Self realization’ e-course ( www.joincourse.com )

Sincerely, Bhakta Sunil

Tapas Chakraborty, 2 October 2019

Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Thanks for the in-depth view on the subject of Self Realisation. Both the answers were extremely relevant for practical following and traversing the path shown by Srila Prabhupada. In truth I had gone over the answers at least 5 times to get to the root of the nectar.

Thanks once again

yours servant Tapas

Please subscribe to daily inspirational emails from His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari (Writings and lectures archived at www.ecstaticmedia.com), written fresh every day from his travels around the world sharing the highest spiritual knowledge with everyone. Sign up now at www.joincourse.com.

How to go deep into meditation

How to go deep into meditation? How to overcome the tyranny of the mind? What can we do to improve the quality of our meditation?

Kaspars, 30 January 2016

Dear Devotees!

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Gurudeva and Gurumata! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

How to go deep in meditation? Our Gurudev Sankarshan Maharaj mentions that tamasic / rajasic mood will not help. Ok. Then what helps to deepen the meditative moods of bhakti to Krishna in devotion. Please, dear devotees, kindly give some glimpse about your practice of meditational state of mind and how you get that and how you keep being like that.

Thank you.

Kaspars

Seba, 30 January 2016

Sir, 

I am chanting the Hare Krishna mantra daily on the beads still I feel difficulty in deep meditation, my thoughts are in tandem to my repetition to the mantra. 

Kindly help

Thanks

Seba

Shyamapriya devi dasi, 30 January 2016

Hare Krishna Bhakta Kaspars,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you for your questions.

Just for comparison, my current condition is like that of a surfer, who is struggling to balance on the surfboard. I am constantly battling with the turbulent waves of thoughts in my mind, which try to push me off the board and I have to again and again try to get back on my board and try to listen to the names. This happens almost everyday. And just like the surfer has to check the time of high tides and low tides during a day before venturing into the sea, to deepen our meditation – the time of the day plays a significant role. And Srila Gurudeva gave the key to dive into that deep meditation. 

The following is an excerpt from Srila Gurudeva’s book ‘Truth Works'(Questions and Answers for reviving your divine existence, Vol.1 (page 137) 

“The key to focused japa chanting is to rise early in the morning and finish one’s daily quota of japa chanting before sunrise. This time of the day is known as brahma-muhurta. It is a very spiritual time of the day when it is very easy to keep one’s mind fixed on the holy names. At this time of the day the mode of goodness predominates. This is why it is so easy to chant during this time period. Once the sun comes up, the atmosphere shifts into the mode of passion, a time for activity and productivity; then it becomes very difficult to sit and peacefully meditate on the holy names. If for some reason you cannot complete your japa before sunrise then you must finish it before you take your morning meal. If you make this serious commitment and stick to it every day, you will be able to train your mind to stay absorbed nicely during your japa chanting. It is simply a matter of training and practise.” 

Almost everyone of us here must have experienced the difference in meditating on japa at different times of the day- early morning, noon or evening or night time. And as recommended by the acaryas and with experience we can see that early morning hours, before the sunrise is the best time to practise and help deepen our meditation on mantra. It is also recommended to try to focus the mind on hearing the syllables of Hare Krishna mantra by pronouncing each word of the mantra clearly.

Time is just one of the factors. If we go further then there are ten offenses one must avoid which will further help to deepen our meditation and so on. I am sure some wonderful realizations of the devotees in the group will follow up this post for the benefit of everyone.

Sincerely,

Shyamapriya devi dasi

Guru Vandana devi Dasi, 30 January 2016

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumata.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Gurudeva’s Thought for the day Jan 28, 2016  is very inspiring:

“As within, so without.In other words, whatever consciousness you cultivate within your heart is the atmosphere that you will create or manifest in the world that surrounds you. So now decide what kind of atmosphere you would like to live in and seriously cultivate that atmosphere within your heart. In other words, if you want to live in a peaceful, God conscious or Krishna conscious environment, you must always hear about, speak about and think about Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The magic of this is that by doing so you will exert an uplifting influence on your surroundings.”

“Whatever consciousness you cultivate within your heart is the atmosphere that you will create” My practical experience for chanting 2 hours of 16 rounds is to prepare our consciousness for 22 hours for it.   When we think of nonsense for 22 hours ,   there is no focus on the Holy name during those 2 hours.

Rajasic and Tamasic moods will not help because the mind is not peaceful.

Some of these prayers help and keep praying always..

” O Krishna, please help me connect with You in my chanting. O compassionate Krishna please help me to realize that Your Holy name is non different from you. Inspire me to listen to Your Holy name as carefully as I listen to a message from a loved one”

Speak to our mind

” My dear mind please call Krishna, then don’t ignore Him. My dear mind please don’t ignore the presence of the Lord while chanting please, please, please”. 

In nectar of Instruction Verse 8, Srila Prabhupada writes about stages of perfection,

“In the neophyte stage one should always engage in hearing krsna-katha. This is called sranava-dasa, the stage of hearing. By constantly hearing the transcendental holy name of Krsna and hearing of His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, one can attain to the stage of acceptance called varana-dasa. When one attains this stage, he becomes attached to the hearing of krsna-katha. When one is able to chant in ecstasy, he attains the stage of smaranavastha, the stage of remembering. Recollection, absorption, meditation, constant remembrance and trance are the five items of progressive krishna-smarana. At first, remembrance of Krishna may be interrupted at intervals, but later remembrance proceeds uninterrupted. When remembrance is uninterrupted, it becomes concentrated and is called meditation. When meditation expands and becomes constant, it is called anusmrti. By uninterrupted and unceasing anusmrti one enters the stage of samadhi, or spiritual trance. After smarana-dasa or samadhi has fully developed, the soul comes to understand his original constitutional position. At that time he can perfectly and clearly understand his eternal relationship with Krishna. That is called sampatti-dasa, the perfection of life.”

Thank you for this wonderful question, this makes me remember to take up Krishna consciousness seriously.

your servant

Guru Vandana devi dasi

Alakananda Devi Dasi, 31 January 2016

Hare Krishna devotees,

All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Gurumataji

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you all for your wonderful insights on how to perfect the chanting of the mantra on japa beads. The information given inspires me to become a better devotee of guru and Lord Krishna.

yours humbly,

Alakananda Devi Dasi

Mahabhagavat Das, 02 February 2016

Dear Bhakta Bushanlal Raina,

Hare Krishna!

Your choice is whether to pay attention to your thoughts or to your chanting. If you pay no attention to the thoughts, the mind will automatically come and listen to the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, of course, it will try to distract you with thoughts, but again, your choice to pay attention makes the difference. Try it out.

Sincerely,

Mahabhagavat Das

Mahabhagavat Das, 02 February 2016

Dear Kaspars,

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

This desire you have is a very wonderful desire, and if you repeatedly beg Krishna, He will fulfill your desire.

Sincerely,

Mahabhagavat Das

Haresh Bakshi, 03 February 2016

Hare Krishna bhakta-s, 

Based on my own experience, I can say that chanting is as easy as it is effective. In this age, it is the easiest path to realization.

Thanks and namaste

Haresh Bakshi

Shridhar Prabhu, 17 February 2016

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All Glories to Srila Gurudeva !

All Glories to His Divine Grace Srila Gurudeva!

Meditation means absorption (in Lord or His Absolute aspects). Absorption comes from intense desire (tatra laulyam api mulyam ekalam). Intense desire shall arise when we are convinced of the ultimate goal of life single pointedly, without doubt. 

Therefore we must first strengthen our faith in the ultimate goal of life being devotional service to Krishna,

that there is nothing in this whole material world that is worth comparing to devotional service of the Lord. That devotional service 

is unlike any mundane service which instead of demanding a pay (salary), rather deserves a pay to be allowed to be performed. 

Once our faith gets more and more narrowed and firm in this process then we’ll also realize that material nature will keep tossing us into ignorance and passion helplessly, which we cannot fight on our own strength. Due to our anarthas always appearing at any and every time, distancing us away from Lord(through service, His devotees, His pastimes, His qualities, His form, Holy Names, etc..), we feel separation. The longing/hankering of the soul to relish that devotional engagement multiplies, and results into meditation. 

Therefore faith needs to be strengthened, which happens by sincerely striving for practicing a regulated life in the association of devotees and under the guidance of seniors. Association of devotees is explained in Nectar of Instruction, text 4. Hearing from seniors is very important.

The importance of following a regulative life as instructed by the spiritual master has been emphasized in the Preface to Nectar of Instruction. My favorite paragraph from Preface is:

“In all spiritual affairs, one’s first duty is to control his mind and senses. Unless one controls his mind and senses, one cannot make any advancement in spiritual life. Everyone within this material world is engrossed in the modes of passion and ignorance. One must promote himself to the platform of goodness, sattva-guṇa, by following the instructions of Rūpa Gosvāmī, and then everything concerning how to make further progress will be revealed.”

Therefore, while encountering the unavoidable limitless ignorance and passion in the path of devotional service, we may often face despondency and despair. But somehow or the other ignoring these symptoms we must, dutifully and faithfully, if not meditatively, execute devotional service aiming for improvement. Then meditation shall come. 

Also, of the 9 processes of devotional service, visno-smaranam or remembrance of the Lord is 3rd and comes after sravanam and kirtanam, indicating, the automatic result of proper hearing and chanting/preaching is – smaranam (or meditation).

your servant

Shridhar Das

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