Arise! Awake! Having attained your boons, understand them. Sharp as a razor's edge, hard to cross, difficult is that path—so the wise declare.
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत । क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति ॥ १४॥
Spiritual Awakening
Spiritual awakening refers to a profound transformation of consciousness across world spiritual traditions. Many traditions converge on the idea of a shift in perception and understanding. They diverge in their approaches and interpretations, offering unique perspectives on this complex topic.
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Quotes
From food indeed are creatures born, whatever creatures dwell on earth; by food alone they live, and into it they finally pass. For food is the eldest of beings; therefore it is called the herb of all. All those who worship food as Brahman obtain all food. For food is the eldest of beings; therefore it is called the herb of all. From food beings are born; being born, by food they grow. It is eaten and it eats beings; therefore it is called food (anna). Now, different from and within this self made of food's essence is another self made of breath (prana). By that this is filled. This too has the shape of a person; according to that one's human shape, this has human shape. Its head is prana itself; vyana its right side; apana its left side; space the trunk; the earth the tail, the foundation. On this too there is this verse:
अन्नाद्वै प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते । याः काश्च पृथिवीꣳश्रिताः । अथो अन्नेनैव जीवन्ति । अथैनदपि यन्त्यन्ततः । अन्नꣳहि भूतानां ज्येष्ठम् । तस्मात् सर्वौषधमुच्यते । सर्वं वै तेऽन्नमाप्नुवन्ति । येऽन्नं ब्रह्मोपासते । अन्नꣳहि भूतानां ज्येष्ठम् । तस्मात् सर्वौषधमुच्यते । अन्नाद् भूतानि जायन्ते । जातान्यन्नेन वर्धन्ते । अद्यतेऽत्ति च भूतानि । तस्मादन्नं तदुच्यत इति । तस्माद्वा एतस्मादन्नरसमयात् । अन्योऽन्तर आत्मा प्राणमयः । तेनैष पूर्णः । स वा एष पुरुषविध एव । तस्य पुरुषविधताम् । अन्वयं पुरुषविधः । तस्य प्राण एव शिरः । व्यानो दक्षिणः पक्षः । अपान उत्तरः पक्षः । आकाश आत्मा । पृथिवी पुच्छं प्रतिष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको भवति ॥ १॥
Spirituality is essentially an awakening to the inner reality of our being. It is a connection to the spirit, self, or soul that is beyond our mind, life, and body. This awakening involves an inner aspiration to know, feel, and become one with this greater reality.
My advice is to not strive for supernatural powers or rapid Kundalini awakening. Instead, cultivate devotion to God, have complete faith in Him, and embody a spirit of service to humanity. The Kundalini will awaken naturally.
When all desires cease, the mind becomes completely pure, the senses are subdued, and the mind achieves a significant degree of one-pointedness, and egoistic ideas dissolve, the Kundalini will awaken naturally.
When the light of knowledge shines at all the gates of this body, then one should know that sattva is predominant.
सर्वद्वारेषु देहेऽस्मिन्प्रकाश उपजायते | ज्ञानं यदा तदा विद्याद्विवृद्धं सत्त्वमित्युत ||१४-११||
When your intellect passes beyond the thicket of delusion, then you will grow indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is yet to be heard.
यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति | तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च ||२-५२||
If merely pretending to be spiritual can bring about such spiritual awakening, one can only imagine the impact of genuine spiritual practice. In that state, one will undoubtedly realize what is real and what is not. Only God is real, while the world is an illusion.
When man ceases to be a prodigal child of God, engrossed in a physical world indeed a dream, baseless as a bubble, he reinherits his eternal realms.
In the three worlds, no one is dearer to Him than those who are awakened and have elevated souls.
Through actions, one is forced to be reborn after death with a body made of six and ten ingredients. However, through knowledge, one becomes transformed into something eternal, unmanifest, and immutable.
Then Kus'ik's son, filled with indignation, placed a curse upon the heavenly maid: 'Because you tried to entice my soul, which is fighting to conquer love and rage, stand there, transformed into stone, until ten thousand years have passed, unfortunate maid.'
It is only when, after prolonged and persistent concentration or through other means, the veil of the mind is lifted or swept away, and a flood of light illuminates the awakened mentality, that conception gives way to a knowledge-vision in which the Self is as present, real, and concrete as a physical object is to the physical eye, that we possess it.
However, if there is a resolute self-consecration from deep within, and an awakening to the soul's call, these inadequate things can be sufficient for the divine purpose.
However, this transformation does not require something entirely distant, alien to our existence, and radically impossible. What needs to be developed is already within us, not outside. Evolutionary Nature urges us to awaken to self-knowledge, discover our true selves, and manifest our inner spirit, thus releasing our inherent power and self-awareness.
It is only when the soul fully emerges, and the native light and power of the Spirit fully descend, that our limited mental and vital nature can be transformed and uplifted by a spiritual and supramental supernature, thus bringing about an evolutionary miracle.
As our mind develops, we move beyond material and intellectual pursuits, and a new spiritual awareness awakens within us. This leads to the discovery of our true self, the inner truth of our being, and the liberation of our mind and life into the realm of the Spirit, where we find perfection, unity, and solidarity with all beings.
It is clear that no rational or mental approach can harmonize the complexity of our being; only the intuition and self-knowledge of an awakened spirit can accomplish this.
The first step in liberating the soul from ignorance is to establish peace, calmness, and quietude, which are rooted in the eternal and infinite. However, as the spiritual journey progresses, this peace is transformed into a profound experience of bliss and eternal beatitude.
The body will be transformed by the power of spiritual consciousness into a true, suitable, and perfectly responsive instrument of the Spirit.