Self-knowledge is the basic backbone of life. It is difficult to understand the meaning of enlightenment. Self-knowledge is the ultimate goal of man. There is no other simple and meaningful solution in life for the salvation of man than Shrimad Bhagwat. By merely listening to the story a man becomes free from birth and death. Not every person is enlightened. There can never be equality among all human beings. Life is created only by action. Diversity in self-knowledge comes only through action. Which gives introduction to human identity and self-knowledge. It is said that it is very difficult to become enlightened. In today’s era, very few men are self-knowledgeable. The first step to self-knowledge is silence of the senses. What are the senses, we are not even able to keep silence of speech. Then how will self-knowledge be achieved? Thinking and meditation also helps in self-knowledge. The voice of the soul is heard by everyone, but if we listen to it, it is of the mind, brain and senses. Then how will there be self-knowledge? Controlling the senses is true self-knowledge.
Only through self-realization, a person achieves happiness, peace and prosperity by establishing balance in practical and spiritual life. The experience of self-knowledge is the destination of divine bliss. This is the nectar which after getting it, there is nothing left to get. To understand the importance of life’s wealth and make it meaningful, it is necessary to have self-realization. Self-realization literally means understanding of oneself. In other words, clear knowledge of one’s emotions, feelings, responsibilities, abilities and weaknesses etc. Man is the only creature who can realize Narayan from man through self-knowledge. By experiencing self-knowledge one experiences happiness and peace even in difficult situations of life. The enlightened one always remains free from attachment and hatred. Remains satisfied everywhere. Remains complete in himself. Man becomes fearless through self-knowledge. It is also said that knowledge is best, but self-knowledge is even better. Only after knowing oneself can the other knowledge gained be put to good use. Otherwise, all the knowledge that comes through the hands of ignorance often proves to be suicidal.
It is necessary to have a true Guru to enlighten the enlightenment within man. It is the Guru who inspires enlightenment and shows the path towards it. It is the primary responsibility of the Guru to impart self-realization. A true Guru is one who awakens self-knowledge in a person. Gives ability, strength and direction to follow the right path. Apart from this, Yoga is a simple and easy path to the journey of self-realization. Yoga is capable of attaining enlightenment by enhancing the infinite potential of the human mind and soul. Our ancestors and descendants were earlier educated under the supervision of Acharyas or sages. At that time it was said that God exists only in the service of parents. Knowledge of God and soul was given in its true form. He gave enlightenment on how to use his five senses. But in present education we are taught knowledge and science but we do not get self-knowledge. Therefore, those lacking self-knowledge are unable to control their senses.
Due to being under the control of our five senses – lust, anger, attachment, greed and ego, our mind gets lost and we become directionless. It is true that the soul is God but we should do good deeds with our body. One should give up the ego of ‘I’ and devote one’s existence to God. Rishis used to attain God through their self-knowledge and yoga. The soul itself is God. God is in every particle. To survive, the human system has to become self-aware. Through which one has to move forward to bring all types of work to fruition. Many people move forward without confidence, who achieve success in completing all the tasks with the help of their mind and brain. Not every human being is enlightened, but unless we protect ourselves from rising higher, we are not able to move towards our goal. Some gradually move towards their goal, others slowly. Enlightenment means entering a new dimension of life. This is a dimension beyond physicality. In fact, enlightenment is the realization of the truth which already exists. There is neither pain nor pleasure in enlightenment. This is something beyond happiness and sorrow. In reality, self-knowledge is present in everyone, but it is covered with the veil of ignorance, hence its effect is not visible in all human beings. The one who succeeds in removing the veil of ignorance is enlightened. But if any person is determined then he can achieve it.
It goes on to say that a person does not become wise when he starts talking big things, rather he becomes wise when he understands small things. Self-knowledge gives us a chance to understand ourselves and others properly. Understanding and enlightenment are two things. In this we get the strength to always have positive thinking. Every person can become self-aware only if he takes a pledge that he will not give any education to others until I myself follow it in my life, have faith. Your education is no less than enlightenment,
Not only this, just as one needs to be silent to hear the beat of one’s heart, in the same way one needs to silence all the senses to hear the voice of one’s soul, the day a person has done all this, consider that he has attained enlightenment. Every person can become enlightened only by doing, otherwise becoming like this is not in everyone’s mind.
It is true that cream always curdles in cold milk but for that the milk has to be boiled once properly.
Similarly, man can attain self-knowledge only with a calm mind, but for that he has to go through deep disturbance once. Great sages and great men do not become enlightened in a day. From their childhood, they are given family education of spirituality, renunciation and non-violence, only then the person becomes enlightened. These ascetics benefit the society, country and the world with their knowledge. The seed of enlightenment is present in every living being but every person realizes it in a different way. By self-knowledge, we mean to enter a new dimension of life which is beyond materialism. According to Hindu religious scriptures, a self-knowledgeable person is one who is free from all vices. As long as these vices reside within a person, self-knowledge can never be attained. It is also said in the teachings of Gita that only the person who gives up all desires and works without desires attains peace and thus Only people with seeker tendencies are called enlightened. A person trapped in the maze of worldly life is neither able to attain enlightenment nor move towards the original goal of human birth. It is not that self-knowledge is attained only by living a family life or by leaving the family life. Guru Nanak Dev was a householder but he was a Brahmagyani, a self-aware person. For enlightenment, both God’s grace and effort are necessary. Only by true devotion towards God, the disorders of the mind go away and self-knowledge arises.