A Hackers guide to Self Realisation.

Lets begin with some basic facts - We live.. In a body.. On Earth.

From the beginning of human history, man has been driven on one hand by the demands of the body causing him to seek sustenance through hunting and agriculture; on the other hand the human mind has sought answers to the mystery of life. These two pursuits went hand in hand, until at some point in history the former overwhelmed the later and man began to live purely in mad pursuit of seeking satisfaction for the desires of the body and ego.

Yet man did pursue truths. Some sought to understand this world they lived in. So they investigated Earth - its flora and fauna, the land and seas, the elements and space and thus grew science as we know it today. 

But there were others who felt that before they understood the world, they must first understand themselves, and they began an inquiry within, leading to exploration of Spirituality as we know it.

The scientists of the spirit were the first to find their goal. They were referred to by the world as the Enlightened Ones, the Sages. The scientists of the world to this day pursue their goals, ever changing and updating their theories. 

The reason of this contrasting result stems from the fact that the universe a scientist studies, is an ever changing one and its understanding is dependent on how every individual perceives it. The Sages on the other hand explored the inner world, the soul which is in Oneness with everything in existence and in knowing the soul Self, a Sage becomes aware of the roots of all creation

Sages of all climes and times, brought forward the fruits of their labor to man through words and scriptures - encouraging man to find the joy and bliss that every man has been seeking since the beginning of time, within Himself, by understanding the Self. They revealed that the one supreme query worth pursuing above all others is not what is life, nor who made creation, nor who is God - but Who am I?

In the answer to this one question - Who am I, lies every possible answer. What's more, the Sages then revealed the answer to this Supreme Question. The answer being - Aham Brahmasmi! - I am Brahman. I am the Supreme truth. I am God. 

So, coming back to reality... Are you God?... am I God? Don't seem like it. If God is all love, all joy, all power, all wisdom, above and beyond life and death, then I certainly don't feel like God. If you ask me who I am, I would unhesitatingly describe myself as a male, Hindu, Indian with such and such name, family background, education and social status. 

So where is the disconnect? The enlightened Sages call me God, and I call myself a limited, error prone human personality subject to life and death! At this point it is apt to mention another intelligent entity that is deeply related to each of us and whose influence on our lives is immense.

The Sages explained that when God created this creation, the creation would soon sink back in God's divine energy, much as if the ocean spewed gems and precious minerals on its surface, they would all sink back into the ocean. So God created a counter intelligent energy whose sole purpose would be to keep creation in its place, preventing any aspect of creation to go back to its source in God.

The Sages referred to this counteracting intelligent energy as Maya. Maya is the force that works to keep creation as is. It is the cause of all cosmic illusion. It makes this creation seem real and as the only reality. It covers and hides in all ways possible the Divine truths and prevents mankind from recognising its true self as children of the Supreme God. Christ referred to Maya as the devil that tempts. Maya is that against which the true Jihad must be fought, as implied in Islam.

99.999% of all humanity are under full control of Maya. It makes them feel like a human personality and keeps them bound and limited to personal goals and objectives of this world. Maya has its allies in the human mind, senses and the ego. It lures and tempts the senses through sight, sound, taste and touch and keeps man bound to desires and temptations of the body. 

Maya - Cosmic Illlusion

Every human has Awareness within him through which he can cognise truth. This awareness has been completely hijacked and imprisoned by the mind. Through incarnations of wrong living, human awareness has been hypnotised into believing that it is a body, a name, a personality with needs and desires, a personality with a status in the society that it must ever keep upgrading to earn the respect of fellow personalities.

Thus from birth Maya ensnares a child with toys and candies, a youth with clothes, gadgets and temptations, an adult with jobs and life partner for a family. It controls a family man with requirements of his family and children till his old age where it keeps him tied to the body and its problems until comes death and everything that a man has earned through life drops away to nothingness. His name, fame, money, achievements are all left behind. 

And yet.... As much as a human seeks happiness, he also seeks with the same passion all ways to avoid sorrow. Though living in Maya does offer temporary happiness,  it is usually followed by arrival of sorrow. Men soon realised that living in Maya is living in duality. That sorrow will always follow happiness just as night will always follow the day; loss will always follow victory as death will always follow life. So man sought to find a permanent solution. When his seeking becomes sincere and deep, the enlightened Sages make themselves available to him and give him solutions to fight Maya and free his awareness from the limitations of the ego. 

Thus man learns that to avoid sorrow and gain permanent happiness he must first know his true Self. He can know his true Self only when he can realise that he is not the ego self. This can be achieved by disciplining the senses and conquering the mind. Christ said "Be still and know that I am God". This was a secret revealed to man that he must first still the restless mind and free his awareness with the help of which he can then become aware of his true self. This stillness refers to the science of meditation which leads to constant integrated Awareness.

In meditation one keeps the body in a relaxed state and turns all the senses inwards. The body and senses may be in ones control but the mind can still run about causing restlessness by umpteen ceaseless thoughts. 

Many find meditation to be difficult, controlling mind impossible.  It only requires patience and perseverance to slowly and steadily bring the mind to rest using the disciplined senses and controlled breathing for aid.

Take for example a fan. When the fan is in full speed and you switch it off, it does not become still immediately, but continues revolving till at some point it comes to a full rest (provided you do not switch it on again). So it is with patience and persevering efforts that mind can be brought under control.
Another example, when you are in the bright sunlight and suddenly enter a room, everything appears dark. It takes some time till the eyes can get used to the lowlight conditions of the room and begin seeing things within it. But this will not be possible if you keep stepping out in sunlight and stepping in the room. 

Similarly when one meditates he leaves the restless world of  Maya/mind and enters the inner world of Spirit, all may at first appear dark. If one with patience and perseverance stills the restlessness within, he will soon free his Awareness from the clutches of the lower mind and become aware of the light of God. 

Finding the Self means finding the end of all sorrows. Then no longer is man dictated by the ego and its limitations. He becomes aware of the majesty of his true, divine Self. He becomes love and distributes love freely. He becomes joy and distributes joy freely. He becomes wisdom and distributes wisdom freely. He becomes aware of his Oneness with all. He realises for Himself that the answer to the eternal query - Who am I is Aham Brahmasmi!

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