Two wise aspects of looking at this world

“Dear Master, we have heard during your discourses that the true goal of spiritual practices is to realize the true Self and the God. However, we live in this world wherein we have to conduct from the time we wake up from bed in the morning till the time we go to the bed at night. How should we view and conduct in this external world?”

The master appreciated the sincere depth of the question silently and then said with a voice filled with compassion, “Son, you have asked a very relevant question. One good question benefits a lot of seekers. That is the reason most of our Upnishads are in the form of question answer session between a Self-realized Saint and a true seeker.”

After a brief silence, the master continued, “Yogis and Self-realized Saints look at this world in two manners based on the stage of their progress in their spiritual pursuit– “This apparent world is not real; it is made up of the same stuff as a dream; it is only an illusion.” Or  “This world is all divine; There is presence of God in every atom of this world; Every emotion, every thought, every moment is divine.”

“The worldly man always remain confused in duality and look at this world as combination of good and bad; happiness and sorrow; ups and downs; friends and enemies; favorable and unfavorable. Such duality of Maya is the cause of all the miseries and restlessness of a non-seeker. Because of this duality, the mind remains busy in making judgments throughout the day which leaves long lasting impressions (Sanskaars) on the mind.”

“Sir, can you please shed some more light on the topic?,” murmured the seeker in a low voice.

“Mind and emotions are two important aspects of a being. Some seekers are a little more emotional, while others give more emphasis to logic and analysis. The wisdom that gives more emphasis on logic and thinking faculty of the seeker is called “Gyan pradhan” and the wisdom that bolster the emotional aspect of the seeker is called “Bhakti pradhan”. The intellectual seekers should read holy scriptures like “Shri Yoga Vashist Maha Ramayana” and should realize that this apparent world is not real -it is just an ever changing dream like illusion. Whereas the emotional seeker should read “Puranas” and “Upnishads” to intensify the love for God. Such a Bhakti Pradhan seeker should look at every being and every stuff of this world as divine.”

“True masters emphasize on the wholesome and Sahaj Yoga, wherein the true seeker should open up all the limitations of mind and should strengthen the intellectual and emotional aspect of the being. One should realize the dreamlike nature of this world and at the same time, the presence of divinity everywhere. Only with the help of such realization, the true seeker can attain long lasting inner peace and spiritual happiness even while conducting in this world. With the help of such wisdom, all the shackles of duality are released and one becomes a free bird -flying in the eternal blissfulness of divinity.”