Manah Sodhanam -Verse 5

NISTHA  BHAVAT  PARANANDO  JIVANMUKTASYA  YOGINAH
SADHAKAIR-NANUBHUYETA  VIPHALAM  TARHI  SADHANAM

In the absence of this abidance -i.e, the abidance in the truth and supreme self, seekers do not experience the supreme bliss enjoyed by jivanmuktas. When this supreme bliss is not experienced, then the seekers' practice become fruitless.

Who are the Jivanmuktas? Remember, I mentioned earlier about being in the state of bliss and oneness while going on with our lives? Those blessed ones are the jivanmuktas -ie, they have attained mukti, or freedom from all the sorrows of life, even while living.

This verse says that unless we firmly abide by the truth, we cannot attain the state of jivan mukti. And if we don't attain jivanmukti, all our sadhanas or spiritual practice becomes useless. We have to focus on two things here -One, on our belief and two, on our practice.

I wanted to understand what does the abidance in the truth exactly means and sought my Guru for clarity. "Knowing that we are the Supreme Self and that our true nature is that of bliss, and, practicing that in our day to day life is what abidance is all about." she said.

"But, knowing the supreme self and experiencing the oneness is, well,  an EXPERIENCE. How can we abide by something unless we experience it? I know theoretically that all that we undergo is just an illusion and that we are a part of the whole and that the Supreme Self resides in us and we are beings of bliss. But I have not experienced it. Then how can I abide by it?" I wailed.

"Understanding the truth comes first. Experiencing it comes second. If there is a difficulty in experiencing the truth, then there is some problem in understanding it. Till the experience comes, you have to believe in the words of the Veda and in the guidance of the Guru. This is what abidance is all about. And if this abidance is there, then we will automatically experience the Truth." she said.

Wow! So it is like knowing that the earth is round, that we are hurtling through space at a speed of millions of miles an hour, that the sky is not blue and the stars are so humongous. We know all these, but have we ever experienced it? No and we may never actually experience all these. Maybe if you go to the top floor of Burj Khalifa, you can actually SEE the curvature of the earth. Right? Then if we can agree that so many truths are beyond our immediate experience, then where is the difficulty in accepting that we are the Supreme Self?

Easier said than done. Because, this acceptance demands that we abide by it. The abidance by this concept is the true obstacle here. This is where our mind comes and plays the spoil sport. We keep identifying ourselves with our body, mind and intellect. Thus, we end up having so many conflicts and distractions. This further pushes us away from the truth. God! How do we break this cycle? 

This is where discipline comes into play. Being disciplined, by itself, is a very difficult task. And on top of that, having the discipline to be objective, good, kind to all, not hating those who trouble you, tune out the chatter of the mind...ufff. It sure is an uphill task. But, we have no choice. Firm discipline in taming and convincing the mind that we are beings of bliss is required to ultimately experience the truth. And to do that, we have to have the unshakable faith in our Vedas and our Guru. Hari Om!

PS: This so reminds me of this wonderful Tedx talk called "Fake it till you become it", by Amy Cuddy. Very very inspiring. Please see that video. It will help you understand what I was trying to explain. Here is the link. Enjoy.  

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