Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Pièce de résistance

Presently reading the acclaimed 'Autobiography of a Yogi' by Paramahansa Yogananda, I find myself in uncharted territory with a drawn feeling of how much more I need to strive in order to attain a level of self-realization which is a quart of what is talked about in this magnificent book!

It is a work of art like never before that I have ever encountered and is constantly helping me understand the deepest nuances of my life better than before with a singular view of how much life is a part of the whole exercise of evolving into a higher state of being and realm, which most of us ardently seek and yet fail to attain owing to focus on intellectual appeal and sensory judgements alone!

What strikes me most, even as I border close to just a half of the book, are the striking similarities that this book elucidates in it, also largely mentioned in the works of Dr. Brian Weiss, with respect to life itself and those of Carl Sagan with respect to his thoughts and deductions of the ever intriguing cosmos!

As if that wasn't already enough to stir my ordinary mind, beyond words and expression, the magical experiences detailed as a result of the author's process of attaining self-realization shook me off, challenging the earthly concepts of time, gravity, instances, all of which are a certainly delightful treat to any reader, food for thought, in the clichéd sense to say!

And as for my new-found realization that I have been toying for quite sometime now, I'd better best describe it with the aide of the famous words of the Greek philosopher Socrates which read that "True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing!"

Footnotes:

The Self Realization Fellowship - The Website

The online version of Yogananda's autobiography and the e-book on Project Gutenberg (under copyright)

Awarded

Fellow bloggers Shravan Raghunath and Rahul Sharma have given me the Awesome Blogger and Blog Buddies awards respectively, for which I express my sincere thanks! As always, I dedicate these awards to all of my fellow-bloggers, in my belief that this world, the virtual world of blogging, is one of instant intellectual connect, bridging gaps of culture, race, religion, borders and time. Therefore in celebration of a togetherness that I experience here in the blog-world, I extend these awards to all of you, the wonderful people who make this world happen!


32 comments:

  1. congratulations for the awards
    happy for you that you have found your path to a higher realm

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  2. I will try the book...attaining a different level for life...comes by mere practice...and I am sure you will attain it....
    BTW congrats for the awards!!!!!

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  3. Congrats for the award :)

    Its an mazing book , it gave me the meaning of so many things in life :)

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  4. Nice book to read .. and congratulations for the awards.. that blog buddies awards image is so cute :) saw it for the first time..

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  5. Self-realization is the first step to know what wants from the world!!

    Liked the way you ended it with a quote :)

    Congrats on the awards

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  6. Hey Rak!

    Firstly, congrats on the awards :-)
    And, I,too, have read that profound book of Yogananda! It's a treasure trove of great men, who have walked upon this Earth. I found it very interesting, and am gald you're reading it. Possible, check out 'Living with the Himalayan Masters' by Swami Rama. They throw light upon the limitless possibilities within humans, the mortal beings.

    happy Reading!

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  7. Congratulations on allllll.......
    your awards :)
    LOL
    So MANY,
    you deserve it all :)
    Thanks for give it to us !!

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  8. congrats on all the awards !!

    and I guess its time I read some book :D

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  9. have read this book..and its an awesomely inspiring work..
    but I really have a doubt regarding some of the things mentioned in the book..It all seem too 'dream like' to be real..donnow, maybe the yogis like him cud do such things..
    wtever the case, its one superb work!

    and yea..congrats on the awards

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  10. Congrats for the award!

    All these are types of goal.A yogi who attains self realisation or who dreams of achieving it is no way different from a man who dreams of making his family prosper and happy!This is my idea.
    A goalless mind never achieves anything!This is what the past 20 years of my life taught me.Well,it was like a slap in my face or a punch in my nose.I'm too young to talk about yogis and spirituality and even life.

    But no one can realise his own self as long as he remains alive.Well,everyone's ideals,thoughts and ideas change everytime we step out into the street.A man stranded on a deserted island,even his ideas about his surrounding changes and this in turn changes his own self.
    If so,we can only realise our own self the second before we die.That too,we can't feel that since we would be under clouds of thoughts.

    Well sir,these are my views.It may change if i read the book you mentioned.

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  11. I usually run away from such self-help books.

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  12. You've been giving this philosophy thing some serious thought haven't u?

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  13. Magiceye

    Many thanks Sir! And yes, its good to explore a realm that everyone yearns to attain!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  14. Shahid

    Yes indeed! Attaining such a level can only be achieved by constant practice - the good old proven method!

    Thanks

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  15. Arnav

    Yes, pretty much a vivid explanation of the many unknowns of life!

    Many thanks!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  16. Aria

    Indeed! Wonderful book to read!

    Yes - this award it seems is new on the block ;)

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  17. Survivor

    Self-realization is indeed the first step to know what one wants and where one is headed!

    Thanks very much!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  18. Mani

    Thanks very much!

    I'm glad to note that you found this a wonderful read, the book I mean!

    Thanks for the recommendation - Himalayan Masters' by Swami Rama!

    Will certainly get my hands on it, considering how much I regard and value the subject, which is conveyed through the title!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  19. Anya

    Thanks very much! Truly appreciate your wishes and encouragement!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  20. Vimmuuu

    Many thanks pal! And yes, you should as I said before, try reading a book - a good one at that!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  21. Praveen

    Yeah - this is very inspiring indeed!

    I too had doubts reading some very incomprehensible incidents stated in the book, but then one cannot be so sure of the things that happen in the world at large, particularly with people who have spiritually advanced!

    Thanks very much!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  22. Sri

    Permit me to address you in a shorter name ;)

    Yes - as you said, attainment of a higher realm is merely a goal like any other, except here, it is free from a materialistic objective!

    About self-realization, I believe that it is an ongoing process, one which is furthered by experience, thought process and will! To assume that one cannot realize his self until death is incorrect, don't you think?

    Death brings about a culmination in the process of reflecting upon the happenings of life entirely! Self-realization can occur, and does occur, when one is alive, for instance to understand and transform onself and one's behaviour as a result of an experience is a sure form of lively experience!

    The realization that happens post death is one of reflection to understand the lesson that that particular life had to impart!

    Thanks very much for your thoughts! And no person is too young or old to talk about spirituality!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  23. Vee

    Who told U this is a self-help book? It is an autobiography!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  24. AJ

    You bet! I'm getting deeper and deeper into it by the day!!!!

    A means of trying to freak out my wifey-to-be ;))

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  25. glad you caught up with a wonderful book and self-realization is best in anything! Nice awards.

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  26. MIP

    Indeed, a wonderful book! Many thanks for your wishes!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  27. Jeevan

    Indeed - A book on self-realization beats all else!

    Thanks very much!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  28. This conversation puts me in mind of 'levels' of self-realization. I'm not sure that there is any such thing but..... my self-realization, if I could call it that, appears to be on a much 'lower' level than that of the protagonist of the book discussed in these conversations.
    What do others think? Perhaps self-realization can be anything from the very ordinary 'chopping wood, carrying water' (Lao-Tzu) to the less ordinary extrasensory, peak, transcendent experiences. Lindy

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