Hello and welcome to episode 39 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk to you about how you can transition from knowledge to realisation in the fastest possible way.
Today’s question is from Russell. Russell says “I’m very good at absorbing wisdom but I’m not very good at implementation. In fact I’m useless! Do you have any suggestions?”
That’s a great a question. Transition from knowledge to realisation is the key here. We need to stop expecting and start executing. Execution trumps everything.
Gunas
I want to talk about two things. The great ones say “works on all sides are done by the constituents of Prakarti. He is deluded who thinks I am the agent” What Krishna means is that all actions (actions, reactions and realisation) are done because of something called gunas.
He bifurcates them into sattvic which is all the divine qualities that you have accumulated over many lifetimes. Rajasic are the intellectual qualities and tamasic are your instinctual qualities.
Every day when you get up and face the world, every waking second is spent in either a sattvic, rajasic or tamasic reaction. You’re interacting with people, with books, with events and all the time you are accumulating either a sattvic (divine attribute), a rajasic (intellectual attribute) or a tamasic (instinctual attribute) gunas.
The three together are like waves that keep accumulating and every action we take is because these waves have accumulated over centuries. We are billions of waves that have all come together.
Our ability to do (or not do) something will be a because of a direct result of these waves. They cause us to react as well as to act. Our actions right now are the fruits of the past and they in turn will become fruits of the future.
The easiest way to transition from knowledge to realisation is to transcend these three. They are the reason why we become stuck in the knowledge phase.
Hunger
Krishna says to get to the knowledge of consciousness we must increase our hunger. Forget about knowledge. Increase your hunger for this knowledge of consciousness. You need to want to see God and you need to want to get in touch with him. You must become obsessed.
Think about what happens when your job is threatened. You don’t give up. You become obsessed and you try harder. Or when you have no money you become obsessed with earning that first dollar. Go after consciousness in the same way. Be hungry. Yearn for God.
I succeeded 15 years ago because my hunger was sky high. I didn’t have more knowledge than anyone else but I was desperate to embrace my consciousness. I wanted to know it, and know it completely. I read and practiced every day. I never stopped. Hunger is the fuel that will keep you going and eventually take you to a place of realisation.
Without this hunger you’ll be tormented by waves of sattvic, rajasic and tamasic gunas and you’ll feel incomplete. Your problem is the waves are like a wall standing in your way. You need to transcend those waves by using hunger. Forget about knowledge and realisation for now. Just increase your hunger.
Perseverance
So why is hunger so important? Well, it’s important because it will help you persevere in your journey towards spirituality. People tend to fool themselves. They think they’ve got what they want but they haven’t taken the time to really go on that journey.
A burning fire
Hunger also helps you to keep that fire burning. Every day you must fuel that fire by saying “I must pray, I must meditate and I must know God.” You can learn more and more every day. Increase your hunger by feeding the fire burning within you. It will ensure that every day, whether it be good or bad that you’ll want to persevere. You’ll want to be able to control your emotions and you’ll want to know god.
Devotion and Surrender
Hunger will make you want to keep going. It will make you not want to give up.
Finally and most importantly hunger will help you with devotion and surrender. When hunger reaches a climax you achieve bliss with devotion and surrender. You will surrender to that which you are seeking and doors will open up.
It is written in the Upanishads “The Supreme Self smaller than the smallest, higher than the highest lies concealed in the heart of all creatures. Know it to be eternal and all pervasive. This Supreme Self cannot be attainted by vast learning or study of scriptures. It is revealed to one who wholeheartedly seeks for it. To such an aspirant the Supreme Self reveals its true nature
So Russell, the devotion and surrender is really beautiful. I’d like to share this poem by Vivekananda with you:
Thy knowledge, man! I value not,
It is thy love I fear;
It is thy love that shakes My throne,
Brings God to human tear.
For love, behold the Lord of all,
The formless, ever free,
Is made to take the human form
To play and live with thee.
What learning, they of Vrinda’s groves,
The herdsmen, ever got?
What science, girls that milked the kine?
They loved, and me they bought.
Think about these wonderful words. What do they mean? These men were not intellectual. They had no more knowledge than anyone else but they loved him and they surrendered to his devotion.
So Russell. The key here is to surrender to the devotion. Do this and you will bask in the joys of realisation.
I hope this answered your question. Remember, you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
