What do think of those birds? Free and happy in the sky… , We may not know how they feel but they sure represent freedom to us, don’t they?

Liberation refers to freedom from limitations. Can you think of two main limitations in us…?

  • Inability of realising the presence of God, the Supreme power
  • Inability of achieving everything that we want to

Whereas, death refers to the moving of soul from one body to another. The bodies can be categorised into four types: sthavara (immovable like stones and trees), thiryak (horizontally moving), manushya (human beings), deva (air, fire, water, sun etc). Any of these bodies can be considered synonymous to stations or stops in the journey of a vehicle, such as a train.

The best state would be to reside in a body forever with no limitations. Wouldn’t it? Just like sunshine is available to anyone who doesn’t block it through things like an umbrella, such state of liberation is also reachable to anyone who doesn’t block it through arrogance/ego!

How do we know if we are arrogant? A few checks…

  • Are you worried about results of your work?
  • Are you angry at your partner?
  • Are you jealous of any friend?
  • Are you scared of any specific situation or circumstance?
  • Are you depressed because you have lost a position or a possession?
  • Are you feeling lonely?
  • Are you feeling over-whelmed or stressed?
  • Are you lacking confidence when taking up an activity?

If we answer ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, then we are under the impression that ourselves (the aathma) and the body are the same. The true nature of the soul is jnana (knowledge) and aananda (joy)! The fear, the frustration, the stress, the loneliness, the anger, jealous, worry are not natural for us, we have acquired them due to ignorance of our true state. It’s hard to separate them and feel free, but its the right thing to do. It is possible only with the grace of God, we just pray and He is ready to uplift us to that ultimate state. As we always learned earlier, God will give anything to you unless you are NOT ready for it, or else – it would be similar to a situation where we feed someone who is NOT hungry. The feed will only make him/her sick.

To overcome this arrogance caused out of ignorance, one must approach a guru who can give you the knowledge of soul, the knowledge of God, the knowledge of obstacles in our path, the knowledge of the ultimate savior, the knowledge of the means to attain it. This is called the five-fold knowledge that a guru can give to those who are truly interested in it.

To all those interested in this path of realizing the true nature of the self, the lineage of our Gurus gave us a process to follow. The event of initiation is termed as Pancha Samskaram, Gurupadesam, Chakraankanamu, or Samasrayanamu.

The discipline inculcated as part of this learning carves the individual to treat every task as a service to God. It builds one to treat the other as a member of the common family, the God’s family. It enables one to get closer and closer to the state of being able to do what one wishes for, just like the will that God enjoys. It enriches one to feel the compassion of God and see His power in everything that prevails. It liberates one from the journey of soul from one body to another bound by karma. It elevates one from the state of ignorance to the state of complete submission to the Supreme power. The soul establishes its lost connection with God.

–  From the discourse of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, 9th November 2018, Samasrayanam