Q: In different religious traditions, they talk about ‘Liberation’, ‘Enlightenment’, ‘Salvation’ and so on. Some people say that if we realise that we are not the body nor the mind, but, rather, the eternal soul, we are ‘liberated’. But this might seem rather simplistic. How can mere intellectual knowledge of who we truly are tantamount to ‘Liberation’? Could you kindly share your views on this?

A: Nowhere do we say that mere intellectual knowledge of our reality is Realization. We always say that mere knowledge is not Realization. Spiritual knowledge is available in many books and videos. If Liberation were so simple, anybody who reads those books or watches those videos could get liberated just by getting knowledge of Liberation from them! But that’s not the case at all. Knowledge of who we truly are is not enough. Realization has to be intuitive, an experience which happens without any logic. There is a spiritual magic which causes Realization. Mere intellectual realization is not the way to Liberation.

Q: How does a person who has realised the truth of who they are—not the body, nor the mind, but, rather, the eternal soul—lead their everyday life? How is their way of living different from someone who has not come to this realization?

A: Realization in one’s day to day life is to live as the divine soul. Although we have a body and mind and the body craves and the mind wanders, we realize that we don’t have to follow the urgings of the senses and the mind. Rather, we have to be in yoga or in union with the Divine. We have to be conscious of the Truth, and this gives us bliss.

Q: But how does the realization of one’s reality play out empirically, for instance in how one leads one’s family-life? Some people might think that family-life is a distraction or hurdle on the spiritual path.

A: A person who has realized the reality of who they truly are can lead a normal family life even if the family doesn’t understand or appreciate their spiritual evolution. One who has evolved spiritually doesn’t demand anything from the family. A realized one lives a life of discrimination, of dispassion and detachment, of discipline and desire for the Divine. So you may have a family, and that’s okay. Nobody is expected to abandon this world in order ‘be spiritual’. Spirituality doesn’t call for renouncing the world and going off into the forest. That is an old-fashioned misunderstanding of being spiritual.

However, having said this, the family should not draw us into such duties or responsibilities that take us away from our spiritual connection. The family may do whatever they may want to, but that shouldn’t cause us to deviate from our spiritual path. We are on the path that takes us to realization and liberation and the family should not come in the way. We do not have to give up our family. But while living in the family we should live in yoga or in union with the Divine.

Q: How does a realized one handle what might seem as difficult situations and difficult people?

A: Such a one would handle what seem as difficult situations and difficult people by looking at these as a movie, as a drama. What happens when you’re in a movie and you’re watching difficult people and difficult situations? You know it’s just a show! The Earth is a stage. We are actors, we come and we go. We should become observers of the show. When we watch everything as a cosmic drama, we are able to handle difficult people and situations without this affecting us.

Q: When one realizes that we are the eternal soul, what happens to all the other labels that have been used to define us and that we also may have identified with earlier when we thought we thought we were the body-mind complex? How does a realized one relate to conventional identities that are used to categorize and divide living beings, such as caste, class, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, nationality and even species?

A: One is not going to convince the whole world about one’s spiritual realization. But once we realize the truth, we know that there is oneness everywhere. You and I may look different from the outside, but we are the same inside. It’s just like two balloons filled with air. The balloons look different. But when you deflate them, the air in both merges together. So do we when we die. At death, the body becomes dust, and the soul—our true reality, our true identity—becomes one. Therefore, realized beings do not get divided with caste, class, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, nationality or even species. Even if we are of a different species, we are all still the divine soul. So, the realization that we are actually the soul transforms our entire thought-process. There’s a complete paradigm shift, and this gives us tremendous peace and bliss.

Q: When we identify with the body-mind complex, the body and the mind crave for material goods, things that provide temporary pleasure to the body and the mind. That’s how the whole culture of consumerism is sustained. How does one who has realized that they are not the body, nor the mind, but, rather, the eternal soul, relate to material things?

A: We observe everything that is there in the world but we don’t become a slave to the desire for those things. We don’t let consumerism take over. We live simple lives. We live fulfilling our needs and we don’t let greed take command of our life. The moment we let our desires become cravings and we want everything in this world we become the slave and the world becomes the master. So, we have to realize the uselessness of these things and be conscious that in the end nothing will belong to us and that we will die empty-handed.

Q: Ignorance of our true reality makes us crave for material goods and other means of sense-pleasure.  It is this that is at the root of the ecological crisis that the world is beset with today, with the bounties of the Earth being gobbled up in order to produce things that people desire. The massive loss of animal and plant life and the devastation of the natural environment that we are witness to today is a direct result of this ignorance of our spiritual reality.  

How does a realized one relate to plants, animals etc. and to the natural environment?

A: One who has realized the Truth sees divinity in everything that is beautiful. The realized one knows that everything is a manifestation of the Divine. The sun, the moon, the stars, the birds, the animals and the flowers, you and me: we may look different but in reality, we are the same. It may look like a ring, a bracelet or a chain but they are all actually gold. The realized one knows that we are all effects and that the cause is the Divine. Therefore, one relates to all different species, plants, animals as a part of the Divine consciousness, which we are a part of too.

Q: Identification with the body-mind complex seems to be at the root of all conflicts at all levels, from the inter-personal to the inter-communal and the international. Other people, including those who we think belong to social groups other than the one we may identify with, come to be seen as ‘others’. But when we outgrow this ignorance and realise that everyone else—no matter what their ethnicity, nationality, religion or whatever—is also the eternal soul just as we are, we realise that there is no otherness and that there is pure unity. Hence, there can be no conflict.

 How do you think the realisation of our true, spiritual nature, which is the same for all beings, can solve the many conflicts that the world is beset with today, including in the name of community, religion, nationalism, etc.?

A: The cause of all problems today in the world of community, religion or nationalism is ignorance, because we are ignorant of who we are and why we are here on this planet. Because we think we are the body and the mind, we think we are ‘Indian’ or ‘British’ or ‘male’ or ‘female’ or whatever. That’s also why people have castes and all kinds of other such differences. But the moment we realize we are all actually the divine soul, all conflicts come to an end, because now there is consciousness of the oneness. We start feeling the oneness with the entire universe. And thus there is no conflict, there is no war. There is no difference. There is universal consciousness, which leads to peace and joy and bliss.