The Path To Awakening
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THE PATH


Although we are ultimately one, until we rid ourselves of the illusion of separation, we are quite diverse. We have different pasts that have resulted in unique impressions, subconscious tendencies, and personalities. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all path to Self-realization; however, there are basic principles and practices that can help one progress toward that goal. As one progresses on the path, they will have a better understanding of what works best for themselves. Different aspects of the path may be emphasized at different times, according to the level of one’s spiritual development, and one may have to adjust their practice to suit their own needs.

Aspects of The Path

The practices of the spiritual path fall into three categories: morality, mental discipline, and wisdom. Morality is living within certain ethical guidelines in order to develop a purified character and to avoid self-destructive behavior. Ethical principles are for personal development and are not dictates from an external authority as to what constitutes good or evil behavior. A seeker of Truth needs to be free from guilt, anger, and hatred in order to progress on the spiritual path. A moral lifestyle aids in developing that freedom.

Mental Discipline is the practice of contemplation and meditation, which focuses and quiets the mind and results in direct knowledge of one’s true nature.

The goal of the spiritual path is Self-recognition, realizing that one’s True Self (Ātman) is one with Brahman. Wisdom is that direct knowledge of the Self and is the culmination of spiritual practice. Wisdom is developed by three principal practices: hearing and reflection, self-enquiry, and meditation.

Ethical Guidelines

The table below is an example of the development of moral principles for one on the spiritual path. The first column on the left lists the basic precepts of Buddhism. These are considered to be essential for the beginner. In the second column are the five restraints (yama) and five observances (niyama) of the eightfold Yoga found in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali 2.30-45. The third column lists the qualifications for realization from Śaṅkara’s Crown Jewel of Discrimination (Vivekacūḍāmaṇi 17-27) and the last column lists the qualities of true knowledge from the Bhagavad Gīta XIII 8-12.
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Common ethical principles are: non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, chastity, purity, and self-control. These should be developed in the early stages of the practice. As a seeker advances, the virtues listed to the right of the table will naturally manifest in their behavior until they develop the qualities listed in the forth column.
                                                                    MORAL PRINCIPLES                                                                   

                                  <---Beginner                                                               Advanced--->                               
  Precepts                Yoga Sūtras                          Śaṅkara                                     Bhagavad Gītā                  

   Not Killing                    Non-Violence                                 Discernment                                         Humility                                    
   Not Lying                     Not Lying                                        Dispassion                                           Unpretentiousness                   
   Not Stealing                 Not Stealing                                   Tranquility                                            Non-Violence                            
   No Illicit Sex                 Chastity                                         Abstinence                                           Forgiveness                              
   No Intoxication             Non-Possessiveness                    Self Control                                           Righteousness                         
                                       Cleanliness                                    Forbearance                                         Service to Teacher                   
                                       Contentment                                  Concentration                                       Purity                                        
                                       Austerity                                         Faith                                                     Steadfastness                          
                                       Self-Inquiry                                     Desire For Liberation                           Self Control                              
                                       Devotion to God                                                                                          Indifference                              
                                                                                                                                                           Absence of Ego                       
                                                                                                                                                           Perception of 5 Ills*                  
                                                                                                                                                           Non-Attachment                       
                                                                                                                                                           Equanimity                               
                                                                                                                                                           Devotion to God                       
                                                                                                                                                           Solitude                                    
                                                                                                                                                           Self Knowledge                        
                                                                                                                                                           Desire For Truth                       
* Perceiving the defects in birth, death, sickness, old age, and pain

Hearing And Reflection

Hearing is to learn from the enlightened, either in person or from books, spiritual texts, and recordings, the nature of the Self. Reflection is to contemplate those teachings.

Self-Enquiry

The path to awakening is a path of introspection. Self-enquiry is to look within for the answer to the age-old question, “Who am I”? The aspirant looks deeply at the aggregates that make up the individual self to determine which, if any, are one’s true nature. One looks at the body and finds a mass of bones, flesh, blood, organs, skin, hair, etc. They find a body that was born, will mature, grow old, get sick, and die. Then one looks at the mind and finds a mass of thoughts, emotions, and imaginations. They see that these thoughts come and go on their own accord. They find that emotions change dramatically, with little provocation. They find that the mind lacks permanence. Even in common usage, we do not refer to the body and mind as “I”, but as “my body” and “my mind”. Similarly, one could look at the senses, sensations, etc. and determine that none of these are “I”, none of these are one’s self. What remains then is pure consciousness, the witnessing awareness, and the sense of being. This Being-Awareness (caitanya) is your true nature; this is the Self.

Wisdom of The Sages

“The enquiry ‘Who am I’? is the principal means to the removal of all misery and the attainment of the supreme bliss. When in this manner the mind becomes quiescent in its own state, Self-experience arises of its own accord, without any hindrance.”
                                                                                                                                                                         Sri Ramana Maharshi, Self-Enquiry  
“The thought ‘Who am I’? will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself, in the end, get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization”.
                                                                                                                                                                            Sri Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I? 

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