When one realises that one is a soul, not a body, it changes one's mindset in a positive manner. One then knows that one is an eternal soul, not subject to aging and death
It happened suddenly one morning after a disturbed night of sleep; it dawned on me that most of my worries/troubles are on account of my misidentification. I was identifying myself as a material body. I am not alone in this false identification. The Bhagavad Gita informs: “One sees him with marvel and another speaks about him with marvel. And, similarly, another also hears about him with marvel. And another, having also heard about him, does not know him.” The sad part in my case is that I have gathered a lot of spiritual knowledge, wrote over 1,000 spiritual articles, published many books, and even gave many spiritual discourses, but the realisation that I am a soul never came. It has remained at the knowledge level.
Without this realisation, we run into many roadblocks. The material body changes/ages naturally; it is born; then, it grows, reproduces, ages and dies. No one is able to change this cycle. A lot of research is going on, but so far only longevity has improved; scientists have not been able to arrest the decline of the body. And this gives a sinking feeling if we identify ourselves with material bodies. No matter how knowledgeable a person is, weakening of the body is depressing. One needs to have some sort of spiritual realisation to get over this sinking feeling.
When one realises that one is a soul, not a body, it changes one’s mindset in a positive manner. One then knows that one is an eternal soul, not subject to aging and death. One knows that as a soul, one should be naturally blissful, and not dependent upon sense pleasures. One also knows that one is a part of God, and, therefore, there is everything to be gained by connecting with Him. Such a person will not lament about negative changes in one’s body, because any thought of arresting the decline of the body is a losing preposition. There are enormous benefits of this realisation. Slowly, detachment from the body will be felt. It is not going to be easy, because everyone is naturally attached to one’s body. It is not that after the realisation that one is a soul, one will stop looking after one’s body, but will not be so concerned when inevitable changes in the body.
The next major gain will be that one will feel liberated anywhere in the world. Most of us have the feeling that our homes are where we belong. With the higher realisation, one can be peaceful anywhere. This allows us to travel freely, as required, without coming under any strain. Sannyasis do not have fixed homes. They are comfortable anywhere. This is the real state of a soul. Also, one can be happy in the company of anyone. After all, all are souls and part of the same God. Why should we then be attached to either the body or a house or anyone or anything for that matterIJ This realisation of mine is just the tip of an iceberg. More should follow in due course. The spiritual journey, I must say, has started to gather steam.
The writer is a spiritual writer