In his book, Practising Spiritual Intelligence, Awdhesh Singh tells how to connect with the inner self
Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin; to say that you are weak, or others are weak — Swami Vivekananda.
“How do you save a man from drowning in waterIJ” asked a student. “First, you have to take the man out of the water, and then you have to take the water out of the man,” replied the master.
The secret of saving a man from self-destruction is no different from the treatment suggested by the master for rescuing the drowning man. You have to first take the man out of the world and then take the world out of the man. Soul is the essence of a being, and the representation of a being in the spiritual world. Our soul is a part of God; it thrives in every living being and connects us with each other.
The fulfillment of soul is the most important goal of a person who seeks happiness and peace in life. After a theft at Picasso’s house, from which many things were stolen, he looked very sad. His friend tried to comfort him by saying, “You are too sad. Will your sadness make the thief bring back the stolen goodsIJ”
“I am not sad for the things he has taken away. I am sad that he has not taken away a single piece of my work.”
You have to be a connoisseur of art to know the value of Picasso’s paintings. For the ignorant thief, the paintings were worthless when compared to household goods whose value he knew. Had he known the true value of the paintings, the thief would not have touched any household item. Rather, he would have run off with the prized paintings, for even a single piece of Picasso’s art would have been enough to meet his expenses for an entire lifetime. The value of the soul similarly exceeds the value of all the material things in the world for a person who knows it.
Discovering the soul
The method to know your soul lies in finding the answer to the eternal question ‘Who am IIJ’ We can discover our real self by seeking the answer to the question ‘Who am IIJ’
>You are not your name as your parents could have given you any other name, as also, any other person can have the same name as yours.
>You are not Indian, American or English as you can change your citizenship, if you choose to.
>You are not a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Jew as you can change your religion, if you so desire.
>You are not a doctor, engineer, architect or any other such person as you are free to acquire any qualification and change your profession.
>You are not a manager, CEO or director of a company as you can always change your company and designation.
>You are not someone’s husband or wife as you may divorce that person and marry another.
>You are not a young man or a woman, for you were a child a few years ago and you will grow old after a few years.
It is easy to see that the way we usually describe ourselves is not true and complete, as all such descriptions are temporary and transient. These descriptions change every day and every time. However, amid all the transient descriptions that we identify with, there is a permanent self which does not change with time. This unchangeable self is the real you. That real you is your soul.
Know your soul
We all love some people and dislike some. We may love one person today and another tomorrow. The one whom we loved yesterday may have turned into our sworn enemy today. Therefore, instead of concentrating on persons, we must learn to focus on qualities which we actually love or hate. You love not a person, but something in that person.
You love a person because he has certain ‘good’ qualities in him and dislike him because he has certain ‘evil’ qualities in him.
The next thing you must know about yourself is what you love doing. This is important as it helps in recognising the real you and your purpose in this world. love and hatred can be seen as the green and red light signals, which tell us what to do and what not to do. Hence, if your act invokes hatred in you, you must avoid such acts and you must instead switch to actions that fill your heart with love. This awareness is very personal as everyone has been created for a different purpose. If we choose to do what we are made for, we feel extremely happy and peaceful. We also perform our best in that area of work.
Identifying the voice of your soul
You are likely to get confused between the voice of the world that comes from your mind and the voice of the soul that comes from eternity. However, you can use the following methods to identify the voice of the soul:
>Selfless: The voice of the soul is selfless. It is not for your own benefit, but for the benefit of all.
>Service: The soul does not ask you to rule, but to serve. It is only by serving others that you serve God, for everyone is the child of God.
>Consistent: The voice of the soul is not transient and temporary. It does not die if you suppress it. It keeps on reminding you the true purpose of your being.
>Fair: The voice of the soul is fair. It does not distinguish between friend and enemy. It treats everyone as equal.
>Intuitional: The voice of the soul does not justify your action. It does not act like a lawyer who proves what the best is for you. It is in the form of an intuition, which is guided by love.
>Faith: The voice of the soul can be heard only by those who have faith in God, faith in humanity and faith in their own self. As the voice does not give you the logic, only if you have faith, you can listen to it. It is like how you listen to the advice of a friend without unduly reasoning it out because you have faith in him.
Following your soul
Only when you follow the voice of your soul, can you know the truth. If you are following the voice of your soul, it is the path of truth and the path of God. You may at times suffer pain and at times happiness, but you see that the world generally benefits by your actions when you are true, and this is bound to leave you happy and satisfied. Once you have developed the habit of faithfully following the voice of your soul, you can hear it more clearly and loudly. Soon you will not err in identifying it, for your mind has aligned with your soul.
courtesy Wisdom Tree