VIII. How far are we from realisation?²

Realisation means the knowledge of God. Realisation means the revelation of God in a human body. Realisation means man is God himself.

Unfortunately man is not alone. He has desire and desire has tremendous power. Nevertheless, it fails to give man lasting joy and peace. Desire is finite. Desire is blind. It tries to bind man, who is already boundless by birthright. God's Grace, which acts through man for His full manifestation, is Infinite.

Realisation springs from self-conquest. It grows in its oneness with God. It fulfils itself in embracing the finite and the Infinite.

We are seekers of the Supreme. What we need is absolute realisation. With a little realisation we can, at most, act like a cat, half-dead. With absolute realisation we shall be able to threaten Ignorance like a roaring lion.

The moment I say "my body", I separate myself from the body. This body undergoes babyhood childhood, adolescence, maturity and old age. But the "I am" who is the real "I", remains changeless always. When I say that I have grown fat or thin, it is the body that has grown fat or thin, and not the inner "I am", which is eternal and immortal.

Realisation says that there are no such things as bondage and freedom, which we so often declare in our day-to-day lives. What actually exists is consciousness — consciousness on various levels and consciousness enjoying itself in its varied manifestation. So long as we think that we are living in the bondage of ignorance, we are at liberty to feel that we can dwell in freedom as well if we want to. If bondage makes us feel that the world is a field of suffering, then freedom can undoubtedly make us feel that the world is nothing but the blissful Consciousness of the Brahman. Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma: “All that is extended is Brahman.”

In order to realise what realisation is, one has first to love one's inner self. The second step is to love the realisation itself. This is the love that awakens the soul. This is the love that illumines our consciousness. Love, and you will be loved. Realise, and you will be fulfilled.

Realisation is our inner lamp. If we keep the lamp burning, it will transmit to the world at large its radiant glow. We all, with no exception, have the power to self-realisation, or in other words, God-realisation. To disbelieve this truth is to be consciously ignorant of our divine heritage. To disbelieve this truth is to deceive ourselves mercilessly.

We realise the Truth not only when joy fills our minds, but when sorrow clouds our hearts, when death welcomes us into its tenebrous breast, when Immortality places our existence in Transformation's lap.

How far are we from realisation? We can know it by the degree of our surrender to God's Will. There is no other way to know it. Also we must know that every single day dawns with a new realisation. Life is a constant realisation to him whose inner eye is open.

Why do we want to realise God? We want to realise God because we consciously have made ourselves avenues through which the fruits of God-realisation can flow. Realisation is a divine lubricant. Our very body is a divine machine. Hence it needs oiling. Realisation does this most effectively.

Realisation can be achieved by God's Grace, the Guru's Grace and the seeker's aspiration. God's Grace is rain. The Guru's Grace is the seed. The seeker's aspiration is the act of cultivation. Lo, the bumper crop of realisation!