Monday, January 19, 2009

Who is a sthitapranja or Self realized or God realized person?

Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita has described one who is established in the universal consciousness as one who has completely subverted all sensory desire, one who has directed one’s gaze inward, one who rejoices in the self alone, one who is undisturbed in the face of grave danger, one who is indifferent to worldly pleasures or gains, one who has abandoned attachment, fear, and anger, one who does not show interest in any worldly matters or things, one who does not care about auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, one who neither compliments nor envies other's worldly accomplishments and possessions, one who has withdrawn his sense organs from the world (sense objects) and has redirected them inward like a turtle withdraws his limbs, one who is not engaged in any fruitive activities or undertakings, one who sees himself everywhere and sees everything in himself, one who sees his equal in every being and everything, one who does not think there is anything further to be known, one who does not think there is anything more remains to be achieved, one who is established in the Self or pure awareness or pure consciousness or pure bliss or merged in the Sat-Cit-Ananda or Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

If you are looking for a Guru in this world who would meet the above definition of a sthitaprajna, you are likely to be disappointed. Because such highly enlightened souls (such as Ramana Maharshi) are extremely rare in the world. However, a guru does not have to be a sthitaprajna just as a teacher does not have to be a noble laureate.

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