GOD EXISTS - 8. HOW TO ATTAIN GOD-REALIZATION - Sri Swami Sivananda Sri Swami Sivananda, a renowned spiritual teacher and philosopher, emphasized that the ultimate purpose of human life is to realize God and attain liberation (Moksha). According to his teachings, God is not some far-off, inaccessible entity, but is the very essence of existence, the ultimate reality that pervades all things. The key to understanding the divine nature of reality lies in realizing the self as being one with God. This realization, known as God-Realization, is the pinnacle of spiritual practice. Swami Sivananda laid out clear and practical guidelines on how to attain God-Realization, drawing from the ancient wisdom of the Vedanta and other spiritual traditions. In this section, we explore the steps and teachings provided by Sri Swami Sivananda on how to attain God-Realization. His teachings revolve around the purifying of the mind, devotion, selfless action, and knowledge, ultimately leading the seeker to the realization that the individual self (Atman) and God (Brahman) are one and the same. The Path to God-RealizationSwami Sivananda offers a comprehensive and structured approach to attaining God-Realization. He presents a fourfold path — the paths of Karma Yoga (selfless service), Bhakti Yoga (devotion), Jnana Yoga (knowledge), and Dhyana Yoga (meditation) — as the means to purify the mind, body, and soul, gradually leading the seeker towards the ultimate realization of the divine. These paths are not mutually exclusive, and each can complement the others depending on the individual’s temperament and disposition. 1. Karma Yoga - The Path of Selfless ServiceKarma Yoga, the yoga of selfless service, is one of the most important paths outlined by Sivananda for attaining God-Realization. According to Swami Sivananda, all actions performed by a person are either done with a sense of ego and attachment or in a selfless, service-oriented manner. The former leads to bondage and suffering, while the latter leads to spiritual growth and liberation. Karma Yoga involves performing one’s duties and responsibilities without any attachment to the fruits of action. By dedicating all actions to God and offering them as a form of service, the practitioner gradually detaches from the results and purifies the mind. This is the essence of selfless action: acting not for personal gain, but for the greater good. In this way, the practitioner begins to cultivate a deeper sense of humility, recognizing that all actions, whether mundane or extraordinary, are expressions of the divine will. Over time, the ego diminishes, and the sense of “doership” is eradicated, bringing the practitioner closer to God-Realization. 2. Bhakti Yoga - The Path of DevotionBhakti Yoga, the path of love and devotion, is another fundamental path to attaining God-Realization in Sivananda’s teachings. Bhakti Yoga is based on cultivating a deep, unwavering love for God and surrendering oneself to the divine will. It is an intensely personal and heartfelt path, where the devotee offers their whole being in service to God. Swami Sivananda defines Bhakti as the surrender of the ego and the mind to God, recognizing the divine presence in all things. In Bhakti Yoga, the devotee develops a strong relationship with God, who is seen not as an abstract concept, but as a living, loving presence. This can be practiced through various devotional activities, such as prayer, singing of hymns, chanting mantras, and reading sacred texts. The regular practice of Bhakti Yoga creates a powerful bond between the devotee and the divine, purifying the heart and mind and awakening divine qualities such as humility, compassion, and selflessness. This spiritual practice ultimately leads to God-Realization, as the devotee comes to experience the presence of the divine within themselves and in the world around them. 3. Jnana Yoga - The Path of KnowledgeJnana Yoga, the path of wisdom and knowledge, is the intellectual approach to understanding God-Realization. In Jnana Yoga, the practitioner seeks to know the ultimate truth by contemplating on the nature of the self (Atman) and God (Brahman). This path involves deep self-inquiry and contemplation, questioning the nature of the world, the mind, and the individual self. Swami Sivananda teaches that the key to Jnana Yoga is the practice of discrimination (Viveka), which is the ability to distinguish between the real and the unreal. The practitioner must discern the difference between the eternal, unchanging reality (Brahman) and the temporary, fleeting nature of the world. Through the study of sacred scriptures, such as the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras, the seeker begins to recognize that the individual self is not separate from God, but is, in fact, one with the divine. The ultimate goal of Jnana Yoga is the realization that the apparent duality between the self and God is an illusion. Once the seeker sees ...
