When we are born into this world, we are nurtured, protected and guided by our parents. They teach us how to live, how to survive, how to behave and how to find our way through life.
Alongside this physical journey, our spiritual journey is also unfolding. The two are not separate. We are living this human life, but within this body is a soul traveling through it.
To understand who we truly are beyond our physical identity, we need the guidance of a Present Master. The Master helps us recognize our real identity and gives us Gyan, Divine Knowledge. Through this knowledge, we come to know the Divine. Something that was unknown becomes known, our perspective begins to change, and we experience a deeper sense of peace within.
I believe there are two forms of awakening.
The first awakening happens when we receive Gyan and come to know the Divine. It is as though a lamp has been lit within us, allowing us to see what we could not see before.
But then comes the second, and perhaps more challenging, form of awakening:
Can we keep that lamp of knowledge burning throughout our lives?
Can we allow that knowledge to continue guiding our thoughts, reactions, choices and behavior?
Receiving Gyan may awaken us, but awakening is also about remaining awake.
In many ways, the real journey begins after receiving knowledge. The true test comes when life becomes difficult, when someone hurts us, disagrees with us, ignores us or challenges us.
Are we applying the knowledge we have received in those situations? If we continue to remain disturbed, jealous, judgmental, angry or controlled by ego, then perhaps we need to introspect.
Meeting the Master and receiving Gyan is therefore not the end of the journey. It brings a new responsibility, to live that knowledge and keep its light alive within us every day.
The question is not only whether we have received or understood the knowledge, but whether it has started transforming us. Are we becoming more peaceful, humble, compassionate, empathetic and understanding?
If not, perhaps we need to revise our lessons and look within again.
True spirituality should first make us better human beings. Its presence should become visible in the way we think, speak, react and treat others.
Keep Watching Yourself
One of the most important ways to remain awake is to keep watching ourselves, our thoughts, words, reactions and behavior.
We are often very quick to notice faults in other people. We can easily recognize someone else’s ego, anger, jealousy, arrogance or mistakes. But awakening asks us to turn that observation inward.
If we are sincerely watching ourselves, questioning ourselves and correcting ourselves, we are moving in the right direction.
But if our attention is constantly occupied with observing and judging others, perhaps we have moved away from the real purpose. We may need to return to the very basics of Gurmat, beginning with ourselves.
Keep asking:
Why did this disturb me?
Why did I react this way?
Was ego involved?
Was I seeking appreciation, recognition or approval?
Is my response consistent with the knowledge I have received?
This is not about criticizing ourselves. It can be as simple as asking ourselves a few honest questions each day, just as naturally as we follow our morning routine.
We ask.
We recognize.
We correct.
We apply.
And then we move through the day with greater awareness.
We are already blessed with the knowledge. We simply need to keep bringing ourselves back to it. It is about understanding ourselves well enough to correct our direction.
Knowledge shows us the path. Self awareness tells us whether we are still walking on it.
First, Recognize What Enters Quietly
Negative tendencies do not always enter loudly. Ego, jealousy, comparison, anger, greed, judgment and the desire for recognition can enter very quietly.
Sometimes we do not even realise when they have started influencing our thoughts and behavior. That is why awakening requires vigilance.
We do not become perfect overnight, nor is that the expectation. The important thing is to become aware enough to recognize these tendencies before they begin controlling us.
Recognition is the first step towards correction.
And that continuous awareness is what helps us remain awake.
Then, Protect the Human Within You
There are viruses that harm the body, but there can also be tendencies that slowly harm the human being within us.
Greed, self praise, violence, anger, excessive attachment to material things, rudeness, arrogance, disrespect, jealousy and hatred can slowly make us less compassionate, less sensitive and less human.
Perhaps we can think of them as an “anti human virus.”
And if Gyan is the vaccine, then introspection, vigilance and self awareness are our booster shots.
From time to time, we need these spiritual booster shots. We need to stop, look within, check ourselves and ask whether our actions are still aligned with the knowledge we have received.
Receiving Divine Knowledge alone is not enough. Knowledge has real value when it becomes part of our behavior.
Ravana is remembered as someone with immense knowledge and learning, yet all that knowledge could not prevent ego, pride and desire from influencing his actions.
There is an important lesson in this:
Knowing the truth and living the truth are two different things.
Divine Knowledge should become visible in ordinary life, in the way we speak, respond, forgive, respect others and handle difficult situations.
How Much of the Knowledge Are We Living?
The real measure of knowledge is not how much we know. It is how much of what we know we actually live.
Living a humble and divine life does not always require something extraordinary. Sometimes it begins with very simple things, being kind, being respectful, remaining humble and showing empathy.
The deepest spirituality should become visible in the simplest human qualities. Knowledge becomes meaningful when it begins transforming our behavior.
Spiritual awakening should never take us away from humanity.
The more spiritually awakened we become, the more humane we should become.
Gyan lights the lamp.
Introspection helps us keep it burning.
Awakening is not simply opening our eyes once. It is having the awareness to recognize when we are beginning to drift and bringing ourselves back again.
Receiving Divine Knowledge may begin the journey.
Living Gyan continues it.
So perhaps the question is no longer simply:
Have we received the knowledge?
The deeper question is:
How much of that knowledge are we actually living?
Are we only awakened, or are we truly living the awakening?
Glossary
Gyan: Divine Knowledge
Nirankar: The Formless Supreme Power
Gurmat: The teachings and guidance of the Master
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