Written by Wes Annac, The Culture of Awareness

Concluded from Part 2

Dattatreya tells us about some of the qualities of the enlightened ‘sage’.

“He whose intellect is not agitated by desires, and whose sense organs are controlled; he who is gentle, pure, without possessions, not covetous, not greedy for food, serene, and steadfast; he who has taken refuge in the Self — he alone is a sage. …

“The sage is vigilant, profound, and steady, and has conquered the mind and the senses. He is humble and gives honour to all. He is well mannered, friendly, compassionate, and farsighted.” (1)

Especially in this day and age, there’s a lot out there that could easily distract us from our goal of subduing the mind and living in the heart, and it’s essential that we see beyond our purposely distorted society if we want to live like a ‘sage’ and increase our reception of the divine.

Our society encourages a lifestyle that keeps us rooted in the mind, and materiality/consumerism are encouraged far more than spiritual purity. This makes our effort to change ourselves and the planet much more important, and presently, far too many people are too held up by the ego to see what really matters in life.

Of course, what matters to us is our decision, but it’s unfortunate that so many people have been purposely led so far astray by practically invisible interests who don’t want us to know that they’ve manipulated us for centuries.

Sri Krishna tells us about the relevance of moderation to the path of enlightenment.

“Yoga is not for the man who overeats, or for him who fasts excessively, or for the keeper of excessive vigils. Let a man be moderate in his eating and his recreation, moderately active, moderate in sleep and in wakefulness.” (2)

Notice that Sri Krishna encourages us to transcend duality by claiming yoga isn’t for someone who overeats or fasts excessively. I’m just staring to learn about the importance of moderation, and it’s one of the most difficult lessons I’m working on putting into play.

In everything we do, I think we’re meant to have Source on our minds instead of materiality. If you sit down to eat a big dinner tonight, ask yourself if you aren’t perhaps indulging. Ask yourself if you aren’t perhaps eating too much or falling into gluttony. You can ask the same question for anything else you do or consume, and I think it’s important that we do.

Most spiritual teachers probably wouldn’t agree with what I’m about to say, but I think spiritual practices can also be taken too far. We run the potential of burning ourselves out if we meditate too much, for instance, and if we cling to any one ideal or practice, we won’t employ the balance that helps us thrive.

Sri Krishna then tells us about the enlightened seeker’s fearlessness and purity of heart.

“A man who is born with tendencies toward the Divine, is fearless and pure in heart. He perseveres in that path to union with Brahman which the scriptures and his teacher have taught him. He is charitable. He can control his passions. He studies the scriptures regularly, and obeys their directions. He practises spiritual disciplines. He is straightforward, truthful, and of an even temper.” (3)

By encouraging us to obey the scripture’s directions, I don’t think Sri Krishna intends to say we should blindly follow them. The scriptures he’s referring to likely contain detailed guidance about our alignment with the divine and our attainment of enlightenment, and I tend to benefit from reading the genuine, spiritually inspired material out there.

I think the greatest scriptures we can find are within, and we don’t need to directly obey a book or set of books that exist outside of us to find enlightenment. We might as well utilize things that are genuinely helpful to our growth, however, and instead of blindly following the words of any scripture, we can act on the guidance they provide.

Pure material can be very helpful, but the greatest voice to follow is the intuitive voice that lives within. That voice will help us far more than any book or spiritual teacher, but this doesn’t discount the value of the books or the teachers who are helping us find enlightenment.

In our final quote, Sri Krishna tells us about the enlightened seeker’s tranquil nature.

“He harms no one. He renounces the things of the world. He has a tranquil mind and an unmalicious tongue. He is compassionate toward all. He is not greedy. He is gentle and modest. He abstains from useless activity. He has faith in the strength of his higher nature.” (4)

I don’t know about any of you, but I still have some work to do before I can fully adopt these qualities and live in the divine. How many of you out there have achieved a fully tranquil mind and a fully ‘unmalicious’ tongue? I haven’t yet, but I recognize that it’s important if I/we want to move on from the lower dimensions.

Balance is always important, and if we’re in a loving, balanced space, we’ll lose the desire for maliciousness or malevolence of any kind. Greed will be replaced with the desire to serve others in any way we can, and the gentleness and modesty outlined by Sri Krishna will become part of our personality.

We’ll become much kinder and gentler, and the people around us will probably notice our change. Those of you out there who have problems with anger might benefit from employing some balance and self-discipline, and personally, I have a ways to go before I’m ‘there’.

I might pick this discussion back up in a future article, but for now, I’m happy with what was covered. Plenty more has been said about this subject, and if I wanted to, I could probably write a ten page report on it all. I’ll conclude our discussion for now, though, with appreciation for the guidance we received here.

I’m excited to start being the example by refraining from mortal desire and orienting to the divine, and even though most seekers have a long road ahead of them, they’ll be glad they made the effort in the end. I’m ready to live for spirit, and hopefully, this article has helped some of you who are also ready.

We have to be the examples if we want to change the manner in which this planet functions, but we aren’t alone by any means. We’ve been given plenty of guidance, and as we continue to awaken, we’ll guide others who’ll have just discovered the path and everything it offers.

Wes Annac – An incomplete, imperfect seeker who’s interested in rediscovering divine perfection.

Footnotes:

1. Swami Chetanananda, Avadhuta Gita. The Song of the Ever-Free. Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1988, 125.
2. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, trans., Bhagavad-Gita. The Song of God. New York and Scarborough: New American Library, 1972; c1944, 65.
3. Ibid., 114.
4. Loc. cit.

Photo Credit: Wakeup-world.com

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I’m a 21 year old awakening seeker and creator of The Culture of Awareness daily news site.

The Culture of Awareness features daily spiritual and alternative news, as well as articles I’ve written and more. Its purpose is to awaken and uplift by providing material that’s spiritually inspired and/or related to the fall of the planetary elite and our entrance into a positive future.

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