Srimad Bhagavatam – day 230
Maharishi Sanat-kumara said, “O King, you are a learned scholar. Yet, with the intention that entire mankind should benefit you have questioned wisely. This is exactly the way noble saintly persons think!
Saṅgamaḥ khalu sādhūnām ubhayeṣāṁ ca sammataḥ
Yat-sambhāṣaṇa-sampraśnaḥ sarveṣāṁ vitanoti śam
Meeting holy saints is a delightful experience to both the speaker and listener. Meeting holy saints and questioning them wisely leads to the well-being of one and all.
O king, you have deep love towards hearing glories of the lotus feet of Lord Madhusudana. This is the truth! It is extremely difficult to possess such strong desire towards hearing divine glories. It is your fortune that you are blessed with it.
Love towards Srihari destroys lustful and other desires as well as afflictions such as likes and dislikes. It purifies the mind. One should develop detachment with this world, which is non-Self (anātma). He should be firmly dedicated towards the Supreme Lord who is devoid of traits and who is the Self. This is the only tool that will take the individual towards auspiciousness. This is what the Shastras decisively dictate.
Sā śraddhayā bhagavad-dharma-caryayā
jijñāsayādhyātmika-yoga-niṣṭhayā
yogeśvaropāsanayā ca nityaṁ
puṇya-śravaḥ-kathayā puṇyayā ca
The spiritual aspirant should always abide by those dharmas that are loved by the Supreme Lord and which bring joy to Him. He should be desirous of acquiring Self-knowledge. With total dedication he should, at all times, practice to remain steadfast in the Self. He should eternally be engrossed in worshipping Lord Srihari, who is the Lord of Yogis.
Singing the glories of the Lord purifies the mind. Hence everyday he should sing or listen to the glories of the Supreme Lord. By following these techniques he will develop dedication towards the all-pervading Lord.
People who are attached to this material world are always inclined towards wealth and sensory pleasures. As such he always chases them. The spiritual aspirant should not entertain friendship with individuals who are filled with material desires. He should simultaneously stay away from wealth and objects of sensory pleasures.
He should taste the nectar called divine glories and remain contented. Otherwise he should remain totally fixed in the inner Self and in this state of oneness with God he should enjoy inner bliss. The spiritual aspirant who follows these techniques will develop steady and firm dedication towards the Self.
The spiritual aspirant should abide by the saintly dharmas such as non-violence (ahimsa), control over inner mind (sama) and control over external organs (dama). He should be completely focused on his goal of attaining Self-realization. He should drink the nectar called divine glories, which bestows liberation. He should be immersed in recollection of those glories and enjoy bliss.
The five disciplines of non-violence (ahimsa), non-stealing, celibacy, truthfulness and non-possessiveness (aparigraha) are known as Yama. The five disciplines of inner and outer cleanliness, contentment, penance, Self-study and Self-surrender are known as Niyama. The spiritual aspirant should abide by these disciplines without any expectation.
He should not condemn others. He should not strive and earn for selfish material desires. Moreover he should with a balanced outlook tolerate dualities such as happiness-sorrows, heat-cold and others. The aspirant who adheres to these disciplines will obtain Self-realization and liberation.
The devotee should slowly and gradually increase singing of divine glories and extolling them with total devotion. Divine glories are ornamental decorations to the ears of ardent devotees. The aspirant who follows these disciplines will be detached from this material world. Very easily he will be firmly established in devotion to the formless, traitless Lord.
The aspirant who walks on the path suggested by his Guru will instantly develop devotion towards the Supreme Lord! Instantly knowledge and dispassion intensify within him. Just as fire that emerges from the wood reduces it to ashes, his subtle body will be destroyed totally. The question of re-birth does not arise for a subtle body that has been burnt in the fire of knowledge.
Spiritual ignorance (avidya), sense of I-ness, likes, dislikes and fear of death are the five afflictions of the subtle body. They become the cause of re-births. Before obtaining Spiritual Knowledge the individual considers himself and Parabrahma to be two separate entities. However with Spiritual Knowledge the subtle body is destroyed. Along with it, the sense of I-ness and attachments are also destroyed. With this, the differences are dissolved.
In a dream a person sees varied living beings and objects. However soon upon waking up the dream dissolves and gets absorbed into him. Likewise, the Jnani who is Supremely Knowledgeable now no longer sees the world as different from him. The thought that he has a separate existence from this world disappears in him”.
Srikrishnāya namah.