Realize Yourself

— SHRIRAM SHARMA ACHARYA

Publisher: Yugantar Chetna Press,

Shantikunj, Haridwar, India (U.P), India, 24911

You are not an ordinary being. You are the son of such a Father who has given
birth and looks after and cares for every living being on Earth. You were born by
the inspiration and divine will of the supreme lord. Your thoughts your words
your deeds and are replete with divine elements of the Supreme. Nothing is
personally yours, everything belongs to Him. Your body and its various
functions are all dependent on God. The same divine will which causes the
eternal and infinite universe to function, also causes your life and activities to
work. Even an ordinary wealthy be person's son considers himself blessed and
walks with pride, but you are the fortunate son of the Lord whose treasurer is
Kuber and the Lord who is Lakshmi pati. Your body is a holly temple, your heart
the Lord's living room, and your wealth knows no bounds.

Believe me and accept yourself as the son of God. It is but natural for his son to
inherit his father's characteristics. Since you are the child of God himself, you too
will become the master of infinite powers and divine wealth, a rightful claimant
to the immeasurable storehouse of the Lord. Ask any distinguished biologist and
he will tell you that whatever characteristics a living organism has, are passed on
to its progeny.

If you accept yourself as divine children, you establish a bond with an eternal
source of power. It is the origin of the highest virtues in this world. The Lord
who is our father never forgets us. It is only because of our foolishness that we
forget him; and this is the reason why we suffer.

The Gita says, those who realize that everything and everywhere is within Me, is
never separated from Me, nor do I separate myself from him. Anyone who with
a concentrated mind worships God residing in all beings, that yogi wherever he
maybe, really resides in God alone. Mahatma Gandhi used to say, "My God is
my truth and love. Morality and good conduct is God. Bliss is God. He is the best
form of human virtues. I am trying to realize God by serving mankind because
God is not in heaven, He is in everyone's heart. Do you accept yourself as the
child of God? If yes, then allow only his virtues to develop in your character.
Being the children of God you can not harbor any thoughts of hatred, anger,
revenge and enmity in your hearts; you can not wrong anyone, you can not think
of malice for anyone because the whole universe is manifestation of God. Stop
believing about yourself as something made of only bones, flesh, skin blood. Do
not believe that your body is a much disliked heap of flesh and blood caused by
sin. Discard all such hollow ideas about yourself. When you realize your divine
ancestry, your life, deeds, character, words and nature will all be controlled and
performed with higher motive.

Anyone who comes back cross you would be influenced by your radiance.

Some people are happy and some unhappy, although living in similar
conditions. Unhappy people believe that one becomes happy or unhappy only
by the will of God.

God and loan puts us through troubles, and punishes us when He is angry. But
this belief is hollow and meaningless. Think for yourself, is there any father who
doesn't love all his sons the equally? The father always showers his affection.
Even when he chastises, there is love and affection hidden in the act. There are
innumerable people who have understood and experienced the love, affection,
help, and kind gestures of God. If you do not experience it, then it is your own
fault. The Sun is shining, and if you fail to experience its brilliance and warmth,
then it's your own fault.

Man is creation's most elevated being. Bearing within him the divine powers and
limitless divine achievements, he is the most powerful being. Intelligence and
knowledge are his two main characteristics on account of which he is the King of
all creatures in this world. He is the store house of all powers. God has created
man as his own image. He has filled his mind, body and spirit with supreme
knowledge. Man has been created to spread the divine message, to establish
truth, justice and love in the world. Truth, equality and good conduct are the
virtues by spreading which, man can make this world worth living in.

The center of God within man is known as the soul or Atma. This is where we
receive the secret messages from God. By following the commands of the
conscience, one works on behalf of God and elevates himself higher than his
fellow beings. The reason for man being more developed than other creatures is
the secret divine commands he gets through his Atma When we have a
connection with our omnipotent Father, how can we ever remain weak, helpless
and unfit? We are the creators. We are pure. We are incorruptible. Divine power
is flowing in each one of our cells.
You are the son of God. You are the prince God, who is the Emperor of all the
emperors. You have been adorned with such divine attributes, that no other
creature to match you. You are in control of your material, mental and spiritual
wealth. You are the rightful inheritor of eternal and ever lasting peace and
happiness. Remember, God loves those who perform good deeds and the godly
powers are awakened within him. The godly powers lie latent in those who
while away their time aimlessly and God does not love them. O men! Claim your
godly wealth; awaken from the sleep of laziness and greed. You have not been
granted a human life for worthless deeds. You are born to become super
powerful.

Whenever we see excellent qualities, strong character, health, beauty, or some

talent in a person, a feeling within us arouses and says, “I wish I could attain
such qualities!” All the goodness prevalent attracts us. It motivates us to move
towards excellence. We inherently hate the wicked, bad characters and trouble
makers. We do not want to become like them. Immorality, robbing, swindling
etc. does not attract us. The Atma (our spirit) wants to go towards holiness, from
darkness towards light.

In your privacy how do you evaluate yourself? Do you find yourself divine or
devilish? Do you think of yourself as mean or great? Your confidential
evaluation reveals your real self and that is what the out side world will
ultimately think of you and judge you. A sure method of developing our
personality is to meditate in solitude on our good qualities and vow to eliminate
the bad ones. A man becomes what he believes he is.

At times you should ponder over your good qualities, your talent and your
divine tendencies. Ignoring your defects and imperfections, prepare a list of all
your good qualities. Unaware of your own true potential you are squandering
away your precious time. If you utilize your hidden powers and creatively train
your mind, your life could become a bed of roses and you could accomplish
great tasks.

“I can do it” – this firm assertive feeling nourishes a man’s self confidence and
awakens his latent powers. He is convinced about his success. This positive
thinking even affects our physical constitution. These optimistic, firm and
decisive thoughts give us a beaming countenance and all our actions appear to
be lively. Our hearts are filled with hope and courage. A source of secret strength
unleashes within us. The blood circulation improves, and makes the body
healthy and strong and we look happy and content. Problems and obstacles
disappear on their own. Such people are never found to be lacking in
enthusiasm. Fear and other such negative thoughts do not pollute their minds.
“I can’t do it.” – This negative signal immediately produces a weakness within.
Your body pales, your senses revolt, your shoulders droop, your back aches and
your energies are drained. You will feel that your body and mind are weak and
you have no zeal for work. Pessimism, lack of faith, worry and despair are
undesirable states of mind. These poisonous thoughts create chaos in our minds
and weaken our bodies.

This also slows down body functions and has adverse effect on our health.

We can broadly divide people into two groups. First, those who have confidence
in the achievement of tasks. We shall call them “Mr. Can”. Second, those who are
always immersed in the thoughts of their weaknesses and failures. We shall call
them “Mr. Can’t”. Mr. Can will never be deterred from his chosen path despite
countless obstacles and will rest only when the mission is accomplished. Mr.
Can’t will always be unsure of his decisions, he would try to carry out his work
half heartedly; he is suspicious by nature and attributes all his failures to fate. He
will seek advice from astrologers and waits for success to knock his door.

All your misfortunes are due to lack of confidence in your inherent powers.
Always believe fully in your powers. Firmly establish your strengths deep within
your heart.

Then just see how fortune favors you. You have all the potential to manifest your
divinity, then why are you wasting your life in misery and worry? Have full
confidence in your inner strength. You are the master. Every event happens
according to your will. With the strength of intensive will power you can
certainly achieve what you yearn for.

There is nothing in this world on which you do not have a birth right. Command
your powers of determination and resolve that, “I am unified with the Divine
element, and therefore I inherit all the excellent things originating from it. I can
definitely fulfill my pious wishes by the long and strong arms of will power.”
The basic trait of all the leading personalities of the world has been the
channeling of their energies towards loft goals. We should feel that our
consciousness is full of supreme power. Wealth, honor, status and liberation are
not unattainable. These have been created for us and one day, will be available to
us.

Those who do not value themselves are sinners because this attitude is a slander
of the supreme Lord Himself. Man is a reflection of the supreme Lord. God is
devoid of all narrowness and limits and He is full of vast prosperity. The Lord
commands you to become complete like Him. Hence, never regard yourself as
lowly, poor and unhappy.
Boldly declare with pride that you are the inheritor of all that is excellent.
Nobody can deprive you of this privilege. This way of turning your mind away
from ugly things and focusing on beautiful, pure pleasant and auspicious objects
is a sacred art. The maxim of Gita is, “You have the right to perform your duty,
but not to its fruits.”

These priceless words very clearly state that it is our duty to perform our deeds
perfectly. The more a person strives for perfection, the nearer he will be to God.
Hence, whatever work you do, excellence should be the prime goal. Do not
bother if you are not being rewarded in proportion to your excellence, just do
your duty in the best possible way. Remember, a good deed is a reward in itself.
O! Worshipper of the true self, experience that you are born as a medium for
doing work in an excellent way.

One who keeps himself busy remains healthy and enjoys a long life. One who
gives up and sits exhausted becomes weak, powerless and has a short life. One
who is on the move and leads an active life has a good appetite and one who
leads sedentary life is killed by his own inertness. Laziness is enemy. Activeness
is a sign of life that is alert and awake. Hard work alone is man’s greatest
treasure. A lazy person is a burden on society and lives like a parasite on other’s
labor. Activity makes your character radiant and augments your splendor.

It is well within our capacity to adopt good thoughts, good habits and good
resolutions. When divine tendencies go to sleep, the devil takes over. The devil is
dormant within us, the ever alert and awakened divinity keeps the devil
subdued. We have to keep the divine tendencies like love, compassion,
sympathy service and prayers, ever alert and growing. Thus, the devil will never
get an opportunity to raise its head and one can march ahead on the spiritual
path. Adopting good resolutions and putting them into practice is well within
our capacity. Let us be ever vigilant and on guard and use our discretion to
choose only good thoughts and deeds.

Your powers will increase only by constant use. If the powers are not utilized
they lie dormant and diminish gradually. Every action has its roots in thoughts.
We are the undisputed kings of our mental domain. The secret and hidden
kingdom of your inner self is where the seeds of actions – good and bad – are
sown. Difficulties and ease, failures and success, loss and gain, progress and
sown fall all originate from the inner self. The most important thing in life is to
be ever wakeful and strive continuously to achieve goals.

Always believe in your greatness. Your mind is a treasure house of wonderful

powers that you cannot imagine. Only the individual with a well developed,
cultivated mind should be called a human being. Man falls into bondage or
achieves salvation only on the basis of his thoughts. The nature of thoughts that
you contemplate and meditate decides the nature of your actions. If your
thoughts are of lower level, about momentary pleasures then your powers will
be wasted.

When a person’s thoughts are firm and devoid of doubts, his powers become
strong and intense. Firmness of mind and faith bring stability in thinking. Think
about yourself. Who are you? Are you the body? Are you made of flesh and
bones? No, you are not flesh and bones, you are a reflection of God. Think
deeply and you shall know that you are not this body but you are the soul. You
are what you believe. If you believe you are the body, then you are the body. If
you believe that you are the supreme divine form then you are divine. The choice
is yours, you can become whatever you determine for yourself.

You have a natural birth right to strength, health, and brightness. Never say that
you are unhappy, weak, poor, old, sick and powerless. These are all related to
the body and not the soul. You are higher than the body, are the soul, hero with
divine powers, the master of all you survey. Control your mind and make it
strong. Your body will obey your mind. Then, despair, worries, weaknesses and
failures will not exist.

Renounce weakness, release your self from the darkness of ignorance and
awaken in the light of knowledge. Never speak the language of a coward. Leave
no room in your heart for despair, unhappiness, pain, loss, weakness and
troubles. Do not let these diminish your strength.

Never be deterred from the path to higher goals for fear of public ridicule. This
type of thinking prevents you from progressing. Do not worry too much about
what others would say, that you would be a laughing stock, or that you would
be criticized and slandered. The path of spiritual progress is severe and difficult.
The world does not like it. They are just jealous of those who progress. If you
worry about the foolish gossip of the world you are sure to fall into the pit of
helplessness. You will be like the ignorant frog in the well that has not seen the
outside world. Never be disheartened, but show the world your firmness. The
seemingly unattainable is attained by unshakable determination, self confidence
and constant practice.

Knowledge of self is the nectar that enables us to walk on the straight and thorn
less path of life. One has to experience happiness and despair, gain and loss,
good and bad, virtue and sin, ups and downs- and keep marching ahead. You
can live your life, commit errors, suffer for each mistake and get laurels for
successes. These sweet and bitter experiences give him lessons of life in the form
of experience. This experience itself is the essence of life. But there are many who
constantly commit mistakes and yet do not learn anything from their mistakes.

If your dealings with others are cordial and full of goodwill, you will be
bestowed with social prestige and honor. In fact your social image is what your
neighbors, subordinates and colleagues think of you as a person. Each one of
your actions emits and invisible vibration which influences others. Goodness,
nobility and greatness is the wealth which, even if expressed once, multiplies day
and night. If you make a fundamental rule in your life that, whenever and
whomsoever you come in contact with, you will always behave cordially, use
gentle and sweet language, and stay away from bitterness and criticism, then the
number of your friends and well-wishers will go on progressively multiplying.

Never say unkind words to others. Words like, “You are lowly and lack
intelligence, understanding, logic, alertness etc.” No one likes to hear about his
shortcomings. Unkind words like these hurt the pride and become the reason foe
enmity, bitterness and conflict. You should talk with others in such a manner
that their honor and pride are not offended. Once it is firmly established in one’s
mind that you respect him, then he will surely respect and honor you for ever.

You receive praise by giving praise. When you express hatred, anger, contempt
and criticism, you receive the same. Always try to accept and imbibe good
qualities from others and try to find opportunity to talk about whatever is best in
others. With the slightest acceptance of other’s virtues, they immediately become
attracted to you. It is a psychological fact that when a person sees that you are
taking interest in him, accepting his importance, praising his virtues, then
without any effort he is impressed by you. It is also possible that at some stage,
someone is in a state of hopeless despair and your praise may inspire him to
regain his lost confidence. When we begin to study people with the intention of
seeking their good qualities we notice how every individual is blessed with so
many virtues.

No one ever tires of talking about his own self. Every one needs a person to listen
to him – his experiences, his thoughts and viewpoints. Everyone is enchanted
and fascinated by his own thoughts and likes to express them to others. Listening
to others patiently is a very good thing. According to psychology it is like
tickling someone’s ego. You will notice how most of the conversations are replete
with abundant examples of self-praise, courage, intelligence, proficiency,
knowledge, capacity etc. To stand out in the crowd you should try to avoid
boasting. Instead, listen to others and give them an opportunity to express
themselves.
Criticizing others is a dangerous exercise. If you must, criticize in a subtle way so
at to mildly hint at their weaknesses. Criticizing in a rude manner and accusing
will not serve any purpose. Better stay away from criticism, let others do it. If
absolutely necessary, do it in a subtle and indirect manner. When a person
believes that you have high regard for him, he will try to measure up to your
expectations by achieving a high standard. He will even correct his
shortcomings. By taking genuine interest in others, try to enter his private world
and observe his qualities and faults, then very cordially, and in a language as
sweet as honey, explain the shortcomings for his benefit.

When you approach others with a beaming face and a smile, the person is
pleased and interested. Happiness is a divine element. Always talk softly and
pleasantly. Pleasantness makes the other person blossom like a flower.
Cheerfulness, joy, enthusiasm, liveliness, exuberance and bliss are not mere
words, but gems. Emulate the emotions hidden in these words and make them
your second nature. People have problems no less of their own. What they need
is your humorous and happy face.

About the Author:

Shriram Sharma Acharya: A seer-sage and a visionary of the New Golden Era.
His personality was a harmonious blend of a saint, spiritual scientist, yogi,
philosopher, psychologist, writer, reformer, freedom fighter, researcher, eminent
scholar and visionary.

He pioneered the revival of spirituality and creative integration of the modern

and ancient sciences and religion relevant in the challenging circumstances of the
present times. In 1979, he founded the Brahmavarchas Research Institute, the
research center in Haridwar (India) dedicated to the integration of the modern
and ancient sciences in a practical way motivated by the noble goal of health and
happiness for all. This center houses well equipped laboratories of Haemetology,
Biochemistry, Neurophysiology, Cardiology, Phytochemistry, Psychometry,
Yagyopathy etc. At the age of 15, (Jan 18th, 1926) a great Himalayan yogi, Swami
Sarveshvaranandji appeared before him in astral body from the flame of the
Dipaka (lamp) and guided him throughout his entire life. The next 24 years of his
life were devoted to 24 Mahapurashcharanas –each consisting of the rhythmic
recitation (japa) of 2.4 million Gayatri Mantra with strictest of disciplines. In
1943, he married Bhagwati Devi, and ever since, the saintly couple dedicatedly
pursued the noble mission of spiritual upliftment of humankind.

Realizing the potential of inspiring literature and its relevance in the present era
of intellectual evolution, he had chosen writing as the principal mode towards
uprooting the evil tendencies and blind faith from people’s minds and arousing
the indwelling wisdom, strength and spiritual bliss. He wrote about 3000
enlightening books in Hindi on almost all topics concerning human life. He
translated the entire Vedic Vangmaya (4 Vedas, 108 Upanishads, 18 Puranas etc.)
in Hindi elucidating the tradition, style, universality and history of Vedic
Literature. He also practiced higher-level Sadhana on the arduous heights of the
Himalayas and established enliven contact with the Rishis of the Himalayas.
During 1984-1986, he carried out the unique spiritual experiment of
Sukshmikarana, meaning sublimation of vital force and physical, mental and
spiritual energies. He authored a special set of 20 books highlighting the future
of the world and conveying the message of the dawn of the New Era of Truth
during the 21st Century. On 2nd June 1990, he voluntarily shed his physical
sheath.

For more information: To find out more about Shriram Sharma Acharya and
his spiritual establishment visit www.awgp.org Dev Sanskriti Viswa Vidyalaya
is a university envisioned by Shriram Sharma Acharya to meet the pressing need
to impart global education on scientific spirituality and life style with new
thought of ethical, moral and spiritual transformation. Visit www.dsvv.org for
more information.

English edition of Akhand Jyoti magazine is available online at www.akhand-

jyoti.org.