August 2016 – The Inner Reality, Chapter 11 – Realization
“ THE GENERAL SUBJECT of the discourses in this final section of the Bhagavad Gita is the realization of the supreme being of man.” (p.165)
The knowledge spoken of here is that of “the Knower who dwells in all bodies.” PB calls this the Witness-Self. The whole Truth includes the knowledge of both the inner self and the external universe, the latter including the mental and spirit-worlds, but they are not the One Reality because the whole Truth is found only when you find the Overself. When you discover the supreme unity presented as both the inner self and the outer world, there is “no sense of duality, no divorce between spirit and matter. There is only one Reality in truth which cannot be divided into two.” The goal is the Truth which embraces everything. This is freedom because when you “learn to live in the material world by this higher light, you create no further destiny. .. Bondage to destiny is in the mind.” (p.166)
Some of the virtues which will aid the seeker are listed with the admonition that “no virtue in itself will ever give you understanding; the most it can do is to prepare you. Most essentially you need meditation, or mind-stilling and reflective inquiry.” PB lists humility as the first quality you need and non-injury follows. Helpfulness and compassion tend to dissolve the strength of the personal ego. He writes that “patience is hard to acquire….You must be confident that one day the great reward and grand results must come, and they will come at the right time. The precise time is dictated by destiny. Patience means that one must never desert this quest, even when conditions seem hopeless. You will find that because you stick to the path, help will come to you.” Steadfastness follows uprightness and service of the teacher. “You have to go through a stage of discipline in order to bring the body and mind to heel.” (pp. 167-8)
The description of the inner self which you find in meditation is different from the ultimate Self. “It is undivided because it is One, yet, strangely, it seems divided because every being and creature and plant has a fragment of that life,… an appearance which does not exist in actuality… We see the form die and change… but what has become of their life? It has returned to the Overself.” (pp. 169-70)
“That which seems to be carrying on in the world is simply Nature.” Nature is simply the cosmic mind which creates the forms around us. “The Overself itself has nothing to act for… We must not lose sight of the ultimate truth that the whole of this world is nothing but a mental appearance, because the Overself has nothing to act for on its own behalf. It is itself self-sufficient.” (p. 171)
“The Bhagavad Gita is one of the few scriptures in the world which definitely and purposely explain the principles and practices of the gospel of inspired action…. The disciple has a basis for life, for it is based on reality. He stands firm, for he feels no more doubt.” (p.182)
“The final lesson is that Divinity is everywhere. Everywhere God can be found, and God is good.” (p. 182)