Spirituality - Atma Gnana - FAQ

Atma Gnana is a very broad topic. We had a discussion on one day and one of my family friends helped me to understand the concept which can be summarized as below:

1. What is Atma Gnana?

It is knowledge of Atman(soul) that makes a person to live life with true happiness that is ever lasting

2. When can we say one has achieved Atma Gnana?

A person will have Atma Gnana when one attains a state of ever lasting true happiness (bliss) in every moment of the life.

3. Why some one has to gain Atma Gnana?

The Atma Gnana ends the cycle of re-births. According to the article Isavasya Upanisad (n.d) when somebody realizes his self (Atman) then his perception has reached the ultimate boundaries and there is nothing else to be reached. The whole universe becomes his Atman. And he looks at his atman everywhere. Since he does not have any interest, he is beyond the sorrow and happiness.

4. Can one who is leading a life of a Gruhasta (married life with kids) be eligible for Atma Gnana?

Yes.

5. How can one achieve Atma Gnana?

A person needs guidance from a true spiritual guru to achieve Atma Gnana. Every human being who is in the path of spirituality will meet a true spiritual guru (one who has already attained Atma Gnana) and gain knowledge to achieve Atma Gana.

6. How can one be ready to receive the Atma Gnana from the true Guru?

When one’s all negative deep-seated subconscious traits (vasanas) are nullified.

These are few ways to nullify negative vasanas:

1) By playing/acting the needed role at a given time/situation to perfection. The role can be son/daughter, husband/wife, father/mother, and friend/a fellow human being.
2) Having a Disciplined life
3) Implementing rules/knowledge of right action (Dharma Gnana)
4) Performing Dana or Charity. It can be in any form like money, food, physical service, being a good listener etc.
5) Doing sadhana with the body, mind and intellect (BMI). The sadhana helps in purifying thoughts and deeds of a human being. Three different ways of doing sadhana are pooja (ritual of praying god), Japam( chanting god's name), and chintana( meditation).

There is a lot of literature on knowledge of right action (dharma gnana). Almost all the religion’s teachings and books has knowledge of right action.

The article Heart and Soul (n.d) describes that the light and consciousness of the soul pass through every part of the whole body but most of the time soul resides in the heart. The article also mentions that every human being deep within themselves has infinite peace, light and bliss. In order to get infinitely more peace, light and bliss one has to meditate in the heart. The meditation in the mind gives limited peace, light and bliss.

Now the question is how to meditate in the heart and in the mind? I will try to find out and post in the new thread.

References:
1. Heart and Soul(n.d). http://www.srichinmoy.org/spirituality/concentration_meditation_contemplation/meditation/the_spiritual_heart/heart_and_soul

2. Isavasya Upanisad(n.d). http://www.shuklayajurveda.org/isavasya-upanishad.html?PHPSESSID=74b63a05ed824b5c56e40dcbe4e49263

What is spirituality - Body, Soul and Spirit?

I liked the definitions of the body, soul and spirit from the article referenced below. The article mentions that having faith in god and surrendering soul to god will make you not to worry about holding onto god because god will hold on to you. The article also mentions that god is in every human being. As far as I know the same principle is being taught in every religion and it is the right way to lead spiritual life.

“Each man and woman born into this world is a being made of three (3) distinct components:

The BODY. This is your PHYSICAL component of being. It is flesh made from a collection of unremarkable mineral elements (but is mostly water) and is in harmony with the nature and spirit of this world. It grows, matures, begins to deteriorate, eventually dies, and then decomposes back into its constituent elements and remains a part of the dust of the world. The body is a part of you but is NOT ALL of what defines who YOU are.

The SOUL. This is who YOU are; it is a part of your SPIRITUAL component. This is your individuality, your "I AM" so to speak, your "heart." Although your individual soul did not exist before your mother and father procreated you, it will exist forever. It cannot be killed by man:

When your body dies your soul (YOU) will leave the body of flesh:

The SPIRIT. This is the source of power and control for both your body and soul; it is either evil or good, darkness or light, unholy or Holy, unclean or clean, of Satan or of God:

Where your soul spends eternity after it departs is determined by your personal relationship to God . You are an eternal being. You determine your own destiny. In fact, the Bible says that you are a "god" (small "g"):”

References:

http://www.kjvbible.org/body.html

What is atma jnana(knowledge of soul)?

My first understanding of atma jnana was the Knowledge that atma uses for making a decision on particular topic/event. But after having discussion with friends I realized the following.

This is very broad topic. We had a discussion on one day and one of my family friends helped me to understand the concept as shown below:

Knowing about atma and understanding the concept of staying in true happiness (bliss) in every moment of the life by playing/acting(performing actions of) the role at that time to a near perfection. The role can be son/daughter, husband/wife, father/mother, and friend/a fellow human being. Every human being can only learn atma gnana (knowledge of soul) after meeting a real spiritual guru and receiving knowledge. In order to get to real spiritual guru one has to earn the qualification. The qualification can only be attained by having discipline in life, implementing rules/knowledge of right action (dharma gnana) and doing sadhana with the body, mind and intellect (BMI). Three different ways of doing sadhana are pooja(praying god), Japam( chanting god's name), and chintana( meditation). The sadhana helps in purifying thoughts and deeds of human being. There is a lot of literature on knowledge of right action (dharma gnana). Almost all the religion’s teachings and books has knowledge of right action.

The article Heart and Soul (n.d) describes that the light and consciousness of the soul pass through every part of the whole body but most of the time soul resides in the heart. The article also mentions that every human being deep within themselves has infinite peace, light and bliss. In order to get infinitely more peace, light and bliss one has to meditate in the heart. The meditation in the mind gives limited peace, light and bliss.

Now the question is how to meditate in the heart and in the mind? I will try to find out and post in the new thread.

References:

Heart and Soul(n.d). http://www.srichinmoy.org/spirituality/concentration_meditation_contemplation/meditation/the_spiritual_heart/heart_and_soul

What is dharma gnana( Knowledge of right action)

My understanding on dharma gnana is : Identifying/knowing inner good and bad qualities/actions and culitivating/practising good qualities/actions while eliminating bad qualities/actions