

LIFE !

REALIZED !!

MY JOURNEY OF SELF-REALIZATION

By

LIFE !

REALIZED !!

MY JOURNEY OF SELF-REALIZATION

By

Copyright © AiR Institute of Realization 2019

AiR asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this book.

978-93-5382-131-9

All rights reserved.

No part of the content (of this publication except images) may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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Publisher: AiR

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A er 50 years of living life

and learning everything I know,

I suddenly got the shock of my life...

Who I am... I do not know!

My master led me to start a quest,

e Truth for me to nd...

is book is my Life Realization, I am not the Ego, Body or Mind!
 PREFACE

As an author of 25 books on life, happiness, and almost on everything that matters in the life journey, I realized that what mattered the most is my Life Realization. I really don't know why but some say I am blessed, others call it the Divine grace, still others believe it is my devotion and dedication that led me to Realize the Truth.

I too, like anybody else, spent 25 years chasing success and money. Then I took an exit from this rst peak of happiness, Achievement when I realized that such a peak doesn't exist. We simply crave till our grave because our greed overtakes our need. I transformed my life and started living with Contentment and Fulllment.

Still, my life was scattered with suffering although I considered myself to be the happiest man in the world. There was no clear purpose in my life and thus, I started a Quest.

My quest comprised nine major questions:

  1. We all know how a child is conceived and born, but how is life created in the womb?

  2. What happens after death? The body dies but what happens to the one who was alive?

  3. We all believe in God but what is the reality? Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

  4. Most people believe in heaven or hell but where are they located?

  4. Does a law of action and reaction, a law called Karma actually exist?

  4. It is said that our actions of this life will be the cause of our rebirth. Will we be reborn after we die? Is the theory of rebirth or reincarnation really true?

  4. We all talk about our Soul but what exactly is the Soul?

  4. What is the purpose of a human being on earth?

  4. What is enlightenment, salvation, liberation, Mukti, Moksha or Nirvana? All religions talk of this being our ultimate goal but what exactly is this?

With these nine questions in my mind and hundreds of books in my bag, I set out on a retreat to nd the Truth. Little did I know that we human beings are covered by a blanket of ignorance. We do not know the Truth although we believe we know everything.

"Man has discovered cosmetics for the skin but he has forgotten to nd out who is the one that lives within. He has been able to put satellites in outer space but he hasn't found out where his Life Energy goes at the end of the race."

Having realized many Truths about life, profound discoveries that may be penned in several books, I decided to put all my realizations together and share them with the world.

This is my Life! Realized!!

LIFE !

REALIZED !!

My Journey of Self-Realization

by
 my realizations!

10 Where is the Mind? We cannot Find! 19-20

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

my realizations!

Who am I?

We Live in Ignorance

I will Never Die

Who controls this Universe?

Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

Life on Earth is a Cosmic Drama

e Universal Law of Karma

e Mysterious 4 æ Factor

ere is a way to Suffer No More!

We all need a Life Coach

Nobody really goes to Heaven or Hell

We are the Life Energy within

21-22

23-24

25-26

27-28

29-30

31-32

33-34

35-36

37-38

39-40

41-42

43-44

 | my realizations!

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23 | Time is not moving, it is still. We are moving

24 | Knowledge is not Realization

25 | Our ultimate Goal is Liberation

26 | e Intellect is not the Mind

27 | Detachment and Dispassion reduce Anxiety

28 | Discipline is the key to Realization

29 | Yoga is not just Physical Gymnastics.

It is Union with the Divine

30 | We Destroy our own Peace

31 | Happiness is in the Now

32 | We believe in Myths

33 | We are fooled by the Cosmic Illusion – Maya

34 | Every Effect has a Cause and we are just the Effects

45-46

47-48

49-50

51-52

53-54

55-56

57-58

59-60

61-62

63-64

65-66

67-68

 | my realizations!

---|---

35 | PuriJcation, Illumination,

and Uni cation are our three Final Steps

36 | ere can be no Freedom from Action

37 | We will be Reborn, unless...

38 | Self-realization is not a Discovery

39 | e War within will Continue

40 | We can live with Everlasting Peace and Joy

41 | Everything beautiful is Divine

42 | Religion is the Kindergarten to Spirituality

43 | Realization eliminates Suffering

44 | We must Accept, Not wonder

and Replace Hope with Surrender

45 | My biggest Enemy is ME

46 | What is Life all about?

69-70

71-72

73-74

75-76

77-78

79-80

81-82

83-84

85-86

87-88

89-90

91-92
 my realizations!

1
 01 | Happiness is a Journey,

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not a Destination

Who doesn't want to be happy? The whole world seems to be seeking pleasure and shunning pain but unfortunately, most of humanity isn't truly happy. Of course, we smile and we laugh but we live life like a merry-go-round, passing joy and sorrow in circles. Our life is like a yo-yo, we go up and down from a peak to a valley as we experience the highs and lows of life. Why?

I realized that human beings are unhappy because we think that happiness is a destination. We think that we have to arrive at happiness, but happiness is not a place to go to. It is not a destination. It is the journey itself.

I realized that people let their need become their greed and thus they desire and crave till they reach their grave. All desires are not fullled and therefore, we get disappointed and miserable. Far happier are those who live a life of contentment and fulllment!

Most people are not content with their achievement. It is natural to pursue loftier peaks of achievements. When we achieve our goal, we become happy. But we don't stop there. We want to go to the next and then, the next peak, till we think we have reached our destination. But we don't realize that Happiness is not a destination. It is a journey. It is all about enjoying today, the moment. Because people do not enjoy the journey, they continue to seek and crave and are often unhappy.

When will people realize this truth, that when we become happy, it is usually momentary? We cannot become

2
 Happiness is a Journey, not a Destination

happy, we have to be Happy, because Happiness is a state of mind. We cannot be Happy yesterday, it is gone! We cannot be Happy tomorrow, it is not yet born. But we can be Happy NOW. So, whatever be our journey of life, whatever be our circumstances, we must choose to be Happy.

Once I realized that Happiness is not reaching the ultimate goal but rather it is the path itself, I changed my paradigm of life. I did not wait for happiness to arrive. I made sure to live each moment joyously, peacefully, and blissfully no matter what. We can all be happy all the time if we choose to be happy realizing that happiness is a journey not a destination.

3
 02 | Life is to be Lived, and not to

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Zoom from Womb to Tomb

Most of us don't truly live. We rush through life. From the time we are born, we think that life is a race and we must be an ace and we get caught in a maze. Soon life is over and what did we do? We just zoomed from the womb to the tomb.

I realized that life is a gift. That's why this moment is called the 'Present'. But we lose the moment because we are just running through life. I met a friend who went to Amsterdam and I asked him if he had the chance to visit the Tulip Gardens in Keukenhof. Although he was in Amsterdam for three days, he said that he had no time because he was in a rush to visit all the museums. He listed the dozens of museums he had visited. But in reality, he hadn't seen anything meaningful. Most of us don't spend the moment being fully conscious of it. We lose the NOW because our mind is so busy planning what we must do next and so our 'today' is lost in the construction of 'tomorrow'. Eventually, tomorrow never comes. All we have is today, but we want to trade our today for a better tomorrow which doesn't even exist. How many of us stop to enjoy a beautiful sunset, to spend time with those we love, to do those things we are truly passionate about? The most common thing we hear is – I had no time!

Each of us has 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour and we can't buy more time. We must learn to live and not just exist rushing through life. Ask an 80-year-old what regret he or she has. You will hear a list of things they wished they could do that they haven't done. "If I get a chance to live my life once more, I would climb

4
 Life is to be Lived, and not to Zoom from Womb to Tomb

more mountains, learn to play the guitar, and spend more time with my loved ones." This is the story of people who didn't stop to think that their life was escaping them.

However, there are people, a few of course, who don't just zoom through life. They live life moment by moment and they enjoy each day as it comes. They are not slaves of their passion. They treasure life. These are the people who have no regrets as their journey of life unfolds.

I realized that life is not meant to be rushed. We think that time is rushing by but I lived life as if time was still and I was passing by. I too zoomed through life for 25 years thinking that success, achievement, money, and pleasure were everything. But I realized that I was wrong. Now I spend moments in peace and bliss as I watch the swaying of the trees, the waves in the seas and enjoy the blowing of the breeze.

Life is a precious treasure. We can't rewind it, we have to live it. And those who zoom through life, don't truly enjoy the beauty life has to offer. I realized that we must stop, enjoy the moment, and enjoy this gift called life. Otherwise, we will just go from our womb to our tomb without really living. Have you ever thought about it? We are 'human beings', not 'human doings'. We must be conscious of our life and enjoy it while we live.

5
 03 | Success is not Happiness.

---|---

Happiness is Success!

Most of humanity lives wanting to be achievers, wanting to succeed. Why? Because we believe that Success is Happiness. Everybody wants to achieve something - money, name, fame - hoping that this achievement will give them the happiness they desire. But this is a myth.

I realized a profound Truth – Success is not happiness. If success was happiness, then the rich and famous, the wealthy, successful people in the world would be glad. But if we look around, we will nd that many of them are sad.

Sure, success may give us name and fame but it doesn't promise happiness. Success is built on principles like desire and passion. These very principles often lead to disappointment and misery. Therefore, while success gives pleasure it also creates pain.

I realized that Success is not Happiness. Happiness is Success. My realizations were based on the fact that we all want to succeed because we want to be happy but success doesn't guarantee happiness. On the other hand, we can just be happy, peaceful, content and fullled. This is the very objective of succeeding. Therefore, I realized that we don't need to be successful to be happy. In fact, we need to be happy to be successful. Think about it. The whole world is trying to achieve something. Why? Because they believe that their achievement will give them joy and bliss. However, they lose their peace of mind in their chase to become an ace. This peace is the very foundation of

6
 Success is not Happiness. Happiness is Success!

happiness. Instead, I realized there were people who were not highly successful but they had achieved enough to fulll their need and they were indeed truly happy people. Weren't they more successful than the millionaires who could not sleep peacefully every night?

I realized that successful people lived stressful lives trying to protect their wealth, fame, and their title. Isn't it known to all of us that none of this is permanent? These very successful people end their life in misery and pain because they don't realize that Success is not Happiness, Happiness is Success.

I realized this Truth after I reached 40. Now I live being happy, rather than chasing success. I realized that happiness comes from spending money, not just by making it. I learned this from a peer who was dying of cancer on a hospital bed. He said, "If only I had spent my life spending my money rather than just making it, I would have died a happier man."

Isn't it time to realize this Truth? Isn't it time to resolve to be happy rather than to be successful? Human beings seem to be paralyzed with this myth that success is happiness and they waste their entire life trying to be successful. What would it gain a man if he achieves the whole world but loses his peace and happiness? After all, all he wishes to achieve is happiness, isn't it?

7
 04 | Do we Earn for others to

---|---

Burn what we Earn?

Many people around the world believe that they must earn and earn and earn. It's strange because they don't need more than what they already have. They seem to be earning for future generations. Shouldn't they rather spend before their end on meaningful causes?

Looking at the world and its millionaires and billionaires, I have not only realized a profound Truth, but also made some important resolutions in my own life. What did I observe? These are some real-life examples.

There was a rich man, an Indian who was a multi-millionaire. It was strange but he wore the same few shirts and dhotis, a pair of Indian pants, again and again. He was so stingy that he did not even buy a new bicycle although he had so much money. One day he died. Within a few days, his son bought a Ferrari and I wondered, "Is this why he earned so much money?" What he earned, his son burned. He never spent his money helping others, serving others. To me, his wealth was a complete waste.

On the other side of the world, I saw people spending their money building public libraries, charitable homes, and hospitals. Their philosophy was to spend their hard earned money on meaningful things before their end, for when they would die, the world would cry because of the wonderful people that they were.

This realization made me resolve that I would provide enough for my near and dear ones but would not let others burn what I earn. Today as I live, I believe that I

8
 Do we Earn for others to Burn what we Earn?

am a Trustee of the wealth that is in my hands and I must make good use of it. We take care of 600 poor and destitute people whom we pick from the streets and they live as residents in our three charitable homes. Not only do we provide food and shelter for them but we also take care of their medical needs. What a fullling way to spend what we earn! It gives so much peace, joy, and fulllment. We have recently started publishing spiritual books and conducting talks that will help people realize the Truth. All this is denitely better than letting others burn what we earn.

Being a person who is grateful for the nancial resources I am blessed with, I wonder why wealthy people in this world keep their money and assets till they die. Don't they know that they have no control of it after their death? Don't they see that the recipients of their wealth will not use the wealth like the one who earned would? Should we not spend our money, use our money while we are alive rather than letting it be squandered after our death? Wealth is a resource that we must use, for if we don't use it, we will lose it. I realized that the rich and famous are insecure and thus, they do not spend. They are fearful of what would happen if they spent all their money and later needed it. While this is a valid thought, it does not justify us hoarding our money till we die. We must ensure we secure ourselves with our wealth but we must remember our wealth is ours, and we must use our wealth effectively and plan our legacy before we depart from earth. I thought this to be one of the most profound realizations of my life.

9
 Achievement gives Pleasure but

05 Fulfillment gives Joy and Peace

Everybody wants to be happy but not everyone knows what creates happiness. Of course, success and achievement create thrill, money, name, fame, and pleasure that propel the world to succeed. However, along with the pleasure, achievers experience stress, anxiety, and fear among other poisonous emotions that make them miserable.

I realized that it was great to be an achiever but I also realized that my greed had overtaken my need. We all believe that we need to achieve "enough" but none of us really knows how much is enough.

I realized that there was a second peak of happiness which was, in fact, a plateau of peace and joy. I call it fulllment for it is based on being fully content and satised. I myself have experienced the happiness that came from my achievements but I realized that the joy and peace that came from making a difference rather than just making money was far more fullling.

What was my realization? As an achiever, I was selsh and was ready to use fair or foul means to achieve success and happiness. I also experienced regret and wished I had not done what I did, but what could have I done if I wanted to succeed? I had to! After all, everyone does it. Haven't we heard of the famous saying – All is fair in love and war.

I then realized, "Why should I compromise on my ethics just to succeed and be happy? What would it prot a man if he gained the whole world and lost his

10
 Achievement gives Pleasure but Fulfillment gives Joy and Peace

own Soul?" I took an exit from the rat race of life, the highway of achievement when I realized that there is no peak, no destination to reach. My greed was like a bottomless well which would only make me sink deeper and deeper in stress, anxiety and misery, although these were sugar quoted with pleasure, excitement and happiness.

I realized that people who live with contentment and fullment, actually live with fun and laughter, faith and inspiration, meaning and purpose. Not only are they emotionally positive but they also use their noteworthy success to make a difference and are blessed with peace and tranquillity. Ultimately they develop a universal connection which puts a smile on their face and gives them sound sleep at night.

I realized that far more happiness than what success and achievement give, comes from living a life of contentment and fulllment. Eventually, nothing belongs to us. Life is like a game of monopoly which must be packed up at the end. I realized that the richest man is not the happiest man – the happiest man is the richest man!

If we want to live a life of peace and joy, we must take an exit from the highway of achievement and start a new journey of fulllment, living with meaning and purpose and being content. This is the secret to true joy, peace and bliss.

11
 06 What is the Cause of Misery?

If we look around, we will nd that many people are miserable. Everybody on earth experiences both pleasure and pain. It is very rare to nd somebody who has escaped misery.

I realized that misery essentially is of three types – of the ego, the mind and the body. Each of these has its own unique way of causing us suffering.

The rst cause of misery is suffering of the body. We have all experienced physical pain. While the body suffers pain, we must learn to overcome this pain and not to suffer as the body. We live in the body, but we are not the body.

The second and the most powerful cause of misery is the mind. We become miserable because of our own mind. It wonders and wanders and makes us miserable. It swings like a pendulum and makes us regret the past, and in a moment, it jumps to the future and makes us worry and live with fear. I realized that fear is nothing but False Expectations Appearing Real. But the mind makes us fear and makes it appear that our illusory fears are real dangers. Although we may know that our mind is like a monkey that jumps from thought to thought making us anxious and worried, we seem to be helpless and we constantly and continuously suffer due to our own mind.

The third cause of misery is our ego. We suffer because of the "I" ness and the "My" ness. "When I told you to do it, why did you not do it?" our ego screams as it

12
 What is the Cause of Misery?

makes us suffer due to its anger. Then the ego says, "This is my property. You dare not step inside!" This is letting greed cause misery. The ego continues to dominate in ignorance and constantly makes us miserable.

While some of us are fortunate enough to overcome the misery caused by physical pain, very few of us are able to transcend the ego and the mind, and thus we continue to suffer. These two, in fact, the ego and the mind, work together and create most of our misery.

I realized that suffering is not external. Rather our own ego, mind, and body make us suffer. Our misery is not so much dependent on what happens to us, but rather more dependent on the way we react to what happens to us.

Not only did I realize the causes of our suffering but I was also fortunate to realize ways to eliminate suffering. First came the realization, that we suffer due to the pain of the body, misery of the mind, and anxiety of the ego. The moment I realized neither was I the body, the mind or the ego, I distanced myself from all suffering, all misery. It seemed to disappear like mist in the morning sun. Of course, the body may experience pain, but that is not me. It is my body. My mind may worry, and wander with negative emotions. But I transcend the mind, just as I transcend the ego and remain peaceful and blissful.

13
 07 | What is the Purpose of Life?

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Life is the period between birth and death. We human beings are born about nine months after we are conceived and eventually, we die. We cannot directly control our birth or death. But we can denitely nd out what is the purpose of our life.

I realized that most of humanity doesn't seem to be really bothered to nd out what the purpose of life is. Thus, I feel that most of us just exist, we don't live. We drift through life like a dead sh that oats downstream. We don't stop to nd out who we are and why we are here.

I was fortunate to go on a quest and to discover the true meaning and purpose of life. Although I started this quest in my fth decade, I am so grateful that I realized my life- purpose.

The problem with most of us is that we don't really know who we are. Because of this ignorance, we continue to live as the ego, mind and body and experience both pleasure and pain, loss and gain. Our life is like a merry-go-round. Once we realize who we are, it will take us to the next step. It will lead us to nding out why we are here on earth and what is the purpose of our birth. Unfortunately, because of our mistaken identity, we live and we die without nding out the 'who' and 'why', which are the most important questions of life.

I realized that my purpose of life was rst to realize who I was. Was I Ravi Melwani? That was just my name.

14
 What is the Purpose of Life?

In fact, when I was born, I had no name. But we are all so accustomed to calling ourselves by our name that we think we are our name. Then I realized that my body was constantly dying and being reborn as every cell of my body was getting regenerated in about every seven years. Essentially, this body is the seventh body or the eighth that I inhabit. In essence, I realized that I am the Divine Soul.

All these realizations of who I was and who I was not ultimately led me to nd my purpose of life. I learned that the ultimate goal of life was to be liberated and to become one with the Divine. While this may seem easy to one who does not understand the subject, it took several more realizations to actually help me transcend in my life journey and evolve so that I could ultimately achieve the purpose of my life.

Most people think that their purpose is to be happy, while some feel that it's not their own happiness that is so important but that of making others happy which truly matters. Sure it's great to be happy and it's also very good to make others happy and there is no doubt that most of humanity is seeking happiness, but this is not the ultimate purpose of life. The purpose of life is liberation. Some people call it enlightenment while others may call it Nirvana or Moksha. I realized that the purpose of our life was rst to realize who we truly are, and then, to ultimately be liberated from all the suffering and unite with the Divine. That is the purpose of life.

15
 08 | The Questions that

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had no Answers

There are many questions in life that don't seem to have answers. We know many things but compared to what we don't know, we hardly know anything. We don't know how the sun, the moon, the stars, the birds, the animals, and the owers were created. There are many theories and one popular theory is the Big Bang theory – that everything was caused by one Big Bang. But then, the question that arises is, "Who caused the Big Bang?"

I realized that there were many questions that were not really relevant but there were some which were very important as they affect our life. When I put them together, I found that there were about 9 questions that didn't have any answers.

I realized that I was created when a sperm fertilized an ovum. But I also realized that there was something that caused the life inside me to arrive at birth. Science has discovered many things about the zygote and the embryo but till date, we don't know the secret of our birth.

I also realized that science has not been able to discover what happens after death. Doctors give up hope when someone has a multiple organ failure and we say that the person has departed or passed away but we don't know where and how.

While we talk of heaven and hell, are these physical domains where we can go to and even if they are, who goes there? After all, the body disintegrates on earth.

16
 The Questions that had no Answers

This leads us to the next unanswered question – Who is God? Where is God? What is God? Since God has been wrongly dened by the religions of the world, we have no clear answers as to who the Creator is and we are confused.

What is the Soul? Has anyone seen it? Is your Soul different from my Soul? Are there good and bad Souls? Is rebirth real? What is reincarnation? Who is reborn? It is said that there is a Law of Action and Reaction, the Law of Karma that causes rebirth. But is it true?

All religions talk about the ultimate goal of life being self-realization and God-realization. They give it different names – Nirvana, enlightenment, salvation, Mukti, Moksha or liberation. I put all these questions together and realized that it was not just our goal but it's our responsibility to discover our true life purpose and with that, to nd answers to all these questions that have remained unanswered.

We all see a chicken and we all see an egg. But what came rst, the chicken or the egg? I realized that we can nd answers to all the questions and I did!

I realized that most of us feel that these are questions with no answers. So why should we look for answers? But actually, answers are available for all these questions. We must nd answers till we realize the Ultimate Truth.

17
 09 | I am Not the Body

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What do we do when we see a group photograph in which we too are posing? We say, "That's me." So often we afrm that we are the body. We knock at the door and ask a simple question, "May I come in?" Of course, we are part of a body-mind complex. But to think that we are the physical body is ignorance.

I realized that humanity, by and large, believes that a human being is a complex of body, mind, and Soul. Although we are not very clear, we distinctly accept that we are the body.

What made me realize that we are not the body? Think about it. The body is constantly changing. When we are born we are just a few kilograms in weight. Then we grow and the body is nothing but pasta, pizza, rice, noodles and burgers. The human body is said to have 37 trillion cells. These cells are constantly dying and are being regenerated. Science agrees that once in about every seven years, our entire body is new. This means that if I am 50, I have already changed seven bodies and this is my eighth edition.

How can I be the physical body that is constantly changing? And then, one day when I become old, this physical body will die and return to dust. When somebody would ask my whereabouts, people will say, "He passed away" or "He departed" and "He is no more" although my dead body would be very much there, lying on the oor. If I am not the body after death, then with what sense should I believe that I am the body when I am alive?

18
 I am Not the Body

There is no doubt that I have a body just as there is no doubt that I am not the body. This is part of the journey called self-realization. A realization which makes us Realize the Truth that we have a body but we are not the body. Just like we have a house, a car, and a shirt, but we are none of these, so also, we have a body but we are not the body. We are not the body that we wear, we are the ones who wear the body.

I once met a scientist who told me, "You seem to be sitting in front of me." Bewildered, I asked him what he meant. He spoke to me about one of the latest scientic discoveries called Wave-Particle Duality. In an experiment, science has shown that matter can become energy and energy can become matter. Both are interconvertible. Thus, said the scientist, "While you seem to be in front of me, you are in fact trillions of energy particles that together appear as the "you" I see."

This realization has made a profound difference in my life and now I realize that I am not the body. Thus when the body experiences pain, I don't suffer the pain because I distance myself from the suffering. This realization has liberated me from misery and led me on to a quest to nd out who I truly am.

19
 10 | Where is the Mind?

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We cannot find!

Have you ever thought about it? You know where your nose, your eyes, your mouth are, just as you are sure of your hands and your legs. An X-ray or MRI will show you your skeleton, the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, and even the brain. But have you seen the mind? Nobody has ever seen the mind. The mind is said to be the subtle part of our body. In fact, we think that it comprises the intellect and the memory, but there are four aspects of our subtle body together known as the inner instrument. They are the mind, the intellect, the memory, and the ego.

I realized that there is something shy about the mind. It seems that we have a mind, we see it wonder and wander while it jumps from one thought to the other causing so much stress and worry. But upon deep introspection, I realized that the mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts.

A wealthy businessman once approached his spiritual mentor and told him that his mind was full of worry and anxiety. He asked his spiritual master for a way to remove all this poison from his mind. The spiritual master, a learned sage promised his disciple that he would take all the misery out of his mind if he came the next morning at 5.00 am. However, he added a condition, "Please come with your mind." The intelligent businessman was puzzled. He thought his master had lost his mind. He consulted his close friend on the situation and his friend advised him to go and meet the spiritual master as the businessman was experiencing sleepless nights because of the stress.

20
 Where is the Mind? We cannot Find

The next morning at 5.00 am, the businessman promptly arrived and found that the master was deep in meditation. The master opened his eyes and asked him, "Have you brought your mind?" The businessman was furious. He said, "What nonsense is this! How is it possible for me to come here without my mind?" The master smiled and said, "I am happy you realized that. Now please sit quietly in the room above this hall till I nish my work. It will take me one hour. By then please nd your mind and bring it to me. I will remove all the stress." So saying, the master closed his eyes and went back to meditation. The businessman had no choice but to walk upstairs. He sat quietly to start looking for his mind. After sitting for 2 hours, the businessman was frustrated for he could not nd his mind. It was then that the master entered the room and saw his frustration. He smiled and said reassuringly, "Don't be anxious. You can't nd the mind. It does not exist."

Can you nd walking and talking? They are just activities of the mouth and the feet. So are thoughts an activity of the brain. Collectively we think it to be the mind. If you want to remove worry, stress, and anxiety then control your thoughts. Slow down your MTR, your Mental Thought Rate. We can produce about 50,000 thoughts a day but we don't need to. We must spend some time in silence, contemplating a single thought. This will give us tranquillity. This realization that we are not the mind, and that we do not have to experience fear, worry, anxiety or any other negative emotions created by the mind has given me tremendous peace and with it, bliss and joy.

21
 11 | Who am I?

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If I am not the body that I wear and I can't nd the mind then comes the big question - Who am I? Of course, I am. I know I exist. I can feel that I am alive. I breathe, I walk and I talk. I know I am not you, just as you are not me. While I know that I am, who am I?

I realized that if I am not the body that I seem to be, and if I can't nd the mind then that I cannot be, I am that very Life Energy that makes the heart beat. I am the very power that exists in each one of the trillions of cells that are in my body. Some call this Life Energy the Soul. Some call it the Spirit, some even call it the Chi, the Prana or the Atman.

It really doesn't matter what we call it but I am the Life Energy that keeps me alive. I am the Life Energy that gives me breath. Without that there would be death. The day this Life Energy comes into me I come alive and the day it leaves me I live no more.

If I take out any of my body parts and virtually keep them on the table, life in me will not get transferred to the body parts. They will cease to exist. I am the life that is inside me till I die. I realized that most human beings don't know who we are although we think we know - this is our ignorance.

A man of wisdom was once introduced to a person who said, "I am John." The wise person told John, "That is your name, so, who are you?" He said, "I am an American." "Well, that's your nationality. I am asking you, who are you?" "I am the son of Mrs. and Mr. Smith, father of Sarah and Rachael." "I

22
 Who am I?

didn't ask you for your relationships. Who are you?" The man was puzzled. He said, "I am a lawyer from New York. I am a Christian. That's who I am." "I didn't ask you for your profession or your religion. Who are you?" The question thundered. John was exasperated, "I don't know who I am. Please tell me who I am," he said.

I realized that most of us don't know who we truly are. We think we are the body-mind-soul complex. But we have not realized the Truth of who we are. We live and we die without nding out the Truth of who we are.

Isn't it actually very simple? Once we know who we are not, we are not the body, we are not the mind, but we surely exist, then who are we? If we contemplate this truth, if we focus on investigating and asking questions, we will ultimately realize that we are that energy the world calls the Spirit or the Soul.

This was one of my biggest realizations - to discover that I was that energy, that life. I was not the body that will die. Neither was I 'ME', the Mind and the Ego. While I was sure that I exist, it was only after going on a quest that I discovered the Truth. This discovery is called self-realization. I discovered that I was the Divine Life Energy that created life in every cell of my body, an energy that is also called the Soul, the Spirit or the Atman. But this was not the end of my discovery. I realized that this was a new beginning, a beginning that would take me from realization to liberation.

23
 12 | We Live in Ignorance

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When we are born, we don't seem to know anything. But as we grow older, we are taught many things - be it a language, or theology about God. We are guided on basic ethics and discipline and it seems that we grow up into adults knowing everything after being schooled and university trained.

I realize that despite all the education and knowledge, we are still ignorant. We hardly know anything. We may have mastered science, technology, accounts, nance and acquired skills like people management or money management but what use is it to know all this if we don't know the basics of who we are and why we are here? It seems like all of humanity is enveloped in a dark blanket of ignorance. Our goal is, therefore, enlightenment and to overcome the dark ignorance by the realization of the Truth.

What is this ignorance all about? While it starts with two basic questions, who are we and why are we here, our ignorance goes on to make us realize that we don't know anything about this universe. The earth is just like a grain of sand on a beach of the cosmos. And we are just like a speck of dust, one amongst 8 billion people. We are so insignicant in the universe and we are also ignorant of our insignicance. Sad, very sad, isn't it? Man thinks that he can do anything - that he can make the impossible possible. But he cannot even create one apple, one rose, or one strawberry. He is incapable of creating a single human cell while he has trillions of them. Man is ignorant about what happens before his birth and after his death. He doesn't even know who the

24
 We Live in Ignorance

Creator of this universe is. Isn't this proof enough that we are ignorant?

From birth to death, we seem to be enveloped in this ignorance wherein we think that we know everything but in reality, we know nothing. I realized that man is so busy taking care of his bones and skin that he has forgotten to discover the power within. We zoom from our womb to our tomb without discovering the true purpose of our life. We want to earn more money, name, and fame because we believe that we will be happy but we are miserable in the end.

I realized not just that we are ignorant, but that if we overcome our ignorance, we will be liberated from all misery and sorrow. It is this ignorance that makes us suffer. Unfortunately, we are ignorant of our own ignorance. And we blissfully live in ignorance till we die.

The rst step is to acknowledge our ignorance, the second step is to overcome it by the realization of the Truth. How does one realize the truth? It happens when we go on a quest, we ask questions, we investigate until we nally realize the truth and overcome our ignorance. When we overcome our ignorance, we will be blessed with everlasting peace and joy. This is our ultimate goal – to realize the Truth by overcoming the ignorance before we die.

25
 13 | I will Never Die

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If somebody asks you, "Will you die?", it is natural for you to answer, "Yes, eventually, one day I will die." But if you realize the Truth, you will never, ever say that you will die.

I realized that after I was born, my parents called me Ravi and my surname was Melwani. All my school records and my ID cards are in this name. But this is just my name. This is not me. This is my identity but not my reality. I am the Life Energy or Soul that is alive inside Ravi Melwani.

While Ravi Melwani has to die, just as every human being in this world is mortal, I will never die. I am the eternal, immortal Life Energy that arrives at birth and departs at death. I got this profound realization after I realized who I truly was. Once we realize that we are in reality the Life Energy within and not the body-mind complex, we will also get this realization that we are immortal. We are embodied Souls and the body will die but we, the Soul within, never die.

What happens to the Soul after death? The Soul is not restricted by the body-mind. It is like electricity that makes the bulb glow. When one bulb breaks, it doesn't affect the Power. The Power gives energy to another bulb to glow. Therefore, death has no signicance for the real me, the Atman, the Soul, the Life Energy.

Unfortunately, the whole world believes that we are mortal. We are born and we will die. Our ignorance doesn't end here. People pray for their forefathers and

26
 I will Never Die

dead ones. They are ignorant of the reality that the body is nothing. The real identity of the ones that die is the energy or the Soul that is eternal. Because we live in ignorance, believing the myth, we are completely confused and shattered at death. We mourn the passing away of our near and dear ones not realizing that the ones who died have only moved on to manifest in another body.

When I realized that I will never die, the realization gave me a lot of power and energy. It made me fearless of death as I realized who I was. I went on further to realize my ultimate goal. At death, if I realize that I am the Atman, the Divine Soul, then I will be liberated to be united with the Lord. But if I continue to live in ignorance, then when I die as an embodied Soul, as an ego-mind complex I will have to be reborn to face my Karmas, to redeem the actions of my previous birth. However, at death, if I realize the Truth that I am not the body-mind but the Life Energy, then I will be liberated and if the Divine grace is upon me I will become one with the Cosmic Consciousness, the Universal Soul.

Whatever be our future, our present goal is to realize that I will never die. Only the body dies, not the Divine Life Energy, the Soul or the Atman that is within. Once we realize this Divine truth that we will never die, we will be liberated from all misery and sorrow, from all fear, worry and anxiety and we will live a life of bliss and joy.

27
 14 | Who controls this Universe?

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Do we even realize that we who live on planet earth are not even a speck of a speck? We are a speck of the city we live in. The city is a speck in our country. Our country is a speck on the earth, the earth, a speck in the universe. And we, who are such an insignicant part of the universe, do not realize that somebody is controlling this magnicent universe. Everything that happens to you and me, just as what happens in the universe, doesn't happen by chance. It is all a part of the universal design created by the Creator.

I realized that we, human beings are so blind that we cannot see the power of creation. There is a very powerful Creator of this universe. Just because a blind person cannot see you and me, he cannot consider it true that you and I do not exist. We, human beings need to stop, introspect and contemplate the amazing power of the Creator of the universe.

I realized that the Creator doesn't micromanage every action, every act that we perform on earth. The Creator has created several universal laws by which this universe is managed. For instance, let us take the Law of Gravity. It is a universal law, a principle by which everything is grounded on earth. If not for this law, then everything on earth will be ying just like it does on the moon. Just because there is no proof of the Law of Gravity, doesn't mean that there is no law. We know of this law by inference. When we throw something up in the sky, why does it not y away? We infer that it is pulled back to earth by gravity.

28
 Who controls this Universe?

Just like the Law of Gravity, there are several universal laws that control the universe. The Law of Opposites makes sure that everything has an opposite. For instance, there is pleasure and pain, day and night, male and female. Thus, this Law balances the universe.

Another universal law is the Law of Action and Reaction or the Law of Karma. It states that what you give is what you get. What you sow, so shall you reap. So, if you plant mangoes you can't reap pineapples. There are many such universal laws that together give continuity to life in this universe. However, I realized that man is incapable of realizing anything more about God. God is beyond human comprehension. If I ask you to see me with your tongue, you would say it is impossible to see with the tongue. You need the eyes to see. Only the eyes are capable of sight. We human beings are incapable of knowing more about the Creator.

I realized that we know only this much but this much is enough for us to live a life of meaning and purpose. It is enough for us to bow down and acknowledge the existence of a Power, a Creator, who for want of a better name, we call God. This realization about the Creator has transformed my life! It has made me live in union with the Divine with joy, peace, and bliss. I experience the Divine in everything that is around me because I know that the Power exists.

29
 15 | Who is God? Where is God?

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What is God?

Does God exist? About ninety percent of humanity prays to God. Although there are dozens of religions, most people believe in one God as per their religion. Since childhood, they grow up learning that their God is the only God and all other Gods are not real. It is most unfortunate that all religions believe that their God is the God of the universe. There are a few people who are atheists and don't believe in God and there are a few who are agnostics and not sure about the existence of God. I realized that we do not know who God is, where God is or what God is.

What did I realize? I realized that religion is the kindergarten to spirituality and that all religions do a great job in helping us build a relationship with our personal God. But thereafter, religions don't help us to realize the Truth about God. Today, most intelligent people believe that there is one God. And though we give different names and believe in our personal God who has different shapes and forms, in essence, there is only one God.

When I went on a quest to realize the Truth, I realized that all religions are very good to a certain point, but then all religions are also responsible for our spiritual ignorance. In fact, in a way, they stop us from realizing God. God is omnipotent - all-powerful, omnipresent - present everywhere, and omniscient - knows everything

God is not a person, God is not a saint. God is not a picture that anyone can paint. God is a power – eternal,

30
 Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

immortal and beyond human comprehension.

After my quest and realization of who I truly was, I realized that we are nothing but manifestations of the Divine. Each one of us is a God particle appearing as a human being. God is the cause. We are the effects. Without God we are nothing.

It is most unfortunate but I realized that we, human beings have created a wrong denition of God. God dened, is God denied. God is beyond denition and comprehension. God is the Creator of this magnicent universe. He manifests as everything on earth.

He is the producer-director of this show called life that is projected on a giant theatre called earth. We are just actors, we come and we go. Whatever happens, is part of His show. He controls life and death. He gives us birth. He is the Creator of the universe and the earth. God is beyond religion. God is one power. God doesn't dwell in distant planets or in heaven or hell, or somewhere deep within the ground or far up in the skies.

God exists in each human being. God is the very life that gives us birth. God is that energy, which when it leaves, causes death and there is no breath. But we are blind, we don't realize the Truth of who God is, where God is, and what God is.

31
 16 | Life on Earth is a

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Cosmic Drama

We take life too seriously, don't we? We think everything is real - our possessions, our relationships. But what we don't realize is that nothing is real. Everything is like a movie, a theatre, a drama.

I realized that this earth is like a big stage, and we, the 8 billion people are like actors who come on the earth stage, perform our role and go. It's all just a show, produced and directed by the Creator. Unfortunately, just like some people take a movie to be real and they cry considering the tragedy on the screen to be real, we too cry thinking that the movie called life is real.

What did I realize? We all come without anything and we go without anything. This is a fact nobody can deny. In the end, whether we are millionaires or beggars, nothing will belong to us. Although we know it, we get attached to our fortunes and friends. We live with the constant fear of death and losing what is ours, just as the fear of the unknown beyond worries us.

Can we control the drama that is being enacted on the stage? Of course not. We are just observers watching the show. The drama will unfold as per the producer-director. In our drama, the only difference is, we are not just observers but also actors. Unfortunately, we get offended by everything that happens although we can do nothing about it. The story has been written by the Creator of the show. We must come, do our part and go. Whether we enjoy the show or not, is up to us. We have a role and we can't change that. Who we are, our names, our parents, our date of birth are things we cannot

32
 Life on Earth is a Cosmic Drama

change. But we can choose our goal. Whether we are happy or sad, whether we cry or we are glad – all depends upon how we observe the show.

Some people complain about the weather while others enjoy it. Can we stop it from raining? No, but we can wear a raincoat. We can choose our actions and reactions in the show called life but we can't stop the show from unfolding.

I realized that most people don't discover this Truth that life is just a show and so they are miserable about everything that happens in life. However, there are a few who realize this Truth. They know that nothing is real. It's a cosmic drama. We are just actors, we come and we go. There will be laughter, there will be tears. Such is the cosmic show. Whatever will be, will be. We must accept it joyously.

What do you think? Isn't life like a drama? Then why do we take it so seriously? Isn't life like a dream? As long as we are dreaming, it looks so real but when we wake up, we realize it was just a dream. The only difference is we realize that life is a drama at death. So wake up now!

Those who realize that life on earth is nothing more than a Cosmic Drama, enjoy each moment of life as it unfolds. They realize that after all, nothing really matters - it's not real, it's just a Cosmic Drama. So, why worry, why fear? Why not just enjoy the show?

33
 17 The Universal Law of Karma

What is Karma? It is a universal law – a law that states what you give is what you get. It is a Law of Action and Reaction. It is a law of the boomerang. As you sow, so shall you reap. Most of the world is aware of this law and accepts its governance on earth.

I realized that nobody can escape from this law except a very few who transcend it by the realization of the Truth. Whatever be your country, your religion, your gender, your age, your nancial status, nobody can escape the law. How does it work? Every action of ours is recorded whether it is good or bad and the Law of Karma makes no mistake. It returns to us our good deeds as fortune or luck, just as it returns our bad deeds as our ill fortune. In reality, there is no good luck or bad luck. Our destiny is the result of our karma.

When something goes wrong in our lives and we can't explain it, Karma can. We must have committed some sin in the past. It may be in the distant past and we have forgotten it; it could even be in our previous life. But Karma doesn't forget. It records everything. Even after we die, our Karma remains in our account. The body dies but the ME - Mind and Ego – doesn't die. As per the Law of Karma, we are reborn to redeem our sins or to enjoy the rewards of our good deeds. That is the reason to explain why some people are born "lucky" in the family of the rich and famous and some without any fortune. Some believers of Karma even believe that we can be born as a dog, or a pig in the next birth to suffer for our past deeds. When something bad happens in our life, we must rejoice rather than cry because our bad

34
 The Universal Law of Karma

Karma is being negated. It is a reason to celebrate. However, nobody knows exactly how this law works, but the universal Law of Karma exists.

I realized that Karma has three accounts – one is a corpus, a warehouse of Karma that continues birth after birth. The second is an opening balance that we start with, in every new life. The third is the current account which carries all the good and bad deeds we do in this life. All three accounts are connected and they decide our destiny. However, we have a free will and we can choose our actions. These actions create fresh Karma which will be added to our Karma and determine our future.

I realized that very few people know that we can transcend Karma; we can escape from the law. However, this is only possible if we transcend the ego and the mind and we realize that we are not the body. When we realize we are just an instrument of the Divine and we surrender our actions without being the doer, then the actions are not ours and so the Karma doesn't belong to us. A tiny minority are fortunate to realize this Truth. They are also the ones to escape from the constant cycle of death and rebirth. This is liberation and leads to the ultimate goal of life called Salvation, Moksha or Nirvana. The one who wants to escape from Karma must give up his "I" - his ego to arrive at this nal destination.

35
 18 | The Mysterious 4th Factor

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Man thinks that he can make the impossible possible. What is it that he cannot do? But when man does his best and things don't happen as expected, man looks up at the sky and cries ," Why? Why did it not happen?" He thinks that there are three factors that control the result of every action. The result depends on him, his equipment and tools, and his efforts. All results depend on these three factors. But unfortunately, man is mistaken.

I realized that there is a mysterious 4th Factor. A factor that controls the results of all our actions. However, very few of us realize this and acknowledge or accept the power of the 4th Factor.

What is this mysterious 4th Factor and how does it control the results of our actions? Normally, every doer of action knows that if he wants to improve the result of his output, he must rst improve his tools, his equipment, and resources. He can also improve his skill and his art of execution. However, despite using the best men and material and the best of efforts, there are times when the result is not as desired or expected. The mysterious 4th Factor, lesser known to man, controls all results of our actions.

There may be many farmers who live together in a village. They use the same seeds, manure, farming material, and even their lands are adjacent. However, they do not reap the same produce. What causes some farmers to be rich and some poor although they put in equal efforts? There may be a potter or a painter who

36
 The Mysterious 4th Factor

may seem to be a lucky man as he beats the competition and achieves mysteriously unaccountable success despite his ordinary performance. Somehow, man has not realized the existence of this 4th Factor. I know of couples who try to conceive but they are not blessed with a child. Despite going to fertility experts and taking all the medication and therapy, they fail but there are others who succeed.

It's time to realize that there is a 4th Factor that is in charge of results. I realized that we can do our best but we must hand over the rest to the 4th Factor and trust its judgment.

What happens when we don't accept the 4th Factor? We become attached to the result. The expectation of a particular result creates a desire and when this desire is not met, we become disappointed and miserable. We must develop the art of acceptance and learn to surrender to this mysterious 4th Factor. Several times in life, I realized that things did not happen the way they should have. But realizing the prevalence of this Divine factor, I did not get angry or frustrated. I just let go and let things happen without losing my inspiration, keeping my hard work and enthusiasm at its peak.

Just as many universal laws exist, I realized the presence of the 4th Factor and learnt to live with it. I would do my best, but hand over the rest to the 4th Factor. After all, I cannot control the result of my action. I realized that the 4th Factor is in charge.

37
 19 | There is a way to

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Suffer No More!

We all suffer, don't we? Be it the pain of the body, misery of the mind, or the agony that we feel when our ego is hurt. We see people suffering and we feel sad. But do we know that there is a way to overcome suffering?

I realized that we suffer due to ignorance because we believe that we are the body that suffers, and we experience physical pain. Because we believe that we are the mind that worries, we experience fear, worry, and anxiety and become miserable. However, there is a way to suffer no more if we realize that we are not the body that suffers. We have a body, but we are the ones who are alive inside the body. This realization will distance us from the physical body and we will ght the pain that we experience through pain killers and other therapies but we will not suffer. Today, even very serious conditions like cancer are treated with opioids like morphine which overcome very high levels of physical pain. There are times when local anesthesia is used to overcome pain in parts of the body. Thus, in today's world, it is no more a secret as to how one can overcome physical pain.

However, the bigger challenge is how to transcend the suffering of the mind. The mind is constantly worrying and is anxious about the future. We suffer as the mind fears about tomorrow and regrets about yesterday. In fact, the mind is like a monkey that is constantly swinging from the miseries of the past to the fears of the future. How do we overcome this mental misery?

When we realize that we may have a mind, but we are not the mind, then we become observers of the mind.

38
 There is a way to Suffer No More!

We observe the rascal jumping like a monkey but we don't become miserable with it. When we learn the art of living as the observer, we learn not to suffer although the mind seems to suffer.

This realization helped me overcome all misery, both misery of the body and of the mind as I discovered the magical secret of how to suffer no more. Those who read this for the rst time may wonder how this is possible, but if we realize that we are the ones who live in this body-mind-ego complex, neither are we the body-mind, nor the ego, then we transcend all suffering. Of course, we too will experience the messengers of misery knocking at our door. Messengers like fear, worry, doubt, regret, anger, hate, revenge, and jealousy. These come and knock at our door but when we realize the Truth, we can bid them farewell without letting them in. When we realize the Truth about life that we are not the body, nor are we the mind, but the Divine Energy then there is no place for these messengers of misery to enter our life. We don't swing to a past that is gone and to a future that is not born. We live in the present moment, peaceful and joyous, transcending the body and mind and by doing so, we overcome all suffering.

I realized that there is no need to suffer. If we discover the truth of who we are, we can transcend all suffering and learn to live peacefully and blissfully. We only suffer because of our ignorance. With the realization of the Truth, we will be liberated from all suffering.

39
 20 | We all need a Life Coach

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If we take a look at the world champions, what is the underlying factor that made them winners? Of course, each of them had their own unique gift, their own USP. But denitely, there was a coach, a teacher, a mentor or a guide that led them to success. At times, the inspiration might have come from a parent, a sibling or even a friend. But there is no doubt that it was an expert coach, a gifted professional who helped them achieve the feat.

I realized that to discover the secret of life and to evolve on the journey of self-realization, one needs a spiritual master or a Guru. Without a Guru who takes us from 'Gu', darkness to 'Ru', light, who helps us overcome our ignorance, we will never acquire the wisdom to realize the Truth in life.

I had the blessing of my Guru, my spiritual master, Dada J.P. Vaswani. He was my spiritual companion and coach for twenty-ve years. My relationship with him was so magical that he taught me to decode all the spiritual mysteries of life. I must have asked him thousands of questions but he never got tired. He led me from a journey of achievement to fulllment. He helped me transcend from the kindergarten of religion to a Masters in Spirituality. He held my hand as he not only taught me and coached me but also loved me and encouraged me day after day, with all the support I needed to arrive at my spiritual realization. I realized that if we want to evolve in our life journey, we need a spiritual master or a Guru who has himself been taught by a spiritually awakened master. The master must not

40
 We all need a Life Coach

have any selsh interest, for the subject of spirituality is beyond money and material demands. A truly realized master seeks nothing except to help his disciple realize the Truth. Lucky is the one who nds such a spiritual master in his life. I am so grateful to the Divine that I met and lived with my spiritual master for two and a half decades.

Our rst challenge is that we must search for a spiritual mentor who can help us answer questions and lead us to the Truth. Otherwise, we will be slaves of the body and the mind and we will crave till our grave. It is only with the grace and the guidance of a Guru that one can walk the arduous path of realization and then achieve the ultimate goal.

I also realized that it is dangerous to nd a wrong mentor because then we are coached and taught and taken in the opposite direction of the goal, which can be very dangerous. The Guru leads us to self-realization and ultimately to liberation. This is the goal of human life. The Guru is always present with us although he may be physically apart. Although my mentor, my God on earth, my Guru, Dada, departed from the earthly plane after traversing it for a hundred years, he continues to live in the temple of my heart, being a part of every breath, every thought of my life.

A true Guru enjoys a very intimate relationship with us, beyond that of a family or a friend and I realized that this was the biggest gift one could get in life.

41
 21 | Nobody really goes to

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Heaven or Hell

Many of us believe that after this life is over, we will go to some kind of heaven or hell. There will be a Day of Judgement when we will be rewarded for our good deeds, just as we will be punished for our sins. With all due respect to religions that advocate this belief, I went into deep introspection and contemplation of this belief to realize the logic behind this.

What did I realize? At death, our body will either be cremated or buried. In both cases, it returns to dust. The Soul that was alive has left the body. On cremation, the body has become ashes and even after the burial, the body remains under the soil and disintegrates. Then who is it that goes to heaven or hell? Further, where is heaven or hell and how does one travel there?

After a lot of thought, I realized that nobody really goes to heaven or hell. We suffer hell or rejoice heaven right here on earth. There are various possibilities. One possibility is the theory of rebirth. Most religions believe in the Law of Karma or in the Truth - as you sow, so shall you reap. After the body is dead, who will reap what the body has done – whether good or bad? For those who believe in rebirth, the ME – mind and ego are reborn in a new body and the ME returns to earth to redeem good deeds and sins in a new life. If one doesn't believe in rebirth, then the questions that remain unanswered -where is this so-called heaven or hell? Has anybody been there? Has anybody seen it? How does a dead person travel to this destination and without a body, how do the dead get punished or rewarded? Food for thought. There are many who

42
 Nobody really goes to Heaven or Hell

follow a religious belief but there are some who stop and ask questions till they realize the Truth. I myself did not accept any religious dogma for that matter. I just believe in the laws of spirituality. No doubt we cannot escape from our sins, just as our good actions are not wasted but we must be practical and sensible in our approach to realize that just like the far-fetched tale of Santa Claus is a myth, Heaven and Hell are not physical destinations. We must follow our religion, for that helps us to grow closer to God and love God, but we must grow and go beyond religion to realize the Spiritual Truth of life.

All religions are good and we don't need to change our religion, we just need to question some aspects. The goal of religion is God-realization and religions have good teachings but we must not take all teachings literally. Instead, we must understand the intended meaning in word and spirit.

I realized that we experience heaven and hell as we live on earth. We suffer hell and we enjoy the bliss of heaven, moment by moment, as we live. We don't need to take ight or a y in spacecraft there. Even if there were chartered ights to heaven and hell, how could we possibly board such a ight after death? We must wake up and realize the Truth. Those who realize the Truth will achieve the ultimate goal of God-realization and rejoice with peace and bliss.

43
 22 We are the Life Energy within

Those on a quest to realize the Truth, wonder, "If we are not the body, if we are not the mind, then who are we?" We exist and we are alive. While we are alive, most of us can't answer this simple question - Who am I?

I realized that I am not the body. The body is made up of ve elements. It is the physical, gross aspect of our existence. It starts as a simple zygote and grows into an embryo until it is nally born. Thereafter, the body grows to become an adult, ages and nally dies. The body is just a habitat of the Life Energy that we truly are. Some people call this Life Energy the Soul. Some call it the Spirit or Atman. It is also known as Chi or Prana.

As I realized that we are not the body, I went on a quest to nd out who we truly are. This led me to realize that we are not the mind. Of course, as we know we have a body, we also feel we have a mind. The body is our gross existence but the mind seems to be a subtle aspect which we cannot touch. However, we can observe the mind as it jumps from thought to thought. We sometimes say my mind is worrying or my mind is anxious. This, by itself, endorses the fact that we are not the mind but we have a mind. Just as we say, this is my hand, this is my leg or my head is aching. All these aspects are a part of our life but who are we in reality? It was not an easy task but after going on a quest for the Truth, retreating in silence into the mountains, I realized that we are the Life Energy that gives us breath without which we would be dead. Most people don't have the time, the patience or the passion to realize who we truly are. Thus, most of humanity lives and dies in

44
 We are the Life Energy within

ignorance. Ignorance about the fact that we are, in essence, Life Energy that powers the body.

Have you ever thought about it? Our car needs fuel. Our mobile phone needs a battery. Our hair dryer needs a power cord. What powers our body to live? What gives energy to our heart to beat, to our lungs to breathe, to our kidneys to cleanse? What is that power that makes our eyes see, our nose smell, our ears listen, our tongue taste, and our skin touch and feel? At death, in a moment, when the Life Energy within leaves, everything stops. In a ash, in a fraction of a second, the body remains as it is, except that it is lifeless. The Life Energy within the Power, left causing death.

I realized that we are that Power. The Power that arrives at birth and departs at death. The Power that makes each of the 37 trillion cells alive. What a tremendous, magical Power this is! Sad, but most of us don't realize that we are that, the Divine Power, not this body, not this mind that we seem to be.

When we sleep, we become unconscious. But when we wake up, the Life Energy powers the mind to dream, but once we die we do not wake up again. In fact, we never die. Only our body dies. We, the Life Energy, just departs at death.

We are that Life Energy, the soul or the spirit. This is the biggest realization that we must realize before our journey of life is over.

45
 23 | Time is not moving, it is still.

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We are moving

The whole world talks about how time ies. Before we realize it, the year is over. But the question is this, is time really moving? A car is moving, a train is moving and we are moving – we can see it. But has anyone seen time moving?

I realized that the clock ticks second by second but time doesn't move. We move through time. In fact, what is time? It is a measure of what is between this moment and the next. Somehow, we have gotten used to thinking that a day has passed or a year has passed. No doubt that when the earth rotates on its own axis once in 24 hours, we call it a day and when the earth completes a revolution, we call it a year. But if you think about it, life is passing – not time. Time is just a measure between today and tomorrow, between last year and this year. It is a unit of measurement, just like weight is used as a measure. Time is nothing beyond that. It is up to us to use time effectively and to live meaningfully. What does this mean?

I realized that we, human beings don't enjoy the moment. Every moment is an opportunity to live, to smile, to be happy. But how many people actually do this? We seem to be rushing through the day. Most of us are spending this moment regretting the past or worrying about the future. Therefore, we are losing valuable moments. What we don't realize is that moments create minutes that create hours. Hours create days that create weeks, months and years!

Finally, this is our life. What we don't realize is when we

46
 Time is not moving, it is still. We are moving

lose moments, we are ultimately losing life itself. Therefore we must rst come to terms with time and realize that time is not zooming. It is like a highway and we are driving on this highway called time. Our drive is our life. We are living through time - passing moments, days, months and years – till ultimately we reach the end of the road. Time doesn't get over. It is endless. Our life gets over.

I realized that we must live our life with peace, bliss, and joy. We must go on a quest to realize who we are and why we are here. Most importantly, we must make the best use of every moment as the clock ticks second by second, being conscious of our blessings, being grateful for this beautiful life, by living as the Divine Life Energy and by transcending the suffering of the body and the mind.

Most people rush through life. For them, it seems that time is just zooming by. But there are a few who realize the Truth about life. They spend time in silence, being conscious of the present moment and by enjoying the experience called life. They don't just exist. They live moment by moment, making the best of their life as it passes through time, day after day, month after month, year after year. They nd fulllment and joy in every moment that they live.

If we really want to make the best of our life, we must be conscious of our life moment by moment, not worrying about time but rather focusing on our life every moment that we live.

47
 24 Knowledge is not Realization

What is the difference between knowledge and realization? Seekers on the journey of life, in quest of life often get confused between the two. The rst step is to acquire knowledge, to know the Truth. However, knowing the Truth is not enough. One needs to go beyond.

I realized this when I went to my Guru, my spiritual master and told him I experience God in the sunset, in the owers, in the breeze. I also told him that I know God is everywhere. Being spiritually evolved and a realized Soul himself, he smiled and told me, "You have the knowledge of the Truth, now you must realize it."

It was a few years later that I truly understood what he meant. We may know of something, but unless we open our 'real eyes', we will never realize the Truth. A spiritual text has put it very aptly. The rst step of knowledge is an assimilation of information – to read, to listen and to know. Then, we pass that information through our intellect. We introspect, we contemplate. We try to ratify that knowledge as being the Truth. We use our power of discrimination to eliminate the illusions and the myth. Now we are sure this is the Truth. However, it is still knowledge. When that knowledge becomes realization, we not only know it and understand it, but we make it real in our life. It becomes an intuitive part of our belief system. We don't have to convince ourselves of it anymore. Once we realize the Truth, it becomes a part of our life.

Many people know that we are not the body, not the

48
 Knowledge is not Realization

mind. But they have not realized the Truth. What does it mean? Although they seem to know the Truth in theory, they have not made it a part of their life. This means they have the knowledge of realization but they have not realized the Truth. There is a big difference between the two. There are times when somebody realizes the Truth before acquiring knowledge. It is like a Divine ash that overpowers them. Then the realization acquires the knowledge to ll in the gaps but this is rare. And it only happens to those spiritually blessed.

Seekers on the path of self-realization must pass through 4 doors: discrimination, detachment, discipline, and desire for liberation. Then, they must try to remain in a state of Divine union. They must not lose connection with the Divine – be it through action, devotion, education or meditation. These are the prerequisites for realization.

I realized in my quest that knowledge is just a milestone on a highway that leads to realization. Yes, it is good to get the knowledge but we must not stop at that. We must realize the Truth and let the Realization run in our blood and live in every cell of our body. This is true realization – the realization that will ultimately lead us to liberation.

Let us not be like those self-proclaimed intelligent geniuses who pride themselves in knowing everything, but in reality, have realized nothing.

49
 25 Our ultimate Goal is Liberation

Most people think that the goal of life is to be happy. Of course, it is. Who doesn't want to be happy? The whole of humanity seems to be ocking towards destination happiness, but they haven't realized the Truth.

I realized that we start our life thinking that success is happiness and so we chase achievement. But there is no fulllment. Although we experience pleasure and happiness, it is temporary and transitory. A few people are lucky, maybe about 20 percent of the human race evolve and get out of that rat race. They live a life of contentment, fully satised and fullled.

However, I realized that both achievement and fulllment cannot liberate us from misery and sorrow. Thus our ultimate goal of life is liberation. What is Liberation all about? It starts with the realization of the Truth – realization that we are not the body and not the mind. We are the Divine Life Energy that gives us the power to live. This is our ultimate goal of life.

What happens if we do not experience self-realization and Liberation? In such a case, we live like prisoners in this body-mind complex and suffer pain of the body and misery of the mind. Unless we achieve the ultimate goal of Liberation, we cannot escape from misery and sorrow.

Religions around the world and spiritual masters talk about Liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Even the awakened one, Buddha, advocated this. But whether or not we subscribe to an afterlife, we all want

50
 Our ultimate Goal is Liberation

liberation from misery and sorrow today. Therefore, this should be our ultimate goal. Otherwise, we will enjoy pleasure from achievement or the joy from fulllment but we will not experience everlasting eternal peace that we attain as we discover our true purpose and realize the Truth about life. This is the third and ultimate peak of happiness, a Truth that transcends misery and pain.

Amongst all my realizations in life, I found this to be the turning point – to realize what the ultimate goal of life is. Most of us just exist till we die and we don't nd out why we are alive. What is the purpose of life on earth? When we go on a quest, we realize the Truth. When we realize the Truth, we are liberated from all kinds of misery and sorrow. Our life is full of peace and bliss and we live moment by moment with the realization of the Truth. No illusion, no myth can trouble the one who is realized. A Realized Soul is enlightened and free from the petty annoyances that other human beings face. Such a Soul lives fearlessly without stress, worry anxiety or anger. Such a Soul lives with steady intellect, controlling the troublesome mind from stressful thoughts.

All religions advocate this as the ultimate goal of life. Some call it Enlightenment, some Salvation just as others call it Nirvana, Mukti or Moksha. I realized that they are all one and the same, different names for Liberation, our ultimate goal.

51
 26 | The Intellect is not the Mind

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On the journey of self-realization, there are some basic principles that must be claried. Otherwise, these interfere in our realization and liberation. Most people think that the mind also comprises the memory and the intellect. However, spiritual sages have warned us not to confuse the two – specically the mind and the intellect.

In my quest, I realized that the mind is a thought factory. In fact, it is our enemy because it constantly produces thoughts creating anxiety, stress, worry, and fear and stops us from realizing the Truth. How can we control this monkey mind and make it into a silent monk? How can we reduce the MTR, the Mental Thought Rate so that we can achieve our goal of realization? We need the help of the intellect. We human beings are blessed with the intellect. Although like the mind, it is another part of our subtle body, it is distinctly different from the mind. The purpose of the intellect is to discriminate thoughts, differentiating between the right and wrong thoughts, execute the right ones and reject the wrong ones. However, when the mind is at its peak, producing about 50,000 thoughts a day, the intellect is unable to cope. We must use our willpower to discipline the mind by methods like silence and meditation, thereby slowing down the production of thoughts. Once we do that, the intellect lters each thought and doesn't let the mind push the thought ahead into execution. In a way, the intellect becomes the governor of the mind. Surely, it is not a part of the mind and distinctly different from it.

In my quest for self-realization, I found the intellect to

52
 The Intellect is not the Mind

be a very important aid as it helped me to discriminate the Truth from the Myth. Not only did it control the mind, but through the mind, it also controlled the ve senses from disrupting my life. Unfortunately, those who think that the mind and the intellect are no different but are one entity, lose the power of discrimination.

If we want to realize the Truth and live our lives with meaning and purpose we must isolate our intellect from our mind. Then, we must x our intellect on the mind like a lter so that every thought is ltered by the intellect. If a thought is inappropriate, the intellect will block the thought from going forward. Thus, the intellect becomes a very important tool for self-realization.

It is said that our subtle body, also known as the inner instrument is made up of the Mind, the Memory, the Intellect and the Ego. The Mind is a thought factory that just produces thoughts. The Memory helps to register and recall everything that happens in our life. The Intellect is that aspect of our invisible body that discriminates between the right thoughts and the wrong thoughts. And nally comes the Ego. We all know what the ego is. It constantly makes us think that we are a body-mind complex. All these are together referred to as our inner instrument.

I realized that our Mind is our enemy. It makes us believe that the Intellect is part of the Mind, thus defeating the very weapon that is meant to destroy the Mind. It was the realization of my powerful Intellect that made me realize the truth about life.

53
 27 | Detachment and Dispassion

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reduce Anxiety

Have you ever heard of the term renunciation? Those on a journey of self-realization lead a life of detachment and dispassion because they realize that this is the way to overcome suffering.

In my journey, I realized that if we are attached to people and possessions, and passionate about the results of our expectations we tend to become anxious, and very often miserable. Attachment causes misery because of the ignorance that we live with. The ones who realize the Truth know that nothing is permanent and being attached is a sure way to break our heart. Thus, I too decided to live a life of dispassion and detachment. What happens when we live so? We overcome the misery caused by attachment.

A lady was very fond of her pet dog and suddenly one day it died. She was so attached to her pet that she could not overcome the loss. She created so much misery for herself. Her attachment did not allow her to get another pet because she was afraid that she would become miserable again if she lost the other pet too.

However, if we overcome this attachment and live with detachment and transcend our passion, then this will make our life far more peaceful and blissful. I realized that it is foolish to live a life of attachment and passion.

I personally experienced a life of passion and while passion is positive in the pursuit of success, it hinders our spiritual growth and affects our peace and joy. In our journey of success and achievement, we achieve so

54
 Detachment and Dispassion reduce Anxiety

many things but then we become attached to our money, our success, our name, and fame. We even get attached to our relationships.

From my personal experience, attachment is sure to make us miserable because nothing is permanent. Sooner or later, we will lose our wealth. One day even our relationships will come to an end. I renounced my old ways and found my life to be far more blissful and peaceful. I lived a life of surrender and acceptance. I never reduced my motivation and inspiration, but I made sure not to be attached and hurt myself. I realized that it is important to live with dispassion and detachment for a spiritual aspirant. Not only do these give us peace and joy, living with passion and attachment act as fetters and hinder our spiritual growth.

If one wants to live a life of peace and joy, and ultimately achieve our life goal, one should resolve to live with detachment and dispassion. If we don't renounce our attachments and our passions, we are sure to live a life of stress, worry and anxiety.

What is real detachment? Real detachment allows you to live with people and possessions, and it appears like you are leading an absolutely normal life, but within, you are not attached. Within, you are detached. The loss of a person or a thing never destabilizes your peace and your bliss.

55
 28 Discipline is the key to Realization

People do many things in the aspiration for self-realization but many are unable to even reach the tip of realization. The spiritual sages have warned that this is because of our own mind, our body.

I realized that the discipline of body and control of mind are key to realizing the Truth. So, what actually happens if our ve senses drag us into the world? We see something, we hear something, we smell, we touch and we taste something. Immediately, the senses trigger the mind creating thoughts and desires. If we don't tame the senses of the body, it becomes impossible to contemplate the Truth. That is why a genuine seeker often renounces many things as a way to discipline the senses. Of course, it is not possible to shut off all the senses all the time. But if we don't, then we start craving and we become prisoners of our own desires.

Any kind of craving for material things distances us from spiritual realization. Those who keep their life simple, fullling their needs are able to reach their spiritual destination. Craving is not just of the body, but also the mind. We must discipline the mind. Otherwise, it will wonder and wander producing distracting thoughts, becoming the main enemy of our realization.

The mind is like a monkey. It jumps from thought to thought. It doesn't like to remain still. It doesn't let us contemplate. One moment, it takes us to a past memory and lls us with regret. The next moment, it jumps to a fear of the future, disturbing our concentration. We have to stop this monkey business of the mind and cut

56
 Discipline is the key to Realization

its tail that causes it to jump. We must convert the monkey into a monk. Unless the mind is silent, still as a lake without ripples, we will not be able to concentrate on the Truth.

I realized that the journey of realization and liberation cannot be successful without strict discipline. Of course, this discipline is one of the keys but seekers must realize that without it, one cannot go close to liberation.

The discipline of body, control of the mind along with the elimination of cravings is one part. What does a seeker do when attacked by the body and mind? The seeker withdraws like a tortoise that pulls back its head within its shell when the enemy is near. To help complete the process, the seeker lives with faith, forbearance, and focus on the ultimate goal. After all, realization is not for the weak and ordinary. It is a gift for those who are passionate about the Truth and who want the gift of ultimate bliss and peace without the shadow of suffering. If one wants to enjoy this state of liberation, it cannot happen without realization, which in turn cannot happen without discipline.

Thus, discipline is key to the realization of the Truth. Discipline opens the doors to spiritual secrets unknown to common man. It helps transcend the ego, mind and body and makes us realize that we are the Divine Soul, which is our true identity.

57
 29 | Yoga is not just Physical Gymnastics.

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It is Union with the Divine

The world has misunderstood Yoga to be an art for the wellbeing of the body consisting of physical exercise and stretching of the body in various positions. Some go one step further and add breathing exercises and techniques and call it Yoga. No doubt that the physical exercise 'Asana' and breathing techniques 'Pranayama' are part of Yoga. But by themselves, they are not Yoga. So, what is Yoga?

I realized that the word Yoga comes from the word 'Yog' which means union. It implies our union with the Divine. Our constant connection with the Lord which calls for disconnection with the world. How can we be in Yoga, in Divine union? To understand this connection, we can consider it to be like a simple SIM card that is constantly connected with the network from a satellite.

My study led me to realize that there are 8 steps - often referred to as limbs. It starts with moral self-restraint and observing discipline for self-purication. It also calls for mindful breathing and body control without which we will be disturbed and distracted. One has to go beyond, turning inwards and withdrawing the senses that crave. Having done so, Yoga calls for concentration, focus, single-pointed attention. This leads us to what we call meditation where there is reection, contemplation and single-pointed focus. Ultimately, Yoga helps us disconnect from the world and we experience an ecstasy that unites us with the Divine.

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 Yoga is not just Physical Gymnastics. It is Union with the Divine

A true Yogi, the one who is in Yoga, lives in constant union with the Divine, liberated from all the cravings of the material world. Yoga is about transcending ego, mind, and body as one follows all these steps needed to be one with the Divine.

I realized that it is most unfortunate that people have commercialized Yoga and made it look like something exotic with physical gymnastics and breath control. A true Yogi realizes that breath control and physical process do assist in the overall practice of Yoga but are not the true essence of Yoga.

My realization about Yoga led me to practice as a Yogi, being constantly united with the Divine. This is practically impossible because as long as we are alive we need to use body and mind and this connects us to the world in which we live. However, a true Divine Yogi is one who lives in the world like a lotus living in a dirty pond but not sinking in it. The Yogi lives with the realization that the world itself is a manifestation of the Divine. The Yogi is able to keep the constant connection because he sees Divinity in everything. Yoga helps us enjoy peace and bliss that are beyond what words can express. Only a Yogi knows and enjoys a state of being in Yoga.

Do you want to realize the Truth about life? Then start the practice of Yoga, of being in union with the Divine. Be conscious of the Divinity in you and all around you to experience the bliss that true Yoga gives.

59
 30 | We Destroy our own Peace

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Who doesn't want peace of mind? But how many people truly enjoy this bliss? Peace is the foundation of happiness. Stress, worry, and anxiety are enemies of joy. Still, we lose our peace of mind and don't even realize why.

I realized that we destroy our own peace by letting our mind wander into thoughts of worry, regret, fear, anger, and the likes. Let us analyze what is peace of mind. If you sit in silence for a few minutes you are sure to experience a glimpse of peace. Stop the thinking process. Do not permit your mind to think. Just picture a still lake and be silent.

What creates peace? It is our own MTR. The mind is capable of producing a thought every second. This can be a whopping 50,000 thoughts a day. If we permit our mind to do so, we are sure to lose our peace of mind. These very thoughts create the stress that we want to overcome to enjoy the state of peace and bliss. But with our mind constantly thinking, it automatically creates stress. The mind is a negative thought generating expert. It will jump into the past and make us regret as it replays a misery. The mind takes us there and creates thoughts that rehearse the past. We nurse it and curse it as our mind produces the poison of negativity. The mind doesn't stop. It then jumps to the future to produce more toxins. It makes us fear and worry about something that may never happen but it reminds us of all the possible dangers. This constant swinging of the mind with thoughts going like a pendulum from the past to the future is the primary cause of us losing our

60
 We Destroy our own Peace

peace of mind. I realized that I have to catch this thief, this joy stealer that is depriving me of peace. The thief was none other than my own mind.

I found that we can practice doing things that reduce our Mental Thought Rate. We can train the mind by slowing down its pace – making it reect, introspect and contemplate on meaningful and joyous things. A still mind is a peaceful mind. The moment we lose control, it is like letting go of the reins of a chariot that is driven by 5 horses – our 5 senses. If we let go of mind control and sense control, we are doomed and we will never experience the peace of mind that we seek.

Peep into your own life. Do you enjoy peace of mind? Or are you stressed, worried and unhappy. If you are, then you are responsible for destroying your own peace. The good news is that there is hope. You can discipline your mind, control it and reduce your MTR – Mental Thought Rate. You can use simple techniques like spending time in silence every day, meditating or contemplating a positive thought, eliminating all the negative emotions in your life like anger, hate, jealousy, and revenge.

If you make a conscious decision to ll your life with positive emotions and control the reins of your mind and senses, you will nd that you have regained peace of mind – the very foundation of joy, bliss, and happiness.

61
 31 | Happiness is in the Now

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While everybody wants to be happy, not everybody is. Why is happiness so elusive? The whole world is searching for happiness, craving for joy, but few people are truly happy. I went in search to discover the Truth.

In my quest for happiness, I suddenly experienced an 'Aha' moment. There was a very simple but effective way of being happy. It was this – Happiness is in the Now!

Unfortunately, we are unhappy because we are trying to be happy in the past that is gone and in the future not yet born. Nobody can go to the past, except the rascal, our own mind. You can go to New York or London but you cannot go to yesterday. Still, the mind takes us to the past and makes us suffer. Then it jumps to tomorrow, next week, and next month although we know that tomorrow doesn't exist, only today does. When we constantly shuttle between the past and the future, we lose consciousness of the present moment and happiness only depends on the present moment.

Is it so difcult to be happy now, just for this moment? We can do something we like, be with somebody we love or count our blessings even if we are facing some trouble. It is possible to be happy in the now! If we make it a habit to be happy moment by moment, our life itself will become happy, because it is moments that create hours, days, months, years and life. If only we can be happy in the moment, we can be happy forever.

Happiness is all about being happy in the now. It seems

62
 Happiness is in the Now

so easy but not many people are happy because most people do not live in the now. They jump from yesterday to tomorrow and miss out on the peace and bliss that belongs to this moment – the NOW.

I realized that if we want to be truly happy, all we have to do is to be in the present with joy and peace. This is the ultimate secret of happiness! We must eliminate this constant jumping like a monkey from the past to the future.

How does one remain in the Now? One has to be conscious of the present moment, not let it slip away. Somehow, we have not trained ourselves to be in the present moment, the Now. We are always living in the past and in the future. This habit of living in yesterday and tomorrow is the key to losing the Now. Unfortunately the happiness we seek does not exist anywhere else except in the Now, the present moment. Thus, my realization made me conscious of the Now and made me live my life moment by moment blissfully and peacefully.

Sure there are moments of stress and worry in everyone's life but with the habit of being in the now, one can transcend the worry, fear, and anxiety and rather live in moments of peace and calm. Try it. it works.

63
 32 | We believe in Myths

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Just because somebody told us that Santa Claus will bring gifts on Christmas, it doesn't mean that it is true. As we grow up, we know that it is not Santa but our family members who place the gifts under the Christmas tree. But when will we actually grow up to realize the myths of life?

I realized that most of humanity believes in myths. We hear something, and without using our intellect, we blindly believe it. We don't discriminate between what is right and wrong, what is true and what is false. Somebody tells us that God is made of skin and bone and we believe it. We don't think that God is immortal. God cannot be made of skin and bone. We just believe in mythological tales. We don't realize that mythology was created to make children understand some concepts like that of God. As we grow and we evolve, we must let go of the myth and realize the Truth. Most unfortunately, we don't. We believe in the myth until we die.

We have been told that if a black cat crosses our path then it is a sign of bad luck and thus, we should stop and not go forward. We believe in this lie without it having any logic. Such beliefs hinder our growth, our progress, and our evolution. To start with, we must acknowledge the presence of myths and superstitions and question every ritual that we are told to perform. If we don't question and we blindly accept the myths, living with superstitions, we will continue to live with ignorance, and die without realizing the Truth.

64
 We believe in Myths

Realization is about busting the myth and realizing the Truth. Somebody said the whole world was caused by a Big Bang. How could this be the beginning? Who caused the Big Bang? We must question. We must ask till we nd the answers. Only then we will discover the Truth.

Most people pray and when we pray, we look up at the sky, at heaven as if God is there, up above. Then we are told that after we die we will go to heaven or hell. But can't we see that our body is cremated or buried here on earth? Then who will go, how will we go and where will we go? Don't just believe in a myth. Question everything. And if there is no proof, there must, at least, be inference before anything is accepted.

When we believe in a myth, we are agreeing to believe in ignorance and by doing so we will never realize the Truth. Life is all about the realization of the Truth. It's time to stop and make a list of all the myths, the superstitions, and rituals present in our life. The moment we start questioning things and start nding answers, we will be on our way to realizing the Truth about life. I realized this and I do not accept any myth, any superstition until I am logically convinced of the Truth.

Make a list of all the myths that you believe in. Then, question each one and inevitably you will realize how illogical they are and as a result, you will experience peace and bliss in your life.

65
 33 | We are fooled by the

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Cosmic Illusion – Maya

What is Maya? It is the name given to this cosmic illusion, this world that we live in. Maya is very powerful and it has two powers: the power of concealing the Truth and projecting the myth.

I realized that we, human beings don't see beyond. If anybody removes an ornament from their nger and asks us what it is, we immediately say that it's a ring. In reality, this is Maya, an illusion. It is not a ring, it is only gold. If we remove the gold from the ring, there is no ring. Then why do we call it a ring? This is because it appears to be the ring.

A villager once came to a city and his friend took him for a movie. It was a movie on war. He then asked the villager, "What do you see?" "I see horses," the villager responded. "What do you see beyond?" "I see elephants." "And what do you see beyond elephants?" "I see smoke going up into the sky." "And what do you see beyond the sky?" the friend asked again. "Nothing. I don't see anything beyond." The friend was teasing the villager and soon the movie was over. He then asked the villager, "What do you see?" He said, "I see nothing. Just a plain, blank screen."

Just like the movie concealed the screen and projected the lm, Maya conceals the reality of this world and projects the illusion. Unfortunately, due to our ignorance, we are unable to see beyond. We are unable to realize the presence of Maya, the cosmic illusion.

We live our life being fooled by this cosmic illusion, Maya. We start believing that we are what our name is

66
 We are fooled by the Cosmic Illusion – Maya

when in reality we are something else. We start believing that we are born and we will die. But in reality, we are just pure energy. Because we are fooled by this cosmic illusion, we suffer. Because Maya makes us believe that we are body-mind complex we experience the misery of body and mind. Our goal is to overcome the cosmic illusion and realize the Truth.

I realized that this whole world is nothing but a cosmic illusion. In fact, even science agrees that matter is nothing but energy that appears as matter. But because of Maya, we are unable to see the Truth. We are carried away by forms and appearances and do not investigate to nd what intrinsically is the Truth within. That is our ultimate goal - to realize the Truth about life. Because we believe in the illusion, our entire philosophy and paradigm of life is based on illusion and not reality.

I realized that there is only one way to realize the Truth. We must stop and ask questions. If somebody said this is a sweater, we must ask, "Is this a sweater or is this wool that is knitted to appear as the sweater?" We need to go deep, we need to investigate until we arrive at the Truth. What appears on the surface may only be an illusion, not the reality. But the goal of life is the realization of the Truth. When we see a mirage in the desert, don't we know it's just an illusion? So is this world. It is a big cosmic illusion.

67
 34 | Every Effect has a Cause and

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we are just the Effects

I realized that there was something called the Law of

Causation. It is based on three tenets:

  1. Every cause has an effect

  2. The effect is nothing but the cause in a different form

  3. If you remove the cause, there will be no effect

Let's understand the Law of Causation, Gold is the cause, the ring, the bracelet, and the chain are just effects of gold, different forms of gold. If you remove the gold nothing remains. There is no ring, bracelet or chain. So it is with mud or clay. Mud is the cause; the pot, the plate, and the statue are just effects – a different form of clay. If you remove the mud, nothing remains.

The Law of Causation made me realize a profound Truth. We are all effects of the Divine. The Divine Power, Cosmic Energy is the cause. We appear as what we seem to be only because of the cosmic energy that is within us. The moment the cosmic energy leaves, we become nothing. We are just effects of the cause, just like a ring is an effect of the cause - gold. When the gold leaves the ring, nothing remains.

While we are able to understand it clearly in the case of gold and mud, we nd it slightly difcult to realize that we too are nothing but effects and the cause is the Divine. But this is the Truth – the absolute Truth. Because we live in ignorance we don't realize the Truth.

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 Every Effect has a Cause and we are just the Effects

We all see waves in the ocean. And the waves appear to be waves but in reality, they are not. Waves are nothing but the ocean appearing as the wave. The ocean is the cause and the wave is the effect. Again, when we contemplate, we easily understand the Truth about the wave and the ocean. The challenge is for us to realize that we too are nothing but effects. What is the cause?

I realized the Truth when I contemplated death. What happens at death? When the energy within us leaves, the re inside disappears. The air escapes, the water evaporates and the space we occupy shrinks. We return to become a handful of ashes. We are nothing. As long as we are alive, we are unable to realize this. The Truth is that each of our 37 trillion cells is nothing but energy. When scientists took a human cell and broke it down to its tiniest particle, beyond electrons, protons, and neutrons – they reached the tiniest particle, a Quark. On deep examination, they found that it was nothing but energy. If science too agrees that we are nothing but energy, then how long will we take to realize the Truth?

The Truth is that we are nothing. We are all manifestations of the Divine Energy that appears as you and me. Just like the ring thinks it is different from the chain, we think we are different from each other but in essence, we are all different effects from one cause. The Divine is the cause. We human beings and all life on earth are just effects.

69
 Purification, Illumination, 35 Unification are our three final steps

To arrive at the nal goal of life - self-realization that leads to liberation, we must pass through a three-step method. I had not heard of this till my Guru, my spiritual master mentioned it to me.

What did I realize? I realized that we, human beings live such impure lives. Our rst step is purication. Purication of the body and of the mind. Many spiritual saints even talk of Satvik or pure food. Everything that we take into our body causes us to be pure or impure. Is it difcult to realize that some poisonous food can cause food poisoning? Still, we live our life letting our body take in all impurities. Beyond purication of the body is purication of the mind. It is critical to eliminate all impure thoughts, thoughts that create toxins in our mind. Our mind continues living with thoughts of fear, worry, anxiety, jealousy, hate, revenge and anger. These thoughts produce toxins and we, embodied Souls, in this body-mind complex continue to live impure lives. The rst step of realizing this Truth and being liberated is to eliminate these impurities, a process called purication. Once we have achieved purication, only then we are ready to realize the Truth.

The next step is illumination. As the name suggests, illumination is enlightenment. When the light in our life is switched on, the darkness disappears. Yes, it starts with purication and this leads to illumination. At rst, we were unable to see the Truth because we lived in darkness. Once we experience illumination and we are able to see the Truth, we realize the Truth. This is the second step after purication: illumination.

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 Purification, Illumination, and Unification are our three Final Steps

Many people cross these two hurdles. They purify their lives and they realize the Truth but very few people are fortunate and blessed with the grace to reach the third and ultimate step called unication. Even after illumination and realization of the Truth, we continue to live in ignorance. Unless there is a passion for the Divine and for liberation, many of those who have passed purication and illumination sink into this world of illusions. A rare minority evolve and are nally liberated. They realize that we are not ME, the mind and ego, but energy. They do not have to return by taking rebirth. They are liberated to become one with the Divine. This is the ultimate step of unication. We don't realize it, but we all are God-particles. We come from the Creator and ultimately we have to go back to the Creator. Because of our ignorance, we don't realize the Truth. We live, we die, we cry and we don't know why.

I feel grateful that I have realized the Truth of this three-step process to reach our ultimate goal – to unite with the Divine, to be liberated from this world of illusion and suffering. This is our ultimate goal. Unfortunately, many people stop after the rst step – purication. Some continue till illumination but very few achieve unication.

Take stock of your life. Analyze where you are on the journey of self-realization.

71
 36 | There can be no Freedom

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from Action

Can anybody who is alive in this world be free from action? We can be free for the moment, we can be free for a day or a few days. But can we live without action?

I realized that we, human beings are created in a way that we have to act. We have to get up from our bed, go to the toilet, eat and exercise. Our body is such that unless it is incapacitated by something like coma or a body condition that makes us immobile, by nature, we cannot live without action.

However, I stumbled upon another spiritual Truth. While there can be no freedom from action, we can evolve to a state of being free in action. What does this mean? Although we are in action, when we realize that the body and mind are in action but we are neither of them and that we are the Divine Energy that gives life to the body-mind complex, then we disown the actions of the body and mind and distance ourselves from all of their actions.

Anyone who becomes free from action goes a step further. Such a liberated person lives as an instrument of the Divine. As an instrument, one does not own the actions. One surrenders to the Divine Will and acts on behalf of a Power beyond. One goes a step further and surrenders all action to the Divine without any expectation of result. When we act as the Divine instrument without any expectation – we are liberated. This was a profound realization.

Look at a ute. By itself, it can do nothing. Till the

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 There can be no Freedom from Action

musician blows into the ute, there will be no music. We should imagine ourselves to be the ute and handover the music to the Divine. Everything that is done through us is as per the Divine Will.

On the other hand, when we live as the ego, mind, and body then we believe that we are the ones responsible for the action. We are the doers. In this case, we get caught in the Law of Karma, the Law of Action and Reaction. We will have to wait for the redemption of our own action – good or bad. Because of this, we can never be liberated from this world and achieve our ultimate goal. Fortunate is he who realizes that though we cannot be free from action, we should be free in action. This happens when we realize that we are not the body and mind that we appear to be. We are the Divine Soul, the Life Energy. We are just like the electricity that gives power for the light to glow. Neither are we the glass bulb nor the element that glows. We are just the power that gives life to the body-mind to move and to do.

When we realize the Truth then we are liberated from all action and although we act, we are free from the result of such an action because our action is not motivated by body and mind but is rather inspired by the Divine Energy on whose behalf we act. This is called being free in action although we know that there can be no freedom from action.

73
 37 | We will be Reborn, unless...

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While there is no proof of rebirth, why does the world believe in it? Just like there is no proof of gravity but we know gravity exists by inference, people today believe that rebirth may very well be true. Why?

Two major theories cause people to believe in rebirth. First, because there is a Law of Karma, the Law of Cause and Effect. It only seems logical that we must be reborn to redeem our good and bad deeds. Further, why is it that somebody is born in fortunate and happy circumstance and somebody is born in misery, sickness and even physically or mentally challenged? There seems to be a continuous account in our life which causes rebirth. Another recent realization is that some children seem to know how to play the guitar or how to read a scripture or are aware of a place that they have never visited. Unless these young kids have minds that are reborn in a new body, how is it possible for them to know?

In the quest for realizing the Truth, I did a lot of study on death and rebirth. And I realized some basic facts. Our body doesn't live forever. The body dies. But what happens to the one that was alive in the body? The Soul is the Life Energy that arrived in the body, anywhere between conception and birth. We don't know anything beyond this fact. However, putting all the pieces of the spiritual puzzle together, I had an intuitive realization.

At death one of the two things happens. If we believe we are the body and mind then the body dies but ME, the mind and ego are reborn because of our own

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 We will be Reborn, unless...

actions, our Karma. However, if we realize the Truth that we are not the body-mind but we are the Divine Life Energy, then this realization can liberate us at death to unite with the Divine. In such a situation we do not need to experience a rebirth as our realization of the Truth drops all our past Karmas and we are liberated.

Unless we realize the Truth and we are liberated, it seems like we have no option and we have to be reborn. If our past life is lled with good action and good Karmas then it seems that we are born in fortunate circumstances. This is not due to random luck but as per the design of the universal law. If we have been cruel and our actions are considered to be sinful, then we cannot escape from a rebirth that will make us miserable.

But there is a way to escape rebirth, to escape our own Karma. It starts with the realization of the Truth that we are not the body, we are not the mind. This realization leads to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. This theory was rst coined by the Buddha, the Awakened one who started Buddhism and he called it Nirvana. Most of the religions follow similar beliefs but call them by different names. Unless one goes on a quest, one will never realize the Truth about death and rebirth. We must, of course, realize this Truth before we die.

75
 38 Self-realization is not a Discovery

Out of all my realizations, one realization was this – that realization was not a discovery. There is a big difference between discovering something and realizing something. When you discover something, it is there to touch and feel. You nd something. You can prove it. But realization is an intuitive experience where we come to know of something which we did not know earlier. We may not be able to prove it but we become absolutely sure that it is the Truth.

Can you discover that there is a nose on your face? You don't need to discover it, you know it. You can touch it and feel it. You can discover a book in the library that you were looking for. You weren't sure but you got it. But what about God? Can you prove that God exists? You can't. However, you realize that this entire universe could not have come out of nothing. You realize that there must be a Creator whom we call God. Otherwise, how would you and I came about? This is a realization but it is not a discovery. Nobody has discovered God. Nobody can discover God. While we realize that the Creator exists, the Creator cannot be discovered. The Creator must be realized.

I realized that to realize the Truth, we must open our "real eyes." As long as we live in ignorance and we believe in the myth we will never realize the Truth. The Truth is the Truth and nobody can deny it, just as something untrue doesn't become true because it is advertised on social media screens.

Those on a quest for self-realization must rst

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 Self-realization is not a Discovery

understand that they are not on a search to discover something. In fact, we cannot discover anything. But little by little, we can realize the Truth. It rst starts with realizing what we are not – realizing that we are not the body or mind. If we are not the body or the mind but we exist, then who are we? Then we realize that when the Life Energy departs, the body dies. It is the same Life Energy that arrives when we are born. So we realize that we are that energy - what is known as the Atman or the Soul. All this is realization, not a discovery.

Self-realization is nothing but realizing the self – who we are. Those who don't realize the self, discover themselves to be the body and the name and title that they own. Their ego dominates their life as they continue to live in ignorance until they die. Unfortunately, what they discover is not the Truth but what appears to be. Realization is nothing but the Truth but unfortunately, it is not a game for the ordinary. Less than 1 percent of humanity goes on a quest for self-realization and less than one percent of these realize the Truth. Therefore, a very small fraction of humanity experiences realization that leads to liberation.

Since the world asks for proof, self-realization doesn't happen. But those who are blessed with a steady intellect ultimately realize the Truth.

77
 39 The War within will Continue

What happens to the one who realizes the Truth? Is self Realization the end of the game? No. In fact, it is the beginning. Realization is the start of a journey towards liberation. When I realized answers to the questions I set out for, I thought I would have achieved what I wanted. But my realization started a new journey of Life. Here I was with the realization that I am not the body. I am not the mind. I am the Atman, the Soul that is embodied and encapsulated in a body-mind complex. Next, what?

This started a new war within. I realized that the body was only a habitat where I live and I should not fall prey to the senses. I started renouncing many things, which I knew would help me towards my goal of liberation. But the body didn't sit still. It fought back with more desires and more cravings. While I realized that I was not the mind, and the mind was only a rascal that was dragging me into the cosmic illusion, the mind refused to accept this realization. It fought very hard to stop me from living as AiR, the Atman in Ravi. In the beginning, when somebody asked me who I am, the mind would answer Ravi, till I consciously but surely deleted the concept that I was Ravi Melwani. Ravi Melwani was no more. Of course, I the Atman, existed in the body of Ravi but I was not Ravi. I was AiR, the Atman in Ravi, i.e., Soul in Ravi.

My realization of Truth triggered a war within me which I least expected. I did not know that after realization liberation would be such a struggle. But it seems that everybody who realizes the Truth

78
 The War within will Continue

experiences the war between the body and mind on one side with the ego saying it is me, and the Soul, using the intellect on the other side, trying to be liberated post-realization.

Liberation is not an ordinary thing. It is very rare to meet a liberated Soul - one who has not only realized the Truth but has gone beyond realization; one who has won the battle and transcended the ego, mind, and body although one continues to live in it. This is probably life's biggest challenge.

In fact, it seems like we are a bird that wants to escape, and we are trying to get out through the door of the cage to y into the sky, but the mind and the body close the door and keep us enslaved in the prison of the body-mind complex. The war continues till either we are liberated or we die only to be reborn for another struggle.

How many people know what life is all about? Life itself is a war, isn't it? We live, we die and we are reborn. And we struggle through life. But after realization – the struggle is to be liberated. If we do not win the war against our own ego, mind, and body, then it is most unfortunate that we will have to be reborn to continue the battle. Therefore, those who realize the Truth ght very hard. Although it means renouncing the world and seeming to be lunatics. They do not care what the world thinks about them. Their realization propels them to achieve liberation. This is their ultimate goal and they seek nothing else.

79
 40 | We can live with everlasting

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Peace and Joy

Every human being has a dream that their life must be full of happiness, that they should escape from all misery and sorrow, that they should live peacefully and blissfully forever! Is it possible?

I realized that this is possible, although it seems impossible. Ask anybody who has realized the Truth and they will endorse this. Yes, we can live with everlasting peace and joy.

I realized that we lose our peace to our mind. Our own mind is our biggest enemy. It steals our peace by producing thoughts that make us anxious. It then goes on to desire and crave. These lead us to be disappointed and start our journey of misery. Is it necessary to become miserable? No, it's our choice.

I also realized that happiness is not such a difcult thing. First, it is about understanding what happiness is, then dening what happiness means to us and nally resolving to be happy in the moment. I realized that happiness too, needed a scientic and systematic approach to be dominant in our life and to last forever. Unfortunately, most people fail on any one count. Either they fail to learn how to be happy or they fail how not to be unhappy. The challenge is twofold - we must nd ways to be happy and we must also ensure that we don't become miserable. I was fortunate to realize a method that guarantees both.

Everlasting happiness doesn't depend only on the pleasure that comes from achievement. I realized this

80
 We can live with everlasting Peace and Joy

and evolved to a life of contentment and fulllment. My happiness was not just based on pleasure but rather built on a foundation of peace. As I lived my life with peace, bliss, and joy, I realized that I was attacked by misery and sorrow. Then I found how to transcend misery, to escape from desires and cravings that cause disappointments and unhappiness. I realized that everlasting joy, peace, and bliss is possible if we learn to live in acceptance and Divine surrender, living life moment by moment without shuttling between the past and the future. Realization of the Truth eliminated all fear and worry because I realized that everything was a cosmic drama.

All these realizations together made the dream real. The dream that we can live with everlasting peace and joy became real in my life. I lived as the Divine Soul, seeking nothing but being conscious of the Truth and by doing so, enjoying a state of Ananda –a state of peace and tranquillity, of bliss and joy that seemed as endless as the ocean.

Anybody who realizes the Truth can experience this Ananda, this peace and this joy, just as they can be liberated from misery and sorrow. They can continue to be in this state every day of their life till they are nally liberated from the body and mind.

81
 41 Everything beautiful is Divine

We human beings get excited when we see something beautiful. We get amazed by a beautiful sunrise or sunset, by an amazing bird in the sky, an exotic sh below the ocean waters, or tulips with those brilliant colours and so on. But unfortunately, we don't get amazed by the Creator of all these.

I realized that we do appreciate nature but because we don't realize that everything beautiful is Divine, we don't discover the amazing Truth of Life.

I realized this in two steps. The rst step was that every natural beauty was the creation of the Creator we call God. Obviously, the gorgeous snow mountains of Switzerland and the exotic turquoise waters and white sands of the Maldives didn't just happen on their own. These spectacular creations are the works of an amazing artist, a Power beyond human comprehension. Because we don't get amazed by the Creator, we don't fall in love and don't seek the Master of these masterpieces. I was once completely amazed when I saw a blanket of white fog enveloping acres of green mountains, making it disappear in one second. There were times when I was appreciating millions of stars in the sky and then as if somebody waved a magic wand, I couldn't see a single star and instead a storm took over and there was thunder, lightning, and rain. What an amazing Creator, and what a magical creation!

This led me to the next step - how did the Creator create all these – the mountains, the oceans, the meadows, the jungles, billions of human beings, plants, animals,

82
 Everything beautiful is Divine

insects, and sea creatures? When I went on a deep quest, I had this profound realization that all these are effects of the cause – the Creator. These were not just creations, but manifestations of the Divine. The profound realization was – the Creator has not created all this but rather the Creator manifests as these wonders!

My other previous realizations led me onto this discovery. There can be no other Truth. The beauty inside these beautiful manifestations appears only as long as the Divine energy exists within. The moment the Life Energy, the Divine, leaves a beautiful buttery, an enchanting bird or a gorgeous human being, all the beauty disappears. Is this not enough to realize the Truth that everything beautiful is Divine? Can't we see through the billions and trillions of living things and realize the one Power that is in them all? The power of life! It is the power of life that gives beauty to all natural wonders. The moment there is death and the Divine departs, the beauty ceases. Those who realize the Truth about life start seeing Divinity in everything beautiful. It is only after this realization that you can even see Divinity in things that are not beautiful.

What does this realization lead to? This realization is magical because it leads us to seeing the Divine in everything beautiful. I no more see beauty as beauty, rather, I see the Divine in all the beauty that I observe and experience. This is truly blissful.

83
 42 | Religion is the Kindergarten

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to Spirituality

All religions are good. Every religion in this world teaches us to believe in God and to pray. Thereafter, they may have their own doctrines, rituals, and philosophy to follow. But in essence, one thing they all advocate is that God exists, God is the Creator and we must pray to God. However, when I went into a study of all the religions, I stumbled upon a Truth.

What did I realize? While every religion has its own share of positives and people need not change their religion to realize the Truth, I realized that religion was just the kindergarten to spirituality. We must all go through religions, but then go beyond to realize the Truth, just like we all need kindergarten to learn a basic language - it may be English, Hindi, French or Chinese, it hardly matters. But without learning a language, we can't graduate into anything meaningful. We may earn a Master's in medicine or nance, in technology or engineering, but without passing kindergarten, we can't. Without religion, one cannot achieve a spiritual evolution. First one needs to understand that God exists. One must believe and accept and then live with faith, hope, trust, and enthusiasm. This is like going through high school, a process that is needed after being taught, coached and trained with the basics.

Only a rare minority, the genuine seekers of Truth evolve spiritually. They go in search of who they are, who God really is and what the purpose of life is. Some arrive on the path seeking happiness or being frustrated and fed up with life.

84
 Religion is the Kindergarten to Spirituality

However, nobody who is on the path of spirituality can evolve without the basic foundation of some religion. It need not be a formal religion. It could just be praying to the power of nature, like one prays to the sun, to the clouds, to the wind, or to the waters, acknowledging the existence of a Divine Power.

Does every student who passes kindergarten achieve noteworthy success? Of course not. This is just basic. We need to evolve. We need to go beyond. We need to realize the Truth. What is the difference between a person alive and a person dead? There is no difference except that the life that exists in each of our 37 trillion cells disappears in a ash. No religion can explain this. We need a spiritual evolution to get to the Truth. We need to go on a quest with a passion for the Divine and persistence to discover the purpose of life. We need to go far beyond religion - but we must realize that we don't need to change our religion. We must just use our intellect and logic and delve into every doubt. We must ask questions, we must investigate. We must realize the Truth.

However, we must never underestimate the importance of religion. It is the kindergarten to spirituality and builds in us the basic foundation of belief in God. Without this, one may never achieve a spiritual realization.

85
 43 Realization eliminates Suffering

Most people in this world suffer because they don't realize the Truth. For instance, they try to insert an old model wire into their new mobile and damage expensive equipment. They do it out of sheer ignorance, indifference, and carelessness. Then they suffer and cry because they are told that they damaged the motherboard.

I realized that we don't need to suffer. If we carefully, cautiously and intelligently deal with our life, we can move forward and evolve, eliminating all suffering.

Why do we suffer? One of the key reasons is that we desire and get disappointed. Isn't it really foolish to intentionally create suffering? We know it, but still, we do it. Why? Because we are slaves of the ego, mind, and body. Unfortunately, we don't know that we are slaves! First, we don't know who we truly are and second, we don't realize that we are slaves. When we realize the Truth, we are enlightened and with the overcoming of ignorance, suffering ceases.

True realization is not just having the knowledge of the Truth, it is being liberated from the ignorance that causes suffering. Therefore, in reality, this chapter should read – 'Liberation Eliminates Suffering'. But liberation is the nal step of realization. It cannot happen without realization.

Nobody really wants to suffer. But because we live and die in ignorance, we continue to suffer. We suffer the pain of the physical body, the emotional pain of the

86
 Realization eliminates Suffering

mind and the foolish pain of the ego. Don't we see people ghting to achieve material success and becoming miserable over petty issues? This is because we are so deeply embedded in ignorance that we don't realize that nothing belongs to us. Then, we become miserable because of fear, worry, anxiety, regret, anger, hate, jealousy, and revenge. And we continue to suffer due to the non-realization of the Truth that everything is a cosmic drama. We must surrender and accept, realizing that life is just like a dream that will soon be over.

Suppose I had a dream, in which four of my neighbours beat me black and blue and I woke up screaming with pain. Will I immediately run to their houses with all my weapons to avenge the dream? Of course not. That would be foolish of me. And while I realize that a dream is just a dream, I don't realize that this life too is transitory . Does anybody in this world think that they will be here forever? Then why do we live with ignorance, and suffer and become miserable? It is because we don't realize the Truth.

Realization of the Truth eliminates all suffering, just like enlightenment removes all the darkness that stops us from seeing what truly exists. If we want to transcend all suffering, we must rst realize the Truth. Then, suffering will automatically cease to exist.

87
 We must Accept, Not wonder and 44 Replace Hope with Surrender

What is one of the major causes of our suffering? Something happens and we don't forget it. We nurse it, we curse it and we rehearse it. To add insult to injury, we keep hoping for something else to happen. And it doesn't happen. We just add fuel to the re of suffering.

I realized that there was a simple solution to eliminate this constant festering of unhappiness. Instead of wondering why something went wrong in the past and nursing it like a wound that has still not healed, then cursing it with all the hurt that is within us and then rehearsing it again and again – thereby multiplying our unhappiness and misery, we should rather accept it, forget it and be done with it. Instead of living with our past regrets, we must take them to the cemetery and bury them – bury them so deep that they go out of our memory. For when you accept rather than wonder, then you forget the hurt and start with a fresh new page.

What do you do when you hope and your wish doesn't come true? Cry! This is a common way to live a disgruntled and miserable life. One day you hope that it doesn't rain. And the next day you wish for it to rain. As if you don't know that you don't control the rains! Then you hope and wait for somebody to bring you owers instead of going out into the garden and plucking your own favourite ones and decorating your life with joy and bliss that is within your control. With this constant hoping, the resultant disappointments are not unusual. All hopes will not be fullled. And the ones that are fullled, soon get forgotten but the ones that don't become festering wounds which we wonder and worry

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 We must Accept, Not wonder and Replace Hope with Surrender

about. "Why did she not accept my proposal?" I wonder. This is born from hope – I wish she accepts my proposal.

If only we can replace wonder with acceptance, and hope with surrender, we can replace misery with joy. This realization: accept don't wonder, replace hope with surrender, converted my life into a peaceful and blissful one.

Most human beings are so worried about the future only because they have so many hopes, dreams, and goals. And there is no doubt that all desires, all expectations will not be fullled. So then, they sit on these unfullled desires like one would sit on a bunch of their favourite pillows, and nurse each unfullled desire, curse every hurt and then rehearse this again and again. Imagine - you stop having passionate desires and live blissfully in surrender. Then you wipe out your hurts and accept life as it comes - won't your life be peaceful and blissful?

Realize the Truth - accept, don't wonder! Don't hope, just surrender!! And you will not have any unfullled desires that will cause you misery and suffering. Your life will be one of peace, joy, and bliss!

Realize that fulllling our hopes is not the way to joy, rather, it is surrender that will lead us to joy - surrendering to the Divine will; not having desires and wanting them fullled, but rather, living in Divine surrender.

89
 45 | My Biggest Enemy is ME

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We all have so many enemies, right from our childhood. We start hating people. We hate the maid who tries to feed us and we all hate that doctor who gives us vaccinations. But when we grow up, some of us have serious enemies. We truly hate a few people in life. This seems to be very natural though it is foolish because we are inicting suffering upon ourselves by hating our enemies. Why do we hate our enemies? Because we believe that they want to harm us!

I realized that my biggest enemy was ME – my own Mind + Ego. This ME (mind + ego) causes the most harm in my life. Why is ME the greatest enemy? It is because the mind bombards me with thoughts, it creates stress, and it causes me to worry. But more important than all this - the mind blocks the realization of the Truth. It does not permit me to realize that I am not the body, I am not the mind. It does not allow me to transcend suffering. It constantly produces thoughts that make me a prisoner in this body-mind complex and causes suffering. Thus, it is one of my two greatest enemies.

My second greatest enemy is my ego. Together ME (mind+ego) destroy my peace, happiness and the realization of Truth. The ego constantly makes me live with a fake identity. We all say - I am John. I am Mary. I am Smith. I am Sheela. But this is a lie. This is only our name, but our ego makes us believe the lie. The ego makes us so entrenched in the personality that we are, that it seems impossible to change our identity, realize the Truth, and live as we truly are.

90
 My biggest Enemy is ME

There is no doubt that we are not the body and we can't nd the mind. We realize that we are the Divine Energy or the Soul. The ME does not let us live this realization. Although we know the Truth, we are unable to absorb it into our daily living. It is the mind and ego that makes us continue to live with the myth – stealing the Truth and making us suffer. Thus together, ME – Mind and Ego are our biggest enemies.

If we really want to live a life of peace, joy, and bliss, we must rst destroy our biggest enemy – ME. How can we do away with the mind and the ego? As long as we are alive, we can't. Every human being needs to have an ego and mind to live but we can transcend it. Using our intellect, we can overcome the ignorance that we are the ego, mind, and body. Although we live in a body-mind complex and though we are the Soul and we refer to ourselves as "I," we must live with the realization that we are not this, we are that. We are not this ego, this mind, this body. We are that Divine Energy, that power that gives life for our existence.

It may sound strange that 'ME' is our biggest enemy. But this is the biggest Truth of life. You know how your mind can bother you when it worries and how your ego can cause you to suffer when it becomes angry. If you transcend ME, you will be liberated from all misery and sorrow.

91
 46 | What is Life all about?

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When somebody asks you what life is all about, what would you say? It's about living happily, making others happy, taking care of our near and dear ones, doing what we love, achieving our dreams and goals, not causing harm to anybody, living ethically... that is life.

Most people think all this is what life is about, of course, with some slight variations. But after realizing the Truth, I realized that most of us are ignorant about life. We don't know anything about life. We don't know who we are and why we are here. Therefore we suffer. If only we realized the Truth about life, we could live happier and more fullling lives.

What is life all about? Life is all about realizing who we are and why we are here. It is about realizing that we are not the body that cries in pain. We are not the mind that lives with regrets and fears and becomes so miserable. We are not even the ego "I" that keeps saying I challenge you, I warn you, I will be upset. This "I" doesn't stop saying this is my house, this is my ofce, this is my spouse, these are my children. It creates so many attachments that it makes us suffer beyond imagination. Because we live as the ego, mind and body, we are constantly suffering. Life is about realizing who we truly are. We are not the ego, mind and body but the Divine Life energy that ows through every nook and corner of the body. Life is about this but not even one in a thousand will tell you that this is their life mission.

What else is life about? Life is also about nding out

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 What is Life all about?

why we are here. It is about nding out the purpose of life. Life is not just living till we die but it is more about nding out why we are here. The purpose of life is to discover rst that we are energy, not the body, mind, and ego that we seem to be. The moment we realize this Truth, then life is about liberation, enlightenment, salvation, also known as Nirvana or Moksha.

Yes, this is what life is actually about, but unfortunately, most of humanity doesn't realize this Truth. We live in ignorance, blinded by Maya, the cosmic illusion and we go through life. We live and die probably to be reborn for one more life cycle. While there is no proof of this, there is enough inference. Just like the Law of Gravity exists, we know that as long as we live as the ego, mind, and body we must return to redeem our actions unless we are otherwise liberated. There is also no doubt that this world is a bouquet of roses and thorns. We experience both joy and sorrow and life is about escaping from this merry-go-round and transcending to that Divine plane that we call heaven where there is no misery. This is that ultimate moment where there is unication with the Divine, the ultimate purpose of a human being's purpose on earth.

This is one of life's biggest realizations - to know who we are and why we are here. To realize the Truth and to be liberated. And nally after purication and illumination, to achieve unication with the Divine.

93
 47 | It's a Metamorphosis,

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not a Transformation

Many people think that it is very important to transform life, to grow, to evolve, and become better. Of course, it is. But is life just about a transformation?

After 40 years of living as Ravi Melwani, I too transformed my life. In fact, I shut down my business at 40 as I shocked the world with the decision that instead of making money, I will make a difference. My transformation was so drastic that I shed my old name of Ravi Melwani and lived with a transformed name of RVM. I thought that this was the biggest change that anyone could make in life. I lived blissfully for 8 years doing H.I.S work – humanitarian, inspirational and spiritual work. I lived as a transformed person blissfully travelling to over a hundred countries, discovering the world God has made. One day, my spiritual master questioned me about what life is all about. He asked me what our purpose is and inspired me to go on a quest to realize the Truth. I started my quest and in a few years, I realized many Truths about life which I have shared in this book.

One major realization I had was that life is not just about a transformation because a transformation is reversible. Life is about a metamorphosis – a complete change. Just like an ugly, crawling caterpillar goes through a metamorphosis to y as a beautiful buttery, we too need a metamorphosis to be able to y in the sky.

I rst thought I was undergoing another transformation, my second transformation when I realized the Truth about life, till I realized that this time it was not a

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 It's a Metamorphosis, not a Transformation

transformation – it was a metamorphosis. Just like a buttery cannot return to being a caterpillar, I became AiR – the Atman or Soul in Ravi and I could never ever go back to being RVM or Ravi Melwani. While RVM and Ravi Melwani were two sides of the same coin, AiR was another coin itself. The realization that I was not Ravi Melwani, not RVM, not the one making money, not the one making a difference and not the ego-mind-body was a metamorphosis. This metamorphosis caused me to realize that it seemed that I was the son of... the father of... the brother of... but in reality, I was not. After this metamorphosis, I was a different entity.

I realized after my metamorphosis that life is not just about realizing, but going through a metamorphosis. It is not only about realizing, but being liberated from whom we thought we were to who we truly are. A caterpillar may think that it will become a buttery but unless it dies giving birth to the buttery, its journey is not complete. The buttery can never think of itself being a caterpillar though it realizes that it has evolved from there. It is not a transformation which is reversible. It is an irreversible metamorphosis.

I realized that very few people in this world are fortunate to go through such a metamorphosis. They are the truly realized Souls. They realize that they are not this that they seem to be. They are That – the Divine Spirit that causes life!

95
 48 | We are Embodied Souls

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Who are we? What do you think? You think it's a silly question! We are who we are. I am Carol, wife of Tom, daughter of Larry and Sheela. I am the mother of Jim and Rocky. I am an Australian, a teacher by profession and a painter by hobby. What more do you want to know about me? All this is ne. Even a blind person can tell us about these details. But who are we in reality?

I realized that we are embodied Souls. Maybe she is Carol and she has so many relationships, a profession, and hobbies but that is all from the outside. She can also elaborate that she has a heart, lungs, two kidneys and a body like everybody has. But that is not unique about her and so none of us really say that this is what we are.

If Carol went on a deep search to nd out who she is then she will realize that she is an embodied Soul. What does this mean? I realized that just like a bird is in a cage, we too seem to be in a virtual cage of this body-mind complex. We are a Soul, a Spirit, or Life Energy that seems to be in some way magically embodied. The reason we say embodied is that when the Life Energy leaves then the entire body of several trillion cells just collapses and we are pronounced dead. Therefore, in reality, Carol is none other than a Soul that is embodied in a person named Carol, in a person who is a teacher and a painter.

When I realized that we are embodied Souls, I realized something far more profound. Just like electricity provides light to a bulb in our home, it also provides power to the dozens of other bulbs that are xed in the

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 We are Embodied Souls

living room and the kitchen; it makes the aircon work just as it makes the kitchen appliances, the hair dryer, the television and the music system work. It is one source of power that is wired to electrify all of these. And so is this Life Energy!

The Power that is in Carol, the Soul, the Life Energy is no different from the Life Energy that is in you and me. We are all powered by one source, the Divine life source. This is beyond human comprehension, but we have an intellect that sees that the Life Energy that departs from a person who is dying just goes out in a ash. To understand further, suppose we take two balloons, dead lifeless pieces of rubber, and blow them up with air, what happens? They bounce with energy. Then we deate the balloons simultaneously. Where did the air go? The air merged with the air that is everywhere. Can we retrieve the air that was in each balloon separately? Impossible! This should inspire us to know that we are embodied souls and the Soul, the Life Energy, is the same that exists in all living creatures. Like air, it is everywhere. At Death, the Soul too merges with the Cosmic Soul that is everywhere.

This is not something easy to realize but having come this far one must realize the ultimate Truth to truly realize life. We are not a body-mind complex that we thought we were. We are Souls, embodied in it.

97
 49 | Why Fear, Worry or Regret?

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We all live with these negative emotions. Who doesn't? But is there a way to escape from them? I realized that we don't need to fear. Fear is FEAR – False Expectations Appearing Real. Fear is the product of the mind. The mind is a rascal. It is our biggest enemy. We must kill the mind before the mind kills us. But how can we kill the mind if we think it is king? When we realize that it is not king, it is nothing, and in fact, a joy stealer, then we will make conscious efforts to defeat it. Because we permit our mind to cause fear, it corrodes our peace and joy, lling our life with toxic thoughts. On realization of the Truth, fear will disappear.

We don't have to live with regret. The past is gone forever. It can never come back. But by going back to the past, we will not only suffer but also destroy the beautiful present. Why do we do this? Because of sheer ignorance. Don't we know that the past is gone? Then why do we let the mind go back to the past? Because we don't activate our intellect. We don't use our willpower to tie the mind from producing these idiotic thoughts of regret. Something happened. It's done. It's over. Of what use is it to rehearse the past? We can reverse it by some action in the present but it's of no use to continue living in the past.

We also need not worry and be anxious, swinging like a pendulum between the past and the future, worrying about so many things that may never happen. Actually, nothing is worth worrying about. Life on earth is a cosmic drama. Nothing is real. It's all like a dream. We are all manifestations of one Divine Energy. Because we

98
 Why Fear, Worry or Regret?

live as the ego, mind, and body forgetting that we are embodied Souls, we worry and we suffer. We know that worry is a joy stealer. When it enters our mind, it robs us of our peace and takes our smile away.

If one wants to live a truly happy, blissful and peaceful life, one must realize the Truth about life. One must realize who we truly are and transcend regret, worry and fear just as one overcomes anger, doubt, hate, and revenge. One can eliminate all the negative poisons by the realization of the Truth.

It is strange that we human beings want to be happy but we are the cause of our own misery. We continue to live in ignorance without realizing the Truth and cause our own suffering. It is not necessary to suffer. But somehow, although it seems strange, we choose to suffer. This is because we don't make an effort to overcome the ignorance in which we live and we don't go on a quest to realize the Truth. Because we don't realize the Truth, we are not liberated from prisons of misery. We continue to suffer although we don't want to. Isn't it time to stop existing and start living, going on a quest to realize the Truth about life and thereby, eliminating all suffering?

I realized that we don't have to live with Fear or Regret, being worried and anxious. Thus, I live a life of eternal peace and joy.

99
 50 | Self-Realization leads to

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God-Realization

Until now we have been discussing life, the realization of the Truth, liberation from misery and sorrow. We have also been speaking about self-realization and about God. God is a mysterious subject and although we know that God exists we don't know who is God, where is God, or what is God.

I am grateful that I realized the Truth about self-realization and God-realization. While self-realization, I believe, is in our hands, I am convinced that God-realization is in the hands of the Divine. It is beyond human effort. Unless God's grace falls upon us, there can never be God-realization. Let us try to understand what self-realization is and how it can lead us to God-realization.

I realized that self-realization is the realization of who we truly are. Spiritually, we realize that we are the self – the real self, that Divine Life Energy that exists in every part of our body. We refer to this as the Atman, the Soul, the Spirit, the Chi, the Prana, or simply as the Life Energy. Self-realization is that realization that we are not the mind, not the ego, not even the body. We are the Divine Energy that is within.

Once we realize the self, then what happens? Then we realize that the Divine Energy is the same Divine energy that is in every human being, in every plant, insect and animal. In fact, it is the energy that makes the sun glow, the wind blow, and the water ow. It is cosmic, universal energy that is prevalent everywhere. The seekers of self-realization also seek to attain God-

100
 Self-Realization leads to God-Realization

realization. They go on a quest to nd out who is God, where is God and what is God. They realize God is not made of skin and bone. God is a power that is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. When one realizes that the self is the Universal Cosmic Power and that God too is the Universal Cosmic Power, then in reality, Self-Realization is God-Realization.

The Power we call God, is the very Power that makes our heart beat. It is the very power that appears in a buttery and in a bird. In fact, all those who attain self-realization automatically attain God-realization. They are not different. When you realize yourself, you realize God. However, being embodied Souls, alive in a body-mind complex, though we realize the self, we may not be blessed enough to realize the Divine presence of God everywhere. Thus, God realization needs the grace of the Divine.

When will self-realization actually evolve to God-realization? Probably when our love and devotion to God reaches its peak then we will be able to see God everywhere. We will be able to feel the presence of the Divine in the temple of our heart. This is God-realization!

A seeker of self-realization who lives with faith and surrenders to the Divine renouncing the world and seeking nothing but God is blessed and will ultimately realize God.

101
 51 | There is a limit to

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Human Comprehension

While we may all want to realize the Truth about life, we cannot deny one thing- that we human beings have limitations. Just like our hand cannot smell but it can touch and feel, and a nose cannot see but can smell, we must know and accept that there is a limit to human comprehension. A human being can realize the self and if blessed can realize God. But a human being is not made such that he can go beyond this.

I realized that a human being is mortal although we, who are embodied Souls, are immortal. The human body will die but those who realize the Truth know that they will never die. They will be liberated and unied with the Divine.

Once there was a man who had a hen that laid golden eggs. Every other day it gave him a golden egg. And then thought the man in his ignorance, "Why can't I have all the golden eggs that are inside the hen?" So he killed it but found no golden eggs inside.

What does this allegorical tale tell us? It tells us that human beings are greedy and we want to nd the Creator. However, we can't. We are not designed to. We have been blessed with a comprehension to realize who we are, but if we try to nd and dene the very Creator who created us, the very Power who manifests as 'us', we can't. If we challenge the decision of our limited comprehension, then we will not realize the Truth about Life.

We now know that a human being's life span maybe

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 There is a limit to Human Comprehension

about a hundred years. However, the body is made in such a way that it will eventually die. Centuries ago, the life expectancy or average life span was not even 30 or 40 years because of poor health standards and mass infant deaths. While the life span may have increased over the years, but death is still inevitable. We are designed to be mortal as humans, just as those who realize the Truth, realize that as the Divine Soul, we are immortal.

While we are blessed to go on a quest to realize the Truth, let us never forget and accept the limitation of human comprehension. The Creator has designed human beings as embodied souls and gifted us the possibility of self-realization. After unication with the Divine, we need not know, nor need we investigate what lies beyond because that is something beyond human comprehension. Where would it end if we were able to dene the Creator? Then we would go further to nd who is the Creator of the Creator. Let us stop to realize that there is nothing beyond. Let us surrender and accept the Divine Will and be grateful to achieve self-realization. If one does not accept the limitations of human comprehension then one has not realized the Truth! I realized my limitation and live a life of bliss and joy with the realization of the Truth.

Let us remind ourselves that there is a limit to human comprehension, but let us do our best to realize the truth of what we can comprehend to realize who we truly are and why we are here.

103
 52 | Living as the Happiest man

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in the World

Everybody experiences happiness but who is the happiest person in the world? We can look around and nd that some people are happy and some people are not so happy. It is a myth to believe that the rich and famous are happy. We can often see them with stone faces without a smile as they carry stress and worry in their eyes and furrows of anxiety above their eyebrows. What is the secret that can make us the happiest in the world?

I realized that happiness doesn't depend on what you have. It depends on how you feel. A happy person appears happy with their smile, with their enthusiasm, with their laughter. Just as miserable people can be spotted with their tears, their frowns, their stress, and worry, which shows through their behaviour and appearance. You can make out whether a person is happy or unhappy by the way they walk and talk. Of course, there are some experts who hide their miseries, but it is very difcult to hide unhappiness for long.

After I realized the truth about life, I live a life of everlasting peace and joy. Nothing troubles me for I know that everything is a show. Nothing is real, in this world, everything is like a cosmic drama and we are just actors who come and go. I observe the show called life and live joyously, blissfully and peacefully each day, moment by moment. I surrender to the Divine Will accepting whatever happens as the story board of the Creator of the show. After all, we do not decide what is going to happen, we have no choice. We have to accept and it's better we do it joyously. That's what I do, and by

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 Living as the Happiest man in the World

so doing I am truly happy, no matter what. Anybody who realizes the truth of life can live as the happiest person on earth. It's not so difcult if we realize the truth about life and about happiness. The key is to Realize the Truth about Life. Once we do, then happiness becomes a shadow, following us wherever we go.

Those who've realized the Truth are the happiest people in the world. Not only have they realized the Truth and live a life of Nirvana, Ananda and eternal bliss, but they are also fully liberated from all kinds of misery. A critical disease like cancer experienced by the body, a nancial disaster related to assets, or an emotional turmoil caused by the mind may affect others, but nothing seems to affect these liberated Souls! They are unique for they don't seek Happiness. They are Happiness! They broadcast peace and joy wherever they go, to whomever they meet. They smile, they laugh and neither does a disaster, nor an achievement impact them. They live in acceptance, in Divine surrender knowing that nothing matters.

What makes the happiest people in the world truly happy? It is their relationship with the Divine. They experience the Divine within them, and around them all the time. They live conscious of the Truth and this conscious realization blesses them to be the most peaceful, the happiest people in the world.

105
 My Self Realization -

Putting It All Together

I too lived in ignorance for 5 decades. When I look back at my life, I laugh at myself. How could I be such an ignoramus? Then I realized that we are all ignorant. In fact, that is the challenge of life – to overcome ignorance and realize the Truth.

All these realizations are true realizations, no fairy tales. I have personally been ignorant of each of these and I am grateful that I have been able to bust the myth and realize the truth.

Somehow, because we grow up believing the illusions that we are taught, we tend to accept them as reality. Actually, they are not. Everybody knows Santa Claus is a myth. Then why do we let our children believe in the myth? We very well know that the Creator is a power and cannot be made of skin and bone. Still we continue to believe in a Creator that looks like you and me.

I realized that it is time to stop, to ask questions, to investigate and to realize the Truth.

  * hope my journey of Self-Realization will inspire seekers to question everything till they realize the ultimate Truth. Then, they too can live a life of everlasting peace and joy.

106
 POEM

If we don't realize who we are and why we are here If we are not happy and just live with stress and fear

If we come to earth and don't realize why we are given this birth Then, can we say we lived? No, at best, we did exist

Everybody wants happiness, who wants to be sad

Who wouldn't exchange a life of misery for one that is glad

But few are happy with unfullled desires and expectations

They never learn happiness is a journey, not a destination

Are we meant to zoom from our womb to our tomb

Or is life such that we must be locked in a room?

No, life is about living and realizing the Truth

Finding our life purpose, getting to the bottom of the root

The world is chasing success for everyone wants happiness

They cheat, they lie, they steal and cry, and end their life in a mess They think achievement and money will give pleasure and smiles Till they learn Success is not Happiness, Happiness is Success

It's crazy but it's true that we earn for others to burn Silly, we are stingy, we don't spend on what we yearn

Till one day we realize, sadly, that we have money but no life to live Money that we can't take with us, everything we must give

Achievement creates pleasure, it makes us laugh and smile

But with it come problems that are longer than a mile

With contentment and fulllment, our life is full of peace

There is no stress, there is no worry, just tranquility, and ease

107
 Poem

Have you ever wondered why we are anxious and miserable?

We worry about our cough and cold, and how we will pay the bill

The biggest cause of unhappiness is our desires that are not met

We seek something and are disappointed and this makes our eyes wet

What is our life purpose? Why do we come to this earth?

How do these trillion cells together take a magical birth?

If we live and do not nd life's purpose and meaning...

Then we are no better than a tree that is tall but just leaning

Instead of just existing, there are questions that we must ask

Let's make our life interesting by doing this curious task

Where is God and who is He? Is it true that God made me?

Let us nd out what came rst - was it the seed or the tree?

Are we the body that is born starting as a zygote?

Or is the body something that keeps our life aoat?

Fools are those who believe that we are made of bone and skin The Truth is that we are the Life Energy that lives within

We think and worry and fear, that is our mind

Strange, isn't it, where is the mind, we cannot nd!

It appears like a monkey jumping from trunk to trunk

Spilling thoughts left and right till we make it into a monk

If I am not the body, I am not the mind, then the question is, who am I? The ego says, "Oh, it's me! This silly question - why?"

The ego tries to fool us with this mistaken identity The Truth when we know, only then we will be free

108
 Poem

We live in ignorance covered by a blanket that is dark

We achieve many things but what is life, we miss the mark We foolishly live and do not achieve our own life goal To nd we are not the body or the mind, but the Soul

The body will die, and the mind will y

The soul which is me will leave for the sky

The body will return to dust, that's no lie

That's the simple Truth, I will never die

There is a power that controls this earth and universe A power that's kind, that's wise, and does not curse

How is it possible otherwise that the earth goes round and round?

Who is the one that causes all the magic on the ground?

We know God exists but who is, where is, what is God? Why can't you tell us the secret from the skies, Oh Lord! We know you exist that's for sure, we have no doubt

You are a power that we know, but we pray: please come out

Life on earth is a Cosmic Drama, we come and we go

Nothing is real, it's like a dream, it's just a Cosmic show

Because we think that life is real, we worry and we cry

We ght, we shout, we scream, we suffer right until we die

Karma is a universal Law, what you give is what you get As you sow, so shall you reap - on this I can bet

Law of Action and Reaction, those who kill will be made to hang And it all returns back to us, just like a boomerang

109
 Poem

Man thinks he can achieve anything but little does he know

th

There is a mysterious 4 Factor that actually controls the show

Man believes results depend on him, his equipment and his act

th

Sad it is but the results lie with the 4 Factor, in fact

There is a way to suffer no more, not to worry, not to cry If only we nd out the Truth of 'who am I?'

Then though the body and mind suffers, that is not me From regret, fear, worry, pain and misery, I am free

Of course, we all need a good Life Coach who will teach

Otherwise, it is not possible that success we will reach

If we want to nd the Truth and our life to realize

We need a spiritual master, who will open our real eyes

Do you know anybody who has been to heaven or hell?

Are there devils in hell and does heaven have a bell?

The Truth is this, these are not places that anyone can go Sins or good deeds are redeemed here on earth we must know

If we are not the body and the mind, then who are we? We are the Soul, the Atman, we are the Life Energy

When the body is born, we enter and we are the cause of birth We continue to give life to the body till it dies here on earth

We all say that time is ying, but this is not true We are moving. Time is still. It's stuck like glue

No doubt the clock has a needle. Its ticking doesn't stop Stop and see time is still. It's we who run and hop

110
 Poem

We must realize this Truth that knowledge is not realization It's the root, it's not the fruit, there must be evolution

From knowledge shall shoot wisdom that will nally make us know Who we are and why we are here, in our Soul this will glow

What is our goal? All religions say it is liberation

We must realize we are the Soul, whatever be our occupation Most of humanity thinks that happiness is the goal No, this is not true. It is to nd that we are the Soul

Where is the mind? We cannot nd but who will make us know? It is our intellect who is the master to make the mind slow

The intellect discriminates between what is right and what is wrong We then choose what we must do and sing a happy song

There is a way to stop all our worries and anxiety

If we live with detachment then from misery we are free It is passion and desire that makes us expect and crave

If we don't live with dispassion, we will take worries to our grave

What is the key to realization? The secret, do you know?

With discipline of mind and body, towards liberation you can go

If you have no control on your body and your mind

In a prison of Body and Mind, yourself you will nd

People think yoga is a physical exercise.

This is believed by fools, not the ones who are wise

Yoga is union. It's a connection with the Divine

That is all that matters, and it is truly sublime

111
 Poem

Who is it that kills and destroys our joy and peace?

It is we ourselves who do it. Let's not blame others, please! When we start, there is happiness and peace all around But we desire and we crave and anxiety is found

The one who can be happy in this moment, in the NOW It is he who can be peaceful, grazing like a Happy cow He doesn't live with regrets of the past that is gone Nor does he live with the fear of the future not yet born

Why do we nd that people easily believe in the myth? Why don't they ask questions and Realize the Truth? Because we believe in rituals and trust superstition Our life is in turmoil and we live in stress and tension

Maya is a cosmic illusion. It has two amazing powers

With one it conceals the Truth, with the other, it projects the stars

Nothing is real in this cosmic world, everything is a dream

Because we believe in Maya, we fear, worry, and scream

The Law of Causation states that every effect has a cause Don't just believe it's a gold ring. Ask questions and pause

If you remove gold from the gold ring, you will nd nothing left The Divine is the cause, the world and we are just effects

To achieve the goal of life, important steps there are three

It starts with the purication of body and mind, then we are free

In the second step, the darkness goes because of illumination

In the nal step we become one with the Lord, that is unication

112
 Poem

Every human being on earth has to act and is not free

When we wake up from bed, we wash our faces and be who we must be

While we cannot be free from action and this Truth we do know

We can be free in action and we can let the spirit grow

At death one of two things happen...this is the Divine Truth If we believe we are body and mind, we will have to take rebirth But those who realize we are the Soul, from rebirth they are free At death, their Soul is liberated and one with the Lord, they'll be

Columbus discovered America, the land he could touch and feel

Self-realization can't be discovered. You'll know it when you peel...

Layer by layer, when you strip apart the body and the mind

You will realize you are neither, you are the Soul that's inside

Even those who realize the ultimate Truth, they are still not free

They still have to ght the war within, then liberation they will see

The Truth you know, you are still prisoner of the mind

When you transcend ego, and mind, then you are free, you will nd

Of course, there is a way to everlasting peace and joy

If we are free from body and mind, this bliss we can enjoy

But rst, we must realize the Truth and know that we are the Soul Then we can achieve everlasting joy and peace as our goal

Many things are beautiful, with these beautiful eyes we see

And then we can appreciate how beautiful the Creator can be

But when we realize that everything is a manifestation of the Lord

Then we will not just see beauty, but in beauty we will see God

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 Poem

All religions are good for they take us closer to God

But there is one problem, they say their God is the only Lord Thus, religion is the kindergarten to spirituality we must know We must go beyond our religion, in spirituality to grow

Realization of the Truth is nothing less than magic

It eliminates regrets, fears and takes away everything tragic

When we realize we are not the body that cries and the rascal mind

This is the realization of the truth, and peace and joy we will nd

When something happens don't wonder, accept the Divine Will We must trust in the Divine Master, His design and His skill Rather than hope for something and break our little heart

It is better to surrender to the Divine, just doing our little part

We all have enemies, who doesn't? But the greatest enemy is 'ME'

ME is Mind and Ego, a bigger enemy there cannot be

It bombards us with thoughts and causes anxiety

It makes us suffer in regret and fear and doesn't let us be free

What is life all about, have you ever thought?

Who are we and why we are here, this we have forgot

The purpose of life is to nd the Truth - we are not body and mind Our goal is to unite with the Divine, and this Truth we must nd

In a transformation, we make a change, though it is better, not worse

We changed our life from what it was, but this change we can reverse

But a metamorphosis is different, it's when a caterpillar starts to y

It can never again crawl on earth as it becomes a buttery

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 Poem

We are all Souls embodied in a body and a mind

Without this body-mind complex, the Soul we cannot nd Just like mud needs a pot to manifest itself

The Soul too needs a body and mind and can't be seen by itself

Why do we fear, why do we worry, why do we regret?

Because we live in ignorance, we fume and we fret

But once we realize the Truth that we are not body or mind We dance with joy and peace, and misery we leave behind

It starts with self-realization, knowing who we truly are

Neither are we the body, nor the mind, but the Soul that shines like a star

This leads to God-realization, we nd God is a power

He is everywhere, on earth and in the sky. He is in every ower

The human mind can't understand all, it has a limit we must know The nose can smell, but cannot see and show what eyes can show And so is the human being created, he cannot think beyond He can realize the self and realize God, but can't go beyond

I live as the happiest man on earth, what is my secret of life? I live with peace and joy and bliss. I have no strife I know I am not body or mind. I am a Divine Soul

To unite with my Lord, My God, is my Life's only Goal.

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

AiR – Atman or the Soul in Ravi, is an embodied Soul whose only mission in life is to help people realize the Truth.

He was born in Bangalore on October 15, 1966. At a very young age, Ravi V. Melwani mastered the craft of business and became a very successful businessman who revolutionized retailing in India with the stores KidsKemp, Big KidsKemp, and Kemp Fort.

After making millions, he realized that life is not just about making money. He shut down his business at the age of 40, transformed his life to RVM, living by the RVM philosophy – Rejoice, Value Life, and Make a Difference. He started doing H.I.S. work – Humanitarian, Inspirational and Spiritual work. His mission was to 'Make a Difference' in this world before his journey was over.

As a part of the humanitarian initiative, a charitable hospital and charitable homes were set up with an aim to provide free medical treatment and care to the poor, destitute, and needy. Today, over 700 homeless and suffering people are served and cared for in destitute homes and provided with free shelter, food, clothing, and medical care.

A School of Inspiration was set up that inspired the lives of many people through motivating talks, inspirational books and videos, and thought-provoking quotes.

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About The Author

A Shiva Temple was built in the year 1995 in Bangalore, which is now known as the Shivoham Shiva Temple. AiR now believes that religion is just a kindergarten of Spirituality, and we all have to go beyond religion to truly realize God.

One day, his Guru provoked him to introspect: What is the purpose of life? Is life just meant to seek pleasures and to live and die without any purpose? What happens after death? Will we be reborn? Where is God? Several questions like these took him on a quest, a search for the Truth. He gave up his life of Achievement and Fulfilment in search of the final peak of life: Enlightenment.

After a few years of intense search in retreat, deep in the mountains, he realized that we are not this body. We are the Soul, the Atman. He changed his name to AiR

–Atman in Ravi. He metamorphosed to AiR and gave up his entire life as RVM and started living as an instrument of God doing His Divine Will. This led to several realizations that formed his new mission of life – to help people Realize the Truth.

Since then, AiR's life has been dedicated to reaching out and helping people to eradicate the ignorance that we live in. Truth is Truth but our mind does not realize that. With AiR's own realization, he has published several books, written bhajans, blogs, quotes, poems and taken up several other initiatives that can direct people

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 About The Author

towards the Truth. AiR's Vision is to make a difference in people's lives by triggering them to ask questions, and then to investigate, and eventually, realize God. He believes that unless people ask questions, they will never start a quest and even if they start the quest unless they really investigate, they will not realize the Truth. This Truth cannot be learned in a school, college or university, it must be realized. AiR has dedicated his life to helping people realize the Truth.

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 BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

1. Talaash

'Talaash' means Search or Quest. This book by AiR is his personal journey to realize the Truth where he shares his realization that we are not the body and the mind that we seem to be. We are a power. The Divine life force is known as Soul, Spirit or Atman. This search and quest by AiR made him transform his life. It is a quest that made him realize the Truth. It might be just that book that inspires you to liberation.

2. 3 Peaks of Happiness

3 Peaks of Happiness by AiR is a simple book that talks about the quest of all humanity. Everybody wants to be Happy. But is everybody Happy? No. The reason is we are stuck on the first peak of Happiness – Achievement. 20% of the people are lucky to climb the second peak of Happiness – Fulfilment, which comes from contentment. But there is a third peak beyond. The third peak of Happiness will liberate you from the prisons of misery and sorrow and give you eternal Joy and Bliss.

3. My Guru, My Mentor, My God on Earth

My Guru, My Mentor, My God on Earth is a book by AiR in which he shares his experiences with his Guru who

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 Books By The Author

was not just his Guru and Mentor, but also his God on Earth. We all need a coach, a teacher to help us understand, guide us to live life and this book "My Guru" will inspire you to find your Guru or to make your relationship with your Guru more fulfilling and meaningful.

4. I will Never Die. Death is not "The End"

In the journey of his life, AiR realized many Truths. One of the Truths was that he would never die. The body will die, but the one who lives in the body never dies. We are not the bodies that we wear; we are the ones who wear the body. Death is not the end. It is a bend to transcend. This book reveals the Truth about Death.

  5. Death is Not "The End". Death is "Liberation"

Death is Not "The End". Death is "Liberation" – the second book in the series of books on death by AiR – touches upon the secret of the Kathopanishad, which talks about what happens at death. One of two things happen – if we think we are the body and mind as a doer, we are reborn. But if we think we are not the body and mind, but the Energy, we are liberated to eternal joy and peace.

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 Books By The Author

6. I am not I. Who am I?

I am not I. Who am I? – is a very interesting book by AiR, which talks of his quest and realization that we are not who we think we are. We have a house, but we are not the house. We have a car, but we are not the car. We have a body, but we are not the body. We may have a mind, but we are not the mind. Who are we? Realize the Truth.

7. The Mind is a Rascal

Can you believe that the mind is a rascal? You always thought that the mind is king – it is everything. But just try this. Sit quietly for an hour, and try to find the mind. Where is it? You will find the mind doesn't exist. This amazing book by AiR will teach us that the mind is our enemy. It is the one that makes us suffer. It is time to find the rascal and to kill it. How do you do it?

8. A Cosmic Drama

This book authored by AiR challenges us to think that whatever is happening in life is not real. It is nothing but a drama. The earth is a big stage, and we are all actors who come and go. There is no need to worry and cry till we die. If

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 Books By The Author

we understand the Truth, we can enjoy the show called life.

9. Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

Well, this might seem to be a simple set of questions, but nobody really knows the answers. We all know that God exists. We pray to a God as per our religion but what is the Truth about God? Has anybody seen God? Where is God? This simple book will change your perception and belief about God and bring you closer to this Power called God. It will help you realize God.

10. The A to Z of Karma

Most people are aware of the concept of Karma

– the Law. What you give is what you get. But not everybody knows the A to Z of Karma, that we can actually transcend Karma, escape from it and achieve Moksha, Nirvana, Liberation or Enlightenment. This book reveals the secret – of eternal joy and peace - a life without any misery or suffering.

11. Who Are You & Why Are You Here?

'Who are you and why are you' here is a simple book which challenges us to discover the secret of our life. Most of us think we are the body-mind complex, but in

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 Books By The Author

reality, we are not. The body will die and return to dust. Where is the mind, we cannot find. Who are we in reality? And beyond that what is the purpose of life on earth. This book will give you all the answers.

12. The 4th Factor

Man thinks that he can achieve anything. He believes that there is nothing in this world he can't do. But, he doesn't realize that his efforts and equipment are not enough to decide the results of his actions. Sometimes, he does his best but things don't work out the way he wants. He then realizes the importance of the 4th Factor, a factor that makes the possible, possible and without its consent even the possible becomes impossible.

13. Be Happy in the NOW!

Every human being on earth wants to be Happy. There is nobody who enjoys pain. People want to achieve Happiness but they fail to realize that Happiness is the journey itself, not the destination. Then, what is the secret of eternal joy, bliss, and peace? It is being Happy in the NOW. Every time we let the suffering of yesterday take charge of our life, we destroy the joy of today. When our thoughts anxiously jump into what may happen in the future, we

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Books By The Author

lose the tranquility of the present moment. We seem to be like helpless monkeys jumping from one branch to another, from yesterday to tomorrow. And in the bargain, we lose the gift of being Happy in the present. With this book, AiR hopes to inspire people to live life moment by moment, if they really want to be Happy.

14. Questions You Must Answer Before You Die!

Most of us live and die but we don't ask the question – Why? We just exist! We don't want to invest time in asking essential questions which are actually needed to lead a fulfilling and blissful life. There are so many critical questions that we must answer before our journey of life is over. What will happen to us after we die? Who created this universe? How can we be Happy all the time? Who is God, where is God, what is God? Like this, there are so many questions which we are ignorant about and somehow, we believe that ignorance is bliss. We blissfully live in ignorance till we die. Isn't it time to stop and ask questions?

15. Suffer No More

Suffer No More is a personal experience of overcoming anguish, anxiety, distress, and grief. We all suffer physical pain. Who on earth can escape from it? But while there is pain, can

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Books By The Author

we do away with the suffering? What is suffering? While we all experience it, have we gone on a quest to understand what the primary cause of misery is? We live in this ignorance, this myth, that suffering is an unavoidable part of life.We can be free from suffering if only we realize that we are the prisoners of negative emotions that continue to make us miserable. Suffer No More is an analysis of suffering, what causes it and how we can overcome it. If one wants to truly live with eternal joy and everlasting peace, it's possible! This book will help you Realize the Truth and Suffer No More!

16. Success is not Happiness... Happiness is Success

Everybody wants to succeed. If one goes deep into the psychology of winning, one will realize that people want to win because this makes them Happy, just as failure makes them miserable. People want to succeed and they do everything possible to win because they want to be Happy. In fact, humanity, by and large, believes that Success is like a cause, of which Happiness is the effect. In the present book the readers will discover the reality that Success equals Happiness is an illusion. No doubt Success creates a sense of gratification that makes us Happy but Real Happiness is beyond achievement. It is contentment and fulfillment. It's time for us to realize the Truth. Instead of chasing Success to be Happy, we should try to be Happy. That is true Success. We must realize that Success is not the

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 Books By The Author

Truth. Instead of chasing Success to be Happy, we should try to be Happy. That is true Success. We must realize that Success is not Happiness, Happiness is Success. Happiness, Happiness is Success.

17. God = Happiness

We understand what it means to be happy, especially when we compare it to those times when we are miserable and unhappy. But how exactly is our state of joy or sorrow connected to God, remains a mystery. Yes, we pray thinking of God as somebody in heaven who has a magic wand with which he controls our Happiness. But is this true or is there something else that we are ignorant about? In his quest to discover

Truth and the purpose of life, the author found answers that liberated him from misery and sorrow. He also realized that people didn't know where exactly to search for Happiness. All pray to God but do we know the Real Truth about God? We may believe in any religion but that hardly matters, because God is beyond religion. While we evolve in life, we don't spiritually evolve to realize that God is far more powerful than what we imagine. This book is not about religion. It takes us far beyond religion to Realize the Truth about God and how God is Happiness.

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 Books By The Author

  18. Life! Realized!! Coming Soon

  18. True Love is Bliss... Not Just a Kiss

||Om Namah Shivaya|| ||Shivoham||

Visit | or Scan the QR Code | A.i.R.

---|---|---

to download the AiR - Atman in Ravi App. | AiR Institute of Realization

www.air.ind.in | air@air.ind.in | Ask Investigat e Realize

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Life! Realized!!

This book shares my journey of Self-Realization. For 50 years, I lived a life of ignorance believing in myths and suffered. I, then, started my quest and realized many truths about life. This book shares my realizations so that it can inspire the world to realize the truth about life.

What did I realize?

  * Everybody wants to be happy but instead of being happy, we are chasing success so that we can achieve happiness. Ultimately, we suffer.

  * We all pray to a God but we don't really know who God is, where God is, what God is. God is the Creator, a Universal Power beyond human comprehension. We must realize God within.

  * We think we are 'ME'- Mind and Ego. We don't realize who we truly are. We are the Divine Life Energy - The Soul.

  * We all know that we come empty-handed and go empty-handed. We are imprisoned in ignorance that doesn't let us realize the truth.

  * The mind is a rascal. It doesn't let us realize that this world is a humongous stage on which a Cosmic Drama is unfolding as per the Law of Karma.

It's time to realize the truth about life. This book has 52 such realizations that will help you realize the truth about life.
