He who neither rejoices in joys nor grieves in sorrows, whose mind is fixed on the soul, who knows no error and possesses the knowledge of God, has already transcended matter. The liberated being is not subject to the attraction of the material pleasures of the outer world, for he knows inner ecstasy. Devoting himself to the Supreme Being, he enjoys boundless bliss.
The intelligent man never indulges in sense pleasures; he does not indulge in them, for they have a beginning and an end and bring only suffering.
He who, before leaving his body, learns to resist the impulses of the senses, to restrain the impulses born of concupiscence and anger, is a true spiritualist, happy even in this world.
He whose actions, happiness and light are purely inner, is the perfect spiritualist. A liberated, realised soul, he will attain the Absolute (God, Krishna). He who is beyond doubt and duality, who is free from sin, who works for the good of all beings and whose thoughts turn inwards, he realises the Absolute and attains liberation.
For supreme liberation is close at hand for those who, free from anger and material desires, have realised their spiritual identity and, being self-controlled, are always striving for perfection. Closed to the objects of the senses, fixing his gaze between the eyebrows and immobilising in his nostrils the ascending and descending airs, thus mastering the senses, the mind and the intelligence, the spiritualist becomes free from the desire of anger and fear. He who remains in this state is liberated.
Because he knows Me to be the ultimate Goal of all sacrifices, of all austerities, Sovereign of all stars and celestial beings, Friend and Benefactor of all beings, the wise man finds the cessation of material suffering.
The Path of Deepening the Spiritual Self (Continued)
The Blessed Lord says:
He is the renunciate, the true spiritualist, the one who performs his duties without any attachment to the fruits of his deeds, and not the one who does not light a fire, who withdraws from action.
It is said that yoga, communion with the Absolute, cannot be separated from renunciation, for without abandoning all desire for material enjoyment, no one can become a spiritualist. The neophyte who follows the eight-phase path of yoga progresses through action, whereas the perfect spiritualist must cease all material action. This is what was established. He will be called the perfect spiritualist, the one who, having rejected all material desire, no longer acts for the pleasure of the senses, nor to enjoy the fruit of his actions.