Invaluable gem from the pen of Jagadguru Sri Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati

In the Siva-gita of the Padma Purana, it is said that Rama asked Siva: "How does immaculate knowledge about You, the Lord, arise in a man? O Hara, if you are gracious to Me, tell me the means to it." On being asked thus, the Lord replied:
"Having become detached towards everything inclusive of the state of Brahma and disinclined towards everybody inclusive of one's sons and friends, possessed of faith in the scriptures dealing with liberation and desirous of the knowledge revealed by the Upanishad-s, one should, with an offering in one's hand, approach a Guru who has realised Brahman (Siva-gita XIII. 18-19)."

"Being attentive, one should please one's Guru through services rendered for long. One should then listen with intense concentration to the import of the texts of all the Upanishad-s (Siva-gita XIII.20)."

"All knowers of Brahman deem that sravana, the hearing of the Truth, is the determination that I am the object of the fullest import of the texts of all the Upanishad-s (Siva-gita XIII.21)."

"They declare that manana, reflection upon the Truth, is the reasoning in support of the import of the passages through analysis based on examples such as that of gold (Siva-gita XIII.22)."
(The example of gold referred to is that found in the Chandogya Upanishad. By way of illustrating how everything becomes known when Brahman is known, the Chandogya Upanishad (VI1.5) says, "Just as, O good-looking one, by knowing a lump of gold, all products of gold become known, for all transformation is based on speech and is but a name and is real only as gold.")
"Remaining free from the sense of 'I' and mine, same-sighted towards all, bereft of attachment and ever endowed with calmness and such else, one beholds the intrinsic nature of the Self through constant recourse to meditation, the means. Such steady apprehension of the Self is regarded as nididhyasana, intense concentration upon the Truth (Siva-gita XIII.23)."
"In some person (who is engaged in sravana, manana and nididhyasana), direct realisation of the Self arises quickly due to the ending of all the sins that impede enlightenment. In the case of one with obstructive sins that are yet to cease, direct realisation of the Self occurs after a long time (Siva-gita XIII. 24)."

Therefore, the ultimate object of human life is only liberation that is characterised by abidance in one's intrinsic nature and is attainable solely through the direct realisation of Brahman.

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