Awaken Sadhaka! And Realize Your Divine Nature

What is the message of the ancient and modern Indian yogis to humanity and to all sadhakas (spiritual aspirants)? Their message is a message of strength and power, of courage and self-confidence. "Awaken sadhaka! and realize your Divine nature". Again and again the yogis try to remind us that we are not mere human beings but truly Divine in Nature.

Awaken sadhaka! and realize your Divine nature. You are neither the body nor the mind nor the senses. You are the limitless Supreme Consciousness and pure Self without beginning or end, without birth or death, ever existence, ever conscious, ever new bliss.

Everything that you need lies within yourself. All source of power, all source of strength, all source of love, all source of happiness and all source of peace lies within yourself.

Stop that incessant search for an external savior, the Lord of life is within you! Wherever you go, whatever you do, whomever you are with the Lord of life is always with you. Rejoice! You lack nothing, you need nothing, you already are and have always been complete.

Be silent, be still and dive deep within to tap into that Divine power that is always with you. Constantly remember with each breath so-ham, so-ham. I am That, I am That.

Be brave! Be courageous! You are omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. What is there to fear? Rise sadhaka! and realize your Divine nature.

This is in essence the teachings of the yogis and it is actually my personal prayer/affirmation which I repeat before and after my daily meditation practice. It fills me with strength and and gives me the courage to stay on the path regardless of the obstacles that might appear on the way.

Some people might perceive it as an egocentric prayer but that's absolutely the opposite of its real purpose. It is actually a way to cultivate the wisdom, jnana, that casts off the ego-consciousness, the illusion that we are the limited body and separate from every body else. However, the understanding of this truth-affirmation is incomplete is one is unable to understand the real meaning of the word namaste or namaskar.

Namaste is the common salutation used in countries like India and Nepal. Normally when someone greets another person saying "namaste" the hands are brought together towards the chest in prayer position accompanied with a slight bow. Although some people might think that this is just like saying "hello" the true meaning is:

I pray to the Divinity in you. The Divine Spirit the lives in me salutes and prostrate to the Divine Spirit that lives in you and recognizes that they are both One and the same.

Yet still another way to see this truth is with the below affirmation which I also use during my meditations. Although apparently contradictory it actually has the same meaning.

I'm nothing, I'm nothing. You are the only Truth, the only Reality, the only Existence. Nothing exists but You. It is only You who thinks, speaks and does. I do nothing, I do nothing. I'm nothing, I'm nothing.

And in the words of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa:

"Naham Naham, Tuhum, Tuhum. I'm not, I'm not, Thou alone art"

Suggested further reading

I suggest you read my friend Lakshya-ji's blog series that answer the question "Who Am I" according to the Vedantic teachings. She has spent the last three years studying Vedanta in India under the guidance of her guru Swami Dayananada Saraswati.

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