Vedanta – Thy Birthright

Vedanta – Thy Birthright

VEDANTA is the religion of the Upanishads. It is the property of all. It has no quarrel with any religion whatsoever. It preaches universal principles. It inculcates the idea of that universal religion which is the fountain-head of all the religions of the world. It is a great leveller. It unites all. It gives room to all.

Vedanta is the direct royal road to the domain of unalloyed felicity and the supreme abode of immortality and eternal bliss. It is the Sanjivini (Himalayan herb) that can bring immediate life to a dying man. It lifts a man at once to the status of an Emperor of emperors, Kind of kings, Shah of shahs, even though he has nothing to eat, even though he is clad in rags. It gives real inner strength. It inspires, renovates, vivifies, invigorates and energises. It gives hope to the hopeless, power to the powerless, vigour to the vigourless and joy to the joyless.

Vedanta includes all sects, all religions, all creeds, all cults and all nations. It proclaims the revelations of the sages of yore of India. It is the common property of all. It expands the heart and opens the eyes. It brings a new life. It gives supreme joy and eternal bliss. It removes all barriers which separate man from man and unites all people. It gives solace, strength and peace and removes all fears, doubts and anxieties, delusion and illusion.

You think of your body, food, wife, son, friend, etc., but you do not turn your mind inward to find out what lies within yourself. You think that your body, this bundle of flesh and bones – is real and on this basis you build the whole citadel of life’s ambition and activities. You have mistaken the shadow for the substance. You are contended with superficial things. Though you are endowed with the power of thought, yet you do not wish to utilise this power in the quest of the immortal Self. You have abandoned the precious jewel of Atman and caught hold of a broken glass piece. Is this not a foolish act? You will weep in your old age.

Why do you bleat like a lamb? Assert. Recognise and realise your Brahmic nature. I will tell you a small story. Just hearken with rapt attention. There was once a lion-cub, left by its dying mother, among some sheep. The sheep took care of the lion-cub. The lion-cub soon grew into a big lion and bleated Ba-a-a when the sheep bleated Ba-a-a.

One day another lion came and heard the sheep-lion bleating aloud with the other sheep. He was struck with amazement. He asked the sheep-lion: Brother! What is the matter with you? Why are you here in such an abject state The sheep-lion replied: I am a sheep. I am happy here amidst my brothers and sisters. Nonsense, roared the other lion, Come along with me. I will show you. You are under a false delusion. He took the sheep-lion to the side of a river and showed him his reflection in the water. He said to the sheep-lion: Look at your reflection now. You are a lion. I am a lion. The sheep-lion looked at the reflection and then said in joy, What a terrible mistake I have committed? I am certainly a lion indeed. I am not a sheep at all. He made a terrible roar and went along with the other lion.

Brother! You are also bleating like the sheep-lion. You have forgotten your real divine nature. You are hypnotised by Maya. Dehypnotise yourself and roar OM OM OM. Become a lion of Vedanta. Thou art the immortal Self. Do not identify yourself with the perishable body. Identify yourself with the undying, eternal Brahman and be free.

There is a permanent reality behind the universe. There is a living truth behind these names and forms and all phenomena. That is Brahman. That is Atman. That is Self. The goal of human life is to realise the reality behind the changing phenomena. The summum bonum of human aspiration is to attain Self-realisation. Self-realisation alone can eradicate ignorance and miseries. Self-realisation alone can break the bonds of Karma. Self-realisation alone can make you absolutely free and independent.

There is only one reality, Brahman. This world and body are superimposed on Brahman, just as snake is superimposed on the rope. As long as the rope is not known and the idea of the snake persists, you are not free from fear. Similarly this world is a solid reality to you until Brahman is realised. When you see the rope with a light, the illusion vanished and the fear disappears. Even so, when you realise Brahman, this world vanishes and you are freed from the fear of births and deaths.

A Jiva-Koti Jivanmukta is one who has realised the Self through gradual evolution and by his own efforts. He has raised himself form Jivahood to Brahmanhood by meditation. He has taken many births. Anyhow he has managed to free himself from the round of births and deaths. He can help a few persons only. He cannot elevate many people. He can be compared to a bullock cart which can take 4 or 5 persons or a plank in a river. Whereas the eternally free Ishvara-koti-Jivanmukta is born in the world for establishing Dharma, for the protection of virtuous persons and for doing good to humanity. He does not practise any Sadhana or meditation in this birth. He is an Amsa of the Lord. He is a born Siddha. He is illumined from his very boyhood. He can elevate many people. He manifests and disappears when the Lokasangraha work is over. He can be compared to a train which takes a large number of persons or a big steamer in an ocean. Sankara was an Ishvara-Koti. Vamadeva was a Jiva-Koti Jivanmukta.

Still the waves of the mind. Hold the mind steady in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. This needs constant and protracted practice of meditation. There may be breaks in the meditation in the beginning. But practice can make you perfect. Later on you can remain absorbed in mediation. You can merge yourself in Samadhi with a mind steady like a flame protected from wind. Before getting sanguine success in meditation get victory over the Asana (pose) first. Sit on your seat with the steadiness of a rock for 2 to 3 hours. If the body is steady, the mind also will be steady.

The student of Vedanta puts the ‘Neti-neti’ doctrine into daily practice. He says: I am not this perishable body. I am not this mind. I am not this Prana. I am not the Indriyas. ‘Neti-neti’ means not this; not this. This is the path of negation. But he tries to identify himself with the all-pervading Atman or Self. This practice culminates in the attainment of Self-realisation. It leads to the immediate intuition of the all-filling Brahman.

Perform worship of the Atman at all times. Live a regulated life. Mould your character. Develop noble and virtuous behaviour. Be righteous and work for the good of others. Be devoted to your preceptor. Live under life-long vows. Develop compassion and power of concentration. Be generous. Be charitable. You will soon attain Self-realisation.

Open your eyes now. Wake up from the deep slumber of profound inertia. Regain the lost divinity. Thou art Divine. Thou art Truth. Thou art Atman (soul). Realise this and be free. OM! OM! OM!

Vedanta – Thy Birthright – Self-Knowledge, Inner Freedom, and Divine Heritage

Vedanta – Thy Birthright means that the highest wisdom of the self belongs to every human being. Vedanta is not the private property of scholars, monks, priests, or philosophers. It is the natural heritage of all who seek truth, peace, freedom, and spiritual awakening. Every person has the right to know their real nature, rise above ignorance, and realize the divine consciousness within.

Vedanta teaches that the true self is not the body, mind, senses, intellect, ego, name, form, caste, religion, nationality, profession, or social status. The true self is Atman, pure consciousness, eternal, peaceful, and ever free. Because of ignorance, a person identifies with temporary things and feels limited. Vedanta removes this ignorance and reveals the glory already present within.

Vedanta – Thy Birthright reminds us that spiritual knowledge is not something foreign or artificial. It is not imported from outside. It is the discovery of what we truly are. Just as a person wearing a necklace may search for it everywhere without knowing it is already around the neck, the seeker searches for peace outside while the source of peace is within. Vedanta points this out clearly.

The birthright of every soul is freedom. But most people live as slaves to desire, fear, anger, jealousy, pride, attachment, and ego. They depend on outer conditions for happiness and become disturbed when circumstances change. Vedanta teaches that real freedom is not merely outer independence. It is freedom from false identification and mental bondage.

Vedanta – Thy Birthright gives strength to the weak and courage to the fearful. It declares that the self is not sinful, helpless, or broken by nature. The real self is pure, luminous, and complete. Weakness belongs to the mind. Fear belongs to ignorance. Limitation belongs to wrong identification. When the seeker understands this, inner confidence begins to grow.

The first step in claiming this birthright is discrimination. The seeker must learn to distinguish between the permanent and the temporary, the real and the unreal, the self and the non-self. The body changes, the mind changes, thoughts change, relationships change, and worldly situations change. The witness of all these changes remains unchanged. This witness is the real self.

Detachment is also necessary. To receive Vedantic wisdom, the mind must stop running blindly after temporary pleasures. Detachment does not mean hatred for the world. It means understanding the world correctly. Wealth, praise, comfort, success, and power may have practical value, but they cannot give permanent peace. When this is known, craving becomes weaker.

Vedanta – Thy Birthright is not a call to escape life. It is a call to live with wisdom. Perform duties, serve family, work honestly, help others, and act with responsibility, but do not become inwardly bound by ego and attachment. The world becomes a place of learning and service when viewed through Vedantic understanding.

Self-inquiry is the key to this birthright. Ask, “Who am I?” Am I this body that changes and dies? Am I this mind that thinks and worries? Am I these emotions that rise and fall? Am I this ego that seeks praise and fears blame? Through enquiry, the seeker discovers that all these are observed. The observer is different from them.

Vedanta also teaches the method of “Neti, Neti,” meaning “not this, not this.” I am not the body, not the senses, not the mind, not the intellect, not the ego, not pleasure, not pain, not birth, and not death. This negation removes false identity and leads the mind toward pure consciousness. It is a powerful way to claim one’s spiritual inheritance.

This birthright does not depend on outer qualifications. A person may be rich or poor, educated or uneducated, young or old, active in the world or withdrawn from it. What is needed is sincerity, purity, faith, discrimination, and longing for truth. Vedanta belongs to all who are ready to enquire deeply and live nobly.

Vedanta – Thy Birthright also teaches universal brotherhood. If the same self shines in all beings, then hatred, cruelty, pride, and narrowness have no place. Differences belong to body, mind, culture, and circumstance. The inner reality is one. This vision gives rise to compassion, respect, service, and love for all.

Meditation helps the seeker experience this truth more deeply. Sit quietly and observe the body, breath, thoughts, emotions, and ego. Everything observed is changing. The awareness that knows them remains. Resting in that awareness brings peace. Slowly, the seeker begins to feel that Vedanta is not merely philosophy; it is living truth.

Purity of life is essential. A mind filled with anger, greed, jealousy, dishonesty, and selfishness cannot reflect Vedantic wisdom clearly. Truthfulness, self-control, humility, compassion, moderation, devotion, and selfless service prepare the mind. The cleaner the mind becomes, the more naturally the light of the self shines.

A Guru and scriptures help the seeker understand this birthright correctly. The Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and teachings of realized masters declare the truth again and again. A true teacher does not give the self from outside. The teacher removes ignorance and shows the seeker what is already present within.

The practical message is simple: do not live as a slave of the lower nature. Do not think you are merely the body. Do not allow fear and desire to rule you. Remember your divine nature. Serve all, love all, meditate, enquire, purify the mind, and realize the self. This is the living spirit of Vedanta.

In the end, Vedanta – Thy Birthright is a declaration of spiritual dignity. Every soul has the right to knowledge, peace, freedom, and realization. Vedanta reveals that the self is pure consciousness, ever free and complete. Through discrimination, detachment, meditation, self-inquiry, purity, and service, the seeker claims this divine inheritance and lives in the light of wisdom, strength, and liberation.

Easy Steps to Vedanta