Know Thy Self
14 Daily Enlightenment Lessons
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From the teachings of
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
any are the ways that can lead one to seek enlightenment—a spontaneous moment of ecstatic expanded consciousness, a fear-evoking brush with death, a random meeting with an extraordinary soul or the sudden realization that there must be more to this existence than sex, money, food, clothes and power. It matters little how we stumble upon the inner, spiritual path. What does matter is how we proceed once we discover it, what tradition we embrace, what techniques we employ. ¶These fourteen lessons are designed to offer seekers a few keys about self-discovery from man’s oldest spiritual tradition, one that is unique in its devotional nondualism. It is a simple reflection, neither advanced nor arcane. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami developed these lessons for seekers on the path who were inquiring about the intriguing metaphysical aspects of self-inquiry, like affirmations, karma, chakras and releasing strained magnetic attachments in life and relationships. Each lesson ends with a challenge to help put these principles into practice. India’s great guru lineages teach the importance of knowing the inmost Self, the nondual Reality that exists as the silent core of every soul. ¶In the East, this is called the Paramatman, or great Self. This is not the intellectual or emotional self. It is not the physical or personality self. This is the Divine Self deep within you. Knowing this Self is the true purpose of life on Earth. On the path to the Self, one thing is certain—change. And the magic is that by changing your own consciousness and relationship with the world, you change the entire cosmos. ¶The path requires you to first overcome fear, confusion, anger and selfishness. It then teaches you to live with detachment, with compassion for all other beings and with wisdom based on knowledge that all is right in the universe. Finally, the spiritual quest takes you from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Knowing who you are and what you should do, you naturally live poised in the eternal now, intuitively open, free of illusion and happy in heart. ¶These fourteen lessons are a summary of life’s path, from the beginning to the end. Read them each morning at breakfast. It will be fun for the whole family and give them a great start for the day. Each time they hear a lesson, it will be new and fresh to their mind because deeper insights will come. Take a lot of time with them under a special tree, or in your favorite chair or secret place. Listen to this ancient wisdom as being a message to you and you alone and absorb it into yourself as a one totality. ¶To know thy Self is the greatest knowing of all knowings. To know thy Self is the greatest security of all securities. To know thy Self is the greatest wealth of all wealths. To know thy Self is the greatest path of all paths. Proceed with confidence; you are on the right path. Awake! Arise! Go forward! The path has been cleared long ago by the Vedas. Its end is in sight. There is much to be learned along the way, but don’t tarry. Keep pushing onward, upward and inward. §