This week I was Exposed to: Self - Realization.

Self-realization.

I was told and lectured this past week by a good friend of us from India that Self-Realization is the act of understanding and fulfilling by your own efforts of your own potential and overcoming personal weaknesses that you have not been aware of.

It involves rational and impartial observation of your own emotional and mental states, and recognizing the possibilities of personal development with regard to your ethical principle.

The sooner you attain your self-realization the better it will be for you that you are responsible for pursuing your own wishes, and not through some outside intervention. Whatever happened and will happen to you is your responsibility.

The life of everyone is in their own hands. Your character, mental power, existence and well-being are exactly what you have intended them to be. Whether you gain happiness or satisfaction or otherwise is up to you to fully achieve your potential.

It is through self-realization that you develop self-reliance. Self-reliance does not come about through seeking the direct intervention of some supernatural being, especially through prayers. Therefore, all the things that you dream of, you put all your efforts into making them come true. You strive for and attain your ideals.

When you live up to your ideals, your character grows in strength and influence. You become an excellent example to emulate and an inspiration to others. Self-realization gives you the freedom to gain insight into the nature of things, and the emotional and mental states as evident in other people. It frees you from wrong perceptions, false beliefs and unacceptable behaviour. You learn to realize that self-effort is the only way to solve all your personal problems.

Others may lend a helping hand, but make self-dependency a personal habit of yours.

There are significant and serious weaknesses inherent in every one of us. It is only when we start the process of self-realization that we can uncover the awful state we are in – a state in which we are burdened with misperceptions, mistaken assumptions, invalid generalization, flawed biases, false beliefs, wrong views and more. It is these flaws of ours that give rise to our ignorance, anger and greed, and they can only be overcome through self-realization.

We are solely responsible for all that happen in our life. Our fortunes or misfortunes are not determined by some external influences. They are the results of our good or bad actions and deeds committed previously. People who continue indefinitely to carry out and commit harmful, illegal or immoral actions and other evil deeds without considering that they are liable to experience misfortunes in this world or perhaps in the next world have not reached self-realization. Blaming others for your misfortune is easy but laying the blame on others will not change your situations.

Understand that you cannot escape from retribution for the sins of your past life. That is the natural law.

The laws of nature can be understood fully by anyone through constant practice of self-realization. Those who fail to acknowledge the existence of these laws tend not to have a moral conscience and are very likely to commit misdeeds.

However, if you are concerned more with the needs of others than with your own, and render selfless service to others, your good deeds will mitigate your past misdeeds.