Vijnana - Practical Realization

Today at work, I overheard a heated discussion in Arabic – all I could make out was Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea… For those of you who do not know, these are some of the top European football clubs and it’s a favorite pastime of many people to discuss the lilas of players belonging to these hallowed names !!! In a not too distant past, the writer was also an ardent devotee of some of these demigods of football…. I could make out that the discussion was regarding team performances. Judgements were being dished out indiscriminately – all by potbellied overweight gentlemen who have never played the game in their life. This lead me to think – what kind of practical realization do these people have that make them experts? Factually none – and that would actually make their judgements null and void being devoid of any practical understanding about the subject.

Same thing applies for devotees..........

“To become free from material conditions means to liberate the soul. As soon as one is, therefore, situated in absolute knowledge, his material conception of life is removed, or he emerges from a false conception of life. Thus the function of the pure soul is revived in spiritual realization. This practical realization of the living being is made possible due to his becoming free from the reaction of the three modes of material nature, namely goodness, passion and ignorance. By the grace of the Lord, a pure devotee is at once raised to the place of the Absolute, and there is no chance of the devotee’s becoming materially entangled again in conditioned life. One is not able to feel the presence of the Lord in all circumstances until one is endowed with the required transcendental vision made possible by devotional service prescribed in the revealed scriptures. Arjuna had attained this stage long before on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra, and when he apparently felt the absence of the Lord, he at once took shelter of the instructions of the Bhagavad-gita and thus again he was placed in his original position. This is the position of visoka, or the stage of being freed from all grief and anxieties. SB 1.15.32 (purport)

“The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brähmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” (Bg. 5.18) On the spiritual platform, the learned person not only gives up the duality of man and woman, but also gives up the duality of man and animal. This is the test of self-realization. One must realize perfectly that the living being is spirit soul but is tasting various types of material bodies. One may theoretically understand this, but when one has practical realization, then he actually becomes a pandita, one who knows.
[SB 7.12.10 (purport)]

“Knowledge is information gathered from the scriptures, and science is practical realization of that knowledge. Knowledge is scientific when it is gathered from the scriptures through the bona fide spiritual master, but when it is interpreted by speculation, it is mental concoction. By scientifically understanding the scriptural information through the bona fide spiritual master, one learns, by one’s own realization, the actual situation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya- Chapter 23- Why study the Vedanta Sutra ?)

“When a person is situated on the practical level of spiritual realization, it should be understood he is actually situated in yoga. It is not that one should continue to attend yoga classes and yet remain the same throughout his life; there must be practical realization. And what is the sign of that practical realization? The mind will be calm and quiet and no longer agitated by the attraction of the material world.”
(Perfection of Yoga - Chapter 5 – Freedom from duality and designation)

The points are very clear – because they are all noted down by Srila Prabhupada. Its right here for all of us to understand, assimilate and emulate in our own lives.