Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krsna!
Dear Mihir, one of the most essential realizations in transcendental spiritual cultivation is to not identify as the body and mind, but instead identify as spirit spark - the symptom being consciousness.
Some years back I used to tell friends, 'we are not these bodies and minds, we are spirit soul!' So one friend went to his work place and told all his work mates, 'we are not these minds!' His work mates gave him a strange look, and said, 'mate! you have lost the plot'. lol
Theoretically it is ok to know something, but we have to realize it. And a key to realizing we are not these minds, is non-attachment! This will be a gradual awakening for the sincere practicioner of yoga. But saying that, non-attachment is not renunciation or denial - for the skillful bhakti yogi. By no means, for such a soul, skillful bhakti yoga is a life of application. We need to 'raise ourselves' 'gradually' to the qualification to be swanlike, to be able to extract the fragrant essence of things (in Krsna consciousness) as a pleasing offering to our Lord.
Each of us is unique, and by the guidance of, Guru external and Guru within the heart, we will be guided by buddhi-yoga how to do this. Srila Prabhupada has said buddhi-yoga is non-different to bhakti-yoga. Each of us has a unique mind, no two are alike, so the individual practice and application (dovetailing) will need to be discerned in 'wisdom-buddhi'. For example devotees came to Srila Prabhupada onetime and said, 'how do we stop this chronic alcoholic drinking alcohol?' Srila Prabhupada said, 'get him to offer his alcoholic drinks to Krsna! He will gradually be purified and able to see!' Or you could say, eventually the mode of ignorance will leave him and he will no longer be 'blind'.
As we progress in sadhana and development of 'constant awareness of God (in all things)' we may possibly enter more subtle states of being, coming closer to our 'original consciousness'. As followers of Sri Caitanya our original consciousness is Krsna consciousness - not other subtle realms. For very fortunate souls this entails remeberance of the Lord's form, pastimes, associates etc. This has been the recomended process...
For someone like myself Mihir, I am not so fortunate to be that simple and pure, as JagGaura Prabhu has pointed out. But this chanting and remembering is the process to take up if we are wise - the express train back home ;) Siddhis may come, awareness of ghosts, demigods, all these things may come, but we are recommended to 'not be attached to the subtle body', in other words not to identify ourselves as it - even Patanjali alludes to this final hurdle. As JagGaura has said so wisely, and as Srila Gurudeva has said so wisely...simply chant. Simply adore Sri GauraKrsna!
We are not called to repress anything, and cover with false renunciation - but we are called to be wise and discerning - and utilize our nature in service. If we falsely renounce and take up someone elses duty (for example Arjuna's not wishing to fight), in due course we will be forced to act. This is the message of Gita, skill in work and devotion. If we repress, it will eventually rise again...instead we process and use our God given intelligence (in relation to God).
As far as I have realized anyhow. Dovetailing. Only if we were simple, and practiced Naam yoga - hearing, chanting, remembering, becoming friends, worshipping the Lotus feet, offering prayers, and full self surrender. This can only be attained in the association of simple and pure devotees.
y.s. Nava.
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