All my life I carried certain cognitions about life which were either inserted into me by societal conditioning or by my own limited understanding out of fear, greed or incompletions from the past.
I was so integrated with these limited cognitions that naturally I invited pain, suffering from the Maya (illusion and delusions). So many decisions I took from these limited cognitions led me into more and more mess in my life which were my blind spots. It was only when I started seeking the truth and questioned my deep-rooted old cognitions that I realized I have been cheated by society or people who have other vested interests. I am eternally grateful to my Guru, Paramahamsa Nithyananda (fondly known as Swamiji) – a living Avatar who happened in my life to dispel the darkness of ignorance and shed light with the spiritual understanding.
Let me share these 7 limited cognitions which I did an acid wash with spiritual understanding:-
- Money is security – As a child growing up in a poor family and seeing my parents fought over money frequently, I held money with an iron-fist because I didn’t like the feeling of poverty. So I started accumulating wealth the moment I started earning a salary till I hit the wall in my late 20’s. My being was in deep poverty and my body was in shambles of pain and aches despite the fact that I had everything I needed in the material world. Finally it dawned on me that money was not the true security! I began to turn inwards in the path of spirituality to discover the deeper meaning of life. I re-cognized that spiritual cognition is the real security i.e. making decisions out of spiritual understanding is the ultimate security.
- A degree is success – Society made us believe that you are nothing without a university degree, your life will be set after attaining a degree. The truth is whatever I’ve learned in the name of education for 14 years is totally irrelevant in the fulfilling my life purpose. In short, I wasted 14 years of my life chasing after a paper just because the society deemed it important which was a conspiracy of the modern education system. If kids are given the clarity of their purpose of life and purpose of happening, they will not be wasting their life in useless education system which does not add anything to their conscious evolution. This knowing gave me the strength to promote Vedic education system – Gurukul, a powerful incubator which is rooted on awakening an individual soul.
- Insurance gives you peace of mind – This is the biggest scam I ever re-cognized because insurance can only appeal to people who carry fears and insecurity. I bought my first life assurance policy the moment I started my first job, thinking one day I will develop the 10 major diseases like cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure etc. When I was diagnosed with stage 3 cervix cancer in 2005, I was told I couldn’t get any payout until I passed on. The whole insurance business and its way of making us buy on fears was the rude shock to me! The spiritual cognition I gathered was – with a yogic body, I will never fall sick at all, why the need to buy insurance?! Even if I were to be sick, I know how to heal myself. So in 2012, I cashed out the 2 insurance policies I was holding and bid farewell to insurance forever!
- Career measures your self-worth – Society created this illusion that your identity and self-worth are fundamentally measured by your career choice and perceived success. During my time, the most highly-regarded careers are doctors, lawyers, bankers and accountants. After spending 18 years in the corporate jungle, I re-cognized that I was literally selling my life in the name of a career, climbing a delusional corporate ladder and hitting the glass ceiling. I may enjoy the name and fame, the high-life as a marketing profession, but the moment the people at the top of a company decided to change its course, you are told to go one day! I didn’t want to wait till that day when I would be asked to go, I left my corporate life at the peak of my career in glory! I learned to let go when time was still good because I decided to follow my heart than my mind! How I perceive myself has since shifted from the lower self-image which I created from my unconscious past to the spiritual truth that I am the Source (I am Sadashiva). This re-cognizance can only happen when you have a enlightened Guru who is able to make you experience this truth by His grace.
- Health will go by old age – As per the societal norm, most laymen fall into sickness and diseases by the time they reach old age and they perish away. Once I believed this was the path of a human life till Swamiji gave me the spiritual cognition about death and showed me the possibility of a graceful exit which many yogis and enlightened beings were able to attain. During the process of death, the opportunity for enlightenment opens up if a soul is prepared while he or she is still in the body. As a living Yogi, I know that I will remain healthy till my last breath, I have the buddhi (intelligence) and Shakti (power) to decide when and how I will leave this body by the control of prana (life force).
- Retirement & loneliness are the norm – Our parents and relatives live the last life stage of retirement in loneliness and sickness because they didn’t have the spiritual understanding to prepare them in their old age – the last phase of life before the next transition happens. What society painted to us is a bleak ending of life where we will live in utter loneliness after retirement. This was another scam which I re-cognized! To me, retirement does not exist in my inner space, I will continue to do what I do till the very last breath – enriching the world with Science of Yoga and healing, playing with the powers (Shaktis) of Super consciousness (Sadashiva). There is no question of loneliness because I am in Oneness (Advaita) with the Source 24/7 and I am supported by a beautiful spiritual community of Nithyananda sangha! What loneliness?!
• Marriage makes you complete – The institution of marriage is another false ideology created by society. We are made to believe that marriage makes you complete as a person. After acid washing with spiritual understanding, I realized that a loving and fulfilling relationship happens when 2 individuals share the same ideology that the life purpose is for liberation (moksha) and both individuals have decided to live together and support each other in this journey of awakening. Whenever a party has a different vested interest, marriage becomes a bondage. Marriage happened to me before I had the spiritual cognition about relationships. Now, I discovered that my completion does not come from marriage alone, in fact it comes from my space of completion with myself, people, world and Universe as well as being in the space of Oneness with the Source. Marriage is not the only path to experience completion.
It is during moments of crisis that your original face is revealed to you whenever the major support in your life is suddenly taken away! You should always find security in spiritual cognition because the real freedom is only experienced when your cognizance is completely soaked in spirituality. Till all your understanding about you, life, world and God becomes a spiritual cognition, there is bound to be suffocation in you. Swamiji said “Spiritual freedom is the ultimate wealth; anything else you call as wealth destroys your life.” The experience of living enlightenment happens when you are able to make all your life’s decisions based on the spiritual understanding. Namaste! 😀