The Journey into oneself
By Gopalakrishnan TC (Mantra-books.com)
We are all on a sacred journey of life. Appreciation of its beauty becomes a natural consequence to the inner dive towards leading a peaceful life. This book “The Journey into Oneself” (Published by Mantra Books) deals with both the esoteric and practical aspects of our venerable journey. It comes up with pensive pointers for reflection and self-awareness.
Human beings are externalized – hooked on to the outer aspects of life such as material possessions, fame and identification with a religion, nation and the like. This is creating a lot of unhappiness to the individual and, hence, to humanity as a whole. Those who realize this begin to turn inward. The current book would function as a catalyst to them in that journey.
People rarely understand that chasing happiness is not as important as discovering what it is to have a peaceful mind. When they do, happiness follows of its own accord! This book explores the spiritual journey of self-awareness – a journey into oneself – that lays bare the root cause of all mental disturbances. In other words, it would serve as a wayside companion to help the reader move into a peaceful state of mind.
The theme of the book focuses on how we can take a journey into ourselves through quiet self-awareness. Though some verbal concepts are used in the book for initiation, the reader is encouraged to move on to a non-verbal understanding of oneself. The deeper one goes into oneself, the more peaceful one’s mind becomes, without having to practice any method or technique. Thus, one becomes effortlessly released from the conventional mindset and its habitual neurosis. The mind can then move into the zone of unspoilt consciousness indicated by the Enlightened Masters from India and other countries.
While presenting issues for serious reflection, this book puts forth a rather uncommon pointer that light-hearted attitudes also play a healthy role in the movement towards the Inner Being. Such legendary figures as Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan too perform their little dances in this presentation!
The book dwells on four main issues: (1) Mindfullness and Inner silence, (2) The Spirituality beyond the organized religions, (3) Afterlife and Reincarnation, (4) Some Aspects of Peace in daily Life. When we pay attention to those items, the usually noisy mind tends to fall silent so that a foundation for stable inner peace is laid.
An issue from ancient spiritual philosophy of India, called the Sankhya philosophy, is brought in to understand ourselves in the cosmological context. It takes us into a wide perspective, making us sense our little place in the vast scheme of things. That is what augments our inner peace.
In connection with reincarnation, eight independent avenues of investigation are explained, proving the truth behind that phenomenon. Primarily, it takes away the claustrophobia in time about having to do something before this life ends. The vista expands giving us the opportunity to grow through successive lifetimes towards returning to the Divine source whence we came. Only such a cyclic process can be eternal.
The book does not give Dos and Don’ts or some methods for the reader to practice (except for some purely practical issues) because such approaches would put unwanted burden on the reader. Here, as one goes through the lines of the pages, a strange non-verbal understanding of life, mind and death would take place. Subsequent reflections on those insights can expand one’s awareness and bring about inner peace. That would help the reader meet life with equanimity.
Some paranormal experiences make us understand life’s meaning and purpose. Paying attention to them widens one’s perspectives and brings about freedom from the fear of death and other mental problems. Over the last few decades, a paranormal phenomenon has begun to draw attention of the spiritually minded people who free themselves from the pull of the conventional belief systems. It is termed the Near Death Experience (NDE). Camaraderie and bonhomie are two wonderful things in our lives that lead to in-depth harmony and peaceful life. Those who go through NDE find those a natural part of their psychology after the experience. Zest for life increases and fear of death disappears. Empathy reaches a high level. There is eagerness to have knowledge about variegated manifestations of Divine energy and intelligence on this blue marble of a planet.
Exposure to two paranormal phenomena is given in this book to take the reader out of the conventional mindset. Messages from those who go through such out-of-the way experiences can transform our lives towards streamlined harmony. It is a pity that, as of now, most people are not looking in that direction.
A chapter is devoted to good physical health. The reason is that such a firm base is needed for one to be stable on the inward journey. Three different health levels are indicated – they may be called the sickness level, the general health level and the super level. The last one transcends the general level. Ways of moving into the super level are discussed.
Some attention is given to Satori – the Japanese term for an individual being drawn into the Universal Consciousness. The corresponding Sanskrit term is Advaita, meaning non-dualism. Under Satori, the individual experiences the oneness of all creation. Incidentally, such oneness is reported by many NDE people when they talk about the other side.
Four appendices are given. Three of them describe the experience of Universal Consciousness by ordinary individuals, not necessarily sage-like people. That would give the reader a glimpse of the Enlightened State to which the inward journey can take us.
In the process of being on the inward journey, some kind of strange background serenity would be discovered. To lead one’s daily life from that serenity somehow makes it very meaningful. A number of cryptic paradigms are given to highlight the key aspects of the journey. Personal and planetary transformations are looked into.
Enjoy the book and the journey towards inner peace!
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The Journey into oneself by Gopalakrishnan TC is available from Mantra Books and wherever books are sold.
BOOK LINK: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/mantra-books/our-books/journey-oneself-exploration-universal-spirituality