The Signs of a Self-Realized Person

Arjuna then asks how to recognize a person who is Self-realized, and he approaches this from the physical point of view, ie, are there physical traits of a person who is Self-realized. Krishna instantly manner, since it is a spiritual state. He says the Self-Realized person are ok with it; good or bad weather, joyous or sorrowful events, pleasing or threatening situations; no one event impels this person to cause or prevent any situation Krishna suggests that instead of judging or copying a person’s physical mannerisms, it is better emulate their higher values. A person’s mannerisms or habits, have little to do with spirit, ethics, or compassion. Steady vision comes from inner values.

The way to achieve such steady vision is to learn to withdraw the senses from worldly involvement. When the body seeks something, the senses often overrule a person’s better judgment. For example, craving and eating candy is an example of the sense of taste overriding one’s knowledge that white sugar can lead to hyperactivity, high cholesterol levels, or poor digestion. Letting the senses distract us can lead one astray, that is, from the center of one’s own inner Soul home. When one realizes they are so far from home, they can sincerely pray to return to themselves. They then see how much time was lost being sidetracked. Nonetheless, a lesson can be learned.

The next time one is tested, they might have greater resolve to prevent becoming sidetracked. [Verse 54–61]

O Krishna, what are the signs of a person who is grounded in Self-Realization? How do they speak, sit and walk? [54]

O Arjuna, when a person is fully satisfied — complete within their Self, completely casting out all mental desires, then they have realized grounded, experiential spiritual wisdom. [55]

One whose mind remains clear even in crisis, out of the grip of pleasures, free of attachment, fear, and anger, is said to be a saint steeped in spiritual wisdom. [56]

One who is free from all attachment neither rejoices over good news, nor is troubled by bad events. They live in the established state of Self-Realization. [57]

When one completely withdraws their senses from material objects, as a turtle retracts its limbs, then their wisdom becomes established in self-contented wisdom. [58]

Through the practice of moderation the embodied Soul can suppress sensory desires, but the desire remains in the heart. All longing vanishes when one experiences the ecstatic love of God. [59]

O Arjuna, the senses are turbulent, for they divert the mind of even the most sincere and wise people seeking to realize what is beyond sensory pleasure. [60]

A person of steady wisdom who has succeeded in finding more Divine pleasure from within than from the senses, is able to fix their attention on God. When senses cannot compare to the delight of inner spiritual joy, one has established wisdom. [61]

Lord Krishna suggests that a person withdraw their senses like a tortoise withdraws their limbs into the shell. This advice alone does two general methods for sense withdrawal that work very well to help people gradually reduce the power of the senses and empower the Soul to lure one to the True Eternal Soul.

The first method is to follow a personal Ayurvedic dosha food plan and lifestyle. By returning the body, mind, behavior, and spirit to a state of balance, one feels truly a sense of health and vitality that gives new meaning to the word health. As a person becomes truly healthy in this balanced manner, eating something that is not healthy for them, but the senses wants, makes them feel worse, and they naturally reject that food.

For example, a craving for sweets causes the ingestion of white sugar, which has been linked to hyperactivity, and a reduction of energy and nutrition. The best route is to substitute the harmful substance with a good one that will simultaneously satisfy the desire for something sweet and nutritious. In this example, switching to sweets that contain whole cane sugars like sugar cane and maple syrup that retain their inherent nutrients, allows for a more integrated, grounding, and healthy body and mind.

If after a while the person decides to taste a sweet containing white sugar, the harmonious, balanced body will be attacked by the white sugar, and shocking the mind and body causing uncomfortable feelings such as hyperactivity. When the Soul, intuition, or stomach says, ‘hey, this is making me sick, ’ the person will have awakened to the reality that what the senses thought they wanted, the body does not like. The mind and body now take over, stopping activities that harm it. The demands of the senses are illusions, and a balanced dosha can dispel the illusion. A person with a balanced constitution (dosha), has more control over their senses.

The second way to develop the ability to withdraw the senses is to follow one’s life purpose (dharma) — doing what one loves to do, that is, doing what comes as second nature. The joy and meaningfulness of such actions unlocks our inner wealth to our awareness.

We see that nothing gives us greater pleasure or meaning than to use our God-given talents, and using them to help others, that is, not for selfish reasons. In this state of inner satisfaction and perhaps inner joy, the senses are also satisfied, and so do not cry out for attention.

Both these habits are natural ways a person grows into a state where the senses are satisfied. From these two approaches, a third method automatically arises: gratitude for the sacredness of life as part of a spiritual awakening. Now the Soul is ever more fed through spiritual life, and nothing in the material world can attract our senses as much as the spiritual life.

So the interesting point is that there is no harsh or unnatural forcing of the senses to withdraw, and no complicated intellectual manipulation is required. To ask a person to understand and imagine withdrawing the senses from an abstract theoretical standpoint is virtually impossible. So, too, is it difficult to ask a person to understand the experience of spiritual life if it does not awaken from within. This is the value of these methods of naturally withdrawing the senses, and they will help a person develop the state described by Lord Krishna Let us return for a moment to the question of how to identify a person who is Self-Realized, and Lord Krishna’s answer. Observing human behavior over the years, I have seen clients and acquaintances achieve counterproductive results when trying to judge a person, or determine who is self-satisfied regardless of their circumstances or outer events.

Trying to imagine what traits an ideal person would exhibit suggests possibly preconceived ideas that are not based in reality. Often people tell me their idea of a perfect person is one who never makes a mistake, or who is never angry (always happy). The notion of ‘perfection’ often relates more to an idea of a mono-emotional or robotic person, that is, someone who is totally devoid of spontaneity, moods, or emotional feeling or reaction; someone in whom there is example, this person might show sadness — not for their own life — but for the troubles another is undergoing. Or this person might be joyful for the joys of another. With regard to anger, the Vedas distinguish between constructive anger and destructive anger. A realized person is likely to display constructive anger to save someone when they are putting their own life in jeopardy.

Those who base their notions on a faulty premise might begin to compare themselves to an imaginary perfect person who is never angry or who never makes a mistake, who is always attentive, and who is always in a good mood (such false preconceptions may develop from a troubled childhood, imagining a more loving parent).

This notion will cause inner conflict. After all, how can you ever feel good about yourself, with all your human flaws, when you will never come close to the assumed perfection of another?

So it is best to not judge yourself against others (real or imagined), and just be the best person you can be. All short-comings melt away when experiencing loving grace of God. Two ways to accomplish this are sadhana (meditation), and thinking less of your personal wants to help others with actual needs.

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