Prof Krishnamurti Aiyer, an enlightened professor of physics said about Bhagavan:

" I observed the personal habits of Bhagavan and tried to follow his example. One noticed in Bhagavan's daily life, personal cleanliness, tidiness of dress, habitual wearing of vibhuti and kumkum on the forehead; equal sharing of all enjoyments with those around one; strict adherence to a time schedule; doing useful work however 'low' it be; never leaving a work unfinished; the pursuit of perfection in every action; ... never considering oneself superior to others; speaking the truth always, or strict silence if the expression of a truth would hurt or lower the reputation of others; perfect self-help, never asking another to do a piece of work which can be done by oneself; taking full responsibility for failure, if any, without shifting the blame on others; accepting success and failure with equanimity; never disturbing the peace of another; leaving the leaf-plate or plate clean after eating; complete non-interference in the affairs of others..."

You have to make an enormous effort to realize the Self. It is very easy to stop on the way and fall back into ignorance. At any moment you can fall back. You have to make a strong determined effort to remain on the peak when you first reach it, but eventually a time will come when you are fully established in the Self. When that happens, you cannot fall. You must have a lifelong commitment to establish yourself in the self. Your determination to succeed must be strong and firm, and it should manifest as continuous, not part-time, effort. For many lifetimes you have been immersed in ignorance. You are habituated to it. All your deeply rooted beliefs, all your patterns of behavior reinforce ignorance and strengthen the hold it has over you. This ignorance is so strong, so deeply enmeshed in all your psychological structures, it takes a massive effort over a long period of time to break free from it. The habits and beliefs that sustain it have to be challenged again and again.

Superimposition, Bhagavan tells us, is projection, the transformation of Brahman into the objects of the world or the remoulding of the light of the Self into the ego and I-am-the-body consciousness. Correct seeing (through atma-vichara and finally , jnana) removes false attribution and allows the real to be seen as it really is. Once appearances are exposed, no special effort is required. Bhagavan blames superimposition for the prevalent mistaken notion that the Self is bound, and thus in need of being liberated, like the woman he describes in T alks, who needs to find her ‘lost' necklace. When a friend points to the necklace round her neck, the woman shouts with joy at having ‘found it at last'. But, Bhagavan says emphatically , “In fact she never lost the necklace nor recovered it, [for it was there all along]. And yet she was once miserable and is now happy . So also with the realisation of the Self. The Self is always realised. Realisation is now obscured but when the veil is removed, the person feels happy at rediscovering the ever-realised Self.” 

(Talks §490) 

"O Mother, I have taken refuge in Thee. Teach me what to do and what to say. Thy will is paramount everywhere and is for the good of Thy children. Merge my will in Thy will and make me Thy instrument."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

M.: Of what degree of unreality is [the world]? ...The answer is that it is a superimposition on the one Reality, like the appearance of a snake on a coiled rope seen in dim light. But the wrong identity ceases as soon as a friend points out that it is a rope, whereas in the matter of the world, it persists even after it is known to be unreal. How is that? The appearance of water in a mirage persists even after the knowledge of the mirage is recognised. So it is with the world. Though knowing it to be unreal, it continues to manifest.... It is like a man satisfying his dream wants by dream creations. The realised sage finally declares that in the regenerate state the [waking] world is found to be as unreal as the dream world is found to be in the waking state. In fact, wakefulness and dream are equally unreal from the standpoint of the Absolute. —Talks §399

Ulladhu Narpadhu - Verse 25

What a wonder! (This) ghostly ego, which is devoid of form (that is, which has no form of its own), comes into existence by grasping a form (that is, by identifying the form of a body as ‘I’); it endures by grasping a form (that is, by
continuing to cling to that body as ‘I’); it waxes more by grasping and feeding upon forms (that is, by attending to second and third person objects, which it cognizes through the five senses); having left a form, it grasps a form (that is, having given up one body, it grasps another body as ‘I’); (but) if one searches (for it by enquiring ‘Who am I, this formless ego?’), it will take to flight (being found to be nonexistent)! Know thus

Transcendental devotional service

Transcendental devotional service has five stages of reciprocation:

1. The self-realization stage just after liberation from material bondage is called the Sänta, or neutral stage.


2. After that, when there is development of transcendental knowledge of the Lord’s internal opulences, the devotee engages himself in the däsya stage.

3. By further development of the däsya stage, a respectful fraternity with the Lord develops, and above that a feeling of friendship on equal terms becomes manifest. Both these stages are called säkhya stage, or devotional service in friendship.

4. Above this is the stage of paternal affection toward the Lord, and this is called the vätsalya stage.

5. And above this is the stage of conjugal love, and this stage is called the highest stage of love of God, although there is no difference in quality in any of the above stages. The last stage of conjugal love of God is called the mädhurya stage.


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As explained by Sri Ramakrishna


"Śānta, the serene attitude. The rishis of olden times had this attitude toward God. They did not desire any worldly enjoyment. It is like the single-minded devotion of a wife to her husband. She knows that her husband is the embodiment of beauty and love, a veritable Madan.

"Dāsya, the attitude of a servant toward his master. Hanuman had this attitude toward Rama. He felt the strength of a lion when he worked for Rama. A wife feels this mood also. She serves her husband with all her heart and soul. A mother also has a little of this attitude, as Yaśoda had toward Krishna.

"Sakhya, the attitude of friendship. Friends say to one another, 'Come here and sit near me.' Sridāmā and other friends sometimes fed Krishna with fruit, part of which they had already eaten, and sometimes climbed on His shoulders.

"Vātsalya, the attitude of a mother toward her child. This was Yaśoda's attitude toward Krishna. The wife, too, has a little of this. She feeds her husband with her very life-blood, as it were. The mother feels happy only when the child has eaten to his heart's content. Yaśoda would roam about with butter in her hand, in order to feed Krishna.

"Madhur, the attitude of a woman toward her paramour. Radha had this attitude toward Krishna. The wife also feels it for her husband. This attitude includes all the other four."