Understanding Spiritual Science

An example of how being aware of your identity (Who am I?) helps

For example, you overhear someone say, "John is a very bad person". If your name is John, hearing this will upset and anger you. Then your friend tells you, 'No John, they are not talking about you, they're talking John from Chicago', so then you immediately calm down.

Why? It's simply because you realised that they were not talking about you.

Now what if someone is actually saying negative things about you, how does having knowledge of your real Self help?

After attaining knowledge of the Self (Gnan), you will realize that your real Self is separate from John, your relative self. This separation prevails within and consequently You (the Self) will not be affected by any adverse circumstances John has to face.

The Knowledge of the Self relieves your suffering by making you aware that everything is happening to John, your relative self and not You, the real Self.

An example of how being aware of 'Who runs this world' can help us stay calm in stressful situations.

Assume you are waiting for the bus and its late. You start to feel agitated and frustrated because you are getting late for work. You curse the driver for being late. But if you had the Real Knowledge and understanding that there are so many hidden and overt causes that control all events, and that no one is an 'independent doer'; then you would not get upset or blame anyone. These causes are called Scientific Circumstantial Evidences, also known as 'Vyavasthit Shakti' .

For example, a simple task of making a cup of tea requires so many "Scientific Circumstantial Evidences" such as a pot, water, stove, tea leaves, milk, sugar, someone to make it, time, space, location etc. You would not be able to make tea if any one of these evidences were missing. Say you had all the ingredients and started making tea, and suddenly the electricity goes off, then what? You would not be aware that there was an accident that blew out the transformer that supplies electricity to your location. This would be an example of the hidden causes; there are so many hidden causes even behind the accident, so who would you blame? Similarly, say the bus was held up at the station for urgent repair, would you not be happy knowing that the bus is safe to ride in, even though you may be late for work?

Your understanding will change with this knowledge and therefore no circumstances will have an adverse effect on you.