Self-realization

Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

Self-realization is the same as God-realization. ~ Benjamin Creme

The degree of the absence of thoughts is the measure of your progress towards Self-realization.~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

Self-realization is an expression used in Western psychology, philosophy, and spirituality which refers to making the most of one's potential, typically via study, self-discipline, and service to humanity.

Quotes

• Self-realization — The process of recognizing and expressing our divine nature.
  • Benjamin Creme in The Ageless Wisdom, An Introduction to Humanity's Spiritual Legacy (1996)

• Self-realization is the same as God-realization. When unity or at-one-ment has been established between the individual in incarnation and his or her soul, and through the soul with the Monad (in Theosophical terminology) or Spark of God, Self- or God-realization takes place.
  • Benjamin Creme in Maitreya's Mission Vol. III, (1997)

• One of the easiest ways to know me, Maitreya says, is to be honest in your mind, be sincere in your spirit, and practice detachment. Any action performed with dishonesty of mind, an insincere spirit and attachment is destructive. For example, when you think one thing, say another, and do something which is different again, you are lost. Honesty of mind leads to honest speech and honest action. This harmony leads to peace and happiness. Without detachment there is no salvation.
• Be what you are. Do not surrender your self-respect, your dignity, to others. Do not allow anyone to cast his shadow over you. A Master gives experiences, but does not cast his shadow.
• Do not follow one another. If you practice honesty of mind, sincerity of spirit and detachment, you will know...
  • Maitreya's Teachings, Share Intl, (April 1988)

• Awareness is the light of life. Anything done outside awareness leads to destruction. All thoughts which lead you to selfishness lead you away from awareness. In awareness there is no memory. Memory is only in the mind. All struggle and care is in the mind, never in awareness. Suffering, depression and craving for drugs are all states of mind. Awareness sets you free and allows you to enjoy life. When awareness is still dormant, 'isms' control mind, spirit and body and create divisions. This is maya.. illusion. When awareness controls and guides you, 'isms' cannot come close to you. Awareness can even make a king give up his kingdom, Maitreya teaches. Privileges divide, denying oneness to the entity within you. 'Isms' are not thrown away all at once. They are steps on the way. Awareness controls the pace of evolution.
  • Maitreya's Teachings: The art of Self-realization, Share International

• Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world.
  • Sri Ramana Maharshi quoted by Goodreads

• The three states [of waking, dream and sleep] owe their existence to non-enquiry and enquiry puts an end to them. However much one may explain, the fact will not become clear till one attains Self-realization and wonders how one was blind to the self-evident and only existence so long.
  • Sri Ramana Maharshi in Be As You Are, The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (1985)

• The degree of the absence of thoughts is the measure of your progress towards Self-realization. But Self-realization itself does not admit of progress, it is ever the same. The Self remains always in realization. The obstacles are thoughts.
  • Sri Ramana Maharshi in Be As You Are, The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (1985)

• Self-realization: fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality.
  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary

• Self-realization: Fulfilment of one's own potential.
  • Oxford Dictionary

• Self-realization ― The process of recognizing and expressing our divine nature.
  • Share International glossary

• Maslow describes the good life as one directed towards self-actualization, the pinnacle need. Self-actualization occurs when you maximize your potential, doing the best that you are capable of doing. Maslow studied individuals whom he believed to be self-actualized, including Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein, to derive the common characteristics of the self-actualized person.
  • Maslow: The 12 Characteristics of a Self-Actualized Person By David Sze, The Huffington Post (21 July 2015)

See also

• The Ageless Wisdom Teachings
• Asceticism
• Bodhi (awakening), a form of Buddhist spiritual enlightenment
• Discipline
• Ego
• Enlightenment (spiritual)
• Four Noble Truths
• Gospel of Thomas
• Higher self
• Initiation
• Mantra
• Meditation
• Mysticism
• Now
• Om
• Philosophy
• The Power of Now
• Prayer
• Self-control
• Spirituality