The Seven Steps to Awakening

Edit May 31, 2015: I recently learned that the Second Edition of The Seven Steps to Awakening (2nd Edition) has been published. I believe it's through a different distributor connected with Amazon, and is always "In stock" through amazon. It has all the original 1574 quotes, but is slimmer in size and easier to carry around. From the introduction: "I really love you and want the best for you. I don't want you to continue to suffer needlessly. Here in these quotes I am showing you the way to bring the illusion to an end and to awaken into the Reality of Eternal-Awareness-Love-Bliss. Here in these quotes I am showing you what most aspirants cannot see, even if they have read some of these quotes before. Here I have collected the quotes that are most essential and most helpful for those who really wish to awaken in this lifetime. Here I have collected the quotes that have no detours or distractions. Here I have collected the quotes that reveal the most direct means that brings the impostor self to its final end." "The Seven Steps to Awakening" is a masterpiece and a valuable gift from your true Self to sincere seekers of liberation. The ego [which the author likes to call the 'impostor self'] in all humans is very deceptive and cunning. Almost no human has the desire for the impostor self [or ego-illusion] to come to an end. The desire to preserve the ego-illusion is always greater than the desire for liberation. However, since the impostor self is responsible for all suffering, until it ends, there can be no true liberation. But since the impostor self never wants to end; even when one approaches teachers and teachings of liberation, the layers of deception within distort the teaching in order to prevent the ego-illusion from ending, and thus prolong endless cycles of suffering. It is a vicious cycle of the thief pretending to play a Cop. Many teachings of the past have thus been distorted by the ego [imposter self], and the essence of the teachings have been buried under layers of distractions and detours, thus making it almost impossible to find a direct way to end this ego-illusion and the suffering caused by this ego-illusion. What makes this book truly special is that not only does it contain quotes by seven different truly liberated sages, but also that the quotes have been selected and arranged by a fully liberated sage himself! This makes this work truly valuable, as it saves true seekers of liberation a LOT of time and effort. All the distractions have been taken out and the seven steps to awakening have been revealed. Just reading a few quotes slowly and repeatedly takes me to a deep and spontaneous meditation. The first chapter lays the foundation for how the quotes are to be used [as practice instructions for liberation, not for intellectual entertainment or for gathering knowledge]. The rest of the chapters in a step by step manner unravel the a)nature of impostor self and the enormous suffering caused by identifying with it b) provides an understanding that without a strong desire for liberation [from the imposter self and the suffering caused by it], all efforts to be liberated will fail c) provides motivation, inspiration and encouragement for practice leading to liberation d) provides the direct practice instructions to bringing the impostor self and the suffering to a final end. There are 1574 quotes in total. Each one serves a definite purpose. Several obstacles and pitfalls on the road to liberation have been pointed out along with ways to overcome them. Many seekers get lost in intellectual concepts and enjoy discussing and arguing about spiritual teachings instead of actually putting the teaching into practice….they remain trapped in such concepts until old age and never get a direct experience of Truth; some others get disheartened when they encounter challenges and abandon spiritual practice prematurely misperceiving such obstacles as apparent lack of progress; and there are those who get carried away by some temporary spiritual experience and mistake it to be final liberation, and they declare themselves “awakened” and start teaching others……in addition to deluding themselves, they mislead other people. I’m one of those people who’s pretty much fallen into many if not all possible pitfalls, and got my ego bruised and burnt and learnt it the hard way; I credit this book to helping me getting back on track every time I fell off. Careful study along with sincere application of the quotes in this book can save sincere seekers from falling into such traps and pitfalls and remain focused on the direct path; it can help one realize ones mistakes and know how not to repeat them thus saving years of going around in circles. This is an exhaustive and comprehensive work containing everything: 1)The Supreme goal, 2)The inspiration to reach the Supreme goal and 3)The method to reach the Supreme goal are all given here. All other books can now be given away or discarded. The only other book I would keep is The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss (6th Edition) authored by the Editor/ Creator of this present book. I found that book to be amazingly inspiring and enlightening and started practicing the meditation "techniques" instructed in that book for 2-3 hours every day. There are times where amazing grace is flowing through, but there are also times when the impostor self presents challenges which lead me to being distracted away from practice into futile worldly pursuits. It is during those challenging times that I need inspiration to stay in the path without getting distracted into meaningless pursuits which always end in suffering. I find that this book offers amazing inspiration for that exact purpose. I have full convictions in the words of these books and through the bliss experienced by reading and practicing the teachings in the book, I am convinced that I am on the right track. I highly recommend this book to all sincere spiritual seekers! The titles of the seven chapters and some select quotes from each chapter are provided below for reference. Step 1: Use the quotes as practice instructions. Know that a conceptual journey is not a journey to Awakening. "28. Only he who has attained immortal life can save the world. For the ignorant one to help another is but the blind leading the blind." "57. On a verbal level everything is relative. Absolutes should be experienced, not discussed." "82. I cannot solve your problem by mere words. You have to act on what I told you and persevere. It's not right advice that liberates, but the action based on it." "199. The supreme truth is established only in total silence, not by logic, discussion and argumentation." Step 2: Know that the world is a dreamlike illusion. "266. Bad thoughts make bad dreams, good thoughts make good dreams, and if you have no thoughts you don't dream at all." "286. The only thing that can help you is to wake up from the dream." "297. My heart wants you awake. I see you suffer in the dream and I know you must wake up to end your woes. When you see your dream as a dream, you wake up. But in your dream itself I am not interested. Enough for me to know that you must wake up." "423. The world illusion has arisen because of movement of thought in the mind; when that ceases illusion will cease, too, and mind becomes no-mind." Step 3: See how the impostor self perpetuates its imaginary self and all illusion and suffering "561. Realizing the Self is the only useful and worthy activity in this life, so keep the body in good repair till the goal is achieved. After that the Self will take care of everything and you won't have to worry about anything anymore. In fact you won't be able to, because the mind that previously did the worrying, the choosing and the discriminating will no longer be there. In that state you won't need it and you won't miss it." "574. There are so many who take the dawn for the noon, a momentary experience for full realization and destroy even the little they gain by excess of pride." "587. Without Self-realization, no virtue is genuine." "592. Insanity is universal. Sanity is rear, yet there is hope, because the moment we perceive our insanity, we are on the way to sanity." "613. The dissolution of personality is followed always by a sense of great relief, as if a heavy burden has fallen off." "697. The existence of mind causes misery; and its cessation brings joy." Step 4: Increase your desire for liberation. "791: In order to qualify as an aspirant, one must have the absolute conviction that happiness, the sole aim of all living beings, can be obtained not from external objects but only from one's own inmost Self. When one has this qualification, an intense yearning will arise in one's heart to try to attend to and know Self. Indeed for a true aspirant the desire and effort to know Self will become the most important part of his life, and all other things will only be regarded as of secondary importance. When such an intense yearning arises in one, success is assured, for 'where there is a will there is a way'." "812. Questioner: How does one reach the supreme state? Maharaj: By renouncing all lesser desires. As long as you are pleased with the lesser, you cannot have the highest." "816. Suffering has made you dull, unable to see it's enormity. Your first task is to see the sorrow in you and around you; your next to long intensely for liberation. The very intensity of longing will guide you. You need no other guide." 808. "…And do not waste energy and time on regrets. Learn from your mistakes and do not repeat them." Step five: Be inspired, encouraged and motivated. "921. 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." "923. Don't be discouraged by the length of the journey, and don't slacken in your efforts to get home." "927. Don't waste energy on thinking or evaluating how well or how badly you are doing in your meditation." "967. Faith is not blind. It is the willingness to try." 973. Try and try again. 1171. Only by persistent and determined self-effort and by one's own direct experience is perfection attained, not by any other means. Step six: Turn your attention inward. "1287. Fond, foolish people may find joy in pleasure at the moment. Soon it palls and leaves but pain behind." "1320. A sincere aspirant should arrange his work in such a way that he will spend only a portion of his time and energy for maintaining the body, so that he can utilize the remaining time and energy in striving to earn the great profit of Self-knowledge." "1353. Freedom comes through renunciation. All possession is bondage." "1359. All you need is already within you, only you must approach your Self with reverence and love." "1378. One should abandon all cravings for pleasure and attain wisdom. Only the mind that has been well disciplined really experiences happiness Step seven: Practise the most rapid, effective and direct method that brings the impostor self to its final end. "1439.If you observe awareness steadily, this awareness itself as Guru will reveal the truth." "1451. Questioner: But is it enough to be aware of awareness? Annamalai Swami: You are repeating the question, so I will repeat the answer. If you remain in the state of consciousness, there will be nothing apart from it. No problems, no misery, no questions." "1564. You have heard all this, but you do not rest in the truth. Only by constant practice does the truth become fully established." "1570. Turning one's purified awareness within on the witness as pure consciousness; one should gradually bring it to stillness and then become aware of the perfection of one's true nature." "1574. The universal Self is witness of itself." Very highly recommended!!

Seven Steps To Awakening contains nothing new to anyone who has concerned themselves at all with Vedic literature, or to certain schools of Buddhism or even Taoism. In fact, there are even many Western equivalent teachings, if one knows where to search for them. For instance, the first "Step" reads as, "Use the quotes as practise instructions. Know that a conceptual journey is not a journey to Awakening." In modern Western culture, we might express this idea as, "The map is not the territory," or, "To know about a thing is not to know the thing." The ideas in the Seven Steps are not new or even particularly difficult to find in many traditions. The genius of this book rests upon 3 things: First, the steps are all gathered together in one place and arranged sequentially in the order they ought to be experienced so as to be most easily assimilated and not just filed away in the intellectual file cabinet of the mind. Second, these are inspired words. I hesitate to refer to them as "scripture", since I suspect those being quoted in this work would probably balk at the idea that their words are scripture. However, like all true scripture, the words carry some of the power that was present when their authors first spoke them. Call it a transmission of power, if you like. But however you choose to define it, reading and dwelling on the quotations here conveys some of that state of awareness out of which the words first emerged. It is a small taste of the experience of liberation, just for taking the time to read and ponder. Third, and perhaps the most important, the final step involves the direct experience of awareness. It is not flashy. Reading what is suggested will probably not knock you to the floor in amazement and wonder. But, as the first step suggests, if you put it into practice, the effects WILL knock you to the floor. I have not come across an exposition of direct awareness so clear and powerful since having found the Taoist treatise, "The Secret of the Golden Flower", (the version translated by Thomas Cleary, not the severely flawed and misinterpreted earlier version of Wilhelm Reich and Carl Jung.) The Golden Flower presents the same direct awareness recommendation which it refers to as, "turning the light around". If you are relatively new to spiritual practices which have as their aim direct, transcendental experience, you would be hard pressed to find a better guide than Seven Steps to Awakening. It is not difficult to understand on an intellectual basis, or hard to put into practice so as to assimilate the teachings and make them your own experience. It is my opinion that, even if you are a follower of any of the Big Three religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam,) the Seven Steps will serve to deepen and strengthen you in your chosen path, rather than to detract from it, as is so often feared by those who reject everything out of hand that does not originate from their chosen system of spirituality. And, if you are somewhat more experienced, but are perhaps still searching for instruction and guidance that "clicks" with you, the Seven Steps is, in my opinion, a very good candidate to suit your needs. You will not learn anything earth-shatteringly new, but for the reasons I stated above, it may just be the thing that pushes you over that magical tipping point. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

The book is filled with useful advice!

This book is a collection of quotes preceded by a short introductory text which could save you a lot of time. The quotes are from Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Annamalai Swami, Sri Muruganar, Sri Sadhu Om, Yoga Vasistha and Shankara. The author has taken a good selection of material from these sources and distilled them into 7 chapters or steps with the sole goal of "awakening". In my view this is very successfully done and makes for good reading. If like me you were wondering who all these people are, (I had only heard of RM, NM and Shankara before reading this collection) they all are enlightened voices from the ancient Vedanta tradition of India. AS, SM and SSO were all disciples of Ramana Maharshi and Yoga Vasistha is a lengthy staple text in the Hindu cannon of literature. In many ways this book represents somewhat of a short cut in saving the reader to have to dig around various other teachers as it combines them all together concisely in one place. If that is what you are looking for, then this book will be perfect for you. Having said that, I'm the kind of person that likes to read the originals, and this book pointed me in the direction of those authors I had not come across before, something else I am glad for.

good book, practice needed. just reading not enough, but it also helps

Este es un libro maravilloso, condensa las enseñanzas de muchos sabios en un solo libro. Usted debe leer algunas citas y luego reflexionar sobre su significado. Aconsejo este libro a cualquiera que quiera descubrir la verdad sobre sí mismo

Wonderful book