Advaitins Self-realization is not Bliss On self-realization if the Advaitin were to achieve the state of God, the above inherent

clue must have also been attained by him simultaneously without any further effort. In that case the Advaitin would be in bliss throughout his life in this world. But if you see the practical life of the Advaitin, it is not so. Even an Advaitin-saint gets serious and becomes jealous of his opponent in an argument. He should really enjoy even his defeat in the argument. Shankara accepted the point raised by the cobbler and fell at his feet. These Advaitins are neither fully ignorant nor fully learned. They are like teen-age students of high school. They have just crossed the elementary school where they have accepted the existence of the unimaginable God through unimaginable miracles. Accepting God is knowledge but thinking of themselves as God is ignorance. Parents always enjoy a lot with their teen-age children. God also gets continuous enjoyment with these Advaitin-children because they will never hear the truth completely. They are better than atheists but lesser than devotees. To hear the truth, one should be either fully ignorant or fully learned. Even Brahma refused to preach these people (Brahmaapi Na RanjayatiBhartrihari). Only Lord Shiva came forward in human form as Shankara to deal with these people. The Buddhists and the followers of Purva Mimmsa were atheists and learned scholars in the scriptures. To deal with these teenage school students, psychology is more necessary than the deep true divine knowledge. Shankara had to act as a Guru; not merely a scholar. Written by His Holiness Shri Datta Swami website address: http://www.universal-spirituality.org e-mail address: swami@universal-spirituality.org Jai Guru Datta