Paramahansa Yogananda defined self-realization as knowing, in all aspects that we are one with the omnipresence of God. It is a point of transcendence at which a person has a clear understanding of who and what they are, their relationship to others and their relationship to a higher power and the universe. Self-realization leads you to understand that we are separate neither from other individuals nor from a higher power. We are all interconnected and our main goal in life should be to continuously improve our understanding of this interconnectedness.

From a western perspective, self-realization generally contextualized within society. Maslow’s hierarchy, for example, places the concept of self-actualization at the pinnacle of being. The point at which all our basic needs and psychological needs have been fulfilled and we are able to achieve our full potential – ethically, morally and spiritually.

The main difference between these approaches is that while the latter requires an individual to interact with others in society to achieve his or her full potential, the former postulates that the only way for an individual to reach their full potential is through the continuous questioning of themselves in a critical manner. The end result, however, remains the same: achieving your full potential as a human being.

10 Best quotes on Self-realization

“Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.”
― Richard Wright, Native Son

“Lots of things happen in our lives without any apparent justification. But whatever happens to us, takes us one step ahead in the path of self realization. The truth is we all are travelers in the life’s eternal journey, to meet for a short while, to care and share but we tend to forget that nothing lasts forever. If only we could cultivate a sense of detachment,  life would have been much easier.”
― Chitralekha Paul, Delayed Monsoon

“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.”
― Ramana Maharshi

“The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.”
― Swami Sivananda

“A job should bring enough for a worker and family to live on, but after that, self-realization, the exercise of one’s gifts and talents, is what truly matters.”
― Michael Dirda

“Self-Realization Fellowship seemed like training. It was the training ground for finding a sense of peace in myself. Because that’s my job. It’s no one else’s.”
― Mariel Hemingway

“We believe with all the strength of our spirit that mankind has a supreme, primary and irreplaceable need which can be satisfied only through Jesus Christ, the first-born among men, the head of the new humanity, in whom each individual reaches full self-realization.”
― Pope Paul VI

“From exam grading to health education to professional training to democratic participation, paths towards self-realization and success in the world are often daunting and obscure: journeys only the privileged feel confident setting off along.”
― Tom Chatfield

“I used to think that divorce meant failure, but now I see it more as a step along the path of self-realization and growth.”
― Alana Stewart

“As long as we place millions of Indians at the centre of our thought process, as long as we think of their welfare, their future, their opportunities for self-realization we are on the right track.”
― Mukesh Ambani

Self-realization is a concept that has been investigated and debated the world over. It may be defined on the basis of what we can achieve in society given our own unique ethical, moral and spiritual make-up, or on a more inward-looking basis in which the self is continuously reflected upon in a critical manner in order to realize a state of interconnectedness with what we perceive to be God.

Regardless of how we choose to define self-realization, it is achieved at that moment when we have reached our full potential as human beings and are at peace with others, the universe and ourselves.

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Astrology is used to awaken awareness within you. It can be used to truly understand and interpret traits of an individual. The word astrology originated from the Greek words astron meaning star and logos, which means word. By this translation, you can say that astrology is a symbolic language.

In astrology, it is believed that the same laws that guide the universe also guide humanity. All energy works the same and thus we are one with the universe. Today, astrology is recognized as a pseudoscience even though through most of history it was considered academic. Astrology can be explored back to the 2nd millennium BCE where it was used to forecast seasonal shifts. Many cultures throughout history believe that astronomical events can predict the future, but contemporary Western Astrology or Humanistic Astrology focus more on how celestial objects can influence an individual.

Looking further into astrology you recognize a pattern of twelve sectors. These sectors can be called the astrological alphabet or the Zodiac. It includes the signs, the planets, the houses and the house polarities. Other methodologies like the four elements and yin and yang also play a role when delving deeper into the topic. Astrology is more than just a science, it is a tool used to awaken self-awareness and to realize your gifts and inventive potential.

Best quotes on Astrology

“Astrology is a language.  If you understand this language, the sky speaks to you.”
― Dane Rudhyar

“I know that astrology isn’t a science… Of course it isn’t.  It’s just an arbitrary set of rules like chess or tennis…. The rules just kind of got there.  They don’t make any kind of sense except in terms of themselves.  But when you start to exercise those rules, all sorts of processes start to happen and you start to find out all sorts of stuff about people.  In astrology the rules happen to be about stars and planets, but they could be about ducks and drakes for all the difference it would make.  It’s just a way of thinking about a problem which lets the shape of that problem begin to emerge.  The more rules, the tinier the rules, the more arbitrary they are, the better.  It’s like throwing a handful of fine graphite dust on a piece of paper to see where the hidden indentations are.  It lets you see the words that were written on the piece of paper above it that’s now been taken away and hidden.  The graphite’s not important.  It’s just the means of revealing their indentations.  So you see, astrology’s nothing to do with astronomy.  It’s just to do with people thinking about people.”
― Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless

“Astrology can clear up or mix up a person as much as any other psychological, philosophical or religious mirror, a looking glass in the endless mirror hall of life.”
― Markku Siivola

“[H]is gaze wandered from the windows to the stars, as if he would have read in them something that was hidden from him.  Many of us would, if we could; but none of us so much as know our letters in the stars yet – or seem likely to do it in this state of existence – and few languages can be read until their alphabets are mastered.”
― Charles Dickens, Edwin Drood

“The stars which shone over Babylon and the stable in Bethlehem still shine as brightly over the Empire State Building and your front yard today….”
― Linda Goodman

“There is no better boat than a horoscope to help a man cross over the sea of life.”
― Varaha Mihira

“They often say, “What’s the point in astrology if you can’t change your destiny?”. Well, it’s true that you can’t change your destiny, but still it helps knowing about gravity.”
― Kedar Joshi

“Before a war military science seems a real science, like astronomy; but after a war it seems more like astrology.”
― Rebecca West

“Astrology is one of the earliest attempts made by man to find the order hidden behind or within the confusing and apparent chaos that exists in the world.”
― Karen Hamaker-Zondag

“The celestial bodies are the cause of all that takes place in the sublunar world.”
― Thomas Aquinas

Simply put, astrology can be explained as the study of relative positions of celestial bodies within our Solar System relating to the date of birth of an individual. The analyses of these positions are connected to the signs of the Zodiac, also known as your star sign.

Even though it is considered a pseudoscience in contemporary times, it is still a great tool to explore self-knowledge. Astrology teaches us to not accept our problems as fate but to learn to overcome them by gaining awareness and to become conscious about the energies that govern our planet and ourselves.

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The soul, according to religious, philosophical and mythological teachings, is often described as an incorporeal element of a living being. Depending on the religion, your soul can be either mortal or immortal. You may also describe the soul as being the driving force of the physical being.

That is, your soul inhabits your physical body and acts through it. In a sense, your body is only a vessel to carry your soul and all that you are. Without a soul, your body is simply like a light bulb without electricity, no driving force.

Your soul gives your body life, along with all your abilities such as sight and hearing, speech, thought, emotions, intelligence, will and desire as well as personality and ultimately, your unique identity.

Philosophy explains how not only humans possess souls, but so do animals, plants, rivers and the ocean, and even inanimate objects. Where your soul acquires its energy that sustains you is a very personal thing.

The energy that drives your soul may come from a daily practice like running or yoga, or from the faith you have in your chosen religion. The soul is often linked to the “why” of your existence. What is the meaning of your body being on earth and what is your purpose?

Best Quotes on Soul

The true meaning of soul is defined by a lot of great writers in their writings. Given below is a list of meaningful quotes about the soul.

“I think… if it is true that
there are as many minds as there
are heads, then there are as many
kinds of love as there are hearts.”
― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

“The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.”
― Daniel Defoe

“The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter – often an unconscious but still a faithful interpreter – in the eye.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

“My soul is impatient with itself, as with a bothersome child; its restlessness keeps growing and is forever the same. Everything interests me, but nothing holds me. I attend to everything, dreaming all the while. […]. I’m two, and both keep their distance — Siamese twins that aren’t attached.”
― Fernando Pessoa

“Every book has a soul, the soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and dream about it.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón

“Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future; therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more important it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.”
― John O’Donohue

“My soul is a hidden orchestra; I know not what instruments, what fiddle strings and harps, drums and tamboura I sound and clash inside myself. All I hear is the symphony.”
― Fernando Pessoa

“There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one’s self, the very meaning of one’s soul.”    ― Edith Wharton

“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.”
― Vincent Van Gogh

“What the soul hardly realizes is that, unbeliever or not, his loneliness is really homesickness for God.”
― Dom Hubert Van Zeller

Conclusion

Your soul is your inner identity, and not necessarily what you portray on the outside. Your body expresses your soul’s vision, just like a symphony expresses the vision of the composer who poured out his feelings to create the masterpiece. It can also be seen as an expression of your deity’s intention for your life. Your soul is highly significant on the path to self-awakening since it is your driving force. You soul is there to give your life and freedom to express your true desires in a physical form.

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