Spiritual awakening means Awakening of the Soul
The “Soul” or the “Aatma” means Self. To awaken the Self, one must first realize ‘who am I’ i.e. attain Self-Realization.However, It is not possible to Realize the Self on our Own.

For example, say, we are tied to a wall very tight from top to bottom with a very strong rope. And we can see a pair of scissors, a sharp knife, blade, etc. placed right beside us on the table. But can we manage to get our self free with the help of these tools that can easily cut the rope? No! No matter how hard we try, we will not be able to move even an inch, here or there. We require someone externally who is capable of cutting this strong rope. Once that happens, we, with the help of this person who came to our rescue, can persevere and free our self from the entire bind, isn’t it?

Similarly, here too, we require someone capable, who has the power to cut the strong bind of ignorance of the Self that we are tied up with for infinite lives, and free us once. Such a person is called Gnani, who has the divine power to cut through the layers of ignorance and give freedom by gracing one with Self-Realization!!! We can then, following His instructions, attain ultimate liberation.

Gnani is the Enlightened being who has the spiritual power to awaken our Soul.Our Soul has been in profound sleep since infinite time. That which the world commonly refers to as awake; Gnani calls it ‘sleep’. Who we believe is seeing, for Gnani he is only a scene. The one who says, ‘I am awake’, for Gnani it is a part that’s inanimate, as He can see the Self is totally separate.
Not a single property of the inanimate part (Matter) matches with the property of the Self (Soul). However, they are so very near to each other that the two appear to us to be one. It is only when we receive the knowledge of the Self from Gnani that this illusion disappears. Gnani breaks the illusory link between the two and makes us realize that really ‘I am a Pure Soul’. And thus, the intense experience of oneness between the inanimate part and the Self gets fractured.
In the divine feet of Gnani, time, karma and illusion come to a halt!!! Now what remains are the effects of illusion. With the help of Gnani’s words, even these begin to fade. This gives the seeker the confidence that all the effects will now soon dissolve. It is like when someone’s shown us the switch of the fan, in a room that is new to us, while leaving the room we press the switch and look up at the ceiling. And as soon as we see its wings slow down a bit, we are sure that the fan will now come to a standstill.

Gnani’s words have the magical power to eradicate our worldly wanderings of life after life from its very root!!! Hence, to my mind, meeting such a Gnani would be the first step towards the spiritual awakening! We are fortunate that currently we have amongst us Pujya Deepakbhai, the Akram Gnani, who is imparting the knowledge of the Self to all who come seeking for it. In case you are interested, you too can take this first step towards spiritual awakening. It neither has a monetary cost associated to it nor does it require you to forsake your religion for it, because the Soul has no religion, it is above all differentiations. For details, you may check out https://www.dadabhagwan.org/contact-us/meet-pujya-deepakbhai/

To know more please visit https://www.dadabhagwan.org/self-realization/

Author's Bio: 

Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.