Navigation - Expansion - Stabilization

We certainly know how to conduct life. We have a number of proven methods and ways of thinking that much of the time somehow accomplish what we intend. And when our proven ways don't work - and we know these times well, - we usually blame adverse circumstances or the obstructive influence of others.

    Yet once we enter uncharted territory -

• to break a trail towards unparalleled freedom

• to find a compass with which to find the optimal way through all the countless corridors of time stretching before us presently

• to activate unknown, deeper mechanisms of our actions, thoughts and emotions that expand our vision, - and – last not least -

• to stabilize and expand perception of our Grand Self
  

none of our 'proven' ways yield any results.

    There are two reasons for this:

- First -

None of our established methods and ways of thinking apply to these tasks: -

The Grand Self is not attainable by even a hundred explanations

• not by the studies of countless ancient scriptures
  
  
• not by relying on intellectual knowledge
  
  
• not through scrutinizing our memory
  
  
• not by learning the Vedas
  
  
• not by severe austerities
  
  
• not by knowledge about the components this world is made of and their interactions (Sankhya)
  
  
• not through the discipline of Yoga
  
  
• not by observing the four stages of life
  
  

nor through any other such means can awareness of the Grand Self be attained.

Subala Upanishad IX.15

    Much of what we think would work, may somehow function in an environment of matter, space and time, - but not in an awareness-centered world.

    Yet this doesn't mean that people aren't trying such unsuitable methods by the millions. The world is full of seekers following time-hallowed paths described in multitudes of weighty books that promise to lead somewhere, but never fulfill their pledge. Many of these seekers do not want to see that - if such methods would actually work, - the world would abound with enlightened people. And this - obviously – is not the fact.

    So take the above list as information which strategies will never work, and waste neither heart, time nor effort on them.

- Second - and even more important -

In this venture of expansion only actual results are valid; mere attempts, or token efforts, or only stating the intention of 'wanting to grow' never count.

    To put it bluntly – if we are not enlightened now – and we'll know for sure once this is the case, – then something within our actions, thoughts or emotions isn't working as it should, - because we plainly do not experience this very special result.

    The applause of friends, or followers, or disciples, or devotees, or the media, or an admiring public, or even the world as a whole – none of this counts; - if we truly pursue ultimate freedom, only reaching that highest state really matters. Everything else is temporary, - possibly enjoyable, sure, - but definitely not lasting.

The childish-minded go after short-lived pleasures, yet as they pursue this, they walk into the wide-spread traps of death.

The wise know that only the Grand Self – The Imperishable - is steady. They never seek this steadiness within the fleeting impressions of this world.

Katha Upanishad II.1.2

    And a heads-up before the actual directives start: -

Arise !

Awake !

Realize that gaining access to this vast knowledge is a rare and exceptional boon !

Understand and make full use of this insight,

because the path before you is not easy, - like walking on a sharp razors edge, it's tough to pursue and easy to fall, -

as the wise who know this path said.

Katha Upanishad I.3.14

    It might not be a cake-walk to reach the highest goal – the stanza states. Thus be prepared to focus attention, to dedicate, to invest substantial energy into this venture, and at times to hold on with dogged persistence to reach continuous perception of your Grand Self – to then experience the ultimate freedom, power and sovereignty this offers.

    So, how to actually stabilize and expand perception of the Grand Self?

is the central key.

Through mind alone can this be obtained. …

Katha Upanishad II.1.11

Through mind alone …

This is the special flavor expressed within the world we currently focus on. This is 'The Story of Man', the very essence of the tale we explore in depth at present: – to find out how far our mind will reach, to discover the full power and breadth of our thoughts' potential, and to test its limits - if there are any.

    And further - 'Through mind alone can this be obtained' - is also the solid assurance that there's the actual possibility, the genuine chance to reach back to our grand origin through the very instrument of our mind, - to regain deliberate awareness of the immense power residing secretly within us.

    Here's how to handle our thoughts to experience such expansion: -

1. Even in a mind that seeks the truth and thus has quietened down, flawed ideas may arise once our senses become misled by unfulfilled desires rising from our past.
   
   
2. It is our very own thoughts that create this world of appearances.
   
   Thus make the effort to cleanse your mind of such limited, short-lived desires that don't lead to expansion.
   
   
3. What a man thinks, that he becomes, - this is the eternal mystery.
   
   
4. Therefore – free yourself of ceaseless, pointless, short-lived, limited longings, no matter whether they appear to you as good or bad.
   
   
5. Steer your mind to perceive your Grand Self, assume its immense serenity and power (which actually is yours), merge with the imperishable bliss that is your Grand Self's very nature.
   
   
6. Once you decide to direct your thoughts as intensely towards your Grand Self as you now direct them towards the objects of this (physical) world, - then nothing will ever stop you from breaking free of all restrictions.
   
   
7. The mind functions in two distinct modes:
   
       - influenced by desires -  which
          limit its scope, and
   
       - free of any such limiting desires.
   
   
8. By freeing your mind from the cocoon the world pulls over our eyes (from drowsiness while being awake), - by freeing it from the confusion and distraction caused by ceaseless action, you become free of mind,
   
   - your focus shifts to what is beyond mind, - and then you see it, - the state of your very own supreme existence.
   
   
9. It is your heart – i.e. your longings, your fears, your emotions - that restrains your mind and limits its scope.
   
   
10. Steer your life to release such longings
    
        - by fulfilling them
    
        - or by growing beyond them  (like we did
          while growing up)
    
    this process – then – becomes knowledge, becomes liberation.
    
    
11. All else only extends the knots that bind us to the limits this manifested environment imposes upon our awareness.
    
    
12. The happiness of a mind whose restrictions are washed away by insight into The Highest, and who is permanently aware of his Grand Self, cannot be here described by words, - it can only be grasped by our inner organ called mind.
    
    
13. … For mankind mind is what really causes all limitation, all restrictions, all attachment,
    
    - but also it is the very tool to reach liberation.
    
    
14. Mind in its limiting mode is bound to and restricted by objects.
    
    In its limitless mode it is free from desiring objects and thus able to reach liberation.

Those who do not ignite and then stir up that fire - that burning desire to reach liberation, - to those wanting to stay ignorant, who do nothing to grow, to expand, the remembering of the path towards that subtle sphere of the Grand Self remains obstructed.

Maitri Upanishad VI.34

    Now, - in our modern times we easily assume that steering our thoughts, let alone our emotions is quite impossible, because we were taught to believe that it's events we can't control which trigger – sometimes violent – feelings and thoughts within us.

    Yet in reality steering mind is not as difficult as we imagine, - except that no-one ever told us how this works, and we thus simply are not familiar with this process.

    Like when we are exercising a muscle the first time, e.g. to lift some heavier object than we are accustomed to, this also appears difficult, strenuous, - and in the beginning we may not even succeed in raising it from the ground.

    To steer our thoughts and emotions we face a similar situation. We need to train our 'thought-muscles' and 'the power of our emotions' for a while, until they support our intention to steer them with sufficient strength to really 'move', to really achieve that thrust in the direction we want our life to progress.

     Here a brief insight into one of the mechanisms how to steer our mind, how to train its innate strength, and how to activate its deeper powers. Though it's an unusual approach, it really works: -

    Anger, fear, worries, regret, insecurity, boredom and other 'undesirable' feelings steal much of our energy and zest of life. - And yet they are nothing other than challenges we ourselves willingly accepted into our current existence - to grow in the process of overcoming them.

    Anger, fear, worries etc. are intense emotions only we ourselves feel. It's our readiness to engage in this type of emotions that causes them to occur. They never are caused by any outer event of which we typically believe that they would bring them about.

    Events trigger feelings that exist dormant within us. If no latent 'negative' feelings lay dormant within us, then there also is no resonance within us and thus no event has ever the power to trigger them.

    We notice this, when e.g. situations we usually associate with either positive or negative emotions, sometimes trigger entirely different feelings within us. And we notice this when something that moves us deeply does not stir other people in the least.

    Events have no absolute connection to the emotions we feel while we experience them. There's no cosmic law that we always have to get angry when the car in front of us drives slower than we would like to go.

    By separating the (physical) events from our emotional reaction to them, we gain control over these feelings – and become able to dispel them.

    We simply decide which emotions we want to feel, and intentionally choose not to sustain negative feelings.

    And if we again sense such feelings rise within us - as it is bound to happen, - then their intensity will be less, so we can neutralize them more easily until within us all resonance of this kind is gone for good.

    Certainly - this concept is far from our current understanding. Deeply programmed to accept external events as the only cause for negative feelings, we might even get irritated at the suggestion that our own emotional reaction may be the very source of it - that we are responsible for it - and that can't possibly be.

    Unfortunately the prevalent view that events cause problematic emotions offers no effective mechanism to fundamentally stop these irritations. Removing only the physical cause of one particular annoyance does little to prevent future occurrences of similar events. It would take loads of money to eliminate all possible physical causes for all possible irritations, - yet such strategy would limit our life to an annoyingly sterile environment.

    And even if initially it takes considerable power of will to intentionally steer our feelings, this ultimately frees us from an automatic reaction that in the long run would cost us far more energy.

    Freeing ourselves from such deeply entrenched, habit-driven responses raises the strength-level of our will so we ultimately become able to use its immense power to expand our life.

    This briefly sketches one single strategy how to steer thoughts and emotions effectively. Going deeper into such strategies would far exceed the main theme of this book. 'Unlimited Horizons' by the same author covers this subject extensively.

    Almost all Upanishads emphasize the immense power our mind has at its command. The ancient seers - the rishis - treat it as a sure fact that we are capable of using mind exactly in the expansive, boundary-breaking manner they describe. Thus we too should have all confidence in the vast, yet unexplored abilities we were born with.

By the mind alone can this be perceived. …

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.19

    'If we are careful we will acquire it; if we are careless we will lose it.

    Mind is liable to fluctuation and therefore we should be extremely careful.'

Rangaramanuja

It is the nature of our mind to jump from object to object, to attend to multiple situations with lightening speed.

    And it is the fundamental nature of our body to appear steady, continuous.

    As we would not like our body to change form every second, so also we would be in deep trouble if our mind became as steady as our body. Just imagine driving your car with a 'steady' mind glued to the rearward mirror, ignoring all other functions. It would take only seconds till the accident.

    No, - we want our mind to be flexible, attending to multiple happenings round the clock, watching e.g. the situation outside our car for danger-signs from any direction, judging speed, road-conditions, engine-sounds and so much more, to guide us safely to our destination.

    Thus - any attempt to force our mind to give up its fundamental nature and to become steady during meditation or for any other purpose, is as bound to fail as asking our body to change form every few seconds. Both these ambitions are impossible to achieve in this world.

    To reach inner steadiness actually means – to move beyond mind, - to shift focus to the layer higher than mind, - a layer not influenced by mind's fickle flickering. Shift focus to the layer of truth, there you find steadiness.

     9   It is your heart -

- i.e. your longings, your fears, your emotions - that restrains your mind and limits its scope.

Unfulfilled desires (and fears) attach our focus to limiting objects or situations. The urge or thrust of our emotions towards such restrictive longings is what actually captures and restrains our awareness.

    Yet never think you need to renounce, to give up such desires. Such strategy never works. Denial always leaves some subtle residue of longing behind that keeps on influencing subconsciously. A monk who always thinks of  not  having sex, is a very sad monk.

10  Steer your life to release such longings

         - by fulfilling them

         - or by growing beyond them
           (like we did while growing up)

      this process – then – becomes knowledge,
      becomes liberation.

Neutralize limiting emotional attachments to events, persons or objects either by fulfilling them, or by growing beyond them.

    Fulfilling them makes you aware of their limited scope, and then your interest in the experience naturally and automatically drops off. This way you neutralize attachments.

    Growing beyond them means to shift focus to a higher, more advanced level. Entire groups of such emotional challenges fall off once we permanently shift focus to a higher layer. The broader and more comprehensive understanding of the new level automatically dissolves all emotional attachment to more narrow themes of life, - which then dissipate without manifesting much of an effect.

    This sounds like magic, but is nothing other than what we experience while growing up. Tasks that e.g. needed all our energy and attention when we were in the playing pen – like setting three wooden blocks on top of each other – entirely cease to occupy our attention once we grew out of them.

    Both strategies are well within our power to achieve.

    'Unlimited Horizons' describes in detail how to shift focus to higher levels.

See the Grand Self as lord of the chariot and your body as the carriage.

Know your intellect to be the charioteer, with your mind being the reigns.

Paingala Upanishad IV.1

    This is one of many hands-on parables the ancient seers used to tell us that we do have the power to purposely steer our life, - and definitely should do so.

    Sure, - in our times we'd rather use cars, - but the key image is clear, - as clear as it was 3000 years ago.

Yet mind possesses far greater abilities than merely neutralizing attachments to limiting events or objects.

    Mind – above all - is a mighty tool of expansion. It has abundant power to open doors to other layers, to other dimensions, to knowingly connect us to the intense strength and fascination residing in our very origin.

    And mind is able to stabilize and expand perception of our Grand Self.

By mind alone this is to be obtained.

Whatever is here, that is there.

Whatever is there, that also is here.

There is no duality in this world.


Whoever experiences variety (duality) here, never progresses beyond the cycle of embodiments within the physical world  (goes from death to death).

Katha Upanishad II.1.10-11

There is no duality in this world.

To gain stable perception of your Grand Self it's crucial to become aware of Its all-penetrating nature.

    So - consciously pursue the thought that all you now perceive is non-duality.

    Simply play with the idea that there's one single awareness beyond and within all the diversity you see, - as there is only one person beyond and within all your dreams, and that person is you. - And although you seem separate from your environment as you experience it in dreams, - no matter if you like or dislike what you confront, - that all is also only you.

    Similarly just become aware of this all-penetrating nature within your current environment. You already sense this now, ever since you had had first insight.

    As you are creator and main actor of your dreams, similarly the Grand Self is present within  all  your  current  reality. - And YOU - the central experiencer of this reality - you actually are this Grand Being as it manifests here. In recognizing this, you just acknowledge an existing reality.

    To explore awareness of this to ever greater depths is what you equipped yourself with mind for.

    For those who had first insight into their Grand Self, this is one important deliberate step to make perception of the majestic foundation of ourselves permanent.

    And for those not aware of their Grand Self, these words may trigger an archaic longing, - a notion that this fantastic expansion might just be possible, - a remembering of something long and thoroughly forgotten.

    Never think that you are too small, or not worthy of experiencing this, or because you've done something bad you're not allowed to expand, or that there is any other obstruction you put between you and the perception of your Grand Self.

    This magnificent being is here within you now. And you even sense this at times when you all of a sudden become aware of The Noble, The Grand inside of you. These however brief insights tell you that you are so much greater than any of the restrictions that may surround you currently.

    In all of us times past exist in which we didn't quite live up to our expectations. - But all this is past, is not today. Today we have the chance of going there. Today we have this chance because this very knowledge of the way to reach there is right before us now.

    It's just a matter of starting.

The Grand Self - your Grand Self - is nothing bland, or faceless, or flat, or boring, or inert. There's immense vitality in it, a deep fascination with creating, an intensely colorful expanding awareness, manifesting the most intricate details of beauty, art, music and deeply satisfying relationships. - And there is more, far more than we could ever imagine while we're still focused on our current, rather limiting environment.

    It pays to finalize the challenges we set before us in this 'Story of Man', - to then grow far beyond its bounds.

It's with the mind one truly sees.

It's with the mind one hears.

Desire, formative will, doubt, confidence and lack of confidence, steadfastness and lack of steadfastness, shame, cleverness, fear, - all this is actually (nothing other than) mind.

Born of pain, the mind tarnished by torrents of impressions, unsteady, wavering, bewildered, full of desire, distracted, one (easily) strays into the (deceptive) state of self-adoration.

In thinking 'I am he' ('I am this limited person only'), 'this is mine' ('this belongs to me only'), he binds himself with himself as a bird entangled in a snare.

Hence any (ego-driven) person thinking that he is in control, who is marked by self-adoration and formative drive (determination), is bound.

He who is the opposite of that is liberated.

Thus free yourself from the (deceptive) thought that you'd be steering much of your life now, that you'd be in control, - free yourself from formative will (determination focused on the material only), become free from self-adoration.

This is the mark of liberation.

This is the road to the Grand Self - to Brahman - in this world.

This is the opening of the gate here in this world.

Through this gate we pass beyond darkness (to enter the shores of light), - and here all craving (for encountering this world of matter) is lifted (from our soul).

Maitri Upanishad VI.30

This physical world is our (mental) creation. Like when we create a dream, so also here all we see, feel, sense and interact with is also all ours.

    Much of the restrictions and problems we face while being immersed in this - our - physical environment stems from our tendency to approve and prefer some part of our creation, while rejecting other parts, and regarding all the rest as kind of 'unimportant', as mere 'background'.

    This causes distortion within our (mental) creation which throws our perception out of balance.

    Similar fault-lines we observe e.g. in our relationships within groups of people, like family or friends. If while interacting within such groups we explicitly prefer one particular person over another, this easily triggers jealousies, craving for attention, competition and other destabilizing behavior.

    Once we stop this imbalance of energies by accepting all we perceive as fundamentally ours, we free ourselves from the restrictions of the dreamlike appearances of our present environment and get through to our real Self.

    Yet again we don't need to 'give up' any feature of our current world of focus, but just see it from a different, more sovereign and free perspective.

    It's more a matter of seeing everything we experience as an integral part within the fabric, within the tapestry of our life - one as exotic as all our other surroundings. This helps us to dissolve artificial and pointless distor-tions and contributes a great deal to our inner peace.

    We don't stop acting and we don't forego any important objectives, but uncluttered by distorting emotions our activities now become far more effective and also yield more satisfying results.

    And if all this takes effort, because to progress we may have to overcome

• our lethargy - which prevents us entering new, unfamiliar thoughts and unknown territory

• our pride, since – in truth - we aren't really as fantastic as we'd like others to believe

• our laziness, - which makes us stick to suave opinions we aren't long convinced of any more

• the anger and arrogance - we throw upon others to bend them to our will

• our urge to possess ever more

• and much other ballast that weighs us down and stops us from expanding -
  
  

- if neutralizing and discarding all this takes effort - then - join the club.

The Grand Self cannot be attained by one without strength, nor through recklessness, nor in haste, nor through austerity without an aim.

But he who strives with strength, with attentive care, focused on dissolving limiting attachments, - if he is a knower, an awakening self (Atman), - he will enter the sphere of the Grand Self - Brahman.

Mundaka Upanishad III.2.4

And if this seems quite an exclusive club, - even the better. Because it's the real thing based on real insight, real comprehension, real grand perception. A club whose members never carry cards, but recognize each other instantly - by eyes that are awake, - by inner light they radiate, - by the compassion and assistance they show those also on the path and others.

    A club without administration, no by-laws, no fees, - a club you cannot buy into, cannot even locate if your self is not awake or striving towards this goal. An exclusive club where only what you really are does matter.

The wise seers of old identified types of obstructive people who are keen on impeding or altogether frustrating our efforts directed towards expansion.

    These are the ones in our immediate environment who rob us of time and vigor, who deride this path, who argue about it with the aim of destroying all our enthusiasm and intent. - An ancient list of highly acute value.

This here obstructs inner expansion: -

Persons pursuing solely egoistic ends (often) cast a net of delusion that traps, confines and misleads seekers of true insight.

The ones weaving that net of delusion are those

• who cling to the low shrub though they are shown the luscious grove ahead of them

• who always are hilarious, always abroad (crazy), always craving (attention), always mimicking someone else

• who ply the towns by begging

• who honor persons of low character

• who are disciples of the ignorant, seeking to learn higher truths from those only pretending to know

 

And there are others

• who are wicked

• who dress up flamboyantly to mask their lack of character

• who are pretenders, mercenaries, traveling mendicants, actors, and those who have been sentenced by the king
  
  

And there are those

• who say that they - for money - are able to dispel evil influences of ghosts, demons, devils, serpents, imps and the like

• who pretend to be holy, wearing the outward robes, insignia and posture of something they never inwardly achieved
  
  

And then there are those

• who love to distract the seekers of true insight by juggling false arguments, pointless comparisons and entangling them in artificial, irrational, hairsplitting disputes.

 

With all these one should not associate.

These persons, obviously, are thieves (of our time and energy) and far from true insight.

This world - bewildered by doctrines denying the Grand Self, - confused by false assessments and proofs, - is unable to distinguish between true wisdom and flat, empty learning that leads nowhere.

Maitri Upanishad VII.8

This catalog is roughly 3000 years old, but still rings true in our times. From personal experience I'd add politicians as well as lawyers to update this list to present-day conditions. Feel free to include further categories we'd better be wary of.

    Yet compared to 3000 years ago, modern technology gives us one huge advantage that makes it easy to identify, - and disconnect from all such creatures.

    In our times such time-robbing people, all these pretenders, beggars, actors, are checked into a little box in our homes. This little box displays these characters in well-planned sequence on a glass pane. The box needs energy to function, - and thus is easy to switch off, - and I am talking about your TV set(s).

    TV carries such huge attraction for all these actors, politicians, beggars and pretenders, for all those addicted to wearing flamboyant costume, holy robes and dazzling emblems, they hardly ever stoop to mingle with us 'normal' people. All they're trying is to just get into that box. And if we simply switch it off, they lose all might to steal our time.

    All it displays TV accompanies with music, - to thump up frenzied hype as it never occurs in 'normal' life. Many willingly take in these sounds to mask their loneliness. Yet what they really do, is staring at a piece of glass, - illuminated, colored, and with moving shapes, - sure, - but still nothing more than a flat piece of glass. And all this while there's a 3D world out there, with even more dimensions if we only search.

    It pays to heed the warning.

Now there's the question how long all this will take, how long until we are securely aware of our inherent powers, of widened awareness, able to employ our immense abilities, and – last not least – taste the intense bliss that's our Grand Self's very nature.

    Most other texts like to avoid this question, yet The Upanishads state clearly that this can be achieved in half a year.

…
Whoever is continuously aware of his Grand Self for six months,

while having neutralized all limited longings, thus being free of this world's bounds,

then that infinite supreme, mysterious union is accomplished.

Maitri Upanishad VI.28

... while having neutralized all limited longings, thus being free of this world's bounds

It may sound difficult, almost impossible to rid ourselves of all impeding attachments in such short time, - yet in practice, - once we really engage in this process, - it's not that hard to reach.

    When we receive that very first glimpse of our Grand Self, something happens to our drive for more money, recognition, status, for ever higher position, and that bigger car. All this starts looking more like child's play now, like not really warranting all the energy and money we'd need to spend to acquire it. The 'Greater', 'Wider', 'Higher' we sense close by, attracts us far more than buying ever more toys to impress people we – in all truth – never really like that much.

    People we truly connect with, we never need to impress. They accept us as we are, - as we accept who they are. Real love and real respect is only ever given freely, it never can be bought or bribed.

    So with our widening vision, as we re-evaluate what's really essential, what we really need for our life, what we really want in our life, quite a number of things lose their importance. We simply realize how trivial they are, and don't feel any more necessity to spend our precious time in buying, polishing and showing them off.

    We never renounce any experiences or objects, they simply fall off, - as we stopped playing with the toys of our childhood long time ago because the grown-up world looked far more fascinating.

    And as all this slowly dissipates, something happens to our perception. The more uncluttered our life becomes of things irrelevant, within us gradually dawn new dimensions, - of insight, - of comprehension, - of how our world truly functions, - and of what is actually important on that 'higher' level.

    And this accelerates the neutralizing of limited longings until perception of the Grand Self gets firmly anchored in our life, and we begin to actually steer the world we inhabit, - and then a new page begins, whose orientation is entirely ours to shape.

    Sure, - it takes intention and willpower to start this process, - and to maintain it. But as we progress, and learn by doing, we soon notice that our wakening awareness begins to amplify expansion.

    The rest is easy.

When all limited longings that dwell within the human heart are cast away (are wholly neutralized), then a mortal becomes immortal and attains the Grand Self - Brahman - even here in this world.

Katha Upanishad II.3.14

… attains the Grand Self even here in this world

And this affirms that we don't need to give up our body first, before we gain firm hold on the immense abilities embedded deep within us. There's no need to die first to connect to the magnificent alertness within - that's ours anyway.

    Dying first would kind of spoil the game, would sorely prevent us from exploring this present physical environment from our new perspective, would not be in tune with that inspired, colorful nature of the Unlimited Supreme inside, would not agree with all the inspired creativity we're manifesting in us and around us.

    Certainly, - our body will drop off eventually, because it simply carries an expiry date.

    But if - by then – we are connected firmly to the underlying awareness within, to that foundation of all our manifested expression, - then what's alive within us, the I, the center of all our perception, that essence of what we consider to be WE continues to stay awake, will not blank out, will see its outer shape as merely a redundant shell we grew out of. - And that I will carry with it all our experience, everything we gained within, all our inspiration, all we really are to new shores.

And we don't do this only for us alone:

A seeker for liberation genuinely striving to free himself of limiting attachments carries twenty-one generations of those whose life he touches safely across the ocean of worldly existence.

(Yet) once he becomes a knower of the Grand Self, he carries with him one-hundred-and-one generations (to ultimate freedom).

Paingala Upanishad IV.1

Striving for ultimate freedom all by itself creates a 'ripple-effect', a surge of inspiration, awakening others far outside the circle we know now.

    And this is even more pronounced in those conscious of their Grand Self.

    So be aware of this momentum, which feeds back and reinforces your personal thrust again.

    People we inspire – directly or indirectly, voluntarily or involuntarily – channel back energy to our inspiration, augmenting our speed of growth, perpetuating its driving force, - until a great many progress towards this goal, - some walking in front of us, many alongside, and more and more becoming awake and starting. –

    A grand purpose well worth pursuing.