Self-realization is something very broad and comprehensive. People make the common mistake of regarding it as a mere point – a one-time event. This confusion should first be cleared. In its comprehensiveness, a number of virtues and excellences reign. As a seeker, try to know about these. Then be given to these, one after another. To the extent you ensure that these have an important place in your mind, you will begin to feel 'quietitude' and joy.
To practise or pursue a virtue, one should first think fondly about it. This means one has to spend as much time as possible mentally on it. That will then instil the virtue into your inner system. Once this is accomplished, it will begin to express in your thoughts, words and deeds. This is verily how anything grows in an individual. Generally, people hear or read something and feel a little about it. May be some wish for or desire it. There it stops. How can a quality grow then?
The missing part is the inner association with what you desire. Think of a girl loving a boy. Will not she think about him day in and day out? That even leads to her marrying that person, often despite all the obstacles she faces! If an individual can be possessed thus by a lifelong relationship, what prevents the same mind from possessing harmless enriching virtues and qualities? Start this inner process of fondness and assimilation straightaway.
-- Swamiji
