Self realization is a state reached by seekers in search of god when in absence of dross impurities within, a soul atman reaches state of absolute purity.
A pure soul atman in absence of dross impurities within need not manifest a human body again ending the cycle of birth and death forever. Karma having negated to zero the need for a soul atman to manifest a new body (to work out its karma) ceases to exist.
Realizing our true inner self, realizing god, gaining enlightenment all meant the same.
To realize god a seeker needs differentiating religion from spirituality. It is path of spirituality never religion that leads a seeker to state of self-realization. The spiritual principles of life are explicitly detailed in Bhagavad Gita, foremost of all scriptural sacred texts available on mother earth.
Other than Bhagavad Gita one can also refer to Upanishads (independent spiritual treatises) that contained independent treatises on various spiritual precepts invoked by Sages and Rishis of different era.
If we desire knowing definition of god, what was god we have to contemplate on jnana wisdom contained in Upanishads!
For gaining self-realization the first step was differentiating spirituality from religion. Secondly we need establishing faith in existence of God, the world of souls atmans created by him.
Furthermore we must be prepared to remain truthful 100% all the time.
To overpower five senses and mind we must demolish our ego in totality. By reducing our desires and wishes in stages, we can demolish ego forever. Realizing we were a spirit, consciousness existing in heart and not the manifest physical human form demolition of ego becomes easier.
Practice of celibacy and absolute celibacy is the next step. Celibacy relates to abstention from sexual indulgence, the physical part of Brahmacharya Vrata. 90% celibacy is always practiced mentally. Reducing the flow of negative thoughts to our brain in totality is what absolute celibacy all about. 12 years practice of absolute celibacy in continuation is necessitated for self-realization.
Demolition of ego, 100% faith in God, practice of celibacy and absolute celibacy are ingredients on path of self realization that are well and explicitly detailed in Bhagavad Gita. Summing up all, in absence of teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita none world over could ever realize self.
Indulgence in teachings of spirituality contained in Bhagavad Gita is an absolute must. As nothing in Bhagavad Gita could be understood literally one needs travelling path of jnana yoga (absolute wisdom) to reach the hidden abstract underlying meanings of sacred texts in Bhagavad Gita.
In present Kali Yuga (Dark Age) total surrender to god via path of bhakti yoga and karma yoga is impracticable and to demolish darkness of ignorance, light of jnana wisdom contained in Bhagavad Gita comes to our rescue.
The 700 shlokas verses contained in Bhagavad Gita form summum bonum of spirituality. Contemplating on them all the time we can assimilate the hidden underlying meaning. Mastering delicate art of contemplation (chintan) is an absolute must if we desire understanding Bhagavad Gita in totality. For contemplating on vital spiritual issues of life, we need not go to a spiritual retreat or a meditation centre. Contemplation (chintan) is best indulged in isolation.
From six years of age I indulged in chintan (contemplation) in the confines of my home. When I wanted to go to Himalayas to contemplate in isolation around 15 years of age my mother bluntly refused said, over my dead body. Thereafter it was never looking back. I continued my spiritual pursuit of life while conducting day-to-day routines of life.
31 years of indulgence in spiritual precepts contained in Bhagavad Gita I finally realized self, realized god in the wee hours of third of August 1993 37 years of age.
The journey of spirituality initially seemed difficult but realizing I was a spiritual being on my cosmic journey that manifested human form, everything became easier.
The best part of spiritual pursuit is, the original contents of Bhagavad Gita containing 700 shlokas verses in Sanskrit with English transliteration is available for mere $1 from Gita press, Gorakhpur, India yet I find there are no takers. Reason being, none world over seems interested in contemplation (chintan) finding it too difficult in practice.
Contemplation (chintan) cannot be mastered in a day. It may take years before we correctly start our indulgence with chintan (contemplation).
For example to realize the distinction between dharma, religion and spirituality I took about seven years. Seems a long time but the answers had to come from within. At all stages of spiritual pursuit I practiced patience, persistence and perseverance of the highest order. Whatever time it took was immaterial. I was after God and I finally got him.
Spiritual journey throughout is always unconditional. We could never question God on anything. We have to just continue our journey towards God no matter how many failures. In my spiritual pursuit of God I do not remember how many times I had to eat hell for breakfast, how many contemplations of suicide. As my faith in God Almighty was absolute 100%, I continued my quest uninterrupted.
Summing it all, to cut short our spiritual journey one must indulge in Bhagavad Gita. Only then we can expect to reach God, realize self at the earliest.