For eons the great Indian sages searched
for the ultimate unitary principle, the truth behind and within the
multiplicity of objects of the universe, knowing which all other things could
be known.
Congruently all of them affirmed that
Atma –individual self, is the most profound reality within man and said self-illumination
should be the ultimate goal of man.
In Avadhut Gita, Dattatreya says; “All
sufferings are born out of desire. All
desires are born out of ignorance of the true and real nature of ourselves, and
the true and real nature of all others in existence.
Everything which possesses name and
form is illusion. They do currently
exist but undeniably subject to change.
They are impermanent, finite, and temporary. They cannot therefore be considered as being
truly real.
All that is; emanate from absolute,
which is unconditioned, undifferentiated, changeless, infinite, subjective,
pure and eternal. Anything extraneous to
this absolute is illusion.
Atma –the self, is nameless and
formless. We never meet anyone other
than ourselves. I am you –the one self,
in the guise of “an other” and you are Me –the one self –in the guise of “an
other”. By doing service to others, we do
service to ourselves only.”
All spiritual masters alongside the divine
Avatars and divinities have said that one who lives a life without aspiration
and experience of divine life suffers at death when he begins to see; “I am not
my body, I am not my sensation, I am not even my mind.” Those who did not live a divine life
experiences agony at death, having lived a self-deceiving life, as life is gone
by and what has remained is the Karma of not knowing the truth.
We are reminded time and again not to
ignore death up to the last moment of death when you cannot ignore any
longer. Dying in full awareness of death
means being lived a life with dignity and respect.
Ignoring death up to the last moment
until it cannot be ignored any longer is ignorance.
The philosophy of dying a noble death
is based on the vision of a noble life.
The premise of dying a noble death lies in living a noble life. It does not mean prolonging the life in time
but the life lived well and lived in divinity.
If we live a noble life we die a noble death as noble life and noble
death go together. Indeed the art of
dying and the art of living are one the same.
We are instinctive and intellectual
beings. We may live an instinctive life
under the influence of Ego desiring bodily sensation and lusts, craving for
wealth, fame and social position, expressing anger and hatred, worrying and
fearing, and exercising restricted love.
We may also live an intellectual life of an ideal man seeking the
supreme end with firm faith and conviction that he who seeks and realises the
supreme end of being an enlightened man.
The spiritual investigations have affirmed
that our mind has two dimensions: the outer and inner dimension. The outer dimension is the ordinary mind which
exists at the surface level in the realm of feelings and emotions. It is not conscious. The force that drives the outer mind is Ego –Ahankara,
inherent to our body-mind complex. Under
the influence of Ego, the outer mind incessantly engages in satisfying the
senses and responds to feelings and emotions, and remains attached to
Samsara. It is the material dimension of
our existence.
The inner dimension of our mind is the
spiritual dimension. It is
non-interactive, impersonal, unbiased and unprejudiced; and it is subjective. It is simply conscious and aware. It is independent of Ego. It witnesses the actions and experiences of
our body and ordinary mind in the realm of feelings and emotions under the
influence of Ego. It is our Atma, the
self or soul or spirit, the most profound reality within man. At death, it is our Atma that leaves our body
for universal consciousness with an imprint of balance sheet of our Karma.
In Avadhut Gita, Dattatreya says; “Atma –self, is consciousness
and mind is matter. A liberated Atma,
the Avadhut, alone is pure and has evenness of feeling.
God is pure consciousness and it is within us. The evil, the demon, too is within us in the
form of impure consciousness.”
The entire structure of Vedas and Upanishads is built on
two pilasters: Brahman and Atma. Brahmn
is the source of existence. Brahmn includes
everything, and everything dissolves to it. It is the supreme reality, the ultimate
truth. It is absolute.
Atma is the material consciousness. It is the individual self, the
Jiva-Atma. By its nature it tries to be
the lord of matter, which is always evolving and uncertain, and remains in
illusion.
The mystical insight is that Brahmn and
Atma are not two realities but one and the same thing: the Atma being an
extension of Brahmn.
Brahmn resides in our heart in two
constitutional positions: (1) Atma -the individual material consciousness and
(2) Param Atma -the universal self, as pure consciousness.
We know Atma by via-negative, by negation, by ruling out
what it is not. When Atma is purified by
ruling out what it is not, it becomes empty of I, me or mine. At that state the bliss without form –Sat-Citta-Ananda
is realised. Atma is fully immersed in
Brahmn and become one with it. This is
the quintessence of Vedas and Upanishads.
The Taittiriya Upanishad says Atma in a Kosha -sheath
concept. It says Atma is that subtlest
reality that exists within a quintuple sheath.
The most exterior sheath is the physical body –Annamaya Kosa. Within the physical body exists the strata of
breadth or the vital spirit –Pranamaya Kosa.
Within the Pranamaya Kosa exists the mental sheath –Manomaya Kosa. Within the profundity of mental sheath exists
consciousness –Vijnanamaya Kosa. And
within the sheath of consciousness is the sheath of beatitude –Anandamaya
Kosa. All these sheaths taken together
constitute the empirical house of Atma.
Advaita Vedants says; “All that are manifestations of
the absolute are not real.” The Brahmn is
the only reality, which is absolute. The
phenomenal material world is Maya -illusion, though it is the manifestation Brahmn.
Shankaracarya says; “The individual self, the body, the
psyche, the intellect, are all manifestation of absolute. They are not real on their own merit. The Atma –the individual self to which we
cling on to, thinking that it is real and permanent, is but Maya, a projection
of Brahmn. Anything that is
manifestation or projection is Maya –illusion, and cannot be real. Only what is un-manifested and absolute is
real.
By illuminating Atma; Atma realises the
true nature of it.
Shankaracarya says; “Tat Tvam Asi –your
true nature, is the divine nature. Self
illumination leads to self immersion in divine nature, losing the separate
identity, but identifying with the infinity, the eternal divine, which is
absolute and real.
The Atma –the individual self, has the
scope to be enlightened and merge itself with the absolute by which it loses its
self-identity. Precisely its true
identity is revealed in becoming one with the divine, the absolute.
The Atma is Brahmn, the bliss without
form.”
We human beings are a co-existence of
body and Atma -self. Body belongs to
material world and Atma -self to the world of consciousness. Body is material and temporary in nature
while the Atma -self being consciousness, its existence is universal and eternal. The needs of the two are different.
Irrespective of the state of body, Atma
-self continuously emits desire, thought and expectation. It fulfils its desire, thought and
expectation utilising the body as instrument.
Atma –self discerns, makes assumptions, it recognises, it decides and it
knows. Atma –self is the knowing
principle in us and that is its nature.
When Atma -self is not at its right
constitutional state of being and over evaluated there arise Ahangkar –Ego. With Ego, Atma-self creates desire, thought
and expectation with a feeling depravation, negative emotion, and
attachment.
Anything that is based on Ego, ridden
by Ego or overwhelmed by Ego is transient and distressing. Because, Ego itself is based on assumption and
it changes when assumption is changed. On
this ground, Ego or any assumption or creation ridden by Ego is not true and universal. Anything that is not universal and eternal
cannot be Atma -self. It is Anatman –not
self. Whatever is Anatman must be
destroyed.
Atma -self at its right constitutional
state of being and rightly evaluated also give rise to desire, thought and
expectation but they are mutually fulfilling and beneficial.
When Atma -self is at its right
constitutional state of being, it is independent of external influence,
dependency or attachment. Anyone who
explores, evaluates and rightly understands one’s Atma -self, and has the right
feeling, finds all others’ are same as of oneself. At that level the being, the feeling of oneness,
love and compassion outflows. And at
that state of being there arises the feeling of mutual prosperity and
happiness.
When Atma -self is not at its
constitutional state of being and under evaluated, it goes in depression and
the process of destruction by itself begins.
Just as Ego, depression is a state of mind. It is mind born but opposite of Ego that
cause suffering and it is mortal. Both
Ego and depression are the negative state of mind. They are the root causes of suffering.
By nature, we live with a cosmos of
desire, thought and expectation which are both positive and negative. They are positive when Atma -self is rightly
evaluated and understood, and they are negative when Atma -self is either over
evaluated or under evaluated.
When our desire, thought and
expectation are based on right evaluation and right understanding of Atma -self,
they are driven for mutual prosperity and happiness, and the continuity of the
two. When the desire is pursued with over
evaluated self at egoistic level, the sense of deprivation arises causing over
exploitation, corruption, and negative emotions that makes our Atma -self slave
of it. In either case the doer is Atma -self
and there is no external intervention.
For happiness one should do
introspection, explore and evaluate Atma -self and set it right. For happiness, right assumption is imperative. The mistake we make is that we seek happiness
with over evaluated self, and with attachment to material world and with a
feeling of deprivation wanting to exploit others and mother nature.
The natural pursuit of a man is happiness
and it is universal. Happiness comes
from within and within we should look at and not outside. True happiness requires right understanding
of the needs of Atma –self, and body, and the harmony between the two. With exploration and evaluation of Atma –self,
one naturally knows that the need of the Atam -self is happiness and the need
of the body is its material wellbeing and satisfaction.
Satisfaction with material wellbeing
comes with a feeling of prosperity and a minimum degree of material wellbeing
determines the happiness of Atma -self.
Prosperity is the right feeling of
having required quantity and quality of physical amenities for material wellbeing
and livelihood and it arises when self is rightly evaluated. From right feeling comes the feeling of right
relation with others.
When Atma -self is over evaluated, there
arises a feeling of deprivation and one continues to exploit others and lives a
life with negative emotions, neither happy within nor letting others to be at
peace.
When Atma -self is at a right level of evaluation
and right understanding, happiness is experienced with every level of progress
is made in right direction, irrespective of whether or not the desire, thought and
expectation are fulfilled.
We do all kinds of things, but we are
not aware of our Atma -self and we do not even know our Atma -self. This is ignorance.
Vedas and Upanishads says; “Be aware of
self, and make conscious decisions with right understanding of self. Be aware, be mindful and live a meaningful
life.”
In Chandogya Upanishad, sage Udyalak
says; “Hari OM......there is this city of Brahmn, the body, and in it the
palace, the small lotus, the heart and in it that small ether. Now what exists within that small ether, that
is to be sought for, and that is to be understood.
So large is that ether within the
heart, both heaven and earth are contained within it. Whatever is here in the world, and whatever
is not there or will be there, all are contained in it.
If everything that exists is contained
in that city of Brahmn, all beings and all desires, whatever can be imagined or
desired; what is left when old age reaches and death scatters apart?
By the old age of the body, the ether,
the Brahmn within, does not age. By
death of the body, the Brahmn within is not killed.
In that ether one should discover the
truth, free from sin, free from old age, free from death and grief, which
desires nothing but what it should desire, and imagine nothing but what ought
to imagine.
Those who depart from hence without
having discovered the truth and the true desires, for them there is no freedom
in all the worlds. But those who depart
hence, after having discovered the truth and the true desires, for them there
is freedom here on earth and all the worlds.”
Shankaracarya says, “Brahmo Satya,
Jagato Mithya.” Only Brahmn is
true. All other existence is
illusion.
The ultimate truth is Brahmn -the consciousness;
that consciousness before it manifest at the level of mind.
Shankaracarya upheld Lord Buddha’s
doctrine that corporal existence is unreal, the doctrine of impermanence, but
only to the extent of illusory plane of matter.
The ideological difference on the subjects of Nirvana and Brahmn
continued to exist.
Shankaracarya contended for Brahmn –the
spiritual world, and said; “Prajnnam Brahma –the Brahmn is pure
consciousness. Brahmn is truth but material
world is false. The Brahman is Param
Atma, the absolute truth. The Atma is a spark
or extension of Param Atma, and the two are one and the same.”
The Atma, though an extension of Param
Atma, is in material mode and it is covered by veil of ignorance –Maya, which causes
to consider, what is not real as real, relative as absolute, and conditioned as
unconditioned. When the veil of
ignorance is removed with complete renunciation of relationship with material
world, Atma realises the real identity.
Brahmn is the consciousness of all
pervasive life principle. Brahmn is the
conscious principle itself which is timeless and transcendental. The rests are created by cause and condition
thus. Things that are created by cause
and condition are perishable and not real.
That which is born and dies is Jagat
which is characterised by a constant flux of birth and death. The realm of experience presents itself in
front of us and in us.
Behind every phenomenon there is cause
and condition which starts the process and itself brings the process to an end. What is transient cannot be truth. It is simply Mithya –delusion and Maya -illusion.
Brahmn is Nirguna –without form. At its state of Nirguna, Brhamn is Sunya,
without attributes or qualities and it cannot be defined. Besides Nirguna Brahmn everything is Bhava –becoming,
and always changing. Anything that is
Bhava lacks inherent self existing permanent entity. All worldly phenomena are in continuous cycle
of rise and fall and the end point of every rising and falling is the Nirguna
Brahmn.
Nirguna Brahmn is the home of all
existence and eventual refuge of all of us.
That Brahmn is the eternal consciousness and that eternal consciousness
pervades in us. It is there in us, and it
is independent of birth and death. The
Nirguna Brahmn is universal and one.
Brahmn is our inner consciousness. In pragmatic sense it is one and responsible
for both wholesome and unwholesome actions of ours. If we employ our inner consciousness, with
negative mental propensity, it leads to wrong actions and with positive
mindset, it leads to goodness.
Isha, in Isha Upanishad, says;
“Detachment from selfish motives is necessary condition to produce serenity of
mind, without which a man is incapable for higher understanding leading to
complete freedom from births and thereby attaining Moktsa. Man obtains immortality through knowledge of Atma
-self, and sees all beings in Atma –self, and Atma -self in all beings.”
Here, Isa is talking about two things:
the individual material self, which is caged by Ego and the universal self
which is deeply seated within, which is not activated or influenced by Ego. The universal self is seated next to individual
soul, and witnesses the individual self’s activities and gives opportunity to
act freely on its own.
In Chandogya Upanishad, the Prajapati
says, “...He, who has searched out Atma –self, and understands it, obtains all
the worlds and all the desires.”
Hearing these words the Devas –Gods and
Asuras –Demons decided to search that Atma -self.
Indra from Gods and Virocana from
Demons approached Prajapati. Both lived
as pupils for thirty two years and after which Prajapati asked them, “For what
purpose have you both dwell here?”
They replied: “A saying of yours we
repeat; The Atma -self which is free from sin, free from old age, from death
and grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing but what it ought to
desire, and imagines nothing but what it ought to imagine, that it is which we
must search out, that it is which we must try to understand. He, who has searched it out that Atma -self
and understands it, obtains all the worlds and all the desires. We both have dwelt here because we wish for
that self.”
Prajapati said to them, “The person seen
in the eye is Atma -self. He who sees it
is immortal.”
Prajapati meant seeing the pure Atma
-self residing in one’s heart in his own eye.
But Indra and Virocana, both took it in literary sense and asked another
question.
Prajapati told them: “When a man being
asleep, reposing, and at perfect rest, sees no dream, that is Atma -self, that
is immortal, that is fearless, and that is Brahmn.”
Prajapati meant when mind at complete
rest and heart is free from desires one is at a state of being in pure Atma
-self. But, by these words of Prajapati,
both Indra and Virocana understood that body is the Atma -self and being
satisfied they left for their abode.
Indra however before he arrived back to
Gods realised that he had in fact did not know his Atma -self, nor had he seen Atma
-self within him, in his eye. He felt
utter annihilation and went back to Prajapati again as a pupil.
Prajapati said to Indra, “Maghavat! (Another
name of Indra, the god of senses) as you went away satisfied in your heart, for
what purpose did you come back?”
Indra said, “He did not see his own Atma
-self in his eye by himself.”
After one hundred and one year, Indra
having remained as pupil, Prajapati said, “Maghavat, this body is mortal and
always held by death. But body is the
abode of that Atma -self which is immortal and without body.
While in the body, by thinking this
body is Atma -self, the Atma -self is held by pleasure and pain. But when he knows himself, the Atma -self is
different from the body, he is free of the body.
That serene being, arising from this
body, appears in its own form as it approaches the highest knowledge of Atma -self. At the highest state of knowledge of Atma -self,
all the senses become a mere instrument of seeing, smelling, hearing etc. and
mind becomes the divine eye and perceives truth not only in present but also in
past and future, with and through the knowledge of highest Atma -self.”
This eternal knowledge gained by Indra was
shared with the Devas-Gods. From there
on Devas meditate on that Atma -self, understand it and obtain all worlds and
all desires.
In Maitri Upanishad, the curious pupil
Valakhilyas asks Prajapati Kratu: “O Saint, if thou show the greatness of that Atma
-self, then who is that another different one, also called Atma -self, who by
bright and dark fruits of its action enter into good or bad birth? Downward or upward is his course, and
overcome by the pairs, he roams about.”
Prajapati Kratu replies: “There is
indeed that another different one called the Jeeva Atma, the elemental self, also
called the Bhuta Atma that dwells in the body.
The aggregates of five elements give
rise to Sarira, the body, with senses and mind, out of the senses and mind,
there arises I; the Ahangkara –Ego, which overpowers the Jeeva Atma.
Because Ego has overpowered the Jeeva
Atma -elemental self, the mind is bewildered.
One with bewildered mind does not see the pure Atma –the higher self also
present within. The Jiva Atma ridden by
Ego enters to good or bad birth depending upon the fruits of its Karma.”
Amazed Valakhilyas says: “O saint, tell
what processes are there for the elemental self, by which, after leaving its
identity with the body, he obtains union with true self.”
Prajapati Kratu says:
“Acquiring knowledge, by performing one’s
own duty, and by meditation, the true self is obtained and whoever obtains does
not return.
Through composure of thought, he liberates
from causal actions. When his elemental
self is serene and abiding in the true self, obtains imperishable bliss.
For thought alone cause the round of
birth; let a man strive to purify his thoughts.
By composure of his thought, he who does
all his actions dwelling in his true self, with serene thought, obtains
imperishable happiness.
Mind alone is the cause of bondage and
liberty for men. If mind is attached to
this world, the Samsara, it becomes bound; if free from the world; that is
liberty.”
The mind must be restrained; the
impurities must be cleansed till it comes to an end; when the elemental self is
dissolved in the true self. The
happiness at that state of being, which belongs to mind, cannot be described by
words; it can be experienced.
In Katha Upanishad, Nachiketa goes to
the abode of Yama, the lord of death, seeking answer to the question as what is
there beyond death.
Nachiketa asks Yama; “Do something
lingers after death or is death the end of everything. What, in other words, is the ultimate
reality? Is there such a thing as Atma -the
soul or the self? The world, as we see,
is constantly changing, always in a state of flux, a stream of becoming. Is there something behind it which never
changes, which is permanent or eternal?”
Death tried to dissuade Nachiketa from
pressing him for an answer to his question. But Nachiketa wanted nothing but the transcendental
knowledge of the Atma -self. Thus Yama
says to Nachiketa:
“The Shreya –good, is one thing; and
Priya -the pleasant, is another. These two,
having different objects, chain a man. The
path of Shreya is the path of knowledge and wisdom, while the path of Priya is
of pleasure.
The path of Priya drags to pleasure of
senses and believes that it is the truth, while the path of Shreya takes away
from the pleasure of senses to the knowledge and understanding of the Atma -self. It is well with him who clings to the good;
but he who chooses the pleasant, misses the end.
As good and pleasant approach man; the
wise goes roundabout and distinguish them.
The wise prefers good to the pleasant, but the fool chooses the pleasant
through greed and desire.
He who has
understanding, who is aware and mindful, and always pure, reaches indeed that
place, from where he is not born again.
Beyond
senses there are objects, beyond objects there is mind, beyond mind there is Buddhi
–the intellect, and beyond intellect there is the Param Atma –the great self,
which is pure.
Beyond the
great Self there is the undeveloped, beyond the undeveloped there is the
Purusha, and beyond the Purusha, the Brahmn and beyond Brahmn there is nothing,
and this, the Brahmn should be the goal of life.
When all the
instruments of knowledge stand still with the mind at rest and the intellect do
not move, that is the highest state of being.
This, the
firm holding of the senses, is what is called Yoga.
When all the
desires that dwell in the heart cease, then the mortal becomes immortal and
obtain Brahmn.
A person has
many choices to make in his life and of all the directions available, one of
them leads to Brahmn.
He who forms
desires in his mind is born again through his desires here and there. But to him who realises the presence of the Param
Atam -true self within him, all desires vanishes here on earth.
He, who
knows the highest Brahmn, becomes Brahmn.
He overcomes grief, he overcomes evil, he becomes free from fetters of
his mind and feelings, and he becomes immortal.”
Like Nachiketa, who have their mind
fixed on supreme goal of life; who, under no circumstances would deviate from
it, and who are able to overcome the temptation of phenomenal world and
concentrate on the subtler than subtlest obtain the transcendental knowledge on
Atma –self.
Tripur Rahasya, the non-dual Advaita
Vedanta, says; “Investigating the teaching on supreme bliss is the first step
towards self-realisation. Contemplate
and practice self-enquiry within with a desire to realise the Atma -self.
Know the Param Atma –the pure
consciousness, is present in you, which is eternal and expands as the world of
consciousness.
Param Atma that exists in our heart is the
true self. It is not ours but us. It is not mine but me. It is universal and it is one. Param Atma that exists in our heart is at
bliss. That bliss cannot be ours because
that bliss is us. It cannot be mine because
that bliss is me. It is universal and it
is one.
Maya -the cosmic illusion is created by
Ahankara –Ego. It is evil. It keeps us ignorant of the Parma Atma –the
true self, the pure consciousness present in us. Maya prevents us from recognising and realising
Param Atma inherently present in us. Maya
is bondage. It binds us to the cycle of
desire-gain-loss-suffering-desires and so on.”
Tripur Rahasya sums up; “O man, throw
off delusion! Think of that pure consciousness which alone is illuminating all
and pervading all. Surrender to the pure
consciousness and invoke that pure consciousness -the eternal energy,
inherently present within, with loving devotion.”
The philosophy of Tripur Rahasya is
that at the highest state of being, everything is one pure consciousness, which
itself shines and all else shines on its reflected light. At that state both subject and object becomes
one. The inner consciousness at deepest
level is Siva of which the cosmic energy is Shakti.
Siva is Nirguna -without form and transcends
three bodies called Tripur: the gross, subtle and causal bodies.
The gross body refers to physical
body. The subtle body refers to mind and
emotional feeling. The causal body
refers to Maya responsible for creating Cosmic Illusion. Beyond these three bodies is the Param-Dham,
beyond heaven, from where one does not return to Samsara. By taking refuse in Nirguna Siva we will be
able to attain Moktsa –freedom, and reach Param Dham.
Interlinked
to the concept of Atma –self is the concept of Moktsa. Moktsa means emancipation, freedom or liberation
of Atma -self from Samsara -the cycles of birth and death, characterized by
Maya –Illusion and Dukkha -suffering.
Three things integral to the concept of Moksha are:
(1) Existence
of Atma –individual self, (2) Atma continues to exist after Moktsa in the causal plane of
existence, and (3) Eventually the Atma which has attained Moktsa, merges with Siva,
the Brahmn -the source of all existence.
Moktsa
could be attained both before and after death.
A person who has lived his life
with ethical and moral disciplines, devotion, and free from attachment is fit
for Moktsa. At death of physical body,
the departed soul of such person goes to Ishta-Loka, the abode of God, and
stays there blissfully in a spiritual body but continues to be subservient to
God and make spiritual progress until he attains oneness with God and attain Moktsa.
One can also attain Moktsa even when alive. One who exercises moral and ethical behaviour
and live in harmony within, with others and nature, and strive for happiness,
prosperity and the continuity of the two for self and others gradually purify
his mind. Such person attains Atma
Jnana, the knowledge of inner divine Atma –Self, which destroys the ignorance
-Avidhya that cast illusion on the true nature of Atma making it invisible and
inaccessible. As soon as his ignorance
is annihilated, the person attains Jivan Mukti.
One who has attained Jivan Mukti no longer thinks of
himself as an embodied being. To him the
body and the rest of the world appear illusory. The illusory body continues to exist as long
as the Prarabdha Karma, the accumulated or destined Karma lasts. When the Prarabdha Karma is exhausted and the
illusory body dies, the disembodied Atma directly merges with Nirguna Brahmn
and attains Moktsa.
To attain Moktsa means to attain the
state of life in eternal bliss, for which one needs to eliminate
ignorance. Param Atma is already
present, and it is perfect and blissful.
But it is covered with a layer of ignorance and to remove that layer of
ignorance we should renounce Ahankar –Ego.
To attain Moktsa, we should cultivate
positive attitude with devotion and develop dispassion to desires that cause
bondage to Samsara. We should practice
renunciation to all forms of attachments.
The highest form of renunciation is to renounce the fruits of our
actions benefiting others.
We are the architects of our own
fate. We should renounce things that are
Anitya, ephemeral.
Being free from ignorance means having attained
Moktsa. Attaining Moktsa does not
necessitate getting anything afresh. It
is only to be realised and that realisation arises with the elimination of
ignorance, the link chain that binds man.
The world we love and to it we are so
much attached is only a bubble on the ocean of infinity. Every phenomenon is impermanent yet we keep
running after them. This is ignorance. And the causal factor is Ego.
Renunciation of Ego the root cause of
ignorance and attaining Moktsa is one and the same. And Moktsa is just another word for
realisation of Atma -self realisation.
To attain Moktsa does not mean to
qualify for heaven. Heaven is a
temporary place of rest where one stays for a period depending upon one’s merit. When merit is exhausted one has to take birth
on earth, where death occurs.
Moktsa means to attain a state of
being, the Brahma-lok or Param Dham, from where one does not return to Samsara.
Hinduism is intertwined with both Dvaita
–duality and Advaita –non duality philosophies. The Dvaita philosophy embraces that there are
two realities: the Param Atma and Atma, the independent and dependent. Parma-Atma, the universal self, is
independent of the phenomenal world.
While the Atma -the self, is dependent.
Dvaita philosophy believes by merging
Jeeva-Atma, the individual self, with Param-Atma, one attains Moktsa. The greatest stand of Dvaita philosophy is
that the Jeeva-Atma is active and it is responsible for its own Moktsa. The Jeeva-Atma appears separate because of
Maya, the illusion, creating cosmic ignorance.
When we know the cosmic ignorance, and come out of it, we find Param-Atma
within, already inherently present.
While the Advaita philosophy says; “You
just have to sink into the eternal self.
Nothing needs to be known or done or developed. Simply surrender directly and unhesitatingly
to Param Atma -eternal self, the primal cause of the universe. Take refuse and be devoted to Param Atma –the
pure eternal self, the illusion will be destroyed by itself.”
Our life presents us a choice between
things that are pleasurable, and things that are pure and moral. Peace lies in the purity of mind. When our mind is pure, we are at peace and
bliss. That purity is hidden deep in our
mind and to find it out we must dive deep into our mind. When we sink deep into oneness with the Param
Atma –the true self, the subject and object disappears. There exists no I or I am.
Realisation of Atma -the self
realisation is not a causal product. The
realised state of Atma, the Param Atma exists eternally within. We only require insight, moral power and
austerity. Mind control is a good beginning
but surrender is the best, because mind control does not cause
self-realisation. Arresting thought and
turning it inward do not produce self-realisation for the Param Atma -true self
is already realised at all times.
Both, Dvaita and Advaita philosophies
co-exist in perfect harmony. Both
philosophies are part and parcel of same great philosophy of purification of
Jeeva Atma -self realisation. The Moktsa,
the ultimate essence remains same, while the paths are different.
Sankharacarya says; “The phenomenal
world is the projection of Brahmn and it is not real. The Brahmn is Sat-Citta-Ananda, the pure
consciousness, pure bliss and pure existence.
It neither changes nor ceases to exist.
Brahmn is essentially Nirguna, without attributes, but it manifests itself
with personal attributes, Saguna. The Nirguna
aspect is ultimately true and Saguna false.”
The theory of Brahmn defies any
description of Nirguna Brahmn in language because none of its description can
be exhaustive and complete. It can be
experienced, but not described. Brahmn
is the substratum of every affirmation but denial of qualities.
Whatever the philosophies are, the true
knowledge comes from the right understanding of the cosmic ignorance -Maya, the
illusion, created by Ego and thereby not recognising the truth that exists
within us.
Param Atma -true self that resides
within us is higher than the mind or intellect, and beyond all materials
components or influences of Ego. The Param
Atma -true self is Nitya –eternal, while Ego is Anitya –ephimeral. When one sees and affirms one’s own real identity,
he realises the Param -true self within.
Realisation of Atma -self realisation essentially means knowing one’s
own real identity.
As we begin to cultivate and nurture
higher state of pure consciousness towards realisation of Atma -self
realisation, with knowledge, understanding and practice, we begin to
accommodate different values in our life without conditions. We get physically, mentally and spiritually
elevated and life truly becomes worth living.
As we approach higher state of pure consciousness, the spaciousness of
our consciousness expands and there begins to spur the feeling of equanimity,
loving kindness and compassion.
When we discover our inner consciousness
and continue to stay at its purity, we are at bliss; Sat-Citta-Anand which can
only be experienced when one understands that not only body but the mind too is
separate from Cetana, the true self, the inner consciousness, the Prana.
Mind is close to Cetna but still it is
not Cetana. Because when body dies, the
mind also dies and therefore it is not eternal.
This idea is supported by the notion that mind is born out of
aggregation of matters along with Ego and when the aggregation dissociates, the
mind dissolves in space.
A person, who is in a state of
Sat-Citta-Anand, knows that the real enemies are the disturbing emotions and
develop his personal capacity to transform adverse situations into
advantages.
A person, who is in a state of
Sat-Citta-Anand, transforms everything he posses including negative emotions into
goodness of others. By doing it he
eliminates all obstructions and obscuration on his path to Sukkha -happiness. He develops spiritual strength and trust that
no matter what happens in his life or in the world, he will have the inner
strength to create and transform things into advantage of everyone.
Both body and mind are impermanent and
what is permanent is the true self –the Param Atma. The true self witnesses every passing thought
and fully aware of their insubstantial and deceptive nature. One who discovers and realises the true self,
the delusion disappear and the eternal happiness outflows.
Our body is constantly changing and
goes through the never ending circle of births and deaths, but the Param Atma
–the true self, who is the pure witness within, remains unchanged and untouched
by deaths.
Our mind is at flux constantly
generating thoughts at all times. One
thought follows another, each of them arises when the preceding one has
disappeared and this pattern never stop.
Our life is driven by our thought and
emotion. It is the balance between the emotion
impelled from our heart and the thought from our mind enables us to live a meaningful
life. But the balance is always tipped
off by Ego causing our emotional mind overweighing the rational mind. When passion surge the emotion, the rational
mind is defeated causing it to be irrational and illogical.
Our thought and emotion are outer
consciousness, while Param Atma is pure inner consciousness. It does do not get immersed and lost in our
thought and emotion. It is simply aware
of our mood and our thought which could be good or bad, positive or negative.
Our quest for true happiness require
introspection and awareness being attentive of our internal state of being by
knowing and witnessing our own thought and emotion. The field of awareness is a dimension of our
being besides thought and emotion. It is
self-reflexive which simply observes as an interested yet un-reactive witness
with total impartiality. It is not
carried away by thought and emotion. It
is in a neutral mode that remains undisturbed but curiously witnessing the
turbulence of our thought and emotion unless it is interacted with or asked for
advice.
When our outer consciousness look
inwardly and communicate with inner pure consciousness, whether the thought and
emotion created by it are right and good for others or not, it will inevitably
be advised for right things to do. The
divinity unfolds when we act with pure consciousness.
Outer consciousness is all but one
sided thought and emotion. They are centred
on I. They are Ego centric. But the inner pure consciousness is in
equanimity. When our outer consciousness
acts in communion with the inner consciousness, others become the centre point
and the positive impact on others’ thought and emotion guides our action.
Being mindful means being aware and
being aware means constantly assessing our state of being in relation to us and
its relation to others and the environment we live in. Awareness produces realistic self
assessment. We ask some fundamental
questions: Who am I? What do I
want? What does the situation
demand?
In our life many paths unfolds but it
is the awareness that tells us the right one to take. For the right decision we must reach deep
inside us and understand our Atma -self.
Upanishads says; “Know that one thing
by which all else is known.” That one
thing is consciousness, the inner consciousness, which is simply aware. There is no greater power than being aware
and being mindful.
Being successful in life is all about
being aware and being mindful. We should
extend what we want to what others need.
We should be self-guided and shape our vision with conscious conviction
being deeply aware. We should keep
expanding our self-image as our career unfolds.
We should pursue our vision
with perseverance despite obstacles and downturn. Balance the inner world which is subjective in
nature with the outer world which is objective in nature and be in harmony. The true happiness will unfold
naturally. 