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Jayaram V
Atman is the immortal aspect of the mortal existence, the self, which is
hidden
in every object of creation including man. It is the microcosm,
representing the macrocosm in each of us, imparting to us divine
qualities and possibilities and providing us with the reason to exist
and experience the pains and pleasures of earthly life.
Atman is Brahman Itself, the very Self which descends down into the
elements of nature through self-projection and participates Itself in
the game of self-induced illusion and pure Delight. But bound by
the
senses and limited by the sensory knowledge and sensory perceptions,
we, the jivas, do not perceive the truth. We go out, get involved and
in the process forget who we are. It is like a man who travels out
into distant lands and forgets his roots or his homeland. "The self-existent Lord pierced
the
senses to make them turn outward. Thus we look to the external world
and see not the Self with in us."
The Self is the silent partner in all our deeds and
experiences, the observer and the indweller of all embodied beings.
Its nature cannot be explained or described in human language
adequately, as it is beyond the senses and the mind. "There the
eyes cannot travel, nor speech nor mind. Nor do we know how to explain
it to the disciples. It is other than the known and beyond the
unknown."
It can only be experienced when all the sensory activity ceases to
impact the mind, when the mind itself is freed from the movement of
thoughts and sense objects, and the torment of desires, which are the
prime cause of all human activity and suffering, subside into
quietude. The experience comes
" When the mind and the five senses are stilled and when the
intellect is stilled ....They say that Yoga is complete stillness in
which one enters that state of Oneness."
Although it is described as a flame, of the size of thumb, which is
said to exist between the eye brows physically , or in the heart of
all emotionally , its exact location is uncertain. It has no physical
or mental dimensions as such, other than as a mere reflection or an
idea in the mind. But unquestionably He exists and He alone is real.
All else is false and withers away, crushed by the weight of sins and
pressures of time.
We are told, "The adorable one is seated in the heart and
rules the breath of life. All the senses pay homage to him. When He
breaks out of the body in freedom from the bonds of flesh, what else
remains? This Self is Supreme." We are also told, "Above
the senses is the mind, above the mind the intellect, above that is
the ego and above the ego is the unmanifest cause. And beyond is
Brahman, omnipresent and without attributes."
The ego is Atman's poor cousin, the false
center, which assumes the position of control and ownership, where as
in actual reality it is a mere reflection, a product of illusion and a
mental projection, born out of sensory experiences and the
accumulation of memories and thoughts. While the basis of Atman is
reality, permanence and Bliss, the nature of ego is
illusion,
impermanence and suffering.
The ego of a living being is permanently situated in ignorance and
gloom and needs to be rescued from eternal doom and damnation by the
indwelling Atman. The ego is a false reflection of it.
The Katha
Upanishad explains the relative status of the two selves in this
manner, "There are two selves, the separate ego and the
indivisible Atman. When one raises above I, me and mine, the Atman
reveals Itself as the real Self."
The Mundaka Upanishad is more explicit and poetic, "Like two
birds perched on the same tree, intimate friends, the ego and the
self, dwell in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour
fruits of life, while the later looks on with detachment.".
This symbolism is further expanded in this verse of
the Katha
Upanishad, "Know the Self as the Lord of Chariot,
the body as the
chariot itself, the buddhi as the charioteer and the mind as reins.
The senses are said to be the horses and selfish desires as the roads
they (the senses) travel. When the Self is confused with the body,
mind and senses, they say that he appears to enjoy pleasures and
suffer sorrow."
Although Atman is located in all of us, we cannot know It or
understand It adequately with our ordinary awareness. "There no
eye can penetrate, no voice, no mind. Nor do we know how to understand
it or preach it." In the Kena Upanishad the teacher explain the
difficulty to the students in the following words, "If you think
that you know the Self you know not." And the student
admits," I do not think I know the Self, nor can I say I know Him
not."
And in the Katha
Upanishad, Yama, the Lord of Death explains to
Nachiketa," The Self cannot be known through the study of
scriptures, nor thorough intellect nor through hearing learned
discourses. It can be attained only by those whom the Self
chooses." He reemphasizes the same point again else where.
The problem is further explained and the way to reach Atman is also
suggested to the students in the Kena Upanishad, " The ignorant
thinks that the Self can be known by the intellect, but the
enlightened one knows that He is beyond the duality of the knower and
the known."
The idea is that Atman cannot be realized by the ordinary
consciousness, where the senses are active and where there is the
interference of the mind in the process of awareness. There cannot be
an experience of Atman where there is this gulf of "knowing"
between the knower and the known. He who knows It, knows It not
really.
It is the mind and the senses which stand between the two poles of
reality, the knower and the known, and prevent the ordinary
consciousness from realizing the true nature of Atman . The mind is
thus an imperfect instrument with an inherent inability to understand
and realize Atman. "The truth of Self cannot come from him who
has not realized that he is the Self. The intellect cannot reveal the
Self beyond its duality of subject and object."
But how does one realize the Atman? What is the process? "The
self cannot be known by he who does not desist himself from
unrighteous ways, does not control his senses, nor stills his mind and
does not practice meditation," explains Yama to Nachiketa and
also adds, "This awakening you have known comes not through logic
and scholarship, but from close association with a realized
teacher."
But mere association with a teacher may not again be helpful,
unless there is an inner and deep commitment to know the truth.
"The Self cannot be known through the study of the scriptures,
nor through intellect, nor through learned discourses. The self can be
attained by only those whom the Self chooses. Verily to them does the
Self reveals Itself."
The connection between the outer and the inner worlds is not direct
and straight. There are many intermittent stages to pass through and
conditions to achieve and obstacles to over come before reaching the
final goal. In Mandukya Upanishad, we are
told that the self is four fold :
- The wakeful Vaishwanara, the Universal Male (the ego),
- The dreaming Taijasa, the enjoyer of subtle objects and the Lord
of the luminous mind, (the astral),
- The mysterious Pragna, the deep Sleeper and the Lord of Wisdom and
- Atman the eternal, the Incommunicable, the end of phenomena,
Brahman Itself.
Perhaps this may not be the entire truth for so mysterious is the
inward journey and so inadequately is equipped the human mind to
record the experiences of the spirit, that there may be deeper and
other planes of consciousness between the wakeful state and the Atman,
about whom we have yet to gain knowledge.
But what about the ultimate experience? what happens when one
reaches there? No one seems to explain that experience accurately and
to our complete satisfaction. It is beyond human language, for our
words do not carry the intensity and luminosity of that transcendent
experience.
At the same time the delight of the experience cannot be contained
in the secret caves of the heart, as it gushes forth with the
thundering sounds of pure joy into open. Thus for the benefit of the
posterity and the ordinary, the experiences show themselves in some
feeble analogies and vague symbolism.
In the Isa Upanishad we come across one such instance. The seeker
first prays to Brahman, " The face of truth is hidden behind your
golden lid, O Sun. May you remove the lid so that I may see the golden
Truth !" And when the request is granted and the splendor
manifests Itself in him he, submerged in pure bliss, lets out these
words, "In truth I am Him."
Perhaps that is the ultimate Truth a person can discover in his or
her spiritual journey, the Truth that remains hidden behind the golden
lid eager to show its resplendent golden face while we struggle and
strive in the mortal world with vague yearnings and uncertain future.
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Suggested Further Reading
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