ATMAJYOTHI – The Eternal Light of SatChitAnanda

By  Shri Lakshminarayan Aithal

(Shri Lakshminarayan Aithal has served for over 3 decades in Swami’s institution and is the former Principal of the Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Institutions at Muddenahalli. Inspired by Swami’s direct message to study the Upanishads, he first learnt Sanskrit and then studied the direct works of Adi Shankaracharya and Swami. Sincere perseverance led him to the reality of Aham Brahmasmi and He realized and experienced Swami’s words: “I am God and so are you”. He shares the import of the Upanishadic teachings with us in this series of articles.)

(In the last edition, we had discussed about deep sleep. The absence of anything in deep sleep does not mean ‘nothingness’; even to know this nothingness- there must be a Knower which is the Atman, our true Self. What then is the Self or Brahman and how do we experience it? We carry forward this discussion to understand this).

THE SELF IS THE FOURTH-ONE

TUREEYAM

25.Q:Then, the  deep-sleep  is  not  a  state,  isn’t  it?

A: Yes. Therefore, the  dream  in  sleep  and  wakefulness  after  sleep  are  not  states.

Q: What  is  the  opinion  of  your  statement  that  by  the  deliberation  upon  the  three  states  the  Self  can  be  experienced  by  separating  it  from  the  mind? When  the  states  themselves  don’t  exist, where  is  the  deliberation  upon  them? 

A: People believe that they obtain wakeful, dream and deep-sleep states, always. They  also  believe  that  the  mind  itself  is  of  the  form  of  awareness  and  the  Self  doesn’t  exist  apart  from  the  mind. If  we  deliberate  upon  the  three  states  believed  by  them, we  can  decide  the    Real  Form  of  the  Self. And we understand  that  really  the  states  don’t  exist. This itself is the opinion of our statements.  

Q: Then, in  the  verse, it  is  stated  that  the  Self  is  the  Fourth  One ( Tureeyam ) ! When  the  three  states  don’t  exist, how  does  the  Self  become  the  fourth  one?

A: People have super-imposed the states on the Self. The  self  is  the  fourth  one  means  that  He  is  different  from  the  three  super-imposed  states  and  not  that  he  is  really  the  fourth  one.  Really  speaking, when  the  wakeful  ,  the  dream  and  the  deep-sleep  appear  to  exist, this  Self  of  the  fourth  nature  alone  exists. There  is  no  time  when  this  nature  of  the  Self  doesn’t  exist  and  it  exists  even  in  the  absence  of  time. Therefore, the Fourth One’s Nature is not a time-bound state.  A state is a time-bound change.

THE SELF IS OBTAINED BY THE SUPREME SWANS

(PARAMA-HAMSA GATIM)

26.Q: As  you  have  told  that  if  the  Fourth  State  of  the  Self  exists  always, why  don’t  we  know  this  easily?

A: Normally, the nature of the mind is to imagine non-existing things. And, the mind is egoistically attached to those imagined things. Therefore, leaving  all  these  imaginations  and  selecting  the  Real  Principle  of  the  Self  is  not  possible  for  many  people. Only  the  Supreme  Swans  who  are  free  from  worldly  affections  or  passions  select  the  Self  successfully.

Q: Who are the   Supreme Swans?

A: In  the  Indian  poetical  compositions  a  bird  by  name  Raaja  Hamsa  has  become  famous. If  the  mixture  of  milk  and  water  is  kept  before  the  bird, this  bird  has  the  capacity  ( ability )  to separate  water  from  the  mixture  and  to  taste  only  the  milk. Similarly, the  eminent  personages  who  are  free  from  passions  acquire  spiritual  materials  and  means  like:  appeasing  the  mind  

( Shama ), self-restraint ( Dama ), etc. they  have  the  ability  to  establish  themselves  in  the  Form  of  Existence-Awareness-Bliss. Such eminent personages are called the Parama Hamsas, the Supreme-Swans

Q: What is Virakti, the indifference?

A: Rakti means worldly affections or passions. It  is  a  pride  to  have  a  strong  feeling  of  love, hate, anger, etc. in  the  mind. Virakti means absence of affections or passions. Those  who  are indifferent  towards  the  non-self-objects, they  accept  Sanyaasa, the  ascetism, the  famous  order  called  of  the  Supreme  Swans. These ascetics deliberate upon the thoughts of the Vedaanta.

Q: Then, the  Vedaanta  cannot  be  understood  by  the  common  people  like  us  who  are  not  ascetics, isn’t  it?

A: It is not that. Our  opinion  is  that  those  who  have  special  attachment  towards  the  non-self-objects, the  Spiritual  Science  is  difficult  to  comprehend  for  them. The  renunciation  is  the  symbol  of  giving-up  of  the  egoistic  attachment.   

I  AM BRAHMAN; AND NOT THE GROUP OF FIVE-ELIMENTS

TAD-BRAHMA NISHKALAM-AHAM NA CHA BHOOTA-SANGHAH

27. Q: Well. How  is  the  experience  of  those  who  have  renounced  the  egoistic  attachment  and  completely  understand  the  principle  of  the  Self?

A: They know, “I’ m that limbless Brahman “

Q: What is Brahman?

A: The Brahman is described in the Upanishads. The word ‘Brahma ‘means big. The  Brahman  is  always  of  the  form  of  Purity  and  that  of  Awareness. It is always free from all bindings. It always remains the in the same Form (Nitya-Shuddha-Buddha-Mukta). Therefore, the Brahman is the Supreme One. The Self-Principle known by the wise ones is this Brahman.

Q: What do ignorants know?

A: We have already told this. The ignorant identify themselves with body, organs of sense, mind, etc.  and  these  are  composed  by  the  elements  like: earth, water, fire, air  and  sky. They  also  believe  that  they  get  always  wakefulness, dream  and  deep-sleep  states. 

Q: What are the features of the elements?

A: Organs  of  perception  are  situated  at  the  spots  like: ear, skin, eye, tongue  and  nose . By  their  touch  in  the  world  five  objects  of  sense  like: sound, touch, form, taste  and  smell – appear. These  objects  of  sense  take  shelter  in  the  five  elements  like: sky, air, fire, water  and  earth- respectively. Body, organs of sense, mind, etc.  All of these are composed of five elements.

Q: Do these five elements and the Self have any relation?

A: We  have  already  mentioned  that  there  is  not  even  an  iota  of  relation  between  them. Not  even  an  element  exists  in  the  deep-sleep  anywhere; and  in  any  one  of  the  states, other  two  states  never  exist  anywhere. Therefore, the  Self  doesn’t  have  any  relation  with  respect  to  either  five  elements  or  that  of  states.  

A  MEANS TO THE WISDOM

  Q: Those  who  aspire  for  the  wisdom,  what  type  of  means  should  they  practice?

A: In  the  morning  as  they  get  up, they  should  give  up  the  bad  practice  of  thinking  that  they  are  body, organs  of  sense  and  mind – that  are  composed  of  the  elements; and  they  should  stop  worrying  about  to  those  non-self-objects. And  they  should  think  the  great  Principle: “ I  am  the  Supreme  Brahman  of  the  Form  of  Existence-Awareness-Bliss. “  Those who practice this constantly are the seekers of Liberation.  They  have  strong  desire  of  liberating  themselves  from  the  false- bondage  that  they  are  the  group  of  elements. This false-bondage should be removed through the Wisdom either  in  the  wakeful  or  in  the  dream  states, and  the  Self  doesn’t  know  anything  in  the  deep-sleep; there  is  no  special  change  in  the  awareness  of  the  Self. Therefore, knowing  and  not  knowing  are  not  two  natures  of  the  Self.

(To be continued in the next edition)