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.
