THE ATMAN

Bliss is the essential nature of man. The central fact of a man’s being is his inherent divinity.

Man’s essential nature is divine, the awareness of which he has lost because of his animal propensities and the veil of ignorance. Man, in his ignorance, identifies himself with the body, mind, Prana and the senses. Transcending these, he becomes one with Brahman or the Absolute who is pure bliss.

Brahman or the Absolute is the fullest reality, the completest consciousness. That beyond which there is nothing, that which is the innermost Self of all is Atman or Brahman. The Atman is the common Consciousness in all beings. A thief, a prostitute, a scavenger, a king, a rogue, a saint, a dog, a cat, a rat-all have the same common Atman.

There is apparent, fictitious difference in bodies and minds only. There are differences in colours and opinions. But the Atman is the same in all.

If you are very rich, you can have a steamer, a train, an airship of your own for your own selfish interests. But you cannot have an Atman of your own. The Atman is common to all. It is not an individual’s sole registered property.

The Atman is the one amidst the many. It is constant amidst the forms which come and go. It is the pure, absolute, essential Consciousness of all the conscious beings.

The source of all life, the source of all knowledge is the Atman, thy innermost Self. This Atman or Supreme Soul is transcendent, inexpressible, uninferable, unthinkable, indescribable, the ever-peaceful, all-blissful.

There is no difference between the Atman and bliss. The Atman is bliss itself. God, perfection, peace, immortality, bliss are one. The goal of life is to attain perfection, immortality or God. The nearer one approaches the Truth, the happier one becomes. For, the essential nature of Truth is positive, absolute bliss.

There is no bliss in the finite. Bliss is only in the Infinite. Eternal bliss can be had only from the eternal Self.

To know the Self is to enjoy eternal bliss and everlasting peace. Self-realisation bestows eternal existence, absolute knowledge, and perennial bliss.

None can be saved without Self-realisation. The quest for the Absolute should be undertaken even sacrificing the dearest object, even life, even courting all pain.

Study philosophical books as much as you like, deliver lectures and lectures throughout your global tour, remain in a Himalayan cave for one hundred years, practise Pranayama for fifty years, you cannot attain emancipation without the realisation of the oneness of the Self.

WHAT MOKSHA IMPLIES

Oneness of Self or oneness of Existence is Reality, and the realisation of this Reality is Moksha.

Moksha is the breaking down of the barriers that constitute separate existence. Moksha is the absolute state of Being, where the unity of all-pervading and all-permeating consciousness is realised with certainty, like that of an orange which we see in our palm.

Moksha is not an attainment of liberation from an actual state of bondage, but is the realisation of the liberation which already exists. It is freedom from the false notion of bondage.

The individual soul feels itself to be in bondage on account of ignorance caused by the power of Avidya. When the false belief caused by delusion is removed by Knowledge of Atman, the state of Moksha is realised then and there, in this very life. It is not to follow after death.

The cause of delusion is the desire in man. Desires generate thought-waves, and the thought-waves veil the real nature of the Soul which is blissful, immortal, and eternal. When desires are annihilated, Knowledge of Brahman dawns on the individual.

Knowledge of Brahman is not an action. You cannot reach Brahman even as you cannot reach yourself except by knowing yourself. Knowledge of Brahman is absolute and direct. It is an intuitive experience.

REASON AND INTUITION

Intuition dawns like a flash. It does not grow bit-by-bit. The immediate knowledge through intuition unites the individual soul with the Supreme Soul. Intuition merges the subject and the object of knowledge, together with the process of knowing, into the Absolute where there is no duality. In intuition, time becomes eternity, space becomes infinity.

Intuitive knowledge alone is the highest knowledge. It is the imperishable, infinite knowledge of Truth. Sense-knowledge is a knowledge of appearance, and not of Truth.

Sensing is false knowledge and intuition is right knowledge. You can attain Atma-Jnana or Knowledge of the Self through intuition and intuition alone. Without developing intuition, the intellectual man remains imperfect. Intellect has not got that power to get into the inner chamber of Truth. Intellect functions in the realm of duality, but is powerless in the realm of non-duality.

Mind and intellect are finite instruments. Reason is finite. It cannot penetrate the Infinite. Intuition alone can penetrate the Infinite.

Scientific attempts to prove the Infinite are futile. The only scientific method here is the intuitional.

Meditation leads to intuition. Meditation is the key to unfold the divinity or Atman hidden in all names and forms.

THE MEDITATIONAL PROCESS

There is no Knowledge without Meditation. The aspirant churns his own soul. Truth becomes manifest.

Through regular meditation, you gradually grow in spirituality. The divine flame grows brighter and brighter.

Meditation gradually offers you the eternal light and intuition. By constant practice of concentration and meditation, the mind becomes as transparent and pure as a crystal. The din of the strife for things mundane becomes smaller and smaller as one recedes inside.

There are laws on the new plane. The music is different. The notes are very sweet. There is a perpetual pervading of something better.

The lustre of spiritual awakening changes the perspective and one seeks devotedly that which will bring him real lasting joy and peace in the long run. Therefore, the seeking of material and immediate advantages becomes less urgent.

Meditation leads you more and more inward, from the gross to the subtle, from the subtle to the subtler, from the subtler to the subtlest, the Supreme Spirit.

Going beyond the consciousness of the body by meditating on the Lord, one attains the universal lordship. All one’s desires are satisfied.

Meditation is the only right royal way for attaining immortality and eternal bliss. Peace and bliss are not to be found in books, churches, or monasteries. It is realised when Knowledge of Atman dawns.

Why do you read many books? It is of no use. The great book is within your heart. Open the pages of this inexhaustible book, the source of all knowledge. You will know everything.

All names and forms vanish in deep meditation. There is consciousness of infinite space. This also disappears. There is a state of nothingness. Suddenly dawns illumination, Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

THE BLISS OF SAMADHI

Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the realisation of the highest value. During Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the Reality is intuited in all its wholeness. It is the experience of oneness with the Absolute. You have Brahmic super-consciousness, in place of the stilled Jiva-consciousness.

Experience of fullness is called Samadhi. It is freedom from misery. It is bliss absolute.

Samadhi is not the abolition of personality. It is the completion of personality. In that state of supreme illumination, you feel the oneness of subject and object. You see nothing else, hear nothing else, know nothing else.

The knowledge simply illumines. It does not require you to do something after that illumination.

To know is to be. Knowing and being cannot be separated. Chit and Sat are one and the same. Where absolute knowledge and absolute existence prevail, there is also absolute bliss.

The bliss of Self-realisation cannot be described in words. Tranquillity which nothing can touch, supreme peace without a ruffle, light and bliss unalloyed - such is the glimpse of Self-realisation.

Sensual pleasure is nothing when compared with the bliss of meditation and Samadhi. Rise from the sense-life. Awake and realise that you are the pure, immortal Atman. Behold the one Atman in all beings and attain immortality and bliss eternal.

Hear all about Atman or Soul. Then understand the Atman. Then reflect on the Atman. Then meditate on the Atman. Then realise the Atman. Tat Tvam Asi. That Thou Art.

Thou art Atman! Atman art Thou. Realise this and be free. Nothing can hinder thee from the realisation of thy essential nature.

Self-realisation is not an invention. It is only discovery of the Self. It is knowing one’s Self. It is awareness.

Self-realisation is nothing to be attained afresh. You need not reach or attain the Atman or the Self. You are, indeed, the Atman or Supreme Self. Only, you will have to open your inner eyes.

The Vedanta philosophy summons the individual to his own freedom, glory, and dignity. Know this source of freedom, the root of bliss, and be free.

Bliss is, indeed, thy essential nature. Bliss is your birthright. You are a glorious heir to bliss infinite. Realise this bliss right now, in this very second.

Look not outside for light, peace, joy, and bliss, but look within. Moksha or salvation is neither in heaven nor in Mt. Kailas. The inexhaustible, supreme divine treasure, the Atmic pearl, is locked up in the chambers of your own heart, in the casket of silence. Discover the true Reality in the very heart of your own subjectivity, in the very depth of your own being.