The Soul, Atman.

The Anglicised version is ‘Self’ for ‘Atman’. This is not a suitable word and there is no alternate word in English that can express Atman properly, not even the word ‘Soul’. We should, hence, avoid these terms as much as possible and use only Samskruta terms. So, ‘Knowledge of the Self’ is Atmavidya or Brahmavidya. Also, there are no capital letters (upper or lower case) as in English and the capital letters when used to transliterate the terms in Samskruta language will give wrong meanings (say, Brahman for brahman, where B is bh); so also V or M becomes just a  .  (dot). Hence, we should be careful while expressing these things in English.

    Thus, we come to the realm of higher knowledge, para vidya, the knowledge supreme, also known as Vedanta. The knowledge of the Self discussed here is of utmost importance to all those who have reached their evening of life, vruddhapya. But, the beginning has to be made sometime very early since it is not possible to study the ancient scriptures and take to yoga in old age when the physical body and the senses are weak. Most of the people die without attaining this ultimate knowledge, the knowledge concerning the Self and take to repeated births and deaths. The shackles of the chain of births and deaths cannot be cut without the sharp instrument of this atma-jnyan, ‘Knowledge of the Self’. This entire exercise has been advocated to only those who have experienced life, in toto, are happy, and say, ‘enough’! May be it is also for those who are totally unhappy and say ‘enough is enough’!!

   Anyway, all of us, the mortals, the embodied souls as jivas, will ultimately seek redemption one day or the other. This rendering of the divine principles selected from the scriptures will come handy to rescue us, those who seek redemption, mukti. It is needless to state that these are the ‘intuitive knowledge’ of the visionaries, great sages. These have come down to us as if a gift of our elders, Guru or teachers. This is our cultural heritage. It is advisable to keep a copy of this book at bedside and give a cursory glance now and then before going to sleep. It pays rich dividends.

The True Nature of the Universe

    Born as humans, promoted from the state of homo sapiens erectus (with ability to hold) to homo sapiens sapiens (with ability to think), we face a number of riddles like the questions posed by the Sphinx of Egypt. We are baffled with the problems for which we do not know either the causes or solutions. Hence, we look to some ancient scriptures or learned people who know the scriptures for guidance. Even if the answers are forthcoming, our ability to understand is extremely limited.

  Here, “The Advent of the Soul” takes us to unknown depths of the vast ocean of Consciousness, ‘sudha sindho’, and presents an invaluable insight into a world of immense joy and beauty. It is rather trying to present what is inexplicable, the hidden treasures of creation. It unfolds the vista, hitherto unheard of, and what is not heard (anahata) will be heard and what is not seen (adrushta) will be seen here. Since this is a spiritual journey inward reaching the innermost centre, the core of the entity, within, when the traveller realizes that it is one’s self only and there is no another, and the experience felt is one’s own and, as such, incommunicable. At this stage of exalted heights of consciousness one does not exist at all for all practical purposes (with awareness of body mind and senses) since the jiva has entered its own inner precincts- sanctum sanctorum, closing all the doors to the external world. In a way, it is ‘death’ or removal of the outer sheaths of the soul. ‘Death’ here does not mean the end of the journey. It is rather leaving for the next destination. In this long journey of the soul, what all that is experienced is the supreme bliss. It is ‘fulfilment’.

    We do not realize that are living in a magical world. The entire phenomenal objective world can be touched! Everything comes out of nowhere and ‘nothing’ and incidentally, the word ‘nowhere’ and ‘nothing’ contain the words ‘now’ (Time) and ‘here’ (Place), and ‘thing’ (Object) that emanates, manifest from nowhere! Thus, we find the three prime factors- Time, Space, and Object, come into existence from nowhere and nothing! This nothingness is not ‘void’ (shunya) as some are prone to think. It is the supreme quietude, ‘Absolute Silence’ (mahattanta shanta). It is called ‘brahmn’; the absolute abstract, nothingness (but not void), the unmanifest that is 'nowhere' and still everywhere in an invisible state; thus, what is called 'brahmn' is the source, origin of everything and everything ultimately merges into 'It'. The 'brahmn' contains the entire universe in a nutshell and manifests as the objective phenomenal diverse universe; it is manifestation of itself, its 'Self', the supreme Self- paramatman! The 'parmatman' and the individualized Atman are the same! The Vedic doctrine is Atma eva brahm |

   Further, it may seem surprising that, “that which does not move appears to be moving”. Also, that which is non-existent appears to us as real! Is it not strange that light comes out of darkness, knowledge out of ignorance, sound out of silence, baby out of the mother’s womb, and father out of Father in Heavens?

   The Biblical saying is “Let there be Light”, said the Lord, “Lo, there was Light”. The vast, deep, dark, space consists of innumerable galaxies. There is unimaginably dark space (distance) between each star. The distance between the Sun and the nearest star Sirius (Jyeshta) is 1.4 Light Years. The ‘Milky Way’ in which the Sun, a moderate sized Star, of our solar system is a spiral disc containing myriads of stars and planets. The Sun, a hot gaseous mass, is said to be born 4.56 billion years ago and would last another 7.44 billion years during which all its energy would radiate rendering it a cold, gross, inert body. We are all bound by this time and time is energy. The individualized Self, jivatman gets embodied due to the divine will, and its body is entirely made of the soil (food) and water. This embodiment of the Self, the Atman, the jiva jyoti, is the problem! To get this out, extricate the embedded soul is the goal, sole purpose, of the enlightened persons! The process begins almost at the end of the journey, the last  life, that too, hen the jiva realizes its true nature and seeks liberation, emancipation.