"Brahma Jijnyasa"

   'Brahma jijnyasa' is an inquiry into the nature of brahmn  It is an inquiry into the true nature of the Self, the Atman. It begins with the inquiry as to "Who am I"? The adept finally comes to the conclusion that he is the embodied soul. He realizes the fact that the soul, Atman, is eternal, unborn, and neither does it take birth, nor does it die. It is the embodiment that is the problem. The body, the mind and the senses, the ego and the intellect that are the upadhi that have given rise to the avidya, knowledge covered by attachment, anger and other qualities that brought about this limitation. Finally, the jiva attains liberation. The Sage Vasishtha teaches this to Rama.   

  "O Rama, know that  an inquiry  such as 'Who am I?' is like a fire that burns  the seed of that pain-producing tree , which is the mind." (Y V, Ch. V, Verse 1).

    This inquiry as to 'Who am I'? is the central theme of spiritual attainment. Once a person knows the true nature of the Self, the Atman, the purpose of life is fulfilled. There is no greater attainment than this.

   "Wind cannot shake a vine in a painting. Similarly, mental afflictions cannot affect that intellect which is firmly attached to the mirror of discriminative contemplation. An intellect that is engaged in the contemplation of ideas like "What is real" and "What is not real" is not affected by any mental affliction." (YV Ch. V Verse 2).

    This mundane worldly existence is one of dualities and there is no end to it. Hence, the jiva seeks liberation, mukti and looks for guidance. The Guru comes to such jiva by divine providence. The guru teaches discriminative knowledge and this will redeem the jiva from all miseries.