Moment to Speak

Brahman , or the Cosmic Self, is "Existence alone was this in the beginning, one alone without a second" (Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1). It is the non-dual Absolute Existence, or the unchanging complete Whole, or the Truth of the truths behind the apparent diversity of the evanescent world; and the scriptural assertions (Rig Veda, 1.164.46; Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.10, 2.1.20; Chāndogya Upanishad, 3.14.1, 6.2.1; Mandukya Upanishad, 1.2; Taittiriya Upanishad, 2.1.1; Aitreya Upanishad, 3.3; and Yoga-Vasistha, Book-II, Chapter-XIX) say so. The scriptures bluntly say the manifest dimensions are illusory with changing appearance and disappearance, and anything that is perceived through the mind's sensual apparatuses has the imprint of that deception and is invalid. Yoga-Vasistha (Book-II, Chapter-XIX) says the only evidential reality is through heightened Self-consciousness, as the only reality is Ātma-sākshātkāra , or Self-realisation, the highest form of evidence. It asser...

The scriptures contain conceptions of the eternal and ephemeral, the permanent and temporary, as well as other related ideas concerning the state of opposites. All these, including the created, derive from the One unified organic whole, or Absolute Existence, or Ultimate Reality. An existence or Reality is One only that is non-dual and beyond time, space and causation. Scriptures say Brahman , or the Cosmic Self, is the Absolute Existence: "ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadanti, agniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānam āhuḥ" , or Truth is one, though the wise describe it in many ways – as Agni , as Yama , and as Mātariśvan (Rig Veda, 1.164.46 ); " Sarvam khalvidam brahma ", or All this is Brahman (Chāndogya Upanishad, 3.14.1), meaning everything in the universe is, in its true essence, Brahman ; " Satyam jnanam anantam brahma ", or Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, Infinity (Taittiriya Upanishad, 2.1.1), meaning Brahman is the unchanging Reality; " Prajñānam Brahma ", o...

Salvation lies in following the path of the wise, the virtuous and the scriptures in the Upanishads, and that is a central theme in the Upanishads. The Upanishads categorically state that Moksha, or liberation, is not achieved through mere ritual or intellectual debate but by following the path of Atma-jnana , or Self-knowledge, and Sanatana Dharma, or eternal ways of virtuous living, as delineated by the sages and the scriptures. The wise are those who are Self-realised. They cultivated a virtuous life of discrimination, discipline, detachment, dispassion, devotion, and discard of sensual pleasures by seeing everyone in Atman , or Self, and Atman in everyone. They see Atman as an inseparable essence of Brahman , the Supreme Self, or the Absolute Existence. They are the people who live a life of living liberation, enduring in the world with worldly activities but remaining dispassionately detached. The idea is that by walking in the footsteps of such realised beings, one gradually pu...

When the mind is unascertained, unsteady, and quivers in its ultimate destination search, it tends to move out to find water in a mirage to quench its thirst but is lost in the wilderness of insatiable desires that can never be satiated, like finding water in a mirage. This journey often leads to a cycle of yearning and disappointment, as the elusive nature of these desires obscures the path to true contentment. Only by grounding oneself in the present can one hope to navigate through the illusions and discover a more authentic sense of fulfilment in Atman , or Self. Atman , or Self, is the Absolute Reality; when that is unascertained, the mind becomes confused or bewildered and deceived, like seeing the stump of a fallen tree as a human figure. The mind remains in a state of suspension, unable to perceive the Reality. That was the state of bewilderment in Sri Rama, who asked for clarification from the assembly of the Sages (Yoga-Vasistha, 1.30.1-9). He says that after seeing the world...

The transience of life, the falsity of worldly pleasures, and the inevitability of death are some of the pertinent issues raised by Sri Rama before the Assembly of the Sages (Yoga-Vasistha, 1.31.1). Sri Rama describes life as fragile as a drop of water on a shaking leaf, seeking to understand how to escape desire and achieve inner peace. The truth is well decorated by delineating the phenomenal world as transient, false, fragile, and illusory, but knowing all these, everybody is in a vain quest to satiate the insatiable desires and drive to fulfil them by becoming ambitious and self-egoistic. The ego's output from its offshoots turns out to be a Frankenstein devouring its originator. In this way, egocentric desires arise from a turbulent mind, driving individuals to seek, acquire, and strive for control over wealth, power, and fame in any area they focus on. Acquire what? Wealth, power, and fame for possession and control. It is unaware that all these desires originate from the bod...

Worldliness as an illusory projection of the mind in its waking or dreaming state gets dissolved accordingly depending on the state of its creation, as the world has no independent existence of its own, teaches Yoga-Vasistha (Book-2, Chapter-12, and Book-7, Chapter-24). The only purpose of worldliness is to create insatiable desires, leading to attachments and bondages with the ephemerality of the transience of the phenomenal world. Ideas and thoughts emanating from the ephemeral body-mind complex recognise only that ephemerality is a finite finitude and is subject to the limited adjuncts of space-time. Eternality is infinite in infinitude and transcends all limitations of space-time. It can only be realised by Self-realisation, or Atmajñāna , or Self-knowledge. Key to the investigation of Atman , or Self, is reasoning that can address it by transcending the sufferings that are offshoots from the objective dimension of birth, growth, decay and dissolution. In order to experience Atmajn...