It is common experience that though
unconsciously a person superficially identifies the body with his Self, with
sub-conscious awareness he also refers the body as ‘my body’ and never ‘I am
the body’, with an instinctive distinction between the body and his Self.
He associates death to the body and accepts
immortality to himself. Body is the gross sheath which covers the ‘I’, the
subtle Self within. The destruction of the body is not the destruction of the Self
within.
The comprehension of the Self is possible
through upanishadic studies. The ignorance which human beings are in, dealing
with themselves superficially, is due to the influence of the senses on the
Mind, the Self, remaining independent of such influence.
Katha Upanishad confirms that the Self is
not to be searched through senses, because through them, only the outer things
are seen, not the things which are within. Only some men of wisdom seeking life
eternal, turn their visions inward and see the Self.
Therefore, He says further that the existence of
the Self, which is similar to the Prime Existence, is the only object for
enlightenment, being devoid of any attributes, still it is necessary to speak
about it with qualification, since people of dull intellect seek an entity for
realizing Brahman.
The Upanishad (Chandoghya Upanishad) therefore
narrates a legend where both gods and the demons were eager to know their Self
from Prajapati, who speaks to them of the Self, which is free from evil, free
from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger and thirst,
whose and whose thought is the Prime Existence.
They were instructed to observe their individual
reflection in the water. Virochana, king of the demons, seeing his well-adorned
body in the water accepts his body as his Self .
Indra, the presiding deity over Mind, even
though he sees his well adorned body in the waters, reflects and finds no
satisfaction because if the body is adorned and dressed, then the Self would be
deemed to be similarly adorned and dressed;
if the body is tidy, so would the Self be deemed
to be similarly tidy; if the body is blind, so would the Self be deemed to be
similarly blind; if the body is lame, so would the Self be deemed to be
similarly lame and when the body perishes, so would the Self be deemed to be
similarly perish.
When Indra expresses his dis-satisfaction to
Prajapati, he is explained that mortal is the body, controlled by death. But
the same body supports the deathless, bodiless Self. If the Self is constrained
by pleasure and pain, then there would no freedom from pleasure and pain.
Pleasure and pain do not touch the Self, which
rising from the body reaches as supreme light in its original form, without
remembering its association with the body.
Sankara says in Vivekachudamani, that just as
the cluster of clouds created by the heat of the Sun hides the Sun itself,
similarly the ego-sense which originated from the Self covers the very Self.
But when the eye, nose, speech, ear is directed towards space, it is the Self
who sees, smells, speaks, hears, the bodily organs only perform the act of
seeing, smelling etc.
Hence in the world of Brahman, when the bodily
organs cease to be, it is the Self alone that exists. Therefore, one should
understand that Self is not the gross body but something far different, far
subtle and far superior.
One who is enlightened in this manner is not
bound by the body. Sankara says that Self is not a thing to be possessed or to
be dispossessed to be attained or to be renounced but to be experienced and
realized.
Swami
Explains the essence of today’s step with a story
“Ubhayabharathi
was the wife of Mandana Misra, a great scholar in Vedanta. She was a realized
soul. She always used to obey the commands of her husband and perform the
duties ordained on her, as a truthful wife.
One
day, Ubhayabharathi was going along with her disciples to the river Ganga to
take a bath. On the way, she observed a renunciant (sanyasi), who was relaxing
with a dried bottle gourd under his head.
He
was using this as a container for storing drinking water, so he was mindful of
it. Ubhayabharathi saw this renunciant’s attachment to the bottle gourd and
said to her disciples, “Look! This man calls himself a renunciant, but he’s
attached to a bottle gourd, which he keeps under his head as a pillow.”
The
renunciant heard this comment but said nothing. When Ubhayabharathi and her
disciples were returning from the river, he threw away the bottle gourd in
front of them in order to demonstrate that he was not attached to it.
Observing
his action, Ubhayabharathi remarked, “I thought there was only one defect in
him, namely, attachment (abhimana). Now I realize that he has another defect
also, i.e. ego (ahamkara). How can one with attachment and ego become a
wise person and renunciant?”
Her
comment was an eye opener to the renunciant. He expressed gratitude to
Ubhayabharati for imparting true knowledge of renunciation to him.
Ubhayabharathi
then explained to him further, “The whole world is illusory. There are several
objects in this world that are attracting people, but they are not outside.
They are all the reflection of one’s inner thoughts. They are created by the
person themself. You develop attachment to the physical body.
Later
on, you yourself will discard the body. You are the one who develops attachment
to the body, and you are again the one who will discard the body. Developing
attachment to the body or discarding it — both are the result of your
delusion.
You
are developing body delusion. Hence, discard body delusion and develop
attachment to Divinity (Daivabhimana). The body is a temple of God. Consider
the Indweller in the body as the supreme Lord (Devadi deva).”
The
body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or later but the
indweller has neither birth nor death.
The
indweller has no attachment whatsoever and is the eternal witness. Truly
speaking, the indweller, who is in the form of Atma, is verily God Himself.”
(From Sathya Sai Speaks,
Divine Discourse delivered on 18.8.2006)
Love.
