Part XXXII – Self
realization or God realization
If one asks the question: ‘what do I
have to do to realize that I am Brahman?’ – What
should be the answer? I am Brahman whether I
realize it or not, just as the ring is gold,
whether it recognizes it or not. What does the
ring have to do to become gold? Does it have
to sit down and meditate that ‘I am gold;
I am gold’ etc? Does it have to do some
selfless service or karma yoga, perform some
religious activities, take a dip in the Holy
Rivers or perform sacrifices, etc? None of them
make a ring into gold. It has to simply understand
what it is – it is nothing but pure gold
and ‘ring’ is only a particular form
with that name. There is no substantive other
than gold. One can use some fancy words to take
the ring’s mind off its identification
with its form and name. It is the very essence,
very core of its personality or the very self
(antaryAmin) of the ring or in-dweller of all
the ornaments, which is beyond any modifications
and beyond the birth, growth, decay and destruction
of all names and forms, etc.
mokSha is freedom from limitations. mokSha cannot
be gained or given, nor does it involve going
somewhere, vaikuNTha or kailAsa or eternal heavens,
etc. These all come under the criteria of gaining
something that I do not have. To gain anything
that I do not have, work has to be done. Or it
should be given freely by the compassionate God.
If God is an infinite compassionate being, He
should give mokSha to everyone, so that nobody
need suffer in this universe.
No, No, No! God is full of compassion, but He
can give mokSha only to those who deserve it.
It essentially implies that one has to earn it.
The problem is similar to the one where my boss
distributes promotions to those who deserve them.
If I have to earn or deserve it, then it depends
on my efforts to be on His good-side to deserve
His grace. That which can be given can be taken
back too. One who can promote can also give pink
slips too. If God is some superior being who
punishes those who do not behave and favors those
who follow His will, we reduce the problem back
to a temporal one. The solution, by definition,
will be also temporal only; i.e. limited by space
and time. Obviously these are very elementary
concepts. mokSha or liberation, on the other
hand, is freedom from all limitations. Therefore
it cannot be gained or given.
When Vedanta says that you are Brahman, tat
tvam asi, there is nothing to gain and nowhere
to go. mokSha is not of the type of gaining something
that I do not have (aprAptasya prAptam). It can
only be prAptasya prAptam or gaining something
that I already have, which implies that it is
intrinsic to my own nature; i.e. nobody can give
it, and no one can take it away from me. If I
already have it, then why should I gain mokSha?
True - unless I do not know that I have it. In
that case gaining truly involves understanding
or recognizing or realizing that I am already
Brahman or I am ever Brahman. Therefore it is
not something to do but something to understand
or recognize. Like any other knowledge, in order
to gain self-knowledge or understanding of one’s
true nature, intelligent inquiry into the nature
of the self is required. Here the inquiry is
more subtle than an inquiry used in the analysis
of any objective science, for it is an inquiry
about my true nature or inquiry into the subject,
I, which cannot be objectified. Therefore to
realize I am Brahman, I have to inquire within,
using the methodology outlined in Vedanta. Hence
realization of Brahman or the self within does
not involve any action. Besides, any action being
finite, the result will also be finite. What
we are seeking is infiniteness itself and therefore
it cannot be the product of any finite action
or even a series of finite actions.
Hence, the process involves gaining the knowledge
of the reality of myself and the world that I
experience. It involves recognition that I am
that reality, the substantive for both the subject
I and the object, the world. One cannot become
Brahman; finite cannot become infinite. Hence,
the Vedas declare the truth in the form of an
aphorism: YOU ARE THAT - THAT THOU ART – TAT
TVAM ASI. It is only the recognition that ‘I
am’- the existent-conscious entity that
I am – is in fact Brahman. Hence Vedanta
says ‘the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman – brahma
vit brahmaiva bhavati’. The knower of a
thing cannot become that thing. However the scriptures
say that the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman.
This can happen only if knowing Brahman is knowing
oneself. Hence, it is the self-knowledge or recognition
that ‘I am Brahman - aham brahmAsmi’.
Proceed to the next
essay.
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