Atman, Brahman (Self)

From the four Vedas come these four mahavakyas (great utterances). They are to be meditated upon:

• Pradyanam Brahma: divine Wisdom Light is God, i.e., the Light of Truth is God.
• Ayam Atma Brahma: this Self is Brahman, this Atman is Brahman. This true Self is Brahman.
• Tat twamasi: That thou art, thou art That.
• Aham Brahmasmi: I am that I AM.

The Upanishads teach:

Pradyanam Brahma, the illumined intellect, that illumination is Brahman. This light which is constantly dwelling in the center of our being, this Paramatma within everyone, that is God. Verily, all this is God. Sarvam brahmaamayam jagat: all this is pervaded by Brahman. Sarvam kalvidam Brahma: there is nothing else other than God.

Our Self, the Atman is emperor. God is hiding in our own heart as the Emperor of all the cosmos, but when you are bound here as if, suffocated as if with ego and negativity, embodied, He is not contented. This is why no one is happy. We want to be masters and not slaves. That is our true nature. Until we have that freedom, we cannot be happy anywhere.

Until then, there will be agony. Oh, I haven't yet attained. I haven't yet seen. That agony, that adhyatmaka tapa, that affliction will be there. But if you do daily your spiritual sadhana (disciplines), you will have great contentment. You will say, hey! Whatever it is, God or kingdom or Self, I don't care anymore. Because while doing the sadhana, you realize the Truth automatically. Truth will come to you automatically. And this is why you have one satisfaction: whether God is there or not, I am constantly dwelling in that state of consciousness. That is your contentment. You are walking toward the destination.

God has you under control now; because when you walk towards Him, He runs towards you. As long as you chant His Holy Name, repeat all your life the holy formula, so long you are on the freeway. You cannot lose track at all. You are bound to attain God-realization. God is bound to come to you. You have to reach Him, He has to reach you, definitely.

There is an Upanishad called Svetashvatara (the name of a sage). It begins with a wonderful question asked by seven masters reaching their guru, their Satguru, and sitting at his feet. He is in silence. The other seven disciples, who have also attained Master Consciousness, are discussing God.

They begin with the question, what is the cause of this whole universe? By what power does it abide and move and have its being? Where is its source? Why are we here? Where is everything going? From where did it come? Thus the question. And each one of them intellectually came up with certain answers which they began discussing.

One says, "I know, the source of the Universe is Time (kala). All the other masters now began wondering. Is it so? Is Time the source of the universe? The beginning and ending of certain events, for example, the passage of life between birth and death we understand as time. Time could have another, higher meaning in the Cosmic Clock, but, in the context of change of events, those that are taking place in the world, time may be the criterion, time may be the beginner and ender of things which are produced by kinetic Nature with Her triple modes. It may be the source of things which are visible by the combination of one or two or three gunas (qualities of Nature). Or the combination of ether, air, fire, water, earth. It may cause integration and disintegration, so therefore the principle of movement and change you might call time.

But when a man attains superconsciousness state, during meditation, he transcends time. The plenitude of the Spirit, or the Atman, is beyond time. It has neither a beginning nor end, because it is not a compound, a combination of things to integrate or disintegrate in time. It is ajo (unborn), nityaha, (eternal), shasvatoyam (permanent). Through changing events, it remains always unchangeable as the witness consciousness.

So the other sages argued, how can you decide Time is the source of creation? It has some partial truth in it, but it is not a statement which stands forever or in all states of consciousness. Even when you sleep, you go beyond time. You cannot say if time has passed, even though you can time it. When you are enjoying the sleep, when you are in deep sleep, you have no sense of time, space or causation. Because your mind is resting at that time. Likewise in samadhi, you transcend time.

In the world of relativity, time may have a very important role to play. The pure consciousness state, though, is something beyond time. Time is not an intelligent principle. It is a rhythm created by an Intelligent Being. And that is why the One who has created the rhythmic Time should be something different than it, that is, beyond time, or of a timeless dimension. The other sages said, OM, OM, OM. Ok, it should be that way.

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Like this, the Upanishad intellectually argues so beautifully. It's not just mysticism but something very scientific. So many years and billions of dollars scientists spend just to find out "what is time?" We know it is not just a clock; your clock may stop, your battery may die, but time continues and time, duration, distance, these also have so much to do. We are meditating here and in India they are having morning breakfast right now. On the East coast, many friends might already be snoring. There is a time difference in the higher hierarchy also. Even though the world of relativity, the world of change is set to that time by the Creator of time, still man has been given a privilege to go beyond time, space and causation because his essence is spirit.

Another sage spoke, saying the cause of this universe is the inherent nature of everything (svabhava). Suppose this is a flower and it has a type of seed, and that seed contains some potential inherent thing to become such and such a plant or a tree. Thus, as per the inherent nature in every seed, it will be. Unless otherwise changed by man's intelligence, a mango seed will bring a mango tree, a jackfruit will make a jackfruit tree or an apple seed an apple tree as per the seed. So everything has something inherent, its source, called svabhava, in it. As per that, things grow. And others began discussing, it is true, it is true, in the world of relativity. But that svabhava, the inherent principle in anything, is not intelligent consciousness itself. Even though consciousness is sleeping or dormant, it is in everything including a rock. Though it is inconscient, it is there.

There is a story in Ramayana, of a beautiful lady called Ahalya who emerged from a rock when the touch of the pollen of the dust of the feet of Sri Rama came and released her consciousness from its bondage. It is symbolic to say that all this is nothing but consciousness. Due to different velocities, one is called matter, the other called mind, a third, spirit. Neither time nor svabhava can be considered the source of the universe. Even though, in the field of relativity, in duality, it has some truth in it, still, neither is the source.

Upanishad is the science of spirit. In the midst of discussion--just like the rubbing of two pieces of wood suddenly brings the spark of fire (because fire is inherent in the firewood)--like that is the spiritual discussion known as satsanga. In satsanga, as you discuss on Atman, the repeated glancing blows of wisdom cause a spark of the fire of knowledge to ignite a blaze of illumination or enlightenment.

A third sage gave another answer. Saying, all this is caused by nirathi (chance). This whole universe is following chance. By chance everything is flood. By chance two days later, it is Indian summer. You don't know what luck will be tomorrow. Like that. Many times, when you purchase a lottery ticket or purchase a business or try a partnership, you come across this problem. You are waiting for some Ganesha, some "god of luck," somebody to come and bless you. So you choose to take a chance. There is a law. It may look like chance, but definitely it is the operation of a law. The result is visible, but the cause is lying somewhere hidden. When you say "just" chance or "just" luck, neither "just falls" from somewhere; it has its seed somewhere else. The results of the good deeds, the noble thoughts you thought are germinating. Again, chance is in the field of relativity, so it cannot explain everything.

Another said, I know! Karma is the source of the entire creation. And all of them discussed that for a long period. The statement has such tremendous truth in it, that is, that everything happens through karma. We have always spoken about 80% predestined karma. The whole field of the entire creation has come out of divine karma.

Thus the sages who have gathered in front of Svetashvatara talk about time, talk about chance, and talk about karma. Finally it is decided that even karma could be ended by the realization of Truth, by sacrifice of the ego. It could not be the source of the universe.

As long as ego is, so long karma, duality and its consequences can attach to it. If the ego is sacrificed, there is no karma whatsoever. A man becomes perfect while living in this body. That is through samadhi, the superconscious state.

All seven sages who were sitting in front of their guru, this Mahamouni, the great silent sage, finally decided to enter into deep meditation. And in that deep meditation they saw all their emotions, all their duality of mind, time, space, causation, everything transcended in that peak experience. In the depth of their being, they saw the ego humbled and become a non-entity.

When they touched the Truth, they saw something wonderful. All seven of them in front of the Master had the same experience. They saw the Wheel of Law, the Dharmachakra and three circles around it, the Sri Yantra (Sri Chakra)--the gross, the subtle, the causal. They saw electron, proton and neutron. They saw sattva, rajo and tamo guna, Prakriti, the primordial energy. And they saw the center of that circle is the Blue Light, the Infinite Consciousness, the support of the entire creation, independent of everything and everyone and the only One independent Reality. Being infinite, It is One without a second.

The sages emerged from this experience and the master blessed all seven disciples with this word: Ekam evam advidhiyam Brahma. That is the realization with which they emerged from meditation.

"Ekam evam advidhiyam Brahma"--God is One without a second, the only independent Reality there is, and nothing else is. Within, without, above, below. Time, space, causation, everything is created by that One Infinite Truth. It pervades time, space and causation, too, as the Purushottama principle. As the Purushasukta discusses in the Veda: "A thousand eyes, a thousand arms, a thousand feet," is the description of the Infinite. That Purushottama principle is holding, sustaining all this. That is the only independent Reality.

That Infinite Truth is the fullness, Purnamada. And this fullness has come from that Fullness. Even after this fullness, the world, is extracted from that Fullness, all this fullness merging in that transcendental, eternal Infinite Fullness, that Fullness alone remains. Always. So to realize this fullness in everything, like the sun reflecting in every pond fully, like that the Truth reflecting in every soul is fullness. It is fully manifesting in everything, and everything is filled with It, and It fills everything. Inside, outside, above, below. Even after filling everything, It is transcendental, It is growing. This breathing, bellows-like universe is really the Purushottama. All this is life. All this is energy, which is the manifestation of that Pure Consciousness that is Brahman.

Essentially behind the matter (the body), behind the mind (the duality), you are that Light, that immortal, immutable Being: Tat tvamasi: That thou art. Thus the bold philosophy of the Upanishad brings that Truth for which you are searching. In Reality, Atman is our own true Self. That Paramatman is hiding within the heart of all beings.

The true nature of the Self is That.

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The Katha Upanishad continues with an examination of timeless questions.

The father of Natchiketas was observing a great yajna (ritual sacrifice). He had already given much time and effort to it. On the concluding day, it is his duty to offer a great dakshina (donation) to the brahmana (the priests) in the form of cows. He had so many robust, young and wonderful cows, but even after giving 'til then all that charity, and performing the fire ceremony properly, when the time came to do the final noble gift to the sages who were conducting the yajna, he became greedy.

His fire-like son, Natchiketas, shining like a pure flame, saw that his daddy, who was so great, now had become so small. Instead of giving good cows to the brahmana, he was giving dry, old, barren cows who did not yield milk.

The son approached his father because he knew that such a great yajna would be of no use unless he did the dhana (charity) with a proper heart. He began asking, "Dear father, it is said in the Vedas that during such a yajna, you have to give that which is best. Would you kindly tell me whom you love more than me?"

His father was silent. Silence is consent.

"So you agree with me that you love me best. Therefore, I am the best gift to be given to the brahmana. Do not give barren cows. To whom will you give me?" Natchiketas persisted.

Father was becoming agitated, but remained silent. For a third time, Natchiketas asked, "To whom will you give me? Why do you not answer?"

His Father burst out, saying, "I give you to the god of death, Yama!"

It is like when you get angry and upset with those whom you love and suddenly--you don't mean it in your heart, but--you say, "why don't you die!" You really don't mean it, but in that agony, you say it. Like that, though the father loved his son so much, because he was such a great sage, his words of anger carried such a powerful vibration that they immediately caused his son to be carried away to the abode of death.

Well then, all of a sudden, Natchiketas saw he was in the abode of death. One day, one night, two days, two nights, three days, three nights disappeared. Yama, lord of the region, was absent. But when he returned, he saw standing there, like a fire, like a pure flame, this brahmana boy shining like a deity. Yama, the god of death who is a terror to all souls, was himself perspiring before this brahmana boy of Self-realization.

He immediately called for water and offered it reverently to the boy's feet and hands. He said, "O my divine guest, I am not afraid of the thunderbolt of Indra, the trident of Shiva, nor the disc of Krishna, but I am terribly afraid of the curse from a realized being. O brahmana, please do not curse me for my absence. I made you wait without food, without water. I want to please you. Ask of me any three boons or gifts of your choice."

Natchiketas smiled, "O Yama, you said that three boons you are going to confer on me. I have a duty to my parents who have given me this body. My father is very upset, his sleep is disturbed, as well as his eating, by my absence there. He is very unhappy for what he said. So please bless him with peace so that he can sleep well, eat well and remain peaceful."

Yama said, "Tatastu (so be it)." A vibration came as a wave of bliss and made the father to sleep well, eat well and attain a great peace. (That shows duty to the parents.)

"What is the second boon?"

Natchiketas said, "O presiding deity over the southern direction, they say there is a secret wisdom of the mystic fire known as Agnividya. By knowing this secret of that sacred Agnividya, the knowledge of the mystic fire, one would know not only the departed souls in the astral world, but the celestial world and all the upper lokas, higher hierarchy, the nature of the angels, archangels, progenitors, seven mind-born sons of Brahma, and the secret of all the lokas. Would you be kind enough to teach me that Agnividya?"

Yama said, "I want to please you, brahmana. Of course, I will."

And now the Upanishad is so wonderful. In the midst of this revealing dialogue, it keeps certain things a secret. What can I do? Because Yama taught that wisdom to Natchiketas in a whisper, in his ear, the Agnividya. It is not elaborated in the text. He taught the Agnividya secretly into the ear of Natchiketas. I heard it during that time. I was there during that time. You can take it as a joke, or you can take it seriously, any way you like. You were also there, all of us were there.

Because it, the mystic fire, is the secret which is taught in the Bible as the burning bush, the mystic fire, the law of God, the third eye, the law of the lokas. But I won't tell you, you know. I cannot. It was given in an initiation in a whisper. But there is a time when this mystic fire, this wonderful revelation, will come to you.

Finally, he asked Natchiketas for the last boon. The boy asked, "my Master, Yamadharmaraja, some people say that after death, nothing survives the body. Some say, something which is incapable of death survives. I have also heard in the Vedas that you are the first person to die and that God appointed you as the head of the world of death. So, O god of death, I would like to have the first-hand information from you directly.

"I want to know, is there a soul which is going to live, whether it is in the body or without a body? What is the nature of that soul before it entered into the body; where is it located in the body while living? Where does it go when a man dies? As you are the one who pulls the soul from the body of everybody at the time of departure or send your messengers to do that job, I would like to know the secret of the soul, the secret of the Self or Brahman. I want to know the secret of Atman and Paramatman.

"There cannot be another person to enlighten me as you could, because you are the master of that abode where all souls have to go. The judgment has to take place through you, whether they go to the meritorious lokas or to the hells. Or whether they return again to the abode of duality and misery. Kindly, enlighten me. That is the third boon which I want from you."

Yamadharmaraja scratched his head, removed the crown from his head and said, "Natchiketas, do you want me to be laid off from my job? Do you want me and my messengers not to have any more employment? If you hear the secret of the Self, and through you it reaches the whole humanity, then no soul at any time would come under my jurisdiction. They would all be reaching Self-realization and have only the Kingdom of Heaven! My loka would be empty! Right now, it is filled and I am building more space for all the souls to come. But all this would be finished.

"Natchiketas, you are so young, you are so beautiful, you have to grow, you have to marry, you should enjoy this life. If you want, millions of celestial nymphs I will make dance and sing for you. If you want to live for millions of years in this body, I will have it be so. You will live as long as you want. You will have every type of bhoga (enjoyment), but please Natchiketas, do not ask me this one question and that is to know the nature of the soul and its goal."

Natchiketas answers and this is so beautiful, tens of thousands of years before Christ Jesus said, 'man cannot live by bread alone, but by the Word of God', Natchiketas says the utterance, "material wealth (bread), nothing in this world, can permanently satisfy the human being but the wisdom of the Self. Therefore, all which you promised--celestial ladies dancing, millions of years of life span, wealth, all that which you offered, why don't you have all those? Because even after thousands or millions of years of enjoying these things, I will still have the fear of death. With fear, how can anyone enjoy? That is why I want the wisdom which makes man fearless.

"For I know that someday, you will be the ender of everything impermanent. I want that wonderful plenitude where you do not have jurisdiction, where death cannot penetrate, the citadel of immortality. Kindly teach me that wisdom of Atman, knowing which a man while living in this body could remain always peaceful and happy, realizing his immortality. Like a snake sloughing his skin, he will be capable of giving up his ego and remain in the truth of his own Self. Teach me that Atmajnana, Paramatma Sakshatkara, that Self-realization."

Yamadharmaraja blessed Natchiketas and said, "My son, I tested you and you have passed. You only want the truth."

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The god of death continued. "Two are the ways, one is the good, another is the pleasant. In the beginning, everyone claims they prefer the way of goodness. Later, because good need not be pleasant, one undergoes several torments and feels, I am not yet ready. He may take to the way of the pleasant. Pleasant need not be always good. Good may not always need be pleasant, even though good could be absolute bliss and peace with a lot of agony and crucifixion to the ego and the flesh.

"These two paths are known as shreya (the good) and preya (that which is enjoyable and pleasant). You have taken the way of shreya, the supreme good, the way of Self-realization. As you are deeply interested, I have decided to tell you the nature of the soul and its goal.

"This body is a chariot. The senses (indriyas) are turbulent, restless horses. Intellect (meaning the determinating or discriminating mind, buddhi) is the charioteer or the driver. The mind is the reins. Lord of the chariot, Boss of the chariot and charioteer alike, is the Self, Atman, God within.

"Most of the time, the horses are undisciplined and the charioteer is drunk. The Boss, as a silent witness inside, is tossed about you can see by the senses which pull this way and that without the permission of the driver. They pull the driver, the chariot, the reins, the Boss and everybody which leads to great misery, pain and fall.

"If the guidance towards the destination is followed by the driver (the intellect), which happens through contemplation, meditation, prayer and introverting the intellect, it receives the intuitive light of the Boss, the Lord of the chariot, the Atman, the Self. Then the senses, body, mind, ego, everything will be under perfect control. It is the death of Death. Then there is illumined intellect, illumined mind, serenity, peace, true love and joy.

"A man practicing the triple austerities or tapas, is able to comprehend the Atman or the Self in deep meditation. The three austerities are of the body, speech and mind.

"To go before the masters, to keep the body clean by the practice of yoga, bathing, diet and prayer, time and again prostrating before God, worshiping God, now and then fasting and praying and helping the needy and the poor: these are the austerities of the body.

"Speaking to the the point, speaking the truth, speaking as per the will of God, speaking with the resonance of the Atman, rhythm of the dharma, wishing good to everybody, is the austerity of the tongue.

"Meditation, grasping the esoteric or inner meaning of the holy scriptures, and vibrating in all actions peace to everybody is the austerity of the mind.

"By tapasya, a man purifies the body, mind, intellect and his heart. When the heart is purified, then the Self is revealed. You hear this in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". All yoga, all teaching, all practice and disciplines are towards the spirit of heart. And when the heart is pure, the Truth reveals Himself. Like in a pure mirror, your face reflects beautifully.

"Natchiketas, though clouds and birds constantly move and fly in all-pervading ethereal space, the space, being all-pervading, allows all these things to move and have their being in it yet remains uncontaminated; even though the fire takes different forms of the fuel while it burns, at the same time it converts every form and name into fire. The fire remains uncontaminated by the things which are thrown into it.

"Likewise is the Self, Atman, dwelling in the body. A tamasic man may
feed the body or his mind with so many filthy things, and the mind may be filled with so many filthy desires allowing all these things to happen. Still, the luster of the immortal Atman never gets contaminated at any time. It is always the same: indestructible, invincible.

"It is the spirit of God coursing through the life-breath or prana. It has the name pranava or OM. Inhale Om, exhale Om, knowing that Om is the symbol, the word, for universal consciousness. By realizing Om, by repeating Om, several times orally, several times mentally and then to dwell in that Om consciousness is the way of meditation.

"Meditate on the Self as light, the Self as sound. Inhale the light, exhale the sound. Om is the bow. Your soul is the arrow. God, the Self, Brahman, the Soul of all the souls, is the target.

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"Life is a battle. So pull this Om bow by the string of pranayama, rhythmic breathing, and knowing the target is God, let your soul--like the arrow hitting the target--dissolve in Brahman in meditation, never again to return to the round of rebirth. Attaining that universal consciousness, it becomes one with Brahman. That is the goal, Natchiketas, through which man transcends good and bad.

"Truly speaking, reading, listening and repeating all these things are a great help, but the truth is, when we purify, through these efforts, Atman chooses the sincere ones and reveals Himself to them. Whosoever Atman chooses, to him is the revelation, and Atman chooses those who choose the Atman. Blessed are those who choose this path for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Natchiketas, there are five covers to this Self. Man has five bodies. It begins with the food sheath, annamaya kosha. Next is the vital sheath, pranamaya kosha. Then there is the mental sheath, manomaya kosha. Next the intellect sheath, vijnanamaya kosha. Lastly, there is the bliss sheath, anandamaya kosha. These are the five coats, the five veils, five sheaths inside which the soul, the Atma, is dwelling.

"When we fill the food sheath non-discriminatingly, the veil becomes so thick that we cannot perceive the Atman. We perceive only the body. By timely fasting and the selection of sattvic foods, and by offering prayers for purification of the food sheath, and by offering the food to God, then the same is purified. Food eaten as just food brings karma and veil. Food offered to God and then partaken as prasad purifies the body and the mind.

"The second sheath is the vital sheath. Prana is the life-breath. So many counts of prana is given to each individual as per his past karma. And when that karma exhausts, that prana also exhausts. Then no matter whether we put that body under oxygen or in a hospital or whatever, the prana cannot stay anymore.

"Prana is not the breath, the visible side of prana. Though the breath may be controlled, the prana may not leave the body. Therefore, breath itself is not the prana. But the prana is the power of the Atman which moves the lungs to inhale and exhale. It is the cosmic life. And breath is the symbol of that. Yet through the breath, God has given a silken thread to catch the prana. All that is needed to realize Him, He Himself has given. Breath and mantra, breath and the Om, breath and the affirmation go together.

"One who does the mantra along with proper breathing has his mind steady always. And by such pranayama along with mantra, the word of the guru, the rhythm of the Universe, the word potent with the power of God, then the pranamaya kosha, the second body is conquered and purified. The mind sheath is very confusing. It is very near to the vital sheath and food sheath. The vitality and food partaken tosses the mind. That is why a lot of "mental food" in the form of satsanga, listening to the words of wisdom, reading the holy scriptures, practicing concentration, and filling the mind with sattvic vibrations purifies the mental sheath.

"Though the intellect sheath is the determinating, discriminating part, if it is receiving orders from the ego and not the Self, instead of illumination, there will be hallucination. Prompted by ego, many a man does wrong thinking that God is telling him. That is the danger, obstacle, in the path of spirituality. Let a man very clearly find out by illumining his intellect through the Gayatri mantra which enlightens. Let him purify his intellect by 'dhiyo yonaha prachodayat' and the study of the Upanishads. By listening to the words of jnana, the wisdom, the intellect gets introverted.

"Intellect extroverted, Natchiketas, is the seat of ego. The more intellectual you become, if it is extroverted or outward-directed intellect, there is the possibility that you may become puffed up with pride. Knowing that extroverted intellect is the seat of ego, ruling over the intellect, ruling over the mind, taking the entire jurisdiction of the senses, beware! The ego wants the soul to forget God and to supply everything for the aggrandizement and arrogant fulfillment of its wishes. Even though the soul may rotate and revolve in birth-death cycle, the ego only wants to grasp everything that is possible for its own immediate creature comfort.

"It is difficult to humble the ego and introvert the intellect, but when the guru speaks the scripture, the holy word of God, then it penetrates. Then the intellect is taken inward. We have a peep into the Divine. Thereafter, the words are to be reflected upon, to be recalled again and again until the mind is established in the truth, until the intellect is introverted and ready always for contemplation.

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"Then there is a final obstacle known as the bliss sheath. Even though its name is bliss, still it is not the pure bliss of Atman. It is also a sheath, a transparent shackle. It is called bliss sheath because it is very near to the blissful Atman. The blissful Atman is covered by this thin veil called the anandamaya kosha. But do you know what kind of bliss this sheath brings? It is the bliss of sleep. Not of samadhi.

"In sleep, also, you forget the entire world. You forget your ego, you forget all the problems, etc. But when you return, all the problems are still there waiting for you. That is not the case in samadhi. So this bliss sheath is also to be transcended. In the bliss sheath, the ego rests every night (or whenever it sleeps). When that sloth is also transcended by purifying the consciousness--not by going beneath the consciousness but by going above the ego--that is superconsciousness.That is samadhi. Face to face with Reality. This Self is the illuminating principle. It is the Shining One in the city of nine doors, this body.

"While the soul encompassed by the five sheaths and the ego rests or is dreaming or is wakeful, it is operating in the causal, astral and physical dimensions, for the five sheaths constitute the three important bodies. The vital and food sheaths make the gross body or the physical. The mental and intellectual sheaths make the astral or subtle body. The bliss sheath makes the causal. So the soul, embodied with adjuncts and desires, encompassed by ego, operates the physical during the wakeful, operates the astral during the dream, operates the causal during the sleep.

"But when the soul with the ego and desires rests or moves in these triple states of consciousness, the Atman, Paramatma, Parabrahma, Soul of all the souls, the Self, never sleeps. It is always sitting in the heart as the silent witness. The course of the blood, keeping of the pulse, growth of the tissues, digestion of the food, continuance of the memory, nothing is stopped because of the presence of that silent witness. That alone is present during the deep sleep state. That alone gives the light for the ego to see the dream.

"What is the light with which the soul and the ego sees the dream? The eyes are closed. Is there a sun or a moon? That light is the silent witness. He operates as Taijasanama Bhagavan. And when the man comes back again to the physical, immediately memory continues, the egotistic identity with things external continues. By purification, the divine dream, the light of the Atman itself, as God, Guru, can manifest in the dream and change the entire course of our lives.

"But when a man enters into that intuitive light of the Atman, then the triple walls of the three states are broken. Once you realize the truth, the light of the Atman dissolves all barriers. Even though there could be a thin ego for the maintenance of the world order and to finish the karma of the predestined body, you stay in that body as a witness and allow the body to operate the wakeful, dream, deep sleep states, etc., but there is no wall now. When the ego rests, you are not resting. You are conscious of the witness.

"Previously, you were conscious only of the body and when the body rested, you were not conscious. Now awareness continues in all three states of consciousness. Under all circumstances, there is no forgetfulness of the truth. So with that awareness, even though performing duties, you are not contaminated. Your works have no power to bind your soul again to bring you in the round of rebirth. An added charm to your personality, a luster to your face and eyes, nectar in your words and speech, and all that which you touch and do will have the blessings of the Atman."

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Thus the god of Death spoke the wisdom of the Atman in great detail in the Upanishad. Those who hear more and more about the Spirit find no charm to the world of ego, duality and senses. They would renounce this world and become like Natchiketas. That is the main purpose of life anyway. After staying in the plane of earth-planet for some time, all of us have to renounce because the truth is revealed only by renunciation of the lower self.

It could be a mental process, it can have a physical appearance as well, so that in both outer and inner, you are settled. And that is the real life, the true life. Natchiketas listened to this meditation and entered into transcendental consciousness. He brought the blessing to the entire humanity of a wisdom to transcend death and become immortal. God bless you all to realize the Atman in this very life and become the torchbearers of spirituality and universal consciousness.

Atman, your spirit which belongs to God Himself and is God Himself manifests in your soul as Universal Spirit. Atman is unborn, Atman has no change, Atman can never die. People have not yet prepared a nuclear weapon which can destroy your spirit. There is no way that Spirit could be diminished, covered with anything, destroyed by any weapon or drenched by water. There is no way that the unchangeable, indestructible can change or be destroyed at any time.

Just now I was reading a sentence from Swami Sivananda. He was telling people who tell you to get up at such and such a time, hold your nose in such and such a way, stand on your head for so many minutes, eat only such and such food, or dress only in a given way, or chant only this mantra, are known as "the Guides."

But the Satguru is one, Sivananda writes very beautifully, who cannot wait for all of you to reach the Kingdom right this moment. Therefore, he sees your extreme goodness, leaving everything behind, telling that you are the chosen one.

Everyone will definitely get confused when one has met Satguru because he will be speaking the same thing to everybody. And each individual will think, "oh, I am very special in his eyes." And if you tell your news to some other, he will say, 'he said the same thing to me'. The meaning is that each one is special for certain works. Each one contains the same kingdom, the same truth within. People don't believe for a number of years, unfortunately, no matter how many times you remind them, "you are immortal spirit, you are called for this mission, you are God in flesh."

What blasphemy! Gasp, look at the utter blasphemy! "I am a sinner. I am a wretched sinner. I'm the most wretched sinner." Of course, you have to tell that. To whom? To your ego. Welcome. But don't tell that to your spirit! That will be the greatest sin!

Tell your ego, hold him, squeeze him, tell him "Hey, ego, you are the most wretched sinner in me. Get out!" Like that you can tell, you are welcome to. But do not identify, do not label your spirit, then your soul will be lost, because that is not its nature. Its nature is amara (immortal), ananda (bliss). That is its nature. It cannot die because it is not born; soul is never born. It is one with God. Therefore, it cannot die. Bodies are born, therefore bodies are going to die. That which is born is going to die. That which is unborn is incapable of death.

And you are that unborn, eternal, deathless principle. Until you train your mind to realize that, I can dip you in the Ganges, I can make you drink the holy water of the Ganges, I can take you to the top of the Himalayas or the top of Mt. Shasta, I can don you with ocher robes, I can shave your head, or I can give you the Gayatri thread, but you will be the same old, rotten evil ego, unless this light of knowledge is carried.

You go through palmistry, astrology or anything, these lines, important lines which are written will be there, you know. Therefore, a number of years, you will be you if you identify yourself with the ego, but if you identify yourself with the Truth, free thou shalt be. This moment, money-back guarantee. This is the Truth. Identification with the truth requires some strength. That strength comes to you from initiation, which means inspiration and therefore this is like bathing. You take a shower in the bathroom; your soul takes a shower here in satsang.

This is a shower for everybody. Here everyone definitely, simultaneously takes a shower, because of this jnana (wisdom) which your soul wants so much to hear. Why not listen to the words of truth and identify with that?

If you have a cold, you'll be telling me--showing me your nose as if you are nose--"I have a cold." You have forgotten your entire personality and squeezed it by identifying it with two nostrils, as if you are your two nostrils. If one thought in your entire, dynamic personality is troubled, immediately you'll be identifying with that thought. You will say, "Oh I should not live anymore. There is no meaning to this life!" You identify with that one weak moment, forgetting your eternal nature.

The Upanishad says, Hey! You identify with the wrong "I". That is why you say "I-dentify". Now -dentify with your real I, which is the Atman. If you really identify with that true I, then come what may, you'll know that you are the immortal spirit. That is the main teaching of the Upanishads. That is the foundation. If this repeated utterance of the masters some day penetrates into the veil and enters into your inner ear and remains there forever enshrined, then you are enlightened. Then you are illumined.

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You have heard how a lioness, pregnant, leapt over a herd of sheep, gave birth to a cub and unfortunately died. The cub which was born there, because it only had the surroundings of sheep, identified itself with the sheep, thought that it was a sheep, ate grass like the sheep, even bleated like sheep. It never heard the roar of a lion. One day, a Himalayan Lion saw that one of its kind was eating grass and bleating like a sheep. The Himalayan Lion, the Guru-Lion, saw from a distance that this young one was confused.

"But it belongs to my line!", he exclaimed. "Due to environment, it is hallucinating, forgetting its true nature and thinking it is a sheep. Oh, how long can I tolerate this! One who is of my line, of my nature, of my strength, of my stature, living in this darkness?" So the Guru-Lion waited for an opportunity.

At just the right time, he jumped over the herd of sheep and picked up the young one. Because of the hallucination that it was a sheep, the cub immediately started bleating. But the Guru-lion kept telling the cub, "Look! You are my baby. You are immortal. You are a lion!"

"No, no. I am a sheep," said the baby weakly.

"NO, you are lion!", said the Guru firmly.

"No, I am sheep!" the cub affirmed again.

The Guru-Lion was holding the cub, the disciple. And the disciple was trying to identify with the ego: I am a sinner, I am gone, I need this, I need that for peace. Oh, I am lost. I am unhappy.

"NO! No, your nature is happiness. You are the king among beasts. You are a lion!"

"No!" squealed the cub, "no amount of Vedanta can convince me!"

So the Lion brought the cub to a lake. And the Lion peeked into the reflection and asked the cub, "Hey, look now into my reflection." The cub peered into the waters.

"Come on, look at me now."

"I am afraid, I am a sheep."

"Don't be afraid, look at me! You are me. I am you. Look at me."

"O.K. I'll look."

"Now look at the reflection. Does the reflection and the reality look the same?"

"Almost the same, sir."

"OK, now look at your reflection."

"AH!"

"And now, look at my reflection and look at me. Do you look also the same?"

"Yah ...!" said the cub meekly.

"Don't bleat like that! Say YAH! Roar!!"

The cub again tried but still it sounded much like a sheep. Several times it looked at the reflection--through the waters of discrimination and devotion--and reflected through meditation whether it is the Self or not. This is what the Guru-Lion taught to the cub. It took a long time to listen, reflect and meditate. It chanted and did the japa. Now the Guru-Lion said, "chant OM."

The cub tried and said a weak facsimile. "Uhm. Oom. Omm." In several ways, it tried. It took many more months to train, but finally one day, it was really repeating like the Guru. It realized its true nature, I am the Lion, and then it roared, "OM!"

Lashing its tail, making an earthquake, this little one jumped everywhere when it realized, "I AM!"

You catch the message? We are under the delusion that we are the ego, the emotions, and we identify ourselves with all our weaknesses. Identifying with a weakness, you give any amount of tonic and vitamins, it will not do any good. You meditate on darkness for any number of years, how can you reach the Light?

You walk towards God. Instantaneously in the initiation, you may be one with Reality. This is why you must have the affirmation:

Once the young one of the lion realized its true nature, it became irresistible. When you know that you are inexhaustible, invincible, invulnerable in your true nature, that affirmation, that asserting and identifying yourself with the Self, or the true Atman, the Truth behind all manifestations, means you are realized while living in this body. You become irresistible. Compassion and kindness, love and knowledge flow through you. You become an instrument in the hand of Father-Mother God. That is the goal. That is a permanent healing for all the hearers, a permanent healing from the birth-death cycle.

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A great Vaishnava saint (devotee of Vishnu) says, 'O Destroyer of duality, having been born as a human being by Your grace, the crest jewel, the crown of life is to realize Paramatma, the true Self within. My soul is tired of this round of rebirth, so in this life, let all the maya, veils of ignorance and karma disappear! Please give me Your darshan. Let me come face to face with Reality and merge in universal Spirit.'

To constantly engage our tongue, our heart, our mind with the Holy Name, that is the great meditation. In dream, in deep sleep, all the time to have the meditation on the mantra, on the vibration of the Word of God. That Word of God, the mantra, is going to make you realize God, because Word is God. Om is Brahman. We have to prepare the entire life, day after day, reducing, reducing, reducing our attachment, knowing that this is impermanent, this is going to bring pain, enough. Enough, I have seen enough. Let me try to love everyone with pure, detached love, selfless love, divine love. That alone is permanent.

Otherwise, when the change comes, the pain also comes. One has to realize, undergoing all the pain, to reduce the desires, the attachments. Then, the fewer our desires, the more peace we enjoy, until finally, all desires are conquered. Then we go beyond good and bad and realize the Atman or Paramatman while living in this body. To have His darshan, to have our soul clasp His feet forever, to have Him become All-beloved where everything else pales into insignificance, that is indeed a most blessed moment.

This is why the Bible and all world scriptures teach 'Hear now, love thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy strength.' The great masters teach, when the mind is wedded to God our Lord--like St. Theresa, St. Catherine and St. John to Jesus Christ, like the gopis and Radha to Lord Sri Krishna, like Akamahadevi to Lord Shiva--when God becomes our All-beloved, the soul sees God face to face and receives the embrace, the kiss of the Lord, and merges in the holy feet of the Lord. That is moksha, liberation.

By the power of prayer, meditation and the Upanishad jnana, we have to reach this state. Make this your prayer, "You are my beloved, You are my beloved, O God." Repeat this prayer of commitment to God, to Truth, to Love, to the most beloved One, the Source and the substratum, the home from where all the souls have emerged. The tired soul, after a long journey of lives with desires, time and again coming under the clutches of death, wants to get back to its home, its permanent home, the abode of peace. Finally, by the grace of the teachings, the commandments, the Upanishad, the knowledge, the Veda, a higher energy comes to say goodbye to the world of duality. Even though you dwell in the midst of everything, mentally you are detached from its agony.

The life experience is very beautiful now, as if a lower bird has come under the rich, dazzling golden-hued plumage of the wings of an upper bird, the Paramatma. The Paramatma bird, with its golden wings covers you. You are merged in that. And the beauty is, now you do not see two birds anymore. The lower bird, coming nearer and nearer to the higher bird has merged in it, as if it was always one. But due to mind and ego, it looked like two. Now when that ignorance is gone, the enlightenment has come, and you realize your unity with Truth.

The Veda speaks of what happens at that time. 'When the seer realizes the Effulgent Being, Ruler, Maker, and Source of the Creator, even, then that wise one, shaking off merits and demerits, becomes pure and attains the supreme unity of God. Verily, He who is the prana, the life-force pervading everything, stands in the heart as the Supreme Light. Knowing this, one becomes truly wise. Sporting in the Self, delighting in the Self, performing various works, such a sage takes first rank among the knowers of Brahman. This Paramatma, the Self, is attained through veracity, brahmacharya, through meditation, through wisdom and continence, all constantly cultivated. (Continence, brahmacharya, means the mind is withdrawn from the avenue of the senses and fixed in Brahman.)

When the impurities of the mind and heart dwindle in the ascetic, the yogi beholds Him, the Pure One, resplendent in the kingdom of heaven within the heart. Only the truthful win; Truth alone triumphs, not untruth. Truth has laid out the divine path through which the soul reaches Brahman. Alone with the sages and the realized masters, the soul reaches Reality, free from desires, infinite, divine. The soul ascends to the supreme abode of God. Vast, and beyond all imagination, the Truth of Brahman shines in the cavity of the heart of all beings.

This Paramatma, the Self, is subtler than the subtlest, farther than the farthest yet it is here within the body, within the sacred heart of all beings. And the sages realize It, verily, in this life, by concentrating their mind in the heart's lotus, where the Truth or God is dwelling. Words cannot penetrate into the beauty of this transcendental reality. The keenest mind returns baffled, trying to reach the realm beyond. There is only one thing which reveals the Truth, the Light of God. Just like the light of the sun reveals the sun and you require no other light, God, being the Light of all the lights, by His Light of Truth, the knowledge, He is revealed. So as we go on doing our daily disciplines, as the Master blesses us with His darshan, the guruvakya (the words of wisdom emerging from the guru), one fine moment, one beautiful, blessed hour, suddenly, as the guru speaks, the Light of Truth shines in your entire being. Even as lightning reveals to you a hidden city, so the Light of God reveals God.

The Atman is not gained by weaklings, nor by the careless, nor by those practicing improper austerities, but by proper tapasya. Wise men, who strive with vigor, attention and propriety attain union with God. That is the sole quest of Vedanta, to get our mind settled in Truth which is beyond duality, and attain immortality in Brahman. Those illumined ones alone can help this world for they are pure and selfless. "As a river flowing disappears into the ocean, losing its name and form, so the illumined one, free also from name and form goes into that Highest . . . ."

But the experience of bliss, of peace, of immortality, of that sweetness of love will remain with you forever and ever! No matter what you have, you will have fear until you realize God or Atman. No matter what you have, you will not be rid totally of fear. It will be there until you completely realize, until intellectually you are convinced of the presence of Truth and develop that faith. You are free from fear by realizing the immortal bliss of your true Self or Atman. The mind cannot explain or think in that exalted state which is beyond its ken. Vocabulary cannot express it. It is inexpressible.

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This absolute Truth is imperishable because it is beyond time. All these things which we see are born in time, and so they are going to die. That which is beyond time is imperishable. That which is beyond space is indivisible. It is space which divides everything. And that which is the cause of everything has no causality or causation, being itself the cause of all the causes. This underlying unity behind all duality or variety is the one, fundamental truth which is continuously expressed in the Upanishad, Bhagavad Gita, and Brahmasutra.

In the midst of death, life persists. In the midst of darkness, light persists. So in the midst of all this death and change which we see with our sense perception, both physics and metaphysics agree that there is an underlying unity, a homogeneous unity in the midst of all heterogeneous change which happens constantly. And this underlying unity, this absolute Truth in which we move and have our being, is the one thing which the mind cannot grasp. We are right in It, we move and have our being in It, but our mind cannot grasp It.

But when the mind is stilled . . . the Truth is revealed. The three states of consciousness--wakeful, dream and deep sleep--are relative states and not absolute. One is contradictory to the other. When you reach the transcendental, the supramental or supersensuous, there is no contradiction. It is indivisible, being beyond space; imperishable, being beyond time. That is the fulfillment of life, the purpose of life; that is the kingdom of heaven.

God is not a guesswork. Atman is not imagination. Compared to that Reality, all else could be called imagination. That is why spiritual practices are so important in reaching the truth. For a number of years, a gem or a diamond could be hidden in mud, but just by virtue of that, the gem is not going to lose its luster. Like that, our Atman or the Self may be covered, enveloped by so many shackles or veils, or by so many obstacles or sins (as it is called in Christianity). In Vedanta, sins are called errors or obstacles. Whatever makes your mind feel impure, that is not going to contaminate your Self, the Atman which is like the gem fallen in the mire. You can wash it, rub it, and it's going to shine with the same, resplendent glory once again.

There is no possibility that this soul, this eternal principle, the kingdom of heaven within, at any time, by any so-called sin or karma, could be "lost forever". It can again be purified through confessions, prayer, meditation, practice of yoga, austerities, charity, study of the holy scriptures, more than anything, serving the masters and receiving their blessings. You are all the manifestation of that same God. Each one is like a pond in which the same sun, the Self, the Atman, is reflecting. One you call a sinner, another you call a saint. The difference is, in one God has unfolded Himself, and in another, He has yet to unfold.

Truth will always unfold Itself. Through spiritual disciplines you are allowing this hidden God to manifest. No one can see God other than God. When you are able to see God in everybody, it means you have attained God-consciousness. God alone can see God. Ego cannot see God. So, you become Godly. You are filled with, intoxicated with, God's love and God-consciousness.

At that summit of experience, you are able to say, "I and my Father are One and the same." So this total identity with the Truth, to the negation of all our lower aspects is the culmination of all disciplines. This is for the highly advanced students in yoga, Vedanta, and spirituality. There are six steps which definitely lead to universal consciousness. This is a definite program. In spite of all the problems which we speak, if we want to bring world peace, or universal peace, it begins with each individual--growing from individual to universal consciousness.

And standing only for the Truth. That is very rare. That is why the Bhagavad Gita says, 'thousands try but most of them get sidetracked. One or two per hundred years, sometimes a thousand years, truly realized Christs or masters will be on earth.' Truth means that one has to forego everything, all the desires, both here and hereafter. That is the difficulty. It is worthy of attainment. Truth cannot compromise with anyone. That's why you call it Truth.

There is no compromise in Truth. Truth stands beyond everybody. Truth is self-evident, Truth is beyond proof, and Truth is uncompromising. It only wants to manifest as infinite and so you call that Truth as God. Human beings always try to pull the pedestal of Truth to their level of ego and wherever such an effort is done, that nation or those individuals have suffered. Truth cannot adjust to our ego. Instead we have to surrender and adjust to the Truth. This is not just a lecture or a statement. I and you, as we go on living, we will realize this. Upanishad masters will not at any time hesitate to say, 'Atman is not for the weak. It is only for the bold.'

Because Law is never for the indolent. It is always for the vigilant. Always the Truth is going to shine to those who are daring. You should be having this much energy in your meditation: I am going to pluck the Himalayas! I am going to squeeze the waters of the seven oceans and drink, for I AM THAT I AM! Such should be the inspiration of the bold one who alone can dare approach spirituality.

Spiritual wisdom and Atmajnana is not for the weakling. It is for the strong. Strong means in spirit. It means that you have to be constantly in tune with your true nature, the God within you. That is the source of all energy, the source of all strength. That God is with me. God is with me. With God, everything is possible. That is the whole teaching of the Bible. That is the Upanishad. The source of all strength is within you. God is beautifully manifesting in the heart of man and woman, in the heart of all beings.

If one man or woman realizes the Self, then the whole humanity is resurrected. The Bhagavatam teaches, whoever is meditating on God, singing His Holy Name, enters into horripulation, tears gushing and currents staining and reaching the lotus feet of God, dancing with God in ecstatic consciousness, with uplifted arms, unabashed, such a divine being sanctifies the whole universe. This is what Sri Krishna teaches Uddhava about saintly persons, God-realized beings. One prophet Moses, one Christ Jesus coming means it is the resurrection, the consciousness of the people is raised to a higher level, and all the blocks from here to the kingdom of heaven are removed by the virtue of their sacrifice. Blessed is the race, blessed is the country, blessed is the womb of the mother which gave birth to such a saintly one who sanctifies the three worlds.

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No wonder we love God, because God is our own Self. Our wife is dear, not for the wife's sake but for the Self. Here it is not the selfish self, but it is the God-self. For example, a man lives thirty years with a wife, and one fine morning she dies. Then he cries, my beloved, where have you gone? What does he mean, what is he really thinking about here? If he loved his wife just as a body, the body is still there. If she was just nose or eyes, all those things are there. But the true wife was his own Self in her, the one universal Self in everybody.

And when that Self has changed its center, the death takes place to the body. Death means Self changing its center from body to body. So when this bodily death takes place, he misses that true Self which used to reside there. The light of her body, the delight of his eyes, he is asking, "where have you gone, how shall I live without you?"

The all-pervading spirit is not going, nor coming anywhere. It is eternal. It is the truth of our own immovable being. Because it is reflected in our body which changes always, reflected in our mind which changes likewise, it looks like the Atman is also undergoing birth, death, change, as well. We are trying to see with a mind which itself changes. We are trying to realize a changeless Atman in a changing body. There is an immortal, immutable spirit in a mutable, mortal coil. And that is the mystery of life. The tug of war between the flesh and the spirit, mortal and the immortal is what you call life. Life is not just a life in the plane of senses. Neither is it just a life in thought. There is a life called life divine, eternal. It is very pleasant, very joyful when we reach that state. Until then, always there is struggle for expansion into that realm of consciousness.

Yama teaches to Natchiketas, 'this Cosmic Self, this Atman, even though you hear all of the best sermons in the world, even though you read and try to understand it, still the experience of It will elude. Neither by sermon, nor by listening, nor by reading, nor by sharpening the intellect, is this Atman made available, though all these are very, very necessary. Whosoever Atman chooses, to him is He revealed.'

Then you may be wondering, why should we strive? Because whoever deserves, him always the Atman chooses. And you deserve only when you purify yourself. All these processes are important for purification. Truth is always there. Truth alone is. It is only our impurity, our veil which is hiding it. The process of purification--of listening to sermons, singing the Holy Name, fasting, prayer, meditation, approaching men of God-realization--all these are very important. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. It is for that purification all yoga, Vedanta, wisdom, everything is needed. Now just imagine. It is said neither by speech, nor by hearing, not even by studying is the Atman revealed.

Atman, the Self, reveals Itself to the sincere devotee. Atman is not attained by any of the disciplines, even though all disciplines are towards gaining purity of heart. But for the striving seeker, bold meditator, the Atman, the Light of God reveals itself, any minute, any moment, as the grace descends upon you. The all-pervasive Truth, all-pervading cosmic light and love is immediately present in every one of us as Paramatma; as Paranjyoti, the transcendental light; as Paratpara, beyond all words, names and forms, as Paramatma, Supreme Spirit. Beyond the physical, astral and causal dwells the Atman, thumb-sized, to be meditated upon as a flame without smoke, as Truth in the sacred heart illumining the whole body.

The meditation on the sacred heart is beautiful. As you meditate, you will feel a luminosity of cosmic electricity, of love, and the light of knowledge running very fast throughout the blossomed, golden petals of the heart--containing on each petal all the sacred syllables, the mantras. For some mystics, the rich diagram of the yantras, along with the cosmic sounds of the mantras will be visible to the insight. A feeling of holiness will be the first blessing that comes to you. A second blessing is your entire body--physical, astral, causal, mental and intellectual sheaths--are all blessed, purified and healed.

A third blessing of this meditation is a deep insight, a creative intelligence will manifest in you. The surging emotions are calmed; you become a peaceful being. This shanti shall never leave you. This golden-petaled sacred heart, the citadel of Satyam Shivam Sundaram, the abode of Truth, Peace and Beauty will be time and again visible to you in your meditation. You are led gently by the inner Light, the Guru, to this wonderful kingdom in which your mind is dwelling right now. Saturated with devotion, bathed with the nectarian ambrosia of immortality, your soul dances before God in the sacred heart even as a naked baby dances before its mother.

Your Self is beautiful. Your Self is immortal. Your Self is eternal. It contains all galaxies, it contains all prana, it contains the entire universe. With your physical eye, whatever universe you have seen until now, whatever sky and vastness of space you have seen until now, now you see a million, billion times vaster a space in your sacred heart. Your journey is now within. You have gone away from the egotistic world. You have gone away, away from the mundane existence. You are taken away, away by the breeze of the grace of Satyanarayana into the pericarp of your heart, the city of jewels, Vaikunta, the Kingdom of the Blue Light. You are bathing in blue, purple and yellow, in healing, infinite wisdom and beautiful independent love, independent of all objects. You have won the grace of God. You have won the immortal wealth which is never extinguished, never stolen. You have realized that you are peace. That is your true nature, the shanti. You have realized that you are bliss.

This is the truth. Forget the dream that you are ego. Forget the nightmare that you are a sinner. Forget all the world of duality and dwell in this true nature of yours. This is eternal life. This is the bold truth, that you are Atman and nothing short of it. As you are Atman, you are existence. As you are Atman, you are the abode of knowledge and consciousness. As you are Atman, you are eternal bliss. You are nitya, permanent, you are satya, Truth. Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; Shiva, the Destroyer; the Holy Father, Holy Spirit, and Holy Son, all are within your heart. The entire universe is within you. You are the witness consciousness. While the ego rests in wakeful, dream, or deep sleep; while the ego is engaged in activity, you are the witness. As your mind is merged in the witness, you shall witness the panorama. You shall witness the drama of life and you smile on, smile on!

O bold soul! You are clean, you are pure. You have no sin. You have no karma. This is the truth. Because you are bathed with the Ganges of love, the river of life, the waters of which are springing from the kingdom of heaven, you shall definitely bring these blessings to your outer encrustations also. The light behind the cloud is never tainted by the cloud. The clouds are scattered now by the light of wisdom and you are able to see the Light. You see that no impurity can touch your Self. It is related to the body. It is related to the mind that is tethered to the body. Now you are inward. The body has become the temple by the touch of the Spirit. Among the five sheaths, you are dwelling in the bliss sheath, anandamaya kosha, very near to Atman. Verily, you are in bliss sheath, very near to Atman!

transcribed from satsangas on "The Upanishads", 1979-1982

Sri Sadguru Sant Keshavadas

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