Moment to Speak

A person with an unsteady and uncontrolled mind becomes easily vulnerable to a matrix of psychophysical frameworks. That matrix envelops them in a transient sphere of illusory entrapment, distancing them from their original true Self, which is the eternal, inseparable, and undifferentiated essence of Brahman , or Cosmic Self: " Aham Brahmāsmi ", or "I am Brahman " (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.10); " Pragyanam Brahma ", or "Consciousness is Brahman " or " Brahman is the Ultimate Reality" (Aitareya Upanishad, 3.3); " Tat Tvam Asi ", or "Thou art That" (Chandogya Upanishad, 6.8.7); and " Ayam Atma Brahma ", or "This Self is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad, 1.2). Srimad Bhagavad Gita (2.14-16) expresses this illusionary entrapment, as the contact between the senses and the sense objects gives rise to fleeting perceptions of happiness and distress. These are non-permanent and come and go, like the wint...

Existence is one, nondual, absolute, and eternal. That Existence, or Reality, is Brahman , or the Supreme Self. It needs no expansion or activity, as it is uncaused, transcendent, immanent, omnipotent, omniscient, all-encompassing, full, and complete. Everything is inside It, and nothing is outside of It. It is all-encompassing, both subject and object; eternal and transient; good and bad; existence and non-existence; spiritual and temporal; illusion and real; and the state of opposites. Any name, or form, of externality is manifestly illusory or non-existent. Name and form cannot stand the test of space, time, and causation. In the time scale, they changed in the past, they are changing in the present, and they will go on in the future. This is the Reality, and this is the Truth. In this Reality we are circumventing in the midst of two "I"s, unable to comprehend the eternality and transience of which one of the two. One "I", as Atman , or Self, is eternal, infinite...

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...