ATMA JNANA (SELF KNOWLEDGE)

The Sruti (that which is heard, the Vedas) in Sanatana Dharmic (eternal righteousness or eternal order) tradition declares that human birth, by divine grace, is meant to strive to know and understand the Ātman (inner self, or inner spirit) which invariably results in Jivanmukti, i.e., Moksha, or salvation. Self is the pivot of a being's intrinsic nature. It is infused with Sat-Chit-Anand (everlasting Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) and is an integral part of the Supreme Self. The realisation of the self is ingrained in one's awakening process, which itself is when one starts longing for the self.

The life process has a symbiotic relationship with Self in any situational situation, whether in awakening, sleeping, dreaming, walking, listening, smelling, visualising, feeling, relishing, working, perceiving, and realising. The symbiosis has an inner propulsion to impel inward movement of the life process to be with Ātman (innerself or inner spirit) for ever and not outwards to relish the objects in generation from the ever-thought-provoking mind.

Inward momentum for Self is at its most profound in a state of solitude, detachment, forbearance, tranquilly, and equanimity. Ātma Jnāna or Knowledge of Self, is self-luminous and eternal as it is self-caused. It extricates the original from the apparent. Knowledge, happiness, joys, sorrows, etc. are evanescent by the very nature of their ties to the objects, the ephemeral. It remains as long as the objects are there, and the moment the objects cease, all the reflections from the object cease. It is just like looking into a mirror. The image of a face is a reflection on a mirror, as there is no image behind a mirror but only a reflection.

 1. Outline

 Govinda Bhagavatpada, in his first encounter with Ādi Shankaracharya, asked a question: Who are you? Ādi Shankaracharya replied succinctly that neither this nor that is called Ātmashatakam or Nirvānashatkam. His reply was elaborated in six stanzas with precise assertions on: not body, mind, intellect, ego, and sense perceptions, sense organs, or sheaths; neither energy (prāṇa); nor five types of breath (vāyus: Prāṇa, Apāna, Vyāna, Udāna, Samāna); no hatred or dislike, nor affiliation or liking, nor greed, nor delusion, nor pride or haughtiness, nor feelings of envy or jealousy; no duty (Dharma), nor any purpose (artha), nor any desire (kāma), nor even liberation (moksha); neither merit (virtue), demerit (vice), sins, good deeds, happiness, or sorrow; neither pain, pleasure, mantras, holy places, scriptures (Vedas), rituals, or sacrifices (yajñas); no separation from true self or doubt about existence; no discrimination on the basis of caste or creed; no relative, friend, guru, or disciple.

I am none of the triads of the observer or one who experiences, the process of observing or experiencing, or any object being observed or experienced.

I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), pure consciousness; neither merit (virtue), nor demerit (vice); neither good nor bad, neither happiness or sorrow, pain or pleasure, no mantras, holy places, scriptures (Vedas), rituals or sacrifices (yajñas); all pervasive, no attributes or form, no attachment to the world, or liberation (mukti); and I have no wishes for anything because I am everything, everywhere, every time, always in equilibrium. I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), pure consciousness.

In a similar vein, Swami Sivananda extols the virtue of Ātma Jnāna. He says that Jnāna is knowledge, and to know Brahman (Supreme being or Ultimate Reality) as one’s own Self is Jnāna. "I am Brahman," he declares, "the pure, all-pervading Consciousness, the non-enjoyer, non-doer, and silent witness." Jnāna is the one Self that exists everywhere.

However, he asserts that Ajnāna  is ignorance. Ajnāna  is the identification with the fictitious vehicles of the body, mind, prana, and senses. The act of claiming, "I am the doer, the enjoyer; I am a Brāhmin, a Brahmachari (celibate); this is mine; he is my son," is referred to as Ajnāna . Just as light alone may drive out darkness, Jnāna alone has the power to destroy Ajnāna.

Therefore, before walking the path of Truth, one must arm themselves with Sadhana Chatushtaya, or the "four means of salvation". Viveka, Vairagya, Shad-Sampat, and Mumukshutva are the  perfections of discrimination, dispassion, and a strong longing for freedom. One will then be ready to march boldly forth on the path by oneself. Without having these four characteristics, one cannot make even the slightest spiritual advancement.

2. Pathways

Ātma Jnāna does not come on its own. Sadhana, or devotion infused with deep longing, is required to enter the pathways for the conscious realisation of Ātma Jnāna. Equanimity, dispassion, detachment, forbearance, sense abnegation, and longing for self-realisation are the basic credos of the pathways for Ātma Jnāna. Swami Sivananda outlines the basic principles on which a seeker of Ātma Jnāna should reflect and meditate. Sravana is hearing of Srutis (that which is heard, the Vedas); Manana is thinking and reflecting; Nididhyasana is constant and profound meditation. Then comes Ātma-Sakshatkara, or direct realisation.

The seven Jnāna Bhumikas, or stages of Jnāna of the Self, are said to exist, in accordance with Swami Sivananda. First, Jnāna should be created through studying the Ātma Jnāna Sastras (scriptures) in depth, forming relationships with knowledgeable people, and carrying out good deeds without expecting rewards. Subheccha, or good desire, forms the first stage of Jnāna. This will irrigate the mind with the waters of discrimination and protect it. There will be non-attraction or indifference to sensual objects at this stage.

 The initial stage serves as the foundation for the subsequent stages. From there, one will go to the following two stages: Vicharana (inquiry) and Tanumanasi (indifference towards objects).

 The second stage is continuous ātma vichara (self inquiry).

The third stage is Tanumanasi (indifference towards objects). This is accomplished by cultivating a particular indifference to items. The brain becomes as fragile as a thread. Hence, Tanumanasi is so named. Tanu signifies thread, or a state of mind that resembles thread. Asanga Bhavana is another name for the third stage. The aspirant is free of all attractions in the third stage. Anybody who passes away in the third stage will spend a lot of time in heaven before reincarnating as a Jnani (wise, or knowledgeable) and living on earth once more. The three steps mentioned above can be categorised as the Jagrat (awake) state.

The fourth stage is Sattvapatti (stage on a spiritual path, an abundance of sattva-stillness, peace, truth, wisdom, unselfishness and spirituality). All Vasanas (the subtle state of desire) will be completely eliminated in this phase. This falls within the jurisdiction of the Svapana (dream) state. The world resembles a dream. All things in the universe will appear equally to those who have attained the fourth stage.

 The fifth stage is the Asamsakti (disillusion, or detachment). Perfect non-attachment to worldly things is present. At this point, there is neither Upadhi (imposition or limitation) nor waking nor sleeping. This level, known as Jivanmukti, is characterised by the experience of Ānanda Svaroopa (the Eternal Bliss of Brahman), which is accompanied by flawless Jnāna. Sushupti (deep sleep, or dreamless sleep) will be in charge of this.

The sixth stage is Padartha Bhavana (cognition of the substance of things). The Truth is understood by some.

The seventh stage is Turiya (self within its own self, the self-illuminant), or the state of superconsciousness. Moksha is this. Turiyatita is another name for this. Sankalpas (deep thoughts of mind) are nonexistent. The cause of bondage is Sankalpa. It is all the Sankalpas and Vasanas that one generates that enmesh him like a nest. One becomes subject to bondage through one’s own Sankalpas and Vasanas, like a silkworm in its cocoon. The Gunas (modes or quality) all vanish. The mind and the tongue cannot comprehend this. In this stage the disembodied redemption (Videhamukti) is reached. Turiya is the state of remaining in the certainty of Atma, free from cravings and with an equal view of everything, having totally eliminated all difficulties arising from distinctions between "I" and "he," existence or non-existence.

 3. Scriptures

The Upanishads, which address the esoteric aspects of Ultimate Reality, also make it clear that in-depth study of the scriptures, intellectual difficulty, or substantial learning are not the only qualifications for gaining a deeper understanding of Self. It is contended there that Self reveals its true nature when one wants to understand oneself and immerses in yoga (union through meditation). The exoteric part of the embodied self, which has a propensity to enjoy things through an enhanced feeling of ego based on the body-mind-intellect complex, is also addressed in the Upanishads.

 In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajnavalkya responds that the internal Self cannot be experienced in the same ways as objects. Because it experiences things, it is not an object. It is the part of the brain that perceives, hears, and comprehends information. The Experiencer cannot be experienced, just as the Understander cannot be understood, the Seer cannot be seen, the Hearer cannot be heard, and so on. Realisation of Reality is so challenging because it is every centre of experience's ideal Subject. The question of how to experience the experiencer, or the true Atman, is therefore irrelevant. Since the Atman is the experiencer himself, it cannot be experienced in the traditional sense. Yajnavalkya's response is that you cannot 'know' the Ātman in the same way that you 'know' things. The Ātman is experience.

 On overcoming death,Yajnavalkya asserts that a mortal becomes immortal the moment it returns to its cause. There is an integrated connection made between the individual and the universal when the transcendent divinities, which are the realities underlying the different functions and organs of the individual, are reflected upon as organically tied to oneself. The only solution, Yajnavalkya claims, is meditation on the Transcendent Being, which is beyond the scope of both the senses and their objects. This is the only way to find relief. There is something that can devour death itself, and that must be focused upon, just as death consumes everything—there is nothing that cannot be subject to death in this world. That something is the Death of death, which is Brahmān, or the Supreme Reality.

 The Katha Upanishad says revelation or direct intuition (Aparoksha-anubhuti) is the source of the knowledge of the Ātman, or the Supreme Self. This Ātman is difficult to know. It is very subtle. It cannot be obtained by arguing. One needs to abandon sensual pleasures ruthlessly in order to attain the everlasting bliss of the soul, or Atman.

The Katha Upanishad aphoristically states to know the Ātman as the lord of the chariot, the body as only the chariot, intelligence as the driver, and the minds as the reins. Here a chariot is imagined for the Ātman, conditioned in Samsara, entitled to acquire knowledge and perform Karma for attaining emancipation and for traveling in Samsara, as a means to reach both.

 Self is consciousness that exists outside of time, space, and causality. It is also bliss and the infinity of infinitude. It is the core of Brahmān (the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality), and it exists as Self in every living thing. This has been truly declared by the Ishavasya Upanishad.

 The Srimad Bhagavad Gita prescriptions of all forms of Yoga for beings, appropriately highlighted by Swami Krishnananda, are a process of self-discipline and self-recovery to be conscious of the Ātman, an undifferentiated extension of Paramatma, or Supreme Being. He goes on to say that the process of vairagya (dispassion or detachment) and abhyasa (practice) constitutes a sort of dying for the sake of living in a higher sense. This dying is not a loss; it is a gaining of the originality of things by awakening from one's involvement in the phenomenality of things. Thus, a rising of the spirit from this world involvement is not a loss of contact or relationship with the world; it is a rising to the consciousness of the true nature of things.

  4. Remarks

There is a perpetual incongruity between the external self and the internal self of a being. One moves outward to relish the phenomenal objects, and the other moves inward to realise the self. Externality is coagulated with political, social, economic, cultural, art, and asthetics, to name a few, that propel the self embodied in the body-mind-intellect complex to subjugation, disorientation, and enslavement. Whereas the other one moves deeper inward to realise Sat-Chit-Anand (Eternal Existence-Consciousness-Bliss). Self that witnesses and identifies these while standing apart is the one that defines the Truth as witness-consciousness. Self that witnesses and identifies these while standing apart is the one that defines the Truth as witness-consciousness. Ātma Jnāna is the understanding of one's own immortality and the ability to separate oneself from delusions. The Ultimate Reality is to be realised consciously through experiencing by way of the application of vivek to discriminate between real and unreal. The option is wide open, and one needs to exercise the choice consciously.

-Asutosh Satpathy