SELF-TRANSCENDENCE

The Self is an aspect of the Cosmic Self and it is its inalienable aspect. The Self is a real entity, and its embodied form, body-mind-intellect-ego, is transient. Vedanta holds that the Ātman, or Self, is distinct from the body, mind, ego, intellect, and external appearances. The Self is eternal, pure, and self-existent. The consciousness of the Self is its fundamental goal and orientation. To realise its inateness, it needs to transcend the limitations sprouting out of ignorance through its vicarious association with an embodied form, the body-mind-intellect system. The Self is savouring the sensual pleasure by moving outwards to relish the objects through sense organs by virtue of being its embodied form. The embodied form is subject to time-space-causation. The world of objects is relational, dual, and finite. That way, it becomes forgetful of its own existence as a subject. But the Self is self-luminous, infinite, non-dual, imperishable, and without limitations of time-space-causation.

 1. Outline

 Self is with Cosmic Self is the infinity of infitude. Its fundamental realm is to remain in that state, Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss), only. In its embodied form, it experiences the contents of consciousness in states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda says the innate drive for the self is unanimous in ascertaining that the Cosmic Self, or One Absolute Existence alone, is Reality. If Cosmic Self is the Truth, all outward forms of experience can only be an appearance. Why remain confines is to savour the pleasure in an ephemeral setting, and the Self is longing for transcendence from the objective dimension to the subjective realm of infinity, non-duality, imperishablity, and Sat-Chit-Anand. He says that the subtle body inside, consisting of nineteen powers, exists to facilitate the experiences of waking human beings. The senses of auditory, tactile, visual, gustatory, and olfactory; the vocal, prehensile, locomotive, generative, and excretory organs; the five essential breaths, known as the central energy (Prana), the circulating energy (Apana), the upward energy (Vyana), the equalising energy (Samana), and the four provinces of the psychological organ (mind, intellect, ego, and subconscious), collectively constitute the building blocks, so to speak, of individual experience. The physical objects that make up waking awareness are its defining characteristic. For the Jiva (the living substance of a living being), the nineteen tenets become the means both of relishing material things and of suffering during their mortal lives. The Self, in its transcendence through several life processes through waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, is marked by levels of detachment, equanimity, and forbearance from sense-perceived objects and gratifications.

2. Scriptures

The Taittiriya Upanishad (2.6-8) declares that That one, verily, called the self-cause, He is the Flavour. Flavour, indeed, this one having got, blest becomes He. Brahmān who manifests Himself as ‘the being and the beyond', is said to be the Supreme ‘Rasa’ or Flavour in this creation, which in itself is destitute of flavour. Flavour means essence, the Immortal Brahmān, the Bliss, the Joy. By this Flavour it is that the universe, which in itself is flavourless, appears to be flavoury. How, it may be asked, can this supersensuous Flavour be the Bliss? The śruti answers in the words “Flavour, indeed,” etc. It describes this process of self-transcendence, in which the Cosmic Self, Brahmān, is experienced after passing through the five objective layers of consciousness. Every interior layer permeates them as their Self or very being and is more extensive and subtle than the external layers. Therefore, the innermost genuine Self, the Brahmān, which includes and transcends all of them as their sole Being, is realised when, via this method of negative assertion supported by faith and reason, all of the exterior consciousness-sheaths are stepped over. Here, reality is perceived in its essence as the body and the world are simultaneously rejected in all of their manifestations.

3. Remarks

Self-transcendence is the evaporation of all material attachments and consciously realising the Brahmān, or Cosmic Self as one Absolute Reality. There is only one Existence, and all others are transitional. The affirmative approach is a direct attempt to unite oneself with the Absolute, as the sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda puts it. It begins with attuning oneself to all entities in the universe and moves on to concepts of Absoluteness, Completeness, Independence, Immortality, Eternity, and Immutability. This approach is far more daring than the negative one since, in general, positivity is a more difficult reality to deal with than negativity. As a result, more bravery, persistence, patience, firmness, and severity of will are required in this situation.

The two ways to positively affirm Reality sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda brusquely says that "I am the Absolute" and "All this is the Absolute." These are Experience-Whole's two stages, with the latter coming after the former. While the latter is unquestionable certainty, the former is in reference to the individual. Whereas the latter arises with reference to the entire cosmos, the former arises with respect to the subjective body. There is the initial feeling of "I am the Reality," followed by the more profound experience. "Reality is the All; I am the All; Reality exists only." The two primary affirmative processes of Self-Integration are "Aham brahma asmi" and "sarvam khalu idam brahma," wherein even the limitless psychosis (brahmakaravritti) brought about by the first experience dissolves in the Pure Existence-Consciousness attained through the second experience. By ceasing all external dualistic thought (vijatiyavrittinirodha) and enabling the fundamental unifying consciousness to fully establish itself (sajatiyavrittipravaha), one is attempting to submerge oneself in Absolute-Consciousness all at once. The mind ignores all multitudinousness and dualism, becoming buried in conscious absoluteness. When an individual experiences endless psychosis, their individual endeavour comes to an end since this marks the start of the breakdown of their separate, individual consciousness within the Consciousness of the endlessness. Beyond this point of limitless cognition, experience can only change as a result of the operation of the Force of the Truth of Absolute Unity; otherwise, the easy transformation is beyond explanation. Effort is done as long as objective integration or the integration of the observable cosmos is completed; nevertheless, no amount of work on the part of the individual can result in Absolute Integration, which is the process by which the personality or the individual is absorbed into an infinite being. This is not a philosophical question; it is a super-rational mystery.

-Asutosh Satpathy