The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : Self must be experienced

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Friday, Jun 17, 2005

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Self must be experienced

CHENNAI: An individual evinces interest in spirituality as a result of meritorious deeds performed over several lives; otherwise, he will remain preoccupied with the objective world pandering to his five senses. Why is engagement with the world said to be detrimental to spiritual life? The world that is apparent to human faculties is in a state of constant flux while spirituality is the search for that which is eternal underlying all the phenomena.

In his discourse, Swami Atmashraddhananda said the Self (Atman) was eternal and it revealed itself only to whom it chose. Thus there is an element of uncertainty. This is interpreted as God's grace because even if a spiritual aspirant is steadfast in his pursuit, the Self reveals itself only when it wishes to. Self-knowledge cannot be gained as one would any other secular knowledge from secondary sources, the reason being that it is a matter of direct experience. The Katha Upanishad reiterates this truth, "This Self cannot be attained through exposition, nor through intellectual power, nor even through vast learning. He whom alone this (Self) accepts, by him it is to be attained. To him this Self reveals its own nature." The instrument (human personality) has to be refined to intuit the Self and spiritual practices are the methods to fine-tune it.

On the face of it, it is difficult to believe that there is an underlying Reality beneath the entire phenomenon that is apparent to the senses and so an individual finds it difficult to believe in his divine nature. Man feels miserable because instead of identifying with the Self he identifies with his body-mind-intellect personality and his possessions. So a spiritual seeker must learn to withdraw from the external world of the senses into the inner world of the Self, which according to the Upanishads, "is waiting to be discovered."

The scriptures are necessary for guidance to remove the misconceptions about Reality but it must be remembered that they only speak about the truth. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to convey this tellingly to his devotees by saying that by squeezing the almanac, which predicts abundant rainfall one would not be able to get even a drop of water. Hence the truth can be known only by direct experience by every seeker.

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