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Scriptural teachings

CHENNAI: Scriptural teachings reiterate that knowledge of the ultimate truth liberates one from bondage, and also add that it is through the divine power of God that this enlightenment is possible. The Taittiriya Upanishad affirms that “the knower of the Supreme Being becomes immortal.” The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states that the Atma or soul alone is to be intently contemplated on for deliverance. The Chandogya Upanishad extols the mind that is pure and stable and engaged in meditation. In such a state of concentration all the knots are untied. In a similar strain, the Mundaka Upanishad says that to a realised soul “the knot of the heart is cut asunder, all lingering doubts are dissolved and all reactions to actions are terminated.”

When Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna the qualities of one who desires to be released from human bondage, He echoes this spiritual knowledge of the Upanishads pertaining to a realised soul, said Sri N. Veezhinathan in a lecture.

In such a person the mind remains focused on this Supreme Being by virtue of a control attained through rigorous practice. Such a state of mind under absolute control does not allow for any trace of doubt about anything at all.

But such focus is not to be attained easily because of the illusory power of Lord’s Maya. The commonly quoted examples of mistaken perceptions of apparent reality are the rope and the glistening sea shell that conjure the manifestation of a serpent and silver. Jnana is attained when the serpent and silver are seen as mere appearances that the mind caught by mistake. Just as there is neither silver nor serpent in reality, the universe also is an appearance that dissolves into the absolute reality of the Supreme Being, though it owes its manifestation and sustenance to that Supreme Being.

The challenge for every Jivatma is to understand the fundamental truth that the entire universe is His omnipresent manifestation and exists because of His omnipotence and all this is kept under control by His omniscience, thereby establishing the range and extent of His absolute and awe inspiring greatness.

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