Bliss, essential nature of man

CHENNAI, JULY 27. We accept joys and sorrows as facts of worldly life but try to attain a state in which sorrows cease without realising that our true nature is blissful. Joy is the intrinsic nature of the Self (Atman) and it is sorrow which is alien to it and comes from outside the Self. So the whole object of spiritual exercise is to gain the knowledge of the Self as a result of which sufferings of the material world will not afflict anymore. Self-knowledge and bliss are one and the same, and are the two sides of the same coin. Most of our problems arise due to the transient nature of the source of our happiness. Even the knowledge of a state in which it is possible to experience eternal joy gives a sense of peace within when one embarks on the spiritual quest.

It is essential to understand the difference between Self- knowledge which is eternal and objective knowledge which pertains to the material world which is not so. How do we acquire knowledge? The senses bring a lot of sensory inputs to the mind but they do not by themselves result in knowledge and it is the mind which is responsible for it. When the Sun arises everyone wakes up and goes about their activities; so also, in the presence of the mind the sensations result in knowledge. Empirical knowledge lasts only till the sense impressions last or till the mind retains it in memory. So it cannot be eternal and not pertain to the Self as the scriptures state that the Self is eternal.

Then the next logical question that arises is, ``Who impels the mind to function?'' This question is addressed in the Kenopanishad right at the outset. In his discourse on the Hastamaleekayam, Sri K.Srinivasan said that Sankara in his commentary on this hymn has explained how it was due to the Self that the senses and the mind get knowledge of the objective world. The analogy of the Moon shining because of the light of the Sun is apt to illustrate this. Just as when light and heat are separated from fire then it is no more fire, if knowledge is removed from the Self, then it is no more Self. This is the reason why the scriptures describe that knowledge and bliss are the essential nature of the Self.

The common mistake one makes while undertaking scriptural study is to seek Self-knowledge as any other secular knowledge since the familiar process of acquiring knowledge is related to objects in the world. But spiritual knowledge is of the Self and hence to get over this mistaken notion Guru's grace is essential; in the presence of a realised person the mind acquires the capacity to grasp Self-knowledge.

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