Chapter 6 - Immortality and the Self

That which is the Infinite, is Bliss. In the finite there is no bliss. Infinity alone is bliss. This Infinity is to be realized.

The Self (Atman) is the Infinite. Self is below, above behind, before, right and left; Self is all this.

He who sees, perceives, understands, and loves the Self, delights in the Self, reveals in the Self, rejoices in the Self, becomes the lord and master in all the world’.—(Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad, 4.5; 1 15)

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of the Yajur-Veda we read that there lived in ancient India a great sage, Yajnavalkya, by name. He was a seer of Truth, and lived a pure, virtuous, and righteous life. He had a devoted wife, whose name was Maitreyi. He performed all the duties of the householder, as also of a good citizen, and lived in peace, doing good to others. As the result of all these good and unselfish works, his heart was purified, and his eyes were open to spiritual Truth. He undersood the transitoriness and impermanent nature of the phenomenal world, and realizing that the life of a householder was only a grade in the process of evolution, he desired to enter into a higher state, and make further progress. He had discovered the foolishness of people who lead a worldly life and constantly try to fulfil their earthly desires, and, therefore, he made up his mind to live a life of seclusion, and devote the rest of his days to the pursuit of eternal Truth. He wished to take refuge in the absolute Reality of the universe, by retiring, as was customary, into the forest, where he would not be disturbed by the world. Constant meditation upon the true Self had become the aim of this great seer.

One day he came to his wife and said:”Beloved Maitreyi, verily I wish to retire into the forest, leaving with thee my wealth, property, and whatever belongs to me. Enjoy these and grant me thy permission.”^[1] On hearing this, Maitreyi felt extremely unhappy, but being spiritually-minded, she asked this question: “Bhagavan, please tell me, if I possess the whole earth with all the wealth it contains, shall I gain immortality by it?”’^[1] She was not like the wives of today, who are greedy for wealth and possessions, and who are delighted to acquire a little inheritance. She was not ambitious for material property like a woman of the world, but she understood that immortality was the highest of all treasures. Being guided by this idea, she questioned: “Shall I be immortal by possessing all the riches

and property which thou art going to give me?” “No”, replied the sage, “if thou possesses! the property and wealth of the world thou wilt live like the rich who enjoy, in whatever manner they desire, the luxuries, comforts, and pleasures of earthly existence. There is no hope of gaining immortality by wealth. None can ever become immortal by means of riches or material possessions.”^[1] Then, the wife said: “What shall I do with that thing which cannot bring me immortality? If thou hast anything by which I shall become immortal, please give me that. I do not care for thy wealth.”^[1] Her husband, the great sage, replied: “Thou art truly my beloved; thou hast spoken well, it is worthy of thee. If thou desirest, I will tell thee of that by which one can attain immortality. Come and listen attentively to what I will say.”^[1]

He first explained the true nature of the object of love. People love their parents, children, husbands, wives, property, wealth, and all other things that they possess, but they do not know what they love in reality. The real object of love is not a material thing, but that which lies behind the material form. “O beloved, verily I say unto thee: a wife loves her husband not for the husband’s sake, but it is for the sake of the Atman, the Self, who is within, that the husband is loved.”^[1] The wife does not love the dead particles of matter which make up the body of her husband, but she loves the soul, the Atman, which lies behind his form. “The husband loves his wife not for the wife’s sake, but it is for the sake of the Atman, the Self, who is within, that the wife is loved.”^[1] The physical body of the wife is not dear to her husband but her soul, the Atman, is dear to him. The husband will not touch the dead body of his wife, he will not love it, when her soul has departed from it. ‘People love their children, not for the children’s sake, not for the material form of their children, but it is for the sake of the Atman, the Self, that the children are loved.'^[1] When a mother loves her child, do you think that she loves the matter that makes up the face or the body of the child? No, it is the Self that, dwelling behind the material particles, gives the child its form and attracts the soul of the mother. Love cannot exist on the material plane; it is the attraction between two souls on the spiritual plane of the Self. When people love their friends and relatives, that attraction of the souls lies at the bottom of the expression of their true love.

“Verily wealth is not dear, O beloved, that thou mayst love wealth, but that thou mayst love Atman, the Self, therefore wealth is dear.”^[1] The centre of love is the Atman or Self. When we love wealth or property, our attraction is toward the omnipresent Self, whether we are conscious of it or not. We love animals, like dogs, horses, birds, not because of their material forms, but for the Atman, the Self, which resides within them. In this manner, Yajnavalkya showed that wherever there is true love, there is the expression of the real Self or Atman. “None, O beloved, loves an animal for the animal’s sake, but for the sake of the soul of the animal.”^[1] The dead material body of an animal cannot inspire love in our souls. ‘People love the priests (Brahmins), the warriors (Kshatriyas), the celestial worlds (lokas), the bright spirits (devas), the Scriptures (Vedas), and all other animate and inanimate objects, not for the sake of those objects, but it is for the sake of the Self (Atman) that each of these is loved.’^[1]

When a person loves another for the sake of his own lower self or ego, it is an extremely selfish love; but when that love is directed toward the Self or Atman which dwells in another person, it is no longer selfish; it gradually leads to divine love. In everything abides the one Self or unchangeable spirit which attracts our souls. We do not know the nature of that Self or Atman toward which all love, whether selfish or unselfish, is directed, and from which all love proceeds, whether for wealth, property, or material objects. A miser loves riches, but he knows perfectly well that riches mean nothing but a medium of exchange, that they only bring certain pleasures and comforts of the body. He is attached to his lower self, and for that reason he loves wealth which enriches his ego. The lower self of such a man is the centre of attraction, and everything that brings happiness to it is very dear to him. “Therefore, O Maitreyi, the Self (Atman) is to be realized, to be heard, to be thought of, to be meditated upon. O beloved! when the Self has been heard, thought of, meditated upon, and realized, then all is known.”^[1] Thou shouldst know the true nature of that Self, which is the centre of all attraction, from which all love proceeds and toward which it is directed. It should be heard and meditated upon constantly; when the mind is concentrated upon it, its true nature will be revealed. By the realization of the true Self, through constant hearing, concentration, and meditation, Self-knowledge and immortality will be gained.

Yajnavalkya continued thus: “If a person loves and cares for another only—for his material body and possessions, the lover is abandoned by the loved one. If we care not for the self of another, but love the dead matter, believing, there is nosoul in the person, do you think, that person will be pleased? No, that person will desert us instantly. If we love a priest (Brahmin), knowing that there is no Self in him, we shall be abandoned by him. He will immediately leave our company. If we go to a king, thinking that there is no Self in him, that he is only a mass of dead matter, we shall not be loved by him, but, on the contrary, we shall surely be forsaken by him. He will drive us out, if he realizes that we love him not for himself, but for his material possessions. “For the same reason, he who knows there is no Self in the heavens, in the gods (devas), in the Scriptures (Vedas), in animate and inanimate objects, shall be abandoned by each one of these.”^[1] If we think of a departed friend, believing, there is no soul in him, we shall surely be deserted by him. If we love God, knowing Him as a mass of insentient matter, without loving His spiritual, divine and immortal Self or Atman, He will never come to us; we shall be forsaken by Him. Thus, we can understand that whosoever knows anything elsewhere than in the true Self or Atman, is and should be abandoned by everything, because everything exists as related to the Self. ‘The Self is all, and all is the Self.’ Whatever we see, perceive, or think of, is inseparably connected with the Self (Atman), it is one with the Self, and is, in reality, nothing but the Self.

Here it may be asked as to how is it possible for us to realize that everything is the Self? To explain this Yajnavalkya gives the following illustrations: “Now as the sound of a drum, when beaten with a stick, can be differentiated from other sounds by referring it to the drum or to the drum-stick, which is the source of the sound, and not by any other means, so the existence of a particular object can be differentiated by referring it to the Self (Atman), which is the source of all knowledge and consciousness and without which nothing can be known.”^[1] “As the sound of a conch-shell or a pipe, when blown, cannot be differentiated without referring it to the shell or to the pipe, as the sounds of a lute, when played, can be known only by referring them to the lute; as these particular sounds are but various manifestations of one common sound, so the one common Self or Atman, which is the Reality of the universe, appears through the varieties of names and forms, which we perceive with our senses.”^[1] “As from the one source of fire, when kindled with damp fuel, gradually emanate clouds of smoke and flame which did not exist there before, so verily, O beloved, from the one great Being, the Self (Brahman), the common source of knowledge and intelligence, has been spontaneously breathed forth all the knowledge that we possess, such as, the four Vedas (scriptures), the various branches of science and philosophy, and everything that exists in this world as well as in celestial realms.”^[1]

Ordinarily, we ascribe scientific knowledge to particular individuals, but, in reality, every kind of knowledge, that we find in different people, scientists, Yogis, and philosophers, has proceeded from that one source, the Self. As from one fire proceed smoke, sparks, and flames, so, from this one infinite Self have come out all the sciences, philosophies, and spiritual truths, described in the different scriptures of the world, as also the truths of art and history. The knowledge, which we possess and make use of in our daily life, is the expression of that absolute knowledge which is eternal, one, indestructible, and unchangeable, and which brings immortality to the knower, who realizes the Self.

At the beginning of the cosmic evolution, all phenomena as well as knowledge evolved from this one infinite Self or Brahman. Just as a human being naturally breathes out the air that has entered his lungs, so the latent energy of the Brahman spontaneously breathed out knowledge and all phenomena which had potentially existed in it before the evolution of the universe. Again, at the time of dissolution, these return to that infinite Being and remain latent as the energy of Brahman, in the same manner as rivers, streamlets, brooks, and all waters that exist anywhere will eventually flow into one ocean. The ocean of the infinite Brahman is the final goal as

Well as the source of all-knowledge and phenomena of the world. “As the source of all taste is in the tongue, of all touch in the skin, of all smells in the nose, of all colours in the eye, of all sounds in the ear, of all percepts in the mind, of all knowledge in the intelligence, so the source of all intelligence is the Self or Atman or Brahman.”^[1]

Thus Yajnavalkya explained to his wife as to how the infinite Self is the beginning and the end as well as the Alpha and Omega of everything. At the time of evolution, everything comes out of it, and, during involution or dissolution, everything goes back to the same source of all. The infinite Self, Atman or Brahman, is one mass of intelligence without a second; there is no duality or multiplicity in this one substance. “As a lump of salt has neither outside nor inside, but it is a mass of taste, so, indeed, the absolute Self has neither outside nor inside, but it is altogether a mass of intelligence, unlimited, beginningless, and endless.”^[1]

This infinite Being appears in two aspects, the universal, which is called Brahman, and the individual, which is called the Self or Atman. As the source of individual consciousness, it manifests itself in various forms, when it is connected with our body and senses, but, when it leaves this material body, the senses cease to perceive their objects, and the elements return to their causal states from which they arose. After death one cannot perceive the objects of senses. “O beloved! verily I say unto thee, although the Self is a mass of intelligence having departed from the body, it possesses no particular consciousness of a mortal.”^[1] The expression of intelligence on the sense plane stops after death.

On hearing this, Maitreyi replied: “O wise lord! thou hast bewildered me by thy statement, “this mass of intelligence possesses no particular consciousness after death.” How can it be? Yajnavalkya answered: “O beloved! I do not say anything bewildering; imperishable is the nature of the Self (Atman).”^[1] For thy enlightenment I will explain it to thee. “The Self is deathless and immortal by nature. So long as there is the duality of the perceiver and the object of perception, one sees, perceives the other, one smells the other, one tastes, touches, thinks, and knows the other.”^[1] The individual self perceives sense objects so long as it remains on the plane of duality or relativity. The perception of sight is possible, only when the seer is related to an object of vision. If we are not related to that which we call odour how can we smell it? The ego can hear a sound or taste a savour, by coming in direct relation with those objects of sensation. In this manner, it can be shown that all perception and sensation require the relation between the subject and object. But when we go into deep sleep (sushupti), we do not see, hear, taste, smell, or perceive anything. These objects exist on the sense plane, but, when we are above and beyond it and have gone to that plane, where there is neither sight nor odour nor smell nor taste, how can we see, hear, or perceive anything? All individual souls, who are in the state of dreamless sleep, become equal in their realization; we cannot distinguish the soul of a man from that of a woman, so long as he or she is in sound sleep; then it is impossible to differentiate them. Similarly, in the state of samadhi or superconsciousness, where there is neither duality nor multiplicity, but simply the infinite ocean of intelligence, what can be seen or heard or smelled or tasted? Where there is neither relativity nor any object of perception, how can one touch or know or think of anything? ‘How can one know that by which one knows all this?’ Is there any power of knowledge, by which we can know the Self, who is the knower of all? No, because the true Self alone is the Knower (jnata) of the universe.

If we seek to know the Self within us, what will be the best method? By right discrimination and analysis we can differentiate the knower from the object of knowledge. In this process of dicrimination, we must mentally reject everything outside of the knower by saying: ‘not this, not this’—neti neti. Thus, when all objects of knowledge, including all sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and other mental and intellectual functions are removed by right discrimination, the all-knowing Self is realized in samadhi. The Self or Knower cannot be comprehended by intellect; it is incomprehensible. The Self cannot be perished; it is immortal. The Self cannot be destroyed by anything; it is unchangeable. The Self is unattached; it is not touched by any object. The Self is unfettered; it is free. It does not suffer; it is beyond all suffering. It does not fail; it is always the same. “How, O beloved, can such a Knower be known and by whom? Thus far, O Maitreyi, the true nature of the Self can be described; and beyond this is the realization in samadhi (superconsciousness) which brings the attainment of immortality. He, who has realized the Self, has become immortal. The knowledge of that Self, which is the source of all love, the source of intelligence, existence, and all that is blissful, makes one attain to immortality.”^[1] Thus saying, Yajnavalkya, the great seer of Truth, retired into the forest, devoted his time to meditating upon that eternal Self, and, ultimately, realizing his true nature in samadhi, gained immortal life.

Self-knowledge being the goal of life, by that alone we can understand the universe, how it has come into existence, why it stands, and where it will go after dissolution. By knowing our true Self, we can know what will become of all phenomena at the time of general involution, and, if we wish to become immortal, we must know this Self or Atman; there is no other way to immortlity.

“I know this great Atman, radiant like the self-effulgent sun and beyond the darkness of ignorance. By knowing Him alone one crosses the ocean of death; there is no other way; there is no other way.”^[2]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad, 4.5; 1 15

[2]:

Shvetasvatara-Upanishad, 3.8.