Here is a question
to begin with: how many 'me' are inside
you? One, two? Very quickly you will realize that there are more number of 'me'
than what you can count on your fingers.
'Me' the father or mother, 'me' the son or daughter, 'me' the colleague,
'me' the citizen etc. All of us understand and take on these many 'roles' in
life, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously. Now, here is a trickier question: how many 'I' are
inside you ? You may think the answer is one, the single 'I am'. (Even for one
who may be schizophrenic, the answer is still one at given point of time). And,
here is where the Upanishad will beg to disagree with you. It says that there
is not one but two "I" inside us. One of them is 'I- the experiencer' and the other is 'I-
the witness'.
'dva suparnaa
sayujaa sakhaaya
samaanam vriksham
parishasvajaate
tayoranyah pippalam
svaadatthe
anasnanyo
abhijaakasih" (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 1)
'Two birds with
beautiful feathers are perched together on the same tree. One pecks on the
fruits while the other watches, not eating'
samaanam vriksham
purusho nimagno
aneesaya sochati
muhyamaanaah
jushtam yadaa
pasyatyanyameesam
asya mahimaanam iti
veetasokah (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 2)
"On the same
tree are these two embodied souls (birds), one of who is deluded, powerless and
sorrowful and engrossed completely (in pecking the fruit) . When it perceives
the worshipful glory of the other who lords (over the tree), it becomes free of
all sorrow"
The metaphor of the
tree is used to depict the world of action with its many inter dependencies and
the fruit of the tree stands for the experiences that the world produces. The bird that pecks on the fruit is the 'experiencer'
who becomes happy, sad, angry etc. depending on the experience. The bird that
is watching is the 'witness' who is silently observing, not subjecting itself
to the happiness or sorrow of the experience.
There is an 'I' in
us that is continuously watching, unaffected by the many experiences we have.
We are rarely conscious of this 'I - the witness' within us and when we do and
identify with it, the world stops affecting us any further. Interestingly, the
common advice given to someone who gets carried away by emotions is 'get a hold
of yourself'!
The first step of
spiritual journey is to recognize this 'I-the witness' in the self. How can one
perceive the 'witness' within and become one with it? Here is a four step
process instructed for the purpose.
'satyena labhyah
thapasaa hi esha aatma
samyag gnaanena
brahmacharyena nityam' (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 5)
'By the practice of
truth, intense and focused contemplation, total wisdom and continuous striving
on the path to Brahman is this Aaatman obtained'
First and foremost,
be true to yourself and maintain complete integrity. Second, contemplate with
focus and intensity on the teachings of the Upanishad about what is self and
what is not self. Thirdly, fill yourself with the total understanding that this
contemplation will create about the self and the world. And, finally strive
continuously and do not stray from the spiritual path even for a minute. Only such a
person realizes the Aaatman.
And, what is the
self-realization like?
'brihascha tad
divyam achinthya roopam
sooksmaat
sookshmataram vibhaati
dooraat sudhoore
tadaantiket cha
pasysthihaive
nihitam guhaayam' (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 7)
'(this seeker)
perceives within the hidden caves of heart that effulgent Aatman which is
larger than the largest, subtler than the subtlest, farther than the farthest
and nearer than the nearest'
A self-realized person not only gets the
perfect understanding of the real nature of his own self but also obtains the
understanding of the cosmic truth of the Brahman, as was discussed earlier in the Upanishad.
Is the method
described above a guaranteed means that always produces the intended result of
self-realization? Unfortunately that is not the case because then
self-realization becomes a temporary result of an like the
other results of actions found in the world.
'naayamaatma
pravachanena labhyah
na medhayaa na
bhahunaa srutena
yamaivesha vrinute
thena labhyah
yasyaisha aatma
vivrinute thanumswam' (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 2, Sloka
3)
'This Aatman is not
obtained by scholarship of scriptures, by plenty of listening to scriptures or
by intellectual prowess . This Aatman is obtained by the one (who strives for
it) to whom the Aatman choses to reveal itself'
As intense as the
desire for self-realization may be within the heart of a seeker, it is only when even that desire itself becomes totally self-less would the Aatman reveal itself to that
person. At that point, the only thing that can be said about self-realization is that it
happened because of divine grace and the grace of the Guru, not because of any
ardent scholarship or listening to spiritual matters.
How would such a
person who has realized the self be?
'vedanta vignaana
sunischitaarthaa
sannyaasa yogaath
yathaya sudha satvah' (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 2, Sloka 6)
'paryapta kaamasya
kritaatmanastu
ihaiva sarve
pravileeyanti kamah (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 2, Sloka 2)
'with a perfect
understanding of the vedantic knowledge,
a soul that has become pure through the practice of total renunciation and a
heart that has no discontent from unfulfilled desires, the desires of such a
person dissolve here itself (and do not cause rebirth)'
The knowledge of the
person who has achieved self-realization is not merely scriptural but embedded
with total clarity and without an iota of contradiction within his soul. And,
this knowledge is not intellectual but lived every second of life. And, for
such a person there will be no trace of unfulfilled desires at the time of
death as the unfulfilled desires are said to be the cause of rebirth.
'Thad eva satyam' . "That alone is the Truth" (Mundaka Upanishad)
'Thad eva satyam' . "That alone is the Truth" (Mundaka Upanishad)
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