The Self is ever attained

by Swami Ramsukhdas

translated by Anand.V

There are two things in this world, the ever attained and the illusory. That which is ever attained cannot be seen and that which is illusory is not stable. ‘one’s own existence - I am’- is ever attained; the reason being that in all states – in waking, dream, deep sleep, trance and fainting, one’s existence is not negated; it is ever present. But this existence cannot be seen (objectified). The body and the world which can be seen are illusory. They do not exist in reality. That which is ever attained cannot be destroyed. ‘That’ is attained by all, at all times. But that cannot be felt; it cannot be objectified. The world is seen through the eyes, but through which can the eyes be seen? Similarly through what can ‘that’ be seen which is aware of everything, which is the substratum of everything, and which is the illuminator of all? (Brihadaranyaka 2, 4, 14) Just as, that by which the world is seen is the eye, similarly the existence on which the world seems to appear, or the substratum that illuminates the world, is the Paramatma tatva (that which is ever attained). The world which seems to exist is never the same. It always keeps on changing. This is not a strange phenomenon. It is a well known fact. If the world were to be stable, then how could it change? Although we know this fact, we do not accept it. We regard the world as existing. That existence by which the world is illumined, that existence by which the world is seen, is regarded as hard to attain. It is just amazing that we regard ‘that’ which is ever attained as unattained; and which is constantly changing as attained.

It is because of the existence of God that the world, through foolishness, seems to exist. Though the world seems to exist, because of our foolishness, in reality it is not so.

(Ramacharitamanas: 1, 117/4). The sense organs, the mind, and the intellect through which the world is seen as well as the seen world, belong to same class. Both the Jivatma which is illuminator of one’s mind, body and intellect, and the Paramatma which is illuminator of the world, belong to same class. The Jivatma and Paramatma are ever attained because they always exist and the world and the body which are ever changing are never attained. How can that be stable which is always changing, and always flowing? No it cannot be stable. This is very evident and clear. Where did your childhood vanish? Where did the past circumstances disappear? All these have disappeared into that which is not. How can that which knows the circumstances that disappear, be grouped under that which is not? That awareness is surely existent. How can that awareness by which this ‘not’ is known be realized? The way to realize ‘that’ is not to do anything. The meaning of not to do anything is not sloth or laziness. Its meaning is to establish oneself in that ever existing self (‘is’- ness). Gita says (6, 25) atma samstham manakritva na kinchid api chintayet. That is to establish oneself in the all pervading self and not to think of anything else. The reason is that, if we think of Paramatma, we slip from our original state. We can think of Paramatma only by regarding Him as apart from us. That which is thought of and the person who thinks are always different. Therefore to get established in that existence (is- ness) and then to be silent is a great way to realize the self. By being silent one becomes aware of the ever realized existence. This ever realized state is called svastha (Gita: 14, 24)

In fact all men are established (seated) firmly in existence but due to their foolishness they consider themselves to be in the body. (Gita: 13, 20). Purusha is the cause of experience of pain and pleasure. Who is the Purusha who experiences pain and pleasure? The Purusha seated in Prakriti experiences the qualities born of Prakriti and experiences pain and pleasure. When does Purusha become even minded in pain and pleasure? -When he gets established in the original state of pure existence. Is there any effort required to get established in that existence? We are always in that state of pure existence. Hence no effort is required. Therefore one should not think of anything .One should stay in that state for as much time as possible. If any thought intervenes, then do not give accord existence to it. Allow it to disappear by itself. That which is born gets destroyed. Therefore do not give any importance to the dying thought. The wave rises and then subsides. Why should one get perturbed at that?

People take great efforts to stop the mind, but the mind does not become inoperative. There is no need to stop the mind. Neither one should not stop the mind nor should operate it. Leave the mind as it is, don’t bother about it. Give it up. Then the thoughts will disappear automatically. In fact thoughts are disappearing on their own. By trying to wipe them out, we give them stability. The Lord has never said on his own to practice controlling the mind but has said “shani: shani: uparamet”- slowly to withdraw from the mind. On the subject of controlling the mind, on being questioned by Arjuna, the Lord says that mind can be brought under control by abhyasa and vairagya (practice and desirelessness). Arjuna asked this question in two slokas and the Lord replied it in two slokas. The Lord has not spoken so little to any other question. Out of the two slokas the Lord answered the question in half of the sloka and in another half, he supported Arjuna. Then the Lord said that by merely controlling the mind one does not attain mukti but one should subjugate it. One whose mind has not been subjugated and is wandering- which wants to enjoy the pleasures of the world- cannot attain yoga. But he who has subjugated his mind, and he who is striving, attains yoga. To subjugate the mind does not mean to hold the mind or to concentrate on it .Not to be controlled by the mind is to subjugate it. In the same way, the Lord has spoken about insusceptibility to the sense organs or desire and aversion. One should not be led by the mind nor should one worry about its state. Let the mind flow in its own way. One should stay apart from it and not be affected by it

The reality is that we are apart from the mind and we are not with it. The mind changes while we do not change. We are entirely different from it. Thus we should know it as different from us. We are responsible for what we do and not for what that happens .We cannot be held responsible for becoming old in life from youth hood. Thus we are not responsible for the thoughts that spontaneously arise in our mind. That which arises will automatically subside. Therefore from our side, we should not think about anything. If thoughts arise, then they will subside by themselves. We should not intervene in that process. Ignore the mind. This is the right path. To concentrate on the mind is not as great as this path. To try to wipe out that, which is ‘not’, is to give existence to it.

We either think of the past or the future. We cannot think of the present. The present cannot be thought of. The present cannot be grasped by the mind. Therefore to regard that which does not exist in the present as existing is the blunder that we commit. To regard it as existing and then trying to wipe it out is to give it stability. That which has happened in the past does not exist in the present. That which is to happen in future also does not exist in the present. To hold that which is not in the present and to fight with it, not giving any attention to the Paramatman who exists in the present is the biggest blunder. That is, to have no regard for the Paramatman of the present and to worry about the non existing mind is the blunder. Paramatman alone exists in the present. There is nothing else as easy as the attainment of Paramatman. One must remain firm in the fact that the Self (Paramatman) is ever attained. No matter how many disturbances appear, the Self remains as it is. The self is ever attained.

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