“The Self, who is to be grasped by the decontaminated mind and the illumined perception, whose form is light, whose thoughts are true; who, like the air remains pure, unattached; from whom ensues all works, all needs, all aromas, all savours; who permeates all, who is afar the wits, and in whom there is entirety of delight perpetually - he is my very Self, dwelling inside the lotus of my heart.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:2 & 3)

The Self, who……
The Self is not just an abstract notion, it is a ‘who’. The Self is a cognizant person, not just an idea, a notion or a thought. It is impersonal and the term ‘person’ cannot be construed to mean a human being. It is awareness and it is beyond our perception, still cognizant and intimate, an inscrutable, absolute reality. Yet it is conscious and ever real, backed by a bulwark of realisation of the collective wisdom of eons. It may not be visible to our limited faculties. But it is the eternal truth and the harbinger of pure joy.

How do we grasp this Self, which is the truth…….
It is to be realised. When we begin to search for it or inquire, we do not find it as an end result. We need to go beyond that. We become aware of that Self, a knowledge that we are aware of it as our own being. We experience this awareness by a conscious involvement in the pursuit of Truth, which is eternal. The initial objective search ends in a subjective realisation. It is not something distant, it is like ‘here and now’, the experience of which is real and indescribable. But to grasp this eternal bliss, the mind should be open, clear of all push and pull, away from the vagaries of our senses and misdirection of the intellect. Our mind needs to be transparent. Normal mind is like a mirror covered with layers and layers of dust and dirt, akin to a lump of opaque earth. How can we then expect illumination?

The Self in the form of light is obscured by the sensory mind and selfish thoughts. It is only when we make efforts to remove the debris clinging fast to the mirror can we get a glimpse of the shining, illuminating, reflecting ,mirror called Self. Our vision should be unobstructed. Fickle thoughts and senses impede our vision and prevent us from experiencing this self.

The path of this necessary purification is fully explained in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The illumined consciousness….
This is self-effulgent i.e., ‘swayam prakasha’. Its very nature is light. This self-effulgent light illumines all. It lives because it is light and lights up all lives by its presence just like it itself is illumined and enlivened by its innate unity with the Supreme Light.

Whose form is light….
Neither the Brahman nor the Self (atman) has any form which we can grasp with our limitations. Similarly the reference to light cannot be grossly described or understood but can be intuitively experienced and become aware of. The nature of light which is swayam prakasha is explained by one seer as a blinding light which does not blind our sight but soothes, and is equivalent to the illumination of a thousand suns together in the sky. We can imagine the glory of the eternal, infinite, inscrutable God.

Whose thoughts are true….
Neither the Self nor the Supreme Consciousness has any “thought” as such, but for us to understand the way the Self or the Supreme acts we have to deduce a method – action through thought. In reality it is action through will i.e., ‘sathya sankalpa” – true will. The Eternal or even the Self acts only through will. God willed and hence everything emerged or happened. Our scriptures assure us that the will of God is true, absolutely real.
The Brahman is all-knowing always; nothing needs to be thought of.

Who like the ether….
Who like the ether remains pure and unattached – the nature of the Self is like that of ether i.e., ‘akashatma’. This akashatma is ever unattached.
Shankara defines the Self as one whose nature is like that of space – all-pervasive, subtle and free from form. The sky consists of celestial bodies, atmosphere, cloud, vapour, gases etc., yet the space is untouched by any of them. So also our Self is encased in the body, senses, mind, intellect etc., yet beyond all these. The Self, even though connected to birth, growth, decay, death (karmas), is unaffected and free from the effects of conditioning. Hence, like ether it is free always.

From whom proceed all works…..
The Self never acts, the Upanishads declare this. But all actions take place only due to the proximity of Self. The Sankhya philosophy declares that all actions take place only through the proximity of the Self. It is like the iron which expands when it is heated or near the fire. Similarly the energy bodies act due to the Self which is encased in the body. The actions occur due to the presence of the Self, even though the Self itself does not act (it is just a witness).

All desires…. .
The Self does not have desire. However, all movements of will or intention (desire) are attributed to the Self or emanates from the Self. The Self does not produce the desire. But the desire is derived from the Self.

All odours, all tastes…..
This refers to the actions of the senses and the effect on the mind. It is the Self which causes them to function. The Self may not be responsible for actual happening. Still everything happens in it presence. We cannot recognise the effects without the Self being unaware of them. The Self is the life giver, sustainer, even when it is not the producer in the literal sense. But we should appreciate the fact of the presence of the Self in birth, growth, decay, death and in the entire continuum.

Who pervades all…..
It is the all-pervasive presence of the Self that causes all the events to happen. The ubiquitous nature of the Self is unique.

Who is beyond the senses….
The scriptures conclusively opine that realisation of Self is intuitive and subtle. One has to eschew myriad shelters (phenomena). These are only distractions. One should ignore them and go past them and rest in that abiding Self. In order to attain the One, we need to abandon the many.

In Whom there is fullness of joy forever…..
We should get to the truth without wasting our energy, time, focusing on sensory objects which are fleeting. With discrimination we find that all joy, happiness, bliss abide permanently in God. Therefore, it is imperative for us to abide in the eternal abode of bliss permanently, not just momentarily. We should surround ourselves with that bliss and be in the core of that bliss. We are lost in it, but everlasting.

He is my very self…..
We should totally identify ourselves with that effulgent Self. We cannot feel that integrated awareness intellectually but by intuition we can feel in our very core all the time.

Dwelling within the lotus of my heart…..
The Self is lodged in the deep niche of our lotus heart. So we should turn our focus inward; start delving into the depths of our hearts to seek that essence.

The all-encompassing Self……
Thus in Chandogya Upanishad verse 3:14:3 the Self is described as:
“Smaller than a grain of rice is the Self, smaller than a grain of barley, smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than a canary seed, smaller even than the kernel of a canary seed. Yet again is that Self, within the lotus of my heart, greater than the earth, greater than the heavens, greater than all the worlds.”

‘Anoraniyaan mahato mahiyaan’ – smaller than the smallest atom and wider than the widest space – that is the nature of all-encompassing Self.

The atman transcends time and space……
Dvandva teetam…
Beyond the dualities of time and space, big and small etc.

‘Aprameya’ – cannot be measured

When we realise that the Self is the reflection of the Divine we should possess the qualities of that Divine too. The Self is all-pervading, however large or small and it pervades absolutely. There is nothing which is not pervaded by that Self, inside or outside, but it is in everything. The Self encompasses all worlds and all levels of creation, much greater and more expansive than the physical universe. It is a part of the Supreme.

Krishna mollified Arjuna to desist from attempting to know anything else (varieties in creation). It is enough to comprehend that the Self exists in each and every atom, everywhere and that, the Supreme Self is declaring in unequivocal terms. The whole universe and all the worlds are sustained by an atom of the Supreme Self (Bhagawad Gita).
The Self is at the core of our heart. It encompasses all the worlds. In fact we ourselves are carrying all the worlds within ourselves. This realisation itself is the quintessential search for truth in spiritualism.
The pursuit of self enquiry constantly, through inward focusing, by following sadhanas like japa, tapa etc., will at least elevate our state to a higher consciousness.

- Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba