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Articles
Words of Wisdom
(Translation of Amrutha Vakkulu Telugu Book)
Aatma (The Self)
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- Your nature is self (Aatma). God and Aatma (self) are not different. Realized soul (Jnani) calls it as Aatma and devotee calls it as God. It is the self alone which is omnipresent and you are that. There is nothing different from you, then how can there exist anything that is superior to you or inferior to you?
- Aatman is knowledge, existence and bliss (Sat Chit Ananda)
- Aatman is embodiment of happiness, peace, light, truth, bliss and knowledge.
- Your nature is self (Aatma). Your nature is itself God. Your nature is itself the Kundalini Shakti and the kingdom of heaven as proclaimed by Christ. There is neither beauty nor truth higher than that of self. After you taste the bliss of self, even if your ishta daiva (favourite God) stands in front of you, you will not have a desire to look at him, such is the glory of the self.
- The self that is shining within your heart is the only truth. There is no God higher than the truth. There is no religion higher than the truth. There is no nation higher than the truth. The self (Aatman) has the power to enslave your senses, your mind and your destiny. But, are you wholeheartedly having a desire for self (Aatman)? Is it not true that only when you desire that, self (Aatman) reveals itself?
- “I” am self (Aatman). The thought of I is ego. “Aham Brahmasmi” implies “I am that” i.e., I am embodiment of Brahman. “I” that is referred here is not the limited “I” that you all experience. “I” here indicates the self.
- The Adi Guru (first Guru) Dakshinamurthy himself couldn’t explain the self (Aatman) in words and hence remained in silence. Dakshinamurthy = Dakshina (Right side) + Murthy (Formless). It means right side of our body, positioned at heart, the one who resides without form is DakshinaMurthy and i.e., the self (Aatman).
- The self (Aatman) that is shining within us is much brighter than millions of suns put together. It is not visible to these eyes which are just made of flesh. To realize the self (Aatman), one needs goodness, patience, humility and faith. As the sun is hidden by the clouds, the self (Aatman) is covered by the cloud named ego. Only those who can kill their ego when their body is still alive can obtain self-realization.
- The self (Aatman) is the true Arunachala. The self (Aatman) is deathless, hence every man wants immortality. The self (Aatman) is ever free, hence every man wants freedom. The self (Aatman) is embodiment of love, hence every man loves himself. The self is embodiment of all happiness hence every man thrives for happiness always. The self (Aatman) is not sorrow, hence everyman doesn’t desire for sorrow.
- Even though the electric current is invisible, can we doubt its existence? Similarly we cannot doubt the existence of self (Aatman) though it is not visible. The bulb glows only when it is attached to an electric wire. Incarnations like Rama and Krishna took birth only to manifest the power of self (Aatman), but don’t limit the self (Aatman) to their bodies. If we attach current wire to 100 watts bulb it will emit light accordingly, if we attach to 1000 watts bulb it will emit light accordingly, does the current wire have any limits? Similarly the strength of self (Aatman) is infinite and it doesn’t have any boundaries.
- Prarabdha Karma (Destiny) is limited to body and mind and is in no way related to the self (Aatman). The sun is the witness for all our activities. When our karma (actions) doesn’t affect the physical sun, how can it touch the Atman (self) which makes the physical sun, shine? Except the self (Aatman), everything else is gross. We may be yearning for self-realization but the self (Aatman) is more eager than us for being revealed.
- Self (Aatman) doesn’t need any body but the ego needs a body. Only those who lead their life carefully and humbly will realize the self (Aatman).
- My dear friends! Instead of travelling hundreds of miles externally if you travel at least an inch towards your heart, you will understand the glory of the self (Aatman). Love the truth and it will be revealed to you. Without realizing the self (Aatman) there is no point in studying any number of Shastras (Scriptures). A self-realized soul has no work with the scriptures.
- Self (Aatman) is not revealed to them who is neither Jnani (refined soul) nor tyagi (one who sacrifices). The impurities in your heart and your sins itself are not showing your path towards the self. Even one bad tendency prevents from realizing the self (Aatman). Self (Aatman) is not revealed to weak and lazy people. You have distanced yourselves from the self (Aatman) by enjoying sensual pleasures since many births. The self (Aatman) is not revealed until and unless you travel back the same distance through sadhana.
- Self (Aatman) is invisible it cannot be seen, it reveals to you only when you are purified. You cannot get rid of the sensual pleasures and go beyond nature until you taste the bliss of the self (Aatman). Self (Aatman) reveals only to a truth seeker. Self (Aatman) is truth and the body is nothing but gross. The body works only with the energy of the self (Aatman). Self (Aatman) will be revealed to you only when you use 100% of your energy.
By keeping the self (Aatman) as your sole goal,
- You will find happiness not only in this world but also in other higher worlds,
- You will be able to bear your destiny happily,
- Your needs will be satisfied
And at last self (Aatman) reveals to you.
Happiness lies in satisfaction but until the self is realized none can ever be satisfied.
- Whatever forms you may worship, whatever names you may chant, even after one million years ultimately you need to reach the state of Brahmam. Then why don’t you aim towards the self (Aatman) in this birth today itself?
- On remembering your Ishta Daiva (personal god) again and again your mind gets concentration, and all the thoughts including the present will perish away and thereby self (Aatman) reveals onto you.
- My Dear Friends! There are many people who crave for their health but is there anyone who craves for self-realization? You will get self-realization if you spend at least half of the tears that you spend for your family.
- If the self (Aatman) is divided into four parts – even on aggregating all the visible worlds they all seem to be just in fraction of the self (Aatman). Relative knowledge has at least some ignorance embedded in it. Where there is ignorance, change is inevitable. It is self (Aatman) alone that is perpetual it is pure Jnana.
- Needs are different from desires. Self (Aatman) is revealed to them who earn according to their needs and spend their remaining time in obtaining the self (Aatman). Don’t you know whether you are living for the sake of your needs or your desires? Even if you don’t know is it not known to the self (Aatman) within you? How can you get self-realization if you are proud of your learning or money? If you are carried away by your wealth how can the Aatman have a place within your heart? In order to separate an item from a pool you are holding your breath and closing your mouth and then you are getting into the water, then is it not required, to obtain the self (Aatman) within your heart of hearts you need to get into your heart regulating your breath mind words and senses? Isn’t it true that your body is more important than your clothes, your mind is more important than your body, your buddhi (discrimination) is more important than your mind and the self (Aatman) is much more important than your buddhi (discrimination)?
- How reasoning is important in knowing the truth, faith is also equally important. But how many of you have faith in the self (Aatman)? People with rajas and tamas can never listen about the self (Aatman) and thereby they can never be peaceful. Shraddha (faith) is obtained only through shravana (listening about self). Is it possible to get faith without shraddha?
- Whether it is Krishna in Gita, or rishis in Vedas they always said that the self (Aatman) exists within your heart but never proclaimed that the self (Aatman) exists in books. But being habituated to extroverted vision we always search for the self (Aatman) in the books rather than in the heart. Books only give you scholarship/scholar hood but will not give self-realization. The Lord said in Gita – “I shine as self (Aatman) within your heart. Search within, and then the self (Aatman) will be revealed”. We came into this world only to have the experience of God. We should never forget the purpose of our arrival into this world. The incarnation of Ramana came onto this earth only to turn the humanity towards the self which is been habituated to extroverted vision since long time.
- Just as a movie screen supports the images. It is the self (Aatman) which supports the entire creation. Moderation in food, speech and sleep are the best tools for reaching the self.
- My Dear Friends! When you cannot bear a single word from others how can you bear the self (Aatman)? What you get in movies or in this world are just feeling. Feeling brings you delusion which in turn binds you. But the true love is contained only in the self (Aatman) that gives you the energy to get released from the delusion.
- You are saying Self (Aatman) is the witness for all our actions. But when there is nothing apart from self (Aatman) then for whom it acts as the spectator? - asked Sri Ramana. Beauties of the self (Aatman) are not revealed to you until and unless you go beyond the nature, Gods, the worlds and the tendencies.
- Self (Aatman) is beyond reasoning but not against it. This is because today our so called advanced science has not been able to find out the formulation of the five elements in this nature – then how can we expect it to find out the self (Aatman)?
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| Courtesy: Hyderabad Devotees |
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