Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:- The Self is indeed Brahman, but
through ignorance people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions,
and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the Self is
said to consist of this and that, and appears to be everything.
It is very difficult,
from the statements of the Upanishads, to distinguish between which actually is
the state of liberation while living in the body and which is that of Absoluteness
attained after the transcendence of the physical existence. Often, they give
the same description with reference to both. This only shows that the
distinction between Jivanmukti and Videhamukti is relative and does not have
much meaning in itself.
The liberated has
no difference of any kind in himself. Freedom is the highest spiritual realization
by the individual in the midst of waking experience. In this condition the
usual mind takes the form of its original nature of universal knowledge freed
from the relations of illusory experience of form, space, time and cause.
One realizes the formless soul is the cause of all that exists and it itself is uncaused. The formless soul, which is present in the form of consciousness and is the knower of all, that appears and
disappears. The whole physical existence erupts from it.
Consciousness is first
and earlier than the mind which is present in the form of the universe. It is the root of immortality! It is both the
subject and also the object. It is the witness and also the witnessed. It is
an illusion and also in reality by knowing this truth one overcomes the whole ignorance, which is the
cause of the illusory universe,which appears as waking or dream
Consciousness is the real and it is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The
one, who knows this Imperishable as self, gets freedom from experiencing the
illusion or duality as reality.
Realizing the
difference between the 'Seen' (waking or dream) and 'the formless witness or soul,' when
the soul gets disunited from `seen' (waking or dream)' and established in identity
with itself, which is the supreme soul , one is said to have known liberation
from experiencing the duality as reality.
While dreaming one is being reminded his waking state, he
comes to recognize the dream, therefore, he wakes up. Immediately he realizes
that waking is the only means of escape from the woes of the dream state.
Even so the seeker of truth following the path of Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana ,
while perceiving the difference between the Seen (waking or dream) and the Seer (Formless
Witness or soul), comes to realize the apparent connection with the Seen was
due to mistaken identity.
The
seeker is able to reestablish the real connection and recognizes real identity
(soul). The ultimate truth is soul or consciousness alone is real and all else mere illusion.
