An Introduction to Vedanta
Part XXXII
Dr. K. Sadananda

Part XXXII – Self realization or God realization

If one asks the question: ‘what do I have to do to realize that I am Brahman?’ – What should be the answer? I am Brahman whether I realize it or not, just as the ring is gold, whether it recognizes it or not. What does the ring have to do to become gold? Does it have to sit down and meditate that ‘I am gold; I am gold’ etc? Does it have to do some selfless service or karma yoga, perform some religious activities, take a dip in the Holy Rivers or perform sacrifices, etc? None of them make a ring into gold. It has to simply understand what it is – it is nothing but pure gold and ‘ring’ is only a particular form with that name. There is no substantive other than gold. One can use some fancy words to take the ring’s mind off its identification with its form and name. It is the very essence, very core of its personality or the very self (antaryAmin) of the ring or in-dweller of all the ornaments, which is beyond any modifications and beyond the birth, growth, decay and destruction of all names and forms, etc.

mokSha is freedom from limitations. mokSha cannot be gained or given, nor does it involve going somewhere, vaikuNTha or kailAsa or eternal heavens, etc. These all come under the criteria of gaining something that I do not have. To gain anything that I do not have, work has to be done. Or it should be given freely by the compassionate God. If God is an infinite compassionate being, He should give mokSha to everyone, so that nobody need suffer in this universe.

No, No, No! God is full of compassion, but He can give mokSha only to those who deserve it. It essentially implies that one has to earn it. The problem is similar to the one where my boss distributes promotions to those who deserve them. If I have to earn or deserve it, then it depends on my efforts to be on His good-side to deserve His grace. That which can be given can be taken back too. One who can promote can also give pink slips too. If God is some superior being who punishes those who do not behave and favors those who follow His will, we reduce the problem back to a temporal one. The solution, by definition, will be also temporal only; i.e. limited by space and time. Obviously these are very elementary concepts. mokSha or liberation, on the other hand, is freedom from all limitations. Therefore it cannot be gained or given.

When Vedanta says that you are Brahman, tat tvam asi, there is nothing to gain and nowhere to go. mokSha is not of the type of gaining something that I do not have (aprAptasya prAptam). It can only be prAptasya prAptam or gaining something that I already have, which implies that it is intrinsic to my own nature; i.e. nobody can give it, and no one can take it away from me. If I already have it, then why should I gain mokSha? True - unless I do not know that I have it. In that case gaining truly involves understanding or recognizing or realizing that I am already Brahman or I am ever Brahman. Therefore it is not something to do but something to understand or recognize. Like any other knowledge, in order to gain self-knowledge or understanding of one’s true nature, intelligent inquiry into the nature of the self is required. Here the inquiry is more subtle than an inquiry used in the analysis of any objective science, for it is an inquiry about my true nature or inquiry into the subject, I, which cannot be objectified. Therefore to realize I am Brahman, I have to inquire within, using the methodology outlined in Vedanta. Hence realization of Brahman or the self within does not involve any action. Besides, any action being finite, the result will also be finite. What we are seeking is infiniteness itself and therefore it cannot be the product of any finite action or even a series of finite actions.

Hence, the process involves gaining the knowledge of the reality of myself and the world that I experience. It involves recognition that I am that reality, the substantive for both the subject I and the object, the world. One cannot become Brahman; finite cannot become infinite. Hence, the Vedas declare the truth in the form of an aphorism: YOU ARE THAT - THAT THOU ART – TAT TVAM ASI. It is only the recognition that ‘I am’- the existent-conscious entity that I am – is in fact Brahman. Hence Vedanta says ‘the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman – brahma vit brahmaiva bhavati’. The knower of a thing cannot become that thing. However the scriptures say that the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. This can happen only if knowing Brahman is knowing oneself. Hence, it is the self-knowledge or recognition that ‘I am Brahman - aham brahmAsmi’.

Proceed to the next essay.