All Your Basic Questions Answered

What is Spiritual life? How Spirituality begins? Knowing answers to such

questions helps a spiritual aspirant progress in the spiritual path with a
proper understanding.

When the journey of knowing God and knowing yourself begins your
spiritual quest begins. The spiritual journey is not the journey in time and
space, it is the journey in knowledge from lower truth to higher truth, and
from death to immortality.

Knowledge about your real self is true knowledge. You ask yourself, ‘Who
am I?’ It is really a big problem, not knowing who you truly are. Whatever
you accumulate in life, all your thoughts, emotions, ideas, prejudices,
philosophies, ideologies are yours but not you. Spirituality is, thus, the
journey from where you are to where you want to be, from near to the far,
from what is to what shall be, from the known to the unknown, from the
obvious to obscure.

The ultimate reality is called Brahmn and Atman. Brahmn refers to the
Universal consciousness or Truth. Atman refers to the individual soul or
consciousness. The Reality is One. Brahmn and Atman are essentially the
same. Brahmn is the source of the outer world and Atman is the inner self
of man. Supreme Brahmn is of the nature of Sat Chit Ananda (existence,
consciousness and bliss). So is the Self.

Maya is the inscrutable power of Brahmn through which the world of

Nama-rupa (name and form) comes. It is Maya which makes one Brahmn
appear as many. It is our ignorance which makes us see the reality of one as
many.

The Thaitiriya Upanishad deals in detail on Pancha Koshas, the five sheaths
of human personality. Where is the Self? Brahmn or the Self is “hidden in
the sacred space of the cave”, the five sheaths of the Self. Enveloped in
them, it forgets its real nature and becomes subject to transmigration. You
need to differentiate IT from them. They all exist in the Self. So, first you

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must know what you are not. You must go deep into these caves and
confront your true nature.

There are 5 caves or sheaths from the grossest and outermost to the
subtlest and innermost ones. Each successive layer is subtler, deeper,
intricate, more pervasive and more interior. The gross body is known as the
‘food sheath’. Within this physical sheath is the ‘vital sheath’; within the
vital sheath is the ‘mental sheath’; still within is the ‘intellectual sheath’ or
the ‘agent sheath’ and still within is the ‘blissful sheath’ or the ‘enjoyer
sheath’.

Annamaya Kosha (food sheath): Your physical body is made of the

food you eat. You think you are the body that is made up of matter and is
composed of the physical body and physical senses. Body’s true nature is
morality and change.

Pranamaya Kosha (energy sheath): Energy is the driving force behind

the senses, body operations, and processes. Life energy results in health,
disease and decay. The vital life energies process and maintain the body.
When there is balance in these energies, you enjoy good health. In times of
imbalance, you are sick.

Manomaya Kosha (mental sheath): It is the seat of logic and

emotions. Mind relates to happiness, sorrow, frustration etc.

Vijnanamaya Kosha (wisdom/ higher intellect sheath): Intellect

relates to ignorance and knowledge. The intellect is the reflection of pure
consciousness in the waking state, but is inactive in deep sleep.

Anandamaya Kosha (bliss sheath): It is not dependent on any reason

or stimulus. In deep dreamless sleep you forget the world, your body, your
ego. There is blankness. You experience deep restfulness and bliss.

The bliss sheath cannot be the Self because it is temporal and impermanent
reflection of the eternal and immutable Self.

The next logical question is what and where is the Self that is experiencing
it? It is here that as an aspirant you make few Fundamental mistakes:

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  You are looking for Self as an object. The self can never be the object
of knowledge. It is the subject, the one who is seeking. That which is
the subject cannot be an object of the senses. The fact you cannot see
it does not mean that it does not exist. You do not see it because it is
not an Object of experience. It is felt very directly. It is self-revealing.

The Atman is self-luminous and is self-revealing. How can that by which

the whole universe is known, be known by anything else? By what can the
knower be known?

 Our field of knowledge is divided into 2, the Known and the

unknown. The Self is neither Known and unknown. It is the knower,
the experiencer. There is no one to know It. It is consciousness or
knowledge itself and is different from the known and the unknown.

From whatever objects are perceived, dismiss the objects (the 5 sheaths)
and what remains is pure consciousness, awareness, Brahman.

 One who denies the Self is denying his very own existence. What he
argues as being ‘non-existent’ is everything.

Nothingness is everything. Who is experiencing Bliss in the darkness of

deep sleep. The indescribable Void (shunya) that remains is Poornam
(complete) and is everything.

 It is self-luminous. The inherent Self is revealed and realized when

you are aware of Consciousness in your every activity.
 As it is shameful for a man to express doubt if he has a tongue or not,
so also it is shameful to say, ‘I do not know what consciousness is. I
must know it now.’
 Existence, consciousness and infinity, the nature of Brahman, is the
nature of the Self too. It is not limited by space and time, form and
name.
 Brahmn (super soul) is called the individual soul (Jiva) when It is
viewed in association with the five sheaths.

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 The Self (‘I’) is Brahman, the reality, the One without a second, and
without name and form. As Adi Shankaracharya in his Nirvana
Shatakam says:

I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego or the memory

I am not the ears, the skin, the nose or the eyes
I am not the breath, nor the five elements
I am not matter, nor the five sheaths of consciousness
I am not the speech, the hands or the feet
There is no like or dislike in me, no greed or delusion
I know no arrogance, pride or jealousy
I have no duty, no desire for wealth, lust or liberation
I am not virtue, sin, joy nor sorrow
I am not mantra, pilgrimage, offering, nor ritual fire
I am not the food, the eating nor the one who eats
I am not death, doubt, nor discrimination of caste
I am not father, mother or birth
I am not brother, nor friend, nor guru , nor aspirant
I am beyond concept, beyond form
I am all-pervading in all the senses
I see equality in all things, I am neither attached, liberated
nor captive
I am the form of consciousness and bliss
I am eternal I am eternal

That man whose mind is not subject to distraction and who remains
identified with pure consciousness or knowledge is not merely a knower of
Brahmn but Brahmn itself.

“Know the One and give up other talks.”declares Mundaka Upanishad.

An intelligent person experiences Brahmn as his Self. He keeps his intuitive

faculty united with Brahmn through mental poise and concentration.

That by which a man sees, hears, smells, speaks and distinguishes sweet
and bitter tastes etc., is called consciousness. Prajnanam Brahma
(Consciousness is Brahmn) says the Aitareya Upanishad.

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In Thaitiriya Upanishad there is the story of Bhruguvalli, the son and
disciple of Varuna Maharshi. One day he questions-Who am I? From where
did I come? Where will I go? His father asks him to find out by himself by
giving tips.

Bhrugu starts penance (internal research) with zeal in the search for reality,
to know his true self through direct experience.

First Inference: He meditates in silence. He comes back to his father

with the answer that all this universe is made up of ‘Anna’(matter).
Everything comes out of Anna, everything is sustained by Anna and
everything dissolves into Anna. He concluded that creation as well as the
body is made of matter. Annamaya Kosha consists of five elements, the
Pancha bhootas namely the Earth (prudhvi) as bones, muscles, skin,
Water(jal) as lymph and blood. Fire (agni) in digestion, metabolism, Space
or ether (akash) in cavities, Wind (vayu) in breath. It is nourished by the
food we eat. He assumed this body is Brahman. He reports the same to his
father.

Second Inference: Father Varuna says, ‘my dear son, there is something
more subtle than what you have discovered, please go on and carry on with
your research.’ Getting rid of false identification with the physical body is
the first step in self-inquiry. Bhrugu meditates on breath and after a long
research concluded that breath is God. He comes back and says, ‘Oh father,
it is the Prana- life energy.’ It increases and decreases by itself without any
external agency. It is the basic fabric of this universe, both outside and
inside the body. It has the capacity to move in all areas of the body. His
father asks him to investigate further.

Third Inference:

Bhrugu meditates further. He returns after a long penance and says, ‘I

realize that mind is the source of everything.’ I am what I think. Mind
(Antahkarana) is made of buddhi (intellect), ahankara (ego), citta (memory
library of past impressions, incidents and thoughts) and manas (organ of
attention and perception). As Bhrugu reports to Varuna about this

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wonderful discovery, the master is happy, but he says, ‘Please move on. You
have just a few steps to go ahead, you are in the right direction.’

Fourth Inference:

After an intense, long penance, Bhrugu realizes that it is Vijnana

(knowledge) from which the entire creation has happened and so that could
be the final reality. Hunger, sleep, fear and pro-creative instinct are
common to man and animals. However man alone is endowed with free will
(the choice to act). This discriminating faculty (an inner mind, the
conscience within) guides us to do a thing or not to do a thing, continuously
discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad, useful and not useful.
So, intellect helps us to get mastery over our basic instincts.

Fifth Inference:

Varuna directs his son to go back to Tapas and this time Bhrugu never
returns home. His father Varuna goes in search of him. He finds Bhrugu
completely engrossed in deep Ananda (Bliss). He is in bliss contentment
and is free of all delusions. This too is only temporary and not present in a
wakeful state, so is not pure consciousness.

In his journey towards the Ultimate, an aspirant crosses the 5 sheaths of

existence one by one. Through analysis called Pancha Kosa Viveka he
gradually gets relieved from the bondages and constrictions of each Kosa
(sheath) and reaches the ultimate goal.

Discover this yourself. Consider the example of moving your leg. It is made
of bones, muscles, skin, etc. (Annamaya Kosha). There is life energy or vital
energy in it (Pranamaya Kosha). You wish to move it (Manomaya Kosha),
You decide to take a step in a particular direction (Vijnanamaya Kosha).
You feel happy when you walk (Anandamaya Kosha). Similarly, you must
observe and experience the 5 sheaths in each and every action of yours. As
you are experiencing them, you are the experiencer. Consciousness is
illuminating all the 5 sheaths. It is that which appears as the 5 sheaths.
They all arise in Consciousness and have no existence apart from
Consciousness. Form and name, body and mind arise and subside in our
consciousness.

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Distinguishing characteristics of the 5 sheaths and the Self

1. While the 5 sheaths are Vikari changing Self is Nirvikara (changeless).

2. The 5 sheaths are Drishya and the Self is Drashta.
3. The 5 sheaths are Insentient (Achetana), inanimate(jadam) and the
Self is sentient (chetana).

Who Am I? What am I? Why am I here?

By introspection you negate and reject the five sheaths as they do not meet
the parameters of the Self, the Ultimate Reality: Brahmn is Satyam Jnanam
Anantam.

If I am not the body, not the mind, not an experience, not the intellect, not
ignorance, not a non-existent, not a son (role play) then who am I?

“The changeless in the changing world is God and the changeless in the
changing body is the Self.”

Brahmn is Immortal, Unchanging reality, pure, formless, infinite

consciousness. If you become aware of it, you see it as Self, as you truly are.

You understand your body and mind. You are a sentient being (chaitanya) 
with pure awareness or consciousness. “You are ever the experiencer, never
the experienced ”

The way to a Higher Life

God must be earnestly sought. When you are very desirous of finding Him,
the Lord comes as the guru. Satguru is a direct link with God. Satguru has
only one purpose-to introduce you to God. He bestows God knowledge and
it is God realization that leads to Self realization.

First meditate and feel the divine presence. Then do your work saturated
with the consciousness of God. Dedicate inwardly to God all the day’s
activities and when work is one, commune with Him in the temple of
silence. When you are in tune with your true nature, you are in tune with
the Lord. The knower of Brahmn attains the highest.