Vedantic Culture by Sri Swami Sivananda

Vedantic Culture by Sri Swami Sivananda

The Being who is described in the Upanishads is Brahman or Atman or the Self or Absolute. He is the fountain-head of all scriptural knowledge. He is the source or womb for everything. He is existence absolute, knowledge absolute and bliss absolute. He is indivisible, all-pervading, self-contained, eternal and immortal. He is beyond time, space and causation. He is beginningless and endless. He is the indweller in all beings. He is the witness of the activities of all minds.

The Atman or the Self is all-pervading. He is beyond birth and death. He is undecaying, self-luminous, eternal, pure and self-existent. He is all-full, imperishable and infinite. He is the silent witness of the three states, viz., waking, dreaming and deep sleep. He is beyond caste, creed or colour. Sin cannot touch Him because He is ever pure. Pain, sorrow and delusion cannot affect Him, because He is all-joy. Hunger, worries and tribulations cannot torment Him, because He is all-bliss. Lust cannot reach Him, because He is sexless. Wrath cannot approach Him, because He is mindless. Restlessness cannot agitate Him, because He is all-peace. Time cannot devour Him, because He is eternity.

What on earth can cause fear in you when you have realised your identity with such an Atman? What on earth can generate hatred, delusion, difference and sorrow in you when you behold the one in all and all in one? What on earth can cause agitation in you when you have transcended the mind and when you rest peacefully in your own Sat-Chit-Ananda Svarupa—that magnanimous ocean of bliss and stupendous silence?

The question: "Who am I? What is this Samsara? Whence have I come? Whither will I go? What is the goal of life? What is Brahman or Atman? What is the relation between the individual soul and the supreme soul? How to attain the goal? Can I become immortal? Can I enjoy eternal bliss?" Will surely arise in the mind of every human being at one stage of his life or another.

He who seriously thinks over these questions and attempts in right earnest to reach the goal is a wise man but he who does not care to ponder over these vital questions, who leads a sensual life and who does not endeavour to attain the final beatitude of life, is a fool or a thoughtless person. He lives in vain. He is a burden on this earth. He is a slayer of his own Self. His life is indeed very pitiable.

He alone who is devoted to his parents, who has a calm mind, who has controlled all his senses, who has a one-pointed mind, who is equipped with four means, who is endowed with Sattvic qualities, who has purified his mind by constant selfless service, who has removed the tossing of the mind by Upasana or worship, Japa and Kirtan and, last but not least, who sits at the feet of a preceptor, who is enlightened and well-versed in scriptural knowledge, is able to grasp the Truth or the one Eternal Principle.

http://www.dlshq.org/discourse/sep2012.htm