The All-Pervading Self

All living things in the world share one, and only one, common feature: the eternal spirit. In all manifold forms of creation, in unity and in diversity, we find only the spirit of the self and nothing else. The realization of this aspect constitutes the essence of all learning.

Truth is something everyone has to respect under all conditions. Truth cannot be changed by arguments or discussion. Similarly, the eternal truths contained in the Vedanta (Hindu scriptures) manifest themselves as if they have no relation to a particular religion, a particular sect, or a particular community.

Vedanta stands for ultimate wisdom. Here, the words wisdom and knowledge do not refer to knowledge about material things, about music, or about any particular branch of learning. They represents the knowledge of divinity. The knowledge and wisdom about self is what will be of use in one’s life. It is most useful for man to know himself. Nothing is more useful than knowledge of one’s own self. By this is meant: knowledge of the self. To know the self and to know one’s own self is the most useful aspect of one’s learning.

What is the self? Is it identical with the body? Is it the same thing as the mind? Is it the same as intelligence? What, in fact, is self?

We have eyes. The eye looks at the body and sees the various organs that compose it. In this case, it is quite clear that the organs being seen and the eye that is beholding them are quite distinct from each other. The eye looks not only at the body and its organs, but also at everything around us—the table, the house, our surroundings. It is obvious that the things being seen are different and distinct from the eye that views them.

Fire burns matter. It also gives brightness. That which shines and burns is the fire. It is different and apart from the matter it shines on or that it burns. Who is the individual who looks at the matter being burned and the fire that is burning? We understand clearly that what is burned is different from what is responsible for the burning.

Here is a table, a tumbler, a kerchief. What is it that makes these things manifest and enables us to recognize them? Here is a kind of light. Here is an instrument. The instrument of light is shining on the various items, making them visible to us. To follow that analogy, we will need to regard the eye as an instrument. When the eye, an organ, is regarded as an instrument, how can we identify the instrument with the self? What has been said applies not only to the eye; it applies to the ear that hears, the tongue that tastes, the hand that accomplishes work, the nose that smells. All these organs must be regarded as instruments. When all the organs are treated as instruments, how can the human body, which is composed of these organs, be anything other than an instrument? It becomes clear that neither the organs nor the human body is identical with self.

Now we shall move on to the mind and inquire if there is any chance of identifying the mind with the self. We can see that the mind is only a device by which one can distinguish and think. Mind is only a bundle of desires. Mind, which has this form of a bundle of desires, cannot be identified with the self.

We now come to intelligence. We will notice easily that intelligence is also an instrument, an instrument which can be used at the command of the self. We know the nature of intelligence. We assume that we have a knife in our hand. With the knife, we attempt to cut a piece of fruit. We can cut the fruit only when the knife is sharp. As in this analogy, we can regard the mind as a knife. Only when the mind—which is the knife—is sharp, can it be referred to as intelligence. Only then can we use the mind in the proper manner.

If we have already accepted that the mind itself in an instrument and that intelligence is only a quality of sharpness of the knife, can intelligence be anything other than a quality? If we inquire in this way and proceed step by step, it will become clear that intelligence is also an instrument.

The next stage is life. The life, or the vital air in us, is such that when we go to sleep, we lose the ability to find out whether the vital air exists or not. The vital air,or the body, breathes in or breathes out. In the state of sleep, all the sensory organs become passive and are not working. In those conditions, along with the organs, even the life quality is not working. When the master himself is not doing any work, will the servants remain active? In a similar manner, when all the organs have become passive and are not working, can this vital air remain active? Here also it becomes clear to us that the vital air is like one of the organs—and not the self.

We ask the question, what is the nature of self? The self, which is present in everyone, experiences the world with the assistance of the organs. Even in the dream state, in a very subtle manner, the self experiences the intelligence and the mind. The experience, which the self has in the waking state and in the dreaming state, is also possible in the deep sleep state. We, thus, conclude that the quality of self is such that in all three states—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep—it does not change.

In our description, these three states have three different names and three aspects. But during these changing states, the self does not change in reality. It is the same in all three states. We can take the example of a small plate, a silver plate. When we do not like the form of the plate, we can ask a silversmith to convert it into the shape of a spoon. When, after some time, we do not like the spoon, we can change the form into a cup. First it was a plate, then a spoon; afterward, it became a cup. What has changed is the form and the name. But silver, the base for all the three forms, does not change.

In the same manner, like the form and the name that have changed in the case of the plate, spoon, and cup, we refer to the waking state, the dream state, and the sleeping state. But the self—like the base—remains unchanged in all three states. It is important to recognize this permanent truth: self remains unchanging.

When we speak of “I,” we note that there are two kinds of “I.” In one sense, I is the recognition of your external human form of the body. A second I refers to the inner aspect. These two relate to two aspects—the body and the Absolute inside the body.

Between these two extremes lies an intermediate state – the identification of the “I” with the individual in you. To say that you are identical with the individual in the intermediate state, between the body and the Absolute, is like the dreaming state. To say “I am the body” corresponds to the waking state. To say “I am the Absolute” corresponds to the deep sleep state. The three forms—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep—are only different forms given to the unchanging self. These are simply reflections of the self and they cannot be identified with the self.

A state exists that is higher than these three states. It is referred to as the turiya state. Here is one small example. You look at your own face in the mirror. You say that it is your face. But strictly speaking, it is not identical with your face. What you see in the mirror is something distinct and different from your face. In the image, your right eye appears as the left eye; the left eye appears as the right eye. It is not possible to establish the identity between the two. One should conclude that what you see in the mirror is only an image, not yourself. The reason is that the instrument in which you see yourself—the mirror—is something different from you. The one who sees is different from what is seen. You can call them identical only when what you see and what is being seen are one and the same.

In this context, the self should be regarded only as a witnessing consciousness. Only then will it be the true self. You are but a witness. Through the help of your organs and your body, you can witness all the things around you. Self is present everywhere. No place in the world is without self. That kind of omnipresent self enters a container, and through that container—the human body—it makes use of you. The self is present everywhere and is in everything. It is unaffected and omnipresent, like ether – and beyond ether.

The self is unaffected and untouched by anything. It is beyond everything and devoid of agitation or activity. You should not doubt whether or not it is unlimited. It is beyond the three limitations of space, time, and causation. You cannot state that the self is in one place but not in another. It is not limited by space. You cannot say that it exists at one time but not at another. It is not limited by time. The self is everything. There is nothing that is not the self. The self is all. It has no limitation of substance, name, or form. The self is full and free. Knowing this is the fullest wisdom, the highest truth. The knowledge that the self is all fills and fulfills. One is the self through and through! That is also what the Sruthi (scripture) declares.

The attachment to self will not undergo any modifications. Even when the senses and the body fall, the self will remain and infuse bliss. It is unlimited and indestructible. The self is one; it subsumes all, and by knowing it, all is known. How can it be all-knowing, one may ask? The self is the universal consciousness; all else is inert matter. Only the self can know. Nothing else is capable of knowing. The self knows that all else is self. The self is the universal witness.

Source: Baba the Breath of Sai, Compiled by Grace J. McMartin