Will you tell him , “ I am Atman ? ”
Certainly you will not tell him like that.
We do not know that we are Atman. So we will not say we are Atman.
We may define us to be something, related to our physical body. Or we may define us to be something , related to our psychological structure, — the mind.
Otherwise we may define us to be something , as the combination of both our physical body and psychological mind.
Even though we know everything through the sense organs of our body , we understand everything only through our mind. So, the psychological aspect – the mind, gets greater importance.
Even animals do have physical body. They have sense organs. But they do not have the psychological structure like us.
So, no animal will ask , ‘Who am I ?’ No animal will ask , ‘what is Atman ?’
Concerning with ourselves, our psychological structure gets greater importance.
Our mind alone says , “ I am”. It expresses itself as ‘ I am’. It also adopts our physical body as its part.
Our physical body will not say , ‘ I am’.
Concerning with ourselves, our mind alone is the I consciousness.
But according to our scriptures, our mind is not self luminous.
We know what the moon is and what the sun is. The moon is not self luminous ; but the sun is self luminous. The sunlight causes a reflection from the moon. Such reflected sunlight is considered as moonlight. The science says so .
In the same way, our mind is not self luminous. It gets illumination from the ‘ Brahman ’. Brahman means the totality of God. Brahman gives light to the mind, as the sun gives light to the moon.
The moon does not reflect the total light of the sun. It reflects, only a portion of the total sunlight , which touches the moon.
Even though a boat is floating upon the total sea , only a portion of water alone touches the boat.
In the same way, the limited portion of Brahman, which touches our mind, is known as Atman — koodastha – witness. The scriptures describe it so.
The light that touches the moon is nothing but a pure sunlight.
Afterwards it reflects as the moonlight.
The light is same. When it touches the moon, it is the sunlight. When it reflects from the moon, it is moonlight.
The moon does not have any light on its own . It converts the sunlight, into moonlight.
The sunlight which touches the moon , is known as koodastha — the pure consciousness of Brahman. The reflected light of the moon, the moonlight, is known as Chithabasan ( Chith + Abasan ) or Abasan.
Thereby, the limitless consciousness of Brahman, becomes the limited consciousness of the mind. The limited consciousness of the mind, is the Abasan. Abasan means both the intelligence and the ignorance of the mind.
There are many electrical apparatuses, functioning through electricity.
In an electrical apparatus, the same electric power is converted into light.
In another electric apparatus, the same electric power is converted into sound.
In the same way, the electric power is converted as heat or cold.
The electricity does not appear apparently.
It appears through the electrical apparatuses.
What we feel evidently are the impact, the light, the sound, the heat or cold. They are only the effects. They are not the cause. The cause is the electricity. The cause is the apparatus.
If we define electricity, in the language of light, we have to consider the electricity as light .
In the same way, if we define electricity, in the language of sound, then the electricity would be sound alone.
If we define the cause – the electricity, through the language of its effect, then the electricity itself would be a strange one ; It would be a self contradicting one.
The apparatuses are the cause for the different kinds of effect. The electric power activates only the apparatuses.
We cannot assess the nature and quality of electricity, through the effect of the apparatuses.
In the same way, knowing Atman by our mind and the sense organs is only an effect caused by the mind and the sense organs.
Actually, the Atman alone activates the mind and the sense organs, as same as electricity.
That is why, the scriptures say, “Atman is known only by Atman alone.”
In the same way, “animate one and the inanimate one” is the another classification that the scriptures describe about the Atman .
We have already seen that the sun is self luminous.
The illumination of the moon is nothing but the reflection of the sunlight . The moon has no capacity of illumination on its own. It illuminates only with the help of the sunlight.
If anything has life , on its own , it is known as animate one. The lifeless objects are called as inanimate things.
In this way of classification, Atman alone is one, having life on its own. The mind and our physical body are considered as lifeless materials, when compared to Atman.
We all know the functions of our physical body and our psychological mind . We can evidently understand their function. But we cannot evidently know the function of our Atman.
But our scriptures tell us , “Atman alone activates our physical body and psychological mind .Without Atman, our body and mind are nothing but inanimate materials.”
Not only that.
The scriptures express one another aspect of description.
It is subject and object.
I am seeing a tree.
Here, I am the seer ; the tree is the seen.
The seer is the subject and the seen is the object.
The seer, is the first person and the seen, is the second person.
Here, our mind, portrays itself as I am. Our mind, considers itself as the seer. It accommodates the body and says “ I am seeing” , “ I am eating ”.
The I consciousness means only our mind.
But according to the version of our spiritual scriptures, the Atman alone is the real subject ; the Atman alone is the real I consciousness ; the Atmanalone is the real first person ; the Atman is the real seer .
That is why, it is described, Atman cannot be seen or known by the mind.
It would be correct if one says , “The seer is seeing the seen”. It is normal and logical.
But it is abnormal if one would say , “The seen is seeing the seer”. It is most illogical and grammatically wrong.
The seer alone can be the subject.
He alone is the first person.
Our scriptures describe, “Atman alone is the seer ; Atman alone is the subject; Atman alone is the first person”.
