The Upanishad, in the next two mantras(6&7), then goes on to explain what happens to a person who actually perceives the Atman.
यस्तु सर्वाणि भूतानि आत्मन्येवानुपश्यति।
सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं ततो न विजुगुप्सते ॥ ६ ॥
यस्मिन् सर्वाणि भूतानि आत्मैवाभूद् विजानतः।
तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः ॥ ७ ॥
yastu sarvāṇi bhūtāni ātmanyevānupaśyati |
sarvabhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate || 6 ||
yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtāni ātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ |
tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvamanupaśyataḥ || 7 ||
yaḥ – he who ; tu – indeed ; sarvāṇi bhūtāni – all existences ; ātmani – in the Self ; eva – surely ; anupaśyati – sees ; sarvabhūteṣu – in all existences ; ca – and ; ātmāna – the Self ; tataḥ – thereafter from aught ; na vijugupsate – shrinks not ;
yasmin – in whom ; ātmā – the Self – Being ; eva – indeed ; sarvāṇi bhūtāni – all existences that are Becomings ; abhūt – has become ; vijānataḥ – of him who has the perfect knowledge ; ekatvam anupaśyataḥ – of him who sees everywhere oneness ; tatra – there ; kaḥ mohaḥ – how shall be delusion ; kaḥ śokaḥ – shall be grief ;
Translation:
The wise man beholds all beings in the Self and the Self in all beings; for that reason he does not hate anyone.
To the seer, all things have verily become the Self: what delusion, what sorrow, can there be for him who beholds that oneness?
Commentary:
Three startling benefits accrue to the blessed person who perceives the Atman – no hatred, no delusion, and no sorrow. Other Upanishads add some more incredible benefits such as ‘freedom from rebirth’, ‘complete life-fulfilment’, ‘utter fearlessness’, ‘supreme strength’, etc.
The perception of Atman is the only perception known to mankind that is purely subjective. Every other perception, no matter how subtle, can be conveyed to others by means of words. Then, by the impact that the words make on the listener’s mind, the same perception can be replicated in the listener’s experience. But, regarding Atma-darshana, that is not possible. The one who has experienced the Atman cannot express his experience in words or in signs. But, the purely subjective experience of Atman brings about some unique changes in the person. All the Upanishads have documented these changes. All mystics of all religions have also documented similar changes in themselves as a consequence of Atma-darshana.
Hatred becomes impossible. As a result of directly perceiving Atman, one comes to see that all distinctions between man and man are illusory. A sense of utter solidarity with all existence arises. Imagine a scenario where you will feel hatred on your left hand. How insane would that be! The sense of solidarity in a person is immediate and unassailable. Similar would be the experience of this person with regard to all beings that exist. He will be clearly seeing that all beings are an integral part of himself. How absurd it would be to hate someone! What about a situation wherein the other guy insults or harms this Self-realised person? We get a glimpse of this situation in the death of the great Sufi mystic Mansur-al-Hallaj. Mansur was condemned to die by the clergy for heresy. Mansur had only words of the greatest love for those who had thus passed his death sentence. One by one, his limbs were cut-off. With each dismemberment, only words of love for God and his fellow-beings came out of his mouth. He had a peaceful demeanour throughout his ordeal till he breathed his last. This ordeal has been recorded in great detail in many Arabic books.
Delusion vanishes. Delusion regarding one’s own true nature vanishes. We ‘know’ that we are this body and the mind. This knowledge is natural to us. When a person perceives Atman, he gets to know that he is not the body or the mind, but the awareness that precedes all beliefs and perceptions. (See: BG 18.73) So, consequent to this experience, will he begin to hate his body and mind? After the perception of Atman, the person will still be able to perceive his body and mind, and entertain a good amount of identification with both. But the dream would have broken down irreparably. It is very difficult to see how much this identification with one’s own body and mind colour our decisions and value system. Since that fundamental identification is changed from body-mind to pure awareness, this person’s decisions and value system will appear to be unique to us. Swamiji says: Each thought we think is tinged with our own character, so that for the pure and holy man, even his jests or abuse will have the twist of his own love and purity and do good. [Source]
Sorrow is gone forever. Changes in our life-situations make us sad. We all have our own hopes and fears. Our state of mind is closely dependent on how our life’s experiences are aligned with our hopes and fears. The slightest misalignment causes us sorrow. Pain and sorrow are universal experiences. And its presence in our life acts as a great motive force for determining our actions. We instinctively avoid pain and seek joy. The ideal we all aim for is a state where we do not experience sorrow at all, and we experience joy and happiness always. The direct perception of Atman is said to remove all sorrow forever. What about happiness then? Can we really lose our ability to experience sorrow entirely? Do we see that in the lives of the great ones who have perceived Atman? Many such lives are recorded in great detail.
In the life of Swami Vivekananda, we find that there were innumerable instances when he experienced sorrow. Hence, we must be careful in understanding this statement of the Upanishad rightly. Self-realization does not remove the capability of the person to experience pain and sorrow. What then? Some will say that after experiencing sorrow, the Self-realised soul rebounds back quickly to equilibrium. This argument is specious. Everyone in this world rebounds back from loss and sorrow; some sooner and some later, but all do. Regaining one’s composure and equilibrium does not necessarily depend on Self-realization. Don’t we see innumerable people making incredible comebacks from unimaginable losses in life? Surely not all of them have directly perceived Atman! What then?
This statement has to be understood as referring mainly to the particular experience of direct perception of Atman. It is only in that state that one can experience absolute cessation of sorrow of all sorts. A person who has had that supremely blessed experience and has again regained normal consciousness of an embodied person, will surely experience joy and sorrow. But his experience will be qualitatively different from ours. If anything, the Self-realised soul’s experience of both joy and sorrow are keener than ours. Swamiji says poignantly: Think of the intense enjoyment that the pig has! No man has that. Where is it gone? Man has changed it into intellectual enjoyment. The pig cannot enjoy religious lectures. That is one step higher and keener yet than intellectual pleasures, and that is the spiritual plane, spiritual enjoyment of things divine, soaring beyond reason and intellect. To procure that we shall have to lose all these sense-enjoyments. This is the highest utility.[Source]
Regarding the experience of a realised soul, Swamiji says: Herein lies the whole secret of Existence. Waves may roll over the surface and tempest rage, but deep down there is the stratum of infinite calmness, infinite peace, and infinite bliss.[Source] It appears to be an experience of extreme tension; on the one hand is a keen sense of loss, and simultaneously on the other hand is the unmistakable experience of the Whole. It is like the Pacific Ocean; on one shore there is a terrible storm raging, wreaking havoc; at the very same time, on another shore, there is beautiful calm breeze; all at once. If we ask, if the Pacific Ocean is turbulent, we must say that it is both turbulent and calm simultaneously. While the experience of sorrow is common to both the ordinary person and the Self-realised soul, it is the Self-realised soul alone who can claim to have experienced a state of complete cessation of sorrow. For the rest of us, the experience of the most intense joy also is mixed with a tinge of sorrow, a haunting awareness that the experience will go away soon. The Self-realised soul is marked by the absence of this feeling.
Bhagavad Gita 6.29-6.31
- The sage harmonised in yoga sees the Self in all beings, and all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere. (6.29)
- He who sees Me in all beings and all beings in me never becomes lost to me, nor do I become lost to him. (6.30)
- The Yogi who worships Me abiding in all beings and who is established in unity abides in me in whatever manner he is acting. (6.31)
A devotee asked Swami Saradananda, ‘Swami, why do you love us so much?
Swami Saradananda did not say anything. After a few days when that devotee came to Udbodhan, the Swami said, ‘ A few days ago I went to Belur Math and prostrated before Sri Ramakrishna. The Master appeared before me and said, “You love all because you find me in all.” That is the answer I would give today.’” (Source: God lived with Them, p.355)
In all the beings separated into different categories, that knowledge which sees the one inseparable Reality (Atma), know it to be Sattvic Jnana. (Bhagavad Gita 18.20)
