Enlightened Vision of the Self

Author(s): Akalankadev, Devendra K Goyal
Publisher: Radiant Publishers New Delhi

Page 60

48
THE ENLIGHTENED VISION OF THE SELF
and spiritual discipline. Since the Self itself has been responsible for its own conditioning, it can alone undo that conditioning. If the Self will not liberate itself, who else will? Of course, a mere desire to be free will not liberate us from the bondage or conditioning of the karmas. It is not an easy task. It is the true knowledge or understanding of the innate nature of the Self, discriminative insight (bheda-rijnana), which distinguishes the conditioned Self or mind from the pure Self, and the sustained efforts for the purification of the soul through moral and spiritual discipline are needed to get rid of the conditioned mind. The “Self” has to be transcended of its egoistic and selfish nature in order to attain liberation in the true sense of the word.
The advocates of Advaita Vedanta proclaim the concept of “Grand Selfishness" (Brahman) as the way out from the egoistic Self. They argue that if, as some modern psychologists believe, that man is "by nature” selfish it is because he has (is) Self. It is, therefore, iinpossible to remove selfishness. Hence, the Vedantin philosophers speculated on replacing “petty selfishness" (ahamkara, egoism) with 'Grand Selfishness' (which in other words signifies the sublimation of egoistic feeling"). A ham Brahmasmi' (I am Brahman) is identification with the 'Grand Selfishness'. Again, since everyone loves one's Self, the Br. Up. (4.5.6) clearly says: “Lo verily not for the love of all, all is dear (to man,); for the love of Self alone, is all dear (to him).” na i, are, saruasja kamaya sarram prijam bhainti, atmanastu kamaya saruam prijam bharati. The import of this is that the love one bears to anything is to be regarded as an aspect of the love one bears to one's own self. We like other persons and things because S(s)elf is mirrored in them. Again, as everyone likes his soul (existence) to continue, and the Vedantin assures the immortality of the Self. Instead of calling men as “Ye Oh, mortals” he addresses them as the “sons of the Immortal”, a no srmudham antasya parah.90
A similar argument is also advanced by another champion of Advaita Vedanta, George Kotturan, who claims: “It is not for the love of the neighbour that the neighbour is important, but for the love of the self that [the] neighbour is important. It is not a question of doing good or wrong to one's neighbour, it is the question of doing good or wrong to one's own self."91 It is hard to believe, Nicholas F. Gier observes, that Kotturan does not see how