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I am the Soul curious the disciple is! How deep he has delved into the subject of atma! How much must he have contemplated! We have heard so many times, but have we ever thought? It has been said in the Agamas and we have heard from the Gurudev, so we believed that atma exists. But have we ever gone deep into the subject and thought, “What the agamas and the sages say is true. But when will I think about analysing, examining with my intellect and then reaffirm my belief?'? Even if this were true, if the concept were assimilated after contemplation, it would never budge from my faith. Faith then settles deep within, and ultimately you will truly experience it.
But what is our state? Whatever the sages say, is all truth. We do not even wait to ask the Gurudev what this means. If the sages have said it, it must be true! Indeed, what is there for us to think about? No, this will not do. We at least need a mental ground to know their implication, to understand the intention, aim and essence of what the sages say. Otherwise it is blind faith. Let me see, you are faced with some good orator who does not believe in the existence of atma, and he convinces you with logic that there is no such thing as atma in this world. His logic could be entirely overwhelming and he convinces you with strong arguments, would you not then accept that there is no atma? There is a great strength in logic. It can prove truth to be false and vice versa whenever desired.
Hence, Brothers! Like this inquisitive disciple, let us also go deep into the stated principles and contemplate. Only then can we understand the truth in its true form.
Here the inquisitive disciple could not experience the soul through the senses and the mind, so he said there is no soul, and if it does exist then we should take either body, senses or life as the soul. How can we accept the separate identity of something that has no existence apart from these three? After placing these doubts before the Guru, the disciple goes on to raise some more doubts in this regard. Let us look at them now...
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