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R Eswaran
In a world where every pursuit seems laced with stress, uncertainty, and the nagging fear of loss, Vedanta quietly offers something radically different—a goal that is free of all these defects. Our ordinary achievements invariably carry three defects—suffering in pursuit, dissatisfaction even after reaching them, and bondage through dependence—but Vedanta promises a status that is free from all shortcomings.
This highest goal is not wealth, health, or relationship. It is Brahman—the infinite reality. And the startling message of the Upanishads is this: that Brahman is none other than you. The discovery is transformative. First, because Brahman is not something to be newly created or reached—it already exists. Second, because Brahman is not even something entirely new to be known; it is our own Self, already experienced, but mistaken in status.
Before Vedantic enquiry, we take ourselves as the jiva – a limited, sorrow-prone individual. But scriptures reveal a higher status—Brahmatva, limitlessness. This creates a clash: two identities appear to coexist, the limited jiva and the limitless Brahman. Which is true? To resolve this, Vedanta prescribes two methods of enquiry to help cut through ignorance.
The first, anvaya-vyatireka, examines what continues and what perishes across waking, dream, and deep sleep states. Body, mind and intellect come and go. But the Self, pure awareness, remains constant. Thus, I am not the body-mind-intellect but the enduring consciousness.
The second method, adhyaropa-apavada, examines the relationship between Self and world. Just as a pot depends on clay, the world, body, and mind depend on consciousness for existence. They are mithya-dependent appearances, while the Self alone is Reality – satyam.The world does not limit me; rather, I lend existence to it. This recognition dissolves the sense of bondage. What remains is freedom—the realisation, “I am Brahman.” This is not an acquisition but the removal of a mistaken notion. Once the false identity as a limited being falls away, what shines forth is fullness, free of sorrow, free of lack, free of dependence.
Vedanta calls this knowledge atma-vidya’ or ‘brahma-vidya’ – a knowledge that destroys ignorance and reveals one’s ever-complete nature. Unlike rituals or duties that promise results tinged with imperfection, this knowledge offers the only goal that is untainted, permanent, and truly liberating. Vedanta reminds us: nothing new is to be gained—only freedom from the illusion of limitation. And this freedom, recognised as our true Self, is called moksha.