Knowing oneself is the beginning of wisdom

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says ‘atmanasthu kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati,’ which means that ‘nothing is dear for its own sake; for the sake of the Atman everything is dear.’ It is shown that all objects, people, and places – people love things around not for sake of others but for the sake of the Self.

The father staked a claim “Son I have done so much for you.”  The teacher said, “Student you scored well since I taught you all the tricks of the trade to ace your exam.” 

The cricket coach elatedly remarked “With my hawk eyes and experience I’ve made corrections to your technique to help you score a mountain of runs and be successful in your cricket game.” 

Unless one is one-hundred percent selfless, at best it is a mother who may treat her child in that manner, it is invariably and always for the sake of one’s own Self that one tries to impart good practices into and love the other.

What is this Self? It is the One Consciousness, the Only Truth that pervades everything and is never delimited in space – desha, and has no constriction in time – kaala, and not different from any object – vastu.  It is the Self that shines and illuminates the objects that we see, the sounds that we hear, the aroma that we smell, the things that we taste, and the ability to sense through touch.  

The Self is the underlying substratum and the only cause which does not undergo any kind of transformation or transfiguration.  What we see around us as this external world is the play of Maya –showing up due to the Self. Upon inquiry it becomes evident that maya has no existence of its own.  

To delve into this subject, an example is our own body-mind complex which we are so attached to from birth to death in a mortal journey. 

Upon inquiry it is found that the physical body takes shape upon birth and is continuously undergoing transformation up until death.  This belief that I am the body-mind is termed Ajnana, the root cause of our misery. 

In a similar manner everything around us has an ephemeral existence, heavily borrowed from the Self.

The Self is happiness and bliss and knowing It leads to realisation. 

Socrates remarked: To know Thyself is beginning of wisdom.