Self remains immutable

[1]

Swami Tejomayananda [1]

We saw in earlier columns that the body, mind and intellect, the sense organs and the organs of action exist in the plane of relative reality only, as a part of the ever-changing ephemeral world. We have stated that they do not exist in the absolute reality, and we superimpose a sense of doership. The one who thinks s/he is the doer (that s/he will kill, or that s/he will be killed by anyone) is ignorant. The Self is neither born, nor does It perish. It is neither a doer nor does It cause any action. Therefore, the next verse:
“This Self, Atman, is not born nor does It ever die; there never was a time that It was not; It is unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient. Atman is not killed when the body is killed” (II:20).
The Self, or Atman is that which has never undergone change. In order to understand that Atman is unborn and imperishable let us examine the words “birth” and “death”. Birth, as we understand it, is something that was not there earlier and which has now come into existence. It implies that something has been created. A child is born. A pot is created. And when we speak of death we refer to something that was there but has been destroyed or has ceased to exist.
Now, what is the definition of the Self? We have already indicated that it is Pure Consciousness and that it is described as Pure Existence itself. When we say that it is Pure Existence, then where is the possibility of it not being there? If it ceases to be it cannot be Existence as we have defined it so far.
We understand that Atman is Consciousness. Now just for a moment think about this: Suppose we say that Consciousness is born, then where has it come from, and from what? Can it be born from non-existence? Can it be born from an inert thing? How was it created? The very fact that something was created implies that it is not permanent. Therefore, it cannot be called Consciousness. In fact, everything is born in Consciousness, arises from Consciousness, and merges back into It. That is the nature of the Self. When we speak of celebrating our birthday, it is the birth of this body that we celebrate. Actually, up until now we have had many bodies, but we are not the body. Therefore, learn to look at life from the standpoint of the Absolute. Then life will become an amusing play.
“If one knows that the Self is imperishable and unborn, how can s/he kill anyone or cause anyone to be killed? How can s/he be a doer of any action, a prompter of any action, or the enjoyer of any action?” (II:21).
In this verse Lord Krishna points out that all our suffering is a result of the illusion that we are the doer. He confirms that as the immutable Self we are not the doer of any action. Untouched, this same Self may go through many bodies (incarnations) but it ever remains the same.
“Just as a man casts off his worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so also the embodied Self casts off its worn-out bodies and enters others, which are new” (II:22).
We need to perceive ourselves from two standpoints: One is that of the absolute Truth, and the other is from the relative standpoint of empirical existence. If we understand ourselves to be the imperishable Atman, there is no birth or death. But if we view ourselves from a relative standpoint all this appears to be.
I am unborn, but I feel that I am born. I am deathless, but I feel that I am dying. I am not the doer, but I feel that I am doing. All this is due to our identification with the body only. The Self remains immutable.

— Swami Tejomayananda, head of
Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com [2].
© Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.