UNCHANGING TRUTH

   

Krishna Paramathma is the eternal teacher.  We are his Arjunas.  No matter what our background is, what our achievements are, what our capabilities are, He is always trying to show us the path to progress and self improvement.

So we have to learn. That means we move from ignorance to a state of KNOWING.  

The Learner is the CONSCIOUS MIND. It is important to understand that the CONSCIOUS MIND is only a tool of the self and DOES NOT REPRESENT OUR INNER SELF (which is what is supposed to be our true identity). More on this as we go along. 

Learning means KNOWING THE TRUTH. 

TRUTH is something that NEVER CHANGES.  It is very important to grasp this concept. According to the teachings of the Paramathma, what we perceive through the senses is an ever changing world. There is no point in knowing something that changes. In fact it is not possible to know about something that is never the same. He calls this as MAYA.  

So that about which we are going to learn is that which NEVER CHANGES. 

However, our capabilities, viz., the five senses and its parent, the Mind are only capable of perceiving that which changes.  If something never changes, we will not be able to perceive it through our senses. All objects on this planet are constantly changing including that which perceives everyhting - the Mind. So both the perceived object and the perceiver are in a state of constant change.  

A little more on this - Sound and Light are vibrations. Vibrations in air and vibrations in space represent change.  Our ears have a drum that vibrates in synchronization with the vibrations in the atmosphere.  The light that falls on the retina in the eye sets off electrical vibrations that are translated by the mind into images. 

The chemicals that cause smell set off changes to the coatings in our nostrils. Similarly touch is sensed due to differences in pressure experienced by physical organs on our bodies. Taste induces changes on the coating on the tongue.  All these changes on the senses are translated into sensations in the mind. These sensations represent changes to a sequence of flows in the mind of electrical signals and chemicals. 

If there was no change, either in the world of objects or in the instruments that sense the changes, there would be no perception and no consciousness and consequently no KNOWING.  

WITHOUT CHANGE, NOTHING WOULD BE KNOWN TO EXIST.  

CHANGE IS CAUSED BY AN IMBALANCE IN FORCES.  Nothing new in this, but the scriptures, and the Paramathma add a new dimension to this concept. The new dimension is - THE IMBALANCE REFERRED TO IS NOT AN IMBALANCE IN THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. IT IS AN IMBALANCE IN THE INSTRUMENTS OF PERCEPTION.  THIS IMBALANCE IN THE PERCEIVER MANIFESTS AS THE GUNAS,  and the KARMENDRIYAS.

More on these in later sections.  For now, it can be taken that the imbalance in the instruments of perception manifests as the external world that is mistakenly perceived by the mind as the reality. 

This is a fundememtal deviation from the rationale that we are used to.  ACCORDING TO THE PARAMATHMA, THE PERCEIVED UNIVERSE IS CREATED OUT OF THE BIRTH OF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND NOT VICE-VERSA. 

Beyond all these changes in the sense organs and the induced changes in the mind, there is something within us that KNOWS that changes have happened and what these changes mean. 

So the KNOWER is different from the world that changes and the instruments that perceive the change. 

So according to the Paramathma, the object of knowledge that represents the unchanging truth lies beyond the perception of the senses. 

This unchanging Truth that is responsible for the knowing, is referred to as the Self or the Jiva Atma or in common terminology as CONSCIOUSNESS or AWARENESS OF THE SELF. 

Through his teachings, we learn about only one subject - and that is our own self or Jiva Atma - that which is permenant within us. 

Self Realization or KNOWING THE SELF is the means to trascend and outgrow the limitations that we are born with.

Self Realization has to be attained by each and everyone of us.  There are no exceptions to this requirement.  The effort has to come from within us. Self Realization has been shown to be the only way to get to the next level from this level of existence.

The assertion is that we have been provided with all the tools that are essential for self sustenance and growth. It is now up to us to learn to use these tools for our betterment.