Real knowledge of atma

Expressions researched:
"real knowledge of atma" |"real knowledge, atma"

SB Canto 7

Nonetheless, without real knowledge of ātma—, the soul, such philosophers must be bewildered and must continue to lament as śūdras.

SB 7.2.49, Translation and Purport: Those who have full knowledge of self-realization, who know very well that the spirit soul is eternal whereas the body is perishable, are not overwhelmed by lamentation. But persons who lack knowledge of self-realization certainly lament. Therefore it is difficult to educate a person in illusion.

According to the mīmāṁsā philosophers, everything is eternal, nitya, and according to the Sāṅkhya philosophers everything is mithyā, or anitya—impermanent. Nonetheless, without real knowledge of ātma—, the soul, such philosophers must be bewildered and must continue to lament as śūdras. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī therefore said to Parīkṣit Mahārāja:

śrotavyādīni rājendra

nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ

apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ

gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām

"Those who are materially engrossed, being blind to knowledge of the ultimate truth, have many subjects for hearing in human society, O Emperor." (SB 2.1.2) For ordinary persons engaged in material activities there are many, many subject matters to understand because such persons do not understand self-realization. One must therefore be educated in self-realization so that under any circumstances in life he will remain steady in his vows.

One must have full faith in the words of the spiritual master and similar faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the real knowledge of ātmā and Paramātmā and the distinction between matter and spirit will be automatically revealed.

SB 7.7.17, Translation and Purport: Prahlāda Mahārāja continued: My dear friends, if you can place your faith in my words, simply by that faith you can also understand transcendental knowledge, just like me, although you are small children. Similarly, a woman can also understand transcendental knowledge and know what is spirit and what is matter.

These words of Prahlāda Mahārāja are very important in regard to knowledge descending by the disciplic succession. Even when Prahlāda Mahārāja was a baby within the womb of his mother, he became fully convinced of the existence of the supreme power because of hearing the powerful instructions of Nārada and understood how to attain perfection in life by bhakti-yoga. These are the most important understandings in spiritual knowledge.

yasya deve parā bhaktir

yathā deve tathā gurau

tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ

prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

[ŚU 6.23]

"Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed." (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)

ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi

na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ

sevonmukhe hi jihvādau

svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ

"No one can understand Kṛṣṇa as He is by the blunt material senses. But He reveals Himself to the devotees, being pleased with them for their transcendental loving service unto Him." (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234)

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti

yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ

tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā

viśate tad-anantaram

"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." (Bg. 18.55)

These are Vedic instructions. One must have full faith in the words of the spiritual master and similar faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the real knowledge of ātmā and Paramātmā and the distinction between matter and spirit will be automatically revealed. This ātma-tattva, or spiritual knowledge, will be revealed within the core of a devotee's heart because of his having taken shelter of the lotus feet of a mahājana such as Prahlāda Mahārāja. In this verse the word bhūyāt may be understood to mean "let there be." Prahlāda Mahārāja offers his blessings to his class friends, saying, "Also become faithful like me. Become bona fide Vaiṣṇavas." A devotee of the Lord desires for everyone to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unfortunately, however, people sometimes do not have staunch faith in the words of the spiritual master who comes by the disciplic succession, and therefore they are unable to understand transcendental knowledge. The spiritual master must be in the line of authorized disciplic succession, like Prahlāda Mahārāja, who received the knowledge from Nārada. If the class friends of Prahlāda Mahārāja, the sons of demons, were to accept the truth through Prahlāda, they would certainly also become fully aware of transcendental knowledge.

The words vaiśāradī dhīḥ refer to intelligence concerning the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is extremely expert. The Lord has created wonderful universes by His expert knowledge. Unless one is extremely expert, he cannot understand the expert management of the supreme expert. One can understand, however, if one is fortunate enough to meet a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession from Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Mother Lakṣmī or the Kumāras. These four sampradāyas, or disciplic successions of knowledge and transcendence, are called the Brahma-sampradāya, Rudra-sampradāya, Śrī-sampradāya, and Kumāra-sampradāya. Sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ. The knowledge of the Supreme received from such a sampradāya, or disciplic succession, can give one enlightenment. If one does not take to the path of disciplic succession, it is not possible for one to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one understands the Supreme Lord through devotional service with faith in the disciplic succession and then advances further, he awakens his natural love for God, and then his success in life is assured.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

For want of real knowledge, ātma-jñāna... First of all one has to learn actually what he is. Is he this body or something else? That is the beginning.

Lecture on SB 1.15.37 -- Los Angeles, December 15, 1973: Anyone who is eating anything available, he is like viḍ-varāha. He has no discrimination. A human being should have discrimination. Eatable, everything is eatable. Stool is also eatable. Does it mean a human being should eat eatable stool? No. It is eatable for the pigs, for the hogs, not for you. Similarly, a human being who does not know what is eatable for him, he is just like this viḍ-varāha, viḍ-varāha, hog, who has no discrimination, "Oh, everything is all right. Eat. Everything is all right." That is viḍ-varāha. And uṣṭra. Uṣṭra means camel. Camel enjoys his own blood. The camel eats thorny twigs. So the tongue is cut, and the blood comes out, and the blood is mixed up with the thorns, and he finds it very tasteful. He is tasting his own blood, and he is finding very tasteful. Similarly, everyone in this material world, he is enjoying sex life. He is enjoying his own blood, but he is thinking, "It is very good enjoyment." That is camel's enjoyment. One drop of semina is manufactured by so much blood. So unnecessarily we discharge semina means we are enjoying, spending your own blood. But the camel does not know. Similarly, camel-like man does not know. Therefore he falls diseased. It is to be used only for purpose of having good children, not for enjoyment. That is false enjoyment. So therefore it has been described as the camel. And ass. Ass means fool number one, because he works very hard. He carried the washerman's load of cloth, two tons of, but not a single cloth belongs to him. Not a single cloth. And he will agree to carry so big burden. What is the profit? The profit is that the washerman will give a little morsel of grass, and he is satisfied. This rascal does not know, "I can get grass anywhere. Why shall I be employed by this washerman?" And another ass's qualification is that when he goes for sexual intercourse, the lady ass kicks on his face. Fut! Fut! Fut! Fut! You have seen it? (lots of laughter) So these karmīs, they are like ass. They will eat two breads, pieces of bread, and the lady karmī will kick on his face at the time of sex intercourse, and he is very happy. And for this purpose he has no time: "Sir, I have no time." He is very busy. You go into a karmī office, he will say, "Oh, I cannot see you. I cannot talk. I am very busy." So what is the result of your business? "Now I will eat two pieces of bread at night, and my wife will kick on my face." (laughter) Just see the ass.

Therefore how Bhāgavata has selected the specific animals, how they are suffering, very instructive. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ [SB 2.3.19]. He forgets his own business, that he has got this human form of life to understand "What I am, why I am suffering, what is the remedy, how to relieve, how to become relieved this problem." He has forgotten that. Simply he is busy earning money. Divā cārthehayā rājan kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā [SB 2.1.3]. These karmīs, they are thinking that...

dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv

ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api

teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ

paśyann api na paśyati

[SB 2.1.4]

For want of real knowledge, ātma-jñāna... First of all one has to learn actually what he is. Is he this body or something else? That is the beginning. But they do not know. He thinks that "I am body," deha. And because from this body, I have got relationship with my wife, "Oh, she is my great friend," and the children, "They are my soldiers. They will protect me." Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu ātma-sainyeṣu. He is very safe. "I have got good wife. I have got children. They will save me." Nobody will save you, sir. When death will come, you have to give your own account. If you are going to be next life a dog, not your wife, children, or nation or community or anyone will save you. No. Nobody can save you.