3010 chariot analogy

19 The Supreme Self, which is the Absolute Truth, is eternal, pure, conscious and free by nature. Its indivisible essence is the fullness of Satchidananda (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss) from which and to which nothing whatsoever can be either subtracted or added. Due to its non-dual and infinite nature, the Absolute cannot be subjected to any change, exception, difference or choice. It is the eternal and indubitable reality of the Self, beyond the range of acquisition and rejection, but within the sole province of knowledge and realisation of that which is One without a second. Through its unfathomable power of illusion, the Absolute, which is devoid of all diversity, assumes the form of the diversified universe, and permeates that with its Consciousness. Then, reflecting itself on the intellect or the mind stuff, it assumes the form of the individual soul. In mere semblance, the Unconditioned One becomes conditioned. This is how Brahman becomes the doer and the enjoyer, that is to say the individual who acts and who suffers by self-identification with the mind through ignorance. Bound by the three fetters of ignorance, desire and action, and having the body as vehicle, the individual self transmigrates from one birth to another in the worlds of gods, human beings and animals. And so on, until his mind becomes purified by devotion to God. Then, becoming detached and being in search of knowledge and salvation, he approaches a compassionate and enlightened master who reveals unto him his own unconditioned nature as the supreme Self of Brahman. All his ignorance and its effects vanish. The One without a second abides alone. This is the salvation, which is the eternal and natural state of the Self. The Chariot Analogy The Chariot Analogy The Chariot Analogy The Chariot Analogy The Chariot Analogy SWAMI YOGANANDA SARASWATI For distinguishing clearly the opposite results of ignorance and knowledge, the Katha Upanishad calls up the analogy of the chariot. This comparison between the individual self and the chariot master, the body and the chariot, the intellect and the charioteer, the mind and the bridle, the senses and the horses, and also between the sense objects and the roads, helps in understanding more easily the nature and the goal of the extended journey of life. It shows also the need for discrimination and self-control, that is to say mind control and sense control. The Journey of Life The individual self is the reflection of the supreme Self conditioned by the causal, the subtle and the physical bodies. The causal body consists in the unmanifested ignorance, and it is the seat of the ego. The two other bodies are its effects. The subtle body is comprised of the intellect, the mind, the senses and the vital force. The physical body consists in food, and is sustained by food. At the time of death it perishes forever, while the subtle and causal bodies accompany the individual self throughout his lives, until the final liberation when they are dissolved in the Absolute. Brahman present in these three bodies as the immutable witness of all acts and thoughts is called the Self. That very Self conditioned by the three bodies and becoming self-identified with them is called the individual self. Therefore, the supreme Self and the individual self constitute two selves from the relative standpoint only, and not from the absolute standpoint. The individual self who partakes of ignorance or of knowledge according as he transmigrates or he gets liberated, is the

3010 chariot analogy

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