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The Light of knowledge

A spiritual discourse on the nature of Self-knowledge (Ātma Jñāna).

"Nothing can defeat it, and nothing can be compared to Self-knowledge. This Self-realization is the answer to all questions and the healing remedy for all suffering."

"Where there are two, it is not everlasting; it is unreality. There is only one, and that is Brahman."

The speaker explains that true knowledge is the realization of the one, indestructible Self (Brahman), which ends all suffering and karma. Using the analogy of light in a dark hall and the story of a tiger cub raised by goats, he illustrates how ignorance and mistaken identity veil this truth. He emphasizes that this absolute existence is within, but is obscured by attachments and negative qualities, concluding with a call to meditate and realize this knowledge practically.

Recording location: Croatia, Cakovec, Weekend seminar

There are many kinds of knowledge in the world. But true knowledge is the knowledge of the Self. Nothing can defeat it, and nothing can be compared to Self-knowledge. This Self-realization is the answer to all questions and the healing remedy for all suffering. When Self-realization occurs, all karmas, destinies, and sufferings are automatically finished. For example, when it is very dark in a hall and you have lost something, you search and search but cannot see. There are many objects present, but the moment you turn on one light, everything becomes clear and no object can disturb you. Similarly, that light is called the light of knowledge, and that knowledge is called Ātma Jñāna. No knowledge can defeat Ātmajñāna. It makes you the knower of everything, becoming Trikāldarśī—the seer of past, present, and future. Yet that absolute one, the Self, must be realized. It cannot be realized as long as you remain attached to and hold onto unreality. If you take a wrong road, you must change it and take the real road to reach your destination. If you think reality is only the form or the ornament, then there will be duality. Duality is the form of ignorance; dualism is the form of ignorance. There is only one, and that is Brahman. Where there are two, it is not everlasting; it is unreality. When there is more than one, it pertains to forms, and these forms will one day be destroyed. Everything that began will end. Everything that is created will be destroyed. Even this creation will one day be destroyed. This earth, this planet which has its life, will one day be finished. Even this beautiful sun, the source of our life, will also one day be finished. But that Brahman will not be. Brahman is like space; that is the Self. Śaṅkarācārya said the Ātmā is that absolute existence and knowledge. It is within you; do not go searching for it only in a garden somewhere. That absolute existence and knowledge is within you. There is a story. A shepherd had many goats. In the forest, he found a small tiger cub. He brought the tiger baby home, gave it goat's milk, and left it with the goats. The tiger cub grew up with the goats and the goat kids, adopting all their attitudes. It became afraid like the goats. One day in the forest, another tiger came. All the goats ran away, and the tiger cub ran with them. The other tiger was surprised. All the goats were running, making little bleating sounds, and this one was too. He thought, "What happened to my brother?" He ran behind, caught him, and the cub said, "I am a goat, please don't kill me; I am a goat, leave me free." The tiger said, "No, no, you are a tiger, don't lie; it's an absolute lie; this is fanaticism." The cub insisted, "I am a goat." The tiger took him, and the cub was bleating, "meh, meh." The tiger said, "You are my brother; you are a tiger. Look at me." He brought him near the water and said, "Look at your face, and now look at my face. Is it different? Now think how your goat looks." Then the cub opened his eyes and gained confidence. He stretched his back into his tiger pose—Vīrāsana—and went with him into the forest. "Thank you for giving me the knowledge that I am a tiger." So we are not this body. We are, but it is very nice to listen, very nice to speak, and very nice to hear. Yet when one mosquito comes, that is what we are doing. And if a tiger were to come, the Chidānanda would jump up. This is the difference between theory and practice. We must realize that Ātma Jñāna. We have the knowledge, we have immense knowledge, but we do not have the practical knowledge of Jñāna. Absolute existence, everlasting knowledge, is within you. You are that. But you are dirtied by māyā, saṃsāra, jealousy, greediness, anger, and doubt. You are not all this. So come out of this. Meditate. Recording location: Croatia, Cakovec, Weekend seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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