| The first
lesson to be learnt before speaking of detachment or anything else is that there is that
in us, which is immortal, other than the body which we mistake for it. The subsequent
lessons would be of little avail or worth if the disciple were still to confuse the body
with the person. It is only when it is realized beyond all doubt that the body is
different from ‘the person that dwells in that body’ that Vedantic teaching can
proceed. When once that conviction is realized, Vedanta almost automatically unfolds
itself in orderly sequence, and but little exposition is nece -ssary to evolve the
Vedantin’s way of life. The phrase used in
Vedantic literature to express the realization of one’s soul as a thing apart from
the body and its senses is that one should see the soul. The verb ‘see’
expresses that perfect quality of immediate conviction, which is independent of other
media and wherein intellect and feeling alike directly and clearly get the vision, which
is the aim of Vedanta. Intelligence, enquiry and instruction apart, goodness and purity of
life are necessary to en able one to ‘see’ one’s soul which is hidden
within one’s inmost being. The soul can be perceived as a reality, not merely through
ratiocination, but only if one is also good. |
