Gita, lesson 19: the Self as the only evidence that needs no proof
Lesson 19 argues, in Dayananda's reading, that everything we know is revealed by consciousness, the Self, which needs no proof of its own.
· 2 min read · Sources
In 1 minute
- For Dayananda, the Self is self-evident, and everything else is evident to it.
- Any object, real or imagined, exists for us only through consciousness.
- The analogy of a rope mistaken for a snake illustrates how we take appearance for ultimate reality.
Full article
How does one know that something exists? Lesson 19 in Swami Dayananda Saraswati's series flips the question: what needs no proof of existence at all? His answer is the Self itself, the one who knows.
What is self-evident
According to Dayananda, only one thing is evident by itself. Everything else is evident to it. This Self, which Sanskrit names aham or ātma, shines without borrowed light. We see, feel, and think, but the Self does not appear as an object: it is the one who perceives.
How something becomes real for us
The lesson describes the process of knowing, using a flower as an example. The object is captured by a sense, reaches the mind, and is lit up by consciousness. When the flower is not present, the thought of it amounts to the same thing, since the memory too is known by whoever recalls it. Hence the formula repeated in the lesson: wherever one says "the flower is," one can say "consciousness of the flower is." The same holds for a table, the sun, a thought, and a dream.
The rope and the snake
The classic Vedānta analogy returns, in which someone sees a snake in the dark where there is a rope. The snake produces fear and sweat, and so has a real effect, but vanishes once light reveals the rope. The world is said to be like the snake, and the Self like the rope. The mistake lies in taking appearance for ultimate reality. Dayananda also introduces the term pramāṇa, a valid means of knowledge: only what a pramāṇa reveals is truly known.
Sleep and time
The lesson anticipates an objection: that in deep sleep there is no consciousness. The answer is that the person wakes up knowing they slept well, and absence can only be known by someone who witnesses it. Dayananda applies the idea to time: we never deal with the past, only with a present thought about it.
The result is the thesis that subject and object are not two separate principles, and that consciousness is what needs no proof.
The complete study is in the book A Essência do Bhagavad Gītā (The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita), by Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
Sources and references for this article
A Essência do Bhagavad Gītā (The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita), Swami Dayananda Saraswati (book)
Translated from Portuguese. This article was rewritten from a post on the original blog, in Portuguese. Read the original
Get the best articles of the week
One email a week, no spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Read next
Vedanta and YogaConsciousness with a body: what Vedānta says the “self” is
Vedanta and YogaListening to see: what Vedānta asks of those who want to know themselves
Science and consciousnessVedānta and quantum physics: what the observer has to do with reality
Western esotericism · VideoThe ALL: why Hermeticism gives ultimate reality a name that sets no limits
Vedanta and Yoga · VideoSahaja avasthā, the natural state of Being: the image of the rope and the snake in Vedānta