Atma Bodha 1: The Judgment of Self-Inadequacy and the Futile Struggle to Become Adequate

In this class, we begin our study of Atma Bodha, a beginner's Vedanta text authored by Adi Shankaracharya. Atma Bodha means Self-Knowledge. Why do we need Self-Knowledge? A human being, keenly aware of himself, knows "I am", but not knowing who I really am, invariably comes to a conclusion/judgment about oneself. The most general conclusion seen invariably in human beings is "I am Inadequate (Apūrṇaḥ)". But the human being cannot stand inadequacy and hence ceaselessly struggles to eliminate any inadequacy through pursuits of Artha, Kāma, and Dharma. But no such extroverted pursuit can make him adequate (Pūrṇaḥ) as every accomplishment yields only a fleeting sense of fulfilment. But he cannot drop his urge for Adequacy (Pūrṇatvam) either, as it is not a cultivated desire but a fundamental natural urge. What then is the solution to gain Adequacy (Pūrṇatvam)? Since no pursuit can make him "become" Pūrṇaḥ, the only choice left is to examine the conclusion that "I am Apūrṇaḥ". Is this conclusion really the right knowledge? We examine the origins of this conclusion and why it is not airtight and deserves to be examined. This examination opens up the possibility that perhaps "I am Pūrṇaḥ" by nature, and the conclusion "I am Apūrṇaḥ" is a mistake. Vedanta reveals that this is indeed the case. For this, Self Enquiry through the study of Vedanta culminating in Self Knowledge is required. For in this lies the keys to Unconditional Fulfilment, Adequacy, Pūrṇatvam. Note: From minute 4 - minute 21, the video may be somewhat pixelated (especially on bigger screens) because of a technical issue, but it gets fixed after minute 21 Satyan Chidambaran is a full-time student of Vedanta and Sanskrit. He has been studying Vedanta under his Guru, Śrī Swami Paramarthananda ji, since 2003. A graduate of IIT Madras in Computer Science and a post-graduate from the University of Michigan, Satyan served at a global software firm in various technical leadership roles for 26 years before leaving the industry in 2019 to pursue his Vedanta and Sanskrit studies full-time. @Advaita-Drishti advaitadrishti.org © 2024 Advaita Drishti. All rights reserved. #advaitavedanta #upanishads #vedanta #advaita