The nature of the abstract self which resides in the heart of the entire creation and all beings in it and its relation to the individual being is discussed and debated in the Upanishads in an exhaustive manner, pointed out Swami Paramartananda in a discourse.
They try to show that ‘I,’ the knower, is different from the body with which it is falsely identified with the simple analogy of the moonlight.
The moon that appears bright, effulgent and charming, gladdening the hearts of one and all seems to be the source of the moonlight which it sheds. But in reality it has no light of its own and its brightness is because of borrowed light from an outside force, the sun. So, moonlight is not a part or product or property of moon. An independent principle pervades the moon and makes it bright. It is not limited by the boundary of the moon and the light continues even if the moon is not there. For want of the reflecting medium, it may be unmanifest but not absent. Likewise, the body mind complex has no sentiency of its own and if it appears to think, act and speak as though it is sentient it is because of borrowed sentiency from some other source, which is the self. It is not aware that it merely reflects the power of the self or atma.
The self is a nonmaterial or spiritual principle. It always exists, is not affected by time or by other limitations that affect the body; and the self is the essence of consciousness and bliss.
One is aware of the body mind complex comprising the gross, subtle and causal bodies and their respective states of waking, sleep and deep sleep because of the self. The self does not change when the bodies or states change. It remains a witness while being the cause for an individual’s actions, thoughts, emotions, etc.
