Scriptures speak of the atma as the essence of eternal consciousness and of its blissful quality that has no connection to the sorrows, upheavals and changes that characterise creation. The atma alone continues to exist even after all else gets dissolved. But, when caught in samsara the jiva engages in action and owing to this gets involved in experiencing the effects and consequences of each and every action. It thus undergoes joy, sorrow and changes of infinite nature and quality.
But careful and systematic analysis of the situation, by which one is able to sift the immortal atma swaroopa that is distinct from all else that is actually only an appearance, is what Advaita bhava is all about, pointed out Sri Mani Dravid Sastrigal in a discourse. The fundamental truth is that though the jiva functions with the body, mind complex, the atma is unaffected and is only a witnessing consciousness, the sakshi chaitanya. The atma does not act; it is the indriyas that perform the actions of seeing, etc and the mind the act of thinking, etc. Sakshi has no beginning and no end. It is effulgent by nature. It is aware of all that happens in the jiva, even the way the jiva gains jnana or loses it. But the jiva has the atma bhava and jnana owing to the association with the body mind and intellect.
All that is perceived and experienced in creation needs proof such as pratyaksha, anumana. etc to explain its existence. But atma is self effulgent and self revealing and needs no proof for its existence. The rope that appears as a snake explains this situation clearly. When the snake is perceived, there is much fear and confusion; but when owing to factors such as light, etc, the snake is shown to be non-existent and there is only the rope the fear is no longer there.
