All sacred texts advocate the need to engage in atma vichara as the only way by which one can enter the spiritual path. In the Prakarana grantha Laghu Vasudeva Mananam, the author provides an exhaustive explanation and discussion on how to pursue this effort that is crucial for spiritual development, said Sri R. Rajagopala Sarma in a discourse.
In day-to-day life, the most common utterance heard is “I am so and so,” “I have secured a job,” “I am hungry,” “I have learnt the Upanishads,” “I am a sanyasi,” “I hail from Andhra Pradesh,” and so on. The importance is placed on the kind of activity a person engages in, or in the achievements made possible by one’s use of the karmendriyas, jnanendriyas, mind, intellect and so on. But, in the view of Vedanta, the emphasis is purely on the phrase “I am.” No matter what the embodied jivatma does by way of thought or word, what ultimately prevails is the existence of the atma that is never absent, is free from all these associations, and is the only source of all awareness, that is, consciousness. It is also significant that constant meditation on the immortal atma is itself the revealer of the truth, for it reveals itself as well as all else in the entire universe. It is the cause and source of all kinds of awareness in each individual.
The sun is full of radiance and effulgence and provides the needed light without which one will not be able to recognise and identify objects, etc in the world. It also reveals its brilliance and its power to illumine. In the same way, the atma is of the essence of consciousness and is the only source by which not only the truth is revealed but the fact of its self revealing quality is also established. There is no other source that can reveal this atma tatva.
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