In plain words
To recognise the Ātma, to know “I”, is the true I. That is realisation of the Ātma.
Nara and Nārāyaṇa
Where has this Ātma come from? Nara means the Ātma itself. From this Ātma the elements, beginning with space, all came forth. The elements beginning with space have been called nāras. He who is the abode of these nāras is Nārāyaṇa. Nara, made of the five elements, is himself Nārāyaṇa. Sound, touch, form, taste, smell and the rest are all present in every human being. Nara means the Ātma. The Ātma is that which is full of Ānanda. Such lasting Ānanda is not to be found by us in this world. What we experience is a passing joy, a joy that breaks in a moment. It is joy enjoyed through the senses, through objects, through the things of the senses and through people. People do not last. The things of the senses do not last. Objects do not last. How can we gain lasting Ānanda from things that do not last? So the true principle is within you. To attain that principle of truth, sādhana is essential.
The object and its reflection
The reflections change, but the object never changes. In moving water the sun seems to move; in still water the sun is seen still. In muddy water the sun is seen as a muddy sun. The mud you see is not the sun's. The moving sun is not the sun itself. These are all only reflections. This body is a vessel, this mind is the liquid in it, and the principle of the Ātma seen in it is the reflection. The mind takes shape as steady, unsteady or clouded according to its nature. When right feelings arise in us, the true principle becomes clear to us. Many do not understand spiritual matters well. We must try to recognise the oneness that is in all three of these.
The unmoving and the moving
“Acaraṃ caram eva ca”: the One who does not move and the one who moves are God alone. The One who makes things move is God. When He Himself is the one who moves, how can you call Him the Unmoving? If He is the steady One, how can you call Him the moving one? These two are quite contrary. God is the steady One, yet He moves. Vedānta has given a fine example of this. In our dream state our form moves about in many ways. It does things. It moves in all sorts of ways. The body that is walking lies still upon the bed. Here steady, there moving, “caraṃ sthiram eva ca”: the two are one. In one state it is moving.