Cultivate subtle buddhi

eṣa sarveṣu bhūteṣu gūḍho’ tmā na prakāśate |

dṛśyate tvagryayā buddhyā sūkṣmayā sūkṣmadarśibhiḥ ||1.3.12||

Being hidden in all beings, this ātmā is not evident. However, it is seen by the people of subtle vision with a sharp, subtle intellect.

By the previous two mantra, the topic of discerning each layer of identification is completed. Next, śruti is going to prescribe meditation for cultivation of a focus and subtler mind. Thus, in this mantra, śruti stated the reason for the requirement of a subtle intellect for understanding ātmā.

eṣa sarveṣu bhūteṣu gūḍho’ tmā na prakāśate - being hidden in all beings, this ātmā is not known. Ātma is pervading every sheath, at the same time it is covered by each sheath, therefore the true nature of ātmā is not known. But as śāstra said that ātmā is of the nature of self-evident, thus nothing can cover ātmā. Why does it say here that ātmā is hidden? The covering here is because of avidyā - ignorance, which covers our buddhi, making us see ātmā wrongly, not covering ātmā itself. Just like we couldn’t see the sun on a cloudy day; we think cloud is covering the sun; actually cloud is covering our sight. Therefore, avidyā - ignorance about the nature of oneself needs to be uncovered by vidyā - knowledge of my true self in the buddhi itself.

But most of the buddhi can’t see this fact, since what we habitually see is always anātmā - not ātmā. However, it is seen by people who are habitually seeing the nature of things - dṛśyate tvagryayā buddhyā sūkṣmayā sūkṣmadarśibhiḥ. Just like a subtle mind that habitually sees golden earrings, golden chains, etc., are nothing but gold itself, similarly, one can see that every name and form is ātmā alone, and every experience is the experience of ātmā alone.

In order to cultivate that subtle intellect which can see the nature of oneself, the means in the form of meditation is prescribed in the next mantra.

yacched vāṅ manasī prājñaḥ tad yacchejjñāna ātmani |

jñānamātmani mahati niyacchet tadyacchecchānta ātmani ||1.3.13||

The discriminative one should resolve the speech into the mind. He should resolve that (mind) into the intellect. He should resolve the intellect into mahat. He should resolve that (mahat) into the tranquil ātmā.

It must be understood that meditation is only for preparing the mind and not for knowing ātmā. Knowledge of oneself is only possible through the teaching of guru and śāstras. And for this teaching to work, one needs a prepared mind.

yacched vāṅ manasī prājñaḥ - the discriminative one should resolve the speech into the mind. prājñaḥ here means one who has done śravaṇam and mananam, but has not assimilated the knowledge well. He is a knower of ātmajñānam, but not a jñāna-niṣṭhaḥ.

Śruti says that one should sit silently in a place, withdraw the functions of jñānendriyas (organs of perception) and karmendiriyas (organs of action) into his mind by focusing on the object of meditation.

The next step is to withdraw the mind into the intellect. tad yacchejjñāna ātmani - he resolves that (mind) into the intellect. In this step, one should move away from thoughts centered on the objective world to the thoughts centered on oneself as brahman. In this state, a firm understanding that “I am brahman” must be there.

Then he should withdraw from individual intellect into total intellect (hiraṇyagarbhaḥ).

jñānamātmani mahati niyacchet - he should resolve the intellect into mahat.

This amounts to the recognition that the individual intellect is not separated from the

total intellect.

From that intellect which is “I am brahman” as subject matter, he turns the attention to tranquil ātmā - tadyacchecchānta ātman. Tranquil ātmā means attribute-less ātmā, where there is no duality between meditator and the thought.