7. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Mantra 2.4.11 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

And we saw how, when Maitri asked for instructions in Vedanta, the knowledge that will make her immortal.

So Yajnavalkya starts off by saying something rather interesting, even disturbing.

He says, we love anything and everything only for ourselves, for the sake of the self.

That which makes us happy, we love that.

And that which does not make us happy, we do not love that.

So all our pursuits for fulfillment are basically for the sake of the self.

That sounds a little disturbing because it sounds like a prescription for utter selfishness, you know, instrumentalizing love, that we love others for ourselves only.

But you be patient, you'll see it's just the opposite.

But the first effect of that is then we must this self then must be known.

If everything is being done for ourselves, but we do not know ourselves.

So the self has to be known, has to be experienced, has to be realized.

My dear, the self has to be seen.

Literally it says seen means realized in its real nature.

How do you do that? It says by hearing, by reasoning, and by meditating.

Shravana Manana Nididhyasana.

This is the classic method of Vedanta, which is throughout the centuries, after the Vedantic definition, millennia, in fact, till today, we keep saying that, yes, you have to listen, we have to listen to these teachings or systematically study it, but specifically listen to it, hopefully from an enlightened person, and then think about it, reflect upon it, until we get clarity.

We have got the information, the teaching, then we get clarity by manana, by reflection, by reasoning, argumentation, asking questions.

And then, the knowledge that we have acquired and got clarity about then we go and sit with it stay with it until it becomes a living reality for us so this is the way of realizing the self realizing the self means we think we already know the self we never inquire there but Yajnavalkya says we do not know it we have to inquire about it and one reason the way he introduces it is very strategic Because all our efforts in the world are for fulfillment.

Whatever we are doing in the world is for fulfillment, for overcoming suffering, attaining peace and happiness.

And he says, all of that is being done for the self.

And yet we really don't know the self.

So it's worth looking at the self, knowing what we truly are.

Why it is strategic is, The problem in Vedanta, the problem in self-enquiry is our engrossment with the world outside.

So Vedantic inquiry can never really get off the ground because we are so fascinated, spellbound by the world.

And this turns us away from the world towards our own nature.