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Why do the wise call the Aatman, ‘the enjoyer’? || Acharya Prashant, on Kath Upanishad (2017)
Scriptures and Saints
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3 years ago
Atman
Upanishad
Suffering
Compassion
Immortality
Katha Upanishad
Buddha
Death
Description

Acharya Prashant explains the nature of the Atman as the ultimate enjoyer or watcher, comparing it to a spectator in a cinema hall who enjoys the show by relaxing in their seat rather than leaping into the screen. He clarifies that for the Atman, there is no tragedy because all suffering is fundamentally false and superficial. Using an anecdote from his college days about a sentimental play that provoked laughter instead of sympathy, he illustrates how the Atman views human suffering as a performance by 'stupid actors.' He suggests that enlightened beings like the Buddha smile because they see the imperfection and fakeness of worldly pain. The Atman possesses compassion but lacks sympathy or mercy for the ego's self-inflicted dramas. The discussion further explores the Atman's disregard for social norms, seriousness, and religious institutions. Acharya Prashant notes that the Atman operates on a principle where those who complain lose what they have, while those who are grateful receive more. He describes the Atman as having no soft corner for weakness or sentimentalism, often poking fun at what humans consider holy or grave. Even death is treated as a joke because the Atman is immortal and unaffected by the limitations of mortality. The speaker concludes that true spiritual realization involves recognizing the insignificance of worldly suffering and maintaining a sense of lightness and laughter even in the face of death.