Satchitananda – Chapter – 9

Guru asks, “Child, as I said now, the beejam (seed) of a created being is the self-luminous akshara and the beejam of that self-luminous akshara is Aksharam, then what is this self-luminous akshara? I have said that it has manifested from Aksharam. I have also said that this self-luminous akshara possesses inherent light, sound and matter. What is the quintessence of the self-luminous akshara?

The self-luminous akshara when manifested from Aksharam is Avyakta (unmanifest). It is AUM. It is Primordial Light. It is Sabda Brahman. It is Existence or Sat. It is Consciousness or Chaitanya or Chit. It is Bliss or Ananda. The self-luminous akshara remains in the state of avyakta – vyakta (unmanifest – manifest).

That is, a created being should use the manifested state of the self-luminous akshara that is known as “body” to know, realize, understand and experience its avyakta state that will eventually lead the created being to Aksharam.

The self-luminous akshara in its unmanifest state can be called invisible, infinite, self-effulgent, Time, prana or breath of the universe, Vedas, dharma, jnāna and dhvani. Its inherent nature is Aksharam. The self-luminous akshara in its unmanifest state is described as the brilliance of a million suns or Koti Surya Samaprabha or Koti Surya Prakasha or Sat.

This unmanifest self-luminous akshara is AUM and the experience of this AUM with the “body” or manifested state of the self-luminous akshara is Bliss or Ananda. The realization of this unmanifest self-luminous akshara with the “body” or manifested state of self-luminous akshara is Consciousness or Chaitanya or Chit.

Hence, it has been said that the SATCHITANANDA, the experience of Aksharam or Brahman or Self is the experience leading one to the Supreme Self. Although, to differentiate and say the knowledge, realization and experience of the unmanifest self-luminous akshara is Sat, Chit and Ananda respectively becomes a subject of ambiguity because the origin of all is the one and only Aksharam and hence, its experience can also be only one.

This is the science of the self-luminous akshara that dictates the manifested state of the self-luminous akshara. As the self-luminous akshara possesses inherent light, sound and matter, the intermingling and union of the inherent light, sound and matter among themselves leads to the creation of self-luminous aksharas, from which more self-luminous aksharas are created thus, expanding the created universe with more differentials of light, sound and matter as time, space, ego, mind, intellect, five-fold attributes, five-fold elements, the myriad forms of the Supreme Self or Devathas or Gods, the myriad mantras, the various forms and shapes of the created beings and others. This is the manifested state of the self-luminous akshara.

Hence, each and every manifested self-luminous akshara possesses the same core of light, sound, matter and the differentials of time, space, ego, mind, intellect, five-fold attributes, five-fold elements and others. This becomes the form or shape of the manifested self-luminous akshara that is the “body” of the created being.

A created being should thus take the help of the manifested state of the self-luminous akshara namely the “body” or its form or shape to experience the unmanifest state of the self-luminous akshara leading him to the Supreme Self.”