What Is The Truth Of My Existence?

Atheism

1082. Will not only he who mistakes himself to be that which does not exist (i.e., to be the body, which is in truth non-existent) declare You (God) to be non-existent? How can he who knows his own reality as it is (that is, as the mere existence-consciousness ‘I am’) deny You, who are that same reality, saying that You are non-existent?

A note in the Tamil text states that this verse is addressed to God, and that it concerns the belief of the atheist who believes God does not exist. ‘Asattu’ means that which does not exist. ‘Mey’ means the reality. That is to say, ‘How can one who knows that he exists say that God, who is not different from that existence or reality, does not exist?’

Sadhu Om: Sri Bhagavan concludes verse 20 of Ulladu Narpadu by saying, “...because Self is not other than God.” Accordingly, the atheist who denies the existence of God is thereby denying the existence of his own Self. Since no one can truly deny his own existence, those who wish to deny the existence of God should first try to enquire and know the true nature of their own existence, ‘What is the truth of my existence? Who am I?’ If they do so, they will automatically come to know the truth of God’s existence. Therefore, we should understand that those who realize their own existence as it is, will never deny the existence of God, and that since no one can truly deny his own existence, no one is really an atheist. But who is the real theist will be explained in verse 1084.

Theism

1083. For those who say that He (God) does exist, He exists in their heart as consciousness. But in the venomous mind of those who do not believe in Him, He will never exist (that is, He will never shine or be known). If, by purifying the venomous mind, one sees without delusion, He will shine triumphantly and unalloyed as Self.

1084. Know that the Buddha (the Sage or Ātma-Jñāni), who has experienced the pure reality (Self), having clearly known ‘This is the nature of consciousness,’ alone is truly worthy of the name ‘theist’ (Astika).

Sadhu Om: Since the world, soul, and God all appear, exist, and disappear simultaneously, they all have the same degree of reality [Sama-Satya] as each other. Therefore, if one accepts one’s own existence as a soul or Jīva, it amounts to one’s accepting the existence of the other two entities, the world and God. That is why it is concluded in the note to verse 1082 that no one is truly an atheist. Yet who is the real theist? All who say that God exists are not real theists. Only the Jñāni, who has realized himself to be the supreme Self, having given up the wrong knowledge that he is an individual or Jīva, is fit to be called a real theist [Astika]. Thus, the beauty of verse 1082 and 1084 lies in their final conclusion, namely that anyone who cannot deny his own existence is not an atheist, and that anyone who has not realized Self is not a theist.

• Sri Muruganar (2013). Guru Vachaka Kovai (The Garland of Guru's Sayings) Translation and Commentary by Sri Sadhu Om and Michael James. Tiruvannamalai: ArunachalaRamana Book Trust