The foremost quality a sadhaka or a seeker needs to have is viveka. In fact, all the other qualities such as vairagya or dispassion, the six-fold wealth of peace of mind—control of the senses, withdrawal of the mind from the world of objects and focussing on one’s own duties, putting up with the pains and sorrows that life presents to us, emotional investment of energy on the guru, a steady placement of the mind on the truth and an intense desire for liberation of the mind—have only one goal. That is viveka.
Sri Adi Shankaracharya is asked by a student in Tatwa Bodha or the knowledge of the essence of existence—what is the discrimination between the eternal and the temporary object? The Master says, what is eternal is just one expanse called Brahma. Everything else other than that is ephemeral. Brahman—or that consciousness which is the substratum of all existence, the self which is the anvil on which all knowledge takes place and the eternal presence of joy in the universe on which our temporary joys and sorrows are superimposed—alone exists.
The word Brahman comes from the root Brih, which means very vast. This root is used to describe anything very big like the Brihadeeshwara Temple or the Big Temple of Thanjavur. There is a goddess called Brihan Nayaki, the leader of all expanse, the Brihat Jataka Tales or the big book of stories, to name a few. Even a great exhibition is called a Brahmanda to refer to its grand scale.
The only thing in this whole universe that is really the biggest is consciousness. That alone exists. Everything else is only a fleeting appearance in that consciousness. For instance, there is a feeling right now in you that you are existing. There is no doubt about it. But while you are sleeping, you are not aware of this aliveness. However, when you wake up, you feel very fresh and remember that you went to sleep and was absorbed in something that has refreshed you in that passage of few hours.
What is it that refreshed the mind and body during those few hours of rest? The mind or the capacity to know had been travelling to many thoughts or objects in the present moment. It had also internally travelled so many times in the day to many events, objects and situations of the past. It also kept anxiously looking forward to probable happenings in the future.
However, in sleep, there was no movement of thoughts. The mind was absorbed in the fundamental energy that goes to make you the existing individual. That hidden energy into which the mind dissolved itself is awareness: Brahman—God or the Self.
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