What is the Truth about Atman

Story

A long time ago, there lived five great sages — Prachinshila, Satyayajna, Indradyumna, Jana, and Budila. All of them were well-versed in the Vedas. One day, they began discussing among themselves, “Who is the Atman? And what is Brahman?”

They talked for a long time but could not reach a conclusion. Finally, they decided to seek the guidance of Sage Uddalaka, who was known for his deep knowledge of the Self and Brahman.

The sages went to Uddalaka and humbly requested him to reveal the truth. But Uddalaka, being very humble, said, “King Ashvapati knows this truth better than anyone else. You should go to him and learn from him.”

The sages then went to King Ashvapati’s palace. The king welcomed them warmly and offered them wealth, but the sages said, “We do not seek wealth; we wish to know the truth of the soul and Brahman.”

The next day, all the sages came to the king as his students. The king asked them, “Whom do you meditate upon?” One sage said, “I meditate upon space as the Atman.” Another said, “I see water as the Atman”. The other sages saw air, the Sun, and the Earth as the Atman.

King Ashvapati then gently explained, “You are all right in your own way, but each of you is seeing only one part of the body, not the whole being. Just as a person’s body has many parts — the mind to think, the eyes to see, the breath to live, and the feet to walk — if someone calls only the eyes the ‘whole person,’ would that be true? No. If someone calls only the feet the ‘whole person,’ that too would be incomplete. The real truth can be known only when we see the entire person as one.”

He continued, “In the same way, each of you has seen one aspect of the Self — space, water, air, the sun, or the earth. All of these are true, but they are incomplete on their own. To understand the truth of the soul, you must see all of them together as one.”

The five sages then realised that to know the truth, one must not focus on just one part of it but on the whole. Just as all parts together form a complete person, in the same way, space, water, air, the sun, the earth, and everything in existence together reveal the complete truth of the Self.