Going into one’s own mind is Adhyātma; enquiring into the nature of one’s self. Remember, one’s self, not the Self. And one’s self means the personal self, the mind. You are not enquiring into Ātmān or Brahm; no enquiry is possible into Ātmān or Brahm.
Adhyātma is an honest exploration into the facts of one’s own daily life. How do I live, how do I think, how do I relate, how do I eat, how do I earn—that’s adhyātma. Adhyātma, therefore, is no mumbo jumbo. Adhyātma is not about some esoteric practices or cult-based rituals or verses in archaean languages. Adhyātma is a simple curiosity that makes you ask, ‘Hell, what did I just do?”
You are roaming around, let’s say in a shopping mall, and thoughts are roaming around in your head, and suddenly you pause and say, “Wait! What’s going on?” That’s adhyātma. Therefore, adhyātma has to be real-time; it has to be like the light that shines on your daily usual activities. Therefore, it cannot be something special, it cannot be something divorced, separated or bifurcated from the rest of your life.
There is nothing greatly complicated about the phrase ‘know thyself’. ‘Know thyself’ is adhyātma, and ‘know thyself’ does not mean that you have to earn a doctorate in the complicated business of self-knowledge. Who are you? The one that you right now are. Figuring this out and acknowledging it is Adhyātma.
Also read- 130 Ecstatic Psychology Facts about Personality Test
