Vedanta holds that our truest nature is not mortal; it is divine. However, in order to truly become aware of our essence, we must have a great depth of self-knowledge. The Upanishads hold that this self-knowledge—which is a living reality more than a theoretical understanding—is the very key to fulfillment. We must come to see ourselves not as this limited self, but as unlimited, pure, unchanging consciousness. By realizing the true nature of our own self, we come to see that we are infinite being-consciousness-bliss. This very knowledge sets us free from the travail of samsara, the cyclicality of existence.

Swami Sarvapriyananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Mission and is the current minister of the Vedanta Society of New York. He joined the Ramakrishna Order of monks as a novice brahmachari in 1994 and received sannyasa (monastic ordination) in 2004. Swami Sarvapriyananda is known for his lectures on the various texts of Advaita Vedanta and his speaking engagements have included discourses at the Rubin Museum in New York City, Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, and the Parliament of World's Religions as one of the keynote speakers. For more information visit www.vedantany.org.

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