Knowing the nature of the jivatma and the Paramatma is necessary for everyone who seeks liberation. The very purpose of a jivatma’s birth on this earth is to know the Supreme One. A person who acquires jnana knows that the atma does not belong to him. It belongs to the Supreme One, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse.
There are many ways of knowing things, but none of them will help to understand the Paramatma. Knowing something through the senses is known as pratyaksha jnana. But you cannot know Him directly through your senses. So pratyaksha jnana will not help us understand the Paramatma.
Anumaana is another way of understanding something. Anumaana is guesswork based on common sense. If we see smoke coming from behind a hill, we can assume that there is a fire on the other side of the hill. When you see earthenware being sold in a place, you can guess that there is a potter at work on his wheel there. This kind of guessing will not help us get a grasp about the nature of the Paramatma.
A potter makes pots, but can he do the work of a tailor? An architect may build amazing buildings, but can he do the work of a doctor? So, each of us specialises in a trade or profession. We can’t do all things. In fact, we cannot claim to have a knowledge of everything. An excellent doctor may be quite ignorant of something else. But the Supreme One knows all things — He is Omniscient. He can do what He wills. He is Omnipotent. He is the One who taught the Vedas to Brahma. He cannot be known through guesses or inference. We can know Him through the Vedas.
Nammazhvar’s Thiruvaimozhi talks of the jivatma, the Paramatma, goal of the jivatma, how to attain this goal and the hurdles in trying to attain this goal. These five are known as artha panchakam.