While the Physical Body is ephemeral, the Inner Soul or ‘Atma’ is an integral part of ‘Paramatma’or the Super Force,the Inner Soul’s existence is however subject to the survival of physical  life.The Body is made of the Five Elements, Viz. ‘Prithivi’ (Earth), ‘Apas’(Water), ‘Tejas’(Fire), ‘Vayu’(Air), and ‘Akash’(Sky) and the individual Soul merges back into the Elements of ‘Pancha Bhoota’,which are the handmaids of ‘Paramatma’; In other words, the smaller light confluences with the Enormous Light.  The Super Force is Unknown (‘Avyaktam’); Permanent (‘Sasvatam’); All Pervading (Omni-Present); It has no beginning or end (‘Anantam’); It is not spent out but ever- springing (‘Avyayam’). Knowledge of this Truth of Life is ‘Brahma Gyan’. The process of alignment of the Inner Soul to ‘Paramatma’ or in other words the pursuit of the Truth is performed by several ways and means but the most effecective routes to yield concrete relults are  five major methods as recommended by Sages:  to perform ‘Yagnas’, which is the hardest yet a quick mode; to observe ‘Tapas’ ( serious meditation) and adopt an ascetic Life; detach from material happiness or follow the descipline of ‘Vairagya’; to be an ascetic or the scooll of ‘Sanyasa’; and  the path of ‘Jnana Yoga’ or the Ultimate Path of Self- Realisation.

In the context of the ‘Nyasa’ ( Pursuit of Truth or of ‘Paramatma’), Agni Purana has illustrated ‘Jada Bharata’ as having attained maturity in the knowledge of ‘The Grand Alignment’, and he had devoted his lifetime in Meditation at a place known as ‘Shalagrama’. But he was highly fond of a deer as it was a ‘Jyatismara’ (which had the knoweldge its earlier birth). After the deer died, Bharata also died later and was reborn as a ‘jyatismara’ human. While travelling from place to place, Bharata came across the King of the Place, named ‘Souribha’ being carried in a palanquin by some of his persons, who caught hold of Bharata too and made him carry the palanquin for some time. The King admonished Bharata that he was not carrying the palanquin properly. Bharata replied to the King that it was just an illusion, as neither the King was not being carried nor Bharata was carrying the palanquin. He said that the King, the Palanquin and he himself were non existent as all these entities are one and the same! On realisation that the person concerned was indeed a philosopher, the King sought to know as to who was he. The reply was: ‘Are you referring to my Atman or your Atman or the all pervasive Paramatman?’ ‘Who am I’ is   a very complicated query, replied Bharat. The King asked Bharat again, ‘Whatever form in which you are, who you are?’ Bharat’s reply was that the palanquin being carried was made of wood and the wood came from trees and the trees were in forests; and would it be alright to say that the palnquin was  made of the forest!As the King had no reply, he bcame an instant disciple of Bharata. The latter narrated the story of Ribhu and Nidhgha. The former was the Guru and the latter the disciple. After the formal teaching was over, Nidhgha left his Guru to seek his livelihood in a city. A few years, the Guru visited the disciple and Nidhgha became wealthy by then. The disciple gave lots of food and fruits and enquired whether the Guru was satisfied. The latter replied that he ate but was not hungry. The Guru visited the disciple after a long lapse of time once again and the disciple shifted his residence away in the outskirts, since he did not like the King. Apparently, Nidgha got envious of the King. He did not even like the King visiting the outskirts when the Guru was there.The Guru asked Nidhgha to identify the King. The latter described the King seated on an elephant. The Guru replied to the disciple that he was not able to identify either the elephant or the King or even the crowd of persons as all the objects were just similar to each other in their essential forms, viz. there were no forms at all, as there was only one Form unseen,unfelt, unheard, and unidentified! And that is ‘Paramatma’! The story of Ribhu and Nidgha was assimilated by King Souribha as also the secrets of the Knowldege of Brahma Gyan. The Knowledge is as complicated as is simple: existence of the Entire Universe is an illusion and the most effective form of learning is the capacity to sift the Illusion and The Reality!