What is the Nature of the Sage?
A sage is one whose heart is open, and from which flows forth a constant and unending stream of wisdom, bliss, love and spiritual power, ever at peace in the knowledge of his true identity, transcending this passing phenomenal world, which to him is but a child's game.
What does it mean to have wisdom? Intellectual knowledge comes from the mind, is subject to inaccuracies and doubt, and works just on the theoretical plane. Wisdom is ever-true practical knowledge that comes directly from the heart, the psycho-physical organism's gateway to the all-pervading, omniscient consciousness behind. The same wise words could be spoken by both an academic and a sage, but the academic would generally not practise what he says, whereas the life of a sage is a practical demonstration of his teachings.
Brahman, our true identity, is like an infinite sea of consciousness. Matter, energy, the entire phenomenal universe is formed of varying vibrations of this consciousness. This one consciousness, containing and pervading the universe, is conscious through all channels and is, therefore, all-knowing and omnipotent. We appear as bottles in this sea, and through ignorance identify ourselves with the bottle, the instrument of perception and not with Brahman, the perceiver itself. The sage has attained the spiritual realisation that he is the eternal, all-pervading Brahman and not the passing phenomenon called the body.
An intellectual understanding of this is not sufficient, for the understanding must be that intuitive understanding that comes from the heart. The embodied soul or consciousness is like a light-bulb covered in numerous cloths. Each cloth is a layer of ignorance. The fewer cloths there are, the more divine light of Absolute Truth and Bliss shines through. The soul of a worm is identical to that of a saint, the difference being only in the layers of ignorance covering it and the subsequent manifestation of divinity. The layers of ignorance are removed through the performance of spiritual practice; as another layer is removed, another knot of the heart is cut asunder.
So how do we acquire bliss? A certain bliss may be gained through the senses. If I eat a nice sweet, I experience a little bliss. However, it is only a little, and sense-pleasures are always most fleeting, as the senses themselves filter it out. The intellect filters out less, so intellectual bliss is of a higher, longer-lasting category, but in the context of Eternity, the only real context, it is still over in the blink of an eye. However, in the open heart of the sage, pure bliss, unfiltered by matter, constantly manifests by itself, as Absolute Bliss is the nature of Brahman. The closer you are to Brahman, the deeper the cup of nectar you drink.
And what is love? The sage has realised that, although bodies be many, we are not our bodies, but the one, all-pervading, Absolute Consciousness. There is but one true identity; bodies and minds are but coverings that fall away before the divine vision of the sage, who sees in the eyes of another his very self, who feels in his heart the feelings of others, who cannot act concerning another save to lend a helping hand for he knows that he is not helping another, he is helping his own self. How can he help but love, drowning as he is in the Universal Ocean of Compassion Itself? The sense of oneness with all, all grasping on the part of the insignificant individual self utterly forgotten, is the nature of pure divine love, the proof of which is utter self-sacrifice for the welfare of the struggling multitude, and forgetfulness of even having sacrificed oneself at all.
True peace is known only to the sage. A certain material peace can be known to many, though as it is based on the condition of the changeable mind, it can never be permanent, and is therefore an illusory imitation of peace. Even when we have accomplished what we perceive to be a great deed, we cannot be at rest for so long. There always appears a voice, vibrating at the back of our mind, telling us to get up again, look for something, do something, for we are still not fulfilled. The sage, however, has managed to penetrate beyond the vibrating mind and is therefore standing on pure vibrationless consciousness, which is of the nature of Eternity. He can no longer be disturbed by vibrations as he has gone beyond them, and having attained to the Eternal, the mystery of life itself, he has nothing left to achieve for himself.
From such a one automatically emanates spiritual power that transforms others also into sages. Out of every being, a certain kind of energy is projected, and this can sometimes even be felt. When at a football match, and your team is losing, you can feel and are yourself affected by the disappointment of those around, and when your team scores some goals, likewise the elation of those around is tangible. The best kind of energy is spiritual energy, and the more deeply realised the sage, the more energy is projected, and the more will therefore be absorbed by people around. This is one reason why it is always said that a genuine spiritual aspirant should seek out bona fide sages to ensure his progress.
The sage, having gained the spiritual realisation that he is the omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent Brahman, unborn and deathless, and always submerged in bliss, has shaken off all the shackles of ignorance from whence come all fear and attachment to the body and sense-pleasures. Mere observation of his life is a spiritual education. His talk, overflowing with wisdom, centres around spirituality alone; the way he walks in the busy street, unperturbed by the cacophonous multitude, shows how he has mastered his mind. The children, playing a game, get excited and upset as they start to gain or lose an inch, but the sage, having realised it is only play, remains serene, playing with a smile for the good of all until the time comes to put the pieces back into the box and merge with the Brahman. Such is the nature of one who has undone the master-knot of life, and such indeed is the highest destiny of every soul.