Note – the sleeping and awakening states of mind are called expanding and contracting respectively. The Chaithanyam is the eternal witness to all that is happening in and around you. So our Masters advise us to be the witness, not the doer or the experiencer.

As you see the Sun with your eyes, with the help of the Sun’s light, realize the Chaithanyam in your own Self!

3.27.12 – 13

Now Bhagavatham gives a beautiful explanation of how we can experience the Self in us.

The Sun in the sky reflects in the water. That reflected light is projected on a wall in a house. The man who lives in that house sees the light on the wall and searches where it comes from and sees the reflection in the water. Then he looks up to see where that reflection comes from and thus sees the true Sun.

Similarly, if you enquire why body, senses and mind engage in various experiences, you will realize that it is due to the Chaithanyam only. Thus Jeevathma turns out to be a reflection of Paramathma and this enlightenment is called Self Realization.