three conscious states of a human being: the wakeful state, the dream state, and the deepsleep state Similarly, Swamini Abhayananda from Argentina also mentioned that people’s true nature or happiness is consciousness She said, “… because the self does not have any divisions There is no division; there is no dividing line, for consciousness It is limitless consciousness …” (personal communication, May 5, 2018) Also, Swamini Ananadmayi, the female sadhu from the UK, equated happiness to knower (someone who knows) According to her, there is no difference between knower and knowledge Knowledge is only a label for the knower Therefore, she equated knowledge with happiness It is like saying—when I discover real happiness, I experience I am none other than knowledge or just a knower Therefore, according to her, knowledge is not merely a means to an end (the end being happiness or freedom), but knowledge is identical with the end, showing happiness is none other than knowledge or knower In her words, … happiness is only in discovering the truth That’s why even though we say, knowledge of the truth is the means, and the moksha (Sanskrit: absolute freedom from all suffering or real happiness) is the end, sadhnam (Sanskrit: means) and sadhya (Sanskrit: end), we say, initially, but actually speaking the knowledge of the truth itself is moksha (Sanskrit: happiness or freedom from suffering) They are identical The means and the end are identical So, we say only when the person is clear about this end, thereby he is committed—he or she is committed to this pursuit of knowledge of the truth, which itself is moksha (Sanskrit: absolute freedom from suffering or happiness) It is not that you attain gyanam (Sanskrit: knowledge) first and then you attain moksha (Sanskrit: real happiness or absolute freedom from all suffering) No! Knowledge itself is freedom And that is the ultimate goal Therefore, knowledge of the truth becomes that ultimate goal (personal communication, April 2, 2018) 132