Atman is a state of constant bliss, which is not associated with joy or pleasure in the usual sense, it is non-dual state that cannot be interrupted by various kinds of suffering. Experiencing of Atman gives you some kind of inner bliss and the realization that the body, personality, people, the world - everything is constantly changing. You see the constant change of Shakti (energy) and you feel that the only Atman state remains unchangeable. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about. Deep peace arises. Whatever happens to you in life, thanks to this knowledge of yourself you stop worrying about your own death, because there is no death for you, there is a change in your physical body that will turn into some elements in the earth or burn in fire, i.e. will return to nature.
It can be perceived as a concept, everything is logical: here the body returns to the earth and disintegrates into elements, you merge with nature. But it doesn't console people when you say it to them. Anyway, they are afraid, because the identification with the body is very strong, it seems to them that they will cease. If you have not submerged into your eternal essence, then it is very difficult to disidentify from the body. If you have come into contact with it even for a short time, it is already much easier. Whether in practice or not in practice, maybe in some kind of life shock you felt your real "I". It happens, it is not necessarily the fruit of some long yogic practices.
True nature is our natural state, everything else is not ours, it is temporary. This body is given to us by God or nature, parents, but our “I”, our Atman, is exactly what is ours. Nothing else of ours is here and cannot be. And when a person accidentally touches this state, even if only for a moment, a minute, a second, it doesn’t matter how long, because he enters eternity, and there is no time and it doesn’t matter how long you stay there, therefore this time does not exist there. From the outside, you can say that 5 minutes have passed, but you yourself cannot say how much has passed. For you, it was infinitely small and infinitely long at the same time. Then you can get carried away by something external, but this brief moment can become the core for further practice. This is no longer something that you just read about or someone told you about, but you yourself comprehended it, felt that you are eternal, you cannot die while this universe exists. Even when this world collapses to a point, you will be there too.
This is what is called the truth, which is very, very difficult to talk about because words always reduce significance. For a person who has experienced this and is trying to talk about it, his subtle experience begins to become coarser, become completely different from what he felt. These enlightening moments can change the whole life of a person, his attitude to everything. And therefore, each person should strive to know this state at least a little, even if he does not aim to be a some kind of “super yogin”. Knowing your nature is not superfluous in life. Many mental disorders, wrong understanding of many things, and ignorance begin to dissipate. Therefore, yoga has existed for so long and has not been forgotten, or lost for so many millennia.
The clarity that happens to a person in the process of understanding oneself is something necessary for people. For each person, this understanding comes in its own time. No one wants to live in some kind of constant deception. Another thing is if a person is not aware of this (like many people) and TV together with other media help him not to realize it. But sometimes you want something real. And it is precisely this very present that is within us, so there is no need to even go anywhere for it. This is not some kind of achievement, this is the disclosure of what we already have, every person has.
Fragment of satsang in Kiev, 2017