Atma Bodha - Post 46

Verse 36 (This is What I Am)

नित्यशुद्धविमुक्तैकमखण्डानन्दमद्वयम् ।

सत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं यत्परं ब्रह्माहमेव तत् ॥ ३६॥

NITYA, SHUDDHA, VIMUKTAIKAM,

AKHANDA-AANANDAM ADVAYAM

SATYAM JNAANAM ANANTAM YAT

PARAM BRAHMA AHAM EVA TAT

[Eternal, pure, ever-liberated and One, indivisible Bliss, and non-dual Existence, Knowledge and Infinite; I am verily that Supreme Brahman.]

“AHAM” is again the key word in this verse.

NITHYA SHUDDHAM:  I am ever pure. I am not affected by the impurities of the dualities like sukha, dukha at any time.

VIMUKTHAHA:  I am always liberated and free - in the past, the present or the future.

EKAM: I am the one and the only one without a second.

AKHANDAM: I have no parts or divisions and I cannot be divided into any such individual parts. The Anaatma has several parts. Sareeram has many parts. Mind has many parts. But, I, the Atma, am division-less.

AANANDAM: I am the eternal Bliss. I have no inadequacies. I do not miss anything. I do not have any regrets. When any thing comes into my life or goes out of my life, it creates no ripples in me. I am the aanandam, the eternal bliss

ADVAYAM:  I am one without a second.  I am all pervading, including the Sareera Thrayam and the world. I am the cause of every thing. Everything is merely my reflection and is Mithya. I am therefore the only one without a second.

SATHYAM, JNANAM, ANANTHAM BRAHMA:  This is again the definition of Brahma. Sathyam means Pure Existence. Death, Pralayam etc does not affect my existence – but only of the Sareera thrayam and the external world. JNANAM means - I am pure consciousness. ANANTHAM means - I am beginning-less and end-less but is infinite in time and space.

YATH PARAM BRAHMA: The one with these characteristics is the PARAM BRAHMA (Supreme Brahma).

AHAM YEVA THATH: I am that Param Brahma. I AM THE ABSOLUTE, INFINITE BRAHMAN.

Again an assertion is made as to who we really are. And again we have nine qualities painted before us in a panorama of exquisite beauty.

To contemplate on these thoughts is the way to directly experience the Self. This concludes the Nididhyasana or meditation upon the Self. In the process, we have unearthed the richest of spiritual treasure.

The Brahma Nishtha sage drinks his fill of these qualities as though they are nectar to him. Since beginning the quest for perfection from verse 30, starting with the doctrine of negation, we have completed all the three Lakshanas or definitions or pointers to the Self. This verse gives the final, Swaroopa Lakshana, the direct pointer to the Self by telling us what It actually is.

Satyam, Jnaanam, Anantam:

This is a very familiar Upanishadic statement appearing in the Taittiriya Upanishad, and dealt with in great detail in Sankara Bhashya on that Upanishad. Here, Sri Sankara repeats the words as they are the most eloquent expression to describe the nature of the Self.

This Taittriya Upanishad verse gave the complete expression on “BRAHMAN” for the first time, with the clarity found in very few Upanishad verses. The verse says,

TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD | 2.1.1 |

OM! brahmavidapnoti param | tadesa'bhyukta | satyam jnanamanantam brahma | yo veda nihitam guhayam parame vyoman | so'snute sarvan kaman saha | brahmana vipasciteti || tasmadva etasmadatmana akasah sambhutah | akasadvayuh | vayoragnih | agnerapah | adbhyah prthivi | prthivya osadhayah | osadhibhyo'nnam | annatpurusah | sa va esa puruso'nnnarasamayah | tasyedameva sirah | ayam daksinah paksah | ayamuttarah paksah | ayamatma | idam puccham pratistha | tadapyesa sloko bhavati || 2.1.1 ||

(OM! The knower of Brahman attains the highest. Here is a verse uttering that very fact: “Brahman is truth, knowledge, and infinite. One who knows that Brahman as existing in the intellect which is lodged in the supreme space in the heart, enjoys, in identification with the all-knowing Brahman, all desirable things simultaneously. "

From that Brahman indeed, which is the Self, was produced space. From space emerged air. From air was born fire. From fire was created water. From water sprang up earth. From earth were born the herbs. From the herbs was produced food. From food was born the human. That human, such as one is, is a product of the essence of food. Of one this indeed , is the head , this is the southern (right) side; this is the northern (left) side ; this is the Self ; this is the stabilizing tail.)

Sathyam affirms Brahman by negating non-existence; Jnaanam affirms It by negating inertness; and Anantam affirms It by negating incompleteness. In this way we have the most comprehensive description of the nature of the Supreme Truth.

This one expression “Sathyam Jnanam Anantam” is sufficient and complete in itself for contemplation, meditation and absorption and the subjective experience of Brahman / Atman, within the cave of a sadhaka’s heart!!!!

The session on this one expression taken by the Author is a very elaborate one and it spreads to more than 3 hours as it is a verse which is the essence of all Upanishads.

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 45

Verse 35

अहमाकाशवत्सर्वं बहिरन्तर्गतोऽच्युतः ।

सदा सर्वसमः सिद्धो निःसङ्गो निर्मलोऽचलः ॥ ३५॥

AHAM AAKAASHA-VAT SARVAM

BAHIH ANTAR-GATAH ACHYUTAH

SADAA SARVA-SAMAH SHUDDHAH

NISSANGAH NIRMALAH ACHALAH

[Like Space I fill all things within and without. Changeless, always the same in all, ever pure, unattached, stainless and motionless (am I).]

Aham, that is, I, am all pervading, internally and externally, in everything, much like the all pervading space (Akasa) that I see.

In the external world of Sareera Thrayam (the 3 bodies) and Bahya Prapancha (external world) – I  am the existence principle, the principle of Sath.

In the internal world of thoughts and emotions in the Manas (or Mind) – and all its associate parts like Ahamkara, Chittha and Buddhi, I am the consciousness principle or the principle of Chith.

 

I am Achyuthaha.  I never ever fall to the dualities of Samsaara and I am always my own protector and savior. I have no arrival or departure. I have no such limitations.

I am Sadaa  Sarva Samaha. I am the same to everyone. I exist everywhere and equally in all (Sarva), all the time (Sadaa). I have no differences based on any mundane distinctions – like caste, religion, sex, status and so on. All Naama roopas (Names and Forms) which differentiate all beings and objects have no relevance for me.

I am Siddhaha : It can mean either a Self evident person or  a liberated person. I do not need any proof for myself. I am the proof of everything else, as the one consciousness principle enlightening all others. I am also the ever liberated one.

I am Nissangaha. I am not related to, not connected to and not attached to anyone or anything in the creation. For worldly matters (vyavahaara), I may be a father, son, wife and so on. But, I have no attachments to these names and forms, which come at some point of time and space and go at some other point of time and space. They are ephemeral and transitory. In meditation, I negate all these relationships as binding forms and look upon myself as ever free.

I am Nirmalaha.  There are no disturbances and no impurity in me – from any worldly relationships and attachments.  Even good remembrances come after us and disturb us. Good or bad, I am free of all past, present and future relationships and occurrences. I am free of anxieties, sorrows and all effects of Samsaara.

 

It is not that worldly relationships do not exist for me in a worldly sense for transaction purposes. But, these will not bind me and create disturbances and impurities in me. These will remain at the level of Sareera Thrayam and Chidhabhasa and I remain free of their bondages.

I am Achalaha. When no relationship and occurrences bind me, none of them can shake me. People around me are born and they also die. They undergo the travails of Samsaara. Even this body (for referral purpose, I may say, my Sareera Thrayam) is undergoing all changes like old age, diseases and so on.

But, I remain unshaken and unmoved. I, as consciousness, is knowledge myself and even the most difficult situations cannot shake me. As Atma Jnani, I do not get hurt by others, nor do I hurt others.

“Akashavat Sarvam” – The Simile of Space Again:

The only simile that can compare with our ever expanding consciousness is Space itself. That is captured in, “I fill all things within and without.” Space, as inspiring and expansive as it is, is just a concept in the mind. We can only compare the Self to it, but the Self goes beyond it; It has no second to be compared with. 

However, there is a strong point of similarity: The Self, like space, allows everything to exist in It, yet is not contaminated by anything else. 

This is the context in which we used the same simile earlier, in verse 10, where it was from the angle of ignorance that we looked at space – as being cut up by our limited individuality into units. This time the context is the opposite.

We are seeing it from the angle of the enlightened sage. It is unlimited and pristinely pure. Reality can have no qualities. If it had, then there would need to be another Reality that would support those qualities. Extending this reasoning would lead to an infinite regression that makes the hypothesis illogical.

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 44

Verse 34

निर्गुणो निष्क्रियो नित्यो निर्विकल्पो निरंजनः ।

निर्विकारो निराकारो नित्यमुक्तोऽस्मि निर्मलः ॥ ३४॥

NIRGUNAH, NISHKRIYAH, NITYAH,

NIRVIKALPAH, NIRANJANAH

NIRVIKAARAH, NIRAAKAARAH

NITYA-MUKTAH ASMI NIRMALAH

[Without attributes, without actions, eternal, without any desire (thought), without any impurity, without any change, without form, ever liberated, and ever Pure I am.] 

Here we come to the final phase of the discussion, which is Nididhyasana or meditation on the divine qualities of the Self. Up to now we were focusing on NEGATION (“Neti-Neti”). Now the time has come to focus on positive ASSERTION.

The divinity of the Spirit is asserted in Nididhyasana. Nididhyasana is where we bring the whole process to its glorious end, where we reap the full benefits of all the laborious efforts of earlier Sadhana. There is actually nothing to discuss.

The spirit of these verses is purely to assist us in the meditation Sadhana. No Need for “Why” & “How” Now To bring in why and how at this stage will sully the experience of Truth. 

Most important to derive the full benefit of these verses is to know that at this stage we are not interested in the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ anymore. All the ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’ have been dealt with in the previous stages. 

We have passed that stage already and come to the last phase which requires us to hold our focus steady and imbibe the richness of the Self-experience. We must feel the full flow of these qualities throughout our system, body and mind.

A monk said, “We do not need the speed-breakers of ‘why’ and ‘how’ to arrest the smooth flow of these qualities into our bloodstream.” What a beautiful illustration of the state of meditative ecstasy! Surely, that can only come from one who is himself immersed in such a state of bliss.

Nine qualities of the Self are listed in this verse.

Nirguna        – without attributes

Nishkriya     – without actions

Nitya             – eternal

Nirvikalpa   – without any desire and thought

Niranjana    – without any dirt (impurity)

Nirvikara     – without any change

Nirakara.     – without form

Nityamukta – ever free or liberated

Nirmala        – without impurity; ever pure

And all these qualities / lakshanas are given by Sankara for “Asmi”, the expression in the 4^th line of the verse.

Asmi: Who is the one described here? It is I – asmi. I am these. This is the crux of this Meditation effort. I meditate on these as My own self. 

I must spend as much time as necessary so that my nature sinks into me fully, totally and absolutely, as described in the verse. This is another extraordinary session of Nidhidhyasanam. I need to achieve total self knowledge as total identification with the self.

What a line-up! – An awesome, invincible team indeed! We experience our deepest Self as these beautiful qualities. It is such an experience that makes the spiritual quest so intensely rewarding and worthwhile. It is for a glimpse of these qualities that Yogis and sages make huge sacrifices in their personal lives.

Do they not now richly deserve to reap the harvest of all their hard work?

An Indirect Simile: “Ni” – the Highest Note in Music. All nine words for the nine qualities of the Self begin with the prefix ‘Ni’.

The seventh and highest note of a music octave is Ni, in Indian music.

Is it significant here that in talking about the qualities of God, the name of this note is in all of them?

A classical musician, when he gets to the highest note, tries to hold it for as long as he can. Is it significant then that when the spiritual seeker scales the heights of spirituality, he tries to maintain that state for as long as he can? – Perhaps forever!

Aho…. Aho……..

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 43

Verse 33

अमनस्त्वान्न मे दुःखरागद्वेषभयादयः ।

अप्राणो ह्यमनाः शुभ्र इत्यादि श्रुतिशासनात् ॥ ३३॥

AMANAS-TVAAT NA ME DUHKHA

RAGA-DVESHA-BHAYA-AADAYAH

APRAANAH HI AMANAAH SHUBHRAH

ITI AADI SHRUTI-SHAASANAAT

(Because I am not this mind, thus not for me is sorrow,   attachment, malice, fear and so on.  The Self is without Prana, and even without mind. “It is Pure” – thus declare the Shrutis (Upanishads). 

We now deal with the second aspect of our Upadhis – the mind. This step is Manana on the mind. It is more subtle reflection than that described in the previous verse. It is much more difficult to negate the mind than to negate the body.

The abstract is always more elusive than the concrete. 

Why is this negation being done? Is it because the Guru said so?

No, it is because that is the firm conviction that is arising in our mind of the limitations incumbent upon these Upadhis.

It is from our own intellectual conviction that we make the resolve to raise ourselves above these limitations, and not because anyone has told us to do so. 

This is the deep personal conviction which Vedanta imposes upon us, and from which springs the energy for the Sadhana.  

The mind here has to be taken as the entire Antahkarana or inner equipment, i.e. the mind, intellect and ego-sense. All these together form the mental Upadhis. 

Each one of them is associated with the full baggage of attachments, fears, likes and dislikes, emotions and feelings, and the joys and sorrows that are the effects of these thoughts.

We notice that from verse 31, the text begins to use the first person. ‘I’ am the subject of the actions. This is because the negation process is a process that concerns only ‘me’ in my relationship with all these Upadhis. 

It is an individual Sadhana to overcome the individuality. No one else need even know about this Sadhana. It is a personal practice, done for self-purification, not for acquiring any accreditation from others. 

It must not end up as an achievement for which the ego will be expecting to be applauded.

Swami Chinmayananda compares this step (of bringing the mind under scrutiny) as one would view or analyse one’s own dream. 

Once the dream is seen as a dream, it ceases to carry with it all the associated feelings and emotions it may have carried while it was still being dreamt. Upon awakening from one’s dream, the child that died in the dream does not bring sorrow.

Similarly, the seeker does not lament that he has to give up all the feelings that he once associated with his experiences. He now sees his mental encounters dispassionately as a witness. 

The ‘death’ of all the good or bad emotions and thoughts is not a cause for mourning, any more than are the termination of the sorrows and joys of dream upon awakening.

The logic of Vedanta is simple; we need not complicate it. Complications invite impurities to set in. The process is seen simply as this: “I am not these emotions. I am free from sorrow or pain. I have no attachment, malice or fear.” 

This practice, if carried out in simplicity, which means with purity, is sure to bring the result of peace of mind.

In other words, we should be very happy to be free from the mind! For it is the direction given by the Srutis (Upanishads) themselves. Handling of the mind in this way should bring us joy, not regret in having to lose something.

This negation of Mind, i.e., the Antah karana, is the first verse given by Sankara in Nirvana Shatakam

Mano budhi ahankara chithaa ninaham,

Na cha srothra jihwe na cha grhana netre,

Na cha vyoma bhoomir na thejo na vayu,

Chidananda Roopa Sivoham, Sivoham.

Our existence is perceived through Sareera Thrayam – the gross body, which is visible to us, the subtle body which runs the gross body in different ways from inside and the causal body which causes the existence of these two bodies but remains more or less dormant later with very less functions. These are Micro level bodies. At Macro level, the five great elements cause the existence of all the three micro bodies in each of us.

Sankaracharya is first negating that part of the causal body which feels as the ‘I’, the perceiver, then the sense organs (indriyaas) which act as the medium of transactions between this perceiver and the external world and then the external world, which is perceived by this perceiver.

The negation process is contained in the first 3 lines of the verse and is followed by the assertion process in the last line in strict adherence to the Nidhidhyasanam process. The meaning of the verse is explained below:

“I am not the emotional mind, the manas, which vacillates between thoughts and remains indecisive.

I am not the intellect, the Buddhi either, which is involved in decision taking.

I am not the ego, the ahankara,   which is responsible for the ‘I’  feeling.

I am not the Chittam, which indulges in deeper thinking and storing of all memories.

I am not the ears which hear the Sounds from external world, or the tongue which tastes, or the nose which smells or the eyes which see.

I am not the earth or the sky or the air or the light, the great elements of the universe.

I am the all pervading, universal consciousness and eternal bliss. I am the Siva, I am the Siva.”

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 42

Verse 32

देहान्यत्वान्न मे जन्मजराकार्श्यलयादयः ।

शब्दादिविषयैः सङ्गो निरिन्द्रियतया न च ॥ ३२॥

DEHA ANYATVAAT NA ME JANMA

JARAA AKAARSHYA LAYA AADAYAH

SHABDA-AADI VISHAYAIH SANGHA

NIR-INDRIYA TAYAA NA CHA

[I am other than the body, thus not for me is birth- wrinkling, senility, death and so on. With sense objects such as sound, etc, association is nil as I (the Self) am without sense organs.]

This and the next verse are Manana on the Self, wherein we ponder carefully over what we have heard on the Upadhis. We reflect seriously about the body and the mind and negate them, that is, go beyond the limitations imposed by them. In this verse we deal with the gross body – “I am not the body,” nor all the associated transactions it has with this world of names and forms.

Notice that the emphasis is on the changeability of the body. This is true of the entire gross universe of objects, but we see the effect of that changeability more dramatically when we see it in our own body. As we grow we encounter the 6 stages or modifications which the body undergoes.

They are: existence, birth, growth, disease, decay and death. They are the six phases which our body goes through in the course of a life of normal duration. When the body’s hold on our attention is loosened, then we begin to free ourselves from six changes that it undergoes, and which are inevitable to the body.

The real “I” is seen as a constant background, unaffected by the changing foreground. By retreating into the area of constancy in life, our life no longer dances up and down to the tune of the ever changing waves of bodily experiences. We do not live with the body as our centre. The body is not viewed as the essential part of us.

It is there, and we have to take care of it; but it is not the centre-stage of my life. This is how a seeker of Truth begins to reflect and analyze his body and its associated needs. As clearly mentioned in the previous verse, this does not mean that we sneer at the body as some inferior object to be detested. No such attitude is even suggested, even in the straightforward words, “I have nothing to do with these sense objects.”

By negating the gross body, we begin to reduce all identification with it, and finally eliminate it. In this process, our link to the spiritual world within is strengthened. The negation of body includes negation of our senses and all the sense objects that interact with the senses. These would naturally receive the same treatment as the body. They cease to dominate the drama of life.

Dear All,

In Puttaparthi, there used to be a devotee in 80s, who used to keep 2 photographs of his mother - one in her 20s and then another in her 90s.

Miracles used to happen at his place and devotees used to visit his place. Author has also visited few times.

That devotee used to show to the people both photographs of his mother and say, “This is how body changes, know this and come out of attachment to Body”.

As it is explained already, one need not and one must not develop any hatred / ill feeling towards his body when he goes through spiritual sadhana.

One has to only know and conclude that this body undergoes 6 changes from existence to death and thus, one must look beyond one’s body to THAT which never is born and therefore never dies. That is Atman, the SELF!!!

It is all about realizing the rope as rope and not snake, water as water and not merely as bubble or waves, Gold as just gold and not the various designs of ornaments made out of Gold. Sankara has filled Atma Bodha with so many examples to explain clearly as to what is REAL and what is UNREAL.

The call is – “Let Body be there. Channelize your mind towards higher SELF, towards God so that the mind stops giving too much importance to your body, its beauty etc. and focuses on God, the ultimate reality!!!!”

Rise beyond Body, mind, intellect and reach to THAT WITNESS CONSCIOUSNESS which has been observing all the changes that have happened to your body, your mind, your intellect, your very existence as human with all your impressions. Who has been watching all these changes and yet remains changeless????

Think!!!!!

Love.