I AM THAT

Self is I am That, which is the underlying essence of Brahman of unmanifest consciousness, Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss), or Satyaṃ Jnananam Anantam Brahma (Real-Consciousness-Infinite). Self is "I am That", which is unalloyed, unattached, unbounded, unconditioned, unfathomed, uncaused, spotless, eternal, self-effulgent, pure consciousness, and pure essence of Cosmic-Self. Sage Ashtavakra (Ashtavakra Gita, 2.1-3) affirms with King Janaka that I am truly spotless and at peace—an awareness beyond natural causality. Delusion has plagued me all this time. As I alone give light to this body, so I do to the world. As a result, the whole world is mine, or alternatively, nothing is. Now, through some divine intervention, my true self emerges as I relinquish my physical body and everything else. Sage Ashtavakra (Ashtavakra Gita, 1.11-18) asserts that if one considers oneself to be free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. This saying is true: "Thinking makes it so." He says that your real nature is that of the one perfect, free, and actionless consciousness, the all-pervading witness—unattached to anything, desireless, and at peace. You seem to be in the samsara chakra (the wheel of birth and death), but it's an illusion. Meditate on yourself as motionless awareness, free from any dualism, giving up the mistaken idea that you are just a derivative consciousness or anything external or internal. You have long been trapped in the snare of identification with the body. Sever it with the knife of knowledge that 'I am awareness', and be happy, my son. You are really unbound and actionless— self-illuminating and spotless already. The cause of your bondage is that you are still resorting to stilling the mind. You are pure awareness, so don't be small-minded. You are unconditioned and changeless, formless and immovable, unfathomable awareness and unperturbable, so hold on to nothing but consciousness. Recognise that the apparent is unreal, while the unmanifest is abiding. Through this initiation into truth, you will escape falling into unreality again.

 1. Outline

Self-knowledge, or self-realisation, or self-consciousness, or self-awareness, alternatively existence is one only, the essential core assertion of Advaitavada philosophy. This needs to be experienced through self-knowledge, self-consciousness, or self-awareness. The philosophy that proclaims that Brahman is the Supreme Self, who is eternal, imperishable, immanent as well as transcendental, the cause of all causes, and the infinity of the infinitude. He is complete in every respect and all-inclusive, and there is nothing outside Him. Rest assured, everything that manifests through our sense organs, including the phenomenal world, is finite in its finitude. The Ashtavakra Gita (1.10) pronounces that one real nature is as the one perfect, free, and actionless consciousness, the all-pervading witness – unattached to anything, desireless and at peace. It is from illusion that you seem to be involved in samsara. Just as waves, foam, and bubbles are not different from water, so all this which has emanated from one's self is no other than one's self; knowledge, what is to be known, and the knower – these three do not exist in reality" (Ashtavakra Gita, Chapter II). 

2. Scriptures

I am like the mother of pearl, and the imagined world is like the silver" (Ashtavakra Gita, Chapter VI). " (Ashtavakra Gita, Verse 2.15). "I am the spotless reality in which they appear because of ignorance" (Ashtavakra Gita, Verse 2.15). I am not the body, nor is the body mine" (Ashtavakra Gita, Verse 2.22). The Great Sayings, or Mahāvākyas, are profound aphorisms from scriptures that posit the essential identity between the Ātman (inner spirit or self) and Brahmān (Absolute Existence or Supreme Being): "Prajñānam Brahma" in the Aitareya Upanishad (3.3), which means "Consciousness is Brahmān"; "Ayam Ātmā Brahma" in the Mandukya Upanishad (1.2), which means "This Self (Atman) is Brahman"; "Tat Tvam Asi" in the Chāndogya Upanishad (6.8.7), which means "Thou art That"; and "Aham Brahmāsmi" in the Brihadāranyaka Upanishad (1.4.10), which means "I am Brahmān." Sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda, in his commentary on Panchadesi, explains that these Mahavakyas share the main message of the Upanishads, which is that there is only one reality, and each person is fundamentally the same as that reality. In the sentence, 'Prajnanam Brahma', or Consciousness is Brahman, a definition of reality is given. The best definition of Brahman would be to give expression to its supra-essential essence and not to describe it with reference to accidental attributes, such as creatorship, etc. That which is ultimately responsible for all our sensory activities, such as seeing, hearing, etc., is consciousness. Though consciousness does not directly see or hear, it is impossible to have these sensory operations without it. These Mahavakyas convey the essential teaching of the Upanishads, namely, reality is one, and the individual is essentially identical with it. In the sentence, 'Prajnanam Brahma', or Consciousness is Brahman, a definition of reality is given. The best definition of Brahman would be to give expression to its supra-essential essence and not to describe it with reference to accidental attributes, such as creatorship, etc. That which is ultimately responsible for all our sensory activities, such as seeing, hearing, etc., is consciousness. Though consciousness does not directly see or hear, it is impossible to have these sensory operations without it.

 3. Remarks

In reality, the self, according to Paramahansa Yogananda, is always free; freedom is not attained but simply realised and discovered. The impediment to self-realization and freedom is our preoccupation with the objective world, which inevitably leads to conflicts of interests and consequently to feuds, jealousy, revenge, and moral depravity.... The inward diversion of the mind will enable the aspirant to realise his independence and detachment from the network of relationships that constitute the phenomenal world. So long as the mind sees another self, there is bondage. Freedom consists in seeing nothing but the Self in everything. The Self is the Brahman, the undivided and undifferentiated Consciousness-Existence-Bliss [Sat-Chit-Ananda] and is not to be confounded with the ego. The mind limits and distorts the ego, just as a prism distorts light. As soon as a person effects his liberation from the snares of the ego, he becomes Supreme Bliss, to which there is no limit. All we have to do is improve our knowledge.The Ashtavakra Gita encourages a shift in perspective, from identifying with the limited self to realising the vast, boundless nature of the true self, which is the underlying reality of all existence.

 -Asutosh Satpathy

 

 

.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LIBERATION

The concept of liberation, or Moksha, is the core of Indian philosophy. It is ingrained in the Vedas, Upanishads , and scriptures. It is an essentiality in the Sanātana Dharma (eternal order or righteousness) the eternal way or the eternal order. The Sanātana Dharma  is transcendental and beyond time, space, and situation. The word Dharma comes from the Sanskrit root " dhri " which means "to sustain" or "that which is integral to something. " This way it refers to truthfulness, virtue, honesty, asceticism, forbearance, humility, purity, chastity, and a steady demeanour. In otherways Swami Sivananda said "Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realise; Be good, do good, be kind, be compassionate" i. Eternal Dharma , i.e., universal and fixed eternally ii. Swadharma : Duties performed according to one's condition and nature. In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita , Sri Krishna says one must rise above the dualities of happiness and distress and re...
Read more

CONTENTMENT

Contentment is steady and everlasting. It is to Ātman (inner self or spirit) as happiness is to mind. Contentment strives for "enough," while happiness strives for "more," ultimately leading to insatiation. It remains in a steady state of inward consciousness no matter the outward situation. The practitioner of contentment remains always in equilibrium irrespective of the situational opposites of distress and happiness, hot and cold, pleasure and pain, etc. The Srimad Bhagavad Gita (2.56) endorses this by stating that a sage of steady wisdom is someone whose mind remains calm in the face of adversity, who does not crave pleasure, and who is free of attachment, fear, and anger. Contentment is one of the highest achievements of human beings and what the scriptures have already scripted. It emphasises finding contentment in the present rather than striving for more.  Contentment basically means that "right here, right now, everything is perfect as it is, regardl...
Read more

BRAHMAVIDYA

B rahmavidyā , as the name indicates, is the wisdom to meditate upon Brahmān (the Ultimate Reality, or the Absolute Existence). It is initiated through a self-realised one through the yardsticks of truthfulness, equanimity, detachment, forbearance, honesty, sincerity, and willingness to learn, practice, and meditate upon Brahmān . It expounds on the teachings of Brahmān and of moksha , or liberation of Ātman from the cycle of reincarnation, or bondage from the body-mind-intellect complex. Thus, Brahmavidyā is the science of Brahmān, or the Cosmic Self. It is to awaken the consciousness of Self to be with the Cosmic Self (Brahmān) . It is a cognitive framework capable of encompassing the entirety of existence at any moment. To learn the Absolute necessitates the inclusion of all elements associated with the object of contemplation in our cognitive processes—not alone the intrinsic components of the object itself, but also the relationships it maintains with other objects. Factors ...
Read more