I AM YOU

Atman, or Self, is Paramatman, or Brahman, or Supreme Self. It is the inseparable essence of Brahman. "I am You" signifies "I", as Atman is the same as "Paramatman". It appears in Kaushitaki Upanishad (1.2), during the course of discourses between Sage Aruni and his son Svetaketu with King Chitra Gargyayani that conveys the Vedantic concept of the oneness of Atman and Brahman. The setting is the path to Brahman. Atman, or Self, Kaushitaki Upanishad (1.2) says, after departing the phenomenal frame in the worldly dimension, moves to the moon, and depending on its level of his deeds and Self-knowledge, it may be reborn in this world or continue its journey to higher elevations of consciousness up to the highest level of Consciousness, or Brahman. The higher the level of consciousness, the higher the level of indistinguishability of Oneness, the more discrimination in recognising eternal from ephemeral, the more detachment from sense-perceived attachment from the phenomenal world, and the more discipline in removing the veil of illusionary distinctions of "I" and "you" and recognising one as "I am awareness" (Ashtavakra Gita, 1.13-1.14);  So'ham asmi, or I am He, the Purusha within thee (Isha Upanishad, Verse 16); "I am Brahman" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.10); "Consciousness is Brahman" (Aitareya Upanishad, 3.3); "I am that" (Ashtavakra Gita, 2.1-2.3); "I am you" (Kaushitaki Upanishad, 1.2), and "This Self is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad, 1.2). This Self is Self-luminous, unalloyed, unattached, unbounded,  unconditioned, unfathomed, uncaused, spotless, eternal, self-effulgent, pure consciousness, eternal, imperishable, and pure essence of Supreme Self.  It is finally here; I am you. It is the last stage of the elevatory journey of Atman. According to Kaushitaki Upanishad, Brahman meets and tests Atman at this stage, asking, "Who are you?" By correctly answering the questions, "I am You," Atman demonstrates its knowledge of Highest Truth. This illustrates the fundamental unity of the Atman with the Paramatman, or Brahman, Supreme Self. This elevation occurs as a soul ascends toward liberation and is questioned by Brahman, the Ultimate Reality. 

1. Outline 

   "O seasons, from the Resplendent (moon), the seed has been gathered as it was falling from the fifteen-fold (the half lunar month) from the home of the fathers. Therefore, please consider me as a man who can act as an agent. With the man as an agent, a mother infused me. I am born, being born forth as the twelfth or thirteenth succeeding month by means of the twelvefold or thirteenfold father (the year). In the knowledge of that am I; for the knowledge of the opposite am I. So strive, O seasons, to make me immortal; by that truth, by that austerity, I am a season. I am of the season. Who are you? ‘I am you.’ He lets him go further. Brahman responds, "Who am I?" Atman replies, "Satyam", or "Truth" (Kaushitaki Upanishad, 1.2).

The context involves a conversation in which Atman ascends to higher levels of consciousness, ultimately reaching Supreme Consciousness, also known as Brahman, Absolute Existence, or Ultimate Reality. The exchange of conversation proceeds as one attains the highest level of Consciousness, or Brahman. Atman, demonstrating its enlightened awareness of its true nature, replies with a series of affirmations that culminate in the declaration, "What you are, that am I." "I am you." It succinctly expresses the central Upanishadic teaching of Advaita Vedanta, or non-duality. It highlights Oneness with Brahman by stating, "I am you."  Atman identifies itself as one with Brahman, the Universal Self. This indicates the soul's realisation that the apparent division between them and God is an illusion. Ultimate knowledge is Atman's ability to answer "The Truth", which demonstrates its attainment of Moksha, or liberation. This knowledge goes beyond intellectual understanding to a direct, experiential realisation of its essential identity as an unchanging, eternal reality. Beyond the individual's psycho-physical structure, the dialogue conveys that the true self is not the body, senses, or mind but Consciousness that underlines all existence. Atman has transcended his embodied limitations to recognise his connection to the universal consciousness. It elaborates further, saying, "I am the season, and the child of the seasons..." The light, which represents all living things and elements, is Self. Thou art Self; "What thou art, that am I." It is followed by Brahman asking, "Who am I?" Atman's response comes out, "Satyam", or "The Truth". The deeper meaning of the conversation shows a shift in understanding from false beliefs to what is real, from temporary things to eternal truths, from things that fade away to those that last forever, and from things that change to those that stay the same, including all-powerful, all-knowing It is a recognition of Existence as one and indivisible. It is about transcending the duality of "I" and "you" to a recognition of their shared, non-dual essence. Self-knowledge is about Self-awareness and Self-consciousness and ultimately about Self-realisation. All these heightened senses of Self are about the recognition of the inseparability of Self and Supreme Self. When that is known, it is all about Moksha, or liberation. The realisation of Atman signifies its liberation from the Samsara Chakra, or the cycle of birth and death. Kaushitaki Upanishad contends Atman is the substratum or unifying force in all beings and non-beings. that a man is the season (nature), sprouts from the season, rises from a cradle, and is reborn through his wife as splendour. The text then presents a dialogue between Man and Brahman. Brahman declares, "Man is the Self of every living being. You are the self of every being. What you are, I am." Man asks, "Who am I then?" Brahman answers, "The Truth."

2. Scriptures 

The Kaushitaki Upanishad, 1.2, says that deeds and your Self-knowledge enable you to move up on the ladder of elevation. Whoever departs from this world, all get to the moon. In the earlier half of the lunar month, it flourishes on their vital breaths; in the later half, it causes them to be reproduced. The moon verily is the door of the heavenly world. Whoso answers it right, Him it sets free to go further. But He who does not answer, having become rain, rains down here. Here he becomes a worm or an insect or a fish or a bird or a lion or a boar or a snake or a tiger or a person or something else in this or that condition according to his deeds and knowledge of Self (Kaushitaki Upanishad, 1.2). Moksha, or liberation, is contingent on Self-knowledge and deeds. Human beings are not a constituent of body, mind and intellect, but rather Atman, the eternal core, an inseparable essence of Paramatman, or Supreme-Self. The thrust of the Upanishad is not what manifests but rather the unmanifest one behind the manifestation. The Kaushitaki Upanishad (Chapter 3) proclaims that the vital breath, or life force, as nomenclature to Atman in this Upanishad, is verily the unifying force behind all manifestations (Kaushitaki Upanishad, 3.2). One should not desire to understand the speech but should desire to know who speaks; one should not desire to understand the smell  but should desire to know who smells; one should not desire to understand the form but should desire to know him who sees the form; one should not desire to understand the sound but should desire to know him who hears; one should not desire to understand the food but should desire to know who tastes; one should not desire to understand the deed but should desire to know him who performs the deed; one should not desire to understand pleasure and pain from excitation but should desire to know him who feels the pleasure and pain; and one should not desire to understand the opinion and thinking but should desire to know him who opines and thinks. Because if there were no elements of consciousness, there would be no elements of material being. Because if there were no elements of material being, there would be no elements of consciousness. Because any one phenomenon does not come about through one without the other. Because Prana, or life force, is also the Prajnatman, or Self-knowledge, is bliss, is not ageing, and is immortal. This is my Atman, which one should know. O! This is my Atman, which one should know. Kaushitaki Upanishad, 1.6, asserts that Atman is Self and other than That is non-Self, or sense organs including vital breath, which are combined as Tvam. Self as Truth; it is the Self of all and is Brahman. He should say, ‘The Real.’. ‘What is that, viz., the Real?’ What is other than the gods (sense organs) and the vital breaths? That is the Sat (what is). As for the gods and the vital breaths, they are the Tvam (the you). This is expressed by the word Satyam. It is as extensive as all this. You are this world-all. Thus, then, he speaks to him. This very thing has been expressed by a Rig verse:

Having Yajus in her belly and Saman in his head

Having Rik in his form is imperishable.

Brahman – thus is he to be known.

The great seen consists of the Vedas.

He says to him, ‘Wherewith does one acquire many masculine names?’ He should answer, ‘With the vital breath.’

‘Wherewith does one acquire the feminine names?’ ‘With speech.’

Where are the neater ones?’ With the mind.’

‘Wherewith the odours?’ ‘With the smell.’

Where are the forms?’ ‘With the eye.’

Where are the sounds?’ ‘With the ears.’

‘Wherewith the taste of food?’ ‘With the tongue.’

‘Wherewith actions?’ ‘With two hands.’

‘Wherewith pleasure and pain?’ ‘With the body.’

‘Wherewith bliss, delight and procreation?’ ‘With the generative organ.’

‘Wherewith is it going?’ ‘With the two feet.’

"What thoughts and desires should be understood?" ‘With intelligence’, he should say. To him he says, ‘The waters, verily, indeed, are my world. That is yours? Whatever victory is Brahma’s, whatever attainment, that victory he wins, that attainment he attains, who knows this, who knows thus.’

3. Remarks 

The embodied Jivatman, or individual self, is an inseparable essence of Supreme Self, or Brahman.  'I am That', 'I am He', 'I am You', and 'I am Brahman' all signify non-duality, inseparability and Universal Consciousness. The statement by Sri Ramana Maharshi, "Be as you are" (Be As You Are, Ramana Maharshi), is an averment to recognise and abide by one's true nature, which he describes as pure awareness or consciousness. This journey is not about attaining a new state but about realising what is already present within, hidden beneath the veil of Avidya, or ignorance. He lays emphasis on "be as you are" as a thrust towards experiencing one's true nature as pure awareness, letting go of ignorance, ego, and identities based on fugacious phenomena of body, mind, and senses. Maharshi advises that to be with the Self involves self-inquiry, asking, "Who am I?" This process requires elevating one's awareness to achieve consciousness of the self, transcending the ego-driven sense perceptions linked to the body-mind-intellect complex. Brahman, also known as Universal Consciousness, is both immanent and transcendent. It is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.  What manifests is Maya, or the illusionary energy of Brahman.

-Asutosh Satpathy