Guest guest Posted March 27, 2001 Report Share Posted March 27, 2001 to the erudite schlors on the list, I have a problem in the definition of atman as a reflection. A reflection is unreal., whereas atman is part of brahman is it not? A wave in the ocean is not separate from the water,same way atman can be equated with wave and brahman to the ocean.Could anyone comment on this Nirmala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2001 Report Share Posted March 28, 2001 Namaste, Another simile used is that of sparks from a fire. Going back to the etymology of Atman, the source of the original posting seems to have have been in error. The Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the following: Entry Atman Meaning %{A} m. (variously derived fr. %{an} , to breathe ; %{at} , to move ; %{vA} , to blow ; cf. %{tma4n}) the breath RV. ; the soul , principle of life and sensation RV. AV. &c. ; the individual soul , self , abstract individual [e.g. %{Atma4n}] Entry tman Meaning (= %{Atma4n}) m. the vital breath RV. i , 63 , 8 (acc. % {tma4nam}) A1s3vS3r. vi , 9 , 1 (acc. %{tmAnam}) ; one's own person , self RV. Regards, s. advaitin, colette@b... wrote: > advaitin, slimaye@a... wrote: > > >whereas atman is part of brahman is it not? > > A wave in the > ocean is > > not separate from the water,same way atman can be equated with wave > and > > brahman to the ocean.Could anyone comment on this > > Nirmala > > > Love to my brothers & my sisters, > > Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2001 Report Share Posted March 28, 2001 namaste. As I understand, the Atman, brahman, the Absolute refer to the same, although used in different contexts. Brahman is the substratum for the universe. When we *see* the universe around us, we recognize that it is brahman manifested in that form. Atman is the Consciousness that I am and is the subject and is the only subject, everything 'else' being object. Also, the object is nothing but the subject, or the subject itself appears as an object. >From my understanding, Atman is not a reflection of brahman. But the jIvAtma (I use the word jIvA for it) is a reflection of the Atman in the individual cit or citta, the subtlest antahkaraNa. I like the following example that helps in the understanding. Let us say the Sun's reflection is found in one hundred vessels with water. The single Sun appears as one hundred Suns in the reflection. Now if one of the vessels is broken, what happens to that reflection? The reflection merges with the original Sun. That vessel can be taken as the jIvA who considers him/herself to be separate from the other vessels (jIvAs) with its own AtmA, which is only a reflection of the original Sun. The reflection will be as clear as the original (Sun) if the water in the vessel (the antahkaraNa) is pure. The hundred vessels (jIvAs) consider themselves to be separate but on attaining knowledge (i.e. when the individuality is lost), they see only the single Sun and not the reflection. Regards Gummuluru Murthy - On Wed, 28 Mar 2001 sunderh wrote: > Namaste, > > Another simile used is that of sparks from a fire. > > > Regards, > > s. > > [...] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2001 Report Share Posted March 28, 2001 advaitin, Gummuluru Murthy <gmurthy@m...> wrote: > > namaste. > > As I understand, the Atman, brahman, the Absolute refer to the > same, although used in different contexts. > > Brahman is the substratum for the universe. When we *see* the > universe around us, we recognize that it is brahman manifested > in that form. Atman is the Consciousness that I am and is the > subject and is the only subject, everything 'else' being object. > Also, the object is nothing but the subject, or the subject > itself appears as an object. > > From my understanding, Atman is not a reflection of brahman. > But the jIvAtma (I use the word jIvA for it) is a reflection > of the Atman in the individual cit or citta, the subtlest > antahkaraNa. I like this. Thanks Gummuluru. :-) Col > > I like the following example that helps in the understanding. > Let us say the Sun's reflection is found in one hundred vessels > with water. The single Sun appears as one hundred Suns in the > reflection. Now if one of the vessels is broken, what happens > to that reflection? The reflection merges with the original Sun. > That vessel can be taken as the jIvA who considers him/herself > to be separate from the other vessels (jIvAs) with its own AtmA, > which is only a reflection of the original Sun. The reflection > will be as clear as the original (Sun) if the water in the > vessel (the antahkaraNa) is pure. The hundred vessels (jIvAs) > consider themselves to be separate but on attaining knowledge > (i.e. when the individuality is lost), they see only the > single Sun and not the reflection. > > > Regards > Gummuluru Murthy > - > > > On Wed, 28 Mar 2001 sunderh wrote: > > > Namaste, > > > > Another simile used is that of sparks from a fire. > > > > > > Regards, > > > > s. > > > > [...] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.