Question on Isavasya Upanishad - verse 16 (so aham asmi)

[Guest guest]

Namaste and Respects to all Vaishnavas,

I have been reading the commentary on Isavasya Upanishad by

Shankara and Madhva, and also by Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada. I wanted to ask the Gaudiya Vaishnavas on this forum

about the interpretation of verse 16 in the commentary. Shankara

takes it to mean declaration of identity between jiva and brahman,

which literally seems to declare that. Madhva interprets aham as

aheyam and asmi, both as forms of the Lord. I am not a qualified

Sanskrit scholar so I cannot judge Acharya Madhva's interpretation,

but since I saw that the Gaudiya commentary takes the phrase so aham

asmi at face value, I wanted to ask you what exactly it means to

say "I am He". Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's commentary

does not seem to give any special attention to this phrase in the

verse.

Could one of the scholars on the forum kindly clarify the meaning

of this last part of the verse in some detail, according to the

Gaudiya philosophy?

Regards,

Anant

[Guest guest]

wherever oneness is talked about, often it is taken to mean

qualitative oneness. in certain specific cases, it is taken to

indicate rasa.

achintya, "anantshenoy2000"

<anantshenoy2000> wrote:

>

> Namaste and Respects to all Vaishnavas,

> I have been reading the commentary on Isavasya Upanishad by

> Shankara and Madhva, and also by Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami

> Prabhupada. I wanted to ask the Gaudiya Vaishnavas on this forum

> about the interpretation of verse 16 in the commentary. Shankara

> takes it to mean declaration of identity between jiva and brahman,

> which literally seems to declare that. Madhva interprets aham as

> aheyam and asmi, both as forms of the Lord. I am not a qualified

> Sanskrit scholar so I cannot judge Acharya Madhva's interpretation,

> but since I saw that the Gaudiya commentary takes the phrase so

aham

> asmi at face value, I wanted to ask you what exactly it means to

> say "I am He". Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's commentary

> does not seem to give any special attention to this phrase in the

> verse.

> Could one of the scholars on the forum kindly clarify the meaning

> of this last part of the verse in some detail, according to the

> Gaudiya philosophy?

> Regards,

> Anant