According to Upanishads our true nature--Spirit--is ... (a field of pure consciousness)

June 6, 2008

Mahavakyas, or Great Sayings, of the Upanishads

" The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one's own blissful Self. "

Bhavana Upanishad 1.27

" She alone is Atman. Other than Her is untruth, non-self. Hence is

She Brahman-Consciousness, free from (even) a tinge of being and non-

being. She is the Science of Consciousness, non-dual Brahman

Consciousness, a wave of Being-Consciousness-Bliss. The Beauty of the

three-great-cities, penetrating without and within, is resplendent,

non-dual, self-subsisting. What is, is pure Being; what shines is

pure Consciousness; what is dear is Bliss. So here is the Maha-

Tripura-Sundari who assumes all forms. You and I and all the world

and all divinities and all besides are the Maha-Tripura- Sundari. The

sole Truth is the thing named `the Beautiful'. It is the non-dual,

integral, supreme Brahman. "

Bahvricha Upanishad 1.5

Prajnanam Brahma - Consciousness is Brahman

(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)

Ayam Atma Brahma - This Self is Brahman

(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)

Tat Tvam Asi - Thou art that

(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)

Aham Brahmasmi - I am Brahman

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana

Upanishad)

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Prajnanam Brahma - Consciousness is Brahman

(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)

Other Translations: Brahman is pure consciousness; Brahman is

knowing; Brahman is intelligence

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, as seeing, hearing, etc., is Consciousness.

Though Consciousness does not directly see or hear, it is impossible

to have these sensory operations without it. Hence it should be

considered as the final meaning of our mental and physical

activities. Brahman is that which is Absolute, fills all space, is

complete in itself, to which there is no second, and which is

continuously present in everything, from the creator down to the

lowest of matter. It, being everywhere, is also in each and every

individual. This is the meaning of Prajnanam Brahma occurring in the

Aitareya Upanishad.**

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Ayam Atma Brahma - This Self is Brahman

(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)

Other Translations: Brahman is this Self; This Self is Brahma

The Mahavakya, `Ayam Atma Brahma' or `This Self is Brahman,' occurs

in the Mandukya Upanishad. `Ayam' means `this,' and here `thisness'

refers to the self-luminous and non-mediate nature of the Self, which

is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or ego down to the

physical body. This Self is Brahman, which is the substance out of

which all things are really made. That which is everywhere, is also

within us, and what is within us is everywhere. This is called

`Brahman,' because it is plenum, fills all space, expands into all

existence, and is vast beyond all measure of perception or knowledge.

On account of self-luminosity, non-relativity and universality, Atman

and Brahman are the same. This identification of the Self with

Absolute is not any act of bringing together two differing natures,

but is an affirmation that absoluteness or universality includes

everything, and there is nothing outside it.**

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Tat Tvam Asi - Thou art that

(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)

Other Translations: That is how you are; That art thou

In the Chandogya Upanishad occurs the Mahavakya, `Tat Tvam Asi' or

`That thou art.' Sage Uddalaka mentions this nine times, while

instructing his disciple Svetaketu in the nature of Reality. That

which is one alone without a second, without name and form, and which

existed before creation, as well as after creation, as pure Existence

alone, is what is referred to as Tat or That, in this sentence. The

term Tvam stands for that which is in the innermost recesses of the

student or the aspirant, but which is transcendent to the intellect,

mind, senses, etc., and is the real 'I' of the student addressed in

the teaching. The union of Tat and Tvam is by the term Asi or are.

That Reality is remote is a misconception, which is removed by the

instruction that it is within one's own self. The erroneous notion

that the Self is limited is dispelled by the instruction that it is

the same as Reality.**

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Aham Brahmasmi - I am Brahman.

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana

Upanishad)

In the sentence, `Aham Brahmasmi,' or I am Brahman, the `I' is that

which is the One Witnessing Consciousness, standing apart form even

the intellect, different from the ego-principle, and shining through

every act of thinking, feeling, etc. This Witness-Consciousness,

being the same in all, is universal, and cannot be distinguished from

Brahman, which is the Absolute. Hence the essential `I' which is

full, super-rational and resplendent, should be the same as Brahman.

This is not the identification of the limited individual `I' with

Brahman, but it is the Universal Substratum of individuality that is

asserted to be what it is. The copula `am' does not signify any

empirical relation between two entities, but affirms the non-duality

of essence. This dictum is from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.**

** Excerpted from: Swami Krishnananda, The Philosophy of the

Panchadasi, " Chapter V: Discrimination of the Mahavakyas, "

The Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India.

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AHAM BRAHMA ASMI

Aham Brahma asmi or " I am the Brahman " is one of the corner pillar of

the Hindu Philosophy.

A crude translation would be " I am the world " (or I am the creator

of the world " ), As there is no world (My world) with out me, I am the

one who creates my world, the good the bad, the relations in it, the

happiness in it the sorrow in it, so I am the god of my world.

Max Muller makes it more explicit when he says: If people conceive

God as a kind of Jupiter, or even as a Jehovah, then the idea can

only be considered blasphemous… But after the Deity had been freed

from its mythological character, the human mind, whether in India or

elsewhere, had once realised the fact, that God was all in all, that

there could be nothing besides God, that there could be one Infinite

only, not two, the conclusion that the human soul also belonged to

God was inevitable.

TAT TWAM ASI

Tat Tvam Asi, a sanskrit sentence, translating variously to " Thou art

that " , " That thou art " , or " You are that " , is one of the four

Mahâvâkyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Hinduism. It originally occurs

in the Chandogya Upanishad. It first occurs in Chandogya 6.8.7, in

the dialogue between Uddâlaka and his son Úvetaketu; it appears at

the end of a section, and is repeated at the end of the subsequent

sections as a refrain. It is generally taken to mean that your soul

or consciousness is wholly or partially the Ultimate Reality. That is

to say, even before the creation of the universe, a unitary, divine

consciousness existed, and that this consciousness is identical to

your deepest self.

June 29, 2008

Ethics of Upanishads

" Upanishad means 'to sit down near' because they were explained to

the students, who sat at the feet of their teachers. In general

Upanishads proclaim salvation by knowledge and realization, rather

than by faith and works. Selfish desires are obstacles to the seekers

of Truth (the Higher- Self, also called as Brahman). A seeker of true

Divinity will attain salvation when he realizes the Truth, the all-

pervasive Brahman. The universe came into existence because of a

primeval desire of Brahman. Now it is the duty of the humans to

restore it to the state of things before creation.... Honesty is

especially extolled. He who has not denounced evil will never obtain

Brahman. The worldly perceptions of smell, taste, touch, hearing and

sight makes one separate from the True Self. When one can transcend

these perceptions there is no consciousness of anything other than

Self. This is immortality.

There are six great sayings (Mahavakyas) from the Upanishads that

give the basic insight into its philosophy. They are as follows with

a brief analysis of each:

Aham Brahmasmi

" I am Brahman " : Vedic knowledge teaches that our own " Self " is the

true Divinity. The Truth is within us, in our own heart. This states

the identity of the inner most consciousness of the individual with

the supreme Divine.

Ayam Atma Brahma

" The Self is Brahman " : This states that not only individual soul is

Divine but all beings are identified with the Absolute Truth.

Tat Tvam Asi

" That art thou " : Whatever we see or think about, we are That. We are

the ultimate Thou and I in all.

Prajnanam Brahma

" Knowledge is Brahman " : Supreme intelligence is present inherently

within us and is capable of returning us to the Divine. Our

understanding of the truth is the Truth itself.

Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma

" The whole universe is Brahman " : Not only the consciousness in you

and I but also the `principle of being' are all Divine. The entire

universe is Divine, which includes our Self.

So `ham

" Here am I " : This identifies the Divinity in our Self in something

that happens naturally like breathing. " So " is inhalation and " Ham "

is the natural sound of exhalation.

These are the six statements of the identity of individual

consciousness with the Divine reality. They all merge into and derive

from the word " Om (Aum) " or the Divine word " I Am All " . All of these

statements point to the fact that whatever or however we worship, be

it an image, book, an idea or even a God, it is the knowledge that

the Truth is within ourselves that will ultimately lead to self-

realization. Self is the true Divinity. This is the essence of

Upanishads. "

Neria Harish Hebbar, MD

May 4, 2002

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