Atma Bodha Verses 31-40

Atma is independent of everything, that Atman only shines and illuminates everything else.

Everything is his expression! Even the Sun has no shine, it is bright due to Atman, so is the moon! Atman illuminates others, but we don’t need another light to see the first light, self-laminates, verse 29.

When all the conditions are removed… a glass that has no color, takes on the color of what it is on… like a red tablecloth… (another example would be in some large stores, there are glass doors, it is not visible, people try to pass and get hit, to avoid it, sometimes there are stickers on it…) because the red cloth is present or the label is present, the glass and the door appear. Even if the red tablecloth or label is absent, the glass and glass door exists. His presence reveals the glass door!

Similarly, the very fact that the three states of waking, dream and sleep and the world exist reveals the indescribable supreme presence of Brahman.

Atman cannot be known by the intellect because Atman illuminates the intellect. A flash light illuminates everything in the room but we don’t need another flash to see the first light. It is self-luminous. Only through negation (neti neti), removal of anathma, does the Self reveal itself.

pour 31

The body, mind and intellect arose out of ignorance (avidyakam). Therefore, they go through modifications. That which is seen, temporary, destructible is not Atman. Atman is the seer, Nithyam and Aksharam.

Everything that is seen has a limit, they are never permanent, like bubbles, they appear and disappear in the water. I am not this body, I am different from this body, Stula sarira, the gross body goes through shat vikaram, six modifications, existence, birth, growth, disease, decay and death. I am not the body, I am a pure presence (Ekam, Nirmalam, Existence).

Atma cannot be seen, it is neither gross nor subtle (stulam, sukshman), neither small nor tall, neither long nor short, indescribable. It is the basis of everything. It is beyond forms and names that have no independent existence. Only Atman IS and appears as many.

pour 32

The first two lines mention that Atman is that which is different from the body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the universe, therefore it has no birth, old age, senility and death. When I say ‘I’, I mean something that ‘I am not’. ‘I’, atman have no connection with the senses or the mind, they are my tools (Nireendriya daya). Atma is also known as ‘Nirupathikam’, without any conditioning, Knowing that I am the ‘Self’. This knowledge of the Self is called ‘aparoksha jnanam’, it cannot be known through the body, the senses, the mind, the intellect or in the world. Atman can only be realized after constant practice.

pour 33

Verse 31- emphasizes that Atma is not the body

Verse 32: Emphasize that Atma is not the senses.

Verse 33- emphasizes that Atma is not the mind

‘Amanastvad na me dukha…’

A+ manaha… without dukha, sadness, sorrow, fear, attachment. Mana, the mind is known as ‘anthakaranam’ and it is also a tool to interact with the appearing world. The mind, though not gross with dimension, is still temporary with a beginning and an end. Atma is not the air that goes in and out of the body. (A+pranahaha).

To understand anything, we use one of the six modes of knowledge.

• Direct experience – Prathyaksha praman, through our senses.

• Inference – Anumana praman, as by seeing smoke, we infer fire

• Comparison: Upamana praman, bringing the minerals from Mars and comparing them with the minerals from Earth.

• Cause and effect – Arthapatti, we see the flood and know the cause of heavy rain

• Denial – Unupalapthi, which is often experienced as the medical laboratory test for various health conditions and denies identifying what it is.

• Words from the scriptures and the voice of the guru – Sabhda praman

The only way to know the ever-present, omnipresent and self-illuminated Atman is through scriptures (sruti-like medium) and the guidance of a guru.

pour 34

How is atma? First you need the guidance of the Guru.

‘Naan’, ‘I’, can only be realized through the guidance of a guru. ‘I’, refers to nirguna Brahman. These adjectives referred to here come from various Upanishads, and these are only pointers to our understanding and not definitions of Atman.

Nirguna…beyond properties satva, rajas, tamas…unbound

Nishkriya – not acting (no kriya, no ahamkaram, (I am the doer), sakshi beyond the senses, akarta, abogta..

Nithya – Eternal

Nirvikalpa – changes, modifications

Niranjana- Without connection with anything. Ekam, only one like space, the sky. Not even the first… there is no second.

Nirvikara – without divisions, without parts… (without form, without name)

Nirakara – without form… if the form is limited

Nithyamukta – no strings attached… that’s “Naan, me”

Nirmala-pure, Ekam, One, without a second.

pour 35

More adjectives, descriptions follow in this verse.

‘Akashavat’ – like space, Atman is everywhere, permeates everything. Atman is compared to space with one difference: space has no chaitanyam, Consciousness. Atman is Knowledge, he knows that I exist but space does not know that he exists. Space is inert, leaning on atman.

Achutaha – not dependent on anything, not connected to anything, not affected by anything, Avikari

Sarva samaha – is everywhere, a single celled amoeba to an elephant to a human being.

You cannot number it, numbering is only for limited human understanding (of jiva), Atman is Ekaha, there is no second!

Achala – does not move, full, complete, unshakable

pour 36

Having listened to the guru with the first 35 verses, the seeker has now intellectually understood that the Atman is separate from all conditioning.

This verse emphasizes that “I”, Atman is Nithya, Suddha, Vimukta, Ekam, that is, One, detached, Pure ever present.

I am that nirguna Brahman which is satyam, jnanam anantham, which means always existing, beyond space and time, Knowledge itself and unlimited, all-pervading. One who realizes this is called a ‘brahmavit’, who has achieved the purpose of life and has nothing else to do.

pour 37

Atman is Nithya (ever present), suddha (pure, independent), vimukta (independent, asangoyam), ekam (One without a second), akandam (indivisible), anandam (bliss), advayam (non-dual), satyam (Existence), jnanam (Knowledge), that is for Brahman, nirguna Brahman. That’s “me” (me)! Knowing this, you will be like peace.

The mind is disturbed, with sufferings and sorrows when there is a knot, a tie. Anger, fear, worry, guilt, happiness, pain, pleasure are impermanent, they will discriminate and destroy. Indestructible peace is “I”. Due to the ignorance of not knowing, we are looking outside of ourselves. The only means to know atman is through the study of vedanta under the guidance of a capable guru. Vedanta does not create Atman but simply removes ignorance. Atman is Self-illuminated!!

There is a reference in Mundakopanishad (1.2.12)

‘Pariksha lokan karmachitan…brahmanishtam’ emphasizes self-inquiry and self-analysis of one’s life. Only when we see the failures in life (dosam) does the vairagya attitude develop, seeing that all is suffering and sadness, but the seeker is not despondent but goes to the reputed guru and the guru marks him as ‘tat tvam asi’. . With a constant thought of atman, his anatma gunas dissolve and he is now Brahman.

The scriptures do not create Atman but help us erase anatman, thus Atman reveals itself. he removes the veil that covers the Atman, like the cloud that covers the Sun.

Vikshepam, you are not seeing how it is! When Brahman is realized, the universe disappears. Jiva Brahman aikyam (Aham Brahmasmi) should be constantly thinking of priyam, love, peace.

pour 38

How can I experience that Self, atman? What is the way? Gita ch 13 is very important…seeker’s qualification for Self-knowledge referred to as Sadana Chatustaya sampathi is mentioned. This verse gives four points to focus on.

1. Be in a quiet place with no distractions…be a part of it, but apart of it. Be where there is no one you are familiar with… Sadus never stay in the same place to avoid attachment. You can be in your own room.

2. Self-discipline in conquering the senses is a requirement. One who has control over the senses is called a vijitendriyan.

3. No likes or dislikes, attachments to anyone you get, through the senses… eyes, ears etc… sadana chathustaya sampathi describes the prerequisite for entering vedanta, unless you have vasanas from previous births.

4. Let the mind constantly think of THAT ekam, (a+dvayam), Unlimited Self, (akantanandam…, a+parichinnam). Consistently focused and one-way meditation on Brahman helps in Self-realization. At that point, the universe, the bedham, the differences dissolve and only Brahman IS!

This raises the question ‘How can I see One, when there are so many?’ which leads to the next verse

pour 39

A ‘stuthihi’, which means having a very clear buddhi, mind/intellect, suddha anthakarana, dissolves everything into that Self.

Mundaka Upanishad begins by saying: ‘Everything came from the sound OM. Therefore Om is the name of everything, that is the symbol of Brahman, the indescribable… dissolve all forms and names in Om’. All are mithya, only Brahman is the Truth. Only when your mind dissolves are you close to samadhi, closer to jivanmukti.

How long do I have to do this? Like a rusty metal, which needs to be cleaned consistently and daily, so also keep rooted in that One Brahman in its pure intellect, represented by ‘Om’ and the entire universe dissolves and only Brahman is, like camphor that dissolves.

Because we humans have samskarams, residues of our past actions (thoughts, words and actions), we have taken birth to experience the consequences. For example, a young child is unaffected by anything going on around them, parents maybe arguing, blender running, washing machine spinning, phone ringing, but the child is just at peace from within, smiling, talking with the toy in hand! Be like a child!

pour 40

This verse is exactly the same as the previous one to emphasize more ‘Tat tvam asi’, ‘You are THAT’.

Verse 40 Roopa, varnathikam, vihaya, paramartavit replace in

Verse 39 Drishyan, form, prahilabya, Suthihi (jnani). This means that such a seeker who dissolves all names and forms is in ‘paripoorna chidananda swaroopa’, ‘sat-chit-ananda’, in bliss. We have seen this earlier in verse 5, as an example, the kataka nut dissolving in the water in its entirety.

This raises a question to the seeker (poorvapakshi), who gets this knowledge? To acquire knowledge there must be a knower, known and the means. When there are three entities, how can you say that there is only One? is the question posed to the guru, which leads to verse 41.