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Tirisilex
08 December 2009, 02:54 PM
Atma Caitanya.. what does this mean? What is its qualities?

atanu
09 December 2009, 01:31 AM
Atma Caitanya.. what does this mean? What is its qualities?

You may wish to read Atma Bodha by Shankacharya for in-depth understanding. If any questions arise, we may discuss.

Adi Sankaracharya's
ATMA BODHA
Translated by Swami Chinmayananda
Published by Chinmaya Mission, Mumbai

1. I am composing the ATMA-BODHA, this treatise of the Knowledge of the Self, for those who have purified themselves by austerities and are peaceful in heart and calm, who are free from cravings and are desirous of liberation.

2. Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of discipline Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation.

3. Action cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.

4. The Soul appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed the Self which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself: like the Sun when the clouds pass away.

5. Constant practice of knowledge purifies the Self (‘Jivatman’), stained by ignorance and then disappears itself – as the powder of the ‘Kataka-nut’ settles down after it has cleansed the muddy water.

6. The world which is full of attachments, aversions, etc., is like a dream. It appears to be real, as long as it continues but appears to be unreal when one is awake (i.e., when true wisdom dawns).

7. The Jagat appears to be true (Satyam) so long as Brahman, the substratum, the basis of all this creation, is not realised. It is like the illusion of silver in the mother-of pearl.

8. Like bubbles in the water, the worlds rise, exist and dissolve in the Supreme Self, which is the material cause and the prop of everything.

9. All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading Vishnu, whose nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.

10. The All-pervading Akasa appears to be diverse on account of its association with various conditionings (Upadhis) which are different from each other. Space becomes one on the destruction of these limiting adjuncts: So also the Omnipresent Truth appears to be diverse on account of Its association with the various Upadhis and becomes one on the destruction of these Upadhis.

11. Because of Its association with different conditionings (Upadhis) such ideas as caste, colour and position are super-imposed upon the Atman, as flavour, colour, etc., are super-imposed on water.

12. Determined for each individual by his own past actions and made up of the Five elements – that have gone through the process of “five-fold self-division and mutual combination” (Pancheekarana) – are born the gross-body, the medium through which pleasure and pain are experienced, the tent-of-experiences.

13. The five Pranas, the ten organs and the Manas and the Buddhi, formed from the rudimentary elements (Tanmatras) before their “five-fold division and mutual combination with one another” (Pancheekarana) and this is the subtle body, the instruments-of-experience (of the individual).

14. Avidya which is indescribable and beginningless is the Causal Body. Know for certain that the Atman is other than these three conditioning bodies (Upadhis).

15. In its identification with the five-sheaths the Immaculate Atman appears to have borrowed their qualities upon Itself; as in the case of a crystal which appears to gather unto itself colour of its vicinity (blue cloth, etc.,).

16. Through discriminative self-analysis and logical thinking one should separate the Pure self within from the sheaths as one separates the rice from the husk, bran, etc., that are covering it.

17. The Atman does not shine in everything although He is All-pervading. He is manifest only in the inner equipment, the intellect (Buddhi): just as the reflection in a clean mirror.

18. One should understand that the Atman is always like the King, distinct from the body, senses, mind and intellect, all of which constitute the matter (Prakriti); and is the witness of their functions.

19. The moon appears to be running when the clouds move in the sky. Likewise to the non-discriminating person the Atman appears to be active when It is observed through the functions of the sense-organs.

20. Depending upon the energy of vitality of Consciousness (Atma Chaitanya) the body, senses, mind and intellect engage themselves in their respective activities, just as men work depending upon the light of the Sun.

21. Fools, because they lack in their powers of discrimination superimpose on the Atman, the Absolute-Existence-Knowledge (Sat-Chit), all the varied functions of the body and the senses, just as they attribute blue colour and the like to the sky.

22. The tremblings that belong to the waters are attributed through ignorance to the reflected moon dancing on it: likewise agency of action, of enjoyment and of other limitations (which really belong to the mind) are delusively understood as the nature of the Self (Atman).

23. Attachment, desire, pleasure, pain, etc., are perceived to exist so long as Buddhi or mind functions. They are not perceived in deep sleep when the mind ceases to exist. Therefore they belong to the mind alone and not to the Atman.

24. Just as luminosity is the nature of the Sun, coolness of water and heat of fire, so too the nature of the Atman is Eternity, Purity, Reality, Consciousness and Bliss.

25. By the indiscriminate blending of the two – the Existence-Knowledge-aspect of the Self and the thought-wave of the intellect – there arises the notion of “I know”.

26. Atman never does anything and the intellect of its own accord has no capacity to experience ‘I know’. But the individuality in us delusorily thinks he is himself the seer and the knower.

27. Just as the person who regards a rope as a snake is overcome by fear, so also one considering oneself as the ego (Jiva) is overcome by fear. The ego-centric individuality in us regains fearlessness by realising that It is not a Jiva but is Itself the Supreme Soul.

28. Just as a lamp illumines a jar or a pot, so also the Atman illumines the mind and the sense organs, etc. These material-objects by themselves cannot illumine themselves because they are inert.

29. A lighted-lamp does not need another lamp to illumine its light. So too, Atman which is Knowledge itself needs no other knowledge to know it.

30. By a process of negation of the conditionings (Upadhis) through the help of the scriptural statement ‘It is not this, It is not this’, the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, as indicated by the great Mahavakyas, has to be realised.

31. The body, etc., up to the “Causal Body” – Ignorance – which are objects perceived, are as perishable as bubbles. Realise through discrimination that I am the ‘Pure Brahman’ ever completely separate from all these.

32. I am other than the body and so I am free from changes such as birth, wrinkling, senility, death, etc. I have nothing to do with the sense objects such as sound and taste, for I am without the sense-organs.

33. I am other than the mind and hence, I am free from sorrow, attachment, malice and fear, for “HE is without breath and without mind, Pure, etc.”, is the Commandment of the great scripture, the Upanishads.

34. I am without attributes and actions; Eternal (Nitya) without any desire and thought (Nirvikalpa), without any dirt (Niranjana), without any change (Nirvikara), without form (Nirakara), ever-liberated (Nitya Mukta) ever-pure (Nirmala).

35. Like the space I fill all things within and without. Changeless and the same in all, at all times I am pure, unattached, stainless and motionless.

36. I am verily that Supreme Brahman alone which is Eternal, Pure and Free, One, indivisible and non-dual and of the nature of Changeless-Knowledge-Infinite.

37. The impression “I am Brahman” thus created by constant practice destroys ignorance and the agitation caused by it, just as medicine or Rasayana destroys disease.

38. Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Atman which is One without-a-second.

39. The wise one should intelligently merge the entire world-of-objects in the Atman alone and constantly think of the Self ever as contaminated by anything as the sky.

40. He who has realised the Supreme, discards all his identification with the objects of names and forms. (Thereafter) he dwells as an embodiment of the Infinite Consciousness and Bliss. He becomes the Self.

41. There are no distinctions such as “Knower”, the “Knowledge” and the “Object of Knowledge” in the Supreme Self. On account of Its being of the nature of endless Bliss, It does not admit of such distinctions within Itself. It alone shines by Itself.

42. When this the lower and the higher aspects of the Self are well churned together, the fire of knowledge is born from it, which in its mighty conflagration shall burn down all the fuel of ignorance in us.

43. The Lord of the early dawn (Aruna) himself has already looted away the thick darkness, when soon the sun rises. The Divine Consciousness of the Self rises when the right knowledge has already killed the darkness in the bosom.

44. Atman is an ever-present Reality. Yet, because of ignorance it is not realised. On the destruction of ignorance Atman is realised. It is like the missing ornament of one’s neck.

45. Brahman appears to be a ‘Jiva’ because of ignorance, just as a post appears to be a ghost. The ego-centric-individuality is destroyed when the real nature of the ‘Jiva’ is realised as the Self.

46. The ignorance characterised by the notions ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ is destroyed by the knowledge produced by the realisation of the true nature of the Self, just as right information removes the wrong notion about the directions.

47. The Yogi of perfect realisation and enlightenment sees through his “eye of wisdom” (Gyana Chakshush) the entire universe in his own Self and regards everything else as his own Self and nothing else.

48. Nothing whatever exists other than the Atman: the tangible universe is verily Atman. As pots and jars are verily made of clay and cannot be said to be anything but clay, so too, to the enlightened soul and that is perceived is the Self.

49. A liberated one, endowed with Self-knowledge, gives up the traits of his previously explained equipments (Upadhis) and because of his nature of Sat-chit-ananda, he verily becomes Brahman like (the worm that grows to be) a wasp.

50. After crossing the ocean of delusion and killing the monsters of likes and dislikes, the Yogi who is united with peace dwells in the glory of his own realised Self – as an Atmaram.

51. The self-abiding Jivan Mukta, relinquishing all his attachments to the illusory external happiness and satisfied with the bliss derived from the Atman, shines inwardly like a lamp placed inside a jar.

52. Though he lives in the conditionings (Upadhis), he, the contemplative one, remains ever unconcerned with anything or he may move about like the wind, perfectly unattached.

53. On the destruction of the Upadhis, the contemplative one is totally absorbed in ‘Vishnu’, the All-pervading Spirit, like water into water, space into space and light into light.

54. Realise That to be Brahman, the attainment of which leaves nothing more to be attained, the blessedness of which leaves no other blessing to be desired and the knowledge of which leaves nothing more to be known.

55. Realise that to be Brahman which, when seen, leaves nothing more to be seen, which having become one is not born again in this world and which, when knowing leaves nothing else to be known.

56. Realise that to be Brahman which is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute, which is Non-dual, Infinite, Eternal and One and which fills all the quarters – above and below and all that exists between.

57. Realise that to be Brahman which is Non-dual, Indivisible, One and Blissful and which is indicated in Vedanta as the Immutable Substratum, realised after the negation of all tangible objects.

58. Deities like Brahma and others taste only a particle, of the unlimited Bliss of Brahman and enjoy in proportion their share of that particle.

59. All objects are pervaded by Brahman. All actions are possible because of Brahman: therefore Brahman permeates everything as butter permeates milk.

60. Realise that to be Brahman which is neither subtle nor gross: neither short nor long: without birth or change: without form, qualities, colour and name.

61. That by the light of which the luminous, orbs like the Sun and the Moon are illuminated, but which is not illumined by their light, realise that to be Brahman.

62. Pervading the entire universe outwardly and inwardly the Supreme Brahman shines of Itself like the fire that permeates a red-hot iron-ball and glows by itself.

63. Brahman is other than this, the universe. There exists nothing that is not Brahman. If any object other than Brahman appears to exist, it is unreal like the mirage.

64. All that is perceived, or heard, is Brahman and nothing else. Attaining the knowledge of the Reality, one sees the Universe as the non-dual Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute.

65. Though Atman is Pure Consciousness and ever present everywhere, yet It is perceived by the eye-of-wisdom alone: but one whose vision is obscured by ignorance he does not see It; as the blind do not see the resplendent Sun.

66. The ‘Jiva’ free from impurities, being heated in the fire of knowledge kindled by hearing and so on, shines of itself like gold.

67. The Atman, the Sun of Knowledge that rises in the sky of the heart, destroys the darkness of the ignorance, pervades and sustains all and shines and makes everything to shine.

68. He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.


Namah Namah

amith vikram
09 December 2009, 06:48 AM
38. Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Atman which is One without-a-second.

can you please explain this in depth.
and thanks for a beautiful post.its spell bounding.

atanu
10 December 2009, 11:16 PM
38. Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Atman which is One without-a-second.

can you please explain this in depth.
and thanks for a beautiful post.its spell bounding.

Namaste Amith,

You have asked the full dharma. I am in a fix. I thought silence would be better. But today the following prose helps me, though it may not be the full exposition of the point raised by you.

THE SPEAKING TREE
Vairagya: Dispassion Helps You To Come Alive

Pranav Khullar

It is a challenge: Veering the mind away from external distractions and focusing on the very origin of thought. How could one accomplish this This is the central theme of Patanjalis Yoga Sutras. He talks of pratyahara the withdrawal of the mind from its scattered externality to focus upward. Patanjali details several practical steps to initiate this withdrawal, like yamaniyama , svadhyaya and satsang. To accomplish this, however, you need vairagya or dispassion.

Vairagya is at the heart of all yoga systems and Vedantic thought. It is said that even Brahmn-vichara , the enquiry into the Self and all yogic practices become redundant if the mind has not yet fully turned away from the externals, and vairagya is absent. The seers explain that most go through momentary phases of dispassion, arising out of personal disillusionment with a situation, but they are unable to sustain this attitude for long, in the face of external obstruction like wealth, beauty, position and fame. There are also those who hypnotise themselves into believing that this accidental vairagya is the real state of renunciation, and renunciation itself becomes a means to seek the same external vanities. Real dispassion, the sages say, can only arise when there is genuine inner discrimination developed through vichara, that helps you to distinguish between the outer drama that is transient at best, and the witness-Self which is beckoning to a dimension beyond the transitory.

Bhratrihari eludes to the real vairagya, in Vairagya-Shatakam , Hundred Verses on Renunciation . He points out how, despite the transitory nature of the world staring us in the face, we continue to want endlessly, trapping ourselves in a vicious cycle of pleasure and pain. A shrivelled body, a failing eyesight, a hostile offspring, a nagging companion , all these, Bhratrihari says, also do not seem to stop us from desiring more. This arises from our misunderstanding of what is real and permanent.

In perceiving the outer empirical reality as the only reality, and in perpetuating this notion, we desire the external enjoyments and become addicted to them. Desire gives birth to more desire, and triggers a selfconsuming mind-reality that is desperate to possess just that bit more, be it riches, fame or position. Mind games keep defining an identity for ourselves, inevitably leading us to be dissatisfied and restless. The true yoga practitioner tries to reverse this notion through pratyahara and vairagya.

Vairagya, however, does not entail the other extreme, of the abnegation of social responsibilities on a whim if the mind is not disciplined enough, the same desires will follow the mind even in the most secluded spots. The path of a Buddha or a Sankara might be taken only when the seeker has developed intense vairagya, a state of total dispassion for all material things and not merely momentary disenchantment. Vedanta states that the mind itself must be used as an enquiring tool, to delve deeper into the purpose of life, beyond the visual-auditorysensory matrix of impressions.

True vairagya is the cultivation of a dispassionate mind in the middle of this turbulent world, just as Krishna was able to resolve confusion and conflict by keeping his focus on the inner Self, that witnessing consciousness , which directed his actions. Krishna roused Arjuna as well to this new awareness through his revelations in the Bhagavad Gita.


Om Namah Shivaya

Tirisilex
14 December 2009, 03:33 PM
All of this is so confusing to me.. I try to understand one term only to find 15 more I don't know that describes the one I'm trying to understand in the first place.

Ekanta
14 December 2009, 04:48 PM
Try this one:

Chaitanya = consciousness = Brahman... as in "Prajnanam Brahma".

"There are three terms to be discussed here. "Conscience" is one, the other is "conscious" and the third is "consciousness".

Consciousness is the all encompassing Divinity. From this all-pervasive consciousness,
Conscience enters the body.The Atmic principle in your body is conscience.
Conscious is the awareness related to the body and the senses. (sss33-16)"

"The Atma is a synonym for Brahma, which is nothing but the Chaitanya permeating every human being. Man has a name and form, but Chaitanya has no form. The Chaitanya that is present in the human body is called "conscience". The all-pervasive Chaitanya is called "consciousness". When the individual understands the principle of unity in diversity, the "conscience" gets transformed into "consciousness"." (sss36-01)

yajvan
14 December 2009, 08:30 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namasté Tirisilex


All of this is so confusing to me.. I try to understand one term only to find 15 more I don't know that describes the one I'm trying to understand in the first place.


First, you are doing the right thing by slowing things down. You can see many on HDF are willing and eager to assist you in your comprehension.

So, let HDF know (as you did) , by saying you are not getting it. To proceed in a manner that is beneficial to you ( and the writers) consider being specific e.g. 'I don't get ________ ( fill in the blank) part of your explanation '.

Also, it would be helpful to know how the words were used. Did you read ātma caitanya within a specific document? This will help adding or referring to the hymn or śloka it came from.

Why do I mention this? The application of the word offers additional meaning. Example: prāṇa may mean life force or breath or even brahman ( as found in the praśna upaniṣad) ; agni may be fire or may be the devatā.

Now to your word: ātma or ātman , it has many applications ; from individual soul , to meaning the body, and even to mean the sun or fire. It also is mentioned in the praśna upaniṣad that ātman is such because it pervades (the sloka says ātata - to spread , extended , stretched or drawn , hence pervades) prāṇa.
Why bring this up ? Just to compare and contrast the application of word-use, not to cause confusion.

So I can see why one would get a bit confused. We need to assist you slowly. Please use your brake pedal and your accelerator as your comprehension allows.

That said, Ekanta has started the process for you by defining terms and setting things for definition. Let the member (Ekanta) know if this approach works for you and what does not.

praṇām

atanu
15 December 2009, 01:24 AM
All of this is so confusing to me.. I try to understand one term only to find 15 more I don't know that describes the one I'm trying to understand in the first place.

Namaste Trisilex

Sorry.

In simplest terms, the "I am" awareness is Atma Chaitanya (Self awareness) as opposed to "I am trisilex" awareness, which is awareness appropiated by ego. "I am" awareness consists of two components, as if: intelligence, which knows of existence. But when not divided in two components it is bliss.

Atma chaitanya is one as opposed to apparent awareness of many discrete beings. It is the Seer and Knower within every apparent being.

Om

kd gupta
15 December 2009, 10:37 AM
Simplest form of gyanis to know chaitanya atma...

Yo sah aditye purushah so sah aham...yaj

But for me he is uttamasyapurushahtwanyah...he is my parmatma , other than me , [me the sinner one] .
He is sat , he is chit and not more , he is ANAND..Raso vai sah.

brahman
18 December 2009, 12:46 AM
All of this is so confusing to me.. I try to understand one term only to find 15 more I don't know that describes the one I'm trying to understand in the first place.


Tirisilex , please understand it in the first place.


तत् त्वम् असि or तत्त्वमसि

That is you.





.

kd gupta
18 December 2009, 04:23 AM
Tirisilex , please understand it in the first place.


तत् त्वम् असि or तत्त्वमसि


That is you.





.
Pranam Brahman

If Aham or twam is Brahma , then why Veda describes Two birds in a body , means Atma which is first bird is not but the second bird which is Parmatma is only Chaitanya .

atanu
18 December 2009, 09:55 AM
Pranam Brahman

If Aham or twam is Brahma , then why Veda describes Two birds in a body , means Atma which is first bird is not but the second bird which is Parmatma is only Chaitanya .

Namaste,

Because there are indeed two birds: the restless desire driven Thinker and calm stitha pragnya Seer (sakshi chaitanya). Both have for their substratum the one single Tree. Every thinker bird goes to deep sleep into the Isha chaitanya, unknowingly. But when knowingly the Thinker chaitanya is controlled by meditation (which is not possible without grace), it vanishes and only the Sakshi remains.



Svetasvastara U.


IV-6: Two birds of beautiful plumage, who are inseparable friends, reside on the self-same tree. Of these, one eats the fruits of the tree with relish while the other looks on without eating.
IV-7: Sitting on the same tree the individual soul gets entangled and feels miserable, being deluded on account of his forgetting his divine nature. When he sees the other, the Lord of all, whom all devotees worship, and realizes that all greatness is His, then he is relieved of his misery.
IV-8: Of what avail are the Vedas to him who does not know that indestructible, highest Ethereal Being, in whom the gods and the Vedas reside ? Only those who know That are satisfied.
IV-9: The Lord of Maya projects the Vedas, sacrifices, spiritual practices, past and future, religious observances, all that the Vedas declare, and the whole world including ourselves. The other, again, is bound by Maya in this.
IV-10: Know then that Nature is Maya, and that the great God is the Lord of Maya. The whole world is filled with beings who form His parts.
IV-11: One attains infinite peace on realizing that self-effulgent Adorable Lord, the bestower of blessings, who, though one, presides over all the various aspects of Prajapati, and in whom this universe dissolves, and in whom it appears in manifold forms.
IV-12: May He, who created the gods and supports them; who witnessed the birth of the cosmic soul; who confers bliss and wisdom on the devoted, destroying their sins and sorrows, and punishing all breaches of law – may He, the great seer and the lord of all, endow us with good thoughts !
IV-13: Let us offer our worship with oblations to that blissful Divine Being who is the lord of the Devas, who governs the bipeds and the quadrupeds and in whom the worlds rest.
IV-14: One attains infinite peace when one realizes that Blissful One who is subtler than the subtlest, who creates the world in the midst of chaos, who assumes various forms, and who is the only one that encompasses the universe.
IV-15: He alone is the protector of the world at the proper time. He is the lord of the universe hidden in all creatures. In Him the divine sages and the gods merge themselves. Realizing Him thus, one cuts asunder the fetters of death.
IV-16: One is released from all fetters on realizing the Blissful One who encompasses the world, and who hides Himself in all beings in an extremely subtle form as the essence finer than ghee.
IV-17: This Divinity, who created the universe and who pervades everything, always dwells in the hearts of creatures, being finitized by emotions, intellect, will and imagination. Those who realize this become immortal.
IV-18: When ignorance is dispelled, there is neither day nor night, neither being nor non-being. There is only that Auspicious One who is imperishable, and who is worthy of being adored by the creator. From Him has proceeded the ancient wisdom.


Om Namah Shivaya

brahman
18 December 2009, 11:16 PM
Pranam Brahman If Aham or twam is Brahma , then why Veda describes Two birds in a body , means Atma which is first bird is not but the second bird which is Parmatma is only Chaitanya .

Dear kd gupta, belive in a single bird that is the हंस hamsa, सो ऽहम् soham




Then
The teacher said: “Your question is valid, and so very clearly expressed, I shall answer it exhaustively to make it as vivid to you as though you are seeing it near”.
6. Direct knowledge of that total identity between the individual-Self and the Universal-Self, stemming forth from the Vedic statements such as “Thou art that”, etc., is the immediate means to liberation.

7. The disciple said: “What is the individualised Self ? What, then, is the Universal Self ? How can they both be identical ? And, how can statements like “That thou art” discuss and prove this identity ?”

8. The teacher said: “I shall answer your question. Who else can be the individual Self (Jiva) other than yourself, that asks me this question, “Who am I ?”. There is no doubt about it. You alone are the Brahman.

9. The disciple said: Not even the word meaning do I fully grasp clearly; how can I then comprehend the significance of the sentence, “I am Brahman” ?

10. The teacher said: “You have said the truth when you complained that the knowledge and understanding of the meaning of the words employed in a sentence are indeed the cause of the understanding of the full significance of the sentence. And there are no two opinions about it.”
11. “Why do you not recognise your own Self, which is an embodiment of Eternal Bliss-Essence, the Witnessing Light that illumines the inner equipments and their functions ?”
12. “Give up the intellectual misconception that the Self is the body, etc., and always meditate upon and think yourself to be the eternal Knowledge-Bliss – the Witness of the intellect – a sheer mass of Pure Knowledge”.
13. “The body is not the Self, as like the pot, etc., the body also has form, etc., and again, the body is a modification of the great elements such as Akash, just like the pot”.

14. The disciple said: “If, by the strength of these arguments, the gross-body is considered as “not-Self”, then please exhaustively explain and directly indicate the Self – as clearly as a fruit in hand”.

15. The teacher said: “Just as the perceiver of a pot is ever distinctly different from the pot and can never be the pot – so too, you, the perceiver of your body, are distinct from your body and can never be the body – this you firmly ascertain in yourself.”

16. “Similarly be sure in yourself that you, the seer of the senses, are not the senses themselves, and ascertain that you are neither the mind, not the intellect, not the vital air (Prana).”

17. “Similarly be sure that you are not the complex of the gross and the subtle-bodies, and intelligently determine, by inference, that you, the ‘seer’, are entirely distinct from the ‘seen’.”

18. “’I am He’, the One because of whose presence alone the inert entities like the body and the senses, are able to function through acceptance and rejection”.

19. “’I am He’, the One changeless, Innermost Self that moves the intellect, etc., as a magnet does the iron filings.”

20. “’I am He’, the One Entity in whose vital presence the body, senses, mind, and Pranas, though inert in themselves, appear to be conscious and dynamic, as though they are the Self.”

21. “‘He am I’, the One Consciousness, which is the Self that illumines the modifications in my mind such as ‘my mind went elsewhere, however, it has been brought to rest now’, – ‘He am I’ ( सो ऽहम् So’ham).”

22. “’He am I’, the One Consciousness which is the Changeless Self that is directly cognised, that illumines the three states of waking, dream, and deep-sleep, and that which illumines appearance and disappearance of the intellect and its functions – ‘He am I’ ( सो ऽहम् So’ham).”

23. “Know yourself to be the One Self, a homogenous mass of Consciousness, which is the illuminator of the body and therefore quite distinct from it – just as a lamp that illumines a pot is always different from the pot illumined. ‘I am a mass of Consciousness’ (Aham bodhavigraha).”

24. “Know yourself to be the One for whose sake beings and things such as children and wealth – are dear, who is the sole seer and dearest of all. ‘He am I’ – ascertain thus and realise, सो ऽहम् So’ham.”

My Pranams to shri. Sankara, the ONE philosopher


Adi Sankaracharya's, VAKYA VRITTI, Translated by Swami Chinmayananda, Published by Chinmaya Mission, Mumbai





.

kd gupta
19 December 2009, 03:37 AM
Thank you Brahmanji
I shall take some time to understand .

atanu
19 December 2009, 10:08 AM
Thank you Brahmanji
I shall take some time to understand .

Namaste Guptaji,

Gita is the most prominent teaching of the two birds communicating. The Kutashata chaitanya (Atma chaitanya) and the chidabhasa jiva chaitanya.

IV-7: Sitting on the same tree the individual soul gets entangled and feels miserable, being deluded on account of his forgetting his divine nature. When he sees the other, the Lord of all, whom all devotees worship, and realizes that all greatness is His, then he is relieved of his misery.

When the jiva chaitanya knows that its source and greatness lies in Kutashta and not in Jiva, then the misery is relieved. And then the chit (of sat-chit-ananda) is known:

IV-18: When ignorance is dispelled, there is neither day nor night, neither being nor non-being. There is only that Auspicious One who is imperishable, and who is worthy of being adored by the creator. From Him has proceeded the ancient wisdom.

Om Namah Shivaya

Tirisilex
19 December 2009, 11:56 PM
I'm reading from Advaita Vedanta.. The PDF that someone suggested I should read. OK.. It talks about Antahkarana as being the mind and that Cidaabhaasa is Reflected Consciousness.. It says the Atma Chaitanya is what is reflected in Cidaabhaasa. So I'm trying to understand how the 2 relate exactly.. are there certain attributes?

Tirisilex
21 December 2009, 08:33 PM
Ive been pondering and reading about Chidabhasa and I'm wondering if the reflection of Chidabhasa is like when you dream at night and it seems real.. It's like an image reflected from some deep consciousness. Now I always thought Vasana was the cause or action that creates experiences.. But I'm reading that it seems like the Chidabhasa is the root of seeing experiences..
Am I right?

So what is Antahkarana in relation to Chidbhasa? Chidabhasa reflects Atma Chaitanya which is self awareness.
Is the Antahkarana where the Chidabhasa resides?

brahman
21 December 2009, 10:43 PM
Ive been pondering and reading about Chidabhasa and I'm wondering if the reflection of Chidabhasa is like when you dream at night and it seems real.. It's like an image reflected from some deep consciousness. Now I always thought Vasana was the cause or action that creates experiences.. But I'm reading that it seems like the Chidabhasa is the root of seeing experiences..
Am I right?

So what is Antahkarana in relation to Chidbhasa? Chidabhasa reflects Atma Chaitanya which is self awareness.
Is the Antahkarana where the Chidabhasa resides?

Stop to read and start to ponder.
years of pondering will give you the right answer to all your questions.
Please do remember, sages have pondered for ages to give us a clew




.

Tirisilex
22 December 2009, 08:34 PM
How can I start to ponder when I don't know what it is I'm pondering?

brahman
23 December 2009, 03:36 AM
How can I start to ponder when I don't know what it is I'm pondering?


Tirisilex, in your earlier post you said


Ive been pondering and reading about Chidabhasa


You mean you were pondering without having an idea about it?

also this quote

. We need to assist you slowly. Please use your brake pedal and your accelerator as your comprehension allows.[/SIZE][/FONT]


praṇām

Advaita is an art of 'slowing down, you don't need to be in a hurry.
be patient, many memeber have come forward to offer you help.
But you wanted everything to be comprehended in the first place.




:) .

Tirisilex
23 December 2009, 03:29 PM
"You mean you were pondering without having an idea about it?"

Pretty much.. Thats why I'm reading and posting questions. I haven't gone any further than the first chapter of the Advaita Vedanta. I don't want go onto the next chapter to until I understand the first chapter. If I don't read how will I know what to ponder in the first place? Right now I have just been dealing with 3 terms.. Antahkarana, Chidabhasa, and Atma Chaitanya. I'm having a real hard time with these 3 and the posts I'm getting are still twisting my mind into a knot. I would think this would be easy but I just don't get it.

devotee
23 December 2009, 08:12 PM
"You mean you were pondering without having an idea about it?"

Pretty much.. Thats why I'm reading and posting questions. I haven't gone any further than the first chapter of the Advaita Vedanta. I don't want go onto the next chapter to until I understand the first chapter. If I don't read how will I know what to ponder in the first place? Right now I have just been dealing with 3 terms.. Antahkarana, Chidabhasa, and Atma Chaitanya. I'm having a real hard time with these 3 and the posts I'm getting are still twisting my mind into a knot. I would think this would be easy but I just don't get it.

Ah ! That is the correct way for a real seeker, Trisilex ! What is the use of reading volumes of books when we can't correctly understand their contents. It is always better to be slow but sure that there is no confusion.

Advaita is not easy. You start understand it correctly only after reaching a certain threshold. Till that time, we must be patient & keep pondering over each term, each word.

OM

brahman
28 December 2009, 05:39 AM
"You mean you were pondering without having an idea about it?"

Pretty much.. Thats why I'm reading and posting questions. I haven't gone any further than the first chapter of the Advaita Vedanta. I don't want go onto the next chapter to until I understand the first chapter. If I don't read how will I know what to ponder in the first place? Right now I have just been dealing with 3 terms.. Antahkarana, Chidabhasa, and Atma Chaitanya. I'm having a real hard time with these 3 and the posts I'm getting are still twisting my mind into a knot. I would think this would be easy but I just don't get it.

Pretty much.. Thats why I'm reading and posting questions.
I haven't gone any further than the first chapter of the Advaita Vedanta. I don't want go onto the next chapter to until I understand the first chapter.

Beautiful.

If I don't read how will I know what to ponder in the first place?

Thats true.

Right now I have just been dealing with 3 terms.. Antahkarana, Chidabhasa, and Atma Chaitanya. I'm having a real hard time with these 3 and the posts I'm getting are still twisting my mind into a knot. I would think this would be easy but I just don't get it.

I wish you get it soon.




.

saidevo
28 December 2009, 10:06 AM
namaste Tirisilex.

Your question is:
Atma chaitanya, chidAbAsa, antaH-karaNa--what exactly are they? And what is the relationship of one to another?

Well, the book 'panchAdashI' by shrI VidyAraNya svAmi has the answer.

Essential Definitions

• Atma chaitanya, as everyone has defined it here, is the pure consciousness of Brahman, which resides immanent and transcendent in all the forms of Creation.

• chidAbAsa is the reflection of the pure consciousness of Brahman in the intellect.

• antaHkaraNa is another name for the mind.

Explanation of the Terms

• The term chaitanya is from the words chit--consciousness, and anya--inexhaustible. Thus chaitanya is inexhaustible consciousness of Brahman. The chit--consciousness, in chaitanya is the same as the chit in sat-chit-Ananda, existence-consciousness-bliss which is the nature of Brahman.

• chidAbAsa is from the words chit--consciousness, and bhAsa--light, lustre, impression. Thus chidAbAsa is the impressed or reflected consciousness of chaitanya--Brahman, the pure consciousness.

• antaHkaraNa is from the combination of antaH--inner, karaNa--organ. Thus antaHkaraNa is the inner organ of man, which is the mind. In fact the very name human--manuShya, is because of the mind--manas.

Nature and Relationship

• The nature of Atma chaitanya is to reside immanent and transcendent in all forms of Creation--animate and inanimate. Thus, Brahman is the substratum of everything in the Universe, remaining as a silent witness.

• chidAbAsa we said is the reflected consciousness of Brahman. Where does the reflection take place? In other words, what is the media of its reflection? The media is the intellect. Thus the reflection of Brahman in the intellect is known as chidAbAsa.

Now, 'we have a situation' here: because of mutual superimposition between Brahman and the intellect, the chidAbAsa identifies itself with the intellect! This is like a reflected image identifying itself with the mirror which reflects it, rather than the source of light. The image in the mirror is only gross vibration so this cannot happen, whereas Brahman imparts its nature of consciousness to its reflection, hence the 'situation'.

The chidAbAsa thus identified with the intellect is the jIva--individual self. The jIva, i.e., the chidAbAsa,--which is like a proxy server, to use an analogy of Infotech--looks upon himself as an agent and an enjoyer.

Because of its identification with the gross and subtle bodies, the jIva attributes to himself the joys and sorrows which pertain to the bodies alone. When the jIva gives up his identification with the bodies, he realizes that he is the substratum, Brahman, which is pure consciousness and devoid of association with anything.

• What about the role of antaHkaraNa in this relation between Brahman and jIva? We said that chidAbAsa is reflection of Brahman in the intellect and that antaHkaraNa is another name for mind. What is the relation between the intellect and the mind?

Although, the medium of reflection of Brahman is only one which is the antaHkaraNa--mind, it carries different names according to its four functions. When the mind cogitates it is known as the manas--mind. When it comes to a decision, it is called buddhi--intellect. When it stores information and experiences, it is called cittam--individual consciousness. The notion of 'I-ness' which is behind all these functions is called ahaMkAra--ego.

How did this medium of antaHkaraNa rise? At the command of Ishvara the five subtle elements ether, air, fire, water and earth arose from the part of Prakriti in which tamas predominates. The five subtle organs of sense, namely, those of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell respectively arose from the sattva parts of the five subtle elements ether, air, fire, water and earth. From a combination of the sattva parts of all the subtle elements arose the antaHkaraNa--mind.

**********

Thus, in the Ishvara lIlA--God's play, of Creation, the Self becomes individual selves like the actors in a play; and the selves act out their roles in the play of one life, get deeply attached to the roles they play, and feel intensely sad and anxious when the play is over. In the next play in another stage, they assume different roles and again get deeply involved in them. The cycle of the lIlA thus goes on and on.

Tirisilex
28 December 2009, 04:16 PM
That was the best answer yet.. I could follow and understand what you were talking about.. THANK YOU!!!

Tirisilex
01 January 2010, 08:50 PM
I would just like to thank all of you for your help.. I finally have a grasp of what these words mean..