Anor aneeyaan mahato maheeyaan

[soham3]

Self has been described as ' anor aneeyaan mahato maheeyaan ' meaning minuter than the minutest and greater than the greatest in Kathopanishad. Self in fact is beyond all opposites and imaginations & thoughts.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté soham3


Self has been described as ' anor aneeyaan mahato maheeyaan ' meaning minuter than the minutest and greater than the greatest in Kathopanishad. Self in fact is beyond all opposites and imaginations & thoughts.

Tell us more about this Self. Where can I find it? How will I know it from something else? What is its nature? Are there many Selves or just one?

What are your thoughts on this matter?


praṇām

[soham3]

Same upanishad says :-
Na ayam atman pravachanen labhyo, na medhaya, na bahuna shruten
Yameveisa vrinute ten labhyastasyeisa atman vivrinute tanoo swam.

Self is beyond mind and It chooses man & not otherwise. Self is Emptiness.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté soham3


Same upanishad says :-
Na ayam atman pravachanen labhyo, na medhaya, na bahuna shruten
Yameveisa vrinute ten labhyastasyeisa atman vivrinute tanoo swam.

Self is beyond mind and It chooses man & not otherwise. Self is Emptiness.
A room can be empty. Is this then the Self? śūnya - void. This is the absence of all things?


How will I know it from something else?

praṇām

[soham3]

Just as vacuum is seething with causal energies, Zeroness-Emptiness is seething with Being-Awareness-Consciousness-Bliss.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté soham3


Just as vacuum is seething with causal energies, Zeroness-Emptiness is seething with Being-Awareness-Consciousness-Bliss.

śūnya - void. If it has anything in it (energy) , it is no longer void, no?
It is therefore not śūnya. Perhaps your intent was to describe
cidākāśa.

praṇām

[soham3]

Chidākāśa is a mental concept. Shoonya or void as you call it is a state where mind is completely extinct. It is called manonaasha in sanskrit. It is the real Truth.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté soham3

Thank you for your posts, yet with no disrespect my mind is still filled with doubts (śaṅkā). I do not comprehend the description of the Self that your offer...


In the chāndogya upaniṣhad there is a beautiful conversation/teaching between sanatkumāra-ji and nārada found in canto 7.

Nārada as a mantravit ( one well versed in the sutras and mantras) is well learned in all the veda's, sciences, etc. yet nārada-ji as ajñānin, or one not fully-realized in Being, approaches sanatkumārā ( mind-born som of brahma Himself) . He sees sanatkumāra-ji as the jñānin , knowledgeable, a realized in Being. The guru-śiṣya ( teacher-student) relationship is established when nārada makes the request "Revered Sir, Please teach me".

The conversation that ensues is one of my favorite teachings of this grand book. Yet , at the crux of this post, it is the key theme and conversation behind ātmavit and ativādin.

That is, the mantravit becomes the ātmavit. This ātmavit , is the knower of ātman, and this ātman has interesting roots: one root means to pervade, from the root verb ap, and from another root at= to breathe. It points to all pervading, the breath or life force of all. It is puruṣa¹ in us, it is brahman, in us, the all pervading one, some even say it is the breath of puruṣa. So this ātmavit, is the knower of brahman, because he is the knower of his ātman (Self).

This also has another significant meaning in this dispensing of knowledge from sanatkumāra-ji (also known as skaṇda). Knowledge must be complimented by experience. Attaining mantravit no doubt is rewarding yet is still devoid of the subject matter one has studied - that of brahman, or ātman as one's direct and personal experience. So, one needs to experience and become established in the SELF to bring full life to ones knowledge of Brahman. When this happens one then becomes ativādin. .

Now why is this ativadin of interest? Ativādin at its root is ati that which transcends + vādin or one who speaks. It is one whose speech is pregnant with Truth (sat). So, one who speaks of THAT, which is beyond, or turiya ( the 4th).

praṇām

words
puruṣa - in the sāṃkhya view of Reality it is the Supreme Self/Spirit as passive and a spectator of the prakṛti or creative force; different schools have different viewpoints on this matter.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


my mind is still filled with doubts (śaṅkā). I do not comprehend the description of the Self that your offer...

The bṛhadaraṇyaka upaniṣad gives us some advice as yajñavalkya-muni speaks to his wife:
O' maitreyi this Self is to be properly heard of; to be properly cogitated upon and to be realized in meditation.

Yajñavalkya-muni points to 3 things worthy for this preparation:

śravaṇa - the act of hearing or 'that which is heard' = śruti iti śravaṇāt , 'because it is so heard or revealed'
manana - thinking , reflection , thought , intelligence , understanding
nidīdhyāsana - or nidī + dhyāna + āsana = to shine down upon + meditation + seat or posture.
Hence the posture of meditation that brings one light and luster, luminance, brilliance.praṇām

[Sahasranama]

Yajñavalkya-muni points to 3 things worthy for this preparation:
śravaṇa - the act of hearing or 'that which is heard' = śruti iti śravaṇāt , 'because it is so heard or revealed'
manana - thinking , reflection , thought , intelligence , understanding
nidīdhyāsana - or nidī + dhyāna + āsana = to shine down upon + meditation + seat or posture.
Hence the posture of meditation that brings one light and luster, luminance, brilliance.I have heard some metaphors about this.

Shravana, like a deer listens to music. Manana, like a cow chews on grass. Nididhyasa, like a swan seperates milk from water.

[soham3]

Vicious mind has tendency to wallow in the mire of worldliness which includes all types of knowledge. When grossness of mind is shed, one starts seeing world as illusory & imaginary like froth & foam on the ocean of Consciousness. Further spiritual practices make the world disappear completely.

[soham3]

I have heard some metaphors about this.
Nididhyasa, like a swan seperates milk from water.

Separating milk from water. Is it not called VIVEKA ?