Aham Brahmaasmi - Uttar Gita

[devotee]

Namaste,

Bhagwan Shri Krishna teaches Advaita to Arjuna in Uttar Gita after the end of Mahabharata war. The following verses are highly valuable :


1.26. The Jîvãtman, although (considered to be) very distant from Paramãtman, is still very near to it; and although it has a body, still it is without body; the Jîvãtman itself is pure, omnipotent and self-evident.

1. 37. He who, after purifying his mind, contemplates the pure Paramãtman, and looks unto his own Self as the one vast undivided whole of the manifested universe, becomes happy by knowing the Brahman.

2.2. As water in water, milk in milk and (clarified) butter in butter, so the Jîvãtman and Paramãtman become one in union without any distinction and difference.

2.37 If a man practise asceticism and severe austerity for a thousand years, standing on one leg only, he cannot realize one-sixteenth part of the benefit gained by Dhyãna Yoga (meditation).

Those that constantly chant the four Vedas and read other religious works and yet fail to realize "I am that Brahman", they are like the spoons that are used for every cooking operation, but yet remain without a single taste of the foods they prepare.

2.47. As an hungry person simply wastes his energy in vain when he strikes the air with blows for food, so also a reader of the Vedas and others Sãstras simply wastes his time and energy, if, notwithstanding his study, he fails to realize that "I am Brahman".


OM

[vsharma]

Full english translation of Uttara Geetha is available in the following website

http://www.sankaracharya.org/uttara_gita.php

Best regards

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~

namasté


Yet one must ask why does kṛṣṇa-ji teach this now? Why was this not part & parcel the main theme of the Bhāgavad gītā ?

IMHO it is we learn in stages - we build a foundation. One must first begin with the fundamentals of Self and non-Self. We also must have the experience of pure consciousness in part and in whole. This is the perfect place for the saṁkhya school of knowledge ( a dual view system). Hence it is self that leads to Self i.e. it is dvaita that leads to advaita¹ .

The final ahhh-ha! is all 'this' is advitīya¹. But if we start here (advitīya) one's knowledge let alone their experience , does not compliment nor comprehend this oneness. It is the brilliance of the teacher (paṇḍit, guru, svāmī, etc) to know were to start with the student (śiṣya) for maximium benefit. Śrī kṛṣṇa-ji is just that master-teacher (jagad-guru).

praṇām

words

• advaita - identity of brahmā or of the paramātman or supreme soul with the jīvātman or human soul
• advitīya - without a second , sole , unique

[upsydownyupsy mv ss]

I'd prefer the statement "Pragynanam Brahma" of advaitha, as I am not of the high level and still have not realised Aham Brahma Asmi completely. Though I think I understan about 0.0000000.......(infinite).......000001% of Aham Brahma Asmi.
Nice post Devotee, I'm going to save that on my computer. I'd wish the Iskonites and some Dvaithists who attack advaitha would understand this.