Bhuma and Infinity

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~~

We have been discussing the Infinite, Bhuma on many posts� this is a most fortunate thing to do. For those that aspire to Brahman, having the concept and undersanding of this Brahman is important. Who says this is of import? Sanatkumara.

What does the great rishi�s say of this Infinite , that will give us guidance?

Narada asks this of Sanatkumara, from the Chandogya Upanishad:
Sanatkumara says to Naradha:

� So I say once again that Bhuma, the Fullness, is Bliss. How can you enter into this Bhuma unless you know what Bhuma is? You must, therefore, know what Fullness is,� says Sanatkumara. �O great Master, please tell me what this Bhuma is. Please introduce me to this great mystery of Being that you call Bhuma. What is Bhuma? What is this Fullness? What is this completeness?
Here is the definition,� says Sanatkumara. �Where one sees nothing except one's own Self, where one hears nothing except one's own Self, where one understands nothing except one's own Self, that is Bhuma, the Absolute; and where one sees something outside oneself, where one hears something outside oneself, where one understands or thinks something outside oneself, that is the finite.�

And if we look to anther brahmarisi , Yajnavalkya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, he says
�Surely, I am not saying anything bewildering. It is wisdom enough, my dear. For when there is duality, as it were, then one smells another, one sees another, one hears another, one speaks to another, one thinks of another, one understands another. But when everything has become the Self, then by what and whom should one hear, by what and to whom should one speak, by what and of whom should one think, and by what and whom should one understand? By what should one know that by which all this is known? By what, my dear, should one know the knower?�


such is the wisdom of these great saints that we can aspire to....

pranams,

[sarabhanga]

bhUmavidyA


yo vai bhUmA tat sukham |
nAlpe sukham asti |
bhUmaiva sukham |
bhUmA tv eva vijij�Asitavya iti |
bhUmAnaM bhagavo vijij�Asa iti ||


bhUma is “the earth or world” or “the being or existing thing” ~ and the plural bhUmAni is “the worlds” or “the aggregate of all existing things”.

bhUmA is “abundance, plenty, wealth, opulence, plurality, multitude, fullness, or infinity”.

bhUmA is an infinite expansion, but strictly it is a limited or divided infinity of measured parts.

And bhUmA indicates hari.


dhruva is “fixed, firm, immovable, unchangeable, constant, lasting, permanent, eternal, staying, remaining, preserved, settled, certain, or sure”.

dhruva is “the polar star or celestial pole, a post or stake, or a knot” ~ “the fixed point”

dhruva is another name for the brahman or the praNava ~ “the enduring sound”.

And dhruva indicates hara.


dhruvAya bhUmAya namaH

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

bhUmavidyA
bhUmA is an infinite expansion, but strictly it is a limited or divided infinity of measured parts.

Namaste sarabhanga,
This again, brings clarity and appreciation for the sadhu, as to help understand something that is brahm , or great and expanding.

What are some examples of infinity? I know a few and perhaps you and others ( if there is interest) can add to the list... again if any part of my information is blemished, please provide corrections for better understanding:
There is infinity in akasha, kala and form.
akasha - we (I) think of this as space and the X,Y,Z coordinates that is infinite... yet there is more , there is bhutakasa ( or the elemental space just described above i.e. X,Y,Z), then there is chitt-akasha, or the mental space we experience every day in thought/consciousness; then there is chid-akasha or knowledge-space - this is more then just lower knowledge of facts and figures, but also of higher knowledge, some may say pure intelligence.
kala - or kali, the measure of time.... past, present and future. I understand the triad to collapse into NOW, and hence that is always infinite, an infinite now, that we meter out by the second, millisecond, etc.
form - this is object-centered; accordind to the Upanishads 'all is connected' and infinitely correlated, so as you touch one thing you touch all things simultaneously - this is the knowledge of Madhu Vidya.

What others? We can consider aksara or (a + ksi = not + destroy or perish), and this is Brahman , perhaps more specifically niguna Brahman ( without out attributes)
The pure, the fullness of the Absolute, turiya, transcendent reality.

pranams,

[saidevo]

bhUmA is an infinite expansion, but strictly it is a limited or divided infinity of measured parts.

The terms bhUmA and pUrNam, I think, are the Sanskrit equivalents of the term 'infinity'.

The usage limited infinity seems to be an oxymoron, but it is not, when it applies to bhUmA(n) because bhUmA implies a gradual growth and progress. "It is that portion of the universal akasa comprised within any single Brahmanda or cosmic hierarchy, and therefore on this smaller scale applies to the aggregate of all beings and things within that hierarchy. As such, it can carry the meaning of Pleroma or Fullness." (Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary).

Usually the English language falls woefully short when we look for exact equivalent for Sanskrit terms, but with the term 'infinity', it is surprisingly close to the Sanskrit meaning of bhUmA and pUrNam. The term finite is from the Latin finitus, meaning something that has a limit, something than can be finished.

The prefix 'in', surprisingly, is used to indicate two directly opposing notions: limiting as well as unlimiting! Webster's New World Dictionary gives these two opposing usages of the prefix in as:

1. prefix in, into, within, on, toward: also used as an intensifier in some words of Latin origin [inbreed, infer, induct; instigate]

2. prefix prefix no, not, without, NON [insignificant]

We can therefore say that the infinite akasa limits itself into bhUmA as it manifests and grows with forms. At the other end of this process is the liberation from the limited infinity into the limitless akasa. Whether inside or outside bhUmA, That always fills up, leaving nothing empty.

On the same lines, Atman is the bhUman form of Brahman, since it is confined in a form, even though potentionally infinite. When the true Self is realized, the form breaks and Brahman is realized and experienced in Turiya and Nirvikalpa Samadhi.