Aatmaa –the indwelling self--is self-luminous, u
nattached, etc. Br.up.4.3.14.S.B.—svayamjyotiH
aatmaa asti iti svapnanidars’anena pradars’itam.By the
illustration of dream it has been proved that there is the self-luminous aatmaa and that it transcends the forms of death (i.e. the body and
organs). Br. Up. 4.3.17.S.B.—yathaa
asau svapne asa.ngatvaat-----------buddhaantena. Just as, being unattached in the dream state, the aatmaa
is not affected, on its return to the waking state, by whatever appeared
to have happened in the dream state, so also, it is not affected by
anything done in the waking state. (In other words, the aatmaa
is not at all affected by anything experienced either in the dream state
or in the waking state). Aatmaa in the three states Br.up.4.3.19. S.B.—yasmaat
jaagarite sasa.ngaH samr.tyuH-------- It has been shown that in the waking state the self appears
through ignorance as connected with attachment, death (meaning here
action) and the body and organs. In the dream state it appears to be
connected with desire, but free from the forms of death (meaning the
body, mind and organs—See Br.up.4.3.7.S.B.-svatah
kaaryakaraNaani eva asya ruupaaNi). In the state of deep sleep it is
perfectly serene and unattached. This non-attachment is the special
feature in this state. Considering all these passages together, it
becomes clear that the self is by nature eternal, free, self-luminous
and pure. The jiivaatmaa is
not a part (ams’a) of
Brahman Br.up.2.1.20.S.B.“kshudraa
visphuli.ngaaH”Br.up.2.1.20 ”mamaivaams’aH”-B.G.15.7. -paramaatmaikatva-pratyaya---- The passages such as ‘tiny sparks’, ’a part of
Myself’, are intended to convey the idea of identity. We are aware
that sparks of fire are identical with fire. Thus a part may be
considered as identical with the whole. Therefore words such as ‘part
of the Supreme Self’, as applied to the individual self, are meant
only to convey the idea of the identity of the two. (The supreme Self
has no parts. It is one homogeneous entity). The individual self appears as a separate entity because of
the limiting adjuncts (upaadhi) Br.up.2.4.12. S.B.—yathaa
adbhyaH suuryachandraadipratibimbaH----- Just as reflections of the sun, moon, etc, arise in water,
or a transparent crystal appears red because of the proximity of a red
cloth, so also, because of the limiting adjuncts (upaadhi)
in the form of the body and organs, Brahman appears as a separate
individual entity. On the realization of one’s true nature as being
identical with Brahman, the notion that one is a separate individual
entity comes to an end. As the reflections of the sun, moon, etc, and
the redness of the crystal, disappear when their causes, namely the
limiting adjuncts in the form of the water and the red cloth are
removed, and the sun, moon and the transparent crystal alone remain as
they are, so also, the endless, infinite and limpid Pure Consciousness,
or Brahman, alone remains. Consciousness pervades the whole body, mind, etc.—an
illustration--Br.up.4.3.7
S.B—yathaa vaa marakataadiH
maNiH ------sarvaantaratamatvaat. Just as an emerald or any other gem, dropped into a vessel
of milk, imparts its lustre to the milk, so does this luminous self,
being subtler than even the mind and the intellect, impart consciousness
to the whole body, mind and organs. (When an emerald is dropped into
milk, the latter gets a green hue. Similarly, the self, being pure
consciousness, makes the insentient mind, body and organs sentient.) Why people identify themselves with the body, mind, etc.
Br.up.4.3.7 S.B---buddhistaavat
svachchhatvaat -------yathaa vivekam jaayate. The intellect, being transparent and next to the self,
easily catches the reflection of the consciousness of the self.
Therefore it is that even wise men identify themselves with the
intellect first; next comes the mind which catches the reflection of the
self through the intellect; then the organs through contact with the
mind; and lastly, the body, through the organs. Thus the self
successively illumines with its own consciousness the entire aggregate
of body and organs. This is the reason why all people identify
themselves with the body, mind and organs, to a greater or lesser
degree, according to the extent of their discriminating capacity. Back to contents
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