The SELF- ATMAN-THE SUPREME REALITY
अनेजदैकं मनसो जवीयो नैनद्देवा आप्नुवन पूर्वमर्षत।
aneja-dekaM manaso javîyo, nainad-devâ âpnuvan- pûrva-marsat,
तद्धावतो न्यानत्येति तिष्ठत तस्मिन्नपो मातरिश्वा दधाति ॥4॥
tad-dhâvato-'nyâna-tyeti tisthat, tasmin-napo mâtarisHvâ dadhâti.( 4).
"The Self is the motionless one, swifter than the Mind, The devas (senses) could not overtake;It ran before before them. Sitting, It goes faster than than those who ran after It. By It ,Matarsiva(the element Air) supports the activity of all living beings"(Isha 4).(Swami Chinmayananda).
That One, though motionless, is swifter than the mind. The senses can never overtake It, for It ever goes before. Though immovable, It travels faster than those who run. By It the all–pervading air sustains all living beings.
This verse explains the character of the Atman or Self. A finite object can be taken from one place and put in another, but it can only occupy one space at a time. The Atman, however, is present everywhere; hence, though one may run with the greatest swiftness to overtake It, already It is there before him. Even the all–pervading air must be supported by this Self, since It is infinite; and as nothing can live without breathing air, all living things must draw their life from the Cosmic Self.
We have now four continuous verses(4 to7) where description of the Supreme in terms of Its qualities of the Self has been done, which constitute the fourth wave-of-thought. The Atman or the Self is motionless, says the Isha Upanisad, which is neither the inability or impotency of the Supreme. It is indicative of only all pervasiveness of the Supreme Reality. Motion is a change in time and space. The Atman cannot(and need not) move because it is all-pervading. The Reality can not and need not move anywhere because there is no spot wherein It is not already existing.The Isha asserts that the Self is swifter than the mind. The Self runs faster because the Reality in the form of existence is already there, before the mind could contemplate. In short,the Self is discussed here as All-pervading in terms of motion and speed. By denying the former and asserting the latter,the Rsis are explaining to us the Consciousness or the Self,is a factor which in Itself is 'motionless speed'. Consciousness is All-pervading,it can not move,and nothing that moves in the universe (Ishavasyamidgam sarvam) can ever move except in a medium of Consciousness.
The sense-organs cannot ovetakethe Self, as they can only perceive their objects, functioning only in the field of consciousness. The sense-organs and the sense-objects spring from and exist in the Self,and so they cannot,in their functions ever remain totally away from the Self, the medium of their existence,the field of their activities.
The Self,thus, is not only all-pervading,but it is the very substance and dynamism in all movements and the very force behind everything.Presided over by the Self alone,can allthe transactions of life take place. Self is Life; without It everything is dead and non-existent. The idea has ben more vividly brought out in the closing line of the verse, when the Rsi declares that the Matarisva(Lord of the Atmosphere- Air) supports the activities oflife,having derived its Life-force and vigour from this great and all-pervading Reality. According to Sri Sankara,Matarisvar efers to the individuality(jiva)and water(apah)here means karma. Then it would mean that all activities of all individualised personalities are always within the Self.
vedprakash
This verse explains the character of the Atman or Self. A finite object can be taken from one place and put in another, but it can only occupy one space at a time. The Atman, however, is present everywhere; hence, though one may run with the greatest swiftness to overtake It, already It is there before him. Even the all–pervading air must be supported by this Self, since It is infinite; and as nothing can live without breathing air, all living things must draw their life from the Cosmic Self.
We have now four continuous verses(4 to7) where description of the Supreme in terms of Its qualities of the Self has been done, which constitute the fourth wave-of-thought. The Atman or the Self is motionless, says the Isha Upanisad, which is neither the inability or impotency of the Supreme. It is indicative of only all pervasiveness of the Supreme Reality. Motion is a change in time and space. The Atman cannot(and need not) move because it is all-pervading. The Reality can not and need not move anywhere because there is no spot wherein It is not already existing.The Isha asserts that the Self is swifter than the mind. The Self runs faster because the Reality in the form of existence is already there, before the mind could contemplate. In short,the Self is discussed here as All-pervading in terms of motion and speed. By denying the former and asserting the latter,the Rsis are explaining to us the Consciousness or the Self,is a factor which in Itself is 'motionless speed'. Consciousness is All-pervading,it can not move,and nothing that moves in the universe (Ishavasyamidgam sarvam) can ever move except in a medium of Consciousness.
The sense-organs cannot ovetakethe Self, as they can only perceive their objects, functioning only in the field of consciousness. The sense-organs and the sense-objects spring from and exist in the Self,and so they cannot,in their functions ever remain totally away from the Self, the medium of their existence,the field of their activities.
The Self,thus, is not only all-pervading,but it is the very substance and dynamism in all movements and the very force behind everything.Presided over by the Self alone,can allthe transactions of life take place. Self is Life; without It everything is dead and non-existent. The idea has ben more vividly brought out in the closing line of the verse, when the Rsi declares that the Matarisva(Lord of the Atmosphere- Air) supports the activities oflife,having derived its Life-force and vigour from this great and all-pervading Reality. According to Sri Sankara,Matarisvar efers to the individuality(jiva)and water(apah)here means karma. Then it would mean that all activities of all individualised personalities are always within the Self.
vedprakash
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