The Self - Atman-the Supreme Reality

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).

<sup>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.</sup>


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

^{http://www.ethicalvaluesinishopanisad.blogspot.com/}

Results san Renunciation or Action

RESULTS OF RENUNCIATION OF ACTION

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अंधेन तमसा वृताः।
Asûryâ  nâma te lokâh andhena tamasâ vritâh,

ता स्ते प्रेत्याभिगछन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः ॥3॥
Tâgmste pretyâbhi-gacchanti ye ke câtma-hano janâh.  (Isha 3).

"Sunless are those worlds, and enveloped in blindering  gloom to  which  all those people , who  are slayers  of  their  own Souls go, departing  from here".(Swami Chinmayananda)

The  great Master of  Upanisad declares  here that  having been born as man, an individual (or  society or community or nation), who refuses  to  live  either the ' the life of  renunciation/meditation' (cf. verse 1)or  ' the life of intense and continuous  activity'(cf. verse 2), is  to be  considered as a suicide. Such  an  entity  must  necessarily come into  fall  into an abyss of  darkness and despair, experiencing a terrible down-turn in its cultural  and spiritual eminence. If a community is neither willing to live the higher values nor be efficient  in its constructive  material  program, such a generation should slowly decay  into darkness, having  lost its soul,  and to face the sorrows  of dark age. Such  people are considered the 'slayers of their Souls' (Atma-hanah), or  Self-destroyers, who kill the Divinity  in themselves, will go to the 'sunless worlds',when they leave their bodies

Thus, with this Mantra(verse) the third 'wave of thought' indicates brilliantly  the consequences for individual entities  without  following the 'Path of Renunciation'(verse 1) or the  alternate 'Path of Action'(verse 2) .

vedprakash
http://www.ethicalvaluesinishopanisad.blogspot.com/

Path of Karma (righteous deeds)

 PATH OF KARMA(RIGHTEOUS DEEDS)

कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छत समाः।

एवं त्वयि नान्यथेतो स्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे ॥2॥

kûrvan-neveha karmâni jijîviSec-chatagM samâH,

evaM tvayi nânya-theto'sti na karma lipyate nare.( Isha  2)

"Performing verily, work in this world  should  one  desire to live a full  hundred years. This  alone  is right, for  there is  no  other  right  path. Action  never clings to a man following this  path" (Isha.2)

For the coveted goal set  out in the first verse, the pilgrim needs  a lot of mental and intellectual calibre,a man of renunciation, with discriminating capabilities, a  strong will and an indomitable faith in himself.However,many among us  have ample  desire  for wealth, for relationships,and for glory and  recognition. The Scripture  says that  such persons having inclinations towards the world, are to practise sincerely and diligently, the life of Action. If we study the history of mankind with detachment, we observe  that noble and eternal values of life,when negated and  flouted, the generation tumbles down into wreckage, and their  revival is almost  always directly proportional to the  sincerity,intensity and strength with  which the rising generation adopts the nobler and enduring  values of  philosophical and religious  perfection.

Thus,the great Rsis have anticipated  the result of action,inaction and unaction.According  to them, unaction - a seemingly physical inactivity which wears a thick veil  covers the extreme inner activity(sattva),the latter being the   sublimest, which  attitude is  for the  seekers on the 'Path of Renunciation' and 'Knowledge'. The opposite  'Inaction' is  external and internal morbidity,inertia and sloth(tamas), which  activity kills  the  generation. Action is the dynamic and conscious work, either  to fulfil a given and known  desire,or to enjoy the very  activity itself as its own goal(rajas ). Thus,  we should  immediately take to a dynamic and conscious program of activity and  should steadily walk the 'Path of Action', and  be  dedicated  to the 'Path of Karma'.In the words  of Swami Chinmayananda, 'In case you are not  able to live the life of God-vision achieved through renunciation,then do  certainly desire  to live  a full hundred  years of productive selfless work.'

The expression, 'kurvan  eva' performing,verily,work alone'(karmani  eva), is  indeed  very important and powerful. It amounts to saying  that having been born  as  a  man, there is no other go but  to work,especially if you strongly  desire to live verily(jijiviset  eva) a full  hundred years(satagm samah eva). Thus, the Isha have glorified sweat and toil to the highest pinnacle of recognition as service. The ‘dignity of labour consists in service’ is a fact no where else so openly declared and so religiously glorified as in the Hindu scriptures. Dedicated and noble work alone can polish the animal-man to a state of true culture and right discipline. Man is not born to revel in idleness. Nature will whip the tamasic on to the road of right or wrong activity(rajas), and gradually evolve him to sattva, a state of joy with action-oriented performance. Swami Chinmayananda has opined, 'Here is a stanza, which declares that  he,who cannot afford to live the noblest life of  (total)renunciation and self-restraint,must unavoidably live  a life of intense activity,striving his best to fulfil allhis desires through sweat and toil,and must teach himself to live in appetising enthusiasm all his life- 'a full hundred years'  in the service of man and  in the glorification of the Lord."The Isha Upanisad repeats: 'Thus, it is right  for thee and not otherwise than  this.' The one who thus intensively plunges into life - eager and anxious to meet  daily challenges,and  at every turn doing his best to meet  each challenge with truth and purity as his standard of values -  to such a one,actions do not cling. Bhagavad Gita  also exhorts :'Therefore,engage yourself in doing Karma only'(BG IV-15).

'Na karma lipyate nare'(Action never taints such aman) signifies that our actions cannot affect us, if  the work  is done with a spirit of detachment,coupled with the  joy of dedication to  our work. LordKrsna alsosaysin the Gita(IV-24) that  workcan never contaminateHim,asHe works  with detachmentand total selflessness. Even otherwise, along periodofsuch activities,undertaken in a spirit ofdetachment,toalargeextentcleansesthe mind of its impurities like desires, ttachments, hatred,selfishness, jealousy,greed,etc. Such a purifiedmindalone can havethe required intellectual temperand spiritual stability topursue the pathof righteousnessthrough intense and high editation.
If one should desire to live in this world a hundred years, one should live performing Karma (righteous deeds). Thus, thou mayest live; there is no other way. By doing this, Karma (the fruits of thy actions) will not defile thee. If a man still clings to long life and earthly possessions, and is, therefore, unable to follow the path of Self–knowledge (Gnana–Nishta) as prescribed in the first verse, then he may follow the path of right action (Karma–Nishta). Karma here means actions performed without selfish motive, for the sake of the Lord alone. When a man performs actions clinging blindly to his lower desires, then his actions bind him to the plane of ignorance or the plane of birth and death; but when the same actions are performed with surrender to God, they purify and liberate him.

Thus,while the first wave of thought(in verse 1) explained to us the 'Path of Renunciation'  (tyagten bhunjitha)and realisation(Isha vasyamjagadamsarvam),the second wave(verse 2)has exhorted us to wish for a full hundred years of vigorous life,spent inloving service of man and seeking Him in and through the joys of 'selfless activities'.
( This research-based  endeavour has been attempted on Swami Chinmayananda's Discourses on Isavaya Upanisad)
vedaprakasha
www.ethicalvaluesinishopanisad.blogspot.com

Isha's Peace Invocation Prayer-Om pUrNamadah pUrNamidam...

Peace Invocation(Prayer):Isopanishad Invocation (Prayer)

ॐ पूर्ण मदः पूर्ण मिदं पूर्णात पूर्ण मुदचत्ये,


पूर्णस्य पूर्ण मादाये पूर्ण मेवावशिश्यते॥


om purnam adah purnam idam, purnat purnam udacyate


purnasya purnam adaya,purnam evavasishyate (Isha Upanisad: Invocation Prayer)

This is an innocuous looking verse for which someone once said: "Let all the Upanisads disappear from the face of the earth - I don’t mind so long as this one verse remains." In Isavasyopanisad, the text begins with this SantipAta payer : "OmpUrNamadah pUrNamidaM..." :

" That is whole; this is whole; From that whole this whole came;


From that whole, this whole removed, What remains is whole."

Idam, This;PurNam, the single noun in the verse, is a beautiful Sanskrit word which means completely filled - a filledness of which is wholeness itself, absolute fullness lacking nothing whatsoever. Adah, which means ’that’, and idam, which means ’this’, are two pronouns each of which, at the same time, refers to the single noun, pUrNam; PUrNam adah - completeness is that, PUrNam idam - completeness is this.

Adah, that, refers to something which is remote , not available for direct knowledge. Adah, refers to a jnEyavastu,a thing to be known, but remains to be known upon destruction of the remoteness.

Idam, this, refers to something not remote but present, here and now, immediately available for perception, something directly known or knowable. Traditionally, however, idam has come to have a much broader meaning. Idam indicates all driSya, all seen or known things. All adah, called ’that’ become ’this’ as soon  as their thatness, their remoteness in time, place or knowledge is destroyed. It is in this sense that the SantipAta "pUrNamadah." uses idam.

The first verse of IshAvAsyOpaniSad, following the SantipATa makes clear that idam is used in the traditional sense of all driSya, all known or knowable things:. IshAvAsyaidam sarvam yat kinca jagatyAm jagat ;. all this, whatsoever, changing in this changing world...
So when the verse says pUrNam idam, "completeness is this", what is being said is that all that one knows or is able to know is pUrNam, which means completeness, absolute fullness, wholeness.. If pUrNam is total fullness which leaves nothing out, then ’this’ cannot be used to describe pUrNam because ’this’ leaves something out. What? The subject. ’This’ leaves out aham, I, the subject.

Adah, That
Since idam, this, has been used in its traditional sense of all knowable objects, here or there, presently known or unknown, the only meaning left for ’that’ is to indicate the subject. Idam, this, stands for everything available for objectification. What is not available for objectification? The objectifier - the subject. The subject, aham,I, is the only thing not available for objectification. So, the real meaning of adah, that, as used here in contrast to idam,this, is aham, I. If that is so, how can adah, that, mean aham, I? Am I remote? I am certainly not remote in terms of time or place. I am always here right now. But perhaps I may be remote in terms of knowledge. If in fact I do not know the true nature of myself I could be a jnEyavastu, a to-be-known, in terms of knowledge. Because it is only through the revelation of shruti (scripture functioning as means of knowledge) that I can gain knowledge of my true nature, it can be said that, in general ,the truth of aham is remote in terms of knowledge - something that is yet to be known.
’That’ so used as ’I" means AtmA, the content of truth of the first person singular, a jnEya-vastu, a to-be-known, in terms of knowledge.When that knowledge is gained, I will recognize that I, AtmA, am identical with limitless Brahman - all pervasive, formless and considered the cause of the world of formful objects.

PUrNam adah - completeness is I, the subject AtmA, whose truth is Brahman, formless, limitlessness, considered creation’s cause; PUrNam idam - completeness is all objects, all things known or knowable, all formful effects, comprising creation.pUrNam, completeness, brooks no exclusion whatsoever. The   nature of pUrNam is wholeness, completeness,limitlessness.

There cannot be pUrNam plus something or pUrNam minus something. It is not possible to add or to take away from limitlessness. The nature of pUrnam being what is, ’that’ pUrNam must include ’this’ pUrNam; ’this’ pUrNam must include ’that’ pUrNam.Therefore, when it is said that aham, I, am pUrnam and idam, this,is pUrNam, what is really being said is that there is only pUrNam.

Aham, I, and idam, this, traditionally represent the two basic categories into one or the other of which everything fits. There is no third category. So if aham and idam, represent everything and each is pUrNam , then everything is pUrNam. Aham, I is pUrNam which includes the world. Idam this, is pUrNam which include me. The seeming differences of aham and idam are swallowed by pUrnam - that limitless fullness which shruti (scripture) calls Brahman.

However, my every day experience is that I am a distinct entity separate and different from idam jagat, ( this world of objects )which I perceive. My experience is that I see myself as not the same at all as idam, this. When I hold a rose in my hand and look at it, I, aham, am one thing and idam, this rose I see, is quite another. In no way is it my experience that I and the rose are the same. We seem quite distinct and separate. Because shruti tells me that I, aham, and the rose, idam, both are limitless fullness, pUrNam. Furthermore, it is not my experience that either I or the rose are, in any measure, pUrNam, completeness - limitless fullness. I seem to me to be totally apUrNah, unfull, incomplete, inadequate, limited in all sides by my fellow beings, by the elements of nature, by the lacks and deficiencies of my own body and mind. My place and space are very small; time forever crowds me; sorrow dogs my path. I can find no limitless fullness in me. No more does there seem to belimitless fullness in this rose even now wilting in my hand, pressed by time, relinquishing its space; even in its prime smaller and less sturdy than the sunflowers growing outside my window. It is my constant experience that I, aham, and all I perceive, idam, are ceaselessly mutually limiting one another. Thus, PurNam, completeness, absolute fullness, must necessarily be formless. PurNam cannot have a form because it has to include everything. Any kind of form means some kind of boundary; any kind of boundary means that something is left out - something is on the other side of the boundary. Absolute completeness requires formlessness. Sastra (scripture) reveals that what is limitless and formless is Brahman, the cause of creation, the content of aham, I. Therefore, given the nature of Brahman by shruti, I can see that pUrNam is another way for shruti to say Brahman. Brahman and pUrnam have to be identical; there can only be one limitlessness and that One is formelss pUrNam Brahman.Thus, the verse is telling me that everything is pUrNam. PurNam has to be limitless, formless Brahman.

Vedaprakasha
http://www.ethicalvaluesinishopanisad.blogspot.com/