Sakti or Devi is Brahman revealed in the mother aspect (Srimata)
>
>
> More than a decade later today, October 7, 2006 it is obvious that
> both Arwinder and Kash are talking about the "Beauty of the three-
> great-cities, penetrating without and within, (that) is
> resplendent, non-dual, self-subsisting." Only the Great Primordial
> Mother Shri Lalita Devi has the power to manifest this
> unfathomable Truth as She continues to ascend and penetrate into
> human consciousness.
>
> i wrote this post after downloading and listening to the recitation
> of Shri Lalata Sahasranama. It is available free of charge at:
> http://www.vedamantram.com/ Enjoy this beautiful Tamil recitation
> of the splendour and glory of Her praises in Silence.
>
> "The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one's own blissful Self." "She
> alone is Atman. Other than Her is untruth, non-self." - Always
> remember these priceless Truths daily for the rest of your lives
> and you are assured of moksa and immortality! What else is Self-
> realization other than realizing that Lalita is one's own blissful
> Self? And once She is realized within to be one's own blissful Self
> everything else is indeed untruth, non-self.
>
> Jai Shri Ganapathi,
>
>
> jagbir
>
"The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one's own blissful Self." -
Bhavana Upanishad 1.27
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adishakti_sahaja_yoga/message/6781
"Lalita Sahasra-nama: Brevity is the essence of most of Vedic
scriptural literature. Most of the `sUtra' literature are of this
type. Take for example, Brahma-sUtra, Dharma-sUtra, Grihya-sUtra,
nArada-bhakti-sUtra, shAndilya-bhakti-sUtra etc. These aphorisms are
so concise and compact that commentaries on each run to pages
explaining the succinct words with meanings literal, subtle and
contextual. Just like them, this Lalita sahasra-nama also falls into
that category. Even though the Stotra format has helped the poet-
visionary to sing with poetic ecstasy, the words used are mostly
technical terms of Tantra shastra, and without a rudimentary
knowledge of which, the profound meaning of the names may not be
intelligible at all."
S. Harihareswara
"The holy Mother (Srimata.)
The mother is usually called upon in times of sorrow; but our
natural mothers are not able to remove the three kinds of pain
(tapatraya.) Great men have said: "Since I have had many thousands
of births, I have had many mothers; many also have been my fathers;
I know not how many I am yet to have in the future; and their number
is beyond my calculation. O Treasure-house of compassion! Save me,
who am overpowered with fear and have no other refuge, from the vast
and disastrous ocean of samsara." The greatest World-Mother is the
only one who is capable of removing the endless misery (of
existence.) We praise Her as the Mother so that She may be induced
to show mercy to us."
R. Ananthakrishna Sastry, Sri Lalita-sahasranama
"The Goddess is the great Sakti. She is Maya, for of her the maya
which produces the samsara is. As Lord of Maya she is Mahamaya.
Devi is avidya because she binds, and vidya because she liberates
and destroys the samsara. She is praktri and as existing before
creation is the Adya Sakti. Devi is the Vacaka Sakti, the
manifestation of Cit in Praktri, and the Vicya Sakti or Cit
itself. The Atman should be contemplated as Devi. Sakti or Devi is
thus the Brahman revealed in the mother aspect (Srimata) as creatrix
and nourisher of the worlds. Kali say of herself in Yogini
Tantra: "I am the bodily form of Saccidananda and I am the brahman
that has emanated from brahman."
K. K. Klostermaier, Hinduism: A Short History,
Oneworld Pub., 2000, p. 211.
"The Saktas worship the Universal Energy as Mother; it is the
sweetest name they know. The mother is the highest ideal of
womanhood in India. [...]
Mother is the first manifestation of power and is considered a
higher idea than father. The name of mother brings the idea of
Shakti, Divine energy and omnipotence. The baby believes its mother
to be all-powerful, able to do anything. The Divine Mother is the
Kundalini sleeping in us; without worshipping Her, we can never know
ourselves. All merciful, all-powerful, omnipresent - these are attributes of the Divine Mother. She is the sum total of
the energy in the Universe.
Every manifestation of power in the universe is Mother. She is Life,
She is Intelligence, She is Love. She is in the universe, yet
separate from it. She is a person, and can be seen and known - as
Sri Ramakrishna saw and knew Her. Established in the idea of Mother,
we can do anything. She quickly answers prayers.
She can show Herself to us in any form at any moment. The Divine
Mother can have form (rupa) and name (nama), or name without form;
and as we worship Her in these various aspects, we can rise to Pure
Being, having neither form nor name.
The sum-total of all the cells in an organism is one person. Each
soul is like one cell, and the sum of them is God. And beyond that
is the Absolute. The sea calm is the Absolute; the same sea in waves
is the Divine Mother. She is time, space and causation. Mother is
the same as Brahman and has two natures; the conditioned and the
unconditioned. As the former, She is God, nature and soul. As the
latter, she is unknown and unknowable. Out of the Unconditioned came
the trinity, God, nature and soul - the triangle of existence.
A bit of Mother, a drop, was Krishna; another was Buddha. The
worship of even one spark of Mother in our earthly mother leads to
greatness. Worship Her if you want love and wisdom."
Swami Vivekananda, "Inspired Talks, My Master and Other Writings",
Wednesday, July 2,1895,
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, NY, pp. 48-49.
The Indian Religion of the Goddess Shakti
"The follower of Sakthism, the worshipper of Shakti, is called
Shakta. His conception of the Goddess is described in the Shakti
Tantra Shastras, i.e., the holy scriptures of Sakthism, often in a
very poetical way. Whereas we speak of Mother Nature only in a
comparative manner, for the Shakta it is absolute reality. Nature is
Her body. Her presence is personally felt by him, when he is
standing on the fertile ground of the earth; he touches Her life in
the blossoms of the pure lotus-flower. She animates all living
creatures. His own body is a part of Her great body. Worshipping Her
in all Her different forms, he will find Her light, too, within his
mind and consciousness. Thus, to the Shakta the whole universe of
mind and matter reveals itself in its unity; he see before him Her
great body which he adores; Her sacred feet, Her heart, Her mind.
It might be useful to describe this poetical view, which is at once
physical and transcendental, by means of another diagram. We may for
this purpose represent matter and mind by two circles , which
intersect each other.
Where they intersect, there is Shakti, so to speak, in Herself. But
Her influence, Her being spreads into the whole realm of matter as
well as that of mind. Nowhere is She absent, but Her presence is
less distinct, is somehow veiled in those parts, which are further
from the centre, where She is in Herself. Thus, for the sake of
linear explanation, the mineral world--the solid matter--would have
to be situated the furthest from Her, because there, as for instance
in stone, she--Life Herself--is, much veiled, stone to the ordinary
human view appearing to be dead. Nearer to Her is the realm of
plants, where, with their growing and blossoming, She already
becomes more apparent. I need hardly remind you of the well-known
researches by Sir Jagadish Bhose of the University of Calcutta, who
is endeavouring to make visible the actual heartbeat of plant life.
Then, in due order with regard to Her would come the world of
animals, which being animated have within their life--although
perhaps still unconsciously--some access to Her. Lastly, within the
highly developed organism of man She, for the first time, is
inherent in her essential being. There She finds the possibility of
being consciously awakened, so that she appears to him, who is
looking and striving for her, in Her true nature as Shakti herself.
The other side--the mind circle--comprises the mental faculties of
man such as consciousness, will, feeling and logical perception,
which, with regard to their aptitude for Her realisation, may be put
in such order. The directions of development therefore go in the
matter-circle from left to right--from stone, vegetable, animal to
man, where Shakti will be realised; in the mind-circle, from right
to left--from mere logical thinking to feeling, will-power,
consciousness to man--where Shakti may be realised. Thus, as you can
see from this diagram, everywhere there is Shakti. She is inherent
in everything and at the same time transcends every thing; by
meditation and religious ceremonies She may be realized everywhere,
being inherent in the whole physical universe as it is given to us.
And, moreover, above this we may touch Her in Her transcendental
aspect as well. When She appears in Her true nature, then there is
no more mind or matter, but only She Herself, in no sense bounded by
such limitations. As such a one She may well be represented by a
circle, the universe in its true aspect.
To the European it may perhaps at first sight appear to be a mere
poetical presentment and but little different from the theory of
vitalism of modern natural science or from ancient animism in the
religious aspect. But with regard to Vitalism, even if there be
similarities the essential difference seems to me, that the Vitalism
of the natural sciences is based principally upon the conception of
a material world which is regarded as being animated by, for
instance, the "lan vitale" of Bergson. But Sakthism holds its
standpoint entirely on the spiritual side. She, the great mother,
exists, and what in the material world is vitalised or animated,
certainly comes from Her, but is only a veiled appearance of Her,
who in Her true being can be experienced spiritually. And Sakthism
is also not animism, if by animism may be understood the primitive
idea of everything being ghost-like, being animated by "Phi" or
spirits, resulting in as many ghostly spirits as there are different
things. Sakthism represents a spiritual unity, all different things
being united within Her always-greater aspect.
The principal doctrine of "Sakthism", that the whole Universe of
mind and matter is created by Her, the Powerful Goddess Shakti, is
described in full detail, with Indian accuracy in spiritual matters,
in the Cosmogony of Sakthism. It must be understood that every great
Indian philosophical system has its own Cosmo-Genesis, that is, its
special conception of the evolution of the world and its beginning.
As a matter of fact, every conception of life and the Universe
requires such a foundation to give it the necessary firm hold. For
Sakthism this source, out of which the Universe as mind and matter
has evolved, is the female spiritual Power, Shakti, who is the Great
Mother of the Universe. In Her most concentrated form, when Her
Power is just ready to expand, She is represented by a point called
Bindu. This Bindu Point is mere Spirit. Everything manifested and
created in this Universe has Spirit. Everything manifested and
created in this Universe has Spirit as its source and essence. In
the Christian Cosmo-Genesis of the Gospel of St. John it is
called "logos" or "the word". By expansion the Spiritual Power
Shakti becomes, going through many different stages, Mind, Life, and
Matter. She--the Goddess--is contained, in all the manifestations of
the universe, but She remains, so to speak, unexhausted by being the
material cause of the Universe. She in Her essence remains
unaffected and greater than all the created world.
In a diagrammatic way this cosmogenetic evolution can be represented
like this. The active, most concentrated Point Bindu is red, the
colour of activity. From this point the lines of evolution expand
through the stages of mind and life towards matter, the mineral
world. So the material world stands not first but last in the
evolution of the Universe.
According to the general doctrine of Indian metaphysics, this whole
created universe is not everlasting but will one day be dissolved.
The life or appearance of the universe lasts, as it is figuratively
expressed, one day of Brahma, the Almighty, that is, millions and
millions of years. After that the whole expansion contracts again in
the opposite direction; first, matter will be dissolved, then life
and mind will disappear till it reaches the state of the beginning,
the spiritual Point, Bindu, where it will find its rest; until the
dawn of a new day of Brahma, when a new creation will start. This
Bindu Point is the great Goddess, the universal mother--womb--yoni--
the creator and receiver of the Universe, which, as Shakti, is
worshipped by the followers of Sakthism.
So the whole created world has as its creative Power Shakti, the
goddess, just as in this world the female element is constantly
maintaining it. But She, the creative Goddess, can do nothing
without Him, the God, Shiva, just as no woman can bear fruit without
the co-operation of the male element. The relation of Shakti to
Shiva, is of a very subtle, spiritual nature. He, Shiva is in
contrast to all creation, be it mind or matter. He is the underlying
pure consciousness , which is independent of, and superior to, all
creation. In a very famous picture of Sakthism the goddess Shakti
stands black-coloured on the white-coloured Shiva who lies inert.
The symbolism is this. Shiva is white to represent a colourless
form, since all colours belong to the created world, which is the
domain of Shakti. He lies at absolute rest, since movement and
activity belong to the created world, which is dependent on him, but
not he on it, She, the Goddess, is black-coloured because, compared
with the light of the spiritual world unmixed with any objective
realisation, she is dark as the night; in all creation she is veiled
in darkness, both her face and her raiment.
I have mentioned already that there can be found traces of Shakti in
the conception of the Madonna of the Catholic Christian Church. As
some of you may know, there exists in Czenstochau in Poland the
famous sculpture of the so-called Black Madonna, who is much adored
by the population. Why is she black? Well whatever kind of outer-
influence may have taken place, the spiritual reason must be the
same as in Sakthism. She, the Madonna, the creatrix femina, is dark,
is spiritually veiled in darkness during the process of creation.
She is the deep and creative night. Darkness, compared with the
light of day, has always been regarded spiritually as the deeper
element. The darkness of the body is intended to show that the
personality belongs to the spiritual world as the creative
background of all physical appearance. It is very remarkable, too,
that near Barcelona in Spain, on Mount Serrat, a black Madonna with
the Christ child on her knees is worshipped by the Catholic Church.
This famous sculpture, is said to have been on this holy mountain
for over a thousand years. Her throne shows an uncommon shape. She
holds in her right hand a globe, representing the Universe. Thus
here, too, the conception seems to be that She, the Goddess-Madonna,
is the Creator and Upholder of the whole Universe. In my opinion
these figures--in their spiritual meaning--show the very deep
connection , which exists spiritually between East and West. And
Sakthism may help to bring an understanding between East and West,
the importance of which is always becoming more apparent.
One of the deepest secrets of Sakthism is the union of the highest
spiritual male consciousness, Shiva, with the all-pervading female
power, Shakti.As I have already mentioned, the all-powerful Shakti
would not be able to create the universe out of Herself; She needs
the touch of Shiva. This union of Shiva and Shakti takes place in
the highest spiritual regions before anything has been created, so
to speak, in the night of Brahma. Out of this union the Universe is
born--Shakti evolves as mind and matter, whereas Shiva remains as
the underlying background, unaltered, This highest spiritual state
of union is inexpressible by words; but it is approximately
circumscribed by the Sanskrit words; Sat--Chit--Ananda. Sat means
Being; Chit means Consciousness, and when these are united with one
another, there Ananda--Bliss--the highest spiritual bliss, is the
issue. For the Shakta, as for the Hindu generally, the essence of
the world is joy, bliss, ananda. Whenever truth, living truth, is
approached or touched by man, then he feels that bliss of the union
of Shiva and Shakti, which is the origin of all life. The highest
state of consciousness or liberation (Mukthi) in Sakthism is the
attainment, the spiritual realisation, of the highest, unchanging,
eternal, absolute union of Shiva and Shakti within himself, into
which his being is to be ultimately absorbed. The man who has
realised this and transplanted himself into it is in his lifetime
called Jivanmukta (liberated though living) . In this union is
everything essential contained. But within space and time, within
the world of separate things and forms,--in this world of limited
experience in which we are living--this highest union is
interrupted. Shakti, being separated from Him, is, so to speak, in
Her actual body distributed among all objective experience.
There is a deep and striking picture, a story of Indian mythology,
which tells how the body of Shakti has been dismembered and has
fallen in pieces into this world. Wherever any part of Her holy body
is supposed to be lying, there an Indian temple has been built; to a
certain extent comparable to the Stupas which are erected by
Buddhists for the relics of the sacred body of Gautama. Everything
in the objective appearance is individual on account of its being
separated from that union, and its material substance or embodiment
can be measured by the interval of that separation; the further away
from the union, the more its spiritual essence is veiled.
It follows consequently that in every individual being, which to a
certain extent becomes conscious of itself, there must be living a
tendency to become liberated from this separation, to come back to
this primordial union. "Back to the mother", it may be said, is the
shortest expression for the spiritual aim of the whole of Indian
culture and especially of Sakthism. A deeply--felt longing prevails
within the religious mind of India; a longing like that of a child
for its mother. It is important to note this, since it is this
longing , which gives the impulse to the means by which the aim of
coming back to the Mother may be attained. These means are called
the Yoga of Sakthism, i.e., Sadhaana. The principles of Yoga are
almost the same in all the different Indian systems, of which they
form an essential part. By urging concentration of thought upon
certain important ideas, they aim at giving to these ideas more
strength and clearness than they usually have.
The meditator excludes himself from all outer influences, in order
to bring his mind into direct contact with the spiritual world. In
the end he will eventually realise what his Scriptures have taught
him, that his essence is Spirit, and his mind and body its
manifestations. I may mention here that a modern "western" way
of "Yoga" has been introduced into Europe by the spiritual
system, "Anthroposophy", of Dr.Rudolf Steiner. In all ages such
kinds of spiritual endeavour have been practised. If man succeeds in
actually realising the inner meaning of metaphysics, he becomes, as
it is called, "initiated", that is, he becomes a citizen of the
spiritual world, just as he is a citizen of the natural world by his
physical birth. The Yoga of Sakthism specializes in conceptions of
the Goddess Shakti. If She appears to the Shakta, as She is in
Herself, the highest realisation, the Union with the mother is
attained. Then the Shakta says: She I am, and feels himself full of
the greatest spiritual bliss.
As I have already mentioned, Sakthism is an eminently practical
Religion. It attempts an immediate realisation of truth by the
practical methods of "Yoga" and has an abundance of rites and
ceremonies. These vary according to the competency of the Shakta.
The ritual has been rightly called the Art of Religion. The
worshipper follows certain prescribed rules in his adoration, which
give him the right direction. Every Religion knows the value of
ritual--Buddhism as well as Christianity and Sakthism. I may mention
here only a few special points, which distinguish the rites from all
other similar cults in India.
It is well known what an important role the caste-system has always
played in India. Even now the distinctions of the different castes
are much observed, especially in the case of marriage. Principally
the Brahmins, as the caste of priests--now there are Brahmins who
are doctors of medicine, barristers, watchmen, etc., --would never
mix with other castes in their ritual worship. The Shakta, however,
the worshipper of Shakti, does not pay any regard to these caste
distinctions. The Brahma Shakta has no objection to worshipping the
Goddess even with the Shudra outcast, the Pariah. Such a non-Indian
uncommon attitude shows that the rites of Sakthism may have their
source from abroad; it is not yet quite certain, but it is probable
that the special rites of Sakthism have come to India from China
through Tibet.
This would explain, too, the other striking feature of the Shakta-
worship, which is also non-Indian--that during the ritual worship of
Shakti it is allowed to eat meat and to drink wine. Everyone knows
how the Hindus abhor the slaughter of animals; how the adoration of
the cow is an essential part of their religion, which has been again
and again emphasised, especially by Gandhi himself. The Shakta,
however, eats meat and drinks wine during his worship of the Goddess
Shakti. He feels himself spiritually above this custom. As in his
view everything is She--the Goddess--there can be made no exception
with regard to the offerings to Her.
The third unique quality of the Shakti-worship is the active
participation of women in the ceremonies. Ordinarily women are
always kept apart in India.Everyone has heard of the Purdah system,
which holds in some parts of India the women-folk life-long in their
houses. But the Shakta treats them as altogether equal; even more.
She, his Wife, is regarded by him as his Shakti Goddess; She, the
mother of his children, represents to him the Great Mother. Such an
attitude is naturally reflected in the daily life of Shakti Hindu
families, where the mother--quite contrary to Miss Mayo's statements
in "Mother India"--is much venerated. There is the so-called
Panchatattva Ritual--the most important ritual of Sakthism, which is
still nowadays performed in Bengal. The name "Panchatattva" is
derived from the words "Pancha", five, and "Tattva", elements. The
five elements of this ritual are Wine, Meat, Fish, Parched Corn and
Sexual Union. Men and women meet as equal partners. They sit
together--the man beside the women--in a circle, called Chakra.
Following elaborate rites, they offer to the Goddess wine, meat,
fish and corn. After that they take their meal, which consists these
four elements; the idea being that they unite themselves with Shakti
in these products and fruits. The highest presentment of the Goddess
for the Shakta is the women who is sitting by his side. By uniting
with her--according to the Maithuna rites--he experiences the bliss
of the great union of Shiva and Shakti. Pro-creation is the
individual counterpart of Cosmic Creation. It must be understood
that the purpose of the physical union of the Shakta with his Shakti
in this ritual is not satisfaction of his physical senses but the
spiritual realisation of the highest union of the individual with
the Goddess, the Cosmic-Whole. It may be mentioned that, as far as I
have heard, during the ceremonies in Bengal the last mentioned
Maithuna rites are not actually performed but are only indicated, as
for example by bowing to the woman sitting at his side in the
Chakra. Nothing is wrong or forbidden according to Sakthism, if it
is done with a pure heart and spiritual feeling.
Certainly it is possible that, weak as man's nature is, abuses of
this special rite have taken place--and it would be wrong to deny
that they are in fact happening. But my intention here is to show
its spiritual meaning and intention; which, in my opinion, cannot be
affected by abuse in its interpretation; and the principle of the
rite is sound, grand and spiritual.
All the rites of Sakthism, of which I have here mentioned only one,
tend in such a direction as to awaken within him the spiritual and
aesthetically productive forces of man. As soon as these usually
slumbering forces are awakened, the Shakta knows and feels himself
as being born again within the spiritual world. The Shakta says, "As
I am born in my physical body from my mother, so I must be
spiritually born again from my spiritual mother, the Goddess
Shakti." By the grace of Shakti the Shakta himself becomes Brahma.
As a matter of fact, every spiritual man strives for the attainment
of such a state, of being reborn in the spiritual sense. Only the
expressions are different and the means and ways vary. In Sakthism
it is striking to notice with what absoluteness and how
independently of all other systems of religion the physical
appearance and the highest spiritual realisation are combined
together. If Shakti is everywhere, then she is, too, in the bodily
appearance of the women and there, however veiled, in her fullest
essence. So he makes use of her for the greatest spiritual aim of
man, namely to be reborn by the grace of Shakti.
Now I have said that this aim of being reborn within the spiritual
motherhood is known to almost every religion, and, although Buddhism
in its fundamental basis at first seems to be utterly different from
Sakthism, yet Northern Buddhism knows well what is meant by Shakti.
Mahayana Buddhism, as it is prevalent in Tibet, by which country
Sakthism too has been much influenced, has introduced into its
system during its development the Goddess Tara. She represents what
Shakti is for Sakthism. She is the embodiment of all that within the
spiritual realisation is distinctly female; and it is a very secret
saying in esoteric Northern Buddhism that man, by being reborn from
Tara, will become a Buddha, that is, will attain the highest
spiritual state of life to which man is destined and for which he is
striving. Within esoteric Christianity there is the picture of Jesus
Christ lying in the stable-manger as the new-born child before the
immaculate Virgin Mary. It is intended to portray not only the story
of the historical birth of Jesus, but at the same time a
representation of the idea that we all have to be reborn as such a
Christ-child of the Virgin Mary, the Shakti of Christianity.
You see, there can be discovered, within so widely differing
religious systems as Sakthism, Northern Buddhism and Christianity,
the same important idea as that of being reborn by the grace of
Shakti as Brahma, of being reborn by Tara as a Buddha, and of being
reborn by Madonna as a Christian. As a matter of fact, the female
spiritual element as it is venerated by Sakthism, being a living
truth, can to a certain extent become a combining factor to embrace
the great cultural outlook both of the East and the West. Humanity
is one over all the earth, and Womanhood is its essential part. In
Sakthism the idea of the spiritual creative force of Womanhood finds
its most absolute and exclusive expression. For this reason this
system is so interesting and striking for anyone who takes the
trouble to go more deeply into it. Shakti, as she is pleased to
reveal herself to day, is present, too, within the depths of
European culture. It would take me too far a field to prove it by
further details. I would only mention that Goethe concludes his
great poem, "Faust", with the words: "The eternal female is raising
us". Certainly, Goethe had no knowledge of the system of Sakthism
and of those texts, which we are now privileged to study. But by his
poetical inspiration he touched by himself the truth, which we find
so clearly expressed in the system of Sakthism. If one would try to
express the deepest meaning which Sakthism may have for us in our
days, it cannot be done better than by those words which the
mystical chorus sings at the end of this great poem: Das Ewig
Weibliche zieht uns hinan. "The eternal female is raising us".
The Indian Religion of the Goddess Shakti
DR. HANS KOESTER
THE JOURNAL OF THE SIAM SOCIETY
Vol.23, part 1
1929 July
"The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one's own blissful Self."
~Bhavana Upanishad 1.27
"This primeval power is Tripura,
The supreme sovereign, Tripura;
Goddess great with ear-rings adorned
In sphere of fire abiding."
~Tripura Tapini Upanishad 1.9
"She alone is Atman. Other than Her is untruth, non-self. Hence is
She Brahman-Consciousness, free from (even) a tinge of being and non-
being. She is the Science of Consciousness, non-dual Brahman
Consciousness, a wave of Being-Consciousness-Bliss. The Beauty of
the three-great-cities, penetrating without and within, is
resplendent, non-dual, self-subsisting. What is, is pure Being; what
shines is pure Consciousness; what is dear is Bliss. So here is the
Maha-Tripura-Sundari who assumes all forms. You and I and all the
world and all divinities and all besides are the Maha-Tripura-
Sundari. The sole Truth is the thing named `the Beautiful'. It is
the non-dual, integral, supreme Brahman."
~Bahvricha Upanishad 1.5
------------------------------
Mahavakyas, or Great Sayings, of the Upanishads
Prepared by Jayaram Srinivasan
Prajnanam Brahma - Consciousness is Brahman
(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)
Ayam Atma Brahma - This Self is Brahman
(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)
Tat Tvam Asi - Thou art that
(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)
Aham Brahmasmi - I am Brahman
(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana
Upanishad)
------------------------------
Prajnanam Brahma - Consciousness is Brahman
(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)
Other Translations: Brahman is pure consciousness; Brahman is
knowing; Brahman is intelligence
In the sentence, `Prajnanam Brahma' or Consciousness is Brahman, a
definition of Reality is given. The best definition of Brahman
would be to give expression to its supra-essential essence, and not
to describe it with reference to accidental attributes, such as
creatorship etc. That which is ultimately responsible for all our
sensory activities, as seeing, hearing, etc., is Consciousness.
Though Consciousness does not directly see or hear, it is impossible
to have these sensory operations without it. Hence it should be
considered as the final meaning of our mental and physical
activities. Brahman is that which is Absolute, fills all space, is
complete in itself, to which there is no second, and which is
continuously present in everything, from the creator down to the
lowest of matter. It, being everywhere, is also in each and every
individual. This is the meaning of Prajnanam Brahma occurring in
the Aitareya Upanishad.**
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Ayam Atma Brahma - This Self is Brahman
(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)
Other Translations: Brahman is this Self; This Self is Brahma
The Mahavakya, `Ayam Atma Brahma' or `This Self is Brahman,' occurs
in the Mandukya Upanishad. `Ayam' means `this,' and here `thisness'
refers to the self-luminous and non-mediate nature of the Self,
which is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or ego down to
the physical body. This Self is Brahman, which is the substance out
of which all things are really made. That which is everywhere, is
also within us, and what is within us is everywhere. This is
called `Brahman,' because it is plenum, fills all space, expands
into all existence, and is vast beyond all measure of perception or
knowledge. On account of self-luminosity, non-relativity and
universality, Atman and Brahman are the same. This identification
of the Self with Absolute is not any act of bringing together two
differing natures, but is an affirmation that absoluteness or
universality includes everything, and there is nothing outside it.**
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Tat Tvam Asi - Thou art that
(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)
Other Translations: That is how you are; That art thou
In the Chandogya Upanishad occurs the Mahavakya, `Tat Tvam Asi'
or `That thou art.' Sage Uddalaka mentions this nine times, while
instructing his disciple Svetaketu in the nature of Reality. That
which is one alone without a second, without name and form, and
which existed before creation, as well as after creation, as pure
Existence alone, is what is referred to as Tat or That, in this
sentence. The term Tvam stands for that which is in the innermost
recesses of the student or the aspirant, but which is transcendent
to the intellect, mind, senses, etc., and is the real 'I' of the
student addressed in the teaching. The union of Tat and Tvam is by
the term Asi or are. That Reality is remote is a misconception,
which is removed by the instruction that it is within one's own
self. The erroneous notion that the Self is limited is dispelled by
the instruction that it is the same as Reality.**
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Aham Brahmasmi - I am Brahman.
(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana
Upanishad)
In the sentence, `Aham Brahmasmi,' or I am Brahman, the `I' is that
which is the One Witnessing Consciousness, standing apart form even
the intellect, different from the ego-principle, and shining through
every act of thinking, feeling, etc. This Witness-Consciousness,
being the same in all, is universal, and cannot be distinguished
from Brahman, which is the Absolute. Hence the essential `I' which
is full, super-rational and resplendent, should be the same as
Brahman. This is not the identification of the limited
individual `I' with Brahman, but it is the Universal Substratum of
individuality that is asserted to be what it is. The copula `am'
does not signify any empirical relation between two entities, but
affirms the non-duality of essence. This dictum is from the
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.**
** Excerpted from: Swami Krishnananda, The Philosophy of the
Panchadasi, "Chapter V: Discrimination of the Mahavakyas," The
Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India.
http://www.jayarams.com/dharma/mahavakyas.html
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AHAM BRAHMA ASMI
Aham Brahma asmi or "I am the Brahman" is one of the corner piller
of the hindu Philosophy.
A crude transilation would be "I am the world" (or I am the creator
of the world"), As there is no world (My world) with out me, I am
the one who creates my world, the good the bd, the relations in it,
the happiness in it the sorrow in it, so I am the god of my world.
Max Muller makes it more explicit when he says: If people conceive
God as a kind of Jupiter, or even as a Jehovah, then the idea can
only be considered blasphemous… But after the Deity had been freed
from its mythological character, the human mind, whether in India or
elsewhere, had once realised the fact, that God was all in all, that
there could be nothing besides God, that there could be one Infinite
only, not two, the conclusion that the human soul also belonged to
God was inevitable.
TAT TWAM ASI
Tat Tvam Asi, a sanskrit sentence, translating variously to "Thou
art that", "That thou art", or "You are that", is one of the four
Mahâvâkyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Hinduism. It originally occurs
in the Chandogya Upanishad. It first occurs in Chandogya 6.8.7, in
the dialogue between Uddâlaka and his son Úvetaketu; it appears at
the end of a section, and is repeated at the end of the subsequent
sections as a refrain. It is generally taken to mean that your soul
or consciousness is wholly or partially the Ultimate Reality. That
is to say, even before the creation of the universe, a unitary,
divine consciousness existed, and that this consciousness is
identical to your deepest self.
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