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Thread: appreciating ātmā ...

  1. #1
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    appreciating ātmā ...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté


    I wrote in a different folder,
    ātmanā = of ātman
    Now this word ātmā must be considered ( sightly different in writing then ātman) as it appears in this śloka as nātmānam avasādayet ( from the bhāgavad gītā)
    From a vedāntic view point it means 'pervading substance' - it is derrived from 'āt' which leads us to 'āta' and is rooted in 'tan' - defined as to stretch (a cord) , extend , spread - and from this we get the notion of all-pervading.
    • But there is an easier way to this word... that is 'āt' gets us to 'a' which is a name of viṣṇu, of which means 'all pervading' i.e. āt = ād vyāpane = to pervade. And what does ātman do in the human body ? It is all pervading.
    ātmā then from a vedāntic view point it means 'pervading substance' - it is derrived from 'āt' which leads us to 'āta' and is rooted in 'tan' - defined as to stretch (a cord) , extend , spread - and from this we get the notion of all-pervading. There is an easier way to this word... that is 'āt' gets us to 'a' which is a name of viṣṇu, of which means 'all pervading' i.e. āt = ād vyāpane = to pervade as forementioned. And what does ātman do in the human body ? It is all pervading.
    There is a bit more we can to ~stretch~ this word... We are told the following:
    an = to breath
    at =to move, to walk
    tman = the vital breath and is = ātmán (the masculine form of this word)

    Do you see what is shaping up here? This ātmán ~in the flesh~ walks (at) and breathes (an); yet we cannot forget what was offered above about ātmā - it is a 'pervading substance' .
    We can now connect a few more dots - this ātmán is the pervading substance ( ātmā ) that walks (at) and breathes (an). It is the infinite found in the finite.

    But there is more ( no doubt ) - this 'at' comes from 'ati' which expresses 'beyond' , 'surpassing' , 'excessive'. Not only is this ātmán the pervading substance ( ātmā ) that walks (at) and breathes (an), it is also beyond (ati).

    What does that imply ? Who walks, and breathes yet is beyond at the same time ? It is the human that houses ātmán within him/her-self. Said another way , it is the Self within the self. It is our core Being (satta)
    that resides within the framework of the body or śarīra¹ .

    Now this body plays its role in the term ātmā - it walks and breathes. By it is one more thing too. It is mā. Thishas many meanings, yet I am looking at the 4th derivite of this word and it means 'measure' , it also means 'binding' and 'death'.
    The connection is this... it is the body that walks and breathes, it is the ~ all pervading~ substance 'āt' , that is measured out '' as a body (śarīra) that perishes.

    But there is more...
    Many say this ātmā or ātmán is viśvottīrṇa or transcendental in nature. This ~transcendence~ is all pervading due the composition of this term viśva = all-pervading or all-containing , omnipresent + uttīrṇa = traversed.

    It would serve one nicely to get a firm grip on this notion of transcendental... many describe it as 'beyond' but one must keep in mind this does not mean seperate. Let's take this up in the next post.


    iti śivaṁ

    words
    śarīra - 'that which perishes' i.e. the body that comes and goes.
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  2. #2
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    Re: appreciating ātmā ...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    I wrote,
    It would serve one nicely to get a firm grip on this notion of transcendental... many describe it as 'beyond' but one must keep in mind this does not mean seperate.
    I would say this idea of 'seperate' causes much mischief within in the realm of various discussions. One comes to think the unmanifest is some place else, seperate, distant. Then conversations can occur of there being 2 i.e. manifest and unmanifest. While intially convenient to think like this, it causes some consternation when talking in truth.

    This viśvottīrṇa ( transcendent) is completely full or paripūrṇānuttara. Because it seems that it is not readily available to one's awareness, some take this to mean beyond. Then others extend this notion and say it is beyond experience. This too gets one in trouble when one says you can experience this. Why so ? Because It is the experiencing apparatus.
    It is the raw material for experience to occur. It cannot be the object of experience, it is the awareness itself that is used to cognize any and all other experiences.
    The beauty here is, this viśvottīrṇa ( transcendent), some call anuttara has the ability to experience itSelf. It can curve back onto itSelf and experience its own Being. This is why in kaśmiri śaivism this anuttara is lively in its Self.
    It is spanda or a throb within itSelf. This throb ( spanda) is the awareness of its own Self. Other schools see the transcendent (viśvottīrṇa) as absolutely still without any dynamic to it. There are reasons for this view I wish not to pursue at this time; yet even in the bhāgavad gītā¹ kṛṣṇa-ji informs us -
    curving back (leaning, resting-upon or avaṣṭabhya) onto my SELF (svām) I create (visṛjāmi) again and again (punaḥ punaḥ).
    All this (kṛtsnam) which exists ( manifestation and variety bhūta-grāmam) , that comes into creation (prakṛti) is done by my authority or command (vaśāt).
    He as the Supreme (anuttara) curves back, is aware of his own Being, and from there creates again and again.

    But how do I tie this back to ātmā ? I need help from upaniṣad-s and specifically the aitareya¹ upaniṣad.

    ātmā vā idam eaka cuvāgra āsīt |
    kiñ cana miṣat |
    sa aikṣata lokān nu sṛjā iti ||

    this says¹
    ātmā alone was the one that existed here in the beginning;
    nothing rival whatsoever existed to blink; It thought - let me create the worlds ( lokān¹).

    See this refective consciousness of Being ? It alone existed yet there was a throb - in this case a thought. My teacher would say an ~impulse~.

    Do you see how this ātmā has the quality to remain perfectly whole, but at the same time to express itself in all of creation? It is never used up. What would use it up if It is everything to begin with?

    So , back to the topic at hand - beyond does not mean seperate. It means Supreme, so supreme that there is nothing ~beyond~ It to experience It as an object. It is always the experiencer the final; this is the value of the word anuttara - it is that highest level that cannot ever be surpassed. But the beauty here is that, at your core , It is your very Being.

    iti śivaṁ
    words
    • Bhāgavad gītā , chapter 9 , 8th śloka:
      prakṛtim svām avastabhya
      visrjami punaḥ punaḥ |
      bhūta-grāmam imaṁ kṛtsnam
      avaśaṁ prakṛter vaśāt ||
    • aitareya - a descendant of itara or itarā , N. of mahidāsa (author of a brāhmaṇa and āraṇyaka called after him) ;composed by aitareya-ji
    • this śloka-s translation is offered by svami nārāyaṇa prasad
    • lokān = loka = the wide space or world ' the universe' , 'the sky or heaven'
    Last edited by yajvan; 05 January 2013 at 02:32 PM.
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  3. #3

    Re: appreciating ātmā ...

    हरिः ओम्


    Namaste yajvan ji,


    Thank you for your wonderfully informative postings; it filled me with joy to read this this morning.
    I have just discovered a recording of the spanda karikas being sung, and lightly expanded; I fell asleep last night listening to it.
    How beautiful a thing it is to hear such wisdom sung.


    praṇāma

    mana


    ॐ नमः शिवाय

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