`From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed breathed forth,'

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--- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote:

> on another note, someone asked me off list why you

> sign off your

> posts with this quotation ... and what it means..

>

> `From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed,

> breathed forth.'

>

> on another note, someone asked me off list why you

> sign off your

> posts with this quotation ... and what it means..

>

> `From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed,

> breathed forth.

 

Namaste All,

 

I am using this because if you look back at the very

first posting on this series you will find it begins:

"As from a fire kindled with wet fuel various kinds of

smoke issue forth, even so, my dear, the RigVeda, the

YajurVeda, the SamaVeda, the Atharvangirasa, history

(itihasa), mythology (purana), the arts (vidya), the

Upanishads, verses (slokas), aphorisms (sutras),

elucidations (anuvyakhyanas) and explanations

(vyakhyanas) are like the breath of this infinite

Reality. From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed,

breathed forth.’ (Br.Up. 2.4.10 See Brahma Sutras

1.1.3 Where Shankara refers to this verse in his

commentary)

 

As this is an advaitin site dedicated to the teachings

of Shankara I wanted to begin with a link to him

although my intention has mainly been to study the

texts without recourse to all the later advaitin

teachings.

But to maintain the link I decided to end each posting

with this quote.

 

Also, the use of the word breathed takes us directly

to the NasadIya sUkta. 'Without breath, by inherent

might, That One breathed......That One, through light

of knowledge brought itself to be. In the beginning,

Self-delight, love and desire evolved on That: and

were together the first germ of mind. By power of

mind, the Poets penetrated the heart, and found there

the bond of truth in illusion .'

 

That is just one of many translations of this text,

author anon. ( in fact I do know her but will keep her

anon as she has published her translation).

But I use it here to show how the misuse of the word

'illusion' in its Western understanding can be imposed

upon a text in which it has no place. The word being

translated as such is 'asat'. Hence the mAyA

relevance.

 

 

It is necessary to clear away such mistranslations

which is why mAyA in the Vedas is a valid topic in the

light of, in particular, Westernised superimpositions.

 

 

Back to the 'breathed'. If we use the word 'spoken' as

may be implied by 'The Word was spoken' we soon get

into a dualistic arena where the phonemes sport and

play. The word 'breathed' takes us beyond the

phonemes to their vey source in 'That One' who without

breath breathed. That is atman, that is brahman.

Etymologically atman is rooted in 'breath'.

 

So you had the right text and now you have my

reasoning.

 

By the way, re. Agatha Christie. I never read novels

and I have never understood the male love of 'Action

movies' and the female attraction to 'murder

mysteries.' OK. So I am weird and really boring at

dinner parties when the latest movie or blockbuster

book is being discussed.

 

Best wishes

 

Ken Knight

 

`From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed,

breathed forth.'

 

 

 

=====

‘From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed, breathed forth.’

 

 

 

 

 

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