Guest guest Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 SAI RAM Dear Brothers and Sisters, We have seen that Atman is the substratum upon which everything is superimposed. Let us understand this in some details. Somebody calls himself a Brahmin; somebody else Kshatriya or Vaisya or Sudra. These are the castes in Hindu religion. Sometimes we refer to people, as Whites, Blacks etc. etc. Again there are also four divisions in HIndu system which are called as stages in life or as Ashramas viz., Brahmacharya(celibate or unmarried), Gruhasta(the house-holder), Vanaprastha(recluse) and the Sanyasin(mendicant). These divisions are created by the difference in quality and texture of the human equipment( Upadhi) viz., the gross, the subtle and causal bodies. We know that the physical structure, the emotional texture and intellectual calibre differ from person to person. But Atman which functions through these Upadhis is one and the same. It remains changeless and unaffected by the external divisions of caste, color and position or Asrama. Just as different flavours, colours etc., are superimposed on water, these diverse factors are superimposed on the one Atman. Now, water acquires different flavours and colours, when it is mixed with objects possesing those flavours and colours. Everyone of us is aware that water is colourless and tasteless. Water retains its properties even when it is mixed with flavour and colour. Nevertheless, taste and colour are attributed to water by virtue of its association with those extraneous substances. Similarly, Atman is immaculate and ever the same in all beings. The gross, subtle and causal bodies associating with it project their qualities upon the pure Atman. If we withdraw our identification with our matter equpment, and establish our identity with our pure Self(Atman), we will experience the homogeneous nature of the infinite Self. Thus the properties of and limitations of the equipment are superimposed on the immutable and illimitable Atman because of its identification with them. The Upadhis are temporary. They come and go. The Chandogya Upanishad proclaims that the Atman , the Divine, the immortal is the self of every being. It is the true nature of man. This is the pure and perfect , the birthless and deathless reality in which we all are one. Soham Asmi ( I am He) and Aham Bramhasmi ( I am Brahman)are the Vedantic declarations leading to the highest equation of all. (to be continued) With Loving SAI RAMs, G.Balasubramanian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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