Guest guest Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 SAI RAM DEAR Brother and Sisters, It was ,perhaps, Swamy who has been inspiring this humble self to submit a few postings on Atma by way of sharing of whatever little has been understood and assimilated by this humble self through study of Sai Literature in study circles and through attending satsangs ,discourses etc.etc.,at various forums, locations,platforms etc., on Vedantic topics by eminent scholars, acharyas, swamijis of various missions etc. etc. mostly outside the Sai fold over a period of 50 years or so. Nothing said by this humble self in this forum is new or original. All are based on the limited understanding of the scriptures by this humble self. If there are any imperfections, inaccuracies etc., in the understanding of this self, the request is that they may be ignored, overlooked and pardoned. It was ,perhaps, Swamy again who wanted this humble self to 'look and proceed' as seen from some mails received from a few members. Leaving behind the interruptions , and invoking Swamy`s grace and the good wishes of members let me pick up the thread from where Iit was left. Atma is not an object. It is the very subject. It can not be described by words. Even realized souls find difficulty in expressing in words their vision and experience of Atma. Upanishads use the technique of'negation' ie., " not this, not this " (Neti neti) for indicating Atma--what Atma is not. It is not the five sheaths (kosas), nor the three bodies (sareeras) nor the three states(awasthas). Thus the Upanishads eliminate the various notions a seeker may have about Atma. We also saw some of the positive aspects of Atma. If the positive attributes of Atma were stated first without negations, a seeker is likely to develop wrong notions and confuse Atma with something it is not. Atma is Satchitannda. Now what is sat? Scriptures defines 'sat 'as that which remains unchanged in the three periods of time, past,present and future (Kalatrayapi Tishtatiti Sat). For example, the pot is made of clay. The sat aspect of the pot is the clay which existed before the pot was made, which is in the pot and which will remain after the pot is destroyed. Everything perisheable has got to be made of a substance that is fundamental and permanent. Since the world (jagat) is perisheable , it must be made of a fundamental substance and that is Atma, that was, is and will remain whether or not Jagat exists. This timelessness of Atma is eternity or Sat. (to be continued) With Loving SAI RAMs, G.Balasubramanian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.