Guest guest Posted April 27, 2007 Report Share Posted April 27, 2007 SAI RAM Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad indicates the Atman as follows:- " It is neither gross nor minute, neither short nor long; it possesses neither red colour nor oiliness;it is neither shadow nor darkness; neither air nor ether. It is unattached...... It is without eyes or ears,without the vocal organ or mind;it does not have material luminosity(like that of fire0; it is without the vital force of mouth; it can not be measured by anything;it is without interior or exterior. " In other words, it is devoid of all features; it is one only without a second, and so " what is there that can be specified and through what with refernce to the immutable one " , as Acharya Sankara puts it. The immutable principle is is the witness or the factor that manifests the objects of the world, and it could not be known through instruments of cognition. " By the immutable consciousness, the unmanifested ether is pervaded, and there is no other witness but this. This immutable principle is the Self,the pure Being " .The Atma is thus referred to by these texts as free from any relation to any phenomenonal element. These texts are negative in nature as they convey the Atma as what is not rather than what it is. There are certain Upanishidic texts which are affirmative in nature as they convey the essential nature of the Atma. The anandavalli section of the Taittiriya Upanishad commences with the aphoristic statement that he who realizes the Atma attains the Supreme. (Brahamavid apnoti Param) and it explains the significance of the word Atma by stating that it is real, cosciouness and infinite. It is Consciouness itself and that consciousness is not its attribute, It is infinite in the sense that it is not circumscribed by time,space and objects. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that Atma is consciouness and bliss. From these texts--the affirmative and the negative ones--the Atma is ascertained to be real, consciousness, infinite and bliss, and is free from any quality( guna) and duality(dvaitam). (to be continued) With Loving SAI RAMs, G.Balasubramanian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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