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Wisdom from Vedanta

Posted by: " Uttishthata " uttishthata

Wed May 23, 2007 8:04 pm (PST)

The consciousness of the conscious

 

The definition of the Soul is: that which cannot be felt by the mind

but which enables the mind to feel!

 

Let us also understand the consciousness of the conscious?

 

" There the sun does not shine, neither do the moon, and the stars;

nor do these flashes of lightning shine. How can this fire? He

shining, all these shine; through His lustre all these are variously

illuminated. "

 

Shvetashvtara Upanishad[6: 14]

 

Meaning:

 

There the sun does not shine, neither do the moon, and the stars;

 

nor do these flashes of lightning shine.

 

How can this fire?

 

He shining, all these shine; through His lustre all these are

variously illuminated. [6:14]

 

Few philosophical insights:

 

Tatra Surya na bhati:

 

There in the Supreme Self the sun though it is illuminator of

everything does not shine, i.e. it does not revel Brahman. For the

sun illumines all the forms through the light of Brahman indeed, who

is the Self of all. In itself the sun has no power of illumination.

 

na chandra-tarakam:

 

Similarly, neither do the moon and the stars illumine the Brahman.

 

Na imah vidyutah bhanti:

 

neither do these flashes of lightening shine.

 

Kutah ayam agnih:

 

How can this fire that is known to us?

 

To be short: The fact that this world shines it is because

 

tam eva bhantam, anubhati sarvam:

 

He Himself shining, being effulgence by nature; it anubhati, shines

accordingly- as for instance, hot-iron burn not by itself but when

coming in contact with the fire does so. It takes the heat from the

fire and burns. Actually heat of the fire burns but we say hot-iron

burns.

 

Tasya Bhasa, sarvam idam vibhati:

 

Through His lustre alone; all these, sun etc. shine.

 

It has also been said, " Being illumined by whose light the sun

shines " (Tai.Br. 3.12.9.7); " Neither the sun nor the moon or fire

illumines That, that is My Supreme Abode, going whither they return

not. " (Bhagavad Gita 15.6)

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

The Hindu believes that he is a spirit. Him the sword cannot pierce-

him the fire cannot burn-him the water cannot melt-him the air cannot

dry (Gita 2:23). The Hindu believes that every soul is a circle whose

circumference is nowhere, but whose center is located in the body,

and that death means the change of this center from body to body.

- Swami Vivekananda