Atma satyam

OM

Atma is satyam.

When we say atma, it is  understood through neti , neti.

मनो बुद्ध्यहंकारचित्तानि नाहम् न च श्रोत्र जिह्वे न च घ्राण नेत्रे
न च व्योम भूमिर् न तेजॊ न वायु: चिदानन्द रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम् ॥

So this neti neti, the one who thinks, the thinker, the one who is aware of thoughts, is awareness.
To be aware is a function, while the functionless awarer is the atma. Oneself.

Oneself is also the same in waking , dreaming, sleeping. Oneself is not subject to birth or death, and is also beyond time and space.

One cannot locate oneself in time and space, hence is called as paramArtha satyam, not available as a separate entity, only as the truth of the awarer. Same truth of the awarer is the truth of all that is here.

Hence atma is satyam. All that is here is mithya.

How can I feel alone?

As the world cowers in fear
And hides its face in utter shame
Over heinous deeds, of greed and lust,
Why should I feel alone?

Why should I feel alone?
As I read Tagore
His call to freedom
He is with me
Why should I feel alone?

As I get inspired by Shankara
The ancient speech of the upanisads
Resounds in my heart
Why should I feel alone?

Am I not with the guru
The remover of darkness
The harbinger of light
The sun of suns

Why should one feel alone?

The impossibility of action

It is not possible for the self to exercise it's will and perform any action at all. Since essentially the self is free from all organs , it has no organs of action, no mind, no intellect, self is just pure awareness consciousness, vast , endless, eternal, and limitless real.

In this vast sky of chit, there isn't amy organ of action, no objects, no people, nothing. There isnt 3 states of waking, dreaming or sleeping, the manifest universe itself is not there, neither is there an unmanifest universe.  There is no seeker, there is nothing sought, only pure satchidanannda. Shivam alone is.

Reverential Attitude towards Material

Our tradition, imbibes a revertential attitude towards material. We look upon, and rightly so in keeping with the upanisadic vision, we look upon material as lakshmi. As brahman.

Material is worshipped and rightly valued in our cultural and traditional lineage.

A book is worshipped as saraswati, coins and cash are values as lakshmi. The home itself is worshipped, and homas are performed for the home. Before starting construction we do bhumi pooja. Then we have a festival called as 'ayudha pooja' in tamilnadu and southern states. We take all the instruments, vehicles etc. and worship them.Clothes and so on, new clothes , before wearing , we keep near Pooja altar, apply some turmeric or kumkum and only then we wear.

Farmers worship the crops, and the harvest. Rivers and water bodies are worshipped. Cows, birds and animals are also worshipped in various ways. There are temples for rats, snakes, and many animals are vAhanAs or vehicles of the lord. Matsya , kurma and varAha are in fact avatAras.

Food is worshipped before eating, we worship food.

Coming further, we do not at all shy away from worshipping the forms of gods and humans. Mother and father are worshipped by children, every person is valued , for their role.

During the marriage ceremony, both the bride and groom are considered as a god and goddess. During sandhya vandanam worship, we invoke the various devatas in our body parts.

We regularly worship the lord, ishvara in various forms. Forms such as shiva, visnu, bhagavathi, shAsta, muruga, ganapathi and so many more are worshipped.

Most famously , we do love to keep a picture of the gurus, our beloved gurus in the pooja room, and worship. When we meet them, we do pAda puja, and worship them.

The sun and the heavenly bodies are equally worshipped. Lord shiva is worshipped as all 5 elements space, air, fire, water, earth.

To all that is here, sthula, sukshma and kArana, matter and energy, known and unknown we say namaH. Time is worshipped, the lord is worshipped as kAla devata.

Both the worshipper and the worshipped is one non dual atman that is brahman.

GAYATRI MAHIMA - 7 POINTS

Prologue: 

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To perform a task well, and with concentration, we need shraddha, or basically should have good value for it.

We have excellent value for eating nice food, so we eat well, we eat with relish, not as a burden, "Oh my god, why am i eating, it is such a burden etc" this problem we dont have with eating, since we enjoy it, as it gives immediate value, immediate joy, immediate relish.

I want to analyse the value provided from chanting the gayatri mantra along these lines. I am listing a few facts about the gayatri mantra.

I am going to base these on swami paramarthanandas lecture on gayatri mantra.

Facts About Gayatri Mantra:
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1. Any mantra will be effective if we chant after remembering these three: rishi, metre, and devata

RISHI 
a. The Gayatri mantra was discovered by Vishwamitra rishi
b. Vishvamitra (viśvā-mitra) is one of the most venerated rishis
c. Author of most of Mandala 3 of the Rigveda
d. In Ramayana, Vishvamitra is the preceptor of Rama and Lakshmana
e. Vishvamitra gives them the knowledge of the Devastras guides them to kill powerful demons like Tataka, Maricha and Subahu
f. He also leads them to the svayamvara of sita mata
METREa. The shortest and most sacred of Vedic meters is the Gayatri metre
b. It consists of three octosyllabic feet (pada, 3x8) with 24 syllables
c. The mantra we chant in sandhya worship is nichrud gayatri, has one syllabel less, therefore 23 syllables
DEVATA
a. Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati are different aspects of Sandhya Devi
b. ojo’si saho’si balamasi bhraajo’si devanaam dhaama naamasi , is said glorifying gayatri devi, this means
You are indriya shakti, you are manas shakti, and you are sharirah shakti, and the brightness or effulgence you are. You are the also the abode of gods as well as the effulgence of gods. Naamasi, all names are your names only.
c. Vishvamasi visjvaayuhu sarvamasi sarvaayuhu. You are the whole universe. You are the very life and sustaining principle of the whole universe. You are everything in the universe. And you are the sustaining principle of all beings in the universe.
d. abhi bhoo has two meanings. One is sarva vyapakah and another is one who conquers everyone. That is the one who is ever victorious.
e. By glorifying Gayatri we are implying and asking indirectly that SHE must confer us with all these qualities. That you must give me manas shakti, indriya shakti, sharirah shakti, you must give me ayuhu ( long life) and you must also give me victory. You are OM also. All these are praises (glories) of Sandhya Devi.

2. Gayatri is glorified as the essence of the Vedas:what we chant contains the whole Veda.
The pranava has three part: Aa, Oo, um. It has akara is rig veda saram, Ookara is yajur veda sara, and makara is sama veda sara. So is Bhoor which is Rig veda sara, bhuvah Yajur and SuvaH is Sama. Similarly tad svitur varenyam is Rig, bhargo devasya dheemahi is Yajur and dhiyo yo naH prachodayaat is Sama veda saram. So all three – pranava, vyakriti and gayatri – are veda traya saraH. So what we chant contains the whole Veda.
Brahma milked from the three Vedas and brought these three: OM, Vyakriti and Gayatri. Just as honey is taken from many flowers, the ghee is taken from milk, ....in the same way pranava, vyakriti and gayatri are the essence of the Vedas.
Brahmaji thought we may not have the time to chant the whole Vedas and so HE simplified them to Gayatri mantra with these three components. Some complained it was too long and so HE simplified to VyAkriti. Then again some people complained saying “bhoor-bhuvah-suvah” is too long. The lord simplified it to just OM. That’s why we have taken the essence in three parts: pranava, vyAkriti and gayatri. So gayatri mantra is Veda matha or Veda saraH. Therefore chanting of this mantra is equivalent to the chanting the whole Veda.
Even if a person cannot chant the whole of one Veda, he is supposed to know Gayatri mantra to claim he is a Hindu or Vaidika.

3. Minus Gayatri all other study is useless, with Gayatri no other study is required.
There is a story that Brahmaji brought a balancing scale to find out whether the Vedas are greater or Gayatri. All the mantras were kept in one pan and Gayatri in the other, Gayatri was found to be far, far superior. That is the reason that when the brahmachari is initiated in the upanayanam, Gayatri is taught. It is as good as studying the whole Vedas. That’s why Gayatri upadesa is called as Brahma Upadesa.

4. Another greatness of Gayatri is in the Vedas the Gayatri mantra is meditated upon as Brahman itself. It is veda upadesa and it is also para brahma upadesa. Second glory is it is Brahman itself.

5. Gayatri mantra is the best mantra for “Shudha Prapthi” and “Ashudhi Nivrithi”. It is excellent for purification, it is also excellent for removing all the impurities. Therefore it is often prescribed as a prayachita mantra.

6.There is no greater danam that annam and udagam (food and water), there is no greater vrittam than ekadasi vrittam, and what is relevant here is there is no greater mantra than Gayatri. And there is no greater god than mother.

7. Finally Gayatri mantra is also prescribed as a kavacham. A person who chants Gayatri regualarly has an armour of protection with him. Protection against amcharika karma like even black magic. So there is no need for a Gayatri chanter to go looking for other kavachams like Skanda Shasti kavacham or Shiva kavacham or Vishnu kavacham etc. All the other kavachams are required only when Gayatri is not there, if Gayatri is there then no other kavacham is required.

EPILOGUE

Therefore, the next time we chant the gayatri, let us relish the greatness of gayatri, which will automatically create the neccessary shraddha and concentration, whenever we chant gayatri. By understanding its value, we are able to easily relish it without any distractions, or higher priority.

Is it possible to become brahman?

The answer to this question is simple for anyone who is learning for a period of time from a traditional acharya. The answer is an emphatic no, it is never possible to become brahman!

Well, if so, you may ask, then what is all this business, what is everyone trying to achieve if you cannot become brahman, what does aham brahmasmi mean, hasnt the jnani become brahman?

Answer is no person can ever become brahman, since he is already brahman, In fact this brahman, that he is, it Alone is. There is not a second thing at all, and he is already that brahman.

If you are already sachin tendulkar, can you become sachin tendulkar. What does sachin tendulkar need to do, in order to become sachin tendulkar?

Krishna tells karna, hey karna, do you know there is a sixth son for kunti . I can produce the sixth son in front of you. Now karna may wait in expectation. Then krsna says "you are the eldest son of kunti, the jyesta putra". Now karna cannot ask for an experience of kunti putra, neither can he say that he has all of a sudden "become" kunti putra. What he already was, has now been brought to his notice, now has been communicated to him, in so many words by lord krsna himself. So what he was already, he has come to know.

Therefore the pursuit of a vedantin, is not to become brahman, which is not at all possible, rather it is
a. To understand what is brahman
b. To remove the misunderstandings sorrounding the self
c. To understand that brahman is oneself

Once this knowledge takes place, in the absence of obstructions, this knowledge is EVER available in the mind alone, called as sthithaprajna, and in the light of this knowledge, the mind is able to enjoy ones own true nature, the self evident , self shining brahman, shines even more brightly through the jnani upAdhi, the gurus upAdhi.

Needless to say, to gain this knowledge, one has to go to a shrortiya brahmanishta guru, and listen to the shAstras , for a period of time, while simultaneously gaining the adhikAratvam for knowledge.

Tasmai shri gurave namaH.

5 ways of changing attitudes

1. From the one who is always wanting, change to one who is always contributing

2. From the one who complains about situations, change to one who accepts and acts accordingly

3. From the one who is afraid of situations, change to one who can face them and conquer them

4. From the one who finds fault in others, change to one who sees the good in others

5. From the one who is controlled by anger and desire, change to one who is the master of anger and       desire.

16 Statements on Atma

1. Bhagavan is manifest as all that is here, in fact all that is here, is a manifestation of bhagavan.

2. This includes the laws, the natural laws, the various orders and the various beings within the order.

3. An individual jiva , is Given a body mind complex, in keeping with the law or order of karma.

4. Based on the actions performed by a jiva, this jiva aquires a body and is reborn in next janma

5. The other elements are also ishvaras manifestation, lawfully manifesting and performing their duties.

6. The sun, the moon, the heavenly bodies, the earth, and all the creatures of the earth effortlessly follow the natural order, in harmony.

7. The jiva in the body of a  human being is given a free will, which means one can go against the order

8. Performing actions enjoined on the human, the svadharma, he acquires what is known as punya. This leads to conducive situations and higher births , as well as purifies the heart

8. Not performing actions enjoined to him, or else performing other actions, or else going against the order and performing actions that are adharmic, earns papa. This leads to non conducive situations and lower births, which will have to be nullified through appropriate prAyaschita karmas, available in the vedas.

9. The free will can and ultimately will have to be used to achieve non limited goals, since the jiva is in fact searching for the limitlessness.

10. This limitlessness cannot be claimed in terms of the upAdhi, or the body, however can be claimed as ones own nature, since the being is consciousness.

11. The being is consciousness, atma. This atma is the witness of the three states of waking , dreaming and sleeping.

12. This witness consciousness, is not limited by space or time, being the awareness that is aware of space and time.

13. In fact this awareness, or consciousness or atma, is that bhagavan, which is the lord of the universe.

14. This is since the same consciousness , with reference to the universe, is the enlivener, intelligence, as well as the one who provides reality and existence to the universe.

15. The universe is a dependent reality, depending on atma , for existence.

16. Knowing that I am the atma, that is non dual, and which is in fact the universal bhagavan, is indeed declared to be the ultimate freedom by the vedas revealed by bhagavan.

VairAgyam

Vairagyam can be looked upon as knowledge.

Aham , the self is atma that is free from modification, or change, and is complete and full at all times, and in all places.
Atma is consciousness, or self that is not limited by a second entity, neither consists of any parts.

This atma w.r.t anything in the universe is satyam and the universe is non separate from atma.

All forms of ishvara, and ishvara as the srshti karta, and the srshti, are none other than this brahman alone, which is in the form of ishvara.

W.r.t the ishvaratvam, brahman is the abhinna nimitta upAdana kAranam.

This is the teaching of vedanta, based on which, one understands the status as self, atma or brahman.

Being brahman, one is desireless, and has no relation to actions and its results.