Para Brahma

Maya has played its trick on me. I tried to imagine the maya prapancha resolving itself in brahman. Maya is situated in brahman from its own standpoint and its own reality is in brahman. This is known via shastra. It need not manifest as ones experience. Given experience is itself mithya. When we try to explain experience we use mithya vada. When we accept the mithyatvam of experience, given brahman or self alone is satyam, and from brahmans standpoint there is no explanation etc. there is nothing else in the first place. From mithya standpoint only we are talking about brahman and moksha and all that, all the time from the mithya standpoint while being satyam all the time.

So I am satyam, me saying this is mithya, me explaining it is mithya, me seeing the self as satyam is mithya, me explaining the world as mithya is mithya. By explaining the world as mithya, my smallness is mithya, I am the all pervading satyam. Ishvaras maya is mithya, ishvara is me the same all pervading satyam. That is the oneness of me and ishvara, we only differ in name and form and not in reality. Our reality is one and the same, non dual.

Jnana, Karma and Bhakti

 There are 3 types of bhakti

1. Upasana bhakti

2. Karma bhakti

3. Jnana bhakti

Upasana bhakti, is when we bring the lord in a particular form and show our love, devotion and dedication for the lord. Within upasana there are various types of expressing bhakti

1. Mantra Japa dhyana

2. Nama japa

3. Parayana

4. Emotional Sankeerthana

Karma bhakti , is when karma involves ishvara arpana and ishvara prasadatva.

1. Ishvara arpana involves understanding what to give the lord. The lord can only be given sattvic actions, done to achieve dharmic desires, or for the sake of fulfilling ones own dharma. So basically offering dharmic karma

2. Ishvara prasadatvam means while performing actions, understanding that the action will lead to a ishvara prasditva result, which means for the action , ishvara will give a prasada as he sees fit, which you can receive and enjoy 

Jnana bhakti

Jnana bhakti is when one engages in sravana , manana, nidhidhyasanam, and that leads to the removal of ajnana, and understanding that atma is the same as this ishvara, in the paramarthika sense.

In the vyavaharika plane, one continues karma and upasana bhakti, as it saguna.

In paramarthika understanding I keep the understanding that I am nirguna chaitanya wherein, me and my lord are one and the same.

Atma is brahman

 Atma the self is brahman

Brahman means the light of all lights

The light of consciousness

Consciousness that is not limited by anything else other than itself

I am the light of all lights

I alone am the reality 

I 

You and I are mere words

This and that are mere words

Word and meanings are not real

They are mithya , or appear to be real

They appear to exist

But they have no independent existence

I am the existence , the only existence

So when we say , this exists, that exists,

The exists is myself the light of consciousness

and the 'this' and 'that' are the words and their meanings

Vacharambanam vikaro namadheyam, mrtka eva satyam

I alone illumine these names and forms

And the names and forms appear to exist , with borrowed existence

and this existence is I alone

Ishvara or god, is the source of this universe, and I am that source

Ishvara with maya shakti is the lord of this universe, and this maya shakti is mithya

I am the existence that enlivens and sustains this maya shakti

In me maya shakti is, and with this maya shakti I appear as bhagavan, the benevolent one

I manifest this universe with my maya shakti, and rule it and resolve it back

I have total control over my maya shakti and this universe and its beings, I run this leela

This is the truth that is known from the upanishads 

With the grace of the guru and the lord

With a guru any jiva can know this truth and be liberated forever from this confusion that leads to samsara

One attains ones own real nature , which is truth, beauty and self shining and whole and spotless or faultless.

Sarvam brahma mayam

 All that is here is brahman

In the beginning there was only brahman

He became many as though, into space, earth, fire, water and air

All these elements and elementals combined to give rise to life forms

He reflected in these life forms and began experiencing the world he has manifest out of himself as though

His reality is pure consciousness. He has not become this jagat, he is only available as though as jagat, but in reality has never become this jagat or undergone any change.

He is none other than I. 

In the begining I alone was,

I became many as though, into space, fire, air , water and earth

All these elements and elementals combined into give rise to life forms

I refelect on these life forms making them appear to be endowed with consciousness, and undertake various activities

As the controller of these elements, elementals and the life forms, I manage this manifestation, as its ruler, controller, and the giver of results of actions, I myself undertake under the influence of ignorance.

I myself am the doer, the receiver and the giver of fruits of action. From the standpoint of the individual, I am ishvara the protector, and form the standpoint of me as ishvara, I am the compassionate ruler and mother and father of all beings, directing them towards self realization.

I am none other than this pure consciousness who appears as all of the above, without having ever become any of the above. Hence I am non dual, I am changeless, I am birthless, formless, limitless, and whole, without any parts thereof.

I am non dual, as there is no other besides me.

Who is there to be other than me, as I alone am all that is here.

I as an individual am grateful to myself as the guru and myself as ishvara, and myself as the knowledge, for having freed myself from my own ignorance, and as though freed me, myself who was is and never will be bound ever, as there is nothing besides me to bind my anyway.

Harih om.

Maya and Atma

 With self ignorance, maya has the self under her spell.

With self knowledge, self ignorance is destroyed, and the self is free from maya. In fact maya depends on the self for its existent.

This same self appears to be a hapless jiva under the spell of maya, whereas, this self is the atma upon which maya depends for its existence.

Atma is neither ignorant, nor knowledgeable, atma just IS or AM.  

This atma keeping maya under his control, is ishvara. This same atma is sakshi chaitanyam. With ignorance, the jiva considers this atma or himself to be a separate jiva, when in fact he is the atma alone.

So this ignorance is attributed to the jiva, but is an upadhi , and the atma is not tainted by this ignorance, though is the ashraya for this ignorance as well. With ishvaras maya shakti, he gives self knowledge , which removes this ignorance, and the jiva discovers his oneness with ishvara. So through the maha vakya, ishvara advertises his oneness with the jiva to the jiva. Ishvara tells jiva, that you are Myself in fact. My self is you indeed. And due to ignorance you are considering yourself to be a separate individual. Thus ishvara becomes the cause for liberation via guru and shastra.

I am atma

 I am atma

This jagat appears in me, is myself, appearing as jada prapancha

It is due to maya shakti

Maya shakti is myself appearing as maya shakti

Due to this maya shakti, I appear to be an ishvara

As this ishvara, I appear to have manifested myself as many things as this jada prapancha

I appear as various jivas reflecting in the sukshma shariras

I have myself never undergone any change or become any of these

But I appear as all of these

I am free from all these appearances always , and have never had or will ever have these appearances, with which I am appearing

This knowledge itself is myself appearing as this knowledge

I am not even this knowledge in reality

I am totally free even from knowledge

Jivanmukta

 Who is a jivanmmukta?

One who understands that one is a mukta while alive is jivanmukta.

What is his understanding?

His understanding is that he is mukta svarupa

Was he bound in the first place and then became freed, and hence mukta?

No, he was always a mukta svarupa, but due to ignorance he thought he was bound

What kind of bondage was it?

It was a bondage born of ignorance, where the mukta svarupa self was thought to be bound and tied to repeated cycle of birth and death and hence thinking himself to be a "one among" many entities , called as a jiva

What knowledge frees this jiva from jivatvam?

Knowledge of self being brahman frees him , as he understands he is not a separate self, rather he is the non dual self

What is this knowledge?

This knowledge is a mahavakya that equates jiva and ishvara

What is jiva in the mahavakya?

Jiva is the self with ignorance, and 3 bodies (sthula sukshma karana shariras), the one who considers himself as a bound, and as a karta and bhokta

What is ishvara in the mahavakya?

Ishvara is the ruler of the cosmos, who is worshipped by jiva, and who doles our the results of karma for the karmas performed by jiva

What is the equation?

The equation is not in terms of the literal meaning, but rather the implied meaning.

What is the implied meaning?

The implied meaning is that jiva is in reality the sakshi chaitanyam, of the nature of consciousness, who is witness of 3 states of waking dreaming and sleeping, and knower of the bodies (sthula sukshma karana sharira).

The implied meaning is that ishvara is the consciousness principle who with maya upadhi manifests this jagat and is himself entering the jagat as though the various jivas.

The oneness is possible, when jiva understands that he is in fact this ishvara consciousness, who himself is the self of all, who with maya upadhi manifest this universe.

What are the various components of mahavakya?

Various components are 

1. Jiva consciousness

2. Ishvara consciousness

3. Maya

4. Individual sharira with individual ego

5. Jagat including the shariras of all other beings

Which of these are satya?

1. and 2. that is jiva and ishvara consciousness are satyam

Which of these are anadi karanams?

1., 2. and 3. as well as karna shariras of 4. and 5. are anadi

Which of these are karyams?

Only jagat and the individual sharira (excluding karana sharira) are karyams

Which if these are vivarta karanam?

Jiva and ishvara consciousness are vivarta karnam

Which one is a parinami karanam?

Maya that includes the karana shariras, is a parinami karanam

How is mahavakya possible?

In mahavakya we say the jiva consciousness and ishvara consciousness are in fact satyam, unqualified consciousness, which happen to be as though associated as the vivarta karanam, which is in fact not a karanam, which is self existent and self evident, atman the self.

Is maya satyam?

No maya is mithya, it is a parinami anadi karanam that has its existence in satyam atma, has no existence of its own. It is not non existent either, it is said to be neither existent, nor non existent, nor both existent and non existent at the same time, it is existent without having its own existence rather having its existence in satyam atma , such as status is said to be mithya status.

Is atma satyam?

Yes atma is self existent, self evident satyam.

Is atma anantam?

Yes being the universal all pervasive self of all that is here, it is anantam.