निषिध्य निखिलोपाधीन् नेति नेतीति वाक्यतः ।
विद्यादैक्यं महावाक्यैः जीवीत्मपरमात्मनोः ॥२९॥
niShidhya nikhilopaadheen neti neteeti vaakyatah l
vidyaadaikyam mahaavaakyaihi jeeveetmaparamaatmanoho ll29ll
By a process of negation of the conditionings (Upadhis) through the help of the Scriptural statement “It is not this, It is not this”, the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul as indicated by the great mahaavaakyas, has to be realized.
It is said in this verse that by negating one by one the various limitations or conditionings associated with the jeeva, through the study of the great mahaavaakyas, the one Supreme Reality, the one common thread running through the whole universe the jeevatma as well as the Paramatma (the Original Consciousness) is to be ascertained.
Now first of all, we have to understand the various mahaavaakyas that are there in the four Upanishads. Even though there are hundreds of mahaavaakyas throughout our Scriptures, it is essential to know the main four. They are as follows:
* Prajnaanam Brahma- Consciousness is Brahman- Rig Veda
* Aham Brahama asmi- I am Brahman- Yajur Veda
* Tat tvam asi- that thou art/are- Sama Veda
* Ayam Atma Brahma- This Atma is Brahman- Atharvana Veda
All these point out the oneness (aikyam) between the individual jeevatma and the Paramatma.
Now we have already learnt that the gross, subtle and causal bodies of the jeevatma and the Paramatma both act as reflecting media for the one Original Consciousness, which is reflected in these media giving rise to a complex personality and a complex world. To understand this concept let us take the example of water. Suppose there is pure water in a container and there are six different coloured pots on a table. Now as we start pouring water in the different pots, to an onlooker the water seems to be differently coloured, but in reality the water seems to have only taken on the colour of the pots. If we separate the water from the pots, it is as pure and colourless as ever. Similarly, the Atma being closely associated with the various bodies is mistaken to have taken on the limitations of these bodies. We have to remove the various conditionings (Upadhis) one by one and claim oneself to the one Atma common in all. The seeker in order to understand the one common thread the original consciousness has to isolate himself from the perceptions of the body felt through the sense organs, the feelings of the mind and the thoughts in the intellect and negate all of them to be not himself. Then what ever remains is the Original Consciousness.
Verse – 29 – 31.12.2015
31 Thursday Dec 2015
Posted Atmabodha
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