[Advaita-l] Atman -- soul or witness or both ?

Michael Shepherd michael at shepherd87.fsnet.co.uk
Thu Aug 27 04:29:39 CDT 2009


Namaste Sarma

Thank you for the reminder of saksin. It seems to be a term less frequently met than atman. But somewhere in Advaita Vedanta, the threefold saksi-bhasya are noted (pratibhasika, sukha-duhkha, avidya) as the full range of the witness self, and I'd be grateful for the reference. 

Also what seems a valuable reference, that saksin is never seen by itself, but only in conjunction with antakarana.. ?

It's the practical aspect of saksi-chaitanya that interests me. How to stay with saksin, as the witness consciousness, since the unlimited sense of the Self is the gate to self-knowledge.

Ramana Maharshi's 'short-cut' -- especially in its Tamil interpretation -- is supremely effective in this respect. (Am I right in thinking that saksin is not mentioned in the many writings about him, or have I missed it due to English translation ?)

And there are many other methods used. Giiving detached attention to every thought, word and action, for a start. At the moment, I'm experimenting with resting the attention on para -- which affects the regularity and depth of breathing, without messing with it; that seems to be useful for me personally. And constant returning of the mind to rest with the aid of mantra also.

My view is -- if it's true, then it's practical; and if it's practical, then it's true.. so thanks for the reminder of saksin : and I'd be grateful for chapter and verse about saksin in Advaita-Vedanta..

Michael



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शिवशासनतश्शिवशासनतः शिवशासनतश्शिवशासनतः ।।

Best Regards,
Syam
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