[Advaita-l] New member introduction: Shakthi Prashanth

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

Shaktiji - PraNams

First no body is going to convince you unless you are ready to be convinced by shruti, yukti and anubhava.

Just as a background one person went to Ramana Maharshi and started this question with an introduction - Bhagavaan, this question has been bothering me, I have asked so many mahaatmaas and no one is able to convince me. That is why I came here to get an answer from you .. With that introduction, he was about to start the question. Bhagavaan immediately stopped him and said there is no need to ask the question as I will not be convincing you. He essentially sent him away. When asked about it by other disciples, Bhagavaan just said, he loves his question and he is not ready to give up. 

I am not trying to put you in that castigatory but I do not think you have give enough thought to Shree Bhaskar's answer to your question.

Now just look at your question carefully if you can see the contradiction in the statements. Brahman means infiniteness or limitless. If I say I am Brahman - it means I understand that there is nothing other than me. If there is then I am not Brahman or not understood that I am Brahman.  If I understand that I am Brahman not as thought but as a fact - all questions, questioner and answers etc will cease.  That is called paaramaarthika satyam. Going your own analysis Brahman is also non-negatable since there is no one else to negate Brahman, by definition.

Now you have provided the meaning of aham as non-negatable entity. Which means you are not the body, mind and intellect - the three equipments you have and which you can negate as you go through waking, dream and deep sleep states.  This analysis also comes from the analysis of the avasthaatrayam from Mandukya Upanishad -mantra 7. 

Logically you cannot negate yourself since you have to be there even to negate. 

Scripture says prajnaanam Brahma - meaning consciousness is Brahman - It is expressed in converse form which is mathematically precise - implying it is necessary and sufficient - similar to H2O is water and water is H2O. - This is called swaruupa lakshaNa. Implication is if there is a conscious entity that must be Brahman by the scriptural definition.
For conviction of the scriptural statement one needs shraddha.

For you to be non-negatable entity - you have to be conscious entity since unconscious entity cannot negate anything.

Hence from your analysis, you cannot but be Brahman since you are non negatable and Brahman is non negatable (being infinite) and you are conscious entity and Brahman is pure consciousness itself and for Brahman to be Brahman there should not be anything other than Brahman, the limitless. Hence by shear logic one should get convinced the scriptural statement - tat tvam asi. The conviction does not come unless the mind is prepared. Hence insistence on sadhana chatuShTaya and approach of an appropriate or sampradaaya Vedatic teacher.

In order to understand - the meaning of the instructions that Brahman in your heart etc one has to understand the symbolic language used to uplift the mind of the seeker to see beyond its limitations. 

I have written introduction to Vedanta you can get from the website - www.adviataforum.org under discourses or go directly to Dennis Waite’s website www.advaita.org.uk where he has edited some of these essays. You can also look into the 11 essays I recently posted in this list with the title – A Perspective.  

My best wishes in pursuit of the answers to your questions. 

I am sending separately to you too since for some reason my posts do not seem to appear in the distribution at large. My apologies if you end up with two copies.

Hari Om!
Sadananda 




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Shakthi Prashanth shakthi.prashanth at ymail.com 
Tue Dec 8 23:04:04 CST 2009 


Hi All,

Thank you so much for such a great response from all of you.

But I have also heard an interpretation like this:

"Aham Brahmasmi"
ham - means reject-able            [in Sanskrit.]
Aham - means Non-reject-able   [in Sanskrit.]
Brahma - Greatest                    [in Sanskrit.]

So, it comes to a conclusion that,
The one which is Non-reject-able  is the Greatest.

But that is not Me. Because, Narayanopanishat says
 that,
Padmakosha prateekasham hrudayachapyatho mukham
Tasyaanthe suhiram sookhmam tasmin sarvam pratishtitam

That means, 
There is just-born lotus flower being held inverted [pointing to heart], 
and there is pin point space in it which is omnipotent.

My
question if I am Brahman, then who is controlling my birth, death, this
world, life, and infinite no. of activities that are happening?
And suppose we assume that I am Brahman, then By etymology I am
 Greatest. So am I controlling everything?


Please answer this. I am very thirst to know about it.

Shakthi