[Advaita-l] WHAT AM "I"

[Akilesh Ayyar]

Namaste,

But my point is that technically, Brahman is beyond I and not-I, is beyond
is and is not, and is beyond something and nothing. In a very important
sense, the I is precisely what is absolutely non-existent, as non-existent
as the horn of a hare. In the end, nothing can be said that is true, and so
one must fall silent. It is that living silence which is the real
teaching of Vedanta.

On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 3:05 AM Sudhanshu Shekhar <sudhanshu.iitk at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hari Om,
>
> "I am something" just means that it is not that I am nothing. I am not
> horn of hare.. this is what is meant by "I am something".
>
> What I said abot I is what silence is. It is nothing which can be
> conceived of. And yet it is. That silence is not horn of hare. And that
> silence cannot be conceived of.
>
> Sudhanshu.
>
> On Fri 7 Jun, 2019, 12:29 Akilesh Ayyar via Advaita-l, <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
>> Namaste,
>>
>> "Thus, a complete description of I is as follows: I am something. And I am
>> not that which I can even think about."
>>
>> Not quite. To say "I am something" is also a thought with all the
>> accompanying limitations. Thus the only complete description is silence.
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 2:28 AM Sudhanshu Shekhar via Advaita-l <
>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>
>> > Hari Om,
>> >
>> > I am something. I am not nothing. And I am not that which I can see,
>> hear,
>> > smell, touch, taste, feel, decide, or identify with. I am not that
>> which I
>> > can think or visualize.
>> >
>> > This is a complete description of myself.
>> >
>> > Any word of Shruti which appears to describe "I" positively is nothing
>> but
>> > negation alone. "I" cannot be described positively. So words like
>> Satyam,
>> > Jnanam, Anantam etc are not positive but negative description alone. For
>> > eg, I am jnanam. So let us not think that Shruti indicates me as some
>> sort
>> > of "light of awareness" or "consciousness" etc. But She is merely saying
>> > that I am not jada.
>> >
>> > Thus, a complete description of I is as follows: I am something. And I
>> am
>> > not that which I can even think about.
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> > Sudhanshu.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Fri 7 Jun, 2019, 09:55 Belavadi Shankar via Advaita-l, <
>> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>> >
>> > > Please read Ashtawakra Samhita.
>> > >
>> > > On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 7:53 AM sreenivasa murthy via Advaita-l <
>> > > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > > Dear friends,WHAT AM " I "? This  is  the  question
>> > > > which will be in the mind of
>> > > > a sincere student  of  Vedanta.The  answer  for  the  above  vital
>> > > > question  is :
>> > > > The  uncreated , unborn,  light of  awareness  is what  I  am.
>> > > >
>> > > > That is  the basis  substratum,  andcontainer  of  all experiences.
>> > > >
>> > > > Theworld, senses, body,  mind,  waking, dreaming,  sleeping,
>> > > >
>> > > > knowledge,  lack of  knowledge,  consciousness,
>> > > >
>> > > > unconsciousness– whatever  can  be framed  as  some
>> > > >
>> > > > kind  of experience—these  are  allappearances  in  this
>> > > >
>> > > > changeless  reality of  my  being.
>> > > >
>> > > > I  am prior  to  those things  and  yet  Icontain  them  all.
>> > > >
>> > > > No  experience is  separate  and apart  from  what I  am.
>> > > >
>> > > > UNQUOTE.
>> > > > Is it  not  the message  of  the  Upanishads?
>> > > > Allof  us should  cognize  this within  ourselves  by   ourselves
>> > > > so that we can be krutArthas.
>> > > >  Withrespectful namaskars,SreenivasaMurthy.
>> > > >
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