ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF” : Mantram 35 - Swami Sri Adi Sankaracharya. Reflections by SWAMI GURUBHAKTANANDA. Chinmaya Mission.

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Saturday, June 12, 2021. 8 :05. AM.. 
ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF”
(68 Slokam-s in  9 Chapters)
Chapter 6 - “The Birth of the EGO” - Sloka-s 25-37 (13 no.)
D. NIDIDHYASANA or MEDITATION ON THE SELF: (34-37)
Mantram - 35: Beyond All Change and Taint (Tatastha Lakshana)
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Mantram - 35: Beyond All Change and Taint (Tatastha Lakshana)

"Aham aakaasha-vat sarvam bahih antar-gatah achyutah;

 sada sarva-samah shuddhah nissangah nirmalah achalah."  ||35||                                                                                   

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Translation :

1 Aham aakaasha-vat sarvam      =  Like Space I fill all things,

2 bahih antar-gatah achyutah;      =  within and without. Changeless,

3 sadaa sarva-samah shuddhah   =  always the same in all, ever pure,

4 nissangah nirmalah achalah.     =  unattached, stainless and motionless (am I).

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Commentary :

The “I” refers to the Supreme Self. There is great need for repetition, and Sri Shankaracharyaji is never found wanting in providing us with a bumper feast!

Repetition in the subject of meditation is welcome, not boring. Meditation itself is a repetitive process. It is something the sage does daily, for hours on end, without tiring. There cannot be boredom in enjoying being in the presence of our own Self.

As we expand our identity beyond the frontiers of individuality, where do we stop? Is  there an end in sight? No.

“Akashavat Sarvam” – The Simile of Space Again :
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1-2 The only simile that can compare with our ever expanding consciousness is Space itself. That is captured in, “I fill all things within and without.”

Space, as inspiring and expansive as it is, is just a concept in the mind. We can only compare the Self to it, but the Self goes beyond it; It has no second to be compared with.

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3-4 However, there is a strong point of similarity: The Self, like space, allows everything to exist in It, yet is not contaminated by anything else. This is the context in which we used the same simile earlier, in verse 10, where it was from the angle of ignorance that we looked at space – as being cut up by our limited individuality into units. This time the context is the opposite. We are seeing it from the angle of the enlightened sage. It is unlimited and pristinely pure.

Reality can have no qualities. If it had, then there would need to be another Reality that would support those qualities. Extending this reasoning would lead lead to an infinite egression, that makes the hypothesis illogical.

End.
Next- Mantram-36. This is What I Am!
To be continued .....

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