In Christianity “sin” is a prohibited action which is said to be committed by violating certain prescribed religious commandments or rules or laws. In the eastern philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism, the word “papah” comes closest to the meaning of “sin”. However, “papah” and “sin” are not synonymous. In the east, whenever the word “sin” or “papah” is used, it means actions which take the jivatma or the conditioned soul in a direction opposite from liberation.
Unlike “sin” in Christianity, the Hindu “papah” is not a crime against God. It just stunts one's evolution or even worse can be the cause of one's devolution. So one may call it a crime against self. In Hinduism, God does not decide the punishment. The Divine laws of nature or the Cosmic Law determines the punishment for wrong actions. For according to the Hindu philosophy, the person within or the soul is not at work. The modes of material nature is at work. Nature or Prakriti, which is full of attibutes or gunas is an integral aspect of the attibuteless Brahman just as heat is an integral aspect of fire. People act according to the three gunas Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. Through action, people accumulate karma or tendencies that form deep tracks or impressions in their minds. People reap the fruits of their karma. Bad karma bears bad fruits. People are subject to the fruits of their good and bad actions. Hindus believe that the goal of human birth is to realize one self or attain liberation from the cycles or birth and death. Papah means the type of accumulated karma which keeps one from progressing toward liberation. It takes one toward tamas or darkness. The antonym of papah is punya. Punya is the accumulated good or virtuous deeds which help the mind evolve toward pure Sattwa and hence toward liberation. Of course for liberation one has to finally transcend Sattwa or mode of goodness since Sattwa also binds the jivatma to the cycle of birth and death. In Hinduism there is no forbidden action as long as one is prepared to face the consequences of one’s action. However, if a person wants liberation, he has to evolve his mind toward the mode of goodness or Sattwa by doing good deeds or virtuous deeds. If one wants to go into deep tamas and bondage, and lead a demoniac or a less evolved existence, then one may choose to be engaged in demoniac activities or papah karma.
Eastern philosophy believes that all “papah” or “accumulated bad karma” or simply “karma”, that which is responsible for the continuation of birth and death cycle, can be cleansed or burned through penance, japa, yoga, meditation, nama samkirtan, etc. etc., activities in which the mind is made to fully engage in the divine thought. By diligently engaging in these divine activities, one can eventually burn all bad tracks from the mind and eliminate the seeds of rebirth. Of course, it is much more difficult for one who has been engaged in demoniac activities to suddenly develop interest for divine activities and do them with diligence. That is why one is warned against papah karma. It takes the mind to lower and lower spheres of evolution and gradually transforms the mind from subtler to grosser.
Now let us talk about the science of papah or sin. We already know sin or papah are related to bad or nonvirtuous actions. Why do we act? At the root of every action there is a thought. Where does thought come from? Thoughts that bind us to the world originate whenever there is contact of the senses with the sense objects. These thoughts lead us to actions that are selfish and become cause of the bondage. The more we do certain action to please our senses, the more the sense rules over us propelling us to perform actions to please it more. Senses are insatiatiable. The more we feed them the more they want. The more we feed a sense, the stronger it becomes and the stronger it binds us to this world.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Ten Reasons to Say "NO" to Capital Punishment
- Innocent people get sacrificed in the process. In law schools everywhere, students read the famous quotation from the 12th century legal scholar, Maimonides, "It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death." At least 39 innocent people have been put to death wrongfully in the United States since 1992 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment).
- Unconstitutional. The 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States states that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." From 1972 to 1976, capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, citing that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.” I am not sure how death cannot be a cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court has twisted the justice by calling death not cruel as long as it is painless. The judges have ignored the psychological, and spiritual cruelty associated with the death penalty altogether. I do not believe death by lethal injection is physically painless either. In fact evidences exist that on occasions the lethal injection has not worked properly thereby subjecting the receiver to extreme pain. Moreover, death as a punishment is certainly “unusual” by any measure.
- Does not deter homicides. Examining the number of homicide rates (number of homicides/100,000 people) since 1950 through 1996 indicates that the capital punishment may not have any bearing on the homicide rate.
- Unacceptable by many faiths. Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, and Christian scriptures do not allow death penalty. Some famous quotes are: “Thou shalt not kill”, one of the Ten Commandments; “Thou shalt not judge!” the Bible; the necessity of “Ahimsa” or nonviolence in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism; etc. Mahatma Gandhi had said “An eye for eye will leave the whole world blind.”
- Neither gets rid of nor transforms the evil. According to the karmic law and doctrine of reincarnation, the person will begin where he or she left off before death. The person is not going to be any better when the person is reborn. Death penalty may falsely appear as a temporary fix. The evil will be back when he or she is reborn.
- It makes us a murderous nation. It is a shame that we call ourselves a world leader and still have the lowly capital punishment. Let us follow other less developed nation’s example on compassion and human progressiveness.
- A cruel punishment to the family. The person subject to death penalty also may have a family, a mother, children, etc. By putting the person to death, we are subjecting the family to a “cruel and unusual” punishment.
- The perpetrator does not get an opportunity to transform him/her.
- There is an alternative. Life in prison without parole and subjecting the perpetrator to an extremely spartan (no luxury please!) condition may allow the perpetrator to time and an environment to contemplate what he or she did.
- Costs tax payer more money. You can check this out.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Some Experiences with the Divine
What was that formidable light?
I was in high school. I went to a A-Type boarding school in Athgarh in order to claim the full National Talent Scholarship. The school was 44 miles away from my village Adheigundi. In 1977, for rural India, 44 miles was a great deal of distance. No buses used to go to my village. We had to walk 1 mile to the nearest village to catch the bus. I was visiting home as I usually did 1 to 2 times a month. My father was a spiritual man, a man who never forgot to read and practice Bhagavad Gita daily. There was this bus that left at about 4 AM in the morning, when it was still pitch dark. My father and I left home for the bus stop at 3:30 AM in the morning. It was pitch dark and there was an eerie quietness of the night filled with the usual nightly noises of the creatures. We had to walk this stretch of the road flanked by paddy fields to the brink of the mountains in the horizon. There were no houses or no one else. While walking on this stretch of the road, my father and I all of a sudden saw this fireball about the size of a large pumpkin at about a two block distance away where there was this p0nd of the other village Karilo. I had heard many ghost and related stories about Karilo pond but never really came across anything close to it in my many passing of the pond at night until that night. This fireball was glowing in an alternating on and off mode every 3 seconds or so. I had heard about a story about what people referred to as "padachari" or "field grazer" before. Padacharis are apparently people who eat fecal matter from the pond banks at night and apparently their mouth spews out glowing fireballs. My father had also told me that a male jackal's mouth apparently spews out fireballs also. Not knowing what it was, I was afraid. I was very afraid but kept it to myself while continuing to proceed with great fear. I started praying hard to Lord Jagannath. After a minute or so, I had to talk to my father about it. Even though his response was meant to be reassuring, I could read between the lines and gathered that he was afraid also. He asked me to pray and told me that he was praying too. Within a minute or two of our praying hard with intense devotion (aarta form of prayer, a prayer while someone is facing grave danger), I could not believe my eyes what I saw. The fireball raced toward the paddy field to our left all the way to the mountains and disappeared. The estimated distance it travelled within 2 seconds or so was about a mile or more. I was relieved from my fear. To this day, I do not know what it was. But I know my prayer was listened.
Mother Kali Fulfilled my Desire
My wife and I were on our way to a social gathering. On the road, I said to my wife, "It would be nice to have a picture of Mother Kali for my sadhana or penance and worship." Typically we get our pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses from the ISKON temple. We had made a few visits to the temple but never saw a picture of Mother Kali there. My wife said, may be we need to visit the ISKON temple again and look there. In any case, the desire for the picture of Mother Kali stayed in my mind. The very next day, one of our friends, Mrs. Rout (Chitra apa) called Smriti and told her that she visited a friend's house a day before and saw all these pictures of gods and goddesses brought in from India by the friend. When she saw Mother Kali's picture a thought came to her that I might like that picture. So she went ahead and picked it up. It is a big 3' x 2' picture of Mother Kali in her vishwarupa or universal form. I had never before expressed my interest in Mother Kali to Chitra apa. When the great Mother wants to be worshiped by her chosen devotees, she shows up at their door steps in mysterious ways. The naysayers will say this is a coincidence. I do not believe it is.
Expansion of Being
I was doing Omkar sadhana. One night I saw Mother Durga in my heart. My being expanded and kept on expanding. I am watching myself. All of a sudden my entire being expanded to fill the entire universe. I lost my sense of identity for a moment. I became afraid and the moment I was afraid, I came back to my own restricted body at once.
Distance Healing of a Friend
A close friend of mine (used to be my best friend) was suffering from some health problems. He had a terrible fever. He and I talk probably once every two years these days. It happened to be that evening I talked to him and he told me about his ailment. I told him that hope he felt better and I would pray for him. That was all I had said. I went to start my worship of Divine Mother Durga followed by meditation. I asked the Mother to heal my friend and asked the Mother to show my friend that she exists. I finished my meditation and prayer by 1:00 AM and applied the mantra technique of distance healing. I used the Chamanda Mantra which I had been doing mantra sadhana with. Next morning before I got to the office, I saw an email from my friend who never emails me (neither I emailed him) this short email that filled my heart. He starts out by saying, "You won't believe what happened last night. At about 1 AM, Mother Durga came in my dream and caressed me. I woke up at once with profusely breaking sweat. My fever was gone and I was healed." He had no idea that I would pray Mother Durga. He did not know when and what I was going to do. It was a miracle. Mother's ways are mysterious.
Miracles of Swami Satyananda
First of all, I was running late to catch the train at Cuttack. My cousin brother-in-law was rushing me to the train station in his motor cycle. My wife was coming to see me off in a car. We were going to the railway station separately because we thought that the motor cycle may be faster because it can swerve through the complex traffic patterns of Cuttack and make me reach the station faster. On the way, my cousin brother-in-law (my wife's first cousin) and I realized that there was no way we would be able to make to catch the train which was scheduled to leave Cuttack at 1 PM. I prayed hard for my desire to go to Rikhia to visit Swamiji was very intense. My prayer was intense. I said in my mind to Swamiji that if you really would like me to visit you, then please please make the train late by 15 minutes. It was unbelievable that when we reached the railway station, we learned that the train was running 15 minutes late. The train that almost always comes on time came at 1:15. I was very happy.
On my way, I came to converse with a gentleman who is a high official in the railway department. The gentleman was so nice that when we got off at Howrah station, he insisted that he paid for my dinner. He told me he knew where things are since he has been traveling for a long time in that route. If it was not for him I was going to go hungry since I would not have dared go out of the station to eat. The Guru or the Divine Being works mysteriously through the minds of people.
I had never been to Jasidih (the station for Rikhia). It was time to get off at the Jasidih station at about 3 AM. I was all alone. I felt uncomfortable to be alone and I had no clue where I was going to go at that time of the night in Jasidih. There were two gentlemen in the same compartment who were also getting off the train and asked me if I knew where I was going. When I told them I was there to visit Swami Satyananda's Ashram, they said they were there for the same reason and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told them I did not. They said not to worry, they already had a place reserved and invited me to stay with them. They made arrangements for taxi in this strange town and I accompanied them. I learned that all places were already booked up in town by people visiting the spiritual event to be held by the Swamiji. I could not thank the two fine gentlemen from Pune for their kindness and generosity for keeping me with them for two nights. Again the Guru works in mysterious ways.
While attending the spiritual event, we took a taxi at the end of the day from the Ashram to the hotel. The second night on our way back, I wanted to cover the taxi costs. I took my wallet out and paid the dues to the taxi driver and then went inside the hotel. In the lobby, for some reason I was trying to feel my wallet and it was not there. I looked everywhere on me and the pathway from the taxi to the lobby. The two fine gentlemen helped me look for it as well. We nearly searched for about half hour. I sat distraught in a chair. There was a young swami with us who tried to cite "Dukhesunudvignamana........" meaning "a yogi should neither be ridden with anxiety at the time of sorrow and nor should be elated at the time of happy moments....". I have been an avid reader of the Bhagavad Gita and always tried but mostly failed practicing the principles of the Gita. This was a test. This was a true test because my wallet contained my green card. I was not worried about other credit cards and cash as much. But I was worried sick for the green card. My mother was going to accompany me on my return trip to the USA. I kept thinking how am I going to enter the USA let alone my mother. I was truly worried sick. I lost my balance of mind. I failed Gita's advice miserably. The fine gentlemen and two young swamis accompanied me to the police station to lodge a complain, which I did. I came back to the hotel and sat down in the lobby in a very disturbed state of mind. At this time the one of the young swamis asked me to pray. I prayed swami Satyananda extremely intensely, in an extreme aarta mode to help me out in this situation. I prayed for about 5 minutes. The taxi driver who had dropped us off, comes to the lobby and says "I have your wallet but you have to come with me to get it". I immediately gave him a tight hug and called him a brother. I vividly remember that moment. He said, when I paid him my wallet dropped to the ground which he picked up. He said no matter how much he wanted to keep it he could not keep it and turned it to another fellow. We walked together to this place about two blocks away. I was quite apprehensive where he was taking me. But I was in a dire situation so I did not care. We approached this cement building with a few gentlemen standing there. One gentleman comes and hands me over the wallet. I thanked them from the bottom of my heart and heftily rewarded the taxi driver with cash from my wallet. Nothing was missing from my wallet. I got back my sanity. It was a huge test on my state of mind which I miserably failed. Another incident that showed me the miracle of intense prayer. Whoever is reading this, I must say that when you pray in a genuine situation, pray intensely. It is easier said than done. Intense prayer will never go unanswered.
I was in high school. I went to a A-Type boarding school in Athgarh in order to claim the full National Talent Scholarship. The school was 44 miles away from my village Adheigundi. In 1977, for rural India, 44 miles was a great deal of distance. No buses used to go to my village. We had to walk 1 mile to the nearest village to catch the bus. I was visiting home as I usually did 1 to 2 times a month. My father was a spiritual man, a man who never forgot to read and practice Bhagavad Gita daily. There was this bus that left at about 4 AM in the morning, when it was still pitch dark. My father and I left home for the bus stop at 3:30 AM in the morning. It was pitch dark and there was an eerie quietness of the night filled with the usual nightly noises of the creatures. We had to walk this stretch of the road flanked by paddy fields to the brink of the mountains in the horizon. There were no houses or no one else. While walking on this stretch of the road, my father and I all of a sudden saw this fireball about the size of a large pumpkin at about a two block distance away where there was this p0nd of the other village Karilo. I had heard many ghost and related stories about Karilo pond but never really came across anything close to it in my many passing of the pond at night until that night. This fireball was glowing in an alternating on and off mode every 3 seconds or so. I had heard about a story about what people referred to as "padachari" or "field grazer" before. Padacharis are apparently people who eat fecal matter from the pond banks at night and apparently their mouth spews out glowing fireballs. My father had also told me that a male jackal's mouth apparently spews out fireballs also. Not knowing what it was, I was afraid. I was very afraid but kept it to myself while continuing to proceed with great fear. I started praying hard to Lord Jagannath. After a minute or so, I had to talk to my father about it. Even though his response was meant to be reassuring, I could read between the lines and gathered that he was afraid also. He asked me to pray and told me that he was praying too. Within a minute or two of our praying hard with intense devotion (aarta form of prayer, a prayer while someone is facing grave danger), I could not believe my eyes what I saw. The fireball raced toward the paddy field to our left all the way to the mountains and disappeared. The estimated distance it travelled within 2 seconds or so was about a mile or more. I was relieved from my fear. To this day, I do not know what it was. But I know my prayer was listened.
Mother Kali Fulfilled my Desire
My wife and I were on our way to a social gathering. On the road, I said to my wife, "It would be nice to have a picture of Mother Kali for my sadhana or penance and worship." Typically we get our pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses from the ISKON temple. We had made a few visits to the temple but never saw a picture of Mother Kali there. My wife said, may be we need to visit the ISKON temple again and look there. In any case, the desire for the picture of Mother Kali stayed in my mind. The very next day, one of our friends, Mrs. Rout (Chitra apa) called Smriti and told her that she visited a friend's house a day before and saw all these pictures of gods and goddesses brought in from India by the friend. When she saw Mother Kali's picture a thought came to her that I might like that picture. So she went ahead and picked it up. It is a big 3' x 2' picture of Mother Kali in her vishwarupa or universal form. I had never before expressed my interest in Mother Kali to Chitra apa. When the great Mother wants to be worshiped by her chosen devotees, she shows up at their door steps in mysterious ways. The naysayers will say this is a coincidence. I do not believe it is.
Expansion of Being
I was doing Omkar sadhana. One night I saw Mother Durga in my heart. My being expanded and kept on expanding. I am watching myself. All of a sudden my entire being expanded to fill the entire universe. I lost my sense of identity for a moment. I became afraid and the moment I was afraid, I came back to my own restricted body at once.
Distance Healing of a Friend
A close friend of mine (used to be my best friend) was suffering from some health problems. He had a terrible fever. He and I talk probably once every two years these days. It happened to be that evening I talked to him and he told me about his ailment. I told him that hope he felt better and I would pray for him. That was all I had said. I went to start my worship of Divine Mother Durga followed by meditation. I asked the Mother to heal my friend and asked the Mother to show my friend that she exists. I finished my meditation and prayer by 1:00 AM and applied the mantra technique of distance healing. I used the Chamanda Mantra which I had been doing mantra sadhana with. Next morning before I got to the office, I saw an email from my friend who never emails me (neither I emailed him) this short email that filled my heart. He starts out by saying, "You won't believe what happened last night. At about 1 AM, Mother Durga came in my dream and caressed me. I woke up at once with profusely breaking sweat. My fever was gone and I was healed." He had no idea that I would pray Mother Durga. He did not know when and what I was going to do. It was a miracle. Mother's ways are mysterious.
Miracles of Swami Satyananda
First of all, I was running late to catch the train at Cuttack. My cousin brother-in-law was rushing me to the train station in his motor cycle. My wife was coming to see me off in a car. We were going to the railway station separately because we thought that the motor cycle may be faster because it can swerve through the complex traffic patterns of Cuttack and make me reach the station faster. On the way, my cousin brother-in-law (my wife's first cousin) and I realized that there was no way we would be able to make to catch the train which was scheduled to leave Cuttack at 1 PM. I prayed hard for my desire to go to Rikhia to visit Swamiji was very intense. My prayer was intense. I said in my mind to Swamiji that if you really would like me to visit you, then please please make the train late by 15 minutes. It was unbelievable that when we reached the railway station, we learned that the train was running 15 minutes late. The train that almost always comes on time came at 1:15. I was very happy.
On my way, I came to converse with a gentleman who is a high official in the railway department. The gentleman was so nice that when we got off at Howrah station, he insisted that he paid for my dinner. He told me he knew where things are since he has been traveling for a long time in that route. If it was not for him I was going to go hungry since I would not have dared go out of the station to eat. The Guru or the Divine Being works mysteriously through the minds of people.
I had never been to Jasidih (the station for Rikhia). It was time to get off at the Jasidih station at about 3 AM. I was all alone. I felt uncomfortable to be alone and I had no clue where I was going to go at that time of the night in Jasidih. There were two gentlemen in the same compartment who were also getting off the train and asked me if I knew where I was going. When I told them I was there to visit Swami Satyananda's Ashram, they said they were there for the same reason and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told them I did not. They said not to worry, they already had a place reserved and invited me to stay with them. They made arrangements for taxi in this strange town and I accompanied them. I learned that all places were already booked up in town by people visiting the spiritual event to be held by the Swamiji. I could not thank the two fine gentlemen from Pune for their kindness and generosity for keeping me with them for two nights. Again the Guru works in mysterious ways.
While attending the spiritual event, we took a taxi at the end of the day from the Ashram to the hotel. The second night on our way back, I wanted to cover the taxi costs. I took my wallet out and paid the dues to the taxi driver and then went inside the hotel. In the lobby, for some reason I was trying to feel my wallet and it was not there. I looked everywhere on me and the pathway from the taxi to the lobby. The two fine gentlemen helped me look for it as well. We nearly searched for about half hour. I sat distraught in a chair. There was a young swami with us who tried to cite "Dukhesunudvignamana........" meaning "a yogi should neither be ridden with anxiety at the time of sorrow and nor should be elated at the time of happy moments....". I have been an avid reader of the Bhagavad Gita and always tried but mostly failed practicing the principles of the Gita. This was a test. This was a true test because my wallet contained my green card. I was not worried about other credit cards and cash as much. But I was worried sick for the green card. My mother was going to accompany me on my return trip to the USA. I kept thinking how am I going to enter the USA let alone my mother. I was truly worried sick. I lost my balance of mind. I failed Gita's advice miserably. The fine gentlemen and two young swamis accompanied me to the police station to lodge a complain, which I did. I came back to the hotel and sat down in the lobby in a very disturbed state of mind. At this time the one of the young swamis asked me to pray. I prayed swami Satyananda extremely intensely, in an extreme aarta mode to help me out in this situation. I prayed for about 5 minutes. The taxi driver who had dropped us off, comes to the lobby and says "I have your wallet but you have to come with me to get it". I immediately gave him a tight hug and called him a brother. I vividly remember that moment. He said, when I paid him my wallet dropped to the ground which he picked up. He said no matter how much he wanted to keep it he could not keep it and turned it to another fellow. We walked together to this place about two blocks away. I was quite apprehensive where he was taking me. But I was in a dire situation so I did not care. We approached this cement building with a few gentlemen standing there. One gentleman comes and hands me over the wallet. I thanked them from the bottom of my heart and heftily rewarded the taxi driver with cash from my wallet. Nothing was missing from my wallet. I got back my sanity. It was a huge test on my state of mind which I miserably failed. Another incident that showed me the miracle of intense prayer. Whoever is reading this, I must say that when you pray in a genuine situation, pray intensely. It is easier said than done. Intense prayer will never go unanswered.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Maha Vakyas or Supreme Aphorisms
There are four Mahavakyas or supreme aphorisms contained in the Upanishads (Vedanta). Every knowledgeable Hindu knows these. These four facts form the building blocks of the Hindu philosophy.
1. Prajnanam Brahma or Brahman is pure consciousness. (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3)
The Upanishad says Brahman is Full. When fullness is taken out of Fullness, Fullness remains. Fullness refers to Brahman and fullness refers to the jagat or the manifested universe. What is consciousness? The word consciousness is one of the most misunderstood. Consciousness is the subtlest of the substance one can think of. It is subtler than the mind. It is subtler than the thoughts. It is subtler than the space. It is subtler than time. In fact it is beyond space and time. Consciousness it its purest form (non-transferred form) is unchangeable. Something that has no change essentially is beyond space-time modifications. It has permeated the entire unmanifested and manifested worlds. It is that substance that forms the substratum of the entire creation. It is that substance on which the Primordial Nature or Adi Shakti projects its sportive lila. It is the screen on which the Primordial Nature projects its movies on. It is pure existence. It is the absolute Truth or without modification or Sat. Its state is Blissful or Anand or beyond duality. Upanishads declare that Bramhan is Sat-Chit-Ananda or Satchidananda. From Consciousness has evolved everything and every being.
2. Ayam Atma Brahma or This Atman is Brahman. (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2)
This aphorism declares that the Atman or Self or the individual consciousness is same as the universal consciousness. The singular atman is representative of the totality, meaning, the realization with the singular atman is the same realization as that with the Brahman. The nature of both are same. Metaphorically speaking, the electric energy in essence is the same within the fan and the light and displays all its fundamental properties. Knowing the Self is same as knowing the Brahman or the Super Self. There is no further knowledge about the Brahman is obtained beyond what is obtained about the Self. That is why the yogis strive to know the Self.
3. Tat Tvam Asi or Thou art That (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7)
This is where the seer is declaring to the disciple, "You are That which is Sat-Chit-Anand, That which is One without a second, One beyond the mind, intellect, and ego, you are pure existence, pure consciousness, and pure bliss". This is later declared by Jesus Christ as "You are made in the image of God". As discussed under Maha Vakya 1, everything is consciousness but the one which is in the innermost recesses of you is in the purest form of consciousness and that is the image of God that Lord Jesus refers to.
4. Aham Brahmasmi or I am Brahman (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10)
This is essentially same as the Mahavakya 3. Here the "I" refers to the Self or the higher ego. This declares that which is the witness within me of all the thoughts and sensory activities is essentially Brahman or pure Consciousness. The Consciousness is there everywhere and everything is made of Consciousness under the influence of the Primordial Nature of the Brahman or Adi Prakriti. An analogy would be to think of iron getting transformed into a hammer, a nail, a knife, etc under the influence of external energy. So Consciousness is transformed into the multiplicity under the influence of Adi Prakriti or Maha Maya. In this transformation process, some (consciousness is immeasurable but the word some is used in attempt to explain) of the consciousness stays in its purest form even from just like in the material world, primordial hydrogen is still present although some hydrogen was transformed into other matter. This is the knowledge (realization) that yogis are after, knowing which there is nothing further remains to be known.
5. Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma or All this is Brahman (Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1)
1. Prajnanam Brahma or Brahman is pure consciousness. (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3)
The Upanishad says Brahman is Full. When fullness is taken out of Fullness, Fullness remains. Fullness refers to Brahman and fullness refers to the jagat or the manifested universe. What is consciousness? The word consciousness is one of the most misunderstood. Consciousness is the subtlest of the substance one can think of. It is subtler than the mind. It is subtler than the thoughts. It is subtler than the space. It is subtler than time. In fact it is beyond space and time. Consciousness it its purest form (non-transferred form) is unchangeable. Something that has no change essentially is beyond space-time modifications. It has permeated the entire unmanifested and manifested worlds. It is that substance that forms the substratum of the entire creation. It is that substance on which the Primordial Nature or Adi Shakti projects its sportive lila. It is the screen on which the Primordial Nature projects its movies on. It is pure existence. It is the absolute Truth or without modification or Sat. Its state is Blissful or Anand or beyond duality. Upanishads declare that Bramhan is Sat-Chit-Ananda or Satchidananda. From Consciousness has evolved everything and every being.
2. Ayam Atma Brahma or This Atman is Brahman. (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2)
This aphorism declares that the Atman or Self or the individual consciousness is same as the universal consciousness. The singular atman is representative of the totality, meaning, the realization with the singular atman is the same realization as that with the Brahman. The nature of both are same. Metaphorically speaking, the electric energy in essence is the same within the fan and the light and displays all its fundamental properties. Knowing the Self is same as knowing the Brahman or the Super Self. There is no further knowledge about the Brahman is obtained beyond what is obtained about the Self. That is why the yogis strive to know the Self.
3. Tat Tvam Asi or Thou art That (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7)
This is where the seer is declaring to the disciple, "You are That which is Sat-Chit-Anand, That which is One without a second, One beyond the mind, intellect, and ego, you are pure existence, pure consciousness, and pure bliss". This is later declared by Jesus Christ as "You are made in the image of God". As discussed under Maha Vakya 1, everything is consciousness but the one which is in the innermost recesses of you is in the purest form of consciousness and that is the image of God that Lord Jesus refers to.
4. Aham Brahmasmi or I am Brahman (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10)
This is essentially same as the Mahavakya 3. Here the "I" refers to the Self or the higher ego. This declares that which is the witness within me of all the thoughts and sensory activities is essentially Brahman or pure Consciousness. The Consciousness is there everywhere and everything is made of Consciousness under the influence of the Primordial Nature of the Brahman or Adi Prakriti. An analogy would be to think of iron getting transformed into a hammer, a nail, a knife, etc under the influence of external energy. So Consciousness is transformed into the multiplicity under the influence of Adi Prakriti or Maha Maya. In this transformation process, some (consciousness is immeasurable but the word some is used in attempt to explain) of the consciousness stays in its purest form even from just like in the material world, primordial hydrogen is still present although some hydrogen was transformed into other matter. This is the knowledge (realization) that yogis are after, knowing which there is nothing further remains to be known.
5. Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma or All this is Brahman (Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1)
This is not treated as a Mahavakya since the earlier four Mahavakyas cover the Truth in its entirety. Basically this aphorism declares that the entire manifested and unmanifested substance is Brahman including thoughts, speech, matter, energy, intellect, emotions, etc. etc. No further explanation is necessary.
6. Neha Nanasti Kinchana or There is nothing else anywhere. (Chandogya Upanishad)
This is not one of the Maha Vakyas but is relevant to include here. It indirectly declares that Brahman is a continuum of Consciousness, without any void. Brahman is the superset whose complementary is null. There is nothing but Brahman everywhere. The multiplicity including matter, energy, and thoughts are mere transformation or projection of Chit or Consciousness. Rajjwa bhujangama eva pratibhasitam vai. The world is merely a notion projected on the Brahman similar to the projection of an idea of a snake on a rope. Brahmarpanam Brahma havir Brahmagnau Brhmanahutam. Brahmaiva tena gantavyam Brahma karma samadhina (Bhagavad Gita). This shloka in Gita clearly indicates that matter, energy, and thoughts are all Brahman.
A commentary on Sun worship
People wonder why in this day and age some people in the world including the Hindus still worship the Sun. I say, why not? It makes perfect sense. If you are a student of science like me, then you most likely believe in the Big Bang and evolution. There was this Big Bang! Some of the energy-matter continuum became our Sun. Some of the Sun became our earth as the gaseous mass cooled. The primordial hydrogen through fusion turned finally into a variety of substances like oxygen, calcium, iron, etc. etc. Some of that gaseous matter evolved into water. Unicellular and then multi-cellular organisms appeared from the same substance. Plant life and animal life evolved from more basic forms of existence. More complex life forms evolved. Finally, you and I sitting on both ends of the Internet, are communicating across the Internet and calling the very substance dumb, from which we originated. How can that substance be dumb from which we have evolved? The same consciousness, which is within us has to be present in the Sun and in all universe. The Upanishad says "Prajnanam Brahma" meaning "Brahman is pure consciousness". Then it also says "Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma" meaning "All this is consciousness". We are conscious. We are part of the earth. Earth is conscious. Sun is conscious. Our life on earth depends on the Sun. I see nothing wrong in expressing our obeisances to the Sun. We are quick to show our gratitude to a person who saved our life. Why cannot we express our gratitude to the Sun, who selflessly making our life possible?
The Sun has occupied the place amongst the five great divine powers (pancha devas) for the Hindus and justifiably so. In fact Hindus see Brahman (existence-consciousness-bliss) or loosely speaking God in all existence. Next time you see the Sun, try to ponder on its supreme blilliance, its enermous power and majesty. Lord Krishna in Gita says, "I am the brilliance (tejas) in the Sun (Aditya)." Can you think of a better way for the earthlings to perceive the power and existence of God other than through the Sun?
A popular Hindu prayer to the Sun is "....Oh remover of darkness (ignorance), I bow to you."
The Sun has occupied the place amongst the five great divine powers (pancha devas) for the Hindus and justifiably so. In fact Hindus see Brahman (existence-consciousness-bliss) or loosely speaking God in all existence. Next time you see the Sun, try to ponder on its supreme blilliance, its enermous power and majesty. Lord Krishna in Gita says, "I am the brilliance (tejas) in the Sun (Aditya)." Can you think of a better way for the earthlings to perceive the power and existence of God other than through the Sun?
A popular Hindu prayer to the Sun is "....Oh remover of darkness (ignorance), I bow to you."
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