1.Q: What is the import of the Sanskrit statement: Aasuptehe Aamrtehe Kaalam Nayet Vedaanta Chintayaa?
A: As people get up from bed, start worrying about their family affairs and remain immersed till they go to bed. They are busy in thinking about their wife and children; orchard and house; money, etc; and they identify their respective bodies as ‘I and mine’ .They don’t get any opportunity to know nature of their own Self and hence they suffer from pleasure pain. Seeing their plight, Sri Shankara Bhagavat Paadaacharya compassionately composed Pratah Smarana Stotra ‘the Verses to chant in the morning ‘that contain essential preaching’s of the Upanishads according to a Sanskrit statement Aasuptehe Aamrtehe Kaalam Nayet Vedaanta Chintayaa meaning : We should utilize time by spending it for the spiritual –discussion right from the morning till cease to live.
2Q: What are the three main preaching’s of Vedaanta?
A: The other name of the Upanishads is the Vedaanta. Therefore, the philosophy of the Upanishads is called as that of the Vedaanta. The three main preaching’s mentioned here:
- Our Self, the Witness of the three states, is the Brahman of Existence-Awareness-Bliss -Form.
- The self -illumining Self cannot be explained either through the words or through the mind.
- The whole world appears apparently in the Self; the Self Himself, appears in all the forms.
In this segment, these three preaching’s are explained for the beginners in the Spiritual Science.
THE BRAHMAN IS THE WITNESS OF THE THREE STATES
Praatah-smaraami Hrdi Samsphurt Aatma Tattvam
Sat-chid-sukham Parama-hamsa gatim Tureeyam I
Yat-swapna jaagara sushuptam avaiti Nityam
Tad Brahma Nishkalam Aham Na Cha Bhoota sanghah
Meaning of words: Yat-which, Nityam-always, swapna-jaagara-sushuptam-dream, waking and deep sleep states; Avaiti-(it) obtains, Tureeyam-Fourth One , sachit sukham-the form of existence-awareness-bliss, Parama-hamsa-hamsa gatim-the goal of Supreme Swans, Sam-sphurat-well-illumining ,Hrdi-in the heart, Aatma tattvam-the essential nature of the Self,Praatah-in the morning,Smaraami-(I) remember, Aham-I, Tat-that, Nishkalam-free from limbs, Brahma-the Brahma, Bhoota-sanghah-the group of elements, Na-not.
I remember the Real Self which shines in the heart. The Self, as if, always experiences dream , waking and deep-sleep states; and it is the Fourth One, as if, different from the states. It is of the Form of Existence-Awareness-Bliss. The Supreme- Swans only obtain this Self. I am that Brahman who is free from limbs; and not the group of the five elements.
THE SELF ILLUMINES IN THE HEART
HRDI SAMSPHURAT AATMA TATTVAM
3Q: What is the meaning of the phrase: Illumines in the heart?
A: The heart means the mind. Illumines in it –means appears in it.
4Q: Does not everything appear in the mind itself? What speciality is there in ‘shining’ of the Aatma Tattvam (Reality of the Self when it illumines) in the mind? What do Vishayi and Vishaya mean?
A: Everything except the Self appears to the mind. All these things except the Self are known by the mind. But the principle of the Self shines in the mind means the mind doesn’t know the Self; the existence of the Self is revealed clearly in the mind itself. For an example: The eye sees a box, it means that an external object (box) appears to the eye. If the eye pains, the pain in the eye is experienced. It doesn’t mean that the eye sees the pain as it sees an external object. The one who sees is the Vishayee, the seer. The thing seen by the seer is the Vishaya, the scene. All the objects are seen to the mind. But the mind doesn’t see the Self. Therefore, the Self is not an object of the mind.
