Om ko/yamatmeti vayaupasmahe katarah sa atma
Yena va pashyati yena va shrunoti yena va gandhanajighrati
Yena va vacham vyakaroti yena va svadu chasvadu cha vijanati
The inquiry starts with the meditation on Om. The primordial word Om that signifies the principles of becoming, being and consummation is invoked when one delves deep into fundamentals. What is the core of my self, which is worshiped as ‘atma’? Is it a phenomenon by which one sees, hears, smell, utter intelligent words and differentiates between what is palatable and what is not palatable?
Yatetathrudayam manaschchaitat samjnanamajnanam
Vijnanam prajnanam medha drushtidhrutirmatirmaneesha
Jootih smruti sankalpah kraturasuh kamo vasha iti
Sarvanyevaitaniprajnanasya namadheyani bhavati
The awareness of ‘atma’ is the subtle awareness of one’s own separateness. It manifests in different forms. It manifests as the heart, which is the abode of one’s sensitivities. It manifests as the mind, which is the abode of all ideas. It manifests as different forms of knowledge (categorical knowledge, abstract knowledge, domain specific knowledge and context specific knowledge). It manifests as intellectual prowess. It manifests as perspective. It manifests as the spirit of enterprise. It manifests as the ability to relate to other entities. It manifests as free thinking. It manifests as the agitations of the mind that causes movements. It manifests as memory. It manifests as imagination. It manifests as projects conceived for universal welfare. It manifests as the rituals of day to day life. It manifests as the passions of desire. It manifests as the power to attract. All these are manifestations of the awareness of a separate existence that resides in an entity.
Esha brahmaisa indra esha prajapatirete sarvam deva imani cha
Panchamahabhootani pruthvi vayurakasha
Apo jyotisheetyetaneemani cha kshudramishraneeva beejaneetarani
Cheterani chandajani cha jarujani cha svedajani cha choodbeejani
Chashva gavah purusha hastino yat kim chedam pranijangamam cha
Patatri cha yachcha stavaram sarva
Tat prajnanetram prajnane pratishthitam
Prajnanetro lokah prajna pratishtha prajnanam brahma
This awareness residing in an entity is the agent of creation. It is Indra, the ideal of all ideals. It is the prajapatis, the administrators of the collectives. It is the five categories of elements from which everything in this world is made. It is earthiness. It is the gentle current of life forces. It is the emptiness of akasha. It is the fluidity of the water of sensibilities. It is the energy flowing from celestial presences. It is the primordial cause for the various categories of beings born from eggs, placenta, sweat or spontaneous division. It is the internal resources that rear to go like horses rebelling against restraints. It is the processes for the extraction of useful products. It is the elephantine possessions at one’s command. It is all those factors that affect one’s stability, dynamism and freedom.
The window of awareness about oneself is the awareness of one’s itaratva (separateness). The window of the specificity of a subject is in the specialized knowledge related to that subject. The specialized knowledge about one’s separate identity is also the prajnanetra of the universe. Looking from this perspective ‘Atma’, the core of one’s separate identity is seen as not different from Brahman, the core of the universe. At the core of the awareness of one’s separateness is seen Brahman, the core of the universe.
Sa etena prajnenatmanasmallokadutkramya
Amushmin svarge loke sarvan kamanaptva
Amrutah samabhavat amrutah samabhavat
One who understands the true purport of one’s separateness transcends the dualities of this world is not affected by his separateness. All his longings in the domain of ideals get satisfied. He tastes the nectar of immortality.
Om vang me manasi pratishthitamanomevachiprtishshitam
Aviraviravir ma edhi vedasya ma anishthah shrutam
Me ma prahaseeranenadheetenahoratran samdadhi
Amrutam vadishyami satyam vadishyami vadishyami tanmamavatu
Tad vaktaramavatu avatu mama vatu vaktaram avatu vaktaram
Om shantih shantih shantih
The purport of this shantimantra has already been discussed in 'The Theme of Eitereya Upanishad'.
