Journey into the world of Upanishads

Thought of sharing some useful information [Don't mind if its too philosophical !] . Today was one of those days when you do not have anything important to worry or think about and ur not sure as to how you are going to spend your time. [No interesting Movies to watch !] And the result is this blog. I tried reading through these a couple of times. Some of them makes sense and the rest i am still trying to figure out what they are preaching. In the mean time, if any of you get the crux of it, please do preach this humble disciple.


"Prajnanam Brahma" - Consciousness is Brahman
(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)

Other Translations: Brahman is pure consciousness; Brahman is knowing; Brahman is intelligence



In the sentence, ‘Prajnanam Brahma’ or Consciousness is Brahman, a definition of Reality is given. The best definition of Brahman would be to give expression to its supra-essential essence, and not to describe it with reference to accidental attributes, such as creatorship etc. That which is ultimately responsible for all our sensory activities, as seeing, hearing, etc., is Consciousness. Though Consciousness does not directly see or hear, it is impossible to have these sensory operations without it. Hence it should be considered as the final meaning of our mental and physical activities. Brahman is that which is Absolute, fills all space, is complete in itself, to which there is no second, and which is continuously present in everything, from the creator down to the lowest of matter. It, being everywhere, is also in each and every individual. This is the meaning of Prajnanam Brahma occurring in the Aitareya Upanishad.**




"Ayam Atma Brahma" - This Self is Brahman
(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)

Other Translations: Brahman is this Self; This Self is Brahma



The Mahavakya, ‘Ayam Atma Brahma’ or ‘This Self is Brahman,’ occurs in the Mandukya Upanishad. ‘Ayam’ means ‘this,’ and here ‘thisness’ refers to the self-luminous and non-mediate nature of the Self, which is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or ego down to the physical body. This Self is Brahman, which is the substance out of which all things are really made. That which is everywhere, is also within us, and what is within us is everywhere. This is called ‘Brahman,’ because it is plenum, fills all space, expands into all existence, and is vast beyond all measure of perception or knowledge. On account of self-luminosity, non-relativity and universality, Atman and Brahman are the same. This identification of the Self with Absolute is not any act of bringing together two differing natures, but is an affirmation that absoluteness or universality includes everything, and there is nothing outside it.**


"Tat Tvam Asi" - Thou art that
(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)



Other Translations: That is how you are; That art thou



In the Chandogya Upanishad occurs the Mahavakya, ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ or ‘That thou art.’ Sage Uddalaka mentions this nine times, while instructing his disciple Svetaketu in the nature of Reality. That which is one alone without a second, without name and form, and which existed before creation, as well as after creation, as pure Existence alone, is what is referred to as Tat or That, in this sentence. The term Tvam stands for that which is in the innermost recesses of the student or the aspirant, but which is transcendent to the intellect, mind, senses, etc., and is the real 'I' of the student addressed in the teaching. The union of Tat and Tvam is by the term Asi or are. That Reality is remote is a misconception, which is removed by the instruction that it is within one’s own self. The erroneous notion that the Self is limited is dispelled by the instruction that it is the same as Reality.**
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"Aham Brahmasmi" - I am Brahman.
(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana Upanishad)

In the sentence, ‘Aham Brahmasmi,’ or I am Brahman, the ‘I’ is that which is the One Witnessing Consciousness, standing apart form even the intellect, different from the ego-principle, and shining through every act of thinking, feeling, etc. This Witness-Consciousness, being the same in all, is universal, and cannot be distinguished from Brahman, which is the Absolute. Hence the essential ‘I’ which is full, super-rational and resplendent, should be the same as Brahman. This is not the identification of the limited individual ‘I’ with Brahman, but it is the Universal Substratum of individuality that is asserted to be what it is. The copula ‘am’ does not signify any empirical relation between two entities, but affirms the non-duality of essence. This dictum is from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.**

Another look into the same verse - "I am God." Famous phrase often repeated in the Upanishads. In this ecstatic statement of enlightenment, "I" does not refer to the individuality or outer nature, but to the essence of the soul which is ever identical to God Siva (or Brahman, the Supreme Being) as Satchidananda and Parasiva. One of four Upanishadic "great sayings," mahavakya.

There is more to cover............

San Francisco

The long weekend of september, the labor day was made quite interesting by planning a trip to SFO. Its around 250mi north of Santa Barbara. We were a group of 7. Booked a mini van. Six of them are from my old company and they started from Burbank on saturday morning at 8. They reached Santa Barbara by 10:30 and we started from there by 10:45 AM.
Onroute to SFO, we visited the pismo beach. Pismo beach is famous for ATVs.

We rented out 4 ATVs and were enjoying the ride for around 2 hours. From Pismo beach, we drove to SFO. It was around 10:30 PM in the night when we reached SFO. We went to an indian cusine "Curry house", and had our dinner. Actually, we lost the route and ended up riding through the Crooked street. That was a deep and twisty ride !

After dinner, we reached "Days Inn" for the nights stay.
Next day, we started early to reach SFO Downtown. Since we did not reserve the ride to Alcatraz prison, we had to take the city & ocean tour. The city tour was around 2.5 hours and took us around all the famous places in the downtown. Then we proceeded with the ocean tour to experience a closer look onto the Golden Gate bridge.


Next day, we visited the Muir woods, a deep red wood forest. Had our lunch at the Udupi Restaurant at SunneyValle and Started back to Santa Barbara in the afternoon. Reached SB at 1:00 AM in the night. Trip was really tiresome, but the trip was exciting.