" Aham Brahmasmi " (I'm the Universe / God)... The deep meaning

"Aham Brahmasmi" - I am Brahman / Universe / God

Many Vedas and Upanishads have said this over and over again. It seems like a simple line but a thinker would find the catch in this simple phrase.

Hindu scriptures say that there is only Brahman and nothing else. The Universe is the only and everything. The catch here is that when we hear this quote - "Aham Brahmasmi", there is a speaker ("I") and the object ("Universe"). The speaker is saying that "It" is the universe. 

But since there is nothing else but the universe, it means that the universe itself must be saying this to itself. It is the speaker, the listener, the object and the subject itself. Something like when we tell ourselves something, we are the subject, object, speaker and listener.

The indication in this line is towards perceptions ; that instead of thinking duality (Creator & Creation), one should THINK OF SINGULARITY.

The Brahman / Universe is conscious. We are a part of this current universe in this space and time... Right Now. Are we conscious of ourselves ? Yes we are. Is my friend conscious of herself? Yes she is. Is the dog sitting over there conscious of itself? Most certainly. 
The universe, we being an active part of it right now, is always conscious, and thus it says "Aham Brahmasmi".

So whenever I'm being conscious of myself, this part of the universe bound in me is being conscious of itself. Whenever I gaze at the stars, the universe is gazing at itself. Whenever I dream, the universe is dreaming in its own. Now multiply this into so many other souls on lets say just this planet. This means a whole chunk of the universe is being conscious of itself.

Now I have started feeling that my senses - my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, memory, intelligence / brain, etc are just mere tools for the universe to experience itself. 

In other words, I notice that I had no control over the birth of my body, this set of organic tools I have been born with, including my basic senses and also my talents. I just kept discovering along the way what I'm good at and walked on that path. I discovered with time what makes me happy, and did those things. But am I controlling any of the basic things here? Yes I know I can make choices, but those are so heavily dependent on my characteristics, the ones which I never chose. For example, I can decide to quit my job to start a business, but the basic quality of being free willed is something I was born with which is why I feel happily conditioned to be making this choice. Am I what I think I am, or a lost part of a larger consciousness ?

My body, my senses, my brain is just a medium to experience and wonder, to raise questions and seek answers. But the active universe, that decided the way my body and mind would be, is only trying to see and realize itself through all these processes, which I think of as my identity. Isn't it ?

Who else does that ? 

I think, all the souls on this planet do that; i.e search for meaning. Seriously, I constantly try to find out about myself, my paths, my happiness. Sometimes I try to figure out other people also, and they do the same as well with me. We are constantly trying to know and figure out each other. Why would the consciousness of the universe (we being a part of it always) try to do that ?

Seems like the universal consciousness forms my body and mind, my eyes, ears and memory and is looking through me and wondering... What the heck an I doing here ? What am I here for ? What should I be doing in life ? What am I searching for ?

Then I look at the other and start wondering... Who the heck is that ? What does he want in life ?  Whats my connection with them ?... and so on.

Conclusion : The universe is one. All elements (those we call living and non living) are actively a part of it. In fact the totality of it is the universe itself. Our consciousness isn't just ours alone, locked in this body. It transcends our physical self, even our imaginary self.

In fact, it is the single consciousness (God / Brahman / Om) that is creating, sustaining(creating time) and destroying continuously (seen as work of the trinity). 

This consciousness forms waves and frequencies which make matter and energy possible (scientifically observed under modern science, but always a recognized phenomenon in ancient sciences). 

Its only purpose is to create these numerous frequencies (of creation) and then solving the puzzle to return back to its original state (pure consciousness). This solving of the puzzle by the universe is what we experience in our bodies and minds when we search for meaning in ourselves and others (family, friends, humans and animals alike). 

This makes us the Universe, and the universe becomes me, as a single consciousness tied in the illusion of this body and mind. Meditation, spiritual practices and study, helps us realize our true nature. It clears our minds to make us understand that the Gods to whom we pray, whose idols we make, whose images and stories we love, we ourselves are a part of the same divinity, the figures and stories might change, but the unified consciousness is the same. 

It is the same consciousness that was Krishna, it is the same that is me, it is the same that will be Kalki.

Our "Aatmas" (souls), put together, 
becomes "Paramatma" (singlemost / supreme soul).

"Aham Brahmasmi"

Karma, Rebirth & Moksha/Nirvana - Understanding the Philosophy

Karma 
actually pronounced as "Kar-Ma" (in Sanskrit) instead of "Kaar-Maa", is a more widespread belief, in most societies, than Rebirth or Moksha. Its because it is seen in our day to day lives.

When we do something, we pay for it in similar terms. Our stories, our movies and our tales and superhero comics are mostly based on these lines. When we do good, eventually we will recieve good and vice versa. Our advice to others, our solving of other's problems, and our kindness in general or lending a helping hand, is based on the same motive. We do it sub consciously all the time and thus its easy to see examples from everyday life. 

For example : If a customer has a bad experience at a shop and is angry, but the shopkeeper smiles and takes care of his customer's requirements, 99% of the time, the customer will be happy & impressed, and will keep coming back in-spite of the initial bad experience. Good emotions and care shown by the shopkeeper, gets him loyal customers. Karma at work.

Vedic scriptures establishes it as the only rule by which the cosmos works :

ACTION - REACTION - ACTION - REACTION - ACTION - REACTION - and so on...

We should not think of ourselves as separate from this universe, we are actively a part of it right now. Infact if we did not have this consciousness, we would not even think of ourselves as separate from the rest of existence. Truth is, that we are the universe itself, and all separations within this universe is deeply connected. We are ONE. A change in one part of the universe, will definitely lead to a change in the other part. That's how Karma works.



Another example : 
Imagine that we buy tomatoes from a grocer, the grocer earns from the sale, the truckers who delivered the tomatoes earn, the farmer, the stockist, the packing guys, fertilizer makers and all the employees who work in these various ancilliary companies earn from it. Our one action has affected so many people in tiny bits and pieces.  
Now see the reverse reaction to our action : These companies pay heavy taxes(which are levied because they earned from people like us when we bought the tomatoes) and society uses those taxes to build the roads and generate electricity, which are benefits for us. 

Existence itself, means to give and take continuously, to be bound by Karma, and thus no one escapes from it, not the humans, not the animals, not the plants, not even the Gods. 
One should understand, that they cannot escape Karma at all. If I think that - Let me cheat this once, and no one will notice because nobody's around; I would be terribly wrong. Why ?

I'm noticing myself. Who Am I ? I'm the soul connected to this universe thinking that I'm separate and smart enough to cheat. The universe, how complex it is, how it works, we would never understand, but we should definitely know, that if we try to cheat, for example, steal from the grocer mentioned above, the electricity and roads will never get made. 

When we believe in the philosophy, we see it unfold in our lives. This gives us the strength to understand that when we go through a bad patch in our lives, or just have a rough day, it is our Karma that is balancing. We might have, stolen a buck / kicked a dog / coveted / been disrespectful / driven rashly / or some or the other way we must have been a pain / trouble for other humans, animals or nature, even if we didn't realize it then. We surely must be paying for it. Thinking this way, our life will become much more stress free and devoid of complaints.

Some powerful / rich people who do all the bad things, but still get away, also pay for it; if not now, then in their next lives.

The Issue of Rebirth
Some believe that we are here as a result of organic mutation and there is no such thing as our purpose in life; we just are. We live then we die. Some believe that we go to heaven or hell for eternity, according to our deeds we ought to do according to some texts.

Vedic/ Hindu teachings guide that if we weren't here for a purpose why would we even strive to understand what our purpose is? 

We could just be like insects who work all day, not knowing that one day they'll die. They just live, and then they die. But we humans prepare for middle age & old age, we prepare for building a career, we also created a measurement & calculation of time so that we can plan things accordingly, because we know that one day we would die. Why would we do that? 

People want to become scientists, aspire to become lawyers, train hard to become teachers, experience struggle to become good businessmen, etc., but fail to explain; What is the need to struggle to achieve and prove this or that ? One day we will anyways die, so why not just be? 

It doesn't make a difference in the natural world, what we become, but still we struggle.
It seems like we're constantly searching for something that will end our search, fill us with satisfaction to the brim, but maybe we're looking at all the wrong places.

We are most definitely conscious beings and since we have the ability to be aware of ourselves and also feel the pain and happiness of others within ourselves, we can say that we're born to understand the reasons for our existence. Till we understand that, we keep on searching for the next best thing. How many people have you seen who are content and blissful with the current state of affairs in their lives. Actually when someone is, we usually term that person as lazy and one who's lacking ambition.

Since our birth, we try searching for meaning in family, friends, in jobs, in relationships, in situations, in dream houses, in amazing cars, in wealth and property. But if we get old doing so and are still not able to find satisfaction, get rid of worrying and attachments, still wishing and regretting, then our consciousness has to continue after leaving this unstable state of affairs(our body) and thus starts forming a new body in a new womb. Remember, that we are all one and connected, so the part of the consciousness that was bound within us, our mind and body, builds a new one to continue the search for meaning. 

But unfortunately, in this process a lot of information is lost. Children still remember past experiences till a few years after birth but as soon as the ego of identity develops (at the age 4-5), we forget all that and become a part of our new reality. Ever wondered why new born babies smile in their sleep, and dream so rapidly, when they haven't even experienced the world? Ever noticed how our body resembles that of our parents but our characteristics and souls are independent of their ways of thinking. We are usually not in tune with our parents, we feel like a separate soul, even when our body, height, features and complexion or race matches.

Rebirth has been proven several times but here are a few examples :

Psychiatrist Ian Stevenson, from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, investigated many reports of young children who claimed to remember a past life. He conducted more than 2,500 case studies over a period of 40 years and published twelve books, including "Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation" and "Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect".

Stevenson retired in 2002, and psychiatrist Jim B. Tucker took over his work and wrote "Life Before Life". Other people who have undertaken research on reincarnation include Satwant Pasricha, Godwin Samararatne, Antonia Mills, and Erlendur Haraldsson. Research methods have involved analysis of childhood memories, corresponding birthmarks, and psychological/cultural characteristics. Skeptics and the scientific community in general consider reincarnation research to be pseudoscientific. Some parapsychologists advocate developing protocols to guide, sort, compare, and evaluate cases studies. But then everyone has their methods and beliefs.

There is a portion of Islam that believes in reincarnation too. The idea of reincarnation is accepted by a few Muslim sects, particularly of the Ghulat, and by other sects in the Muslim world such as Druzes. Historically, South Asian Isma'ilis performed chantas yearly, one of which is for sins committed in past lives. (Aga Khan IV) Sinan ibn Salman ibn Muhammad, also known as Rashid al-Din Sinan, (r. 1162-92) subscribed to the transmigration of souls as a tenet of the Alawi, who are thought to have been influenced by Isma'ilism. Modern Sufis who embrace the idea of reincarnation include Bawa Muhaiyadeen.

Why can't we go to heaven or hell for eternity?

The answer is very simple and logical. If suppose, we do a bad job on earth for 60 years and then die, we should pay for it in hell for 60 years and be relieved from it. 

In some faiths, the punishment for stealing to fill an empty stomach and that for murdering someone for greed is the same; ie. burning in hell for eternity.
If so... then how is God just?

Hindu scriptures indicate that only Supreme consciousness is beyond time / eternal and other than it, nothing is constant, no beings and no worlds(heaven / hell). God is basically the state of everything (including us 7 nature) and every consciousness in unison, without the feeling of separateness. That is why only God in that form (ie. collective Us / souls) is eternal. None of its forms (individual separate identities) are eternal - whether its Shri Krishna, Christ or any of us humans searching for answers.

Hinduism / Vedic Culture indicates that God is the law of Karma itself. You pay only for what you've done and then you get another chance. So heaven and hell (these are planets in different realms) aren't permanent but only are there to balance our Karma if we cannot do the same in our lifetime, and once our Karma is almost balanced out, we transcend again into a womb with a little backlog of our deeds. This backlog defines our birth situations, families, abilities, etc. 

We go to heaven and hell to clear our Karmic baggage only because we cannot manifest into a pure baby (animal or human) if we already have a lot of karmic backlog, because then our whole lives will be shaped up and would not seem justified.

For example : Suppose I do a lot of good work inspite of being really poor in this life, and immediately after death I take birth in a rich family to enjoy that life as a result of my good Karma. But suppose I turn out to be a young brat in the new rich family, but because my good deeds in previous life, I have so much positive Karmic baggage, that I won't fall into trouble inspite of the brat I've become. This certainly would not be fair to other lifeforms. So, instead of taking birth again, I shall enjoy in heaven and when my Karma gets balanced, I shall be given another chance in this world. 

BUT another chance at what ? Well another chance at achieving enlightenment, knowing my true nature and trying to realize the truth that other than the One Consciousness in its blissfull state, there is nothing else, and we are also it, lost in illusion that God and Us are separate. 
If we achieve this enlightenment, we could achieve Moksha. 

What is Moksha ?
Moksha is the state of bliss in which pure consciousness stays. 

Our bodies are made up of so many tiny organisms. There are so many organisms in our bloodstream, in our intestines, in our stomach, lungs etc. These are living organisms which constantly take birth and keep dying. Our body as we know it is changing every moment. Old cells fall, new cells form. In a year, about 98% of our body gets regenerated. Our bodies are not things but are processes. 

But we are not called processes but are called beings, because we "BE" in a particular space and time, but our body changes constantly. In every different space and time, our bodies have changed as explained above, but do we feel the change in ourselves - Our Beings. 

It feels the same way when I was 12, when I was 20, 40 or 80. The being / " Me " knew that my body has changed, my mind has changed, but the feeling " Me ", has that changed. Me - the observer - has the observer changed ever ? If not, then why would death stop it?

The mind is also just a reflection of learnings, a database of images and videos, and soundfiles and experience of touch. But the " Me ", or the soul is the experiencer which uses the brain and its database to make decisions and to exercise choice.

What does "Me" experience ? The other, always the other.

I experience through my senses - the music, the food, the beauty, the softness, the fragrances. To an organic machinery (our bodies and minds) it would be just sound waves, fuel, rays of colored light, texture, particles hanging in air, respectively. 

Our soul derives the meanings, which is why it changes over time. I used to like rock music when I was young, but now, its too harsh for me, but my friends still find it cool. Our bodies and minds would react in a set pattern, but it is our will / choice /soul that experiences emotions; and it does through the other.

When a soul through observation in meditation learns that the reason why my soul feels connected to anything else and experiences bliss or hate, is because it is the same soul everywhere, that is trapped in an illusion of a separate body and mind, it achieves Moksha. It doesn't need to form another body (take rebirth) because now it has found what it was looking for- the meaning of existence. It has found itself finally so it is emotion free and is in a blissful state. It merges into the unending consciousness and does not get formed into a definite body again, yet remaining conscious forever. This is the way of enlightenment and meditation.

In Hindu scriptures it is mentioned that Moksha can also be achieved through selfless love and devotion, and few other practices as well, also depending on our Karmic baggage.

Aim of every soul is to attain Moksha, and every soul reaches there some way or the other.
So lets clean up our Karma, and pray that we become enlightened in our next birth and achieve Moksha. 

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Hanuman - The Monkey God - Curriculum Vitae

Birth name given by parents : 
"Maruti" (meaning son of "Marut"/wind or 'of the wind')

Name given by relatives : 
"Anjaneya" (meaning son of "Anjana"- mother's name)

Name given by God's : 
"Hanuman" (Hanu meaning chin / jaw) after an incident related to an attack on the chin. (explained later on)

Species :
"Vaanar" - A species with a blend of human like intellect and ape like strength. This species was particularly created by Brahma for the specific purpose of defeating Ravan (demon lord) and associated demons in war. Vaanar (half ape-half man) as explained in ancient texts were a breed of creatures who lived for a few generations and this was planned for. This special breed had birth connections to Demi Gods, but were born of the womb of their own species. This is the reason for their amazing capabilities. Some could jump over large water bodies, some were extremely intellegent (more than humans), some had amazing martial skills, but one thing all of them had in common was super strength and courage which would be required to defeat demons.

Biological Father's name :
Kesari (An earthling Vaanar king)

Biological Mother's name :
Anjana (An earthling Vaanar queen)

Position :
Prince in search of Lord Ram to serve him rather than rule his kingdom.

Father in Heaven (DemiGod connection):
Marut / Pawan - Wind / Air God
Thus also reffered to as "Pawan-putra" (meaning Wind's son)
(Note : All earthlings have a connection to heavenly Gods, ruling elements, planets,etc)


Age :
Immortal - is still believed to show himself from time to time. Many poets and devotees have recorded accounts of their experiences. (explained later on)


Marital Status :
Brahmachari (those who practice celibacy and remain single by choice) 

Avatar / incarnation of :
Shiva / Mahadev

Experience:
Crossing an ocean by flying across it,
Lifting a mountain, flying with it, and bringing it to save Lakshman's life
Killing massive demons,
Saving captured planetary deities,
Being Ram's messenger to his wife Sita and vice versa too,
Helping countless humans, vaanars, gods, animals in small ways,
Always worshipping Lord Ram
Releasing many souls trapped in monster's bodies as a curse
Being Lord Ram's greatest devotee
Burning Lanka with tail on fire
Breaking the egos of many demons and even demigods.
Gulping the sun
... many more...



Strengths & Super Powers :
Almost everything one can dream of, no earthling has ever had so many powers.
- Can fly being son of "Marut"
- Can disguise in any form
- Can increase or decrease in size (gulped the sun as a kid thinking of it as a heavenly fruit)
- Incomparable super duper strength, (thus also the provider of strength)
- Can recognize evil, ghosts and negative spirits, demons etc hidden in various forms
- Can make his tail as long as he wants
- Can reach any realm (heaven, earth, hell, nakshatra, other lok's / realms)
- Immortality / Mortality by choice
- Many other powers; He can almost do all that Shiva can do. Only difference is that Shiva being prime consciousness only has to wish and it's done, and Hanuman, his avataar, being an earthling, has to physically gain and then use these powers.

Hanuman burning Lanka city (present day in
Sri Lanka which was taken over by demons)
with his tail which the demons set on fire
not knowing that it can grow immensely long
and Hanuman has a boon that he can't
be burnt.

So how does he gain all these amazing powers ?
These powers have been given to him by various Devas (Demi-Gods). After he had gulped the sun thinking of it as a heavenly fruit, in his kiddish innocence, the various Devas who didn't know who he really was, fought with him in desperation when this adamant boy wouldn't take the sun out. When no regular powers would work against this avatar of Shiva, Indra(the king of Devas) had to forcefully use his most powerful lightning weapon - "Bajr" to attack on the kid's chin("Hanu"), thus the name Hanuman, which made him unconscious. This annoyed Wind God as Hanuman was his son, and he in his anger started pulling out earth's air supply. When creatures started choking to death, the other God's pleaded and promised to get back the child to consciousness. When they understood that this kid was none other than Shiva incarnate, and was here for a special purpose, they decided to give the boy many special boons themselves including immortality and a tough body like "Bajr"- Indra's weapon. 
So devotees also call him Bajr-ang-bali (Bajr - body - strength)
Other than that he is:
Calm & composed, quite enlightened, very loving and caring, very helpful, among the top ranks of devotees of Ram, and he is worshiped and loved because of his devotion as well.

Weaknesses :
A curse that he would forget all his super powers when required the most unless someone reminds him. This curse was given to child Hanuman by his teacher. After his new found powers from the various Devas, he became notorious, like all kids would, and started being a nuisance in his school, troubling classmates and other teachers using his powers. So his Guru got angry and gave him this curse one day. But since his powers were necessary for the purpose he was born to complete, the Guru later calmed down and gave an antidote, which was that someone would have to remind him about his powers at that point when its needed.

Purpose of Birth :

Shiva incarnated as Hanuman to aid the process of killing of Ravan and associates, and to establish a new direction of selfless service and devotion.

More:

Hanuman is believed to be the 11th avataar of Shiva / Rudra. Since Shiva loves Vishnu and Vishnu loves Shiva incomparably, since both phenomenon cannot exist without each other, their avataars also find the same affection. So When Vishnu incarnated as Ram (Vishnu's 7th avatar), Shiva incarnated as Hanuman, who since childhood was searching for his worshipped one - Ram, and was totally devoted to him since birth. Ram on the other hand is known to be a great devotee of Shiva himself.

Ram and Hanuman's story is available everywhere, but I want to talk on the essence of Hanuman.

Devotees apply Kum Kum,
red powder to idols of Hanuman

Why is Hanuman worshipped ?
Hanuman is seen as the greatest devotee of all time. It is said, that if one has to find examples of devotion, there's no one better than the Vanar called Hanuman. Inspite of being a prince himself, his utter love for Ram led him to follow him wherever he went out of his own will, he did not marry so that he could find all the time to serve his lord. Hanuman, lovingly followed his Lord Ram's teachings and displayed examples of innocent affection many times in his stories.

Example 1 : One day when Ram's wife Sita was applying Kum Kum (a red powder) on her forehead, Hanuman asked her what was this red powder and why was she applying it. Hanuman did not know that all married women in Vedic culture apply it as a sign of marriage. Sita, instead of heavy explanation of customs, lovingly told him that she applies it because Lord Ram likes it. Thinking of that, Hanuman simply & innocently thought that he should also apply the same if his Lord Ram loves it, so he applied it to his whole body and came to show his lord of what he's done. Inspite of everyone laughing at him in his funny red skin, Ram saw the immense love in this devotee's heart, who did not once think of what people would think of him if he goes in King Ram's court like that. His love was like that of a child.

Example 2 : On one occassion, Hanuman, when asked what gift he would give Ram, he embedded his claws in his chest and tore open his skin, smiling. While others in the court were aghast at what he had done, Ram & Sita saw as if their images were being shown from inside his chest. This was another miracle by the Shiva incarnate as an earthling.

Hanuman's life story is full of rescues and saving people and demigods, teaching bad guys a lesson. His life is a heroic one, but totally without ego. Super strength combined with super calmness and loving devotion. Super powers combined with the love to serve his Lord Ram.
Ram considers him a brother, but he wishes to stay a servant of the Lord.

He refused to go with Ram and others to heaven after death. He wanted to stay on earth even when he was getting a chance to attain Moksha after death. Why? He said - Till the time people chant the name of Ram on earth, I will feel it. I will stay on earth and would like to sense all the prayer in the name of my Lord Ram. That was his love and devotion that he would not get tired of living so long, doing nothing but meditating in the name of Ram and as long as he would hear prayers of people in the name of Ram.

Hanuman is the epitome of devotion in Hinduism, the master of devotees, and his story inspires and thus is also loved by everyone. He is worshipped and invoked in rituals for strength and removing evil forces, for courage and protection of loved ones. Hanuman is the symbol of composed strength with virtue and love. Hanuman also has various forms like all other Gods and Godesses. He is worshiped as a phenomenon(the remover or evils) and also as a deity.

Panchmukhi Hanuman -
A form of the divine incarnate
of Shiva.

Read more about Hanuman's stories to knw that in Hinduism / Vedic culture, Hanuman is more than just respected. In fact, being Shiva himself, his mantra and rituals are used to ward off negative energy also.

This is the essence of Hanuman...








TAGS : Hinduism, Hindu, Vedic, om, India, Veda, ancient, natural, Brahma, Hindusthaan, Idol, worship, Philosophy, avataar, body, consciousness, devotee, devotion, existence, hanuman, idol, images, learning, love, meditation, mind, moksha, religious, shiva, soul, tribals, vedas, vishnu, you, Diversity, Harmony, Kaali, Kali, One, Polytheism, Unity, Unity in Diversity, belief, brain, communal, communities, competition, demon, dessert, education, experiment, eyes, food, forest, goddess, happy, indigenous, karma, lakshman, lakshmi, laws, living, loving, me, nirvana, ornament, love, our, pantheism, parvati, people, powers, prosperous, ram, ravan, rebirth, reincarnation, religare, religion, sage, saint, saraswati, save, search, shakti, share, sita, society, soul, searching, still, trinity, us, we, world, worship