" 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"

Where is My Soul ? Experience your Soul... Right Now (Guided by Hindu / Vedic teachings)

There are many who say that they don't believe in a soul. Fair enough. Why should one, when one cannot experience the Soul? Our schooling doesn't teach it, and sometimes scientists also say that there is no such thing as the Supreme Soul... Hell... There is even no such thing as a Soul.

Its all mental and nervous mumbo-jumbo, of our amazing brain. We are chemical structures reacting and acting in a particular way, and that's what makes us feel love, hate and such emotions. Nothing like a Soul exists.


How did I experience my Soul ?
Now this is not the only way, its just my method, and I wanna share it. It could be useful.
It is simple and I'm sure many people can do it. Takes a few seconds and a little practice whenever one's got time and solace. If interested, you can give it more time.

Whenever I'm just relaxing, closed eyes or open, I realized that I see a lot of thoughts rushing by in my head, like images and videos, one after the other, which is what we call "Thinking". This thinking always projects images in connections to each other. For example, I could start with - "Oh, the dinner was tasty... yesterday had tasty food at that restaurant... its wall had a picture of a guitar... guitars are cool... that guitarist at yesterdays show was awesome.... "(cont.) and so on. And then I think... What was I thinking in the beginning... and what am I thinking now?
These don't seem like involuntary actions at all, it seems like I'm voluntarily letting the memories flash one after the other, like playing with them. They form a chain in connection to an instance in one thought, leading to another, but as soon as I like something, I voluntarily and creatively start imagining by changing my thoughts, (cont.)... I'm learning to play the guitar... there is a guitar in my hands... crowds cheering for me... I'm dressed in black jacket.... riding in my Bentley... rich rockstar... and so on.

I realize that all this while there is an entity(Me) that was using my brain to browse through and produce these images by will. The brain was like the super computer producing such fast results, animating and editing videos(thoughts) in split seconds;
the nervous signals were like a super duper heavy duty video/animation software;
the memory was like the 50,000 GB hard drive which stores so much information.

But who was the video editor? 

Oh no, I got so lost in all these videos and images, that I never realized the existence of that one entity that is operating all this. That was Me. I was using my brain. I was in control. But who am I ?

Then I thought, my body is a machine. My brain being a part of it, functions like a machine too. When it functions well, my reflexes are fast, my imagination is good. When it malfunctions, like in the case of all sorts of mental disorders, it does not function properly. Now I started thinking that suppose I have an accident and lose my memory, or some part of the brain stops working to cause paralysis, my consciousness will still be intact. I know that I'm paralytic and a part of me isn't working. I KNOW that. Even the heaviest of brain damages do not take away that sense of "Me". Suppose, if I go into coma, and wake up after many years, supposing that my memory is washed, and I'm even not thinking stright, can't calculate, but still, the question I would ask is, Who Am I ?  Somehow I still know the existence of ME.

Sometimes people call this, The Soul. 

"Aatma" in Sanskrit(Vedic language) means Soul.
"Paramatma" = "Param"(Supreme) + "Atma" = Supreme Soul / God

In Vedas, it is clearly established, that if we learn to see our own soul, in other words, when we realize it more and more, see our souls activated and in constant action all the time, we start getting closer to answers to that very basic question - What/ Where/Who is God ? Because all the souls who think they are separate from each other are actually the same Soul trying to find its meaning by forming different forms / bodies and using different "Indriyas"(senses in sanskrit). Once we start to control our "Indriyas", we can clearly see the Soul - Live in action. Once we know the soul completely, all the desires which are projected through the senses seem so unimportant in comparison to the true bliss.

I realized that my soul/Me, its constantly working and making decisions willingly. It does what is necessary without rest. And why would it rest, it never tires. My body gets tired, I decide to sit. My mind gets tired, I/ my soul decides to take a break, go out. But if there is urgent work, I pressure my body to work, I pressure my mind to work. This sense of urgency depends from soul to soul so differently, that it cannot be calculated. If it were upto the brain, it would have calculated the stress levels of my body in terms of chemical imbalance, and would have put me to sleep. It believes in the survival instinct, so why would it let the body perish knowing that over working is not good for the body. But I / The Soul is thinking about commitment to work and others benefit, which is why it pressures my body to work not listening to the signals of my brain.

I'm actually never getting tired. When I say that I'm getting tired, it just means that my body is getting tired, or my brain is, but try to see that one being, that is You, that never feels tired. 

I also realized, that when I'm doing something out of greed or thrill (like over-speeding in traffic, or refusing a beggar whose asking for alms, or stealing someone's job, shoplifting, or even over pricing a product to earn a little more from a customer, or telling a lie for personal benefit, etc), at that very moment my Self splits into two; one tells me to go for it, one tells me not to.

Its generally my social learnings and values, my mental structure, my thinking, etc which tells me to think of myself, my pleasure, my greed, my fears, my reputation (what is also called for the devil / satan). But there is this other strong force, always there, which knows what is wrong and right once it gets information. Its so sensitive, that it pricks me in a slight way even when I'm having meat these days, for example. Since the time(about 6-7 years of age) I realized, that a whole animal has been killed, and customers like me are the reason why they're being killed frantically, I started to get that poking from the soul whenever I had meat.

Q. What would my brain tell me based on evidences it grew up with over the years, and survival instincts? 
A. My parents eat meat. Everyone has it. Its tasty, its proteins. If humans can grow them they can kill them too. This is our societal norm. People have been doing it for ages. People would think I'm stupid if I quit. Food chains promote it. Its delicious. Being Bad is Good in today's world.

Q. What would be bugging / poking me, even when the brain is giving evidences?
A. Why should an animal die for my taste buds. Humans give birth on intention too, so does that mean that the parents can kill their child. All these arguments are being given by the brain to satiate addiction of the senses; in this case, its taste buds.

Even after this, I pushed my soul away and continued with meat for more than 25 years since birth. It was because I liked it and could not refuse it. Later, when I started to pay attention to this poking going on inside me, I decided to quit eating meat. I saw myself going closer to peace, understanding and happiness. By body became healthier and my mind could work much faster and sharper.
I slowly started to develop control over my senses and thus the addictions too.

I saw, that the Soul constantly thinks of the other(other than me), which is why the virtues come up to pinch me, but my brain only thinks about its own survival and greed, and it argues with my soul constantly, and most of the times I let my brain and body win.

Why does the soul always think of the other??? 
Could it be that it realizes that the other is also itself. And it realizes that the brain and body are locking it in illusion but it is eternally connected to every other soul in the planet. Which is why when we see a person cry, we start to feel the pain. Even babies, their thinking and understanding is not so developed. But you keep a crying baby in a room full of babies, soon they'll all start crying. There is something connecting them, even when they do not have the means to communicate.

This is why the Vedas indicate that babies are like purest forms of God themselves. Their soul is so pure, because their brains haven't developed yet. They know no fear but are able to sense everyone's pain. You would sense that capability in pets also. And yet sometimes we grown up humans, who have so many advanced tools and techniqueswith the mind and body, cannot understand others pain and others problems and point of view. That's because we have so covered up ourselves in materialism and materialistic thoughts(career, house, car, reputation, sex, bank balance, self image) always. That is why we always feel insecure and intolerant of the other.

People don't even wanna adjust with their families anymore, forget the rest of the world.

When its a case of survival, and you haven't had food for 3 days, your Soul justifies stealing this one time. Brains wouldn't function that way. Brains would work according to programming. But souls(The Real You) make the same body and mind function differently in different situations.
It only knows right and wrong.

You'll notice that the soul never rests.
If the body is too tired, it lies down, but the soul keeps observing. Even when we sleep the soul imagines (what we call dreams). It uses the brain's data and plays around with it and also creates new imaginary mixed  up stuff that never existed in the brain, in quite the same way, when we were thinking voluntarily, remember?

When you wake up from sleep, it seems real till 
the time you've woken up.

So if our soul is behaving exactly the same way when we are awake or asleep, it means that our souls are not in the control of our brain. Its the opposite. Our soul / We have a different reality with our eyes open, and a different reality in sleep.

One real world for the soul

Another real world for the soul

I like the dialogue in the movie - "The Matrix". A question is asked - "Imagine if you could never wake up from your sleep, how would you know the difference between the two worlds".
In our world(not in the movie) somehow we can never teach ourselves, when we dream, that it is a dream right now and I will wake up from it. Its only when you wake up, that you realize that it was not reality.
I think that when we sleep in this world, we (our soul) wakes up in the another world and we say to ourselves - "Oh that was just a dream", and when we sleep there, we wake up here, and say the same thing. And this happens every single night. No matter how much you try to tell yourself that you'll just be dreaming at night and that it isn't real, you still believe that its real, till you wake up.
Why would that happen?

An Experiment with the Soul
I imagine if I was blind since birth, I wouldn't have this immense video gallery in my memory obviously.
If I was also deaf since birth, I would have no sound files in the memory.
If I also did not have any other senses of hearing, taste and touch, I would basically have no means to experience this world through my senses, thus no memory at work, thus no imagination.
In that case, would I still have, pretty blank surely but still, a sense of myself? What would it be like? I would know no happy moments, no sad ones, I won't feel when someone pushes me, throws me, no sensory feelings basically. But would I sense my existence in a very still manner or not? What do you think?

Try feeling this. Ok wait, even imagination wouldn't work in a person like that, so how would you imagine.
Mmmmm.... if only you and I could blank out all our senses, which basically means all our connections to the outer world, would we be able to realize what that would feel like. Just the soul.

Could meditation help?

Let's try this simple one right now. Close your eyes, and focus on certain imaginations constantly for 5 seconds each - like a tree, a laughing girl, a laughing boy, a dog, sunset, etc. Like this make a few projections of your choice (let them come randomly) and keep each constant in your mind for a few seconds(but don't count, don't be rigid with timing, let it be natural).

Realize that these images are all in front of you, so you should turn your focus inwards on the one who is looking at these images. Feel the presence of You - the video editor.

Feel the stillness that is not your body, and not your mind.

And Ask
Who am I ?
What I visualize as myself is just my body and face, what if I did not have my eyes.
What I imagine is just my name(given by parents) and designation(given by society),
suppose I could not hear.
What I love in food is also a sensation only. Suppose I could not taste or smell.
What I feel are touches on skin, suppose I could not feel touch.

But do I still feel me, as still as a rock , but do I sense the presence of ME?

Note : Those who are disabled from one or two senses are known to be more sensitive to love and emotions. The soul is always as active, as loving(like a child), as innocent; Maybe its the memory of the senses that form an illusion of who I am, build my ego, build selfishness. The soul is like unending love and is the same that runs through everybody(which is why it can sense pain of others). Its the mind that covers it up in "Maaya" (an illusion).

When we try to separate the illusory senses that wake up our ego, we should be able to feel the presence of The Self - The Soul.
When we realize and feel the same Self / Soul running through every being, we feel the essence of God, omnipresence of God. When we're able to practice this, we are filled with knowledge, peace and senses that are far more capable than the basic 5 senses we think we have.


Keep Realizing the never tiring Soul every moment.
Saurabh Dey (OmCultr)



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

Pantheism , Idol worship and Polytheism in Hinduism– Why, What & How come?

  

Pantheism is the belief that God manifests in everything , Idol Worship is worshipping of God through images and idols, and Polytheism is the worship of many different deities in the name of God.

Vedic culture has a very sponge like nature and is all incorporating. What it doesn’t incorporate is “Adharma”(unrighteous conduct). So, as long as one walks on the path of “Dharma”(right conduct, right deeds), it doesn’t matter what their beliefs are. The person will attain bliss and blessings sooner or later. The base philosophy is “Unity in Diversity”. A link to it : http://omcultr.blogspot.in/2012/08/hinduism-vedic-culture-basic.html

Pantheism:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead (Om / Brahmaand) is formless, its not a person or a deity, its not male or female; it is actually the source of everything, actually even that would be incorrect, IT IS everything, and it is the only one that exists.  Actually the opposite is the proper way to describe it. Existence(all that exists) is the One.

So you see God in everything that you find helpful and blissful; in nature’s processes, the flow of rivers, the land on which food grows, the cow which gives you wholesome milk, the trees that give you fruits, etc.

 

In India, you could notice it still, that sometimes when a boy breaks a tree’s branch in sport, or kicks a stray dog for fun, their mother would usually come out of the house, scolding the child, telling them it hurts the tree and dog too. She asks her son, how would it feel if someone breaks your finger or kicks you while you are sitting? She tells her son, that everything in nature has God in it, so respect it, don’t hurt it, take only what you need, but never forget to respect it. Since childhood, the mentality to vandalize, hurt and harm is taken out with this kind of teaching. Compassion and tolerance are the values that emerge as a result. That’s Pantheism.

   

Idol Worship :

Once I came across a story which I should tell you. 

A great Indian philosopher – Swami Vivekananda(Swamiji), was once travelling the whole world to know more about people’s cultures and beliefs across the world. One day, he was crossing a kingdom. The king had heard of this great philosopher from India, and wanted to ask him a few questions, so he invited him to his palace. But the king wasn’t inquisitive it seems, rather he wanted to mock at the beliefs of those he called the hindus.

While the king was posing and a painter was making his portrait, he asked Swami Vivekananda to join him. He asked him laughing it out; “Why is it that I see all these Hindus worshipping idols and pictures, sometimes which they make at home out of clay or stone. How could Hindus be so stupid to believe that their Gods reside in them"? Swamiji smiled and got up. He looked at the king who was posing for a painting of his to be put up on the wall. Then he looked at other portraits on the wall. He went to the last one and asked the king; "Who is this"? The king replied proudly, "its my father, the king of this land before me". Immediately Swamiji spit on the picture. Seeing this, the king got furious, drew his sword out and charged towards Swamiji, but something stopped him suddenly. He saw that Swamiji wasn’t afraid; instead he was smiling, and asked the king "why are you so furious"? The king replied; “I was only asking you a simple question, but you had to insult the royal line. He is my father and the respected former king, how dare you disrespect him? How could you spit on him"? Swamiji quickly replied in the form of a question; "How could you be so stupid to think that I disrespected your father. I just happened to spit on a painting, this isn't your father, neither does he reside inside it, he is already dead. Then why are you so angry"? The king calmed down and understood what Swamiji was trying to teach him.

Swamiji meant that worship is actually and only done from our souls, its our method of paying respect to someone; it is our emotion that counts and is called worship. Without the emotion of the worshipper, the worshipped will have no meaning. The idol / image is there to hold our concentration and create relation, and to keep reminding us of virtues, significance and teachings of that personality; just like the pictures of our loved ones do. Frankly, if anyone does what Swamiji did, to my mother’s photograph; I would definitely get very angry, and not because the photo is destroyed, but because spitting signifies that they don’t respect my emotions, the respect I give to her. Am I not an idol/ image worshiper then? Seriously, do I not know that my actual mother isn’t there in the photograph?

In such cases, people wouldn’t like to call it worship, they’ll call it giving respect, but aren’t they the same thing? Can you worship a personality unless you respect them? Can you respect them unless you know about their deeds, their significance, their stories and what they did for humanity, or how they bless us always? To me, worship is like - respect X infinity.

People use an idol or an image mostly, because one in a million humans may have a strong enough divine vision since birth(like saints and sages, like Buddha) to feel the presence of divinity in the universe (in themselves, in the surroundings, etc). Most of us need visual imagery and points of reference to be able to connect to and feel, to thank and complain, to love and respect, to obey and to abide by. Like seeing a photograph reconnects you to that feeling you had with your loved ones, the memories of what they told you. Sometimes you cry and even talk to the pictures. Isn’t that amazing. Those who can surpass this stage and can imagine that supreme consciousness, are the ones we call enlightened.

Try this exercise yourself. Try and visualize consciousness, which you feel all the time through your emotions, 6^th sense, values, virtue, love, compassion, making choices, thoughts, dreams, etc. Try to visualize this Consciousness of yours. Energy can be visualized thru beams of light or sparks, etc, any matter is the easiest to visualize, space can be imagined by possibly blanking out the mind for a moment.

How will you imagine consciousness? Don’t imagine anything visual, coz that would be creating an image.

Goodness cannot be drawn on paper. Yes you can show various drawings which remind of goodness (like people hugging, like a drawing of Jesus Christ, etc), which remind us of goodness, but all these are representations of the feeling of goodness. Goodness is consciousness at work You can't imagine it yet you feel it all the time, explain it, understand it since birth. The same way people represent the this consciousness / goodness through various figurines and idols according to their stories.

Important Note: Try to search for these 3 words in Google images.

1. Matter   2. Energy    3. Conciousness

You'll notice that all sorts of projections and scientific and reflective images of the first two can be found, but when you type the third word, it opens a lot of art and drawings.

This is the essence of Idol Worship.

Polytheism :

Sometimes the question is, where do I find God ?

Vedic teachings indicate that you can’t physically go to a place to find God. Since God is collective consciousness which has transformed into this great illusion called the universe. Thus the life giving waters are divine(so Supreme God in the form of Deity of Water- “Varun Dev”), the food providing land is divine(So Supreme God in the form of Mother Goddess of Earth- “Prithvi Maa ”),, animals are divine(“Gou Mata”, “Nagadev”), and many other forms. You find God everywhere? In fact “Everywhere” itself is a part of God, the only consciousness. 

 

Worshiping all Gods isn't mandatory. The core focus is always on the emotion of worship. Whether you worship a lower deity or a higher deity or Supreme God, or don’t worship any deity at all, but just do good work (good “Karma”), it will all be good.

Vedas are not mandatory, but reflective in its teachings. If you seek the help of a spiritual Guru to understand this knowledge, or any learning for that matter, you could worship your Guru (which basically means to show respect, as we have discussed earlier). You could worship your parents. You could worship all of creation as one entity or as separate entities, whatever you feel comfortable with. Only, when you will be comfortable with your worship, will it be from your heart (for example you feel like swaying and tapping only when you love the music). So generally, people like to worship a particular deity according to their own fondness, favourite story of the deity, or clear understanding of the deity.  Sometimes they worship many deities, sometimes “Param Brahm” or “Om”. Since all these deities are One, it doesn’t matter even if there are thousands of idols or none. Understand that its the emotion and devotion in the worship that matters. That emotion in worship is consciousness itself, in other words, God. Since you are an inseparable part of this universe and woven into this fabric of Divinity itself, your true devotion and good deeds spread and communicate, reciprocate, and spread positive energy (good values & virtues/ happiness) in this divine cosmos, starting from your self, your home, then your neighborhood, country, and then the world; the kind that is required for sustenance of balanced life and a harmonious society.

That, is the true essence of Polytheism.

Fans of Michael Jackson would love him, respect him, hear no bad words about him, support him, listen to his statements or philosophy (on music/entertainment/world peace) and say… “MJ is The God of Pop, I can dance to his music”, rock enthusiasts would say - “Elvis is The God of Rock, his music makes me rock”. Suddenly your Indian friend says – “Lata Mangeshkar is the Goddess of Indian classical music, I only like that.” Does this sound familiar? Different people, different favourites, same emotion of respect towards music and harmony, unified emotion of the endeavor to learn. What is the result? The world is filled with various kinds of good music, for different people, all the time. You can learn other's ways of music, enjoy it if it excites you or not, if it doesn't. But I really haven't heard any musician fight with another musician over who's music is better.

Now, could we say, that polytheism is in our very nature?

Have thoughtful bright days always

Thank You

Saurabh Dey (OMCULTR)