Upanishad Veda Mantras often told and to be known
1. Mahavakyas:
In advaita philosophy, Gods Dakshinamurthy , Dattatreyar, Narayanan and Brahma are worshipped first among the Guru Parampara. Then followed the Rishis Vasishta, his son Sakthi, his son Parasarar, his son Vyasa, and his son Suka. Suka was a bachelor, and therefore, the family hierarchy of the Guru Parampara did not continue and the Guru Peetam was taken over by a nominated Sishya (student). At some time down the line, the Rishis (Rishis married and led a normal married life but had extra ordinary occult powers where many aspects of Truth were 'revealed' to them, which subsequently went into the scriptures), were replaced by Sanyasis. Perhaps, this coincided with the time when Buddhism became predominant in the country. Therefore, Hinduism might have required ascetics, who had no attachments and who could fight the spread of Buddhism, who criticised the rituals and opposed the concept of God. In this line, came Gaudapada and his disciple, Govinda Bhagawat Pada, on the banks of the Narmada river. Adi Sankara was the disciple of Govinda Bhagawat Pada. He was a visionary and administrator par excellence. He established, for the first time, what is known as 'Aamnaya Peeta', i.e., regional Peetams, to cover the four corners of the country. He also allocated one Veda to be followed and propagated by each of these Peetams. He also assigned a 'Mahavakya', an extract of the essence of that particular Veda concerned, to each one of these Peetams. He made one disciple as the head of each one of these 'Aamnaya Mutt'. The details are given below.
1. East - Puri Mutt - Rig Veda - Maha Vakya - 'Pragnanam Brahma' - first Peetadhipathi - Hastaamalaka.
2. West - Dwaraka Mutt - Sama Veda - Mahavakya - 'Tat Twam Asi' - First Peetadhipathi - Padma Pada.
3. North - Badrinath - Atharva Veda - Mahavakya - 'Ayam Atma Brahma' - First Peetadhipathi - Totakacharya.
4. South - Sringeri Mutt (on the banks of the Tungabhadra river) - Yajur Veda - Mahavakya - 'Aham Brahmaasmi' - First Peetadhipathi - Suresvara, also known as Viswaroopa.
It must be kept in mind that while all the gurus upto Suka Rishi are common to all Hindus, Gaudapada and all his lineage of disciples spearheaded Advaitam (Monoism) and hence the Vasishtadwaites (Vaishnavites) and Dwaites (Madhvas) branched off and have their own Guru Parampara.
The first aphorism, Pragnanam Brahma, (Brahman is consciousness), appears in Aitareya Upanishad in the Rig Veda. This aphorism makes a general declaration that Brahman, the supreme reality is consciousness, homogenous, pervading everywhere, in the macro and microcosm. Since this pronounces homogeneity, it is known as 'Lakshana Vakya', which means 'a statement of definition'.
The second aphorism 'Tat Twam Asi' (That thou Art, You are that), appears in Chandogya Upanishad in the Sama Veda. It declares you are pure consciousness. Brahman and Atman are one and the same. The consciousness is the ocean and Atman, a wave and both are water. 'You are that'. This aphorism is the form of an advice to a spiritual seeker. Hence it is known as 'Upadesa Vakya', or a statement of advice.
The third aphorism 'Ayam Atma Brahma' (The self is Brahman), is in Mandukya Upanishad, in the Atharvana Veda. If Brahman is likened to a conflagration, the individual would be a spark arising from it. Both are the element fire. This truth is to be remembered at all times, by repeating it to oneself. This thought has to be entertained until you realise that you, the self is Brahman. Hence this aphorism is known as 'Abhyasa Vakya', or 'a statement of practice'.
The last or the fourth Aphorism 'Aham Brahma Asmi' ( I am Brahman), appears in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, in the Yajur Veda. It means 'I am God'. It is the ultimate pronouncement of a self realised soul. The conditioned mind always expresses anything with 'I'. If you transcend the limitations of your material physical body, you realise that your real self is God. This is the ultimate experience in self-realisation. Hence it is known as 'Anubhava Vakya', or , 'a statement of experience'.
Sadhu A. Parthasarathy explains this beautifully by comparing petrol and car.
i) Petrol is the prime mover in all cars. But, petrol does not move, it has no desire to go anywhere, nor a desire to avoid going. Yet no car moves without petrol. Similarly, the self, 'Atman' is the activating principle, but the self does not act, nor has any desire to act, nor a desire to avoid any actions. Yet, no action is possible without the 'self'.
ii) The performance levels of different cars are different, depending upon the horse power of the engine. So it is with different personalities.'
iii) One car may be rashly driven, causing an accident, while another car may safely reach its destination. The petrol used in both the cars is the same, and cannot be blamed for the accident, or congratulated for the safety. So it is with Atman. In one, it manifests as a terrorist, and in another, as a sage. The Atman remains inert and neutral.
We must get out of this misconception that God is responsible for everything, good or bad. God is merely the substratum of all activities.
One must, therefore, "Uttishta Jaagrata Prapya Varaan Nibodadha", "Arise, Awake, Assert your real self", the great logo given by swami vivekananda to Ramakrishna Mission is from Katopanishad. The four Mahavakyas or aphorisms from the four Vedas, as quoted above, goads you to be "Your Self", and if you are 'that', you are God already. This is what Bhagwad gita slowly and steadily teaches you over 18 chapters. This is what Ramana Maharishi taught us, by asking 'Who am I', for an answer.
1. Mahavakyas:
In advaita philosophy, Gods Dakshinamurthy , Dattatreyar, Narayanan and Brahma are worshipped first among the Guru Parampara. Then followed the Rishis Vasishta, his son Sakthi, his son Parasarar, his son Vyasa, and his son Suka. Suka was a bachelor, and therefore, the family hierarchy of the Guru Parampara did not continue and the Guru Peetam was taken over by a nominated Sishya (student). At some time down the line, the Rishis (Rishis married and led a normal married life but had extra ordinary occult powers where many aspects of Truth were 'revealed' to them, which subsequently went into the scriptures), were replaced by Sanyasis. Perhaps, this coincided with the time when Buddhism became predominant in the country. Therefore, Hinduism might have required ascetics, who had no attachments and who could fight the spread of Buddhism, who criticised the rituals and opposed the concept of God. In this line, came Gaudapada and his disciple, Govinda Bhagawat Pada, on the banks of the Narmada river. Adi Sankara was the disciple of Govinda Bhagawat Pada. He was a visionary and administrator par excellence. He established, for the first time, what is known as 'Aamnaya Peeta', i.e., regional Peetams, to cover the four corners of the country. He also allocated one Veda to be followed and propagated by each of these Peetams. He also assigned a 'Mahavakya', an extract of the essence of that particular Veda concerned, to each one of these Peetams. He made one disciple as the head of each one of these 'Aamnaya Mutt'. The details are given below.
1. East - Puri Mutt - Rig Veda - Maha Vakya - 'Pragnanam Brahma' - first Peetadhipathi - Hastaamalaka.
2. West - Dwaraka Mutt - Sama Veda - Mahavakya - 'Tat Twam Asi' - First Peetadhipathi - Padma Pada.
3. North - Badrinath - Atharva Veda - Mahavakya - 'Ayam Atma Brahma' - First Peetadhipathi - Totakacharya.
4. South - Sringeri Mutt (on the banks of the Tungabhadra river) - Yajur Veda - Mahavakya - 'Aham Brahmaasmi' - First Peetadhipathi - Suresvara, also known as Viswaroopa.
It must be kept in mind that while all the gurus upto Suka Rishi are common to all Hindus, Gaudapada and all his lineage of disciples spearheaded Advaitam (Monoism) and hence the Vasishtadwaites (Vaishnavites) and Dwaites (Madhvas) branched off and have their own Guru Parampara.
The first aphorism, Pragnanam Brahma, (Brahman is consciousness), appears in Aitareya Upanishad in the Rig Veda. This aphorism makes a general declaration that Brahman, the supreme reality is consciousness, homogenous, pervading everywhere, in the macro and microcosm. Since this pronounces homogeneity, it is known as 'Lakshana Vakya', which means 'a statement of definition'.
The second aphorism 'Tat Twam Asi' (That thou Art, You are that), appears in Chandogya Upanishad in the Sama Veda. It declares you are pure consciousness. Brahman and Atman are one and the same. The consciousness is the ocean and Atman, a wave and both are water. 'You are that'. This aphorism is the form of an advice to a spiritual seeker. Hence it is known as 'Upadesa Vakya', or a statement of advice.
The third aphorism 'Ayam Atma Brahma' (The self is Brahman), is in Mandukya Upanishad, in the Atharvana Veda. If Brahman is likened to a conflagration, the individual would be a spark arising from it. Both are the element fire. This truth is to be remembered at all times, by repeating it to oneself. This thought has to be entertained until you realise that you, the self is Brahman. Hence this aphorism is known as 'Abhyasa Vakya', or 'a statement of practice'.
The last or the fourth Aphorism 'Aham Brahma Asmi' ( I am Brahman), appears in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, in the Yajur Veda. It means 'I am God'. It is the ultimate pronouncement of a self realised soul. The conditioned mind always expresses anything with 'I'. If you transcend the limitations of your material physical body, you realise that your real self is God. This is the ultimate experience in self-realisation. Hence it is known as 'Anubhava Vakya', or , 'a statement of experience'.
Sadhu A. Parthasarathy explains this beautifully by comparing petrol and car.
i) Petrol is the prime mover in all cars. But, petrol does not move, it has no desire to go anywhere, nor a desire to avoid going. Yet no car moves without petrol. Similarly, the self, 'Atman' is the activating principle, but the self does not act, nor has any desire to act, nor a desire to avoid any actions. Yet, no action is possible without the 'self'.
ii) The performance levels of different cars are different, depending upon the horse power of the engine. So it is with different personalities.'
iii) One car may be rashly driven, causing an accident, while another car may safely reach its destination. The petrol used in both the cars is the same, and cannot be blamed for the accident, or congratulated for the safety. So it is with Atman. In one, it manifests as a terrorist, and in another, as a sage. The Atman remains inert and neutral.
We must get out of this misconception that God is responsible for everything, good or bad. God is merely the substratum of all activities.
One must, therefore, "Uttishta Jaagrata Prapya Varaan Nibodadha", "Arise, Awake, Assert your real self", the great logo given by swami vivekananda to Ramakrishna Mission is from Katopanishad. The four Mahavakyas or aphorisms from the four Vedas, as quoted above, goads you to be "Your Self", and if you are 'that', you are God already. This is what Bhagwad gita slowly and steadily teaches you over 18 chapters. This is what Ramana Maharishi taught us, by asking 'Who am I', for an answer.
