In My True Nature

[SalixIncendium]

Neither am I the mind nor intellect nor ego,

Neither am I the organs of hearing, nor of tasting, smelling, nor seeing,

Neither am I the sky nor the earth, neither the fire nor the air,

Neither am I the vital breath nor the five vital airs,

Neither am I the seven ingredients nor the five sheaths,

Neither am I the organ of speech, nor the organs of holding, of movement, nor excretion,

Neither do I have hatred nor attachment, neither greed nor infatuation,

Neither do I have passion nor feelings of envy or jealousy,

I am not within the bounds of dharma, artha, kama, or moksha,

Neither am I bound by merit nor vice, neither by worldly joys nor sorrows,

Neither am I bound by sacred hymns nor sacred places, neither by sacred scripture nor by sacrifices,

I am neither the experience, nor the object of experience, nor the experiencer,

Neither am I bound by death nor by its fear, nor by the rules of caste and its distinctions,

Neither do I have a father and mother, nor do I have birth,

Neither do I have relations nor friends, nor spiritual teacher nor disciple,

I am without any variation, and without any form,

I am present everywhere as the underlying substratum of everything, and am present behind all sense organs,

Neither do I get attached to anything, nor do I get freed from anything,

I am the form of auspicious consciousness-bliss,

I am the eternal Shiva,

I am Brahman.

 

[Stonetree]

Is this a repeated anthem for your belief system?

 

[SalixIncendium]

Is this a repeated anthem for your belief system?

It's a paraphrasing of the Atma Shatakam, aka Nirvana Shatakam, which consists of six verses (shlokas) that are said to have been uttered by Adi Shankara when he was a boy of eight years when he came across Govindapada, who was the disciple of Guadapada, as Shankara walked up the River Narmada. As a result, Godvindapada accepted Shankara as his disciple.

 

[Stonetree]

It's a paraphrasing of the Atma Shatakam, aka Nirvana Shatakam, which consists of six verses (shlokas) that are said to have been uttered by Adi Shankara when he was a boy of eight years when he came across Govindapada, who was the disciple of Guadapada, as Shankara walked up the River Narmada. As a result, Godvindapada accepted Shankara as his disciple.

Thank you....I may memorize your post

 

[Vinayaka]

Neither am I the mind nor intellect nor ego,

Neither am I the organs of hearing, nor of tasting, smelling, nor seeing,

Neither am I the sky nor the earth, neither the fire nor the air,

Neither am I the vital breath nor the five vital airs,

Neither am I the seven ingredients nor the five sheaths,

Neither am I the organ of speech, nor the organs of holding, of movement, nor excretion,

Neither do I have hatred nor attachment, neither greed nor infatuation,

Neither do I have passion nor feelings of envy or jealousy,

I am not within the bounds of dharma, artha, kama, or moksha,

Neither am I bound by merit nor vice, neither by worldly joys nor sorrows,

Neither am I bound by sacred hymns nor sacred places, neither by sacred scripture nor by sacrifices,

I am neither the experience, nor the object of experience, nor the experiencer,

Neither am I bound by death nor by its fear, nor by the rules of caste and its distinctions,

Neither do I have a father and mother, nor do I have birth,

Neither do I have relations nor friends, nor spiritual teacher nor disciple,

I am without any variation, and without any form,

I am present everywhere as the underlying substratum of everything, and am present behind all sense organs,

Neither do I get attached to anything, nor do I get freed from anything,

I am the forum of auspicious consciousness-bliss,

I am the eternal Shiva,

I am Brahman.

Who typed this onto the internet?

 

[SalixIncendium]

Who typed this onto the internet?

It the format you see above, I did. I took pieces from 3 different translations and typed it into a Word document earlier today. I c/p'd it here after typing it out.

It was an exercise I was to do in helping me to memorize both the English version and the Sanskrit version.

 

[Vinayaka]

It the format you see above, I did. I took pieces from 3 different translations and typed it into a Word document earlier today. I c/p'd it here after typing it out.

It was an exercise I was to do in helping me to memorize both the English version and the Sanskrit version.

View attachment 85122

I believe you missed the point I was attempting to make. It was somewhat more subtle than that.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I believe you missed the point I was attempting to make. It was somewhat more subtle than that.

Okay...I got you now. Sometimes I can be a bit slow on the uptake.

My body/mind complex typed it onto the internet. Better?

 

[Vinayaka]

Okay...I got you now. Sometimes I can be a bit slow on the uptake.

My body/mind complex typed it onto the internet. Better?

It must be rather strange (unfamiliar territory to those of us not there) to live it, and yet sages did. We work on going in, and they have to work on coming out. It's a start to know about it.

 

[SalixIncendium]

It must be rather strange (unfamiliar territory to those of us not there) to live it, and yet sages did. We work on going in, and they have to work on coming out. It's a start to know about it.

I considered typing a response yesterday, but I wanted to take some time to contemplate how to word this...

The very idea of going in and coming out in and of itself creates a barrier. One is always that...has always been that. There is nothing to go into or come out of. There is not a vast difference as one might believe between knowing and being...being that which is what one is not appears upon. Its only a matter of implementing that knowledge through a shift in perspective.

The canvas does not go into or come out of the paint. It is only stable in the understanding that it is the canvas, not the paint nor the painting. The painting is merely an appearance as a result of paint. It's just very easy to become attached to the enjoyment of the painting, so much that one becomes absorbed in the idea one is that painting. It's merely a shift in viewing the world from either the perspective of the painting or the perspective of the canvas. But after the paint is stripped away, it is the canvas that remains.

 

[Vinayaka]

I considered typing a response yesterday, but I wanted to take some time to contemplate how to word this...

The very idea of going in and coming out in and of itself creates a barrier. One is always that...has always been that. There is nothing to go into or come out of. There is not a vast difference as one might believe between knowing and being...being that which is what one is not appears upon. Its only a matter of implementing that knowledge through a shift in perspective.

The canvas does not go into or come out of the paint. It is only stable in the understanding that it is the canvas, not the paint nor the painting. The painting is merely an appearance as a result of paint. It's just very easy to become attached to the enjoyment of the painting, so much that one becomes absorbed in the idea one is that painting. It's merely a shift in viewing the world from either the perspective of the painting or the perspective of the canvas. But after the paint is stripped away, it is the canvas that remains.

My Guru's Guru said, "Go in, and in, and in, and in, and then go in some more." In my view, that is the precursor to realising wholly that you already are that. Once realized, it is indeed a different story. But this is why I don't follow Advaitha Vedanta.

 

[RestlessSoul]

So what then, is all this restless activity which wearies the world? What causes the sun to rise, to go down, to hasten again to the place where he arose? Don’t all the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full? What’s that all about, and why?

 

[SalixIncendium]

So what then, is all this restless activity which wearies the world? What causes the sun to rise, to go down, to hasten again to the place where he arose? Don’t all the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full? What’s that all about, and why?

Avidya - incorrect knowledge - ignorance. It is that which powers maya - time, space, and causation. All of these you list above is an appearance resulting from this.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Avidya - incorrect knowledge - ignorance. It is that which powers maya - time, space, and causation. All of these you list above is an appearance resulting from this.

So everything unfolding in time and space is an illusion? But then who or what is experiencing the illusion?

 

[SalixIncendium]

So everything unfolding in time and space is an illusion?

From the perspective of Paramartika - ultimate reality - yes. From the perspective of vyavaharika - transactional reality - no.

But then who or what is experiencing the illusion?

The jiva - the body/mind complex.

When you are asleep and dreaming, your dream character is experiencing a world that to the dream character is quite real. But once awake from that dream, the your waking self understands that the dream was an illusion.

 

[ChieftheCef]

Neither am I the mind nor intellect nor ego,

Neither am I the organs of hearing, nor of tasting, smelling, nor seeing,

Neither am I the sky nor the earth, neither the fire nor the air,

Neither am I the vital breath nor the five vital airs,

Neither am I the seven ingredients nor the five sheaths,

Neither am I the organ of speech, nor the organs of holding, of movement, nor excretion,

Neither do I have hatred nor attachment, neither greed nor infatuation,

Neither do I have passion nor feelings of envy or jealousy,

I am not within the bounds of dharma, artha, kama, or moksha,

Neither am I bound by merit nor vice, neither by worldly joys nor sorrows,

Neither am I bound by sacred hymns nor sacred places, neither by sacred scripture nor by sacrifices,

I am neither the experience, nor the object of experience, nor the experiencer,

Neither am I bound by death nor by its fear, nor by the rules of caste and its distinctions,

Neither do I have a father and mother, nor do I have birth,

Neither do I have relations nor friends, nor spiritual teacher nor disciple,

I am without any variation, and without any form,

I am present everywhere as the underlying substratum of everything, and am present behind all sense organs,

Neither do I get attached to anything, nor do I get freed from anything,

I am the forum of auspicious consciousness-bliss,

I am the eternal Shiva,

I am Brahman.

I appreciate the eternal Shiva and the Brahaman. I give you this challenge: if your faith is strong seek out proof of what lies behind Brahman, the animating force, polytheist chief god, and the monotheist god. Really god, not his stories.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I appreciate the eternal Shiva and the Brahaman. I give you this challenge: if your faith is strong seek out proof of what lies behind Brahman, the animating force, polytheist chief god, and the monotheist god. Really god, not his stories.

What did I say in this thread that led you to conclude that I wanted a challenge?

Faith in what?

Before you present a challenge, you would do well to understand the subject matter of which you speak.

 

[ChieftheCef]

What did I say in this thread that led you to conclude that I wanted a challenge?

Faith in what?

Before you present a challenge, you would do well to understand the subject matter of which you speak.

You don't seem that enlightened.

 

[JustGeorge]

You don't seem that enlightened.

How would an enlightened person seem?

 

[The Hammer]

How would an enlightened person seem?

Not as one would expect.