CONCEPTS OF VEDANTA
Aatmaa - the indwelling self

    The Aatmaa is self-luminous, unattached, etc. Br.up.4.3.14.S.B.-svayamjyotiH
aatmaa asti iti svapnanidars'anena pradars'itam.By the illustration of dream it has
been proved that there is the self-luminous aatmaa and that it transcends the forms
of death (i.e. the body and organs). Br. Up. 4.3.17.S.B.-yathaa asau svapne asa.ngatvaat----------- buddhaantena. Just as, being unattached in the dream state,
the aatmaa is not affected, on its return to the waking state, by whatever appeared
to have happened in the dream state, so also, it is not affected by anything done in
the waking state. (In other words, the aatmaa is not at all affected by anything
experienced either in the dream state or in the waking state).

    Aatmaa in the three states Br.up.4.3.19. S.B.-yasmaat jaagarite sasa.ngaH samr.tyuH-------- It has been shown that in the waking state the self appears through ignorance as connected with attachment, death (meaning here action) and the body
and organs. In the dream state it appears to be connected with desire, but free from
the forms of death (meaning the body, mind and organs-See Br.up.4.3.7.S.B.-svatah kaaryakaraNaani eva asya ruupaaNi). In the state of deep sleep it is perfectly serene
and unattached. This non-attachment is the special feature in this state.

    Considering all these passages together, it becomes clear that the self is by nature eternal, free, self-luminous and pure. The jiivaatmaa is not a part (ams'a) of Brahman Br.up.2.1.20.S.B. "kshudraa visphuli.ngaaH"Br.up.2.1.20 "mamaivaams'aH"-
B.G.15.7. -paramaatmaikatva-pratyaya---- The passages such as `tiny sparks',
'a part of Myself', are intended to convey the idea of identity. We are aware that
sparks of fire are identical with fire. Thus a part may be considered as identical with
the whole. Therefore words such as `part of the Supreme Self', as applied to the
individual self, are meant only to convey the idea of the identity of the two.
(The supreme Self has no parts. It is one homogeneous entity).

    The individual self appears as a separate entity because of the limiting adjuncts (upaadhi) Br.up.2.4.12. S.B.-yathaa adbhyaH suuryachandraadipratibimbaH--- -- Just
as reflections of the sun, moon, etc, arise in water, or a transparent crystal appears
red because of the proximity of a red cloth, so also, because of the limiting adjuncts (upaadhi) in the form of the body and organs, Brahman appears as a separate
individual entity. On the realization of one's true nature as being identical with
Brahman, the notion that one is a separate individual entity comes to an end. As the reflections of the sun, moon, etc, and the redness of the crystal, disappear when their causes, namely the limiting adjuncts in the form of the water and the red cloth are
removed, and the sun, moon and the transparent crystal alone remain as they are,
so also, the endless, infinite and limpid Pure Consciousness, or Brahman, alone remains. Consciousness pervades the whole body, mind, etc.

    An illustration-- Br.up.4.3.7 S.B-yathaa vaa marakataadiH maNiH ------ sarvaantaratamatvaat. Just as an emerald or any other gem, dropped into a vessel of
milk, imparts its lustre to the milk, so does this luminous self, being subtler than even
the mind and the intellect, impart consciousness to the whole body, mind and organs.
( When an emerald is dropped into milk, the latter gets a green hue. Similarly, the self, being pure consciousness, makes the insentient mind, body and organs sentient.)
Why people identify themselves with the body, mind, etc. Br.up.4.3.7 S.B
---buddhistaavat svachchhatvaat -------yathaa vivekam jaayate.

    The intellect, being transparent and next to the self, easily catches the reflection of the consciousness of the self. Therefore it is that even wise men identify themselves with the intellect first; next comes the mind which catches the reflection of the self through the intellect; then the organs through contact with the mind; and lastly, the body, through the organs. Thus the self successively illumines with its own consciousness the entire aggregate of body and organs. This is the reason why all people identify themselves
with the body, mind and organs, to a greater or lesser degree, according to the extent
of their discriminating capacity.

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