Vedanta - Tat Tvam Asi - நான் கடவுள் - Isvasya Upanishad - Sloka 8
Isvasya Upanishad - Sloka 8
This Sloka is the final one reinforcing the basic tenet that Knowledge of the SELF (Atma jñānam) is the only means of liberation from the listless cycle of birth & death called saṁsāra. Saṁsāra is presented as śoka, moha and jugupsā.
Of this, moha (can be termed as longing for) means depending on the world and people for our emotional peace, security and happiness.
Śoka called grief is the disappointment that will come if we depend upon them. Jugupsā is the result, a sense of insecurity.
Mokṣa is liberation or freedom from the sense of insecurity.
Here also ātma-svarūpam is talked about and jīvātma-paramātma-aikyam is also indirectly revealed. In the first half of the śloka, the nature of ātmā is beautifully presented. Let us see the Sloka.
Sanskrit Verse
स पर्यगाच्छुक्रमकायमव्रणमस्नाविरंशुद्धम् अपापविद्धम् ।
कविर्मनीषी परिभूः स्ययम्भूर्याथातथ्यतोऽर्थान्व्यदधाच्छाश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः ॥ ८ ॥
English Transliteration
sa paryagācchukramakāyamavraṇamasnāviraṃśuddham apāpaviddham |
kavirmanīṣī paribhūḥ syayambhūryāthātathyato'rthānvyadadhācchāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ || 8 ||
Meaning in Tamil
உறையிலா, புண்படா, தசைநாரிலா, வினைகெடா, மாசிலா,
நிலையாய், நீக்கமற நிறை ஒளிமிகு தூய உயிர்நிலையாம் நானே (ஆன்மாவே)
அனத்துமறியும், தொலைநோக்கும், மனம்தூண்டும்,
அண்டம்பேணும், அனைத்தும் காக்கும் கடவுளாம் (கட உள்ளாம்)
Meaning of the Sanskrit Words
Let us take the first sentence
स पर्यगाच्छुक्रमकायमव्रणमस्नाविरंशुद्धम् अपापविद्धम् ।
(sa paryagācchukramakāyamavraṇam- asnāviraṃ śuddhamapāpaviddham)
Let us break it down and try to understand the meaning and then the message that is conveyed.
सः = saḥ - he, it. Here it conveys ‘the Atman previously spoken of.’
पर्यगाच्छुक्रमकायमव्रणमस्नाविरंशुद्धम् = पर्यगात् + शुक्रम् + अकायम् + अव्रणम् + अस्नाविरम्+ शुद्धम्
पर्यगात् - paryagāt : went round, went through; circumambulated, permeated; entered; came near, approached.’ The meaning is ‘ The Atman is all-pervading like the Space "Akas”.
शुक्रम् - śukram : pure; means that the Atman therefore is bright, resplendent.
अकायम् - अ + कायम् - akāyam : bodiless (one). i.e. Atma is not the sukshma sarira or subtle, boy
अव्रणम् - अ + व्रणम् - avraṇam : unscarred, unwounded; unblemished, unflawed.
अस्नाविरम् - अ + स्नाविरम् - asnāviram : without sinews.
The adjuncts Avranam and Asnaviram show that the Atman has no sthula sarira or gross body
सुद्धम् - śuddham: bright; lit. cleaned, cleared, purified.By the word suddha, pure or free from the taint of ignorance, it is shown that it has no karana sarira or causal body.
अपापविद्धम् apāpaviddham (m. acc. sing. apāpaviddha; past pass. p. a papa √vyadh): not-evil- pierced, not-evil-afflicted. It means that ‘Atma is untouched by Karma, good or bad.’
Now let us take the second sentence:
कविर्मनीषी परिभूः स्ययम्भूर्याथातथ्यतोऽर्थान्व्यदधाच्छाश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः
kavirmanīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūryāthātathyato'rthān vyadadhācchāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ
कविर्मनीषी = कविः + मनीषी
कविः - kaviḥ : intelligent, knowing, wise, cunning; thinker, intelligent man; sage, seer, prophet. There is another meaning - omniscient. (Refer Bhagwad Gita 8.9)
मनीषी - manīṣī : thoughtful, intelligent, wise, sage. ‘Manishi’ means ‘prompting the mind,’ the Lord of the mind
hence these two words convey that ‘Atma is omniscient, omnipotent.’
परिभूः - paribhūḥ : the surrounding being, the pervading being. Paribhuh means ‘being above all.’ This means that the Atma is transcendental.
स्ययम्भूर्याथातथ्यतोऽर्थान्व्यदधाच्छाश्वतीभ्यः = स्वयम्भुः + यथातथ्यतस् + अर्थान् + व्यदधात् + शाश्वतीभ्यः
स्वयम्भुः - svayambhuḥ̄ : independent, self-existing, being/arising of its own accord. This means that the Atma exists by itself and is not born out of anything else.
याथातथ्यतस् - yathātathyatas : from the truth, really, truly. Here it means appropriately
अर्थान् - arthān : aims, purposes; causes, motives; things, objects; uses. Here it means the various duties of managing cosmic forces.
व्यदधात् - vyadadhāt: distributed, allocates.
साश्वतीभ्यः - śāśvatībhyaḥ : for/from eternal, all. Here it means all the Devatas who are assigned different roles/duties in managing the cosmic forces.
समाभ्यः - samābhyaḥ : for/from years, even (ones), same (ones). The word samā means Prajapati, the Devata. Fourteen Prajapatis are enumerated in the Puranas.
Understanding the Sloka:
Atma is like a self effulgent bright light (Chaitanyam) that reveals everything through the Indriyas (sense and action organs), the mind and the intellect and yet it is not either influenced by any of the above nor it is identified with the three broad description of our body (The gross, the subtle and the causal bodies). It is just a witness (“saakshi”). To put it in transliterated Sanskrit, it is a “saakshi chaitanyam” and is “saarira traya sambandha rahitah”.
This means that the Atma cannot be polluted by or contaminated by any of the above. Adi Sankara brings out this trait of Atma in another of his epic work called Nirvana Shatakam Sloka 3 wherein he says that
3.1: Neither do I have Hatred, nor Attachment, Neither Greed nor Infatuation,
3.2: Neither do I have Pride, nor Feelings of Envy and Jealousy,
3.3 I am Not within the bounds of Dharma (Righteousness), Artha (Wealth), Kama (Desire) and Moksha (Liberation) (the four Purusarthas of life),
3.4: I am the Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva, The Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness.
3. I have neither aversion nor attachment, neither greed nor delusion; I have neither arrogance nor jealousy; I have no duty (to perform) nor any wealth (to acquire); neither desire nor liberation; I am of the nature of Pure Consciousness
விருப்பு, வெருப்பு, பேரவா, காமமும் எனக்கில்லை
இறுமாப்பு, ஆணவம், காழ்ப்புணர்வும் எனக்கில்லை
நேர்மை செல்வம் இன்பம் முக்தி வரை எனக்கில்லை
உள்உணர்வின் பேரின்ப வடிவான சிவமே யான் சிவமே யான் 3
Thus we should understand that this Sloka literally sums up the core knowledge about the SELF (Atma Gnanam). It reinforces the Mahavakhyas brought out in the Vedas. The Atma, the SELF is nothing but the ever free, omnipotent, omniscient Ultimate Reality ,
The Self is everywhere. Bright is the Self, Indivisible, untouched by sin, wise, Immanent and transcendent. He it is Who holds the cosmos together.
The moment you realize the knowledge of SELF and God, what you get is nothing but Peace.
இதனையே திருமூலர் திருமந்திரத்தில் அறிவு என அறிவுறுத்துகிறார்.
2357. அறிவு வடிவென்று அறியாத என்னை
அறிவு வடிவென்று அருள்செய்தான் நந்தி
அறிவ வடிவென்று அருளால் உணர்ந்தே
அறிவு வடிவென்று அறிந்திருந் தேனே.
பொருள் : எவற்றையும் கருவி யில்லாது அறியும் ஆற்றல் உண்டு என்பதை அறியாதிருந்த என்னை, என்னுடைய இயல்பான சொரூபம் அறிவு தவிர வேறில்லை என்ற அவன் கருணையால் உணர்த்தினான். நான் அறிவு சொரூபன் என்று அவனது சத்தியால் உணர்த்தப்பட்டு உணர்ந்தபோது நான் அறிவு வடிவென்று அறிந்து கருவி கரணங்களை விட்டு அறிவாகவே இருந்தேன்.
இத்தத்துவத்தை
எப்போது நீ அறிவாயோ அப்போதே சாந்தி அடைவாய்
என திருவண்ணாமலைப் பெரியவர் கூறுகிறார். கேட்போம். இப் பண் அறிவு தத்துவத்தை அளித்து நமது அடுத்த கட்ட பயணத்திற்கு தயார் செய்கிறது.
This video also leads us to the next phase of the journey - The Karma Marg