[Advaita-l] Need for 'aham brahma asmi' realization for Moksha - Bhagavata and Garuda Puranam

V Subrahmanian v.subrahmanian at gmail.com
Mon Mar 9 06:59:55 EDT 2020


At the end of the Srimadbhagavatam, Shukacharya addresses Parikshit and
says what kind of knowledge is the liberating one: ŚB 12.5.11:
अहं ब्रह्म परं धाम ब्रह्माहं परमं पदम् ।  एवं समीक्ष्य चात्मानमात्मन्याधाय
निष्कले ॥ ११ ॥
You should consider, “I am nondifferent from the Absolute Truth, the
supreme abode, and that Absolute Truth, the supreme destination, is
nondifferent from me.” Thus resigning yourself to the Supreme Soul, who is
free from all material misidentifications,  ..
Sridhara Swamin's commentary the above verse is direct and crisp:
योऽहं  स ब्रह्मैव, यद्ब्रह्म तदहमेवेति समीक्षम् | तत्राहं ब्रह्मेति भावनया
जीवस्य शोकादिनिवृत्तिः | ब्रह्माहमिति भावनया च ब्रह्मणः
पारोक्ष्यनिवृत्तिर्भवतीति व्यतिहारो दर्शितः | निष्कले निरुपाधौ | अत्मनि
ब्रह्मणि |
['That which is I, is Brahman alone, that which is Brahman, that I alone
am. This is the realization.  By the contemplation 'I am Brahman, the jiva
is freed from misery, etc. By the contemplation 'Brahman is I', the
indirectness, that is, the idea that 'Brahman is far/different from me' is
removed.  Thus the reciprocal realization is shown in the Bhagavatam. This
is called 'vyatIhaarah'.  Nishkala means free of upadhis.]
We can recall what Shankara says in the  Brahma sutra Bhashyam: 3.3.37
 व्यतिहारो
विशिंषन्ति हीतरवत् ॥ ३७ ॥
यथा — ‘तद्योऽहं सोऽसौ योऽसौ सोऽहम्’ इत्यादित्यपुरुषं प्रकृत्यैतरेयिणः
समामनन्ति, तथा जाबालाः — ‘त्वं वा अहमस्मि भगवो देवतेऽहं वै त्वमसि’ इति ।
The 'vyatiihaarah' is taught by the Brahma sutra and Upanishads. Shankara
cites Aitareya and Jabaalaa for two forms of reciprocity. One can see the
similarity in the Bhagavata/Garuda Purana expressions.
The above verse is found in the Garuda Puranam too:
https://tinyurl.com/w8ve9lb
अहं ब्रह्म परं धाम
ब्रह्माहं परमं पदम् |
एवं समीक्ष्य चात्मानं
आत्मन्याधाय निष्ककले || 1.49.  107
Om Tat Sat


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