Chapter 4 - Verses 32-41 | Atma Bodha
Adi Shankaracharya
Atma Bodha Chapter 4 - Verses 32 to 41: Nididhyasanam (Meditation on the Self), Atma-Anatma Viveka, and the Neti Neti method of discrimination
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Chapter 4 - Verses 32-41: Nididhyasanam - Meditation on the Self
Chapter 4 of Atma Bodha teaches Nididhyāsanam - the third stage of Vedantic practice after Śravaṇam (hearing) and Mananam (reflection). Here the student is instructed to internalize the teaching through sustained meditation on the Self. Gaṅgādhara (the author Vivekacūḍāmaṇi verses 254-470) covers Nididhyāsanam extensively. The Gita Chapter 6 and Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad are condensed in 11 verses (32-42).
The central teaching: Aham Brahmāsmi - I am Brahman - is not a statement to be repeated but a fact to be realized. In Nididhyāsanam, there is no Atma or Brahman as an object of meditation - there is only “I.”
Swami Chinmayananda said: “By heart verses 32-42.”
Verse 32 - I Am Different from the Body
न मे शब्दादिविषयाः श्रोत्रादिविवर्जितः ॥ ३२॥
na me śabdādiviṣayāḥ śrotrādivivarjitaḥ || 32 ||
Verse 33 - Free from Prāṇas and Mind
अनामयं निरातङ्कं निष्क्रियं शाश्वतं परम् ॥ ३३॥
anāmayaṁ nirātaṅkaṁ niṣkriyaṁ śāśvataṁ param || 33 ||
amanastvanna me duhkharagadvesabhayadayah, aprano hyamanah subhra ityadisrutisanat II 33 II | am other than the mind and hence, | am free from sorrow, attachment, malice and fear, for ‘ the Self is without Prana and without mind, pure and so on’ is the commandment of the great scripture, the Upanishads.
Verse 34 - I Am the Cause of the Universe
जगतः कारणं चापि जीवभूतः सनातनः ॥ ३४॥
jagataḥ kāraṇaṁ cāpi jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ || 34 ||
FAAS: nirguno niskriyo nityo nirvikalpo niranjanah, nirvikaro nirakaro nityamukto’smi nirmalah II 34 Il | am Attributeless, Actionless, eternal, formless, without any desire, thought or modification, ever liberated and ever pure.
Verse 34 a:
¢ It is in Ramakrishna Mission book, not in Chinmaya Mission book.
Mundak Upanishad :
Etasmaj-jayate prano manah sarvendriyani ca | kham vayur-jyotir-apah prthivi visvasya dharini II 3
From Him are born the Prana life, the mind, all the organs, the sky Akasa, the wind Vayu, the fire Jyotih, the water
Apah and the earth Prthivi which supports all. Il - - 3
- Atma 15 Jagat Karanam.
a Etasmat Jayate :
- Pancha Butas arise from Atma.
b Vishwasya Dharini :
- Earth is supporter of all forms of life.
- Sarva Prana Ashrayaha :
Earth sustains Pranis, gives Oxygen, food, water.
© Sthula ~ Sukshma Shariram :
- Pancha Bautika Prapancha are modifications of Butas, not Atma.
Kaivalyo Upanishad :
ad mayyeva sakalarh jatarh mayi sarvarh pratisthitam | ad || mayi sarvam layarh yati tadbrahmadvayamasmyaham || 19||
In me alone everything is born ; in me alone does everything exist and in me alone gets everything dissolved. | am That non-dual Brahman. Verse 19 ° Mantra does not fit here.
Verse 34 0 :
- Chinmaya book verse 34.
- Description of Atma - Brahman.
- In Nididhyasana - see all features belonging to me, my glory.
- Practice saying - “I am free” in meditation “Asmi”- | am - Relevant in all these
features, crucial word.
1 Nirgunaha :
- Free from good and Bad attributes.
2 Nishkriyaha :
- Free from all activities.
3 Nityaha :
° Timeless, eternal.
4 Nirvikalpaha :
- Divisionless, no Sthula, Sukshma Karana Divisions.
- Your Body, Mind, Karana Shariram different than my body, mind, Karana Shariram.
5 Niranjana :
- Free from Anjanam, blemish, black dot, black spot.
- Maya, Avidya Rahitaha.
6 Nirmalaha :
- Free from impurities caused by Avidya.
¢ Avidya Karya Rahitaha.
- Free from ignorance generated Raga, Dvesha, Kartrutvam, Boktrutvam,
Pramatrutvam.
7 Nirvikara :
- Free from 6 modifications.
8 Nirakara :
- Formless like space, | am space like consciousness.
9 Nitya Muktaha :
- Ever liberated.
- Moksha, freedom, not future event, ever available fact.
- Bring all above factors in Nididhyasanam and stay in each word and see it as a fact of
mine.
Verse 35 - One Atman in All Beings
तदेव सर्वभूतेषु सर्वरूपेष्ववस्थितम् ॥ ३५॥
tadeve sarvabhūteṣu sarvarūpeṣvavasthitam || 35 ||
ahamakasavatsarvam bahirantargato’cyutah, sada sarvasamah suddho nihsango nirmalo’calah 35 Il
Like the space | fill all things within and without. Changeless and the same in all, at all times, | am pure, unattached, stainless and motionless.
Gita Chapter 13 - Verse 28
He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord existing equally in all beings - the Imperishable in the perishable.
Verse 36 - Time, Space, Causation
स्वरूपतश्च यद्भिन्नं तदस्मात्परमार्थतः ॥ ३६॥
nityasuddhavimuktaikamakhandanandamadvayam, satyam jnanamanantam yatparam brahmahameva tat II 36 II am verily that supreme Brahman which is eternal, pure, ever liberated, one, indivisible, blissful, non-dual Truth and of the nature of Existence-Knowledge-Infinite.
svarūpataśca yadbhinnaṁ tadasmātparamārthataḥ || 36 ||
Verse 37 - The Self Beyond All Categories
न चेतना नेन्द्रियसमूह एव ।
चिदात्मकं नित्यमलम् प्रशान्तं
निरामयं ब्रह्म परं निरञ्जनम् ॥ ३७॥
evam nirantarabhyasta brahmaivasmiti vasana, haratyavidyaviksepanroganiva rasayanam II 37 Il
The impression ‘1am Brahman’ thus created by constant practice destroys ignorance and the agitations caused by it, just as medicine or Rasayana destroys diseases.
na cetanā nendriyasamūha eva,
cidātmakaṁ nityamalaṁ praśāntaṁ,
nirāmayaṁ brahma paraṁ nirañjanam || 37 ||
Verse 38 - I Am Brahman
उपाधिषु न मुह्येत तद्विद्वान्ब्रह्म सन्सुधीः ॥ ३८॥
viviktadese 2351110 virago vijitendriyah, bhavayedekamatmanam tamanantamananyadhih II 38 II
Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate upon the Atman which is One without a second, with unswerving attention.
upādhiṣu na muhyeta tadvidvān brahma sansudhīḥ || 38 ||
Verse 39 - Knowledge Burns All Bondage
ज्ञानेन हि विनिर्मुक्तः केवलो भवति स्वयम् ॥ ३९॥
atmanyevakhilam drsyam pravilapya dhiya sudhih, bhavayedekamatmanam nirmalakasavatsada II 39 Il
The wise one should intelligently merge the entire world of the objects in the Atman alone and constantly think of the Self as being ever uncontaminated like space.
jñānena hi vinirmuktaḥ kevalo bhavati svayam || 39 ||
Verse 40 - The Knots of the Heart
क्षीयन्ते चास्य कर्माणि तस्मिन्दृष्टे परावरे ॥ ४०॥
faa voll rupavarnadikam sarvam vihaya paramarthavit, paripurnacidanandasvarupenavatisthate II 40 Il
He who has realised the Supreme, discards all his identifications with the objects of names and forms. Thereafter he dwells as an embodiment of the _ infinite
Consciousness and Bliss. He becomes the Self.
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi tasmindṛṣṭe parāvare || 40 ||
Verse 41 - The Lamp Inside the Vase
तथा साक्षी चिदानन्दः कूटस्थो नित्य आत्मनि ॥ ४१॥
tathā sākṣī cidānandaḥ kūṭastho nitya ātmani || 41 ||
Chapter Summary - Core Nididhyāsanam Practice
jnatrjnanajneyabhedah pare natmani vidyate, cidanandaikarupatvaddipyate svayameva hi II 41 Il
There are no distinctions such as, ‘knower’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘the object of knowledge’ in the supreme Self. Since it is of the nature of homogenous
Consciousness and Bliss, the Self has no such distinctions within Itself. It shines by Itself.
Gal BRU dehanyatvanna me janmajarakarsyalayadayah, sabdadivisayaih sango nirindriyataya na ca 32 Il | am other than the body, and so | am free from the changes such as birth, wrinkling, senility, death and so on. | have nothing to do with the sense objects such as sound and taste, for | am without the sense organs.