Ayam Atma Brahma

Ayam Atma Brahma (Sanskrit: अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म) is a Mahāvākya, which is found in the Mandukya Upanishad of the Atharvaveda.[1][2] Other Mahāvākyas phrases are "Aham Brahman Asmi", "Prajnanam Brahma" and "Tat Tvam As".[3][4][5]

The second part of the Mandukya Upanishad discusses Om as a means of Dhyāna for self-realization.

Like other Mahāvākyas, it also explains the unity of Brahman and Atman, which is the basic principle of Advaita Vedanta.[6] According to the Guru Gita, "Ayam Atma Brahma" is a statement of practice.[6]

Etymology and meaning

The Sanskrit word ayong means 'it'. Ātman means ‘Atma’ or 'self'. Brahman is the highest being. So "Ayam Atma Brahma" means 'Atma is Brahman'.[6]

Source and Significance

The Mahavakya is found in the Mundaka Upanishad of the Atharva Veda.[1][2] It is mentioned in the Mundaka Upanishad 1-2,

[1] OM - this whole world is that syllable! Here is a further explanation of it. The past, the present and the future - all that is simply OM; and whatever else that is beyond the three times, that also is simply OM - [2] for this brahman is the Whole. Brahman is this self (ātman); that [brahman] is this self (ātman) consisting of four quarters.[7]

The Mundaka Upanishad, in the first section of the second Mundaka, defines and explains the Atma-Brahma doctrine.


It claims that just as a burning fire produces thousands of sparks and leaps and bounds in its own form, so the living beings originate from Brahman in its own form.[1] Brahman is immortal, except the body, it is both external and internal, ever generated, except the mind, except the breath, yet from it emerges the inner soul of all things.[2]

From Brahman breath, mind, senses, space, air, light, water, earth, everything is born. The section expands on this concept as follows,[1][2]

The sky is his head, his eyes the sun and the moon,
the quarters his ears, his speech the Vedas disclosed,
the wind his breath, his heart the universe,
from his feet came the earth, he is indeed the inner Self of all things.

From him comes fire, the sun being the fuel,
from the soma comes the rain, from the earth the herbs,
the male pours the seed into the female,
thus many beings are begotten from the Purusha.

From him come the Rig verses, the Saman chants, the Yajus formulae, the Diksha rites,
all sacrifices, all ceremonies and all gifts,
the year too, the sacrificers, the worlds,
where the moon shines brightly, as does sun.

From him, too, gods are manifold produced,
the celestials, the men, the cattle, the birds,
the breathing, the rice, the corn, the meditation,
the Shraddha (faith), the Satya (truth), the Brahmacharya, and the Vidhi (law).

— Mundaka Upanishad, 2.1.4 - 2.1.7[1][2]

In the Upanishad, verse 2.2.2, the Mundaka Upanishad claims that Atma-Brahma is real.[8] Verse 2.2.3 offers help in the process of meditation, such as Om. Verse 2.2.8 claims that the one who possesses self-knowledge and has become one with Brahman is free, not affected by Karma, free from sorrow and Atma-doubt, he who is happy.[9][10] The section expands on this concept as follows,

That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle,
on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants -
That is the indestructible Brahman.[11]
It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal.
It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend.

Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad,
one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation,
Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That,
Penetrate[12] that Imperishable as the mark, my friend.

Om is the bow, the arrow is the Self, Brahman the mark,
By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated,
One should come to be in It,
as the arrow becomes one with the mark.

— Mundaka Upanishad, 2.2.2 - 2.2.4[8][13]

References
  1. Robert Hume, Mandukya Upanishad, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, page 370-371
  2. Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 2, Mandukya Upanishad, Oxford University Press, page 34-35
  3. Saraswati 1995, p. 4.
  4. "Meditation on Mahavakyas". www.sivanandaonline.org. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  5. "Mahavakyas: Great Contemplations of Advaita Vedanta". www.swamij.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  6. MAHAVAKYAS, Ayam Atma Brahma: Self is Absolute Entity, www.classicyoga.co.in (ইংরেজি ভাষায়)
  7. Olivelle 2008, p. 289.
  8. Robert Hume, Mundaka Upanishad, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 372-373
  9. Eduard Roer, Mundaka Upanishad Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 142-164
  10. Mundaka Upanishad, in Upanishads and Sri Sankara's commentary - Volume 1: The Isa Kena and Mundaka, SS Sastri (Translator), University of Toronto Archives, pages 138-152
  11. Hume translates this as "imperishable Brahma", Max Muller translates it as "indestructible Brahman"; see: Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 2, Mundaka Upanishad, Oxford University Press, page 36
  12. The Sanskrit word used is Vyadh, which means both "penetrate" and "know"; Robert Hume uses penetrate, but mentions the second meaning; see: Robert Hume, Mundaka Upanishad, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, page 372 with footnote 1
  13. Charles Johnston, The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (1920-1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, ISBN 978-1495946530 (Reprinted in 2014), Archive of Mundaka Upanishad, pages 310-311 from Theosophical Quarterly journal

Sources
  • Saraswati, Chandrasekharendra (1995), Hindu Dharma: The Universal Way of Life, Bhavan's Book University, ISBN 81-7276-055-8
  • Olivelle, Patrick (2008) [1996], Upanisads. A new translation by Patrick Olivelle, Oxford University Press
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