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Aham Brahmasmi

In Hindu philosophy, which, based on intuitive truths, is ever engaged in the incessantsearch for ultimate truths, the sentence - Aham Brahmasmi (Sanskrit: ). Thephrase means "I am Brahman" (Aham Brahman Asmi) or "I am the Infinite Reality". It is oneof the four Mahavakyas used to explain the unity of macrocosm and microcosm.[1]

Literally, Aham () means that which cannot be deserted or abandoned on account ofbeing constant, unavoidable, ever present; Brahman () means ever-full or whole, andAsmi () means always present, ever-existing knowledge. This mahavakya belongs tothe Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of the Yajurveda. Brahman is the Infinite Reality, onlywhen the ego dies can this be realized. In this sentence the "I" is not the limitedtransmigrating ego, the doer and the enjoyer within, and also not the body and the mind.Man (who is a conscious entity) alone has the capacity for improving his present state,guide his future, to enquire and know the truth, and free himself from the cycle of birthand death (vidya adhikara) through thoughtful actions (karma adhikara). Vidyaranya in hisPanchadasi (V.4) explains:

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Meaning

"Infinite by nature, the Supreme Self is described here by the word Brahman; the wordasmi denotes the identity of aham and Brahman. Therefore, (the meaning of thesentence is) I am Brahman."

This realization is gained through true enquiry.[2]

This sentence appears in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad when the sage, in the context ofmeditation on the Self, in reply to the query What did that Brahman know by which Itbecame all? - states:-

" , , | ; , ,...""This (self) was indeed Brahman in the beginning; It knew only Itself as, "I amBrahman". Therefore It became all; and whoever among the gods knew It also becameThat; and the same with sages and men - (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.iv.10)

In his comment on this passage Sankara explains that here Brahman is not theconditioned Brahman, that a transitory entity cannot be eternal, that knowledge aboutBrahman, the infinite all-pervading entity, has been enjoined, that knowledge of unityalone dispels ignorance and that the meditation based on resemblance is only an idea. Hetells us the sentence Aham Brahman asmi is the explanation of the mantra

| ||"That ('Brahman') is infinite, and this ('universe') is infinite; the infinite proceeds fromthe infinite. (Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite ('universe'), it remains as theinfinite ('Brahman') alone." - (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad V.i.1)

He explains that unity and plurality are contradictory only when applied to the Self, whichis eternal and without parts, but not to the effects, which have parts.[3] The aham in thissentence is not closed in itself as a pure mental abstraction but it is radical openness.Between Brahman and aham-brahman lies the entire temporal universe experienced by theignorant as a separate entity (duality).[4]>

The difference between Brahman and atman emerges most clearly where they appearside by side with one another such as - 'That

Significance

Consequence

Self is indeed Brahman, as also identified with the intellect, the mind and the vital-force'.[5]

The Isha Upanishad tells us that the Supreme Brahman present in the Mukhya Prana is thebearer of the secret names of Aham and Asmi.[6] Sankara proclaims that there is a planewhere everything is entirely "different"; where laws of maya no longer apply; wheredistinctions like subject and object fall away; where Tat Tvam Asi and Aham Brahman asmiare actually felt.[7]

1. Gurumayum Ranjit Sharma (1987). The Idealistic Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda .Atlantic. p. 180. GGKEY:PSWXE5NTFF4.2. Swami Tejomayananda, Mdhava (1999). Pacada, chapters 5, 10 and 15 . ChinmayaMission. pp. 912. ISBN 978-81-7597-036-6.3. The Brhadaranayaka Upanishad . Advaita Ashrama. pp. 98105,557,559.4. Raimundo Panikkar (1994). Mantramajari . Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 742743.ISBN 978-81-208-1280-2.5. Swami Parmeshwaranand (2000). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Upanisads . Sarup &Sons. p. 219. ISBN 978-81-7625-148-8.6. B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma (2000). History of the Dvaita School of Vednta and ItsLiterature: From the Earliest Beginnings to Our Own Times . Motilal Banarsidass. p. 609.ISBN 978-81-208-1575-9.7. Hans Torwesten (January 1994). Vedanta: Heart of Hinduism . Grove/Atlantic. p. 152.ISBN 978-0-8021-3262-8.

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