Amar, Akbar and Anthony – Trigunas at the Level of Microcosm / Human beings / Living Beings

Trigunas….Three Gunas……..Satvik, Rajasik and Tamasik Gunas…….at the level of Microcosm, Macrocosm and Divinity……

Modern Quantum Physics have proved that everything in this universe basically exists as waves or vibrations of energy and are making all the animate and inanimate things in this universe….The three subtle basic components (trigunās) of Sattva, Raja and Tama are the very fabric of creation. They permeate through all living and non-living, tangible and intangible things. The vibrations emitted by anything are dependent on its predominant subtle basic component. This also influences the behaviour of all things. The proportion of these components in human beings can only be changed by spiritual practice. These basic gunas or properties are always existing in composition…..and the difference lies in the percentage composition of the three gunas present…if satvik guna is predominant, then it’s characteristic is seen as the predominant guna….if rajo guna is predominant, then its characterisitic is seen prominently…..if tamas guna is more predominant, then its property is seen prominently……

1) At the level of body…..Satvik, Rajasik and Tamasik……

1. If satva guna is predominant, then the person is filled with joy / bliss, as usually we be early in the morning after a good sleep and bath…or after the meditation and pranayama exercises…..person will indulge more in intellectual works like meditation, prayers, studies….. and enjoys each moment…..
2. If Rajo guna is predominant, then he is more doing the work…more at action…..which is seen more during the day….
3. If Tamasik guna is predominant, then he is feeling lazy, inactive…wants to sleep…..this is seen usually during the night after a heavy day…..sometime we feel lazy during the day too, which indicates that tamasik guna is more predominant at the moment….one can get rid of tamasik and attain Rajo guna or satvik by exercising, deep brething and so on…..

2) At the level of mind and intellect…….. 

Adi Shankaracharya at the end told one thing….I am Shiv…I am Everything…I am God…and God is me…Shiv is me…Shivoham…..Atma Twam…..Atma is Shiva….Girija matihi…..our mind is goddess Parvathy…Shiva’s wife…..Our Atma is Shiva….our Buddhi or intellect is of three types….Intellect dominated by either Satvik or Rajasik or Tamasik……
If the mind with intellect Predominates tamasik, then it is Kaali…..Kaali over Shiva…..Destroying / transforming everything…..some people experience that what ever they do they end up in disasters….tamas is more predominant in them….
If the mind predominates with Satvik, then it is Saraswathy…more in to knowledge, sadhanas….
If the mind is predominated with Rajasik, then it is Lakshmi…..more in to action thus gaining achievements in the form of money, materials…..
Whatever the mind is predominated with, the same way we behave and get the results out of it….
Some people are filled with negativity…they find negativity in everything around them , in everyone and also in them too….and will try to prove their point….they always try to put some disturbances in the good works happening around….this is the mind filled with destruction…tamasik…
Some people whose minds are filled with rajasik guna, they will always be wanting more and more….they need and want to do everything they see….
People whose minds are filled with Satvik gun, they are always joyful, feel blissful….they are very helpful in nature…..they totally enjoy their life….be always knowledgeable….living in total awareness….

3) At the level of behavior……. 

The subtle basic Sattva component is the most subtle or intangible of the three subtle basic components. It is the component nearest to divinity. Hence its predominance in a person is characterised by happiness, contentment, virtues like patience, perseverance, ability to forgive, spiritual yearning etc…A satvik man lives in the society doing service to the mankind and being more considerate towards the entire creation…..with no expectation of rewards, recognition or other ulterior motives……saints, spiritual leaders , people doing their sadhanas regularly are the people who are more with satvik gunas……..
The subtle basic Tama component is the basest of the three. Its predominance in a person is reflected by laziness, inert, depressive, greedy, corrupt, etc…The person has no problem in stepping over the other’s toes to get ahead and harming the society……Criminals, corrupt, mentally challenged,……
The subtle basic Raja component provides fuel to the other two, i.e. brings about the action. The person lives for more personal gain and achievement…..Common people…..
Our entire behavior of reacting to situations, making decisions, making choices and living our lives depends on which of these gunas is more predominant…..
So depending on whether a person is predominantly sāttvik or tāmasik the subtle basic Raja component will bring about actions pertaining to Sattva or Tama.

4) At the level of Food….it is the food which effects the mind one needs to be more careful while selecting food….

Satvik foods….all cereals / grains, natural fruits and vegetables which are not too salty, tangy, spicy , sour, bitter…..like rice, wheat, cucumber, spinach, milk, butter, clarified butter, cinnamon, almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc….
Rajasik foods….foods with more salt, spices, bitter, tangy, sour, hot foods, onion , garlics…….
Tamasik foods…..Dried vegetables, frozen food, twice heated foods, foul smelling stale soiled foods, half cooked foods, uncooked food, foods which are difficult to digest , non-veg foods, wines and alcohol…..
5) Recognising the characteristics/ gunas through colors…. 
When seeing through the aura of the human beings, if the human being’s aura is more of golden yellow or bright light, then he is said to have more satvik guna in him and closer to divinity…..if the aura is more of red, then he is said to have more rajasik guna…..if there is any kind of black color around then more tamasik guna is existing….Hence all the negative energies are characterized by black energy…..

6) Trigunas at the Level of Macrocosm / Universe/ Planet Earth…which is our concern
If there is an increase in the Raja and Tama in the world, it translates into increased wars, terrorist activities and natural disasters. The increase in Raja and Tama in the world causes a destabilisation of the five Cosmic Elements resulting in catastrophic natural disasters.
It is the law of nature that whatever has been created is sustained, and eventually destroyed. This is the law of Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution. For example, the Himalayan mountain ranges have been created, they will be sustained and eventually they will be destroyed or transformed into other forms. Thus, whenever something is created in this world, after a period of being sustained, it can be expected that at some point it will be destroyed/ transformed in to other forms….
Destruction comes in many forms, natural disasters being one of them. The human race also facilitates this cyclical destruction process by its behaviour, which sometimes culminates in war and devastation, which accounts for the 70%. Remaining 30% accounts for the cyclical changes which is happening on the planet from time to time…. Many geographers argue that the increased intensity of all natural disasters and temperature on Earth are nothing but a part of regular cycles on our planet. They say that similar cyclical changes in the past had taken us to the Ice Ages and had also brought us out of them….it is a cycle of events which takes place with time…..
The time span of the universe is divided into four eras…. In the first Era, i.e., Satyayug, the subtle basic Sattva component was predominant. When there is a higher predominance of Sattva in the environment, cyclical changes are gentle. As the eras progressed there was a reduction in theSattva component; thus resulting in cyclical changes with higher amplitudes. In the Kaliyug where the predominant subtle basic component isRaja, the cyclical changes in creation, sustenance and destruction are quite dramatic. Destruction is generally brought about by increased natural disasters, disease and war. We are in the midst of the lowest phase of destruction in one of the mini cycles in the Kaliyug. Each mini cycle generally lasts for 1000 years.The low phase of a cycle can be worsened if the human race adds to the Raja-Tama in the world.

7) At the level of Matter…..matter is a combination of five basic elements which are Panchamahabhutas…which are earth, air, water, fire and ether/ space…… The five Cosmic Principles are Absolute Earth (Pruthvītattva), Absolute Water (Āpatattva), Absolute Fire (Tējtattva), Absolute Air (Vāyutattva) and Absolute Ether (Ākāshtattva) Principles. The Cosmic Elements are intangible in nature and are the subtle most aspect of the actual elements that we can see and feel. For example, the Absolute Water Principle is the subtlest form of the water that goes to make up the rivers and the oceans etc. In short, the five Absolute Cosmic Elements are the building blocks of the Universe. But they are also made up of the three subtle basic components.

The following table shows how each Cosmic Element differs in its composition with regards to the proportion of the three subtle basic components…..
Element Earth….10% satva gun…..40% rajo gun…..tamo gun is 50%…
Element Water….20% sattva guna……40% rajo guna…..40% tamo guna…..
Element Fire……30% satva gun……40% rajo gun…..30 % tamo gun…..
Element Air…..40% satva gun…..40% rajo gun….20 % tamo gun
Element Ether / Space….50 % satva gun….40% rajo gun…..10% tamo gun…..
As you can see from the table above, the Absolute Earth Principle has the highest amount of Tama; hence it is also the heaviest. The subtle basicTama component limits existence, whereas the subtle basic Sattva component makes it expansive. This explains why the Absolute Earth Principle is the most inferior among the five Cosmic Elements. It also explains why the Absolute Ether Principle is the most subtle and sattvik and thus the most powerful. The reduction in the Tama subtle basic component across the five major Cosmic Elements makes the elements progressively less tangible. For example, Fire is less gross or tangible than Earth.
Humans are composed predominantly of the Absolute Earth and Absolute Water Principles. As an individual starts evolving spiritually, he or she starts functioning at progressively higher levels, like the Absolute Fire Principle etc. This is characterised by a sense of radiance emanating from a spiritually evolved person. As this happens, the individual’s basic needs begin to decrease, such as the need for food and sleep. In addition, his comprehension and capacity to perform various activities increases markedly both quantitatively and qualitatively.
If there is an imbalance in these compositions/ percentages of gunas, then disasters happen…..
If there is more of raja-tama gun in earth element, it will lead to earth quakes…if Raja-tamo gun isnmore in water element, then it results in either excess of water like floods….also can result in returning back to ice age, if it is extreme or lack of water like droughts….….if Rajo-tamo gun predominates in air element, it results in hurricanes, tornidos, cyclones….. if Rajo-tamo gun predominates in fire element, then it will result in volcanos, forest fires……If Rajo-tamo gun predominates in ether / space, then any kind of calamity strikes…..mainly man made…like wars, terrorist activities, corruption, crimes and so on…..

8. At the level time….in terms of Sandhya kalas

From sunrise to sunset clockwise , positive frequencies are moving in the atmosphere. After sunset the anticlockwise or distressing frequencies start moving in atmosphere. Hence we get progressively lesser and lesser benefit of our actions, after sunset. To understand this in further detail let us divide the 12 hours between sunset to sunrise in 4 blocks of 3 hours each. In this example we have taken 6:00 PM as the time of sunset and 6:00 AM as the time of sunrise.
a) After sunset , say after 6 pm, tamo gun starts predominating…..6 pm to 9 pm, tamo gun is comparatively less…..between 9 pm to 12 pam, tamo guna is pregressively predominating….from 12 am to 3 am, tamo guna is at its peak…….the benefits of our willful actions starts getting diminishing as compared to the period before sunset….so most of our important works should be done by the sunset……
b) Between 3 am to 6 am, satvik gun is predominating at the peak…..we call this as Brahmamuhurtham……one needs to do spiritual sadhana, studies in this time….satvik gun predominates the mind and the intellect and gives excellent results…..
After sunrise, till one hour after sunrise, satvik gun predominates….later Rajo gun starts to predominate and is at its peak between 12 pm to 3 pm…..more action / work happens between 8 am to 5 pm, one hour before sunset….taking 6 pm as sunset…..
The time after sunset is a period of higher subtle basic Tama activity. This subtle basic Tama component goes on increasing as the night starts advancing. The subtle basic Tama component is not conducive to positive activity. Hence when we try to accomplish something during the period after sunset we have to work against the tide of higher subtle basic Tama component. Thus a lot of our energy is wasted in just overcoming the negative influence of the heightened subtle basic Tama component. As a result to accomplish any task we end up having to spend much more energy.
The fluctuation of the subtle basic components of Sattva, Raja and Tama is by 5%. During the early morning hours the subtle basic Sattvacomponent is at its highest. As the sun goes up, i.e. during the day, the subtle basic Raja component steadily rises. With sundown the subtle basic Tama component starts rising and is at its highest around 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM. Hence the early morning hours are most conducive to accomplishing any positive activity. This is because the enhanced sāttviktā in the atmosphere enhances one’s capacity to work and because of the lower subtle basic Raja and Tama, the resistance to activity is lower.
Sandhya Kalas…….There are times ….almost one hour after sun rise, at mid noon and one hour before sunset…..these are three sandhya kalas……where one guna takes over from the other…
That is one after sunrise, it is morning sandhya kala….vedic tradition does sandhya vandana….satva guna before handing the atmosphere to rajo guna blesses those who does spiritual rituals and one can get the most out of it in this period….there is almost nill UV rays and sungazing is the best preferred time….…..
During Sandhyavandana, people will take water in both hands, gaze at the Sun and offer the water. Sun gazing is very good, because our eyes are photosensitive. So Sun gazing can get the Sun’s energy in the body.
Sun gazing is known all over the world now. When people do Sun gazing, their hunger reduces, there is a boost in their immune system, and a lot of things happen.

There is an expression which is used around the world when one feels so much love or pain. What is that expression? I want to pour my heart out.
The pouring out, gives you a sense of offering everything. So when you offer water to the Shiva Linga, it is a symbol of offering everything, where one feels, ‘All that I have, all that I am, these all belong to you my Lord’.
This is the prayer. Namah Na Mamah, nothing is mine, my life is not mine, it is all yours.
So as a gesture of pouring everything out, one takes water (as water is the same as love in Sanskrit) and offers to Shiva. Not that Shiva needs water.
At mid noon….12 pm to 1pm…is mid noon sandhya kala….rajo gun which was little less predominant now gets its peak ….12 pm to 3 pm……UV rays and all other harmful rays are at its peak……then one hour before sunset….this is evening sandhya kala…..rajo gun starts to diminish and tamo gun takes over…UV rays wil be negligible and sun gazing is the best time, once again….Vedic tradition suggests to do rituals in all these three kalas to gain maximum benefit in the morning, to protect from peak rajo gun in the afternoon and to seek protection from tamo gun at late evening and night……

9) Trigunas at the Level of Divinity….

a) Satva guna takes us near to the divinity…..the spiritual knowledge is bestowed to the individual by the cosmic energy around, when the person is more predominant with satva guna……this is compared to the creating energy Brahma and his shakthi Goddess Saraswathy…..new noble thoughts, new creative thoughts, new scientific thoughts arises in the person with satva guna ….and the power of these thoughts is given by its shakthi goddess Saraswathy….so Saraswathy is known as the goddess of education and music…..and it is with the blessings of Lord Brahma and Goddess Saraswathy, one can reach heights and attain divinity……
b) Rajo guna is indicated by actions…..actions are necessary to maintain our life….we need to work to earn our living….more of rajo guna leads to more of action and thus more of money or materials come to the person…..One needs the blessings of God of maintenance who is Lord Vishnu and his shakthi is Goddess Lakshmi…so we say Goddess Lashmi is the goddess of wealth…..
c) Tamo guna in divinity is indicated by destruction or dissolution or transformation from one form to the other…..Lord Shiva is the god of destruction / transformation and his shakthi is Kaali, the goddess which helps in dissolution or transformation…..bad thoughts and actions , inactiveness, lethargy and one needs to get transformed…all these negative qualities are to be destroyed and it can happen by the blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Kaali…..

Source: SSRF, Shri Shri…….

Spiritual Significance of Coconuts in Hindu Customs

Thoughts to Ponder

1. Why do we use Coconuts in Rituals as Kalash
2. Why do we break coconuts in temples especially in Ganapathy temples over hundreds of coconuts and it’s significance.
3. Also the significance of reciting the mantras for 108 times…..

Our body and this entire universe have always been working on the same principles. Looking at our body we have 72000 nadis in our body and 114 nerve junctions or chakras…..2 are outside the body…while 4 chakras act when all other chakras act properly…remaining 108 chakras do need some kind of stimulation if the body has to be of any help spiritually….by stimulating these 108 chakras, one can cross over and attain heights in spirituality…..so it was said that we need to recite 108 mantras…..

Breaking of Coconuts

Coming to the breaking of the coconuts, when we offer anything to the divine, some sort of processing of the mind is happening at the back simultaneously. Offering or doing service to the poor without any returns helps our mind to process itself, it helps getting rid of the past negative energies that is stored in the subconscious…we call it as past bad karmas….after offering of the coconuts, we distribute these coconuts to the poor….this also serves a purpose….while attaining two important goals with offering of the coconuts….one being the processing of the mind…another being helping the poor with food which is coconut with the positive vibrations filled in it as it is offered in temples….coconut has a special property of absorbing energies….both positive as well as negative….in temples, as there is positive energies, it will definitely absorb the positive energies of the temple and becomes the prasadam…which influences our body and mind in a positive manner…so actually we are here processing our own mind…it is like using cd or tape to clean the head of the video or audio player….

Our ignorance today

Nowadays, what has happened is…..people who offer coconuts in the temple…they purchase 108 coconuts and give it to the priests and the assistants of the priests does the breaking of the coconuts….by this, what happened is, the assistant priests are cleansing/ processing their minds at the offerers cost… …..this is what happens when we dont know the importance of the rituals….instead…..people who is offering should break the coconuts with the gods name chanting, so that their minds get processed and not the priest’s….

Coconuts in Rituals

Coconut when it is not broken and is having the fibrous tail, as we call it shendi…..with this tail in one particular direction, it has the unique ability of absorbing the negative energies into the coconut….so when ever we do poojas , or inaugrate any new office, new vehicles or instruments, coconut is held in hand and turned clockwise three times and then broken….this is to absorb any negative energies in the vehicle or instrument or office or house…..and dissipating it…..hence coconut is used in many ritualsits main purpose being in helping the mind to process as well as to absorb negative energies or absorb positive energies and used as prasadam……

In Pooja and other rituals, we keep coconut in a copper vessel filled with water ….Mango leaves are kept on the edges of the vessel, its stem being dipped and coconut with its tail facing upwards is kept on the those leaves , on the mouth of the vessel…..Now this becomes a kalash….It is done and mantras are chanted to invoke the cosmic energy which is in the surrounding environment, into the kalash….and then the ritual is done…..in the presence of the divine aura……both coconut and mango leaves serves the same purpose of absorbing the cosmic energy into the kalash and this cosmic energy gets filled in the water…….after the ritual is over, the water in the kalash is sprinkled with the help of mango leaves all over the house, to sprinkle the positive cosmic energy in the home and the home along with its family members are said to get blessed with this positive cosmic energy…… we use copper vessel as it is a good conductor of energy and stores the energy in the water filled in it…..water is also a very good conductor of energy….also brass, silver and gold vessels are used as these are all very good conductors of energy…..

Flowers are those which have unique fragrances and gives a positive vibe….hence it adds to the positive vibes around and also absorbs the positivity around them……fruits too are the most natural satvik food which one can offer and absorb the positive cosmic vibe in them and can be taken as prasadam….hence, fruits and flowers, both of them are natural positive vibes absorbers and can be used as prasadam….

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Aum

AUM is the primordial sound, which is the reason behind this entire creation and it is existing in the form of a continuous flow of the sound in its subtlest form in the entire universe. It is said that this sound is the root cause of materials that came into the existence, along in union with light, the entire universe was formed. We can listen to this sound within us in deep meditation. It is the base of the entire existence.

At our level, AUM is pronounced by the union of three words which can be pronounced as……..aaaaaa……uuuuuuu…..mmmmm……writing the pronunciation is limited. Hence one needs to understand it by starting the chant of AUM…….

• When we say aaaaaaaaaaa……..that sound is the sound representing the energy of creation…..
• When we say uuuuuuuuuu…….that sound is the sound representing the energy of maintenance….anything which is created has to be maintained for some time…..
• When we say mmmmm……with our mouth closed, that sound is the sound representing the energy of transformation / destruction of one form of the existence leading to the formation of another form….

When we take deep breath and then start chanting AUM, we feel the vibrations right from our naval, then leading towards the chest and then leading towards the brain…..at our naval level, the chakras provide energy for reproduction….at chest the chakra provides energy for the heart to maintain all the body parts with nutrients like oxygen and carbohydrates and proteins by pumping the blood……at brain , the corresponding chakra provides energy to the mind backed up by intelligence , memory and ego, which transforms the sensations received from the sense organs into meaningful insights, thoughts, wisdom and stores in the memory……this is the way of our life…..bad thoughts arising are to be transformed into the good one….and chanting of AUM helps in that…..

In Puranas Energy of creation is represented by God Brahma, Energy of maintenance is represented by God Vishnu and Energy of transformation is representated by God Shiva……hence they are not gods represented by human bodies…they are the pure forms of energy….uniting into one form known as AUM……the primordial sound…..the one and only existing as light and sound and constitute the entire space which is filled with this energy……

Now let us know the various parts of AUM and see the different things it represents, as explained by Swami Rama, who is belonging to the tradition of Himalayan masters…..see AUM as shown in the picture attached…..

Source: Swamiji.com

1. The lower curve represents the Gross, Conscious, and Waking state level, called Vaishvanara.
2. The center curve represents the Subtle, Unconscious, and Dreaming level, called Taijasa.
3. The upper curve represents the Causal, Subconscious, and Deep Sleep level, called Prajna.
4. The dot, point, or Bindu represents the fourth state, the absolute consciousness, which encompasses, permeates, and is the other three, and is called Turiya.
5. The arc below the dot symbolizes the separateness of this fourth state, standing above, though ever remaining part of the other three.

The four levels symbolized in OM Mantra are universal: It is extremely important to understand that the levels of consciousness mapped out by the AUM Mantra symbol are universal and not just within the domain of any particular traditions, lineages, schools of Meditation, or religions. While one might argue that the visual symbol of AUM Mantra has this kind of exclusive relationship (though it really doesn’t), these three levels and the fourth, the Bindu, do exist in reality, entirely independent of the symbol itself. It doesn’t matter whether you do or do not “believe in” the AUM Mantra.

The fact of the matter is that there really are Gross, Subtle, and Causal planes, along with the Absolute beyond (the four parts of AUM), regardless of what symbol or names you use to describe them, though different people might describe these somewhat differently.

The fact is that there really are Conscious, Unconscious, and Subconscious levels of functioning, and the Consciousness permeating them (the four parts of AUM), though people might also describe these somewhat differently.
The fact is that there really are states of Waking, Dreaming, Deep Sleep, and Turiya, the Fourth (the four parts of AUM), or some other term to acknowledge that beyond the first three states.

None of these require “belief” in the visual symbol of AUM, chanting its vibration, or remembering its sound. The underlying realities are still there. What is most important to know is that the shortest route to Self-Realization is directly through these few levels of reality. Most people will settle for experiencing only the first two levels, that of the Gross world (Vaishvanara) and the Subtle plane (Taijasa). Very few are interested enough or motivated enough to know the Causal plane (Prajna) or to seek the direct experience of the Pure Consciousness, the Absolute that is the Fourth state (Turiya) symbolized by the Dot or Bindu on the AUM symbol. For the few who are so inspired, the path is directly inward to the core of his or her Being. It is the path of the Saints and Sages….

AUM Mantra is a direct means in Yoga Sutras: Meditation on OM Mantra is recommended in the Yoga Sutras as a direct means of removing the obstacles to Self-Realization and to that Realization itself. As noted above, the Bindu at the top of the OM symbolizes Turiya, the Absolute Reality, Purusha or Pure Consciousness that is to be realized.

AUM is also the beeja mantra ….which is the root of all mantras…..Root means, AUM is added infront of all / any mantras and recited / chanted…..by doing so, even if anyone does an error is pronouncing the mantra in the rhythmic manner, AUM nullifies the error and protects the reciter and yields the desired result….
Hence AUM should be used before all mantras, if anyone doesn’t know to pronounce any mantra properly in a rhythmic fashion……

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Atman and Paratman

Article by Girish Pai

We keep saying that God is within us.. yet in our antique scriptures we did have Lord Krishna who is the last avatar of God.
Then as per our scriptures again.. our souls have to return back to it’s ‘source’.. But who.. what is this ‘source’?..
Isn’t this an external source.. hence God himself?

When we see the world and us….we see the entire world can be divided in two parts…..one part of that infinite world is us…our body and the world within , when we close our eyes…..the other part of the world is outside us….outside our body…..this is a reality….isn’t it…..this holds true to all human / living beings…..the world inside us has a boundary ….this boundary is our body itself…..which is limiting the world inside us……while the world outside our body is not bound with any boundaries…..it is flowing without a boundary…..

Now let us come to the world inside our body…..when we close our eyes, a different world exists altogether…..and this is the world of the atman……where this atman is the divinity of this entire inner world ….but this atman is made bound and has been confined within our body….it always wants to get limitless….cross all the boundaries and be one with the outer world…..So, the next question is, why is this atman bound within a boundary…..why is it made so limited, even though it is the part and parcel of the infinite divinity….the answer is ……this atman in made bound ….it is made a limited version….due to ignorance, loss of the knowledge that it is infinite and part and parcel of the divinity…..due to the blocked negative energies which is stored as past karmas within…..due to all the emotions of anger, fear, greed, lust, arrogance, doubtfulness……due to the ego which separates atman from paramatman……Now, the question is how to set the atman free….get it free from this limited boundary…..it can be done through Sadhana…..Janana yoga….which is erasing ignorance with knowledge…..bhakthi yoga….which gives us selfless devotion , which helps in erasing the past karmas and other negative traits…..karma yoga…through selfless actions…..which helps in erasing arrogance and other negative traits…..Raja yoga, which is yoga, pranaymas and meditation….which helps in erasing all these of the above….and facilitates the energy of the atman to move through all the energy centers and reach the sahasrar chakra to get the much awaited enlightenment by the atman…the merging of the atman with the paramatman…..breaking all the boundaries of finite and merfing with the infinite outside world, that exists outside the body…..and then the world exists as one for that atman….beyond the limited boundary of the body….all avatars came from this world which is infinite , existing outside the body or the boundary of atman…..which is paramatman…..

Atma is like a drop of water and Paramatma is like an infinite ocean….so how much ever drops is taken from the ocean, ocean doesnt gets empty……also reverse is true….how much ever drops are added to ocean, ocean never becomes full, as it is an infinite ocean….

Avatars come as drop from the infinite ocean in the purest form….
Atma or also called as Jeevatma are not pure…they are impure contained with past karma…..there is no question of deciding on which pure drop….as all drops are same in its purest form…there is no differentiation among the drops of ocean…they combine to be one…..they form one consciousness….which is divine / god consciousness….which scriptures call it as the source…..jeevatma are the impure drops which are differentiated from each other and the differentiatingg factor is the ego….which divides atma from paramatma and differentiates itself as different from paramatma….

When we sleep, the cosmic energy flows in us to provide the source of energy……that is in our deepest relaxing state….the universal cosmic energy flows in and out of our body , when we are more receptive and we are more receptive when we are at deepest relaxed state…during sleep and during meditation….the cosmic energy is the energy belonging to the paramatma…..hence the enlightened say…..ocean in a drop and drop in an ocean…..all of us, the entire universe is drowned in the ocean of paramatma and jeevatma can allow the paramatma’s divine cosmic energy to flow inside its boundary only if it is receptive…
the core of jeevatma has the purest form of paramatma inside….all the bad karmas which makes the jeevatma impure are contained in the manomaya layer of jeevatma….

The core layer or the anandamaya layer of jeevatma is the purest form of the drop which is inside and doesnt get effected by impurities….it is just waiting for the ego to put conscious efforts to clear all the impurities, so that ego itself gets dissolved in the purest form of paramatma and there is no more jeevatma existing….it is only the paramatma…..This is the deepest secret revealed by the enlightened….
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Universal Consciousness..God Consciousness..Divinity

When we see the entire universe, many questions arise in the mind and also we wonder how this all happened….from very minute to the largest…..now science has come up with many explanations and still the discoveries are going on….and many new facts are being discovered and is still going on….until we discover it, was it not existing…it was existing…only thing is we didnt recognise its existence….so even Einstein, Hawking , all agree to the fact that there is a definitely an intelligence , an energy which made this possible and still are discovering the secrets behind this entire universe….same intelligence was recognised by our great saints in the past and called it as Universal consciousness…..

God consciousness…..Divinity….Supreme Intelligence…..Energy / Driving Force………God…..Bhagavan…….

It is very well explained in Ishopanishad….

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णश्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Purnam-Adah Purnam-Idam Purnaat-Purnam-Udachyate
Purnasya Purnam-Aadaaya Purnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Literally it means…

1: AUM, That is Full, This also is Full, From Fullness comes that Fullness,
2: Taking Fullness from Fullness, Fullness Indeed Remains.
3: AUM Peace, Peace, Peace.

One will completely get confused…as to what is “That” and what is “This”…..what is “Fullness”….what is “Remains”….

Sanskrith is a language full of metaphors and analogues and uses minimum words and conveys maximum meaning…..each word is profound and each has different meanings in different situations….
And people get the meaning of those words based on their level of knowledge and maturity of their intellect….

Trying to explain in simple terms…..

Word by word meaning:
“Purnam” = complete
“Adah” =that “Purnamadah” = “that” is complete. “That” is referred to “Divine”
( what we generally refer as God)
God is complete , what does this mean ? Complete means He is self sufficient. He is Eternal. He IS always there. He does not need any external agency to support Him.
“Idam” = “this”
“Purnam Idam” =This is also Complete
“This” indicates the “Atman”
“ATMAN”= the individual Soul- which resides in every living being. “Soul” is complete means “self sufficient” like “Supreme Soul”
In other words the “Soul” which resides in our body is Identical with the “Supreme Soul”
“Purnat” = from (that) complete referring to “Supreme Soul”
“Purnam” = (this) complete referring to “Individual Soul”
“Udachyate” = has “come out” or emerged
This means from the “Supreme Soul” (which is complete by itself) this “Individual Soul” (Complete) has emerged.

This is the verbal meaning of the above. Now let us try to understand the same in different ways, using an example of infinite ocean and a vessel containing the water from this ocean…..

The Ocean is full of water.Thus referring to ocean we can say that (the ocean) is complete (Purnam)= full here.
From this, the small vessel is filled with water.Thus referring to the vessel also we can say this is Complete (Purnam) = full here.
Thus, we can say that the ocean is complete (full of water) and the vessel is also complete (i.e.full of water).
Thus, “Purnamadah Purnamidam” can be interpreted as Supreme Soul and the Individual Soul are both Complete i.e. whole and Identical.

Purnat Purnam Udachyate meaning from the Supreme Soul this Individual Soul is emerged.
Purnasya = of Complete referring to “Supreme Soul”
Purnam =Complete referring to “Individual Soul”
Adaya =giving away to
(i.e. by giving away the completeness (wholeness) by “Supreme Soul” to “Individual Soul”
Purnam eva avashishyate only the Completeness remains.

Now because a few vessels of water, if taken away from the Ocean, has the Ocean become less filled i.e has it become less significant or lost its original form? or is it still full of water? It hardly matters to the Ocean (i.e.,the level of water in Ocean) as to how much water is taken away.

Similarly from “Supreme self” individual self has emerged and is identical and even after taking away the soul, what remains is also the complete self.

Explanation of meaning with example: 
Thus as per this Shanti Mantra, the Atma (soul) which is there within ourselves is part of Divine (God) because it has emerged from God.
Just as the mercury droplet when disturbed give us small small droplets and when we bring them together, again merge into the big droplet. Thus our souls have also emerged from God and are destined to merge in God. Only difference is mercury droplet has definite quantity hence reduces in size when small droplets are formed. But Brahman being infinite being does not get reduced even after the soul is emerged. And even after the soul merges in to Brahman it remains the same.

But this is the ideal condition. Just as mercury droplets covered with dust do not merge fully into a big droplet, our souls covered with subtle cover of desires (to worldly things) do not merge with God after death but are born again and again.The aim of study of Upanishad is to cast off the dust of desire with this supreme knowledge and let our souls merge with the God.

The idea is that the phenomenal world has no independent existence.
It exists only because it is supported by the divine / universal consciousness/ intelligence / energy……
It is only a superimposition on the divine. Sometimes if we walk along a road in the dark, we might mistake a rope for a snake. This delusion is possible because of the rope. When this delusion goes, there is no longer a snake. It has merged into the rope. Similarly, when we know Brahman (which is also our Self), the world merges into it.

Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090220070837AA5KShr