यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तम: |
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथित: पुरुषोत्तम: || 18||
yasmāt kṣharam atīto ’ham akṣharād api chottamaḥ
ato ’smi loke vede cha prathitaḥ puruṣhottamaḥ
yasmāt—hence; kṣharam—to the perishable; atītaḥ—transcendental; aham—I; akṣharāt—to the imperishable; api—even; cha—and; uttamaḥ—transcendental; ataḥ—therefore; asmi—I am; loke—in the world; vede—in the Vedas; cha—and; prathitaḥ—celebrated; puruṣha-uttamaḥ—as the Supreme Divine Personality
Translation:
As I surpass the Perishable and as I am higher even than the Imperishable, I am extolled in the world and in the Vedas as the Supreme Self.
Commentary:
Paramatma is called the Highest Purusha, because he transcends the perishable body and the imperishable Jiva. The Jiva should go beyond his limited jivatvam-imprisonment in the cell of the body and mind-vehicles and attain his true nature as the Highest Purusha. In truth, jivatvam is an illusion. The Jiva is no other than the Supreme Purusha.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
MASTER (smiling, to M.): “He went there [referring to Bodh-Gaya].”
M. (to Narendra): “What are the doctrines of Buddha?”
NARENDRA: “He could not express in words what he had realised by his tapasya. So people say he was an atheist.”
MASTER (by signs): “Why atheist? He was not an atheist. He simply could not express his inner experiences in words.
Do you know what ‘Buddha’ means? It is to become one with Bodha, Pure Intelligence, by meditating on That which is of the nature of Pure Intelligence; it is to become Pure Intelligence Itself.”
NARENDRA: “Yes, sir. There are three classes of Buddhas: Buddha, Arhat, and Bodhisattva.”
MASTER: “This too is a sport of God Himself, a new lila of God.
“Why should Buddha be called an atheist? When one realises Svarupa, the true nature of one’s Self, one attains a state that is something between asti, is, and nasti, is-not.”
NARENDRA (to M.): “It is a state in which contradictions meet. A combination of hydrogen and oxygen produces cool water; and the same hydrogen and oxygen are used in the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe.
“In that state both activity and non-activity are possible; that is to say, one then performs unselfish action.
“Worldly people, who are engrossed in sense-objects, say that everything exists — asti. But the mayavadis, the illusionists, say that nothing exists — nasti. The experience of a Buddha is beyond both ‘existence’ and ‘non-existence’.”
MASTER: “This ‘existence’ and ‘non-existence’ are attributes of Prakriti. The Reality is beyond both.”
The devotees remained silent a few moments. (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
MASTER (to M. and the others): “Is it an easy thing to obtain the Knowledge of Brahman? It is not possible unless the mind is annihilated. The guru said to the disciple, ‘Give me your mind and I shall give you Knowledge.’ In this state one enjoys only spiritual talk and the company of devotees.
(To Ram) “You are a physician. You know that medicine works only when it mixes with the patient’s blood and becomes one with it. Likewise, in the state of Brahmajnana one sees God both within and without. One sees that it is God Himself who has become the body, mind, life, and soul.”
M. (to himself): “Assimilation!”
MASTER: “A man attains Brahmajnana as soon as his mind is annihilated. With the annihilation of the mind dies the ego, which says ‘I’, ‘I’. One also attains the Knowledge of Brahman by following the path of devotion. One also attains It by following the path of knowledge, that is to say, discrimination. The jnanis discriminate, saying, ‘Neti, neti’, that is, ‘All this is illusory, like a dream.’ They analyse the world through the process of ‘Not this, not this’; it is maya. When the world vanishes, only the jivas, that is to say, so many egos, remain.
“Each ego may be likened to a pot. Suppose there are ten pots filled with water, and the sun is reflected in them. How many suns do you see?”
A DEVOTEE: “Ten reflections. Besides, there certainly exists the real sun.”
MASTER: “Suppose you break one pot. How many suns do you see now?”
DEVOTEE: “Nine reflected suns. But there certainly exists the real Sun.”
MASTER: “All right. Suppose you break nine pots. How many suns do you see now?”
DEVOTEE: “One reflected sun. But there certainly exists the real sun.”
MASTER (to Girish): “What remains when the last pot is broken?”
GIRISH: “That real sun, sir.”
MASTER: “No. What remains cannot be described. What is remains. How will you know there is a real sun unless there is a reflected sun? ‘I- consciousness’ is destroyed in samadhi. A man climbing down from samadhi to the lower plane cannot describe what he has seen there.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Râmlâl (nephew of Shri Ramakrishna) came from Dakshineswar. He had long lived with and served the Master and had often sent him into ecstasy by singing devotional songs. He was, therefore, dearly loved by the Order of Ramakrishna. In course of conversation he said:
“Formerly, the Master and Hriday used to live in the large room of the Kuthi (a building in the Dakshineswar temple) and the Master’s mother used to sleep in an adjoining small room. Many nights they used to hear a man with shoes on going up and down the stairs, and opening doors and windows. It was a ghost-possibly of a European. For the Kuthi had been a European residence before the temple was built. The Master used to say, ‘We cannot say that this world is entirely false. For we are actually seeing it with our eyes. Nor can we say that it is real. For just see how this garden has changed. Formerly it was a graveyard, and this Kuthi, the house of a European. But now! And some days after, this temple also will vanish, and who knows what will come next ?’ – Swami Premananda (Source: Spiritual Talks by the First Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)
Related Articles:
- I will now describe that which ought to be known, through the knowing of which one attains Immortality. It is the Supreme Brahman, which is without beginning and is said to be neither being nor non-being. (BG 13.13)
- O I give heat; I hold back and send forth rain. I am immortality, O Arjuna, and also death. I am being and I am non-being. (BG 9.19)
Question: Why is Paramatma declared to be the highest Purusha?
Answer: Because He is higher than the perishable body (Kshara) and the Jiva (Aksharam).
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 15 🔻 (20 Verses)
