Atma Bodha - Post 5

O Atma Swarupas, 

Like any upanishad chanting / commentary starts with a shanti path or an invocation prayer, Atma Bodha usually has the following invocation prayer composed by Adi Sankara.

प्रातः स्मरामि हृदि संस्फुरदात्मतत्त्वं

सच्चित्सुखं परमहंसगतिं तुरीयम् ।

यत्स्वप्नजागरसुषुप्तिमवैति नित्यं

तद्ब्रह्म निष्कलमहं न च भूतसङ्घः 

PRÁTAH SMARÁMI HRUDI SAMSPHURAD ÁTMA TATTVAM

SAT CHIT SUKHAM PARAMA HAMSA GATIM TURIYAM

YAT SVAPNA JÁGARA SUSSUPTAM AVAITI NITYAM

TAD BRAHMA NISKALAM AHAM NA CHA BHUTA SAÑGHA.

At the early hours of the day, I meditate upon the essential SELF, clearly experienceable in the heart cave AS THE ESSENCE (TATWAM),

-That which is Existence, Knowledge and Bliss in nature,

-That which is the supreme goal, the Parama hamsa state,

-That which is the fourth state of consciousness (Turiyam),

-That which illumines all experiences in all the three state of consciousness, waking, dreaming and deep sleep.

- That which is that part less Brahman, not this assembly of matter envelopments!

Commentary

Like my heart throb every moment, along with every heart beat, let me experience clearly in my heart, the reality:- That is SATH (Pure Existence), CHIT (Pure awareness) SUKHAM (Pure Bliss).

That is Parama hamsa, the goal of all sages. (Parama saham Aham)

(Parama hamsa is also explained in the context of the Hamsa Bird, which has the capacity to segregate water from milk, takes in only the milk and discards the water. That is, the attainment of the state where, one is clearly able to discriminate between the real and the unreal and discard the real and embrace only the real)

That which is the Turiya state or the 4th state of consciousness, as clearly explained in mandukya upanishad, the state of pure awareness, existence, consciousness.

That which illumines all the other three states of consciousness - waking, dream state and deep sleep.

(The three states of consciousness and the fourth state, Turiya, have been dealt with elaborately in this blog under the theme "Vedas and Vedanta". The link to that post is given below

https://bhaktirah.blogspot.com/search?q=states+of+consciousness

Readers may please use the above link and read about the 2 states of consciousness explained in a simple manner)

That is part less, indivisible Brahman and not the mere matter which my body, mind appears to be, at the surface level!!

What a positive, wonderful prayer in the early hours even before we start our day, asserting with conviction, what we really are, so that, we remember the same through out the day and not end up believing about ourselves what we really are not!!

Love.