Brahmam – The Single Unit of life

Dear God Like Friends,

Pranams. Humble and Loving Greetings. Hope you are maintaining good mood, positive and helpful attitude, continuing your material practices and spiritual practices.

Also, you might be thinking that in real life, not much is under your control. Do not worry about it. You are not the only being inhabiting this earth. There is countless beings, and each one is the center of creation. The single unit of a being is known as Brahmam. The multiplicity of the beings is known as the Supreme Being or Param Brahmam or Paramatma or God. As per the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, in your heart, you are the Immortal Brahmam, the spirit, the soul. But, in the core of your heart, you are Param Brahmam.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna has taught that every being is three in one. The following verse from the Bhagavad Gita explains this (chapter 15).

द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च |
क्षर: सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते || 16||

dvāv imau puruṣhau loke kṣharaśh chākṣhara eva cha
kṣharaḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho ’kṣhara uchyate

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 16

In this Creation there are two types of beings:
Destructible and Indestructible. Of these, the body plus the mind, intellect, and ego, this combination is destructible; and, the Soul, the Spirit is considered as One is indestructible.

उत्तम: पुरुषस्त्वन्य: परमात्मेत्युदाहृत: |
यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वर: || 17||

uttamaḥ puruṣhas tv anyaḥ paramātmety udāhṛitaḥ
yo loka-trayam āviśhya bibharty avyaya īśhvaraḥ

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 17

General Meaning:

There is another being, greatest than these two, who have entered all three creations, is the Sustainer and Maintainer of all and is known as the Indestructible God and the Supreme Soul. One cannot know this absolute truth by too much study or hearing or thinking or intellectualizing. One has to practice Kriya Yoga under the guidance of a Kriya Yoga Master and realize or perceive this truth in the heart through meditation.

ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् ।
अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीम्- अष्टादशाध्यायिनीम् अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्- गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ॥ १॥

Om pārthāya pratibodhitāḿ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaḿ
vyāsena grathitāḿ purāṇa-muninā madhye mahābhārate
advaitāmṛta-varṣiṇīḿ bhagavatīm aṣṭādaśādhyāyinīḿ
amba tvām anusandadhāmi bhagavad-gīte bhava-dveṣiṇīm

Bhagavad Gita – Introductory Meditation (Gita Dhyanam)

General Meaning:

This verse explains why Bhagawat Geeta was taught; who taught it; to whom it was taught; who composed it; in which scripture it is included; what does this contain; how many chapters; what it really is; how it should be studied and what is the benefit. For the purpose of especially counseling Arjuna (Paarth), by God himself; it is included by the Ancient Sage, Vyaas, in the great epic, The Mahabharat. Its central teaching is ADWAITA, meaning, the Creation and Creator are ONE. There are no twos or many. The realization of this knowledge gives freedom from the fear of disease, decay, and death. Only then all sufferings are gone. Now the prayer to the Bhagavad Gita, O’ Divine Mother, you are God’s projected power, in the form of 18 (eighteen forms of God’s direct power), I will study you in detail, I will do research into you, O’ Song Divine, you are the cure for the sufferings and the stress of worldly life.

gita-sastramidam punyam jah patheth prayatah puman
visnoh padam avapnoti bhaya-sokadi-varjitah

Gita Mahatmaya Verse 1

General Meaning:

This Holy Spiritual Scripture, Bhagavad Gita is the personification of spirituality. Whoever studies it daily with faith, realizes the presence of God; only then all fears, sorrow and, sufferings and stress are banished.

gītā adhyayana-śīlasya prāṇāyāma-parasya ch
naiva santi hi pāpāni pūrva-janma-kṛutāni ch

गीता अध्ययन शीलस्य प्राणायाम परस्य च ।
नैव सन्ति ही पापानी पूर्व जन्म कर्तानी च ।।

Gita Mahatmaya Verse 2

General Meaning:

Those who study Bhagavad Gita daily as a habit and those who practice Pranayam daily, sincerely, no sin or stress can ever remain. Even accumulated sins and stress of previous lives (births) are destroyed.

mala nirmocanaḿ puḿsāḿs jala-snānaḿ diney diney
sakṛud-gītāmbhasi snānaḿ saḿsāra-mala-nāśanam

Gita Mahatmaya Verse 3

People to remove impurities from the body take bath with water every day. The inner impurities (stress, sins) are destroyed by the spiritual bath with the daily loving study of the blessed Bhagavad Gita.

gītā sugītā kartavyā kim anyaiḥ śāstra-vistaraiḥ
yā svayaḿ padmanābhasya mukha-padmād viniḥsṛtā


Gita Mahatmaya Verse 4

General Meaning:

Bhagavad Gita, the Song Divine, should be studied daily as a loving duty. Then, there is no need to study other holy scriptures. The Pranayam has streamed forward from the most auspicious, the divinely beautiful lotus-like mouth of the Lord, Padmanaabha, Lord Vishnu, from whose Navel, the Creator Brahma has emerged to perform his duties of creating the Creation. (It is described in the ancient semi-religious texts (Puranas) the Mahaa Visnu (the Supreme Lord) was relaxing in the infinite ocean of Pralaya (Pre-creation, condition-less, infinite ocean). God-willed to create. From the navel (Naavi Chakra) a huge cord (stem) cord emerged and projected out. At the end of it was a huge lotus. On the lotus was sitting Brahmaa (not Brahmam), the creator with the intention of creating the creation.)

bhāratāmṛta-sarvasvaḿ viṣṇor vaktrād viniḥsṛtam
gītā-gańgodakaḿ pītvā punar-janma na vidyate

Gita Mahatmaya Verse 5

General Meaning:

It is the essence of the immortality-giving knowledge of the ancient land of Bharat Varsha (the traditional name of South Asia). This has been revealed through the divine mouth of the all-pervading God, Vishnu. Studying the Bhagavad Gita is like holy water of the great river Ganga (the holy river Ganges). By studying the Bhagavad Gita, one is liberated from the recurring cycles of Birth and Death.

sarvopaniṣado gāvo dogdhā gopāla-nandanaḥ
pārtho vatsaḥ sudhīr bhoktā dugdhaḿ gītāmṛtaḿ mahat

Gita Mahatmaya Verse 6

General Meaning:

All Upanisads (ancient holy scriptures with highest spiritual knowledge) are compared to milk cow. An Incarnation of God, Lord Krishna is compared to the milkman, who milks the cow. Paarth (Arjuna) is compared to the calf, for whom the cow gives milk. The spiritual seekers are the persons, who enjoy the milk. The higher spiritual knowledge and experience which gives the eternal life of Self Realization, has been described as the great Deathlessness.

Dear Divine Friends, daily, as you start reading the Bhagavad Gita, study these verses of Gita Mahatmya. This will enrich you about its benefits; will immensely strengthen your motivation, which in turn will help you to intensify your study and practice will improve your mental concentration, leading to a better chance of success in your Sadhana (spiritual practice).

May God and Gurus Bless, Guide, Protect and Inspire you and remove your obstacles.

With Love and Blessings to you. Humbly,
Paramahansa Atmananda ji