I AM GOD & I AM BRAHMAN | IWGR II

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON VEDANTA | IWGR II | RAMA राम

|| < : Q & A | STATING " I AM GOD " & " I AM BRAHMAN " : > ||

❝ It is a sin not to say " I am GOD " . ❞ ~ RAMA राम

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QUESTION : What is it that says , " I am not this body , I am the Atman , I am the Self ? "

RAMA : In the Real Atman there are no words . From the standpoint of the Real Self there is no possibility of making a statement of this kind " I am Brahman , I am this or I am that " ; no words can reach the true Atman , the Atman stands above all words .

Thus the statement " I am Brahman , I am the Atman , I am Divinity " cannot be made by the Atman , because the Atman transcends all words .

This statement is made by the intellect ( Sukshma Sharira ) or any other name you may give it .

The question is if the mind makes the statement

" I am Brahman , I am Divinity "

, the mind and intellect are not Brahman and therefore are not justified in making the statement .

Vedanta says , from one point of view , mind and intellect are not Brahman ; but on the other hand , the mind and intellect are nothing else but Brahman , even the body is nothing else but Brahman , and Everything in the world is nothing else but Brahman .

Just as when we say that the black snake is a rope , the attribute " rope " does not belong to the snake in the same way as the attribute " black " belongs to the snake .

The snake is black . Here the attribute " black " belongs to the snake , but when the statement is made that the snake is a rope , the rope is not an attribute of the snake .

Similarly , when we say that the mind , body or intellect is Brahman or Atman , then Brahman or Atman is not an attribute of the mind , intellect , or body .

The one meaning is that the mind , the intellect , or the body denies its apparent self , and finds Divinity or GOD . So when we say " I am GOD , I am Divinity " , it does not mean that GOD is an attribute of mine , as when we say " I am sovereign " , for sovereign is an attribute , but GOD is no attribute of mine .

This statement " I am GOD " is not such a statement as " The snake is black " .

If the statement " I am GOD " were a statement which made GOD your attribute , then it would have been an irreligious statement , but as it is , the statement " I am GOD " means that the apparent self is to be realized as an illusion only , and the true Divinity is to be manifested in its full growth . O Divinity I am .

O people of the world , if you call me Swami or Rama * , if you call me this or that , you are mistaken . Divinity I am ; this body I am not .

A person was asleep , and in sleep was found detected as a thief and a beggar , and was in a wretched condition .

The person prayed in dream to all sorts of gods for help , going to this and that court , going to this and that lawyer , going to all the friends and sought their help , but there was no help . The person was put in jail and cried bitterly , for there was no help .

There came a snake which bit and the person felt excruciating pain , and this pain was so great that there was awakening . The person ought to have thanked the snake which bit in sleep . Whenever we dream sad and horrible things , whenever we have the nightmare , we are awakened .

So the snake in the dream woke the person up , and the person was sitting in bed all right , surrounded by family , and was happy .

Now , we say in the dream the person was bound , sought release , and in the dream the snake came and bit . Now this snake was the same as the other objects in the dream with this difference that this snake woke the person up , it startled the person . It ate the person up .

We do not mean that the snake ate the person but that it ate the dreaming ego of the person ; the dreaming ego of the person was as the other objects in the dream , and this snake not only destroyed the dreaming ego of the person but it destroyed all the other objects in the dream , viz — the jail , the jailor , the turn-key , the soldiers , and all , the rest .

But this serpent was a strange serpent , it did something very extraordinary , it ate up itself , because when the person woke up , the person no longer saw this strange snake .

According to Vedanta , all this world that you see is but a mere dream , Maya , and what about yourself who sees the dream ? You are the dreaming ego , the dreaming culprit , or the thief etc , and all your friends and other people are the companions in prison , from whom you seek help and invoke aid , you invoke aid from all gods in heaven and hell and they cannot release you .

You go to your friend to seek aid but there is no peace , no true aid ; no true or real joy comes to you until the time comes when you find yourself bitten by a snake .

Now what snake is that ? The snake of Renunciation . Renunciation appears to be serpent like , and it bites you . The word Renunciation seems awful to you , it stings you as it were . True Renunciation means Knowledge , it means Vedanta .

When this true Renunciation comes , what we call Jnana follows . The great saying

" I am Brahman , I am Divinity , I am the Lord of lords "

is realised . Here this statement " I am Brahman , Atman " seems to be a hissing statement to the ears of the Americans and Europeans , it is the hissing snake that will bite you , and you say ,

" O well , how can I entertain such a preposterous idea , how dare I make such a preposterous statement ? "

O people , let the snake bite you ; its stings and bites are welcome ; they will release you , they will free you of all anxiety and trouble .

This Truth does not instil into you venom but it instils nectar into your being , and you wake up , the dreaming ego is gone and the world is gone also .

This is no speculation of which Rama is talking , but a truth or fact which you can verify from your own experience .

All pain , trouble , anguish are immediately gone .

The statement " I am not the body " is made by the thief in the dream , because you have stolen GOD , you have stolen the Truth , you have concealed your real Self , so you are a thief in the dream , and this thief in the dream is stung by the serpent Truth , " I am the Atman " .

Thus it is the thief in the dream that receives the life-giving sting of " I am Atman " and the result is that you wake up , and the true Atman shines in its full glory , and this Atman is unapproachable . It surpasses all description . Language cannot reach it .

< : * NOTE : " Swami " or " Rama " , as in title or name of a " person " . RAMA = GOD . : >