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The Brahm, The Atman and the Karma

 

Week 23, chapter 8, shlokas (1-14)

Asks Arjuna-

What is Brahm?

What is atman?

What is karma?

What is adhyatma (spirituality)?

What is adhibhuta (entity)?

And, what is adhidaiva (predestination)?

What is adhiyagna (prime offering)?

and who resides in the body?

And how does those who have mastered their senses recognizes you when their time to go (death) comes?

 

Answers Krishna one by one-

Brahm is the supreme- the eternal. Extremely subtle that it appears like a zero, but its nature is not like that. So subtle that it can be filtered by the sieve of the microscopic sky; Is continuous and cannot be obtained by any worldly/superficial knowledge. It is not born when the things that have form are conceived. And is not destroyed when the things which have form are destroyed. This natural state of the supreme spirit (Brahm) that is continuous is called adhyatm (spirituality). 

Brahm is eternal and supreme, and Atman is his spirit in man.

Elaborates Shri Gyaneshwara (karma)-

“Like in the face of pure sky, the clouds of different hues start appearing…in the same way, in that formless pious Brahm, various cosmic forms (universes) started appearing (as a result of differentiations created by the Prakruti). And these forms are further divided/broken by the sprouting of the sankalp taken by Brahm-- ‘aham bahusyam’*. Every shape is filled with the essence of the same cosmic seed (Brahm) and in each of these seeds tremendous life forms take birth and attain death. And the cosmic zero of every universe produces various ancient principles and that is how the cosmos expands. Immeasurable life forms in various universes comes and goes because of Maya/Prakruti. But at the root lies the cosmic zero. That is why you cannot see the doer. Thus this creation of relative world from unexpressed without anyone to do it is called karma."


*Aham Bahusyam-- (I am one)  let me become many.

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