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Asmita
www.mysticism.nl
An important concept in Indian philosophy is asmita, a term which is difficult to translate but which can be described as the identification of a subject with his limiting adjuncts. This needs a clarification. In Indian philosophy the true nature of man consists of a divine kernel, which is in itself pure and infinite. This true nature is called Atman, the world-soul, which all living beings share and which is the source of life (cf. the Latin word anima). For the enlightened tthinker this Atman, his own true soul, is none other than Brahman itself, the creative force of the universe. By this definition man has a kernel which is non-ego and which is immortal.
Unfortunately man is fallen from this initial phase of grace by the forces of Maya, the sensory world that drags man away from his true divine nature by all kinds of deceptions and illusions. Man has become ignorant of his divine status and of his primal perfection. In this ignorance man has lost its anchor and his foundation, which alone can make him happy and perfect again. He roams about in complete stupification and bewilderment. He is like a sheep which has lost his loving and tender shepherd. He clings to everything he can get hold of to get his security back. He even lets himself in with the wolf who says he can bring him back again to the stable.
In this state of erring and bewilderment man is not complete in itself but is looking for an identity. Instead of thinking ''I'm Brahman'' (which is the only truth ever to be known) he starts Giotto: the apparation to Gregory IXidentifying himself with everything he contacts with. The first thing the soul encounters in his own consciousness is his own thinking, because this is the first thing to shine forth in his consciousness. This faculty of thinking is a product of Prana, the animal principle of life, which materializes into our organic functions of breath, blood circulation, our metabolic functions etc. Prana is ultimately controlled by Brahman itself, but a soul in ignorance will not see this point. He thinks that his true nature consists of thinking, because he does not phantom another reality besides his own ego-consciousness. If the number 1 falls out in a row the number 2 comes the first in line.
A man without knowledge of his true nature can do nothing besides identifying himself with his own thoughts. So he says to himself: "I'm an anxious person, I'm an angry person, I'm an intelligent person etc.''
In all these instances the individual divine soul starts identifying itself with his own limiting adjuncts. So you'll often see people, who are beguiled by asmita , pretending to be something which in fact they are not (and that's why they look so ridiculous). One person says to himself: ''Look, I'm a professor!'' While another lets the world know he's a sales-representative. Again another thinks himself to be a student or a teacher. But this is, again, a misinterpretation caused by ignorance. A truly religious (ie. tied back to his source), intelligent person can only say that he is Brahman: "I'm the unspeakable, unlimited source of the universe. In me there is the whole world. Everything is knowable to me, because I carry everything in me. I'm a part of everyone and everyone is a part of me. We all share the same nature which starts us living and to which we reside when our animal functions subside.''
Asmita is a fault of limitation, a fault of a narrow view of life. Thoughts are no more than bubbles. They come and they go. They are not substantial. The only substance in the world is the God/Brahman. |
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发表于 2007-3-7 13:09
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