My new
Art Shivoham is inspired by Nirvana Shatakam : SHIVOHAM
The Nirvana Shatakam
, also known as Atma Shatakam is a śloka in six stanzas written by the Sage Adi
Shankaracharya summarizing the basic philosophy of Advaita - Teachings of Non-Dualism.
The narrator of the
poem is Lord Shiva, but it is generally seen as a statement given by a
person knowing his identity with Shiva or Self. One cannot describe the Infinite....so this poem tries to take us there by negation of everything finite (that our limited ego identifies with). The Poet lists in the earlier
verses what HE (or Consciousness) is not. HE is not body , mind, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, the intellect, the
senses, the practices of life, the occurrences of life such as birth and death.
In the last verse he says that HE is the very substratum on which all the other gross(body) and subtle aspects(mind, intellect, ego) comes to life.....Just like the way electricity illumines all the inert objects and makes them emit different kinds of energy. HE permeates the universe, and that HE is consciousness, bliss and the soul, and by implication, the Atman and Brahman.
In the last verse he says that HE is the very substratum on which all the other gross(body) and subtle aspects(mind, intellect, ego) comes to life.....Just like the way electricity illumines all the inert objects and makes them emit different kinds of energy. HE permeates the universe, and that HE is consciousness, bliss and the soul, and by implication, the Atman and Brahman.
It is said that that
when Adi Shankara was a young boy of eight and wandering in the Himalayas,
seeking to find his guru, he encountered the seer Gaudapada who asked him,
"Who are you?". The boy answered with these stanzas, which are known
as "Nirvāṇa Śaṭakam" or Ātma Ṣaṭakam". Gaudapada accepted Adi
Shankara as his disciple. The verses are said to be valuable for progress in
contemplation practices that lead to Self-Realization/Liberation
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SHIVOHAM |
Following are the six
verses with their interpretations
मनो
बुद्ध्यहंकारचित्तानि नाहम्
न च श्रोत्र
जिह्वे न च घ्राण नेत्रे
न च
व्योम भूमिर् न तेजॊ न वायु:
चिदानन्द
रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम् ॥१॥
Neither am I.... Mind, Intellect, Ego or Memory house
Neither am I.... those five knowledge organs serving
the 5 senses
Neither am I.... the five elements of Nature (Ether,
Earth, Fire, Air, Water)
I AM SHIVA....the embodiment of Pure Blissful
Consciousness ||1||
न च
प्राण संज्ञो न वै पञ्चवायु:
न वा
सप्तधातुर् न वा पञ्चकोश:
न
वाक्पाणिपादौ न चोपस्थपायू
चिदानन्द
रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम् ॥२॥
Neither am I....those five vital prana (energy) nor
those five vital breaths
Neither am I....the seven forms of matter(in body),
nor the five sheath/veils of mind
Neither am I....the five organs of action
I AM SHIVA....the manifestation of Pure Blissful
Consciousness ||2||
न मे द्वेष
रागौ न मे लोभ मोहौ
मदो नैव
मे नैव मात्सर्य भाव:
न धर्मो
न चार्थो न कामो ना मोक्ष:
चिदानन्द
रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम् ॥३॥
Neither do I have....emotions of Hatred, Anger,
Attachment, Greed , Delusion
Nor do I have....Passion , Jealousy or Envy
Nor am I....bounded by four pillars of Duties,
Wealth, Desire, Liberation
I AM SHIVA....the expression of Pure Blissful
Consciousness ||3||
न
पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्यं न दु:खम्
न
मन्त्रो न तीर्थं न वेदा: न यज्ञा:
अहं भोजनं नैव
भोज्यं न भोक्ता
चिदानन्द
रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम् ॥४॥
Neither am I....bounded by virtue or sins, nor by
pleasure or pain
Nor do I need ....mantras, pilgrimage, scriptures, or
rituals
Nor am I....the subject of experience , the process
of experience or the object being experienced
I AM SHIVA....the symbol of Pure Blissful
Consciousness ||4||
न
मृत्युर् न शंका न मे जातिभेद:
पिता नैव मे
नैव माता न जन्म
न
बन्धुर् न मित्रं गुरुर्नैव शिष्य:
चिदानन्द
रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम् ॥५॥
Neither am I....bounded by Death and its Fear, nor by
the rules of Caste and Race
Neither do I....have Father or Mother, nor do I have
birth
Neither do I....have Friends, Relatives, nor Guru,
Disciple
I AM SHIVA....the personification of Pure Blissful
Consciousness ||5||
अहं
निर्विकल्पॊ निराकार रूपॊ
विभुत्वाच्च
सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम्
न
चासंगतं नैव मुक्तिर् न मेय:
चिदानन्द
रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम् ॥६॥
I AM Without any Change/Variation and Without any
form
I am Present Everywhere as the underlying Substratum
of everything, and behind all Sense Organs,
Neither do I get Attached to anything, nor get Freed
from anything,
I AM SHIVA....I AM the Pure Blissful
Consciousness ||6||