The Secret Doctrine of Goddess Lalita
(Sri LalitaAṣṭottara Rahasyārthamu)
20. brahmātmaikya svarūpiṇī 21.tattvamartha svarūpiṇī
She whose nature is the union of brahman and ātmān.
She who is the meaning of tat (that) and tvam (thou).
These nāma-s describe the nature of the great Knowledge that the Guru teaches. The Knowledge is about the Oneness of the jīvā (individual) and brahman (Supreme Consciousness). brahman is derived from the word bṛhat, which means big and expansive. It is so expansive that it pervades everything - time, space, and objects. Such an expansive entity can only be Consciousness because Consciousness alone can cognize Its expansion. Consciousness is the cognizing principle. It is the spark of I-Am awareness (sphuraṇa) in every being. That spark of awareness is ātmā. There is no difference between the Supreme Consciousness (brahman) and the individual Consciousness (ātmā). Since it is the “I Am” awareness (ātmā) Itself that cognizes everything, brahman is ātmā.
Similarly, ātmā is brahman. ātmā is the Consciousness that vibrates as the I-Am awareness in this body. It is neither the body nor the life-force (prāṇa) because they are both inert, and appear as objects to awareness. How can that which I am aware of be me? Therefore, although the feeling of “I” appears to be confined to my body and life-force, my real nature is pure Awareness. As Awareness, I am not confined to my body. Like space, I am formless and all-pervading.
Since brahman and ātmā are both formless and all-pervading, they are not different from each other. Since they are not different, they can be experiences as One (ekātman). It is the one Consciousness that appears as ātmā inside the body and as brahman outside the body. Due to this apparent difference, brahman is experienced as though different from me (indirect) and ātmān as me (direct). In reality, brahman and ātmā are the same and experienced directly as One (aparokṣa).
The Upanishads convey this knowledge through declarations called mahāvākya-s. These statements declare the unity of jīvātman and paramātman, the individual self and the Supreme Self. The Upanishadic statements that analyze and explain how such unity is possible are called avāntara vākya-s. While the former convey the essential or primary meaning of the entire sentence, the latter explains the meaning of each word in the sentence. With the help of these avāntara vākya-s the complete meaning of the mahāvākya-s can be understood. For instance, in the mahāvākya, tat tvam asi, the word tat refers to brahman and the word tvam refers to jīvā. The meaning of the two words put together conveys the intent or the essence of the mahāvākya.
The meaning of a mahāvākya can be understood based on its primary meaning (vāchyārtha) or its secondary meaning (lakṣyārtha). For instance, the word tvam may be interpreted in its primary sense as “this jīvā” and tat as “that brahman.” Interpreted in this manner, the two cannot be united into one because each is perceived as manifesting in different upādhi-s (adjuncts). We think jīvā manifests through the body and brahman through the world. As long as there are two upādhi-s or mediums, jīvā and brahman will always appear separate. They cannot merge into one. Therefore, we must interpret the mahāvākya in the secondary sense. We must apply the principle of jahad-ajahal-lakṣaṇā, where only one of the two entities is considered and the other is ignored in order to arrive at the unity of the two. For instance, if we suddenly see someone from the past and say “He is Devadutta,” it means we recognize that person for himself without paying any attention to the differences in time and space from the last time we saw him. Similarly, to grasp the truth that the mahāvākya is pointing to, we must disregard the upādhi, the body-mind organism that we identify with, and instead focus on the I-Am Consciousness that vibrates in the body. Similarly, we must disregard the names and forms that appear in the universe, and focus instead on Consciousness, the common substance that pervades the entire universe.
Since the Immutable Consciousness is the substratum of both jīvā and brahman, jīvā and brahman are One. The upādhi-s of jīvā (body/mind/senses) and of brahman (five elements) appear in Consciousness, are not different from Consciousness, and dissolve in Consciousness. If we enquire deeply into the nature of anything in this manner, we will understand its obvious nature (in the primary sense) and its subtler nature (in the secondary sense). This understanding will spontaneously lead to an intuitive realization of its intrinsic nature. Devī personifies this Knowledge of Oneness. It is through the mahāvākya, tat tvam asi, that Devī appears as the Guru and imparts this great Knowledge to the disciple.