“Aham Brahmasmi” is what makes us Indestructible!

“Aham Brahmasmi” is a shloka originating from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of Yajur Veda. These two words are a notion of spiritual wisdom and proves our unbreakable and consistent connection with the almighty, irrespective of whether we feel it, or not.

This article intends to explain to you the meaning of these two words and to give you a blissful feeling when you come to know that you are “Aham Brahmasmi”.

What does “Aham Brahmasmi” mean?

I have read through various articles across the internet that claim that “Aham Brahmasmi” means “I am Brahman”. The claims are true, but this Brahman is not the contemporary Brahman we know about – the Pujari or Priest. Additionally, it also means that “I am eternal and connected directly with every particle, event and transition going on in the Universe”.

Let us take a dip into the Vedic Wisdom!

The Vedas declare ||sarvam khalvidam Brahma|| which denotes that there is a unity in everything that exists in the Universe and an underlying oneness that connects everything.

The universal principle that underlies all things in existence is known as Brahman. This ultimate omniscient wisdom exists both within and beyond creation, as both Para prakriti (manifested) and Apara prakriti (unmanifested).

Brahman has the root word “b(r)h” which means to expand or grow in such a way that the immensity of this growth includes everything in it that is conceivable.

Therefore, ‘Aham Brahmasmi”, meaning “I am the Brahman” denotes the unseen powerhouse of knowledge and wisdom that we all hold, but, trapped in the cycles of Karma and Maya, we tend not to realize the same.

These two words explain the concept of both eternity and the ever expanding nature of our knowledge and wisdom. This growth is unending and continuous, that started at the time of creation of the universe and will continue till we merge into the Parmatma.

Key Takeaways

I think that now it has started to sound pretty monotonous, and therefore, let me conclude this with the Takeaways from “Aham Brahmasmi” that we can implement in our daily life-

1. We should always keep on learning, because, actually, whenever we are learning, we are growing, and in many cases, we are just revising what our soul already knew.
2. Being a Brahman, we are Indestructible. Therefore, we should never fear facing reality and accepting the truth, however hard it might be – that can’t destroy us, but rather enhance our wisdom.
3. Me, you and everyone around is a Brahman, as we all are tied to the same point with oneness in existence. Therefore, we should never think of harming anyone as we will fail in that miserably – why? Because everyone in this universe is a Brahman and indestructible.

Therefore, a peaceful coexistence is what we should move ahead for. Why should you fear getting harmed by anybody? You are a Brahman holding the immensity of growth. If you believe in this growth, you will automatically grow to be indestructible. Talking about peaceful life, the Vedas shower logical explanation as follows:

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते |

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते |

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

We will discuss the Vedic wisdom on peaceful life in our next article.