Aham Brahmasmi

In Hindu philosophy, the Sanskrit sentence - Aham Bramhāsmiti (Devanagari: अहं ब्रह्म अस्मिति) - means "I am Brahman" (Aham Brahmm Asmi) or "I am the Infinite Reality". It is one of the four Mahavakyas used to explain the unity of macrocosm and microcosm.

Meaning

Literally, Aham (अहं) means "I"--that which cannot be deserted or abandoned on account of being constant, unavoidable, ever present; Brahman (ब्रह्म) means ever-full or whole (ब्रह्म is the first case ending singular of Brahman); and Asmi (अस्मि) means "am," the first-person singular present tense of the verb "अस्," "to be." This mahāvākya belongs to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of the Shukla Yajurveda. Brahman is the Infinite Reality; only when the ego dies can this be realized. In this sentence the "I" is not the limited transmigrating ego, the doer and the enjoyer within, and also not the body and the mind. Man (who is a conscious entity) alone has the capacity to improve his present state, to guide his future, to enquire and know the truth, and to free himself from the cycle of birth and death (vidyā adhikāra) through thoughtful actions (karma adhikāra). Vidyāranya in his Panchadasi (V.4) explains:

स्वतः पूर्णः परात्माऽत्र ब्रह्मशब्देन वर्णितः |

अस्मीत्यैक्य-परामर्शः तेन ब्रह्म भवाम्यहम् ||

"Infinite by nature, the Supreme Self is described here by the word Brahman; the word asmi denotes the identity of aham and Brahman. Therefore, (the meaning of the sentence is) "I am Brahman."

This realization is gained through true enquiry.

In Vaishnavism

Vaishnavas, when they talk about Brahman, usually refer to impersonal Brahman, brahmajyoti (rays of Brahman). Brahman here means God - Narayana, Rama or Krishna. Thus, the real meaning of "aham brahma asmi" is that "I am a drop of Ocean of Consciousness", or "I am soul, part of cosmic spirit, Parabrahman". Here, term Parabrahman is introduced to avoid confusion. If Brahman can mean soul (though, Parabrahman is also the soul, but Supreme one - Paramatma), then Parabrahman should refer to God, Lord Vishnu. Real problem with "aham brahma asmi" is that Brahman also means mahat-tattva - material substance. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita: “The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata.” So, Parabrahman, Ishvara, is the source of Brahman - two energies: conscious Brahman (souls, jiva-atamas or tatastha-shakti) and unconscious Brahman (matter).

Significance

This sentence appears in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad when the sage, in the context of meditation on the Self, in reply to the query – What did that Brahman know by which It became all? - states:-

"ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीत्, तदात्मनामेवावेत्, अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति | तस्मात्तत्सर्वमभवत्; तद्यो यो देवानां प्रत्यबुध्यत स एव तदभवत्, तदषीर्णाम् तथा मनुष्याणाम्,..."

"This (self) was indeed Brahm in the beginning; It knew only Itself as, "I am Brahm". Therefore It became all; and whoever among the gods knew It also became That; and the same with sages and men…” - (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.iv.10)

In his comment on this passage Sankara explains that here Brahm is not the conditioned Brahm, that a transitory entity cannot be eternal, that knowledge about Brahm, the infinite all-pervading entity, has been enjoined, that knowledge of unity alone dispels ignorance and that the meditation based on resemblance is only an idea. He tells us the sentence Aham Brahm asmi is the explanation of the mantra –

पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते |

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||

"That ('Brahm') is infinite, and this ('universe') is infinite; the infinite proceeds from the infinite. (Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite ('universe'), it remains as the infinite ('Brahm') alone." - (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad V.i.1)

He explains that unity and plurality are contradictory only when applied to the Self, which is eternal and without parts, but not to the effects, which have parts. The aham in this sentence is not closed in itself as a pure mental abstraction but it is radical openness. Between Brahman and aham-brahman lies the entire temporal universe experienced by the ignorant as a separate entity (duality).>

Consequence

The difference between Brahman and atman emerges most clearly where they appear side by side with one another such as - स वा अयमात्मा ब्रह्म विज्ञानमयो मनोमयः प्राणमयः – 'That Self is indeed Brahman, as also identified with the intellect, the mind and the vital-force'. The Isha Upanishad tells us that the Supreme Brahman present in the Mukhya Prana is the bearer of the secret names of Aham and Asmi. Sankara proclaims that there is a plane where everything is entirely "different"; where laws of maya no longer apply; where distinctions like subject and object fall away; where Tat Tvam Asi and Aham Brahman asmi are actually felt.