Nirvana Shatakam. 6 verses to Nirvana, Freedom! You only have to realize that you are already free!
- in eternal aum consciousness
- Sep 23, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 22, 2024
Also known as Atmashatakam, The are the 6 verses of self realization, I have listened to this thousands of times. Composed by Jagat guru, Adi Shankaracharya. These verses are written to explain what the ultimate consciousness is not (in the first 5 verses), instead of explaining what it is (which is in fact given in the 6th verse). An interesting way to put forth the concept by Acharya.
The quest of knowing the real "I", is eternal and the famous question "who am I?" takes one beyond the normal perception of mind body experiences.
This is one of the 3 sources of fundamental understanding of the self. The other 2 being mandukya upanishad (12 shlokas) and shiv manas puja (6 shlokas) . together they set the foundation of understanding the other concepts of vendata and bring in tremendous clarity.
There are many renderings of this shloka. The one I appreciate the most, is the one given below. It is slow, you can actually understand every word, see the meaning, contemplate and reflect as it is being recited.
"I am the form of consciousness and bliss, I am the eternal Shiva". Repeats after every shloka. Reminding one that thought i am not what is described in the shloka, I am the form of consciousness and bliss, I am eternal. I am Shiva.
Shiva is not Shankara (the form with ganga flowing. serpent in the neck, long hair, bluish body, dressed in lionskin).
Śiva (शिव) signifies him who controls everything and whom none can control.
The syllable Ś means Permanent Bliss.
The letter “I” means Puruṣa (the primordial male energy),
the syllable “Va” means Śakti (the primordial female energy).
A harmonious compound of these syllables is Śiva. The devotee shall likewise make his own soul a harmonious whole and worship Śiva.
Shiva is the purest form of the self represented by Lingam, a symbol. It is not a nuclear reactor, electron proton, Brahma Vishnu Mahesh or genitals as some people believe. (This is given in another blog).
I have coded the content as follows in fonts:
Sanskrit Shloka
English transliteration.
Literal meaning.
Explanation
Shloka 1:
मनो-बुद्धि-अहंकार चित्तादि नाहं
न च श्रोत्र-जिह्वे न च घ्राण-नेत्रे ।
न च व्योम-भूमी न तेजो न वायु
चिदानंद-रूपं शिवो-हं शिवो-हं ॥ १॥
Mano Buddhi Ahankaara Chittani Naaham
Na Cha Shrotra Jihve Na Cha Ghraana Netre
Na Cha Vyoma Bhumir Na Tejo Na Vaayuhu
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham
I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego or the memory
I am not the ears, the skin, the nose or the eyes
I am not space, not earth, not fire, water or wind
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva…
I am not the 4 parts of the mind. I am not the senses. I am not the 5 elements either. This means that I am not anything related to the mind, that is intellect - reasoning, ego - roles, memory - from this birth (or even previous births) or the feelings- emotions of any type . Nor am I anything that is physical, as entire creation is made out of 5 elements. Meaning, I am not the creation either. The start itself is from the mind. Acharya has stated that the self is beyond the mind right away, and can not be understood by logic, experience, feelings or via any role play. This shloka covers the mental aspect and the entire creation itself.
Shloka 2:
न च प्राण-संज्ञो न वै पञ्च-वायु:
न वा सप्त-धातुर्न वा पञ्च-कोष: ।
न वाक्-पाणी-पादौ न चोपस्थ पायु:
चिदानंद-रूपं शिवो-हं शिवो-हं ॥ २ ॥
Na Cha Praana Sangyo Na Vai Pancha Vaayuhu
Na Va Sapta Dhaatur Na Va Pancha Koshah
Na Vak Pani-Padau Na Chopastha Paayu
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham
I am not the breath, nor the five elements
I am not matter, nor the five sheaths of consciousness
nor am I the speech, the hands, or the feet, nor genitals nor rectum.
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva…
I am not my breath (prana) - this indicates that even when the prana ceases to exist, (death) I am still there. it is independent of prana. so it does not matter if it is there or not there. nor am I the 5 vayus (prana, apana, samana, udana and vyana) that are in the body, nor 7 dhatus (plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow and reproductive fluid) which make the physical body. This means, the self is eternal irrespective of the body. I am not the 5 actions, (The movement by feet, , grasping by hands, the elimination by rectum, the procreation by genitals and the speech from mouth). These are karmendriyas the outward senses to take action. I am not ay of the actions either. The self is neither in the annamayya kosha - body, pranamaya kosha - energy, manomaya kosha - mind, vigyanmaya kosha - knowledge of the self (even knowledge of the self is an impediment to realizing the self. this is explained in a previous blog) nor in anandmaya ,This shloka not only covers the physical aspect of the body, but also covers all the other layers of existence, beyond which lies the self.
Shloka 3:
न मे द्वेष-रागौ न मे लोभ-मोहौ
मदे नैव मे नैव मात्सर्य-भाव: ।
न धर्मो न चार्थो न कामो न मोक्ष:
चिदानंद-रूपं शिवो-हं शिवो-हं ॥ ३ ॥
Na Me Dvesha Raagau Na Me Lobha Mohau
Mado Naiva Me Naiva Maatsarya Bhaavah
Na Dharmo Na Chaartho Na Kaamo Na Mokshah
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham
There is no like or dislike in me, no greed or delusion
I know not pride or jealousy
I have no duty, no desire for wealth, lust or liberation
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva…
I am not any emotion (dwesha - hate , raaga- attachment, lobha - desire , moha- like, mada - pride, matsarya - jealousy). All these emotions originate from the roles in life. As I am not any of these, it is clear that I am not the roles. Hence there is no attachements to desire, and hence no, I am not the 4 life goals, (dharma- following the right path, artha - earning, kama - enjoying and moksha - freedom from life and birth cycle). This make it clear that the true self does not lie in either emotions or the pursuit of these 4 goals. that is being and doing and having. it is beyond that. This shloka covers the aspect of being doing and having.
Shloka 4:
न पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्यं न दु:खं
न मंत्रो न तीर्थं न वेदा न यज्ञा: ।
अहं भोजनं नैव भोज्यं न भोक्ता
चिदानंद-रूपं शिवो-हं शिवो-हं ॥ ४ ॥
Na Punyam Na Paapam Na Saukhyam Na Dukham
Na Mantro Na Tirtham Na Vedaah Na Yajnah
Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhoktaa
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham
No virtue or vice, no pleasure or pain
I need no mantras, no pilgrimage, no scriptures or rituals
I am not the experienced, nor the experience itself
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva…
I am not the right or wrong outcome, which is irrelevant , when one is doing the duty associated with the role (example a soldier, when he kills the enemy, has no papa (sin) as he only doing a duty). Here Acharya has made it clear, that the self is not bound by punya or papam. Just focus on your duty and be free. I am not a feeling of good (pleasure) or bad (pain). Normally, pleasure and pain (state of being) are associated with expectations (attachment to results or having or doing something) being met or not being met. (it could be different for different people at different stages in life). It is stated that as there is no attachment to either doing or having, there is no pain, nor there is pleasure in the self. I am not the mantras - holy words , tirtham - holy places, the vedas - the origin of knowledge or yagnas - vedic rituals. This dispels the common belief that the self can be found by chanting mantras, going to holy places, reading and acquiring more knowledge or by doing rituals, fasting etc. I am neither the consumer, the consumed or the act of consuming. This is a fundamental insight, which as per the philosophy of non duality, (adwaita), the consumer (or the doer), consumed (the object on which the action is being done) and act of consuming (doing) are all one and the same. There is no difference. This shloka covers the aspect and adwaita.
Shloka 5:
न मे मृत्यु न मे जातिभेद:
पिता नैव मे नैव माता न जन्मो ।
न बन्धुर्न मित्र: गुरुर्नैव शिष्य:
चिदानंद-रूपं शिवो-हं शिवो-हं ॥ ५॥
Na Mrityur Na Shanka Na Me Jaati Bhedah
Pitaa Naiva Me Naiva Maataa Na Janma
Na Bandhur Na Mitram Guru Naiva Shishyah
Chidananda Rupah Shivo’ham Shivo’ham
I have no fear of death, no caste or creed
I have no father, no mother, for I was never born
I am not a relative, nor a friend, nor a teacher nor a learner
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva…
I have no fear of death, i am beyond caste (this is not an accurate translation, as jaati has nothing to do with caste, which is a Portuguese word, indicating lineage or a race or a bloodline, Jaati on the other hand, indicates a community). Here acharya means that the self is beyond any groups or community. "I" am not in any blood relationships like mother and father as the true self - consciousness is eternal and never born, (Here acharya is not referring to the body of the child, which was born from the mother. ) I am not any relationships (here all kinds of relations like son, brother, uncle, grandfather etc. are covered),. I am not friendship. I am not even in teacher and student relationship. This removes all attachments to relationships even the relationship of guru and disciple! The relationship is respected, but one is not attached to it. One who is never born, how he can be reborn due to past karma? This insight itself is sufficient that Self realization removes the "illusion" of karma (as it is also a creation of the mind, when the roles are falsely identified with the self and actions are performed wtih attachement to the roles) too. This is the key insight of nirvanashatakam. Instantly, moksha, punya, papa, rebirth, karma, all are cleared. There is nothing left to seek now. This shloka covers the aspect all relationships and leads us to nothingness.
Shloka 6:
अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकार रूपो
विभुत्त्वाच्च सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणां ।
सदा मे समत्त्वं न मुक्तिर्न बंध:
चिदानंद रूपं शिवो-हं शिवो-हं॥ ६॥
Aham Nirvikalpo Nirakaara Rupo
Vibhutvaatcha Sarvatra Sarvendriyaanaam
Na Cha Sangathan Naiva Muktir Na Meyah
Chidananda Rupah Shivo’ham Shivo’ham
I am devoid of duality, my form is formlessness
I exist everywhere, pervading all senses
I am neither attached, neither free nor captive
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva…
I am advaita (non dual). I am formles. I exist everywhere. I prevade all senses (meaning the 5 inward sense organs and 5 outward action organs ). This means that everything i percieve and do, the self is fully aware and active. (this is further explained in shiv manas puja) I am not attached. I am not free. I am not captive. (For someone who can not be captured or was never captured, the concept of freedom does not exist!) I am consciousness and bliss - Shiva. Being bound in the sansara itself is an illusion. It is like a bird looking at picture of a cage and feeling it is captive. The bird believes (falsely) that it is bound. There is no cage. it was always free. Extending this, who will give moksha to the one who was never bound? So there is nothing to chase, not even moksha. you are perfect as you are, provided you are in the state of 100% awareness.
The eternal consciousness, the self, the atman, shiva, eternally in bliss, is represented by Aum. Aum is the manifestation of this "self" that can be perceived by us. The waking state, the dreaming state and the deep sleep, all 3 states are covered in aum. It is formless, prevades all senses. When any action is done with full awareness of aum, all senses and action organs are engaged, without any attachment to the roles. This is living in present moment. Not in past or future. Aum is eternal, it was never bound, so there is no need of freedom. Aum is the key. Adi Shankaracharya is pointing towards aum in this nirvana shatakam, that is the manifestation of self.
This is the conclusion of the nirvana shatakam. Beautifully composed with neti neti(i am not this and that and that and that). Once the understanding is clear, being in the adwaita state is possible easily with eternal AUM sound being heard all the time, even when waking or sleeping. “The sound of abundance”. This is explained in previous blog.
Blessing
May you realize the true nature of self and always be aware of with eternal aum within.
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