I am That Supreme Light
Ekashlokī — Essence of Advaita Vedanta in One Verse
The essence of our true nature is the subject matter of Advaita Vedanta. In the composition called Eka-shloki, which is the focus of this article, Adi Shankaracharya presents the message of Advaita Vedanta philosophy in just one verse. [Eka-shloki literally means ‘single verse’.] It reinforces the cardinal statement of the Upanishads “I am Brahman” (aham brahmāsmi).
A conversation between guru and disciple
Here is the composition Ekashloki (in Sanskrit):
किं ज्योतिस्तव भानुमानहनि मे रात्रौ प्रदीपादिकं
स्यादेवं रविदीपदर्शनविधौ किं ज्योतिराख्याहि मे ।
चक्षुस्तस्य निमीलनादिसमये किं धीर्धियो दर्शने
किं तत्राहमतो भवान्परमकं ज्योतिस्तदस्मि प्रभो ॥
Word Meaning
किम् — what; ज्योतिः — light, any kind of light; तव — your; भानुमान् — sun, the luminous; अहनि — during the day; मे — for me; रात्रौ — at night, during the night; प्रदीपादिकम् — lamps etc.; स्यात् — be; एवम् — thus; रविदीपदर्शनविधौ — in the means of seeing the sun and the lamp (रवि — sun; दीप — lamp; दर्शन — seeing; विधि — means, way); किम् — what; ज्योतिः — light; आख्याहि — tell, inform, declare; मे — to me; चक्षुः — eye; तस्य — for that; निमीलनादिसमये — at the time of shutting the eyes, etc.; किम् — what; धीः — intelligence; धियः — of intelligence; दर्शने — in seeing; किम् — what; तत्र — there; अहम् — I; अतः — therefore, thus; भवान् — you; परमकम् — supreme; ज्योतिः — light; तत् — that; अस्मि — am; प्रभो — O Lord.
The verse in prose form
किं तव ज्योतिः । मे अहनि भानुमान् रात्रौ (च) प्रदीपादिकम् । स्यात् एवम् । रविदीपदर्शनविधौ किं ज्योतिः मे आख्याहि । चक्षुः । तस्य निमीलनादिसमये किं (ज्योतिः) । धीः । धियः दर्शने किं (ज्योतिः) । तत्र अहम् । अतः भवान् परमकं ज्योतिः । तत् अस्मि प्रभो ।
Meaning of the verse
This composition contains a series of questions and answers between the guru (G) and a disciple (D). Here is the translation of the above verse:
G: What is your source of light (for seeing)?
D: During the day it is the sun and at night, it is lamp, etc.
G: Yes, it is. Tell me, what light is the means of seeing the sun and the lamp
D: It is the eye.
G: At the time of shutting the eyes, etc., what is the light?
D: It is intellect.
G: What is the source of light for the intellect?
D: It is “I”, the Self.
G: Therefore, your own Self is the light of lights (or the Supreme light).
D: Yes, O Lord, I am That Supreme light.
Commentary on the above conversation
In this section, we examine each question-answer:
G: What is your source of light? (किं ज्योतिः तव?)
D: During the day it is the sun and at night, it is lamp, etc. (मे अहनि भानुमान् रात्रौ (च) प्रदीपादिकं ।)
The guru begins by asking a simple question. The student interprets ‘source of light’ as ‘light required to see the objects of the world’. Thus, he says that sun is the source of light during the day, and at night, it is lamp or other such artificial sources of lighting. This is also because, when it comes to the idea of seeing, our mind naturally goes out into the world of objects.
G: Yes, it is. What light is the means of seeing the sun and the lamp? (स्यात् एवं । रविदीपदर्शनविधौ किं ज्योतिः मे आख्याहि । )
D: It is the eye. (चक्षुः ।)
If the sun and lamp are the sources of light to see the objects of the world, what is the means to seeing the sun and lamp, or the means to seeing that which is illuminated by the sun and lamp? The answer clearly is ‘the eye’. The information gathered by the eye is passed on to the mind for further processing.
G: At the time of shutting the eyes, etc., what is the light? (तस्य निमीलनादिसमये किं ज्योतिः ?)
D: It is intellect. (धीः ।)
What is the significance of ‘etc.’ in the question? It refers to instances where there is no external source of light available to perceive the objects of the world.
So far, the attention was in the outside world. Now, the outgoing attention is being drawn to the ‘inside’, which no external light (like sun, lamp) can light up. It also refers to the situation where there are no external inputs coming in through the senses. In other words, the scenarios where the mind by itself is engaged in thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc. Thus, the question can be interpreted as ‘what is that which perceives the activities of the mind?’ The answer clearly is ‘the intellect’.
G: What is the source of light for the intellect? (धियः दर्शने किं ज्योतिः ?)
D: It is “I”, the Self. (तत्र अहम् ।)
The text Drik-drishya-viveka (verse 4) explains this Q-A thus: “The Self being one, illumines desire (passion), intention (or imagination, decision), doubt, shraddha, absence of shraddha, resolve, the absence of resolve, shame, understanding, fear, and other such attributes of the mind.”
[Shraddha: Refers to the mental attitude that includes faith or confidence, sincerity of purpose, commitment of heart and utmost diligence to the undertaking.]
The question-answers discussed in this text (Ekashloki) have been presented by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita 3.42 in the following manner: (The same has been presented in Kathopanishad 1.3.10.)
“The five senses (vision, hearing, etc.) are considered superior to (subtler than) the body which is gross; the mind is superior to the senses; and the intellect is superior to the mind. The Self (the witness to the mind and intellect) is superior to (subtler than) the intellect.”
G: Therefore, your own Self is the light of lights (or the Supreme light) (अतः भवान् परमकं ज्योतिः ?)
D: Yes, O Lord, I am That. (तत् अस्मि प्रभो ।)
The preceptor now tells the disciple that ‘you are that Supreme Light or the light of lights’. This is the same as one of the cardinal statements (mahāvākya) from the Chāndogya Upanishad 6.8.7 — “tattvamasi” (You are That), where ‘That’ refers to Brahman, the Supreme Reality.
The disciple acknowledges these words of the guru by saying, “I am That indeed, O Lord”. This response of the disciple is another cardinal statement from the Brihadāranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, “aham brahmāsmi” (I am Brahman, the Supreme Reality).
A Conversation between Sage Yājnavalkya and King Janaka
The following conversation from the Brihadāranyaka Upanishad (chapter 4.3) is similar to the dialogue presented so far, between the guru and the disciple:
Janaka (J): What is the source of light?
Yājnavalkya (Y): The light from the sun. It is by this light that he does everything.
J: After the sun has set, what is the source of light?
Y: The moon serves as the source of light.
J: When the sun and moon have both set, what is the source of light?
Y: Fire serves as the light and through that light man does everything.
J: When sun and moon have set and the fire has gone out, what serves as light for man?
Y: Speech (sound) serves as the light for man. It is by use of sound that he carries out the various functions. [Because man uses sound to carry out the various activities, we say man sees by means of the light of sound.]
J: When the sun and moon have set, the fire has been extinguished, and speech (sound) has ceased, what is the light for man? [Speech has also ceased means all the sense organs have ceased.]
Y: The Self is the light. It is by means of the light of the Self that man carries out all the activities.
In the waking state, the eyes and other sense organs are assisted by the external lights like sun, etc. Here, lights that are extraneous to the body serve as the source of light. In dream state, we experience ‘some’ light that is distinct from the body (the senses). Yājnavalkya says that the ‘Self serves as the light’. Self is that which is different from the body and the sense organs. It illumines everything else, but is itself not illumined by anything else. The Self is not perceived by the eye, etc.
In Conclusion
The following verse from the text Brahma-jñānāvalī-mālā by Adi Shankaracharya (the author of the text Ekashloki) conveys the same message:
अन्तर्ज्योतिर्बहिर्ज्योतिः प्रत्यग्ज्योतिः परात्परः ।
ज्योतिर्ज्योतिः स्वयंज्योतिरात्मज्योतिः शिवोऽस्म्यहम् ॥
I am the Auspicious One (Siva), the light within and the light outside, the indwelling light, greater than then greatest, the effulgence (light) of all lights, self-luminous, and the effulgence that is the Self.
