The Song of "I"
(Excerpts from the Jnaneshwari, by Sant Jnaneshwar. More details later in the post.)
Hari Om Friends,
Sharing the meaning of a supremely Vedantic set of verses from the Jnaneshwari, which is Sant Jnaneshwar's elaborate commentary on Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
This set of 8 verses, are very popular and they bear a resemblance to the 6 verses of Nirvana Shatakam, which explain our true nature - our Supreme and Real identity - Sat Chit Anand.
This is truly our song - The Song of "I".
Listening to these 8 verses, which are in Marathi, every day morning before the start of our whirlwind day and soaking and ruminating over its meaning the whole day will surely give us the necessary balance, harmony and peace we desire so desperately.
The YouTube recording can be found here, sung by Smt. Kishori Amonkar, a stalwart and legend in Hindustani Music. For just the audio version, please click here.
Verse 1
Know me as the One, free from birth and old age. I am eternal and indestructible. I am unprecedented, limitless and immense. I am the eternal bliss sought by everyone.
Verse 2
I am stable, untouched and immovable. I am incessant and the one without a second (Advaita). I am the predecessor of all yet unmanifest and formless, but pervade everything that has a shape, name and form.
Verse 3
I am the bound yet I am the controller. I am beginningless (birthless) and immortal (deathless). I am fearless, I am the shelter for the dependent.
Verse 4
I am the master and the everlasting. I am the proven truth and the total essence. I am all, omnipresent, omniscient and also beyond everything.
Verse 5
I am new (applicable) and ancient. I am zero (nothing) and whole. I am massive and subtle and everything in between.
Verse 6
I am actionless and the One (without a second). I am ever detached and without grief. I am extensive and comprehensive. I am the supreme being (Purushottama).
Verse 7
I am beyond words and am unheard (can't be directly experienced). I am without a shape and without a clan. I am equal - I am independent. I am the supreme divine entity - Brahm (not Brahma).
Verse 8
In this way, the One who realizes Me and knows Me through relentless devotion, dedication, faith & self-realization is also 'Me'. The One who knows and understands this is also 'Me'.
Sant Jnaneshwar (1275 - 1296) also referred to as Jnanadev, was a 13th century Marathi saint, poet, philosopher & Yogi. In his short lifespan of 21 years, he authored a masterpiece titled and called Jnaneshwari which is an elaborate commentary on the Gita. These are some of the oldest surviving literary works in the Marathi language. His ideas reflect the Advaita Vedanta Siddhant (Philosophy).
Jnanadev was 16 when he composed the Jnaneshwari.