Shivoham -- I Am Shiva (Nirvana Shatakam)
Mano buddhy-ahankara chittani naham Na cha shrotra-jihve na cha ghrana-netre | Na cha vyoma bhumir na tejo na vayuh Chidananda-rupah Shivo ham Shivo ham ||
Mano buddhy-ahankara chittani naham Na cha shrotra-jihve na cha ghrana-netre | Na cha vyoma bhumir na tejo na vayuh Chidananda-rupah Shivo ham Shivo ham ||
Translation. I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego, or the memory. I am not the ears, the tongue, the nose, or the eyes. I am not the sky, the earth, fire, or air. I am the form of consciousness and bliss -- I am Shiva, I am Shiva.
Meaning
The opening verse of the Nirvana Shatakam (also called Atmashatakam), composed by Adi Shankaracharya. Through systematic negation (Neti Neti), Shankaracharya strips away every layer of false identification -- body, senses, mind, vital forces, ego -- until what remains is pure, undivided consciousness identified with Shiva. Here Shiva means the auspicious, the infinite -- not a deity but the irreducible truth of one's own nature.
Commentary
This composition was reportedly written by Shankaracharya at the age of eight as a spontaneous expression of self-realization. The six verses of the Nirvana Shatakam constitute a complete teaching -- tracing the inquiry through the gross, subtle, and causal bodies, rejecting each as "not I," before arriving at the recognition of the Self as Sat-Chit-Ananda: pure being, pure consciousness, pure bliss. Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramana Maharshi, and countless other teachers have pointed to it as a crystalline expression of the non-dual understanding.
Reference: Nirvana Shatakam (Atmashatakam), Verse 1 · Deity: Shiva · Tradition: Stotra