CHAPTER FIVE

Aitareya Upanisad

Introduction and Invocation : This Upanisad belongs to the of the Rgveda. It constitutes of six sections and Sankaracarya calls it aptly as the ' Atma Satka'. Tradition attributes the authorship of Aitareya Brahmana to a seer called Mahidasa, son of a lady called Itara. Itara fervently prayed to Mother Earth, who manifested herself and bestowed immortal knowledge on the child. He is known to us as the son of Itara i.e. Aitareya and the Brahmana, as also the Upanisadic portion of it, belonging to the Rgveda is named after him. The Upanisad concentrates on a familiar methodology in scriptural study called Aropa and Apavada to be understood as the superimposition and negation technique.

As in every Upanisad, the invocation exhibits the need for the Supreme's grace to accomplish the objective of both the teacher and the taught. The principle of as we indicate devotion today is the starting point of all initiation, though the goal was to reach the Pure Advaitic truth. The efficiency of prayer as a self- development marker was evidently known to the Rsis and they advocated it seriously and sincerely. Bhakti when it means to indicate rare, subtle adjustments of our minds by prayer is a dignified inspiration to the seeker. The opening lines request for integrity in speech and mind. Also the rightful demand to the Supreme to reveal itself to the student. The priority for any student is to retain the knowledge taught to them. So the prayer continues with a request for the same and further focus. As the intellect is soaked with the study of the scriptures the need to be truthful is complete. Emphasis is then on protection for both the acarya and the student. Thus the seeker is making a prayerful introduction to his course of study indicative of Bhakti preceding other concepts in Upaniuadic literature.

154 An enquiry into the objective world proves that change can take place upon a changeless base. Here when the Seer uses the word atman, it has to be understood that before the creation of the pluralistic world all that was there was one entity. The next line indicates that there was no other active entity at that time. The latter negative statement affirms the fact of the former positive one. If before creation there existed the Self, any other principle could not be present in an infinite way, alongside it. In this we are to understand that the Infinite Supreme is compelled to project forth a world determined by the inputs provided by the Vasanas. Identifying Itself with the Vasanas, the Supreme decided that a special field of expression is necessary for them.

As understood fi* the previous sloka the Supreme creates conducive worlds for the Vasanas to express themselves. The English word "world "is inadequate to express the complete meaning of the word loka. Since it means a field of experiencing, four distinct fields named ambhas, marici, maram and apah were created by the Supreme. They are respectively the area above the atmosphere, the region of light, the world of finitude and the realm of water, minerals etc beneath the surface of earth. Each accommodates the expression of different Vasanas. The life in us conditioned by the Vasanas becomes the protector of the world and this is now brought forth by the Creator. There is a causal condition, a subtle condifion and a gross condition. This was manifested. But the Absolute is never disconnected fi-om them at any time; it always maintains a lien over everything that it has created. It enters the great objects of a cosmical nature, and this is what we call the immanence of God.

The protector : The Upanisadic seer now puts forward the concept behind this protector. He credits the Supreme to have drawn fi"om the waters and shaped a person. We have to understand the inner meaning beyond what this simple

'" Atma va idameka evagra asit/ nanyat kincana misat / Ai Upa Canto I Section I Verse I

155 statement conveys. We must understand that it's the most rudimentary form which was shaped out of water that forms the the basis of the full-grown human. Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda puts it succinctly "Thus if the Rsi says that shape and girth were first warped out, in and from the waters, he is only expressing, in the poetic language of a heart ablaze with the inspiration of knowledge, the same scientific truth that is so very well-known to us today."

In this section we are told how the rough lump shaped from water was brooded upon. '^^ As a result of this brooding, a cleft formed in the shape of the mouth on the egg shaped being. Expression came forth from the mouth and from this expression which is speech, the cosmic element of Fire rose up. The being created by the Supreme is next developing the nostrils after gaining the organ of speech. First the organ of smell came forth and then the power of smell developed. The Air came out then as the presiding deity of the organ and power of smell. The term Aditya denotes the light principle of the Sun and in this verse it is said that the eyes came and from them sight emerged. This sight is governed by the Sun. It is common knowledge that vision is possible only in the medium of light. Ears burst forth, from the ears proceeded hearing and from hearing, the Quarters. By the term disah translated as. Quarters we must understand space here. Almost at the end came the complete covering for the being. The skin was separated and from it proceeded hairs. The .herbs n trees sprung forth from hairs. The comparison is here with the vegetable kingdom growing from the surface of the earth as hair does from skin. The heart sprung up and from the heart, the mind and from the mind, the Moon. The heart is the localized spot from where springs forth the mind which is the indriya (the organ) to feel. The presiding deity of the mind is the moon. A navel burst forth, from the navel Apana and from Apana - death. The expression of life through a physical body is conveyed here. It is under

' Tamabhyatapat aapah/ Ai Upa Canto I Section I Verse 4.

156 five heads of the same element, Prana. That aspect of Prana which effectively throws out waste matter from the body is Apana. Also the concept of ejection is the principle of death and in all average human beings there lies Apana in the naval area. At the time of death there is a major activity of Apana in us. The generative organ burst forth and from this organ, the seeds. Water is the presiding deity of this as the human foetus is safe in the womb in water.

When we hear all these great statements of cosmic manifestation, we feel elated. But we have individual sorrows in our lives. To overcome them we think about the very process of creation of our world and human beings. When we contemplate on the process we understand that there was a very dramatic action of God, as it were in the process of creation. He enacted before Himself, a real drama and there was no audience before Him. He was the director, He was the actor and He was the audience. It is very strange! He immediately visualized Himself as the all "I am this all." '^^This universe of manifested effects is my Self. Naturally, because the whole effect is constituted of the substance of this ultimate cause.

The Rsi has made it clear that the Supreme working through the total of Vasanas created first of all the total gross .Thrown into the world of plurality they felt the need to satiate themselves. Whipped up by this impulse, they approached their creator and demanded separate fields of experiences to express independently, each of their pains and needs. Enjoyment of their respective objects was their goal. The lord then showed them different types of forms where they could find accommodation of their satisfaction. But they rejected both the horse and cow forms as they found these instruments neither elaborate nor intelligent enough for them to experience intensively. From this we can clearly understand that the lower realms of evolution are not platforms for the higher desires of human to be

'^•' sarvam asmi Ai Upa Canto I Section 1 Verse

157 satiated. Hence the faculties of sense, deified as Devatas refused to accept these lowly forms of expression. The process of evolution indicated here is definitely indicative of bipeds coming forth from quadrupeds! The is very precise. It does not go into long details of the evolutionary process of the individual body.

Location of function : The Upanishad mentions that when the divinities were originally projected from the body of the Cosmic Being, there was first the location of the function. For instance regards the mouth there was the urge of the expression of that location in the form of speech and then the divinity , the presiding deity over speech, manifested itself and so on with every other function. Thus, the god or the divinity came afterwards as the function came first. But now, what has happened is that when the divinities entered the human body, there was a reversal of the whole process. Instead of the mouth projecting the speech and then the Agni, or the Devata coming thereafter, Agni entered into the body as speech and found the mouth as the abode. So Agni is the controller here and we are dependent. We are the effects in this space. The effect in the universal status becomes the cause in the individual realm. So the Jiva is different from Isvara in this manner, though it has come from Isvara itself.

When the human form was presented them they were united in their appreciation. Then the creator permitted, them to take their respective positions inside the human form. It became final that the variegated shades of intellect fine tune the enjoyment of the sense organs from their respective objects in the external world.

In this verse the main idea of the Rsi is to convey that the individual is nothing other than the Cosmic. We have the description of how from the sense organs,

' Agnirvag... .pravishan/ Ai Upa Canto I Section II Verse 4.

158 the various Devatas emerge and they govern the sense-objects completely. Fire having turned into speech, entered the mouth, Air having become the scent entered the nostrils and so on each Devata takes over an organ and determines its activity. It is important to understand the underlying Vedantic concept here that the Virat is intrinsically represented in the Individual and the individual can in himself exhibit the power of the Cosmic form. When hunger and thirst remained uncertain about their abodes the Creator assigned their position by making them capable of enjoying in all the centres, so that any satisfaction of any sense organ would be theirs. Any sense organ at any point of time when it feels the need to satiate itself, the feeling is that of hunger and thirst for the specific object. To that extent hunger and thirst share their satisfaction.

Annam the word depicting food here is meant to convey the primary means of survival other than that of "food for the sense-organs". Just as the previous brooding of the Isvara had caused the Virat, the current one causes matter. Here the term water must be considered to represent organic matter and as representative of the pancabhuta ( five elements).This verse means" He brooded over water and created a form and this material form is food."This is a direct definition of food. Food to be consumed is nurtured by water and digested by water. Life in the absence of the medium of water is impossible and hence it is but appropriate to accept that food rose from water as said in the Upaniuad. Then the food so created sought to flee. The embodied being tried to retain it by speech, breath, eyes and ears, skin, mind and the generative organ in turns. The various faculties in man could not consume and come to enjoy food. This gives the understanding that each Devata is a limited factor and each can enjoy specific objects suitable to them.

' Sa iksateme nu lokasca lokapalascannmebhyah iti/ Ai Upa Canto 1 Section III Verse 1.

159 Apana is the down out-breath, the flow of breath, the flowing moment down the alimentary canal. Thus the Rsi says here that the peristaltic movement of the Apana is that which helps consume the food that is taken in and does not allow the morsels of food taken in to come out. Since Apana aids in assimilating the food and rejecting the by-products it is Annayu .Its due to this assimilation that the sense organs perform their respective functions well and Apana is called in this verse.

In the question of the Creator as through which of the doors He should enter, the reference here is to the aggregate of faculties waiting to be inhered by the Supreme. Without the master the parts assembled in the form of the body cannot function. And then He opened the suture of the skull and entered by that door. This is the door named Vidrti. This is the place of Bliss. He has three dwelling places and three conditions of sleep. In physiology, the soft portion on the head is called the sagittal suture and in babies we can feel the pulse here. In saying that the Lord entered by this cleft(vidrti) we need to understand that the most sacred powers in man entered by the crown. Again entry is not to be taken in the literal sense. The door through which Consciousness, which is bliss by nature entered the physical structure is called nandanam(the place of Bliss).The waking, dream and sleeping states are mentioned here as the conditions and the Supreme is their possessor.

Having bom thus the Creator looked around at the beings and found that He could not name anything besides Himself. He saw Purusa spreading all over as the . In wonder he uttered "Oh. I have seen this".^^^ By saying that the Self is seen the Rsi only means that the experience is so conclusive and beyond doubt. Because he saw the all pervading Brahman subjectively as this (idam) the

A. Supreme Truth is called as Idamdra. A thousand examples can be taken from our

' Idamadarsamiti Ai Upa Canto I Section III Verse 13.

160 lives where we call people by what is known as nickname. Similarly the 'devah' is essentially one who appreciates when addressed indirectly. Though, Idamdra should his name, he is called by a shorter appellation, .

Process of procreation: In this section the process of procreation is analyzed and viewed from the philosophical point of view. Biologically we are aware of how the seed is deposited in the womb and grows itself to be the foetus, which emerges as the child finally. For the same process the Rsi has tried to indicate the entire picture of the essential oneness of the father and the child. In the very opening of the section there is a direction where the Guru request pregnant women to retire from the scene. At the end of the section he requests them to re­ enter the hall again. Since this passage forms an integral part of scriptural study, it must be taken as a definite proof for womens' participation in study and discussion then. Hindu women in those days had free access to great teachers and ready admission to their discourses. In the ancient days when the Rsi s initiated their disciples into it looks clear that men and women of all ages and stages came alongside serious seekers to study. Here, all women are not asked to leave. Only those in the 'family way' are asked to retire. The view point was that of psychology.

Surprisingly again as we continue our study of the principal Upaniuads in this thesis, there are repeated instances, where issues of physiology, psychology and many other sciences of recent origin, are found and satisfactorily explained. Western scholars continuously take credit for the most discoveries in child care, especially pre-natal education. But when we turn to ancient literature of the we find that this knowledge has been present throughout. The thoughts of a mother during pregnancy give an impetus to the psychological make-up of the child. Since the Upaniuadic portion here was intending to convey details about procreation, those 'with child' need not be either embarrassed themselves or

161 disturbed about adding such knowledge to their unborn child. This again has to be considered with reference to the then cultural milieu.

The jiva becomes at first the germ called the seed. The semen is the essence of strength and vigour drawn from the limbs of man. When it is poured into the womb, it is bom and that is its first birth. The seed becomes one with the woman just as her own limb. So, she is not injured. She nourishes this Self that has thus come to her. Nextly the responsibilities of a father are described. He householder should nourish the mother of his child. As the mother nourishes the child not only physically with the food , but also mentally with the quality of her thoughts, it becomes binding on the father to express gratitude to his wife in the period that she holds their child in her womb. Men are exhorted to definitely respect their female partners in this passage of the Aitareya and this is a cue valid even for the 'modem' male! In being responsible for the child, the father in fact is helping himself to express and re-live himself in the child. This is the second birth of the Jiva. A healthy father thus having reared his children, giving the reins of householder ship to his child, retires. In the ripeness of age departs fi-omth e body. This departed jiva again seeks another suitable form which becomes his third birth. Three periods of time are experienced here. The mention is not only about the physical birth and death here. It is also about the Self. The next verse gives the authority of the in an instance which reports the declaration of Sage . The sage came to experience the Consciousness in him to be the Self, even while in the womb. Having witnessed the development of the sheaths of matter and indriyas, mentioned figuratively as the devas here, Vamadeva declared "I knew all the birth of the Gods." He also complains that he feels himself confined in a hundred iron citadels because of matter envelopments. But he was capable of rising above those identifications. Each time, he rose like a hawk and

'" Avedamaham devanam janimani visva Ai Upa Canto II Section I Verse 5.

162 held himself aloft in heights of freedom. The Rsi having realized the Self, lost all his identifications with the body and mind. He got himself awakened to his Real nature which is divine.

Atman and various conditionings:

Those pregnant women who were asked to retire are recalled before the concluding discourse commences. In this section the Atman working through the various conditionings is explained. Also it is clarified that the Atman is free from conditionings. The question of the seekers as to which Self they should concentrate on is relevant to us too. The perceptible one or the imperceptible one- which is the real Self? The teacher in his answer indicates that the Real Self is the Conscious principle behind all perceptions and activities. Next it is explained that the inner faculties in us are nothing but the different manifestations of the same consciousness. Perception, injunction, wisdom, intelligence, memory, vision, perseverance, thought, purpose, vitality, desire, love are some names of the Consciousness when it supports our inner world. The list is so impressive we start giving it exclusivity. Just in case the students misconstrue that the Consciousness is the fundamental basis of the things in the inner world alone, the Guru continues in the same narrative form to explain the various objects it supports in the world outside also. He enumerates the objects present there as , Indra, , the pancabhuta, all small creatures and seeds of creation including the egg-bom, sweat-bom, earth-born and all living things, the movable and the immovable. In this list too we have almost the entire world of substances. Everything can be brought under one concept viz., the Consciousness and its divinity. We understand that the divinity seems not manifested properly due to the differences in conditioning, mainly of the mind and intellect.

163 Conclusion : Thus a satisfactory conclusion is arrived at for the teachings of the entire Upanisad, the main intention of which was to guide us through the world of manifestations and through them indicate the un-manifest Truth. It is now evident to us that the Consciousness as such is pure, divine and infinite. It is eternal, one without a second and formless. This entity is available to us for our innermost experiences. Declares Sage Aitareya pithily 'Consciousness is Brahman.' This is one of the four mahavakyas of Upanisadic literature and the glory of the Aitareya Upanisad can be attributed to this apt conclusion by the Rsi. Continuing the story of Vamadeva, the sage reminds the students that the state of Brahman was achieved by him on account of the knowledge of the Atman. With this knowledge Vamadeva ascended aloft from this world and obtained all that he desired. In the world of Supreme bliss, he became Immortal.

Thus OM ! Upanisad studies as they traditionally started with an Om conclude with an equally prayerful Om indicating the conception of goal in our scriptures. Immortality is such a fruit that every bhakta wants to relish it. Having understood the intricacies of the physical body, the mind, the intellect and finally the Supreme which pervades all this, through illustrations and characters in this Upanisad, the sadhaka is definitely prompted for development of personality to attain the Divine.

' Prajnanam brahma/ Ai Upa Canto III Section I Verse 2.

164 CHAPTER FIVE

Chandogya Upanisad

Introduction : The Chandogya Upanisad belongs to the Brahmana of the Talavakara section of the Sama Veda. Chandoga is the singer of the Saman. The Chandogya Brahmana has ten chapters. The first two chapters deal with sacrifices and other forms of worships. The other eight constitutes the Chandogya Upanisad. The major portion of the Upanisad contains meditative techniques aimed at inner transformation. The meditations are such that they become helpful in non-dualistic realization. They present the reality of Brahman through the purification of the mind and because they are based on palpable objects, they are easy to practice. Since rites were already deep rooted giving them up was not an option and hence in the commencement of this Upanisad we find that meditations associated with rites are presented.

Om, its significance : The first and the second chapter discuss the problems of liturgy and doctrine such as the genesis and significance of Om and the meaning and names of Saman. The text starts with the declaration that 'One should meditate on this letter Om which is Udgitha. Since one starts singing the Udgitha by uttering Om, therefore the proximate exposition is being commenced''^' Om as a name and symbol of the Supreme Self holds the highest position of being an aid to meditation. It constitutes a part of the portion of the sama song called Udgitha. It has to be meditated upon in its verbal form. The Upanisad itself states the reason why Om is signified by the Udgitha. It is because one starts singing the Udgitha by saying 'Om iti.' The text continues to say that of the objects the earth is the essence and of earth water is the essence.

'" chando sama gayati iti cfiandogah

'" Omityetadalcsaramudgithamupasita/ omiti hrdgayati tasyopavyakhyanam// Chan Upa Chapter I Section I Verse 1

165 In a sequence the herbs, human body, organ of speech, Rk mantras and Sama mantras are considered to be the essences of the former substance and finally the Udgitha is the essence of the Sama mantras. By also accepting that speech and vital force are sources of Rk and Sama, all the rks and all the samas become comprehended. All rites performed with them also become included here. This couple become associated with the letter Om. It is explicit that whenever two from a couple they fulfill eachother's desire. So, the purport of this is that the quality possessed by Om of achieving all the desires is proved by the entry of the couple into itself (Om).Then it is stated that the Udgata who meditates on the Udgitha becomes possessed of this quality. Om also has the quality of prosperity. Consent has prosperity as its basis and a person expresses consent by uttering Om. The rites enjoined by the Vedas are begun through the essence and greatness of Om. Both the ignorant and the knowledgeable with regards to Om perform rites. But only that which is done with knowledge, faith and meditation becomes more powerful.

With an introduction emphasizing the importance of Om we move to the important sections of the Chhandogya Upanishad, which when we study, are a gradational ascent of knowledge for the purpose of meditations. These lift us above the phenomena of ordinary experience, such as birth and death and bondage of every kind, and point to the methods of transcending all sorrow, whatever be its nature, and regaining the originality of being.

Pancagni-Vidya : This section which we are about to commence, is a treatise on a particular method of meditation called Pancagni-Vidya, the knowledge of the Five Fires, by which the Upanishad means the various processes of manifestation. While the is more transcendent in its approach and provides techniques of meditation which are mostly above the

' Yadeva vidyaya karoti sraddhayopanisada tadeva viryavattaram bhavatiti/Chan Upa Chapter I Section 1 Verse 10 166 reaches of the ordinary mind, the Chhandogya Upanisad takes us along the path of ordinary experience, and then, finally, lifts us above in to the world of Supreme transcendence. What we experience in normal life is only the effect of certain causes which are invisible to the eyes. We see people being bom and people dying, but we do not know why people are bom and why people die. Birth, death and the experiences in life are apparently effects produced upon us by causes of which we seem to have no knowledge. Nor is there any adequate knowledge of the secret of one's own experiences. The Upanisad, in these meditations, tries to introduce us into a new type of knowledge which is the solution to the sorrows that are incumbent as we are subjected to the laws of this natural phenomena.

Svetaketu's story : In this connection, the Upanisad commences with a story. There was a student named Svetaketu who was the son of sage Uddalaka. This student was well-read and finely educated. He was so confident about his knowledge that he used to parade his learning and calibre in the midst of all learned people, have discussions in courts of kings etc., and was very reputed for his great educational gift. This boy went, by chance, to the court of the king called , a noble emperor. The moment the boy arrived at the court, the king received him with respect, and after offering him the requisite hospitality becoming of a boy well-versed in the Vedas and all the branches of leaming, the king put forward some questions to the boy.

The first question was: "Do you know where people go after they depart fi"om this world? When people die, where do they go? Do you know wherefi-om people come when they are rebom into this world?"The other questions were : "Do you know, have you any idea of the paths along which the soul ascends, the paths being known as the devayana and the pitriyanal Do you know the difference between these two paths? Why is the one distinct from the other?"

167 "Why is it that the yonder world is not filled with people and overflowing? Always, the world is able to contain people and it is never flooded with them, What is the reason for this?" "Do you know what are the five oblations that are offered and how the fifth oblation as liquid becomes a human being?"

For all the above queries the answer was in the negative from Svetaketu "This, too, I do not know," said the boy. In the context, the boy was humbled. His pride vanished and he began to realize that there are things which he could not understand. His education was not complete. This was the first time that he was taken aback from the conviction that he knew everything. He went in agony to his father and repeated the king's questions. The father replied that he had never heard of these things. So, it was impossible for him to give a reply to them. He suggested to his son that they both go as students before the king. This was the only alternative left to them. They can learn this knowledge from the king himself and had to go as humble students. The boy said, "You yourself may go, I am not coming." He was so ashamed that he would not like to show his face before the king, again. And so, the father humbly went to the court of the king. The king, of course, received the great Brahmin with high honour and showed the required hospitality.

Gautama stayed in the palace, for the night. The next day he requested the king 'I want the wisdom of the questions which you posed before my son, and which he could not answer.' The king was perplexed; he was disturbed in his mind when the Brahmin spoke thus. He did not know what to say, because it is difficult suddenly to impart knowledge to a person the moment he asks for it. That is the procedure of any teacher. This is the position of the imparting of knowledge. Also, Ksatriyas do not seek to be their pupils. That was the ancient custom. The king was a Ksatriya and now the student here is a Brahmin. Brahmins teach Ksatriyas but not vice-versa. So, under those

168 circumstances, the king did not know what to tell this Brahmin. He was a little bit concerned in his mind and was not sure as to what to tell him. It is believed that he was asked to stay, perhaps, for a year. That is what the tradition makes out. The Brahmin stayed there as a preparatory austerity for the reception of this knowledge

Anyhow, the king was ready, he was not reluctant. He was prepared to share this knowledge with the Brahmin, the elderly man who came as a humble student in the ordinary tradition of obedience and humility. And to him the king spoke the great truth. Now comes the actual answer which follows in respect of every one of the questions which the king put to the boy. These answers which the king gives are certain meditations. They are processes of the attunement of the mind to higher levels of being. They are called vidyas because they are specific types of knowledge. Vidya also means a meditation, a contemplation. A higher knowledge is called vidya, something distinct from ordinary knowledge, scientific or artistic knowledge, and the like.

The Pancagni-Vidya is a kind of remedy prescribed by way of a meditation which is regarded as a great secret by the Upaniuadic teachers. Even if you hear it being expounded once, you will not be able to understand much out of it. It does not mean that you will get out of the law of Nature merely by listening to what the king appeared to have said, because they are secrets bound up with one's own personal life. You may hear it a hundred times, but you are not going to enter it for reasons obvious. Likewise is this Pancagni-Vidya, or even the greater still Vaisvanara-Vidya,. which will follow. They will remain as a mere doctrine and exposition. To the , knowledge is the same as being. It is practice The Five Fires, called the Pancagnis, mentioned here, are not actually fires in the physical sense. They are meditational techniques. The Fire, here, is symbolic of a sacrifice which one performs through contemplation. The

169 Upanishad, in its exposition of the Pancagni-Vidya, takes the standpoint of the wider background that operates behind every event in the phenomena of natural processes. Things are not what they seem and there is a deeper significance behind every visible process or activity in Nature. This is the esoteric side, or the invisible aspect of the visible phase of our practical existence.

The king, Pravahana Jaivali, in his mode of instruction, speaks to Gautama, the sage, initiating him into this mystery of the Pancagni-Vidya."The Yonder World, O Gautama, is indeed the Fire. Here, the Sun is the fuel; the Light-rays are the smoke; the Day is. the flame; the Moon is the coals; the Stars are the sparks. In this Fire, the gods offer faith. From this oblation arises King Soma."'^^

The principle of sacrifice is that of the recognition of the higher values operating behind the personality. These values are transcendent to the ordinary activity or the functions of human beings. There is a comprehensiveness of approach in the understanding of the principle of sacrifice. And the principle is applicable to every type of creativity, whether physical, social, aesthetic, or, for the matter of that, any other aspect of life. We have to reach levels which are thoroughly imperceptible to the eyes and unthinkable to the mind. This is the point driven home into the mind of Gautama by Pravahana Jaivali in the context of the explanation of the Pancagni-Vidya.

In this descent of the celestial realm which has to be contemplated, or meditated upon, as a sacrifice, there are certain parts or limbs. The world, which is called the celestial realm, is itself the sacred fire into which oblations are offered. This is how the meditation is to be conducted. The fiiel, which ignites the fire and causes the flames to rise up in this sacrifice, is the sun. As smoke rises from the

133

170 fire in a sacrifice, we contemplate the rising or the emanation of the rays from the sun, symbolically. As the flames shine, so is the shining of the daytime due to the fire of the sun in the sacrifice. We may compare the embers, remaining after the flames subside in a sacrifice, to the moon who is something like the subsidence of the flames of the light of the sun, or we may even say, the comparison is made because moonlight arises generally when the sun's flames subside. Compare the stars to the sparks which are ejected from the flames of the fire, because they are scattered, as it were, in the sky. Now, this is a sacrificial mode of contemplation on the higher regions of the cosmos.

Results of actions : The apurva, or the result of the actions, becomes the determining factor of what would happen to us even after we depart from this world. Sometimes its effect is felt in this very life. If our actions are very intense, either good or bad, the results are experienced in this life itself If they are mild, they materialize in a later life. We offer our actions as oblations in this sacrifice of natural phenomena. In this universal sacrifice of which the celestial region is the fire and the sun is the fuel, etc., as mentioned above, we also contribute a part. We play an ihiportant role and that is the performance of the actions. If the action is properly conducted it is in harmony with the natural setup of the whole sacrifice, and then the god is seen. At that point we are blessed with a new type of body, which is indicated here by the word soma- rqja, a body which is nectarine in character. It is a body which is not merely the physical one made of the elements of earth, water, fire etc., but one which is fit enough to experience the delights of the higher world, which are invoked into action by the performance of the deeds. Every action has a beginning and an end. Action is temporal. It has a destructible body and is not eternal. Because it has a beginning, it must have ah end. So the character of the actions, the nature of the actions, the intensity of the actions determines the extent of the consequences thereof Thus, when we go to the higher realm and come back, 171 there is what is called rebirth. The whole point of this description in the context of the Pancagni-Vidya is to tell us how births take place and what are the stages of the descent of the soul into the physical embodiment which it puts on when it comes to this world. The whole of this description is symbolic and it is very difficult to understand it with a casual reading. The teaching is not to be taken literally in a purely grammatical sense, word by word, in its outer meaning. It is highly esoteric in its technique, and the point made out is that the higher realms are activated by the consequences produced by our actions here, and those consequences of actions themselves become the causes of our descent, later, in the reverse order.

Rainfall : " is, indeed, the Fire, O Gautama. Of that, the Wind is the fuel, the Cloud is the smoke, the Lightning is the flame, the Thunderbolt is the embers, and the rumblings of Thunder are the sparks."Into this Fire, the gods offer the oblation of King Soma. Out of that oblation, arises rain. The Earth is, indeed, the Fire, O Gautama. Of that, the Year is the fuel, the Sky is the smoke, the Night is the flame, the Quarters are the embers, the Intermediary Quarters are the sparks. Into this Fire, the gods offer the oblation of rain. Out of that oblation, arises food."

In the above verses the king explains to the sage that the rainfall, which is the cause of the production of food in this world, is not a chance action taking place in Nature, but one of the important links in the cyclic chain of give-and-take, or coordination and cooperation between the individuals and the whole of Nature. Inasmuch as earth is the cause of the event called night and day, even as the fire is the cause of the rising of the flame, in this contemplation we are to regard the night and day phenomena as the flame of the fire in the sacrifice. The quarters are the embers, because they are calm and quiet, undisturbed as it were, by the

172 movements that take place in the world. The intermediary quarters are of lesser importance and, therefore, they are called the sparks.

The fifth oblation is the immediate cause of the rise of the effect in the form of the baby that lies in the womb of the mother. Here, the womb of the mother need not necessarily mean the human mother, though the description is human, to serve as a sample of the illustration. Any cause which gives birth to an effect is the mother that produces the child. There is a determining factor of the span of life of an individual even when it is in the womb of the mother. It cannot be increased or decreased. It is set for ever by the particular force of the apurva, mentioned earlier, which becomes responsible for the birth of an individual. The term apurva is to be explained here as a part of which alone is allowed to manifest itself as what we call prarabdha-

The Celestial Region, the Atmosphere, the Earth, Man and Woman - these are the five stages of the Fire which becomes the object of meditation known as the Pancagni-Vidya. By the interconnection, combination and harmonious adjustment of the structure of these five levels of manifestation, birth takes place. The first oblation is the universal vibration in the celestial heaven. That is the first sacrifice and the first oblation. The second oblation is in the second sacrifice which is the reverberation of the vibrations in the celestial region felt in the lower regions of the atmosphere, as the fall of the rain. The grosser manifestations which are the events that take place in this world are the third oblation. The fourth sacrifice is of man himself, who is involved in this entire activity, who consumes the food of the world and energizes himself and produces virility. The fifth oblation is, woman whose union with man brings about the birth of a child. These are the Five Fires. These Fires are not to be regarded as individual events. This is the purpose of the vidya in the Upanishad.

'^'' This is best translated by Swami Krishnananda as force which has already fructified into experience.

173 The Fires so-called are diviner manifestations of a cosmic character, and there is nothing local, physical, earthly or binding in any of these sacrifices. They are all processes of a vaster Nature in which the individual is integrally involved.

In the same way as one was pushed into manifestation into this particular life, one is put out of existence here, and then taken through the same process of manifestation into other realms. The process is the same, because the Five Fires work everywhere in all the realms of being. Those who know the secret of this Pancagni-Vidya, those who conduct their lives through meditation in this manner are liberated from the bondage of karma. Those who know the doctrine of the Five Fires pass the stages of ascent leading to the higher regions of life. They ultimately land in Brahma-loka, or the realm of the Creator, for the purpose of liberation or salvation.

There is some sort of a finitude in our own bodies and the entire personality of ours. Our fate is the same in respect of any law that operates anywhere. We carmot think things which are not purely sensory or physical. We are incapable to visualize things which are super-physical. Human beings cannot understand any aspect of reality which is not in space, which is not in time and which is not casually related. And outside the realm of our own organic personality, we cannot have a real knowledge. We are fmites. We are limited in every way.

Bond between the finite and the infinite : The devotee is propelled to understand the bond between the finite and the infinite.A mystery in this connection is mentioned here. What is our cormection with these higher regions of the world? The higher regions are, in fact, completely connected with us. The shining of the sun or the moon, the twinkling of the stars, or the blowing of the wind - all these phenomena are vitally connected with our own life here. Then, the archiradi-marga, or the devayana, the Northern Path of the gods, of the celestials, the path of the liberation of the spirit from the bondage oisamsara, is 174 being described. Those who meditate Hke this, those who Uve the spiritual life of knowledge, those who have an insight into the secret mentioned here in this Upaniuad, those who practice austerity (), endowed with the great faith {shraddhd) in the efficacy of this knowledge, they rise to the realm of the divine Agni, or the deity of fire, on departing from this world. Such good people who have accumulated merit by means of virtue here, they do not go along the path of light. Rather, they go along the Southern Path of return. This is called the path of smoke, or dhuma-marga, dakshina-patha, or the Southern movements which is, again, presided over by divinities.

These souls which are to return to the mortal world get identified in a subtle manner by their subtle bodies through these natural phenomena, viz., space, air, cloud, rain and foodstuff, even up to the grains like sesamum and barley, beans, rice and wheat, herbs, plants and trees, etc. It is very difficult to understand how they get mixed up with these things. The soul gets identified in every manner, in every way characteristically, with the particular level through which it has to pass. It is difficult in get out of this existence, says the Upanishad.'^^ It is a very complicated situation. Where will the soul be driven, in what direction, into the womb of which mother, for what type of experience, no one can say. The way of action and reaction is difficult to understand. The descended soul gets identified with these levels.It becomes one with the father, one with the mother, one with the social life into which it is bom.

You would be given back the same thing that you have given to others. If you have given joy to others, joy will be given to you here. If you have given sorrow to others, sorrow will be given to you. So, the type of birth you take in this world, and the conditions of your existence here are all determined by what you

'^^ Ato vai khalu durnishprapataram.

175 did in your earlier existences. You may even be bom as an animal, says the Upanisad, if the karma is very bad. There is only one path moving along which there is no coming back. That is the devayana-marga mentioned above. The other path brings the soul back. There is another kind of birth, says the Upanisad, which is not connected either with the Northern Path or the Southern Path. It is the birth of small creatures like insects, such as flies, gnats etc. They live for a few hours and pass away.

Ignorance breeds further troubles in the form of likes and dislikes, selfish actions and their consequences which bring about a birth of this kind, and eventually sorrow. In this connection it is said, in conclusion, that those who live a life of spiritual meditation are not affected by this law. This is a solacing conclusion that the Upanisad gives. You are affected by the law when you cannot understand the law. A person who knows what law is cannot be harmed by law. Now, here, the words "one who knows this" signify something that occurs again and again in the Upanisad. We should repeatedly mention here that "one who knows this" does not mean one who has read the Upanisad, or one who has read it and understood what it says. It is definitely not like that. Here, in the case of the Upanisad, knowledge means 'life' itself. It is 'living'. It is the extent to which this knowledge has become part of one's life. This is the knowledge that we are speaking of here in the Upanisad. Knowledge is being', this is the central philosophy of the Upanisad. If this knowledge is the very substance of our life, not merely an intellectual information, then we are fi"ee from the bondage of action. Then these laws of the world will not act upon us.

Final destination of their meditations : With a view to expound a doctrine of fi"eedom, or the liberation of the spirit from the bondage of samsara, the Upanisad embarks upon a new subject subsequent to the exposition of the Panchagni-Vidya. The new section will be confined to the elucidation of the

176 renowned meditation known as Vaisvanara-Vidya. In this context we are introduced to an anecdote, or a precedent story.There were five wise people learned in sacred lore, all great meditators, performers of sacrifices, but who could not come to a conclusion in regard to the final destination of their meditations. These great men are named here. Prachinasala , Satyayajna Paulushi, Indradyumna Bhallaveya, Jana Sarkarakshya and Budila Asvatarasvi were all lofty meditators according to their own techniques, but they had doubts in their minds. This was because in the course of their meditations, in spite of the fact that they discovered a palpable result of a magnificent nature, there was something lurking in their minds, pointing to a defect in their meditations. And they could not know what was the defect. They conferred among themselves, but could not come to a conclusion.

Having heard about a great sage they decided to go to him. They hoped he knew the secret of the Vaisvanara-Atman. He is Uddalaka, the great sage of Upanishad fame. But it was a surprise for Uddalaka to see all these great men coming in a mass to his cottage. He surmised within his mind that there must be some difficulty, and that he might not be able to answer their query. To avoid any poor show put before them if he attempted to answer their questions, he suggested "Why not we all go together to the great emperor Asvapati who is a master-meditator and a great adept in that supreme technique of meditation called Vaisvanara-Vidya?" They all, including Uddalaka, went to the king's palace and presented themselves before him. The king even before these people said anything, under the impression that they had come for wealth, gold, silver, etc. offered them the same. These great men said: "Well, you are so kind, but there is a different purpose with which we have come to you.They confirmed that they had heard that he was in possession of a great knowledge, the knowledge of the Supreme Being, about which there are great doubts and concerning which they could not come to any conclusion among themselves. 177 They have come there as students begging for this knowledge that he possesses, the wisdom-meditation on the Vaisvanara-Atman, which they do not know. In unison they said "This is the purpose for which we have come - not for wealth, not for money, nor for gifts."

Naturally, the king was taken aback that this should be the purpose for which they had come. Anyhow, he seems to have been a very generous-hearted person. He said: "You may come tomorrow morning and see me."The seekers were very great people, perhaps elder in age to the king himself, not ordinary persons, but they humbled themselves before this mighty knowledge which the king possessed. They approached the king with offerings of samit (sacred firewood) according to ancient tradition, the offering with which students used to approach the preceptor. They did not regard themselves as or panditas superior to the Ksatriyas. They went as students of higher knowledge to the great master that the king was.Now, the king made a special exception to the rule in the case of these great people. Generally, knowledge is not imparted like that, so suddenly. It is not that someone comes today and receives initiation tomorrow. There is a great tradition of discipline. Sometimes it is imposed upon the students for years together. Without any kind of formality of discipline and the like, he spoke to them directly. The King questioned the sages as to what was their point on which they meditated on the Consciousness.

Aupamanyava meditated on Heaven as the Supreme Being. That was the symbol he took for fixing my attention of consciousness. The king told him that the head, as it were, of Reality, is the topmost region of the Vaisvanara, the crown of the Universal Being. Inasmuch as he had mistaken a part for the whole, he had considered the head for the whole body. Satyayajna Paulushi meditated on the Sun, the most brilliant object conceivable. It was the Supreme Being for him. The king clarified that the Sun is the eye, as it were, of the 178 cosmic body of Vaisvanara. It is not the whole of Reality. Indradyumna Bhallaveya meditated upon the Cosmic Air that blows as the all-pervading Reality. Air is only the vital breath, as it were, of the Vaisvanara-Atman and he had mistaken it for the whole, said the king. Jana Sarkarakshya, meditated on the all-pervading Space.The Space that you are thinking of as the Cosmic Reality, is really the body, as it were, and not the whole, of Vaisvanara, taught the king. Budila Asvatarasvi meditated on water .The king reminded him that it is just the watery element of the whole cosmic embodiment. It is one of the constituents of the Universal body and not the entire structure in its totality. Then the king puts the question to Uddalaka Aruni himself: "What is it that you are meditating upon?" Uddalaka said: "I meditate upon the Earth in its comprehensiveness as Reality, Your Highness. "The Earth is only the footstool of the Vaisvanara-Atman, as it were. The Earth is like the feet of the Universal Self It is the feet of the Atman because it is the lowest degree among the manifestations of Reality.

This is what the king said in answer to the representations made by all the six great men. He addressed them as friends and praised them for being very sincere in their meditations and honest. Because of their honesty, sincerity and tenacity in meditation, they enjoyed plenty of everything in their houses and families and within themselves. Having said that he explained that they all had made two mistakes, to put the whole thing precisely. They had considered some parts of the whole as the whole and had mistaken the finite for the Infinite. This is one error. The other mistake that they were making is that they thought of the Atman as an object, as if it is outside. They described Atman as it is Space, it is Water, it is the Sun, it is the Earth, and so on. The teacher corrected their ideas and described the Heaven as the Head, Sun as the Eye, Air as the Breath, Space as the Body, Water as the Lower Belly and the Earth as the Feet of the Universal Self The Self the Universal Whole. 179 The king then indicated that whatever they had obtained through these discrete forms of meditation, they could obtain at one stroke by a total meditation, which is the meditation on the Vaisvanara-Atman. Whoever can conceive in his mind the true Vaisvanara as that which extends from the earth to the heavens, from the heavens to the earth, from the topmost level of manifestation down to the lowest level, missing no link whatsoever, visualizes the Whole. When we concern ourselves with the root of the tree, automatically we see there is an efflorescence of every part of the tree.

Prana-agnihotra : In religious language, in scriptural parlance, Vaisvanara is the word used to describe the Ultimate Reality, and also for the fire that digests food. The internal fire that is responsible for the conversion of food into chyle etc., that which is responsible for the absorption of the elements of diet into our system, this inward heat is Vaisvanara. The five pranas are the external agents of the performance of any action. They are the ambassadors, as it were, of the Ultimate Being. The food that we eat is digested by the action of the pranas. We have five pranas, and so, when taking food, religious people utter mantras saying, "This is to the prana, this is to the apana," etc. This is not merely a ritual unconsciously performed as a routine, but a religious worship. It is a meditation, and we are supposed to be conscious of what we are doing when we consume food.

The process of Prana-agnihotra mentioned here is the act of introducing a universal significance into what are apparently individual functions. The five pranas are like the five tongues of a flaming fire. It is one single force that is working as five different vital energies. So, each tongue of the fire, each flame, is satisfied by the offering of a particular oblation, as it is done in the external sacrifice. Pranaya svaha, is the invocation, which means to say, "May the prana be satisfied. This is to be inwardly recited while eating the first morsel. Here, it 180 is not merely an utterance that is emphasized, but an inward feeling in the real meditation. As every river is connected to the ocean, every prana is connected to the Cosmic Force. When the prana is satisfied, the eyes are satisfied. When the eyes are satisfied, the Sun is satisfied, because he is the deity of the eyes. When the Sun is satisfied, the whole atmosphere is satisfied, because he is the presiding deity of the entire atmosphere. If the atmosphere is satisfied, whatever is the support of both the atmosphere and the Sun, is also satisfied, i.e., heaven itself is satisfied, even with the little act of taking food that we perform in a meditative fashion.

Then, immediately, there is a reaction produced from the sources which we touch by this act of meditation. The reaction comes in the form of a vibration of happiness, the glow, as it were, from the different quarters of heaven. And, if the quarters of heaven are happy, the winds are happy, the Sun is happy, the whole atmosphere is happy, we are happy, with wealth, lustre, glory, plenty and power, because Vaishvanara is satisfied.

So is the case with every other morsel that we eat. The second morsel that we take in should be for the satisfaction of vyana, vyana which is responsible for the movement of the blood-stream in the canals, etc Then the third morsel should be taken for the satisfaction of the apana: Apanaya svaha. When the apana is satisfied, speech is satisfied. The fourth offering, or the morsel, that we take, should be for the satisfaction of samana: Samanaya svaha. When the samana is satisfied, the mind is satisfied. Then, the fifth offering is for the satisfaction of udana: Udanaya svaha. When udana is satisfied, the tactile sense is satisfied, nothing remains unsatisfied, because everything is comprehended here. Thus, the Upanishad point of view is that a rightly conducted human activity, such as the one in the form of the intake of food, with a meditation on the universal implication of one's existence, will touch the comers of creation. 181 The Prana-agnihotra is a religious performance of the one who practices the Vaishvanara-Vidya, one who meditates on the Cosmic Being.

There are people who perform sacrifices without this knowledge of the Vaishvanara, There are people who take food without knowing this spiritual implication of agnihotra. They are pouring oblations on ashes who perform the agnihotra sacrifice without the knowledge of its universal import. Where knowledge is absent, action cannot produce any beneficial result. So, there is no use merely performing havanas, , etc. without this vital knowledge. They will not produce the expected result.

But if one performs any sacrifice, such as the agnihotra mentioned, with this knowledge, then, whatever one does is a universal action. It is for the good of everyone. And everyone's action becomes that person's action, just as the movement of any wave anywhere in the ocean is the ocean itself working. Whatever he does anywhere is known to the Vaisvanara. Whatever he offers anywhere is offered to the Vaisvanara. He may offer anything to anyone, it will reach the Vaisvanara, because of his Self-identification with That Great Being. In this connection there is this saying, declares the Upanishad: "As hungry children sit round their mother, craving for food, so do all beings eagerly await the performance of the Prana-agnihotra by this sage who is universally conscious and exists as All-Being." Everyone loves such a person. Thus does this highly mystical discourse make out that the highest meditation is communion with the Vaisvanara. And if this is to be practiced by anyone, there would be nothing impossible for that person. And if this meditation can be practised effectively, there is nothing else for one to do in this world, because here is the final thing that one would be expected to do in life. This is the last , or duty, on our part; this is the highest service one can perform. It is,

182 thus, that this vidya transcends every other law, rule, or duty in this world. This is the Vaisvanara-Vidya propounded in the Chhandogya Upanishad.

Uddalaka's teaching concerning the oneness of the Self : There was a great sage called Uddalaka, the son of Aruni. He had only one boy, his son by name Svetaketu. For some reason or the other the father was not in a position to school him, teach him personally or give him instruction. The boy was loitering, running about here and there with children of the neighbourhood, and never knew what study was. The father, one day, called the boy and said: you must go to a gurukula and study, and then come back," The boy went to a gurukula for study and he underwent the whole course of education. He was twelve years old when he went from the house of the father. When he returned after education he was twenty-four years old. So, he studied for twelve years. He studied all the Vedas, all the , all the scriptures, and there was practically nothing religious which he had not learnt. Now, this learning had some other effect also, that of swelling up the head of this boy with an immense pride. He began to feel that nobody was equal to him in learning; that he knew all things, was almost omniscient. So, when he came, at the age of twenty-four, to the father at home, he would not speak because of the learning that was in his head. He was very dignified looking and sat without uttering a word even to the father. He started behaving very conceitedly. He did not utter one word because of the so-called depth of his knowledge. The father observed what had happened to his son.

"Do you know That, by knowing which, everything is known? Do you know That, by which the unheard becomes heard, the un-thought becomes thought?" was his query to his proud son.'^^ The boy had never heard of such things-how

'^* Yenasrutam srutam bhavati, amatam matam, avijnatam vijnatam iti: katham nu, bhagavah, sa adeso bhavatiti 183 can an unheard thing, be heard; an unthought thing, be thought; an un- understood thing, be understood? He is humbled a Httle bit. So, there is something he does not know. "But there is a way," says the father. "There is a way by which you can execute this feat of knowing everything, even if it cannot be known normally. Supersensory things can be known and everything can be known by the knowledge of a single thing."the boy queries the father. "What is the meaning of this question? How is it possible for one to know, in this manner?" Without going into the details of the subject, the father gives only an example, an analogy of how such a thing is possible. If you know what earth is made of, you also know at the same time what anything that is made of earth also is made of, because all the articles that are manufactured out of earth are constituted of earth essentially. So, I give you an example of how many things can be known by the knowledge of one thing. Pot, tumbler, plate, etc., and various articles of this kind manufactured out of clay are clay only, in reality. So, if you know what clay is, you know what a clay tumbler is, a clay plate is, a clay glass is, etc. Do you understand what I say? Yes! Because they are only shapes taken by that substance called clay. And, what you mean by an earthen pot is only a name that you have given to a shape taken by the earth.". So is the case with certain other things. You take a nugget of gold, and you know a nugget of gold can be cast into various shapes of ornaments. "If you take a pair of scissors, for instance, made of iron, you know what it is made of It is made of iron. Then you would also know what anything else made of iron is. It may be a hammer; it may be a nail; it may be an axe; it does not matter what it is, all these things are the shapes taken by the same iron which is in the pair of scissors .. You are touching the clay and you say you are touching the pot. The

'" Yatha, saumya, ekena mrt-pindena sarvam mmmayam vijnatam syat vacarambhanam vikaro nama-dheyatn, mrttikety eva satyam.

lohamity eva satyam krsnayasani ity eva satyam, evam, saumya, sa adeso bhavatiti. " ' 184 pot is in your head; it is not outside. What is there is really the clay. Your conception, your thought is that the substance is clay only. The interference of space and time in the substance called earth is responsible for this peculiar shape that it has taken. You are only uttering some words indicating a shape taken by the earth which is its substance. You are interfering with the substance called the earth by your notional interpretation of its connection with space and time. So, the earthen pot is nothing but a conceptual interpretation that you are introducing into the substance that is called clay. The variety of things, the diversity of objects and the multitudinousness that this world is apparently, is not really there. As is the case with clay in its relation to the effects produced out of it, so is the case with everything else in this world out of which effects are produced, whatever the causes may be - iron, gold, wood or anything for the matter of that. In simple terms, the base is the same irrespective of name and form. If this is clear to the bhakta, nothing else should matter.

We do understand what they say, but it is terrifying. It seems to shake the very foundation of our belief in the world, and it appears that we cannot exist at all, if this is the truth. "My Gurus did not appear to have understood all these things. They never taught me these things," says the boy to the father. If they had known this, why should they have not told this to me? I have never heard these things up to this time. I have studied the four Vedas, I have studied the Shastras, but nothing of this kind was heard from any quarter. What is this? Will you kindly explain,holy father.

Creator is the cause of creation : There is creation. Let us take it for granted. Therefore, there must be a Creator. The intention of the Creator is the cause of creation. The will of the artist is the cause of the manufacture of the effect or the product in the form of sculpture, architectural piece, painting, etc. The intention, the will, the original meditation or tapas, as sometimes it is called, of the 185 Supreme Being is the cause of creation. It willed. It alienated itself into an effect, like the pot being created out of clay.

The organic bodies also have originated on account of the mixture of these three elements only. There are various types of organisms. Those which sprout up from the earth, like the plant, the tree, the vegetables, etc., are called udbhijja. That is one kind of organic creation-the vegetable kingdom. There are other beings that come out bursting through the egg, not like plants coming from the earth, but egg-bom beings. This is another type of organic beings; they are called andaja. There are others that come out of the womb of the mother; they are called yVvo/a or jarayuja. There is a fourth type which is called svedaja, coming out of dirt, dust, sweat, etc. All these varieties of organic creation are also made possible on account of the substance of their bodies being provided by these three original elements only. "May I enter into these three elements that I have created-fire, water and earth-and through them, may I become further manifold, by means of the triplication of these."

Name and form came into existence on account of this action of multiplication brought about by the triplication of the elements by the Will of the Supreme Being. The three dimensions of an object, length, breadth and height, the weight and the features, which are. sensible to the perceptive organs, are the constituents of the object, and if these sensations are not there, if the aspects of three dimensions are not there, there will be no objectivity at all. There are only these three elements - the fire element, the water element and the earth element. Again, these three have been already mentioned to be the manifestation of the Supreme Being. The ultimate analysis is that we must know the basic substance of everything and not be carried away by the formation of that substance into

'" Tasam trivrtam trivrtam ekaikam karavaniti, seyam devatema tisro devata anenaiva jivera'tmanra'nupravisya nama-rupe vyakarot. Tasam trivrtam trivrtam ekaikam akarot.

186 variety. Everything is a complex of tliis threefold manifestation-fire, water and earth.

Illustrations of the Threefold Nature :The food that you eat is converted into three forms. What happens to the food that is eaten? There is a gross form of the food, there is a middling form of the food and a subtle form of the food. The food that we eat is not entirely absorbed into the system. Some part of it is thrown out as excreta, as unwanted material which cannot be absorbed into the system. It is refuse that goes out as undesirable to the system; that is the grossest form. So one part of the food goes out; something else only is absorbed. That something else other than that which is thrown out has again two aspects, the very subtle vibratory aspect and the middling form of it. That which is middling is absorbed in the form of flesh in the system. The flesh in the body is due to the entry of the middling quality of the foodstuff that we take. But the highly subtle form, the vibration that is produced by the essential quality of the food, influences the mind itself.

"My dear boy, listen to the conclusion of my research. The mind is essentially formed of food, the prana is essentially formed of water and speech is essentially formed of fire."''*'^

In the same way as the mind is formed of the essential subtle parts of gross food, so is prana formed of water and speech formed of the fiery elements in the food. "

Importance of Physical Needs : "There are sixteen digits of the mind, of our whole personality. Our being is sixteenfold. I shall perform an experiment with you to prove how the mind cannot exist without food. Do not eat for fifteen

' Annamayam hi saumya manah apomayah pranah tejomayi vag iti; bhuya eva ma bhagavan vijnapayatv iti; tatha saumya, iti hovaca.

187 days. Do not take any solid diet during these days. You may drink water, however. Why? Because, of the fact that the pranas are constituted of water. Thus, if you drink water, i!aQ pranas will not be cut off from the body. The boy did not eat for fifteen days, as advised. He fasted completely, but drank water to his heart's content. Chant the Veda," the father said. Memory has gone. The mind is not functioning." For fifteen days you have not eaten, and so fifteen parts of the mind have been withdrawn, even as ftiel is withdrawn from a fire. The mind is there only in name. You are able to think, but not effectively,

After eating a square meal, and having rested, he comes back to the father. The boy is happy, the mind was alert at once and everything came to his memory. The mind is the essence of food, prana of water, and speech of heat. You are made up of these elements only.

Concerning Sleep, Hunger, Thirst and Dying : The mind is rooted in true being which is your essential nature, which you enter in sleep. That is sleep - that is your basic substance.

The water principle draws the gross food into itself Food dissolves in the water principle and, then, naturally, the food is exhausted and so you feel the need for it again. This is how there is hunger, thirst is similarly the absorption of the water element in the system by the fire principle within us. So, this is the philosophical background to which our mind is driven through the analogical explanations of Sage Uddalaka, when he says that the earth element goes back into the water element, the water element into the fire element, and the fire element into that pure Being, the causeless cause of all things. Sarvah prajah sadayatanah: Everything is having Being as its abode and everything is rooted in Being You cannot be separated from That; you cannot stand outside this Being. As everything has come from that, you too have come from That. By the

188 triplicated process of the elements your body has been formed, and everything that you are individually is a shape taken by that Being through the triplication of the three elements. So what you call 'yourself or 'myself or anything, refers to the Self and is a shape or form taken by the Being, and these shapes in turn cannot stand outside the Being. That is the Self of all Beings, and therefore, naturally you too are that. You cannot stand outside it, or external to it, or different from it. That is your Self; you yourself are That.''*'.

This is something very difficult to understand," says Svetaketu.

The Indwelling Spirit : The particular species and the particular body with which they entered into sleep or die, they wake up or are reborn into that very species and body, because of the presence of the subtle body which has not been destroyed through Perfect Knowledge. Therefore, after waking up from deep sleep or after being reborn in another body they are not conscious of having come from the Being. Honeybees go to different flowers, collect the essence of the flowers and convert it into a jelly by certain chemical processes that take place within their own bodies. Thus is formed what is called honey. Now this thing called honey includes the essences of various flowers, hundreds and hundreds of them from where they have been collected. The honey is an amalgam of all these essences, but in this body of the honey one cannot distinguish the essence of one flower fi-om that of another flower. No particular essence can be cognized in its own individuality in this mass called honey. Everything has become indistinguishable. This is what happens to all people when they go to pure Being. They are drawn back to pure Being just as the essences of flowers are drawn into the body of the honey. It is the Self that is caught into this activity in the form of birth, death, incarnations, etc. This will

'•*' tat-tvam-asi, svetaketo

189 not cease until everything is ultimately resolved through enquiry and meditation into that Supreme Being, which is called salvation.

Then he gives Svetaketu the illustration of a tree. In the illustration of the banyan tree and its seed, when the banyan fruit is broken small seeds are seen inside. We can contrast the smallness of the seeds with the largeness of the tree which is the banyan. Somehow the boy split that little atomic seed. Our naked eyes cannot see what is inside that little seed. There is a small jelly-like, very tiny, invisible essence inside that seed. It is very small, a semi-liquid-like substance. We may be able to see it with our powerful microscope. There is no solid hard substance there inside that little seed. It is practically invisible and non-existent, as it were, from your point of view. Thin, apparently non-existent something, the very little, subtle essence there inside that little seed, becomes this vast tree in front of us-. So is this vast universe. This tree is so big though it has come from a very small, atomic, subtle Seed. So this Being, the essence of this whole universe, is the Self of the whole universe. You are that essence - all individuals have come from that indistinguishable, homogeneous Reality. In the same way as we cannot see the salt in water but we can verify its existence by some other means, that is, by tasting, we cannot see this Being in the particulars of this world through our organs including the internal organ, as it is dissolved in the particulars, as it were. But, by employing another means, other than the organs and the mind, we can find out that this Being is in every particular

Every one of us has been spiritually blindfolded. Everyone is in complete spiritual darkness. And there is sorrow, as a consequence thereof. What is the way out? a person with eyes which can see the truth of things as they are is called an acharya, a spiritual master. He is the preceptor, he is the Guru. A

190 Guru, is one who has undergone these experiences of Ufe. He knows from where one has come and how one can revert to that place again. Through the indications given by the master, the disciple has to proceed gradually. The instructions of the Guru are the indications on the path. We are told that from this predicament in which we are now, the next step would be like this. Naturally, we cannot reach our destination at one stroke. It is perhaps several miles away, hundreds of miles far. This means that we have to put forth much effort. We have fallen from the ancient, pristine existence by a tortuous process of descent. So it is pointless on the part of any enthusiastic seeker to know the nature of the Absolute at one stroke. There are stages of approach, and you will not be told everything at one stroke. There is also no use explaining that, because the mind cannot grasp all the intricacies at once.

In comparing between death and realization the understanding is that in death there is no transcendence. There is only automatic withdrawal. But, in the process of Self-realization there is transcendence, so that there is no coming back. When you have outgrown a particular level of experience, you do not come back to it. But, if you have been forced to wrench yourself from a particular experience, the desire for that experience still lingers and you will have to come back to complete your experience. In the case with people who have knowledge and no knowledge, in spite of the fact that both are in the body and both pass through the same stages of ascent from the grosser to the subtle, the man without knowledge is bound, while the one with knowledge is liberated. The realized soul may be in the body as long as the prarabdha continues, just as a bound soul is in the body. But the difference is that the bodily presence or existence affects the bound soul, while it does not affect the mind of the liberated soul.

191 For all practical, outward purposes, the liberated man and the bound man look alike. One cannot know who is a Jivanmukta and who is a bound one, for both speak in the same way, eat in the same way, live in the same way. The distinction is within. It is that the liberated one knows what he is, whereas in the other case he does not know what he really is. So, this is the distinction between knowledge and ignorance and this is also the explanation of the path to liberation as propounded by Sage Uddalaka,

Sanatkumara's instructions on bhuma-vidya : The seventh chapter of the Upanisad, which is a very prominent one because it expounds the magnificent doctrine of the Bhuma, the Absolute, the plenum of Being, the fullness of Reality. approaches Sanatkumara and confides that he has studied the Rgveda, , , . He was a master of the epics and the . I know everything about grammar, mathematics, augury. He knew the science of treasures and was an expert in logic. He also knew ethics, politics, astrology and astronomy, the six auxiliary limbs of the Vedas, physical science, music, art and dancing. There was nothing practically through the course of study which he had not passed. Sanatkumara said "All this knowledge is nothing. That is why you have no peace. Narada accepts that This is only a catalogue or list of the branches of learning that I have studied. I have heard from other people that a person who knows the Self crosses over sorrow.

Sanatkumara asks him to meditate on the name of objects. Learning begins with gathering of information. From the lowest degree of manifestation, one has to gradually ascend step by step. The name of an object includes every kind of information about the object. When we say that the lower is inadequate, we do not mean that it is bereft of all reality. The whole principle of the ascent of the soul to higher stages of realization is that unless that law operating in the lower realm is fully fulfilled, the higher cannot be reached, namopassva - the first 192 stage of meditation - is mentioned here, which is ideological. What is that something which is more than the name?" again asks Narada. Speech, Mind, Will, Memory, Contemplation, Understanding, Strength, Food, Water, Heat, Ether, Memory, Hope, Life, Truth, Thought and Understanding, Truth and understanding. Faith, Steadfastness, Activity, Happiness, The Infinite, The Infinite and the Finite, The Ego and the Self, The Primacy of the Self - all the above in a progressive manner lead to the Infinite. They are enumerated by Sanatkumara to Narada in sequence. A person who goes through this type of learning does not have to go to things, but things go to him. He need not go hither and thither in search of things, because he has this knowledge. The ocean does not go to the river, the river goes to the ocean. The Supreme cause contains within itself everything else mentioned as its own effects. All these various stages of development of thought need not be approached separately or individually for satisfaction. They all come simultaneously rising fi-om his own Self, the true Self, the Bhuma.' He is only apparently looking like a person in this world. He is a Jivanmukta. He is really a repository of the absoluteness that he has realized. Everything comes to him, everything flows fi*om his own being, because he himself is the all. Aharasuddhau sattvasuddhih- It is an exhortation to receive pure things through every sense-organ including the mind. Thus, Sanatkumara, the great master, initiates Narada who is fi-ee from all impurity of every kind. The latter was a fit disciple to be instructed by an exceptionally great master, into this great mystery of the Supreme Being, This knowledge takes the disciple across the ocean of sorrow.

The Upaniuad moves into the analysis of the Self. One's own Self is the greatest enigma in the whole world. The great teacher of this section of the Upanishad tells us that there is the city of Brahman, the Absolute, in our own Self A very small lotus-like abode exists in our own heart, and in this little abode, there is a little space which shines by its own light. Whatever is the extent of this vast 193 space that is outside, that is the extent of this little space in our own heart also. It is little in a different sense altogether. The whole of the heaven and the whole earth, the principles of the five elements, the sun, the moon and also the stars, even the lightning and the thunder ; all these whatever we see in the outside world and even whatever we cannot see in the outside world are inside our heart. Our heart, which we call the selfhood of our being, is the true representative of the ultimate Reality. When a thing is externalized it gets partially abstracted and divested of the divine content. Whatever the senses are incapable of grasping cannot be contained in the external world.

This is the secret, as the Upanisad puts it. This heart is the centre of a universal circle. We will gradually be taken to the point where the 'little thing' that we speak of at present as being in our own heart is found to the same as the 'universal thing' by regular practices of discipline. This heart that the Upaniuad is speaking of does not get old when the body gets old. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. It is the city of the Gods. The more we go deeper and inward into our own Self, the greater is strength of our will and the greater the possibility of achieving success in obtaining anything that we want. The blessedness of people who know what this Atman is, is grand indeed.

The knowledge of the Atman that is referred to here is nothing but the knowledge of the deepest secret of the connection of the subject with the object. If that is known, the externality of the object falls away, the difference between the subject and the object ceases, and there results a true union of the two. That is called the true fulfillment of all desires. This, therefore, is the great truth proclaimed by the Upaniuadic master. He who knows the Atman gets all desires fulfilled at once and the other people who know not the Atman are subject to the rule of law. A beautiflil series of proclamations or exclamations made by the Upaniuad in the following section, telling us what the power of the will of a

194 person who has Self-reaHzation is, and what capacity that person has got. Nothing is impossible for that person. It means to say that everything that we can think of - relatives, friends, father, mother, husband, wife, good things, great things, pleasant things, objects of desire present in this world or in the other world-whatever they be, they do not take time to manifest themselves if the will is exercised in the proper manner. The proper manner is that the will has to be in tune with the law of the Atman. This is the only condition.

Brahma-loka does not mean some world or realm comparable with the one in which we are living. Brahmaiva loko brahma-lokah-Bvahman, the Absolute Itself, is called the world of Brahman. It is a symbolic way of representing its own Being as the totality of experience. The field of experience is called loka. Those who have reached this realm of Brahman through practice of continence have no limit either to their powers or to their capacities to visualize things. There are no restrictions on their knowledge or even their own existence. It is limitless from every side. About the importance of the text tells us that what we call the sacrificial performance from the point of view of Vedic injunctions is also equivalent to the practice of self-control. Brahmacarya or continence is the means by which one attains every benefit which would otherwise come as a resuh of the performance of Vedic rituals.

Psychic nerve currents : In connection with a description of the passage of the soul after the death of the body, we are introduced to the existence of certain psychic nerve currents inside us, known as the nadis. There are certain nadis in our bodies which exist very subtly in the astral layer of our personality. Those who are versed in the science of hatha- will know very well the importance of these nadis. These nerve currents are supposed to be filled with certain subtle juices which are referred to here as animna, very subtle exudation which controls the humours of the body. The point that the Upaniuad makes out

195 particularly here is that there is a tremendous connection between the sun and these nerves. It is not that the sun is spatially very far from us. We have a false notion that the stars in the heaven and the sun in the sky are very far and that they have no connection at all with us here on earth. This intervening space which is the apparent cause for this seeming disconnection is not empty. It contains or is a vital fluid. The ordinary physical notion of the commonplace astronomers that space is not organically connected with the individual is not right. In fact, higher aspects of astronomy going into the realm of astrology will tell us that space is not a disconnecting element. If it is, there would be no influence of the planets upon us. They exert a tremendous influence, not merely in a mechanical manner as the law of gravitation does, but in a very living and organic manner. This subtle substance in the nerve currents is of different colours. It may be brownish-yellow, or white, or blue, or yellow proper, or red. It is believed from the standpoint of this section of the Upanishad that the colours of these nerve currents inside us are due to the influence of the sun upon us. Night and day make no difference for this.

It is these nerve currents that are responsible for the withdrawal of the mind into itself in deep sleep. The Sun is the glorious passage to Brahma-loka, the realm of the Creator''^^, One hundred and one are the principal nerve currents in this body. One among these hundred and one moves vertically, as it were, towards the crown of the head. This is usually called the susumna-nadi in Yogic language. If our prana and minds can travel through this central nerve current called the susumna and up through the crown of the head, we attain immortality. And this is kramamukti, gradual liberation. Also it is emphasizes that if the pranas depart not by this central nerve through the crown of the head but

'""^ satam caika ca hrdayasya nadyah tasam murdhanam abhinihsrtaika/ tayordhvam ayan amrtatvam eti visvannya utkramane bhavanti utkramane bhavanti//

196 through other orifices in the body, then there is rebirth. It may be in this world or it may be in some other lower world, according to the particular passage which the pranas seek at the time of exit. It has to be noted that no liberation is possible unless the movement is through susumna-nadi.

Conclusion : Prajapati's instructions to Indra regarding the Real Self, the Self in the body and Indra's feeling of inadequacy of the physical Self is brought out then. The variations of the Self in dream and deep sleep also are dealt with herein. Exclamation of the Perfected Soul follows this. As the moon frees itself from the darkness of the eclipse, from the mouth of Rahu, the Self shall be freed from the clutches of ignorance and darkness that has been overshadowing it up to this time. At this point the Self claims' I shall become a krtatma, one who has fulfilled one's purposes.' Comparatively later mystics also have spoken about experiences of this kind. Everything is everywhere. This is the experience of interpenetration in Brahma-loka. Also "May I not enter into this womb of the mother once again," is the last prayer of the liberated soul.

Marichi, Asvini, Kasyapa, Angirasa, and others were called the Prajaptis. Brahma, the Creator, spoke to Kasyapa and other progenitors of the family of the universe who are known as and these Prajapatis spoke to Manu, Then Manu gave this knowledge to others. So it has gradually come, stage by stage, from Guru to disciple, and finally to us. What we usually call the four stages of life, the asramas - brahmacarya, (celibate (student's )life), garhasthya (married householder's life), (life of an anchorite), and (monkhood)are hinted at in this passage as the requisite process through which one passes for the maturity of one's mind.At the same time, a caution also is administered that the whole of one's life has to be lived in such a way that it is a preparation for the spiritual goal. There is often a misconception that the spiritual part of one's life is sannyasa alone and the earlier three stages are not. 197 This is what is refuted by all the Upanisads. All the stages of life right from brahmacarya onwards are preparations for spiritual life.

Svadhyaya is a necessary perpetual training for everyone. It is actually not the process of acquiring new knowledge, but a way of keeping the mind aware always of what it has studied and also the way of applying this knowledge in practice to attain the great goal. So svadhyaya is a permanent requisite. Always we have to be studying these great texts lest we may forget our goal.

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