TAITTIRĪYA UPANIṢAD Translation By Dr. Radhakrishnan Prepared by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj |
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TAITTIRĪYA UPANIṢAD The Taittirīya Upaniṣad belongs to the Taittirīya school of the Yajur
Veda. It is divided into three sections called vallis. The first is
the Śikṣā Valli. Śikṣā
is the first of the six Vedāṅgas
(limbs or auxiliaries of the Veda); it is the science of phonetics and pronunciation. The second is the Brahmānanda Valli and the third is the Bhṛgu Valli. These two deal with the knowledge of the Supreme Self, paramātmā-jńāna. |
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ŚIKṢᾹ VALLI CHAPTER 1 Section I INVOCATION |
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1.1. Aum, May Mitra (the sun] be propitious to us; may Varuṇa (be) propitious (to us). May Aryamān (a form of the sun) be propitious to us; May Indra
and Bṛhaspati be propitious to us; May Viṣṇu, of wide strides, be propitious to us. l Salutation
to Brahmā. Salutation to thee, O Vāyu. Thou, indeed, art the visible (perceptible) Brahman. Of thee, indeed, the perceptible Brahman, will I speak. I will speak of the right. I will speak of the true; may that protect me; may that protect the speaker. Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker. Aum, peace, peace, peace. (aum śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
śāntiḥ.) This
is the first section. It is an invocation to God to remove the
obstacles in the way of attaining spiritual wisdom. See R.V. 1. 90. 9.
uru-kramah:of wide strides. vistīrṇa-kramaḥ. Ś. It is a reference to Viṣṇu's
incarnation as Trivikrama or Vāmana whose strides were wide. Śānti
or peace is
repeated thrice, with reference to ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika aspects. Ś. |
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Section 2 LESSON ON PRONUNCIATION |
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1. We will
expound pronunciation, letters or sounds, pitch, quantity, force or stress, articulation,
combination. Thus has been declared the lesson on pronunciation. One
must learn to recite the text of the Upaniṣads carefully and so a
lesson in pronunciation is given. We must learn the text before we can ascertain
its meaning. |
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Section 3 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMBINATIONS |
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3.1. May glory be with us both, may the splendor of Brahma knowledge be with us both. Now next we will expound the sacred teaching of combination under five heads, with regard
to the world, with regard to the luminaries, with
regard to
knowledge, with regard to progeny, with regard to oneself. These are great combinations, they say. Now with regard to the world: the earth is the prior form, the heaven the latter form, the ether is their junction, the air is the connection. Thus with regard to the world. brahma-varcasam:
the
splendor of brahma-knowledge. In Lalitavistara we are told that when the Buddha was in samādhi, a ray called the ornament of the light of gnosis moved
above his head. Saṁhitā: a
conjunction of two words or letters of the text. The mind of the pupil is
directed to the symbolic significance. Master
and disciple pray that the light of sacred knowledge may illumine them both,
that they both may attain the glory of wisdom. |
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3.2.
Now as to the luminaries; fire is the prior form, sun the latter form. Water is their junction, lightning is the connection. Thus with regard to the luminaries. |
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3.3. Now as to knowledge: the teacher is the prior form; the pupil is the latter
form, knowledge is their junction; instruction is the connection. Thus with regard
to knowledge. Patańjali
in his Mahābhāṣya~~ (Kielhorn's ed., p. 6) says there are
four steps or stages through which knowledge becomes fruitful. The first is when we acquire it from the teacher, the
second when we study it, the third when we teach it to others and the fourth when we
apply it. Real knowledge arises only when these four stages are fulfilled. |
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3.4. Now with
regard to progeny: the mother is the prior form, the father is the latter form: progeny is their junction, procreation is the connection. Thus with regard to progeny. |
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3.5. Now with regard to
the self: the lower jaw is the
prior form, the upper jaw is
the latter form, speech is the
junction, the tongue is the connection. Thus with regard to the self. |
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3.6. These are
the great
combinations. He who knows these great
combinations thus expounded becomes endowed with offspring, cattle, with the splendor of Brahma-knowledge, with food to eat, and with the heavenly world. He will prosper here and hereafter. |
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Section 4 A TEACHER'S PRAYER |
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4.1. May that Indra who is the greatest in the Vedic hymns, who
is of all forms,
who has sprung into being from immortal hymns,
may he cheer me with intelligence, O God, may I be the possessor of immortality. May my body be very vigorous; may my tongue be
exceeding sweet;
may I hear abundantly with my
ears. Thou art the sheath of Brahman, veiled by intelligence. Guard for me what I have heard. This
is a prayer for acquiring retentiveness and for physical and moral health. The
syllable aum is pre-eminent among the Vedic hymns, it is 'of all forms' as the whole universe is its manifestation. 'Of Brahman, of the Paramatman or the Highest Self,
Thou art the sheath, as of a sword, being the seat of His manifestation.'
--Śaṁkara. |
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4.2. Bringing to me and
increasing
always clothes
and cattle, food and drink, doing this long, do thou, then, bring to me
prosperity in wool along with cattle. May students of sacred knowledge come to me from every
side. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me
variously. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me
well-equipped. Hail.
May students of sacred knowledge
come to me self-controlled. Hail. May students of sacred
knowledge come
to me peaceful. Hail. acīram: soon, presently. To the
undisciplined, wealth is a source of evil. Not so to the disciplined. What matters is not the possession or non-possession of
wealth but the attitude to it. We may possess wealth and be indifferent to
it; we may possess
no wealth and yet
be concerned with securing it by any means. There is no worship of poverty. Vasiṇṣha
tells Rāma: Acquire
wealth. This world has for its root wealth. I do not see the difference between a poor man and a dead one. |
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4.3. May I become famous among men. Hail. May I be more renowned than the very rich. Hail. Into thee thyself, O Gracious Lord, may I enter. Hail, Do thou thyself, O
Gracious Lord,
enter
into me. Hail. In
that self of thine, of a thousand branches, O Gracious Lord, am I cleansed.
Hail. As
waters run downward, as months into the year, so into
me, may students of sacred
knowledge come, O
Disposer of all, come from every side. Hail. Thou
art a refuge, to me do thou shine forth;
unto me do
thou come. of a thousand branches: the different hymns and the gods meant by them are
varied expressions of the Divine One. praviśāmi: I enter. The knowledge of God is said to be a penetration of God into the
inmost substance of the soul. When God is conceived as external to the
individual, in heaven or in Olympus, when our feeling towards Him is one of
love and respect, inspired by His majesty and power, our religion of fear,
obedience and even love is external. When, on the other hand, we are driven
by an inner lack or insufficiency, when we cry for the highest reality or God
which or who comes into us, enters us, removes our dross, when we unite
ourselves to Him, our religion becomes inward, mystical. The mystic longs for
inner completion by participation which is the real meaning of imitation.
This is not always accompanied by ecstatic rapture. It may be a quiet sense
of union which may have a few high points of emotion. Cp. John Ruysbroeck:
'In this storm of love two spirits strive together; the spirit of God and our
own spirit. God, through the Holy Ghost, inclines Himself towards us; and
thereby we are touched in love. And our spirit, by God's working and by the
power of love, presses and inclines itself into God; and thereby God is
touched. These two spirits, that is, our own spirit and the spirit of God,
sparkle and shine one into the other, and each shows to the other its
face.... Each demands of the other all that it is; and each offers to the
other all that it is, and invites it to all that it is. This makes the lovers
melt into each other .... Thereby the spirit is burned
up in the fire of love, and enters so deeply into the touch of God, that it
is overcome in all its cravings, and turned to nought in all
its works, and empties itself.' Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage. II.
54. |
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Section 5 THE FOURFOLD MYSTIC UTTERANCES |
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5.1. Bhūḥ Bhuvaḥ, Svaḥ, verily these are the three utterances of them; verily, that one, the fourth, mahaḥ, did the son of Mahācamasa make known. That is Brahman, that is the self, its limbs (are) the other gods. Bhūḥ = is this world; Bhuvaḥ = the atmosphere: Svaḥ is the yonder world: mahaḥ
is the sun; by the sun indeed do all worlds become great. Vyāhṛtis are so called because they are uttered in various rituals. Its limbs the other gods: mahaḥ is Brahman, the Absolute; it is the self; all other gods are subordinate to the Absolute. |
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5.2. Bhūḥ verily, is
fire; Bhuvaḥ. is the air; Svaḥ is the sun; mahaḥ. is the moon; by the moon, indeed, do all the luminaries become great. |
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5.3. Bhūḥ, verily, is the Ṛg verses; Bhuvaḥ
is the Sāman
chants, Svaḥ is the Yajus formulas.
Mahaḥ is Brahman. By Brahman indeed, do all the Vedas become great. |
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5.4. Bhūḥ is the inbreath; Bhuvaḥ is the outbreath; Svaḥ is the diffused breath, Mahaḥ is the food. By food, indeed, do all the vital
breaths become
great.
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5.5· Verily, these
four
are fourfold. The utterances are four and
four. He who knows these knows Brahman. To him all the gods offer tribute. |
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Section 6 CONTEMPLATION OF BRAHMA |
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6.1. This space that is within the heart-therein is the Person consisting of mind, immortal and resplendent. That which hangs down between the palates like a nipple,
that is the birthplace of Indra; where is the edge of the hair splitting up the skull of the head. In fire, as Bhūḥ, he rests, in air as Bhuvaḥ. See
M.U. II. 2.6; Maitrī VI. 30; VII. II. kiraṇmayaḥ: resplendent. Brahman who is said to be remote is here envisaged as close to us. Though
the Supreme is present everywhere,
here we are
taught to look upon Him as abiding in one's own heart. Ś. says that the Supreme IS said to be in the heart as a help to meditation even as an image is
used for deity. Here we find a
transition from the view that the heart is the seat of the soul to the other
view that the brain is the seat of the soul. While the soul is an unextended
entity which cannot have a spatial locus, psychologists discuss the nature of the part or parts of the
body with which the soul is closely associated.
For Aristotle, the seat of the soul was in the heart.1 1 Cp, Hammond: 'The diseases of the heart
are the most rapidly and certainly fatal;
(2) psychical
affections such as fear, sorrow, and joy
cause an immediate disturbance of the heart; (3) the heart is the part which is the first to be formed in the embryo.' Aristotle's Psychology quoted
in Ranade:
A Constructive Survey of the Upaniṣadic Philosophy (1926), p. 131: 'If by the seat of the mind is meant not being more than the locality With which it stands
In immediate dynamic relations, we are
certain to be right in saying that its seat is somewhere in the cortex of the brain.' William James: Principles
of Psychology, Vol. I, p. 214. The
reference here is to the Suṣumnā nāḍī of the Yoga system which is said to pass upward from
the heart, through the mid region of the throat up to the skull where the
roots of the hair lie apart. When it reaches this spot, the nāḍī passes up, breaking up the two regions of the head. That is the birthplace of Indra. R. It is the path by which we attain our true nature. See Maitrī. VI. 21; B. U. IV. 4. 2. |
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6.2. In the sun as Svaḥ, in Brahman as
Mahaḥ. He attains self-rule. He attains to the lord of
manas, the lord of speech, the lord of sight, the lord of hearing, the lord of intelligence this and more he becomes, even Brahman whose
body
is
space, whose self is the real, whose delight is life, whose mind
is bliss, who
abounds in tranquillity, who is immortal. Thus do
thou contemplate, O Prācīnayogya. He who
contemplates in this matter becomes the lord of all
organs, the soul of all things and filled with peace and perfection. This passage brings out that the end is greater existence, not death; we should
not sterilize our roots and dry up the wells of life. We have to seize and transmute
the gifts we possess. |
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Section 7 THE FIVEFOLD NATURE OF THE WORLD AND THE INDIVIDUAL |
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7.I. Earth, atmosphere, heaven, the
(main) quarters and the intermediate quarters. Fire, air, Sun, moon and stars.
Having ordained in this
manner, the sage said: Fivefold
verily, is this all. With the fivefold, indeed does one win the
fivefold. ' See B.D. 1. 4. 17· |
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Section 8 CONTEMPLATION OF AUM |
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8.I. Aum
is Brahma. Aum is this all. Aum, this, verily, is compliance.
On uttering, 'recite,' they recite. With aum, they sing the sāman
chants. With aum, Śom, they recite the prayers With aum the Adhvaryu priest utters the response. With aum does the Brahma (priest) utter the introductory eulogy. With aum, one assents to the offering to fire. With aum, a Brahmaṇa begins to recite, may I obtain Brahman; thus wishing Brahman verily, does he obtain. 'The praṇava which is a mere sound, is, no doubt, insentient in Itself and cannot
therefore be conscious of the worship offered to it:
still, as in the case of the worship offered to an
image, it is the Supreme (Īśvara) who, in all cases, takes
note of the act and dispenses the fruits thereof.' Ᾱnandagiri. |
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Section 9 STUDY AND TEACHING OF THE SACRED SYLLABLE THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL
DUTIES |
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9.1. The right and also study and teaching; the true
and also study and teaching; austerity and also study and teaching; self-control and also study and teaching; tranquillity and also study and teaching; the (sacrificial)fires and also study
and teaching; the agni-hotra (sacrifice) and also study
and teaching; guests and also study and teaching; humanity and also study
and teaching;
offspring and also study and teaching: begetting
and also study and teaching; propagation of the race and also study and teaching. .' The true, says
Satyavacas
(the Truthful) the
son of Rathītara: austerity says Taponitya (ever devoted to austerity), the son of Pauruśiṣti, study and teaching alone, says
Nāka (painless),
the son of Mudgala. That,
verily, is
austerity, aye, that is austerity. svādhyāya: adhyayanam, study. pravacana: adhyāpanam, teaching. dama: self-control. śama:
(inner) tranquillity. Knowledge is
not sufficient by itself. We must perform study and also practice the Vedic
teaching. |
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Section 10 A MEDITATION ON VEDA KNOWLEDGE |
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10.1. I am the mover of the tree; my fame is like a mountain's peak. The exalted one making (me) pure, as
the sun, I am
the immortal one. I am a shining treasure, wise, immortal, indestructible. Such is Triśaṅku's recitation on the Veda-knowledge. This
statement is an expression of self-realization when the self, feeling its identity with the Supreme, says that
he is the mover the impeller of this world-tree of saṁsāra,
Triśaṅku, who realized Brahman, said this, in the same spirit in which the sage Vāmadeva said Saṁkara. The
world is said to be the eternal Brahma tree, brahmavṛkṣas sanātanaḥ.M.B. XIV. 47. 14· |
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Section 11 EXHORTATION TO THE DEPARTING STUDENTS |
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11.1. Having taught the Veda, the teacher instructs the
pupil. Speak the truth.' Practice Virtue. Let there be no neglect of your (daily) reading. Having
brought to the teacher the wealth that
is pleasing (to
him), do not cut off the thread of the off spring. Let there be no
neglect of truth.
Let there
be no neglect of virtue. Let there be no neglect of welfare. Let there be no neglect
of prosperity.
Let there be no neglect of study and teaching. Let there be no neglect of the duties to the gods and the fathers. antevāsin: the pupil, he who dwells near. 1. II. I
Cp, speak the truth. Satyapūtam vaded manaḥ pūtaṁ samāsaret. VI. 46. Speak
that which has been purified by truth and behave in the way in which your mind considers to be pure. dharmaṁ cara:-practice virtue: dharma means essential nature or intrinsic law of being; it
also means the law of righteousness. The suggestion here is the that one
ought to live according to the law of one's being. |
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11.2. 'Be one to whom the mother is a god. Be one to 'whom the father is a god. Be one to whom the teacher is a god. Be one to whom the guest is a god. Whatever
deeds are blameless, they are to be practiced, not others. Whatever good
practices there are among us, they are to be adopted by you, not others. Even
with regard to the life of the teacher, we should be dis criminating. We must not do the things
which are open to blame, even if they are done by the wise. |
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11.3. Whatever Brāhmaṇas there are (who are) superior to us, they should be comforted by you with a seat. (what is to be given) is to be given with faith, should not be given without
faith, should be given
in plenty, should be given with modesty, should be given with fear, should be given with sympathy. praśvasitavyam:
The good Brahmanas
are to be provided with seats and refreshed after
their fatigue. praśvasanam, praśvāsaḥ śramāpanayaḥ.
S. Or in the presence of such Brāhmaṇas, not a
word should be breathed. We have merely to grasp the essence of what they say. We should not
unnecessarily engage in discussions
with them. |
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11.4. Then, if there
is in you
any doubt regarding any deeds, any doubt regarding conduct, you should behave yourself in such matters, as the Brāhmaṇas there (who are)
competent to judge, devoted (to good deeds), not led by others, not harsh, lovers of virtue would behave in such cases. The
Brāhmaṇas have a spontaneity of consciousness which expresses
itself in love for all beings. Their tenderness of sentiment and
enlightened conscience should be our standards. |
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11.5. Then, as to the persons who are spoken against, you should behave yourself in such a way, as
the Brāhmaṇas there,
(who are} competent to judge, devoted (to good deeds) not led by others, not harsh, lovers of virtue, would behave in regard to such persons. who are spoken against: who are accused of sin. |
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11.6. This is the command. This is the teaching. This is the secret doctrine of the Veda. This is the instruction. Thus should one worship. Thus indeed should one worship. Cp, with this the Buddha's exhortation where the Pāli word upanisā for the Sanskrit upaniṣad is
used: etad althā kathā,
etad atthā mantanā, etad atthā upanisā, etad attha sotāvadhānam. Vinaya. V. In the
Banaras Hindu University this passage is read by the Vice Chancellor on the
Convocation day as an exhortation to the students who are leaving the
University. They are advised, not to give up the world but to lead virtuous
lives as householders and promote the welfare of the community. |
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Section 12 CONCLUSIONS |
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12.1. Aum, may Mitra (the sun) be
propitious to us; may Varuṇa (be) propitious (to us); may Aryaman (a form of the sun) be propitious to us. May Indra and Bṛhaspati be propitious to us. May Viṣṇu of wide
strides
be propitious
to us. Salutation
to Brahman. Salutation to Vāyu; Thou indeed art the perceptible Brahman. Of thee, indeed, perceptible Brahman have I spoken. I have spoken of the right. I have
spoken of the true. That hast protected me; That has
protected the
speaker. Aye, that has protected me. That has protected the speaker. Aum, peace, peace, peace. |
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CHAPTER II BRAHMᾹNANDA (BLISS OF BRAHMAN) VALLI Section I INVOCATION |
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May He protect us both. May He be
pleased with us both. May we work
together with vigour; may our study make us illumined.
May there be no dislike between us. Aum, peace. peace, peace. may Our study make us illumined: There is not a necessary connection between
learning and wisdom. To be unlettered is not necessarily to be uncultured. Our modern world is maintaining the cleavage between learning
and wisdom. Cp.
'Perhaps at no
other time have men been so knowing and yet SO unaware, so burdened with purposes and
yet so purposeless, so disillusioned and so completely the victims of
illusion. This strange contradiction pervades our entire modem culture, our science and our philosophy, our literature and our art.' W. M.
Urban: The
Intelligible World (1929), p. 172. |
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BRAHMAN AND THE COURSE OF EVOLUTION |
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II.1.1. Aum. The
knower of Brahman reaches the Supreme. As to this the following has
been said: He who knows Brahman as the real, as
knowledge and as the infinite, placed in the secret place of the heart and in
the highest heaven realizes all desires along with
Brahman, the intelligent. From this Self,
verily, ether arose; from ether air; from air fire; from fire water; from
water the earth; from the earth herbs; from herbs food; from food the person.
This, verily, is
the person that consists of the essence of food. This, indeed, is his head;
this the right side, this the left side; this the body;
this the lower part, the foundation. As to that, there
is also this verse. the real, knowledge and infinite: the
opposite of unreal, mithiyātva, of the
unconscious,jaḍatva
and of the limited, paricchinnatva. ākāśa: ether
is the ether or the common substratum from which other forces
proceed. sambhūtaḥ = arose,
emanated, not created. The five different elements arc clearly
defined and described as having proceeded one
after another from the Self. Sometimes from food, semen, and from
semen the person. Cp. 5 annād
reto-rūpeṇa pariṇatāt
puruṇaḥ. Creation starts from the principle of the
universal consciousness. From it first arises
space and the primary matter or ether whose quality is sound. From this etheric state
successively arise grosser elements of air,fire,
water and earth. See Introduction. param: the supreme.
that beyond which there is nothing
else, i.e, Brahman. guhā: the
secret place, the unmanifested principle in human nature. It is normally a symbol for an inward
retreat. There are five kośas
or sheaths in which the Self is
manifested as the ego or the jīvātman.
The first of them consists of food. Other sheaths consist of prāṇa or
life, manas or instinctive and perceptual consciousness,
vijńāna or
intelligence and ānanda or
bliss. These five principles of matter,
life, consciousness, thought and bliss are found in
the world of non-ego. Anna
or food is the radiant, the virāj, that
which is perceptible by the senses, the physical. According to
Sureśvara, life,
consciousness and intelligence constitute the subtle
self, the sūtrātman
and bliss is the causal sheath, the kāraṇa kośa. B.U. 1. I. 2 mentions five
sheaths under the names, anna or matter,
prāṇa or
life, manas or consciousness, vāc or
speech (corresponding
to vijńāna or
intelligence) and avyākṛta,
the undifferentiated. The last is the kāraṇa or
the ultimate cause of all. Atman becomes the knower or the subject
when associated With antaḥkaraṇa. The bodily sheath is conceived
in the form of a bird. Sureśvara
says: 'The sacrificial fire arranged in the form of a
hawk or a heron or some other bird, has a head, two
wings, a trunk and a tail. So also here
every sheath is represented
as having five parts.' It is an axiom of mystic
religion that there is a correspondence between
the microcosm and
the macrocosm. Man is an image of the created
universe. The individual soul as the microcosm has affinities
with every rung of the ladder which reaches from earth to heaven. |
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Section 2 MATTER AND LIFE |
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II.2.I.
From food, verily, are produced whatsoever creatures dwell
on the earth. Moreover, by food alone they live. And then
also into it they pass at the end.
Food, verily, is the eldest born of beings. Therefore is it called the healing herb of all. Verily, those who worship Brahman as food obtain all food. For food, verily, is the eldest born
of beings. Therefore is it called the healing herb for all. From food
are beings born. When born
they grow up by food. It is eaten and' eats things Therefore is it called food. Verily, different from and within that which consists of the essence of food is the self that consists of life. By that this is filled. This verily, has the form of a person. According to that one’s personal form is this one with the form of a person; the inbreath
is its head; the diffused breath the right side; the outbreath the
left
side; ether the body, the earth the lower part, the foundation. As to that, there is also
this verse. See
Maitrī. VI. 12. The physical body is sustained by life. |
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Section 3 LIFE AND MIND |
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II.3.1. The gods breathe along with life
breath, as also men and beasts: the breath is the life
of beings. Therefore, it is called the
life of all. They who worship Brahman as life attain to a
full life for the breath is the
life of beings.
Therefore
is it called the
life of all. This (life) is indeed the
embodied soul of the former (physical sheath). Verily, different from
and within that which consists of life is the self consisting of mind. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a
person; according
to that one's personal form is this
one with the form
of a person. The Yajur Veda is its head; the Ṛg Veda the right side; the Sāma Veda the left side; teaching the body; the hymns of the Atharvaṇs and
the Aṅgirasas, the
lower part, the
foundation. As to that, there is also this verse. Life is the spirit of the body. Prāṇa originally meant breath and as breath seemed
to be the life of
man, prāṇa became the life principle. On analogy, it was said to be the life of the universe. manas: the
inner organ.
samkalpa-vikalpātmakam antaḥ-karaṇam tan-mayo mano-mayaḥ
Ś. |
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Section 4 MIND AND UNDERSTANDING |
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II.4.I. Whence
words return along with the mind, not attaining it, he who knows that bliss of Brahman
fears not
at any time. This is, indeed,
the embodied soul of the former (life). Verily,
different from and within that which consists of mind is the self consisting of
understanding. By that
this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person.
According to that one's personal form is this one
with the form of a person. Faith is
its head; the right the right side; the true the left side; contemplation the body; the
great one the lower part, the foundation. As to that there is
also this verse. Manas is the
faculty of perception. At the stage of manas we accept authority which
is external;
at the stage of vijńāna internal growth
is effected. The Vedas are our guide at the former level; at the intellectual
we must develop faith, order, truthfulness and union with the Supreme. At the level of
intellectuality or vijńāna, we ask for proofs. When we rise
higher, the truths are not inferred but
become self-evident and cannot be invalidated by reason. mahaḥ
= the great one. It is the principle of Mahat, the first thing
evolved out of the unmanifested (avyākṛta) which is described as lying
beyond the mahat. ānandam: bliss. See RV. IX. II3. 6, II. It gives to apparently abstract being an inner content of feeling. |
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Section 5 UNDERSTANDING AND BLISS |
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II.5.I. Understanding directs the sacrifice and it directs the deeds also. All the gods worship as the eldest the Brahman which is understanding. If one knows Brahman as understanding and one does not
swerve from it, he leaves his sins in the
body and attains all desires. This (life) is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former (the
mental). Verily, different from and within that which consists of.
understanding is the self consisting of bliss. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a
person. According to that one's personal form is this one with the form of a person. Pleasure is its head; delight
the right side;
great delight the left side; bliss the
body, Brahman the lower part, the foundation.
As to that,
there is also this verse. These
verses indicate the five bodies or sheaths (pańca-kośas) material,
vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual. Manas deals with the objects perceived and vijńāna
with concepts. In later Vedanta, the distinction between the two diminishes. Pańcadaśī
ascribes deliberation to manas and decision to buddhi which
is the vijńāna. In every
order of things the lower is strengthened by its union with the higher. When our knowledge is submissive to things, we get
the hierarchical levels of being, matter, life, animal mind, human
intelligence and divine bliss. They represent different degrees of abstraction
and the sciences which deal with them, employ
different principles and methods. In ānanda, the attempt to connaturalise man
with the supreme object succeeds. Intelligence is successful in controlling the tangible world. As a rational instrument in the sphere
of positive sciences, its validity is justified. This attempt of the intellect to unify is not due to intellect alone.
It is derived from its
higher, from the breath of the divine. In ānanda earth touches heaven and is sanctified. connatural —connaturally, adv. —connaturality,
connaturalness, n. adj. 1. belonging to a person or thing by
nature or from birth or origin; inborn. 2. of the same or a similar nature. S thinks hat our real self is beyond the
beatific consciousness, though in his commentary on III.6 he argues that Bhṛgu identifies the
ultimate reality With the
spirit of ānanda. The
author of the Brahma Sūtra in I. I. I:2-19 identifies ānandamaya with the
absolute Brahman and not a relative manifestation. The
objection that the suffix mayat is generally used for modification is set aside on the ground that it is also used for
abundance. prācuryāt. S.B. I. I. 13-14. In
this beatific consciousness man participates in the life of the gods. Aristotle places the idea of a higher contemplation
above metaphysical knowledge. |
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Section 6 BRAHMAN, THE ONE BEING AND THE SOURCE OF ALL |
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II.6.I. Non-existent, verily does one
become, if he knows Brahman
as non-being, if one knows
that Brahman is, such a
one people know as existent. This is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former. Now then the following
questions. Does anyone who knows not, when departing
from this life, go
to the yonder world? Or is it
that anyone who knows, on departing
from this life, attains that world? He (the supreme soul) desired. Let me become many, let me be born.
He performed austerity. Having performed austerity
he created all this,
whatever is here. Having created
it, into it, indeed he entered. Having entered it, he became both the actual and the beyond, the defined and the undefined, both the founded and the non-founded, the intelligent and
the non-intelligent, the
true and the untrue.
As the real, he became whatever there is here. That is what
they call the real. As to that, there is also this verse. tapas: austerity.
Ś. means by it knowledge. The Supreme
reflected on the form of the world to be created. S. He
willed, he thought and he created. Tapas is the creative molding power,
concentrated thinking. See B.U. I.4. 10-11, Maitrī.
VI. 17 which assume that consciousness is at the source of manifestation. As we bend nature to our will by thought or tapas, tapas becomes mixed with magical control. He desired: See C.U. VI. 2. 1. It is kāma or desire that brings forth objects from primal
being. the actual and the beyond: Brahman has two aspects, the actual and the
transcendental, the sat and
the tyat. |
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Section 7 BRAHMAN IS BLISS |
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II.7.1.Non-existent,
verily, was this
(world) in the beginning. Therefrom, verily, was existence produced. That made itself a soul. Therefore is it called the
well-made. Verily, what that well-made is-that,
verily, is the essence of existence. For, truly, on getting
the essence, one
becomes blissful. For who, indeed, could
live, who breathe, if there were not this bliss in space? This, verily, is it that bestows bliss. For truly, when one finds fearlessness as support in Him
who is invisible, bodiless, undefined, without support, then has he reached fearlessness. When,
however, this (soul) makes in this One the
smallest interval, then, for him,
there is fear. That, verily, is the
fear of the
knower, who does
not reflect. As to that, there is also
this verse. asat: non-existent. The manifested universe is called sat and its unmanifested condition is said to be asat. From the unmanifested (asat) the world of names and forms (sat) is said to arise. The possible is prior
to the actual. See S.B. II. I. 17. Cp, R.V. X. 129 which tells us that,
at the beginning of all things, there was neither being nor non-being and what
existed was an impenetrable darkness. For the Greek
Epimenides, the beginning of things was a primary void or night. 'Existence
is born of non-existence.' Lao Tzu (Ch. 40). The Way of Life. Brahman is invisible etc., because it is the source of all these distinctions. S. sukṛtam: the well-made. See A.U. I. 2, 3. S means by it the self caused. Brahman
is the independent cause for He is the cause of all. raso vai saḥ: Bliss, verily, is the essence of existence. Brahman is bliss. It is the source of things. See K.U. I. 5. who indeed could live…? The passage affirms that no one can live or breathe if there were
not this bliss of existence as the very ether in which
we dwell. We have a feeble analogue of spiritual bliss in aesthetic satisfaction. It is said to be akin to the bliss of the realisa tion of
Brahman. brahmānanda-sahodaraḥ. It lifts out of the ordinary ruts of
conventional life and cleanses our minds and hearts. By the imaginative realization
of feelings, tanmayatvam raśeṣu (Kālidāsa) it melts
one's heart. bhaya: fear.
We have fear when we have a feeling of otherness. See B.U. I. 4. 2. where the primeval self became fearless
when he found
that there was no other person whom he should fear. ananvānasya: who does not reflect. He is not a true sage but thinks himself to be so. |
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Section 8 INQUIRY INTO FORMS OF BLISS |
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II.8.1. l From fear of Him does the wind blow; from fear of Him does the Sun rise; from fear of Him do Agni and Indra (act) and death, the fifth doth run. l This is the
inquiry
concerning
bliss. l Let there be a youth, a good youth, well
read, prompt in action,
steady in mind and
strong in body. Let
this whole earth be full of wealth for him. That is one human
bliss. What is a hundred times the human bliss, that is one bliss of human fairies-also of a man who is well
versed in
the Vedas and who is not
smitten with desire. l What is a hundred times the
bliss of the human
fairies, that is one bliss
of divine fairies―also
of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire. What is a hundred times
the bliss of the
divine fairies, that is one bliss of the Fathers in their
long enduring world-also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who
is not smitten
with desire. What is a
hundred times the bliss of the fathers in their long enduring
world. that is one bliss of the gods who are born so by birth, also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and
who is not
smitten with desire. l What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods who are born so by birth, that is one bliss of
the gods by work, who go to the gods by work, also of a man who is well versed
in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire. l What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods by
work, that is one bliss of the gods, also
of a man who is well
versed in the Vedas and who is not
smitten with desire. l What is a hundred
times the bliss of the gods, that
is one bliss of Indra―also of
a man who is well versed
in the
Vedas and who is not smitten with desire. l What is a hundred times the bliss of Indra, that is the
one bliss of Bṛhaspati also of a man who
is well versed
in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire. l What is a hundred times the bliss of Bṛhaspati, that is one bliss of
Prajā-pati, also of a man who is well
versed in the Vedas and who is
not smitten with desire. l What is a hundred times the bliss of Prajā-pati,
that is one bliss of Brahma―also
of a man who is
well versed in the
Vedas and who is not smitten with desire. l He who is here in the person and
he who is yonder in the Sun―he
is one. He who knows this, on
departing from this world, reaches to the self which consists of food, reaches the
self which consists of life, reaches the self which consists of mind, reaches the self which consists of understanding, reaches the
self which consists of bliss. l As to that, there is also
this verse. *For fear
of Him does the wind blow: the
writer sees the proof of *God in the laws of the universe.
The regularity expresses an intelli gence and presupposes a guide. S. See Katha
VI. 3. *Those
who attain to the status of gods by their own work are called Karma-devas. *The bliss of delight which knowledge of Brahman occasions baffles all description.
It is sometime
completely incomprehensible. Brahman thus is
blissful being and so is of the highest value. In reaching the richness of being
of Brahman we reach our highest fulfilment. In describing the various degrees
of happiness, the author of the UPaniṣad gives us an idea
of the classes of human and divine beings recognized that period men, fathers,
fairies, gods by merit and gods by birth, Prajā-pati, and Brahma or Hiraṇya-garbha. |
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Section 9 THE KNOWER OF THE BLISS OF BRAHMAN IS SAVED FROM ALL FEAR |
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II.9.1. Whence words return along with the mind, not attaining. it, he who knows that bliss of Brahman fears
not from anything at all. Such
a one, verily, the thought does not torment,
Why have I not done the right? Why have I done the sinful? He who knows this, saves
himself from these (thoughts). For, truly, from both
of these he
saves himself―he who knows this. Such
is the secret doctrine. The
enlightened one is not afflicted by anxiety about right and wrong. The truth makes
us free from all restrictions. The Apostle proclaims
that we are delivered from the law, 'Virtues, I take leave of you for evermore, your service is too travaillous (?). Once I
was your servant,
in all things
to you obedient, but now I am delivered from your thralldom.' Mirror of Simple Soules, quoted in Evelyn Underhill:
Mysticism, p.263. upaniṣat: the great mystery, parama~rahasyam. Ś. |
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CHAPTER III BHṚGU VALLI Section 1 BHṚGU UNDERTAKES INVESTIGATION OF BRAHMAN |
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III.1.1. Bhṛgu, the son of Varuṇa, approached his
father Varuṇa and said, 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.' He explained to him thus: matter, life, sight, hearing, mind, To him, he said further:
'That, verily,
from which
these beings are born, that, by which, when
born they live, that
into which, when departing, they
enter. That, seek
to know.
That is Brahman. He performed austerity (of thought). Having
performed austerity, (Continued) The father
Varuṇa teaches his son Bhṛgu, the sacred wisdom. This fundamental
definition of Brahman as that from which the origin,
continuance and dissolution of the world comes is of Īśvara who is the world-creating, world-sustaining, and
world-dissolving God. Cp. 'I
am the first and the last and the living one.' Revelation XIII. 8. Brahman is the cause of the world as the substratum (adhiṣṭhāna)(Ś), as the material cause (upādāna)
of the world, as gold is the material
cause of gold ornaments, as the instrumental cause (nimitta) of the
world. Madhva. Austerity
is the means to the perception of Brahman. tapas
is spiritual
travail. Brahma-vijńāna-sādhana. S. Cp. Aeschylus, 'Knowledge comes through sacrifice: Agamemnon,
250. |
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Section 2 MATTER IS BRAHMAN |
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III.2.I. He knew that matter is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from matter, when born, they live by
matter and into matter, when
departing they enter. Having known that,
he again approached his father Varuṇa and said,
'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.' To him he said,
'Through austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is
austerity.' He performed
austerity; having performed austerity, (Continued) The
first suggested explanation of the universe is that every thing can be explained from matter and motion. On second thoughts. we realize
that there are phenomena of life and reproduction which require another
principle than matter and mechanism. The investi gator proceeds from the
obvious and outer to the deeper and the inward. The pupil approaches the
teacher because he feels that the first finding of matter as the ultimate
reality is not satisfactory. |
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Section 3 LIFE IS BRAHMAN |
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II.3.I. He knew that life is Brahman. For truly,
beings here are born from life, when born they live by life, and into
life, when departing they
enter. Having known that,
he again approached his father Varuṇa, and said: 'Venerable Sir, teach
me Brahman.' To him he said.
'Through austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.' He performed
austerity; having performed austerity. (continued) See
C.U. I. H. 5; VII. 15. I; K.U. III. 2-9; B.U. IV. I. 3. While
the material objects of the world are explicable in terms of matter, plants take us to a higher level and demand
a different principle.
From materialism we pass to vitalism. But the principle of life cannot account for conscious objects. So the pupil, dissatisfied with the solution of life,
approaches the father, who advises the son to reflect more deeply. Matter
is the context of the principle of life. |
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Section 4 MIND IS BRAHMAN |
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III.4.I. He knew that mind is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from mind, when born, they live by mind and into mind, when
departing, they enter. Having known that, he again
approached his father Varuṇa and said: 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.' To him, he said.
'Through austerity seek" to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.' He performed
austerity; having performed austerity. (continued) When
we look at animals, with their perceptual and instinctive consciousness we
notice the inadequacy of the principle of life. As life
outreaches matter, so does mind outreach life. There are forms of life
without consciousness but there can be no consciousness without
life. Mind in the animals is of a rudimentary character. See Aitareya Āraṇyaka II. 3. 2. 1-5. Cp. Milindapańha where manasikāra, rudimentary mind is distinguished from pańńa or reason. Animals possess the former and
not the latter. Even mind cannot
account for all aspects of the universe. In the world of
man, we have the play of intelligence. Intelligence frames concepts and ideals
and plans means for their realization. So the pupil finds the
inadequacy of the principle of mind and again approaches his father,
who advises him to reflect further. |
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Section 5 INTELLIGENCE IS BRAHMAN |
||||||
III.5.I. He knew that intelligence is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from intelligence, when born, they live
by intelligence and into intelligence, when departing, they
enter. Having known that,
he again approached his father Varuṇa, and said, 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.' To him, he said, 'Through
austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.' He
performed austerity;
having performed austerity, (continued) Intelligence
again is not
the ultimate principle. The categories of matter, life, mind and intelligence take us higher and higher and
each is more comprehensive than the preceding. Men with their conflicting desires, divided minds, oppressed by
dualities are not the
final products of evolution. They have to be transcended. In the intellectual life there is only a seeking. Until we transcend
it, there can be
no ultimate finding. Intellectual man, who uses mind, life and body is greater than mind, life and body but he is
not the end of the
cosmic evolution as he has still a secret aspiration. Even as matter contained life as its secret destiny and had to
be delivered of it, life contained mind and mind contained
intelligence and intelli gence
contains spirit as its secret destiny and presses to be delivered of it. Intelligence does not exhaust the possibilities
of consciousness and cannot be its highest expression.
Man's awareness is to be enlarged
into a superconsciousness with illumination, joy and power. The crown of evolution is this deified consciousness. |
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Section 6 BLISS IS BRAHMAN |
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III.6.I. He knew
that Brahman is bliss. For truly, beings here are born from bliss, when
born; they live by bliss and into bliss, when departing, they enter . 'This wisdom of Bhṛgu
and Varuṇa, established in the highest heaven, he who knows this becomes
established. He becomes possessor of food and eater of food. He becomes great
in offspring and cattle and in the splendor of sacred wisdom; great in fame. l The higher includes the lower and goes
beyond it. Brahman is the deep delight of freedom. The Upaniṣad
suggests an analogy between the macrocosm, nature and the microcosm, man, an
equation between intelligibility and
being. The ascent of reality from matter to God as one of in creasing
likeness to God is brought out. While man has all these five
elements in his being, he may stress one or the other, the material or the
vital or the mental or the intellectual or the spiritual. He who harmonizes all these is the complete man. For Aristotle
the human soul is, in a certain sense, everything. This analysis is accepted
by the Buddha who speaks of five kinds of food for the physical, vital, psychological, logical
and spiritual elements. The enjoyment of nirvāṇa is the food for spirit. nibbutiṁ bhuńjamānā.
Ratana Sutta. Cp. Augustine: 'Step by step was I led upwards, from
bodies (anna) to the soul which perceives by means of the bodily
senses (praṇa); and thence to the soul's inward faculty
which is the limit of the intelligence of animals (manas); and thence again to the reasoning faculty
to whose judgment is referred the knowledge received by the bodily senses (vijńāna).
And
when this power also within me found itself changeable it lifted itself up to
its own intelligence. and withdrew its thoughts from experience, abstracting
itself from the contradictory throng of sense-images that it might find what that light was wherein it was bathed
when it cried out that beyond all doubt the unchangeable is to be preferred
to the changeable; whence also it knew that unchangeable; and thus with the
flash of one trembling glance it arrived at That which is' (ānanda).ConfessionsVII,
23. l Augustine describes the highest state as
one of joy: The highest spiritual state of the soul in this life consists in the vision and contemplation of truth, wherein
are joys, and the full enjoyment of the highest and truest good, and a breath of serenity and eternity.1 (1Dom Cuthbert Butler: Western Mysticism (1922), p. 59.) l The grades of existence and of value
correspond so that the class which has the lowest degree of reality in the existential sense has the lowest
degree of value. l Behind all our growth is the perfection
of ourselves which animates it; we are constantly becoming until we possess our
being. The changing
consciousness goes on until it is able to transcend change. The Beyond is the
absolute fulfilment of our self-existence. It is ānanda, the troth behind matter, life, mind, intelligence, that controls them all
by exceeding them. The Upaniṣad
suggests an epic of the universe. From out of utter nothingness, asat, arises,
the stellar dance of teeming suns and planets
whirling through vast etheric fie1ds. In this immensity of space emerges the mystery of
life, vegetations, forests; soon living creatures,
crawling, jumping animals, the predecessors of human beings. Human
intelligence with its striving for ideals has in it the secret
of sciences and philosophies, cultures and civilizations. We can make the world
wonderful and beautiful or tragic and evil. |
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Section 7 THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD |
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III.7.1. Do not speak ill of
food. That shall be the rule. Life, verily, is food.
The body is the eater of food. In
life is the body established; life is established in the body. So is food established in food. He who knows that food is established in food,
becomes
established. He becomes an
eater of food, possessing food. He becomes great
in offspring and
cattle and
in the splendor
of sacred wisdom;
great in fame. The world
owes its being to the interaction of an enjoyer and an object enjoyed. i.e. subject
and object. This distinction is superseded in the Absolute Brahman. |
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Section 8 FOOD AND LIGHT AND WATER |
||||||
III.8.1. Do not despise food. That shall be the rule. Water, verily, is food. Light is the eater
of food. Light
is established in water; water is established in light. Thus food is established in food. He who knows that food is established in food,
becomes established. He becomes an eater of food, possessing
food. He becomes great in offspring
and cattle,
and in the splendor of sacred wisdom, great in fame. |
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Section 9 FOOD AND EARTH AND ETHER |
||||||
III.9.I. Make for
oneself
much food. That shall be the rule. The earth, verily, is food; ether the eater of food. In the earth is ether established, in ether is the earth established. Thus food is established
in food. He who knows that food is established in food, becomes established. He becomes an eater of food,
possessing food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle, and in the splendor of sacred wisdom, great in fame. |
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Section 10 MEDITATION IN DIFFERENT FORMS |
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III.10.I. Do not deny residence to anybody. That shall be the rule.
Therefore, in any way whatsoever one should acquire much food. Food is
prepared for him, they say. If this food is given first. food is given to the
giver first. If this food is given in the middle, food is given to the giver
in the middle. If this food is given last, food is given to the giver
last. |
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III.10.2. For him who knows this, as preservation in speech, as acquisition and preservation in the inbreath and the
outbreath, as work in the
hands, as movement in the feet, as evacuation in the anus, these are the
human recognitions. Next, with reference
to the deities, as satisfaction in rain, as strength in the
lightning. yoga-ksema:
see B.G. II. 45; IX. 22. |
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III.10.3. As fame
in cattle, as light in the stars, as procreation, immortality
and bliss in the generative organ, as the all in space. Let one contemplate
That as the support, one becomes the possessor of support; let one
contemplate That as great, one becomes great.
Let one contemplate That as mind; one becomes possessed of mindfulness. |
||||||
III.10.4. Let one
contemplate That as adoration; desires pay adoration to him. Let one
contemplate That as the Supreme, he becomes possessed of the Supreme. Let one
contemplate That
as Brahman's destructive agent, one's hateful rivals perish as also
those rivals whom he does not like. He who
is here in the person and he who is yonder in the Sun, See Aitreya brāhmaṇa. VIII. 28; T.U. II. 8. Brahma: the
Supreme. Sāyaṇa interprets Brahma as Veda and brahmavān as one who has a perfect command over the Veda. bhrātṛvyāḥ: rivals: literally it means cousins (father's brother's sons), who are generally supposed to be unfriendly. |
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III.10.5. He who
knows this, on departing from this world, reaching on to that self which
consists of food, reaching on to that self which consists of life, reaching
on to that self which consists of mind, reaching on to that self which
consists of understanding, reaching on to that self which consists of bliss,
goes up and down these worlds, eating the food he desires, assuming the form
he desires. He sits singing this chant: Oh Wonderful, Oh Wonderful, Oh
Wonderful. The
enlightened one attains unity with the All. He expresses wonder that the individual with all limitations has been able to shake them off and become one with the All. To get at
the Real, we must get behind the forms of matter, the forms of life, the forms of mind, the forms of intellect. By removing the sheaths, by shaking off the bodies,
we realize the
Highest. This is the meaning
of vastrāpaharaṇa.
'Across my threshold naked all must pass.' When we realize the truth we can assume any form we choose. |
||||||
A MYSTICAL CHANT III.10.5 |
||||||
III.10.5. I am food, I am food, I am food. I am the food-eater. I am the foodeater. I am the foodeater. I am the combining agent. I am the combining agent. I am the combining agent. I am the first born of the world-order, earlier than the gods, in the center of immortality. Whoso
gives me,
he surely does save thus. I, who am food, eat the eater of food. I have overcome the whole world. I am brilliant
like the sun. He
who knows this. Such is the secret doctrine. prathamajā:
Hiraṇya-garbhopy aham. Ᾱ. the eater of food: anna-śabditam a-cetanam,
tad-bhoktāraṁ cetanaṁ ca admi vyapnomi. R. This is
a song of joy. The manifold diversity of life is attuned to a single harmony,
A lyrical and rapturous embrace of the universe is the result. The liberated soul
filled with delight recognizes its oneness with the subject and the object,
the foodeater and food and the principle which unites them. He feels in different poises that he is one with Brahman,
with Īśvara and with Hiraṇya-garbha. The chant
proclaims that the
enlightened one has become one with all.1 The liberated soul passes beyond all limitations and attains to the dignity of
God Himself. He is one with God in all His fullness and unity. It is not a mere fellowship with the chasm
between the Creator and the created. Here is the exalted experience of one who
not merely believes in God, or
who is merely convinced of His existence by logical arguments or one who
regards Him as an object to be adored and worshipped in thought and feeling but
of one for whom God is no more object but personal life. He lives God or rather
is lived by Him. He is borne up and impelled by the spirit of God who has become
his inward power and life. 1Hallaj
expressed in the most uncompromising terms this conviction of oneness with the Supreme. Ana'l haqq, "I am the real.' The Sufi theory is that man becomes one with God when he
transcends his phenomenal self (fanā). Ghazālī believes
that Hallāj's statement is nothing more than the conviction belonging to
the highest stage of unitarianism. In order to attain to the immediate vision
of the Divine, the human soul must be lifted altogether above the natural
order and made to partake of the divine nature. 2 Peter I. 4. Cp, 'Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not
yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is' (1 John IIl.2). 'God made all things through me when I had my existence in the unfathomable ground of God: Eckhart, E. T. G. Evans, Vol. I, P·589. All
distinctions of food and foodeater, object and subject are transcended. He
goes up and down the worlds as he chooses, eating what food he likes, putting
on what form he likes. Sureśvara
says: 'All this is divided twofold, food and foodeater. The enlightened one says,
"I who am the Ᾱtman, the Real and the Infinite,
am myself this twofold world." ' The
Supreme is 'the subject and the object as well as the link between
them. I have overcome the whole world. Cp, this with the Buddha's declaration, after attaining
abhisambodhi: 'Subdued have I all, all-knowing am I now. Unattached to all things, and abandoning
all, Finally freed on the destruction of all craving, Knowing it myself, whom else should I credit? There is no teacher of mine, nor is one like
me; There is none to rival me in the world of
men and gods; Truly entitled to honour am I, a teacher unexcelled. Alone am I a Supreme Buddha, placid and tranquil, To found the kingdom of righteousness, I
proceed to Kāsī's capital, Beating the drum of immortality in the
world enveloped by darkness.
Ariyaparyesana Sutta. Majjhima Nikāya. Cp.
Richard of St. Victor: 'The third grade of love is when the mind of man is
rapt into the abyss of the divine light, so that, utterly
oblivious of all exterior things, it knows not itself and passes wholly into its
God. In this state, while the mind is alienated from itself,
while it is rapt unto the secret closet of the divine privacy, while it is on
all sides encircled by the conflagration of divine love and is
intimately penetrated and set on fire through and through, it strips off self and puts on a certain divine condition, and being configured
to the beauty gazed upon, it passes into a new kind of glory: Dom Cuthbert Butler:
Western Mysticism (1922), p. 7. |