Basic Spiritual Primer 9 (From Mundaka Upanishad of Atharva Veda)

Introduction

Among the 108 Upanishads, the Mundaka Upanishad is regarded as one the

most important and it is also one among the thirteen principal Upanishads.

It throws a flood of light on the Jnana Marga (the path of Knowledge) and leads the

aspirant to the highest rung in the ladder of Jnana (Knowledge).

The truth that this Supreme Knowledge is to be had through inspirational

initiation direct from a realized teacher is brought out very clearly in this Upanishad.

At the onset itself, the Upanishad throws out a challenge to all finite (and therefore imperfect) sciences. Real Knowledge does not consist in the mastery

of mere verbiage, but in the immediate experience of the Self. Without this Self-

Knowledge, it is futile to try to know anything else! Knowledge of the Self

instantly means true knowledge of everything.

How is this Knowledge to be attained? While yet engaged in the performance of

his daily duties, the aspirant should carefully and minutely analyze the nature of the world, and grasp the transience of all objects. If everything is transient,

what, then, is Eternal and, therefore, worth aspiring for?

This question cannot be answered by the aspirants’ intellect, for the intellect itself is

a finite and frail instrument and one amongst the transient objects in this

evanescent world. But the emergence in the aspirants’ mind of such a query

is itself the signal that the heart-strands that bound him to Samsara (Objective World) have got loosened, and that with the sword of Jnana

(Knowledge) he can easily cut them asunder.

This sword is in the Guru’s (Realized Teacher) sheath and has to be

acquired by direct personal initiation. In the Guru’s holy presence, the

disciple’s intellect ceases to function. Divine Wisdom floods the heart of the aspirant and he realises that in essence he is that Knowledge Itself! That is the Supreme

Knowledge in which the distinction between knowledge, the knower and

the known vanishes.

The Upanishad gives graphic descriptions of the effects of desire-prompted

actions and shows how the wrong performance of these actions brings on evil

consequences and even the correct performance, while conferring temporary affluence and happiness, terminates in the reincarnation of the Jiva in even lower

births. Desire is condemned in unequivocal terms.

Practice of truth, penance, brahmacharya (celibacy) and the acquirement of correct knowledge are the means that bestow strength on the aspirant—

physical, mental, moral, intellectual and spiritual strength; and an aspirant

endowed with this strength alone can reach the Goal—not a weakling, says the Upanishad.

These are all preparatory practices. These are excellent aids for self-

purification. But these ‘actions’ cannot by themselves achieve That which is not the product of any action—the Supreme Brahman. Utter annihilation of

the ego is called for; and the Upanishad again and again stresses the Truth that the

Atman is all-pervading and is the Self of all. Failure to perceive this Truth alone results in egocentric personality. The Upanishad forbids one from talking of

anything other than this all-pervading Self.

Just reflect for a moment. If you really and sincerely recognize the

presence of the Atman in every being, no contemptuous expression would

escape from your lips, no falsehood will be uttered by you; your speech would be

sweet, truthful and loving. Universal love will reside in your heart; and cosmic love is synonymous with supreme self-sacrifice, or ego-lessness.

The Upanishad has given very apt and illuminating illustrations to make clear the subtle Truth propounded in it.

Mundaka Upanishad

Chapter 1, Section 1

Two Kinds of Knowledge – The Higher and the Lower

I-i-2: The Knowledge of Brahman that Brahma imparted to Atharva, Atharva transmitted to Angir in days of yore. He (Angir) passed it on to Satyavaha

of the line of Bharadvaja. He of the line of Bharadvaja handed down to

Angiras this knowledge that had been received in succession from the higher by the lower ones.

Lord Brahma taught the science of Brahman, which is the origin, the support, and the foundation of every other learning, every other

knowledge or science or art – to his eldest son Atharva, a great sage.

Atharva taught this Knowledge to another sage, called Angir. Angir gave this Knowledge to Bharadvaja, another great sage. Bharadvaja, also known as

Satyavaha, taught this once again to Angiras. This is the line of the descent of this

Knowledge.

This Knowledge includes everything that is here and also everything that is

not here. The highest Reality as it is in itself and also the reality manifest in the

form of creation. This Brahman Vidya is the Knowledge and study of this great Reality which appears as Para (Transcendental Knowledge) and Avara or

Apara (Material Knowledge), the high and the low at the same time.

I-i-3: Saunaka, well known as a great householder, having approached Angiras

duly, asked, ‘O adorable sir, (which is that thing) which having been known, all this becomes known?’

Saunaka, the great sage, stood up in the assembly and queried the great sage Angiras, who received this Supreme Knowledge through a descending line of

teaching commencing from Lord Brahma himself. Humbly, respectfully, in a

traditional manner, he approached Angiras, the great master who was in the audience. He put a question, ‘What is that, by knowing which, one can know

everything else also?’

Is it possible to know something which can lead to the knowledge of all

things at the same time? Generally, such a thing is not possible. If you know one

thing, you will know only that thing. It appears to be a supernatural question raised

by sage Saunaka. But it turned out to be a simple question for sage Angiras, leading to an answer which is the entire Upanishad.

I-i-4: To him he said, ‘"There are two kinds of knowledge to be acquired – the

higher and the lower"; this is what, as tradition runs, the knowers of the

import of the Vedas say.’

Sage Angiras replied, ‘Two kinds of knowledge are to be acquired – the

higher and the lower.’ We have to know what higher knowledge is, and we also have to know lower knowledge. This is what we hear from the great knowers of

Brahman.

Lower knowledge is important, though lower knowledge is not the same as higher

knowledge. The lower knowledge is not going to take us to Brahman, but it

is necessary as feet are necessary for us.

All knowledge is the graduated training of the mind in the process of

enlightenment. From the perceptible, visible, gross, tangible and acceptable

reality, we gradually move the mind to that which is not easily acceptable and cannot be understood as quickly as we can understand that which is seen with the

eyes directly. So, we are first told what lower knowledge is.

I-i-5: Of these, the lower comprises the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda,

Atharva-Veda, and the science of pronunciation etc., the code of rituals,

grammar, etymology, meter and astrology. Then there is the higher (knowledge) by which is attained that Imperishable.

It gives a blow to the very root of our imagination that the Vedas are the

highest knowledge. The Rig-Veda Samhitas, and everything connected to the

Rig-Veda – the Brahmanas, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, Atharva-Veda and all the

auxiliary sciences (shastras) – are all lower knowledge only.

There are four Vedas. The Rig-Veda consists of hymns, prayers, mantras. The

Yajur-Veda consists of certain invocations necessary for the performance of

sacrifice. The Sama-Veda is Rig verses set in music. The Atharva-Veda contains such material as may be regarded as a sequel or an appendix to the tri, or

the threefold Vedas – Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda and Sama-Veda.

These four Vedas are not easy to understand. Their language is difficult, their

grammar is very hard, and the implications of what they say are so deep that

without proper introductory learning, one cannot know what the Vedas speak at all. This introductory training consists of what is called the Vedanga, a six fold

education.

The anga or the limb of the Veda is six fold, and we cannot approach the Veda unless we are proficient in these six accessories called the Vedanga.

This six fold education or the six auxiliary shastras or sciences are:

1) Siksha is the science of phonetics, the art of intonation and modulation

of the voice in the recitation of a Veda mantra. It has a way of

pronunciation, an articulation, a modulation, and a raising of the voice or a bringing down of the voice, or keeping the voice in a harmonious manner

without raising it or bringing it down. These are called the sciences of giving a

special meaning to the mantra.

Veda mantras are composed in such a way that different intonations

give them different suggestions. A special kind of technique has been

adopted by the science of Siksha, which instructs us in the art of the correct intonation and pronunciation of a Veda mantra.

2) Kalpa means the performance of a ritual connected with a specific injunction of the Veda, especially of the Brahmanas. The Kalpa Sutras or

the codes of rituals are of four types: Shrauta Sutras, Grhya Sutras, Dharma

Sutras and Sulba Sutras.

The Shrauta Sutra is a text which describes the manner of the performance

of sacrifices according to Vedic injunctions. The Grhya Sutras is connected

with sacrifices and performances to be undertaken in one’s own house. The Dharma Sutra is that Kalpa which gives us the rules and regulations of social

and ethical life. The Sulba Sutras are appendices to the Vedas which give

rules for constructing altars. This is Vedic mathematics.

3) Vyakarana is grammar. There are two types of grammar – classical

grammar and Vedic grammar. Vedic grammar is studied only in advance

stages. Students of Sanskrit usually study only classical works and the well-known Vyakarana. Unless we know the technology of the method by

which words have been used in the Veda mantras, we will not make

any sense out of them, and so Vyakarana, the study of grammar, is

necessary.

4) Nirukta is the etymology of the word, how the word has been formed.

As every word in a language has a root from which it is derived, Vedic words

also have a root from where they arise.

5) Chhanda is the science of poetic meter, in the Vedas there are eleven

Chhandas such as Gayatri, Usnik, Anustup, Brihati, Pankti, Jagati, Atichhanda, Atyasthi, Atijagati, and Ativirath and other metered hymns. Every verse,

every mantra of the Rig-Veda Samhita particularly, varies in its meter.

It is long or short; it is Gayatri Chhandas (24 syllables) or Tristubh (44

syllables), and so on, and accordingly the intonation also changes. So, meter

is the Chhandas.

6) Jyotisha is the astronomical science which tells us at what particular time

of the conjunction of the stars or the planets we have to undertake a particular

ritual or a sacrifice.

We cannot go to the Veda directly and understand anything out of it unless

we are proficient in these six auxiliary shastras or sciences.

All these together with the original Vedas – Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and

Atharva-Veda – should be considered as ways of lower knowledge. Therefore,

mere reading, learning, and or recitation of Scriptures and the auxiliary sciences are lower knowledge and will not lead us to Supreme Knowledge

of Brahman.

They purify our mind, and enlighten us into the mysteries of the whole of

creation. They will purify our mind because of the power that is embedded in the

mantras, the blessing that we receive from the sages who composed the mantra, and also the special power that is generated by the meter.

All these put together create a religious atmosphere in the person who

takes to the study of the Vedas or any other Scripture. It is great and grand, worth studying. It will inculcate in us the values that are not merely physical but

super physical.

Yet, it is not enough. What is that greater knowledge, the higher

knowledge with which alone can we reach the imperishable Reality.

Learning is different from wisdom; scholarship is not the same as insight. One may

be a learned Vedic scholar and very proficient in the performance of sacrifices and the invocation of gods in the heavens, but eternity is different from temporality.

All these glories of the Vedas are in the region of time, and the eternal is timeless. What is that timeless thing, that which is called Imperishable?

Scriptures give description of Reality but that Reality is not in them.

I-i-6: (By the higher knowledge) the wise realize everywhere that which cannot

be perceived and grasped, which is without source, features, eyes, and ears, which has neither hands nor feet, which is eternal, multi-formed, all-

pervasive, extremely subtle, and un-diminishing and which is the source of

all.

That great Reality is to be encountered in direct experience; that Reality

which is not capable of perception through the eyes; that which cannot be grasped with a hand; that which has no origin; that which has no shape or form; which has

no sense organs like us; no limbs such as feet, hands etc; permanent, eternal, all-

pervading, subtler than the subtlest; imperishable; the origin of all beings; and only the wise who are on the path of the spirit will behold that great

Reality within their own selves.

I-i-7: As a spider spreads out and withdraws (its thread), as on the earth grow

the herbs (and trees), and as from a living man issues out hair (on the

head and body), so out of the Imperishable does the Universe emerge here (in this phenomenal creation).

This Reality is now further explained through three wonderful illustrations.

The first analogy is that of the spider weaving its web to illustrate that from this

Eternal Being, this world, this universe, has emanated. The second analogy of the

herbs and trees growing on earth illustrates that God is also the support of His creation. And the third analogy of hair growing on head and body illustrates that

inanimate things issue from animate and God is the creator of both inanimate and

animate life.

We have seen a spider spitting threads from its own body. From its saliva, as

it were, threads come out, and it weaves a web around itself. Or we have seen trees spontaneously growing from under the earth, or we have seen hair growing

on the head. In some such way is the manner of the creation of this world.

These analogies have some significance of their own. The spider does not create the web from external material. The instrumental cause is the same as the

material cause in the case of the spider weaving a web.

In the case of the potter making a pot, the instrumental cause is not the

same as the material cause; and so is the case with the carpenter making

the furniture. That is to say, the potter does not make the pot out of a substance

coming from his body, and so is the case with the carpenter.

But in the case of the spider, the creation of the web materially emanates

from the very body of the spider, and so here the material cause is identical with the instrumental cause; they are not two different things. God does not

create the world as a carpenter or a potter does; the substance of God is

verily present in the creation. That illustration is brought out by this analogy of

a spider creating a web.

Trees grow from the earth; they draw sustenance from the earth. The

original support of all the trees is the substance of the earth. This analogy tells

us that the world is sustained by God, and all the values of the world come from God only, and He is the soul of all that He creates.

There is also the analogy of hair growing. When we behold rocks, stones, inanimate matter existing in this world, we sometimes have difficulty connecting

inanimate things with animate consciousness. How can animate, conscious God

create inanimate stuff?

This analogy brings out the possibility of inanimate things coming from

animate consciousness, as hair grows from animate skin and becomes inanimate

so that we can shave it off, or dead nails projecting themselves forth from animate roots, and the like. From consciousness, apparently unconscious things can

also emanate.

These difficulties are solved by analogies of this kind – namely, a spider’s

web, the trees growing from the earth, and the hair growing from the

body. Like that, we have to understand that eternity produces temporality. So, out of the Imperishable, this perishable Universe has emerged.

I-i-8: Through knowledge Brahman increases in size. From that is born food (the Unmanifested). From food evolves Prana (Hiranyagarbha); (thence the

cosmic) mind; (thence) the five elements; (thence) the worlds; (thence)

the immortality that is in karmas.

In one verse the whole of creation is described. Brahman, the Supreme Absolute, distends, swells – becomes large, as it were – by tapas. Tapa means concentration.

Brahman’s concentration is the will to create. It becomes extended in the

form of the contemplated shape of creation, as it were.

When we think something, the mind takes the form of that thing which we

think. Now the Supreme Absolute thinks, wills, concentrates itself upon the shape

which creation has to take, and that is the swelling or the extending or the becoming large of Brahman in tapas. The swelling or the extension of being in

tapas also means the increase in the potentiality of the one that

concentrates. In the case of Brahman, it would mean the contemplation of the

form of the world which has to be created in the future. In the case of people like us, tapas would mean the intensity of heat generated inside by the

concentration of the mind and the prana.

When Brahman concentrates itself in tapas, anna is created. From the point

of view of ordinary linguistic exposition, anna means food, anything that is eaten.

But in the Upanishads, anna does not mean just what we eat. It is something

more than that. The material content of consciousness is called anna. The content of the consciousness which takes the shape of the content in the act of

concentration creates an anna for it. The object of thought is the food of

thought. Anything that we think is the diet of the psychic process.

The implementation of the ideation of the Absolute is the food, the content,

the shape or the form of this tapa. Anna is produced in this manner. Cosmic

potentiality is created by the concentrating act of Brahman as tapas. When this potential in the form of a concrete substantiality of will wields itself, it immediately

vibrates into the form of the future shape in a more distinct form, with creation as

space.

Then there is prana, the vibration. Here the word ‘prana’ indicates the cosmic

prana, or Hiranyagarbha Tattva. Hiranyagarbha is prana, the cosmic vibration

of the energy of Brahman through the manifested stuff called anna or potentiality.

Then there is a further diversification of this concentrated universal prana in the form of thinking. We may compare this manas, or thinking, of Brahman to

Virat Svarupa (Cosmic Form), which has emanated from the outline of the creative

process available in Hiranyagarbha. In the cosmic mind, which is Virat, everything is clear.

Satya is the law and order of the universe that come together with the

manifestation of these gods, Hiranyagarbha and Virat. The law and order of the universe are also created simultaneously. The unified integration of the cosmic

prana, Hiranyagarbha or Virat, is the principle behind the law and order that has to

operate in the manifested universe.

Then the world is created – lokas – the fourteen worlds, which are made

up of the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether. Then action proceeds there. That is to say, individuals emerge from this cosmic manifestation of

the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether; and then the fruit of actions.

To sum it up, there are eight steps or degrees in the process of creation:

1. First there is the Supreme Absolute.

2. Then there is anna, or the potential for the future manifestation in the form of tapas.

3. Then there is Hiranyagarbha, the vibratory cosmic prana, as the potential

energy of Brahman through the manifested stuff anna.

4. Then there is thinking, which is the cosmic thought identifiable with Virat. 5. Then there is law and order.

6. Then there is the manifestation of the fourteen worlds.

7. Then there is individuality, the individuals or jivas, who are propelled towards action and karma.

8. And finally there is fruit of action.

I-i-9: From Him, who is omniscient in general and all-knowing in detail and whose

austerity is constituted by knowledge, evolve this (derivative) Brahman, name, colour and food.

God knows everything in general and also in particular. He has direct knowledge of even the minutest details of even an atom. A great cosmic order is in

His mind. This is the generality of the knowledge of God. But the particularity is

every little detail, even to counting the number of hairs of a person or the breaths that he breathes. That also is known to Him.

Can we imagine what kind of knowledge God must have? How many creatures are there in this creation: gods, human beings, demons, subhuman

creatures, insects, and what not? How many leaves on the tree? He will count

them. Unimaginable power of comprehension! So, God knows everything in

general as well as in particular.

His wisdom, His knowledge, His consciousness, His intention, His purpose,

His awareness – that is tapas. The greatest tapa is the concentration of knowledge, and every other tapa is secondary.

From this great being, Brahman, Absolute, emanates the secondary Brahman known as prakriti. This derivative Brahman does not mean Supreme

Brahman but prakriti, the matrix of things. Then name and form manifest

themselves. The inward characteristic of an object is called nama and its

outward characteristic is called rupa.

The indication, the determining factor of a particular shape that an

individual has to take is called linga sharira in our case, and the subtle body is called the sukshma sharira. Here, nama does not simply mean a name

of a person; it is the indicative linga, or the specific character, of the would-be

individual in the form of a body. Rupa is the actual physical form.

Thus, the subtle and the physical shapes emanate as nama and rupa from

this derivative Brahman, Mula Prakriti. The field of action is created. Here food

or anna means the actual matter, which is the field of particular individual action for the jivas to reap their fruits according to their deeds. These nine verses

constitute one section of the Upanishad.

Chapter 1, Section 2

Fruits of Action – Lower Knowledge

The object of the lower Vidya is connected with the doer, the instrument of

doing, the action, and the result thereof. The path of the lower Vidya is one of Samsara (Objective World), whose beginning and end cannot be known. It is of the

form of pain and, therefore, it has to be rejected by all intelligent beings.

The experience of Samsara is continuous like the flow of waters in a river.

The cessation of this flow is called emancipation which is the object of the higher Knowledge, which is beginning-less and endless, decay-less, deathless, immortal,

fearless, pure and calm, of the nature of establishment in the Self, non-dual and

Supreme Bliss. The experience of Samsara is not a constant or steady

experience but a constant movement or a free flow of mental experiences. It is not existence, but change.

Change is another name for Samsara. This change is the involuntary urge caused by the sense of imperfection and desire for perfection. It is this great

discontent present in life that never allows anything to be what it is for more than a

moment. Everything has to transform itself, for nothing is perfect. Whatever is in space or in time comes under the law of causation and,

therefore, is bound to be imperfect.

This section of the Upanishad has thirteen verses and deals with the nature of lower Vidya and its criticism is intended to make one conscious of the

imperfect state and then go beyond it.

I-ii-8: Remaining within the fold of ignorance and thinking, ‘We are ourselves

wise and learned’, the fools, while being buffeted very much, ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.

I-ii-9: Continuing diversely in the midst of ignorance, the unenlightened take

airs by thinking, ‘We have attained the goal.’ Since the men, engaged in karma, do not understand (the truth) under the influence of attachment,

thereby they become afflicted with sorrow and are deprived of heaven on

the exhaustion of the results of karma.

I-ii-10: The deluded fools, believing the rites inculcated by the Vedas and the

Smritis to be the highest, do not understand the other thing (that leads to) liberation. They, having enjoyed (the fruits of actions) in the abode of

pleasure on the heights of heaven, enter this world or an inferior one.

I-ii-11: Those who live in the forest, while begging for alms – viz. those (forest-dwellers and hermits) who resort to the duties of their respective stages

of life as well as to meditation – and the learned (householders) who have

their senses under control – (they) after becoming freed from dirt, go by the path of the sun to where lives that Purusha, immortal and un-

decaying by nature.

I-ii-12: A Brahmana should resort to renunciation after examining the worlds acquired through karma, with the help of this maxim: ‘There is nothing

(here) that is not the result of karma; so what is the need of (performing)

karma?’ For knowing that Reality he should go, with sacrificial faggots in hand, only to a teacher versed in the Vedas and

absorbed in Brahman.

I-ii-13: To him who has approached duly, whose heart is calm and whose outer organs are under control, that man of enlightenment should

adequately impart that knowledge of Brahman by which one

realizes the true and imperishable Purusha.

The seeker of Truth, who has been blessed to understand the transient

nature of this Samsara and reflects upon the inner contemplative message of the Vedas or other Scriptures, should immediately seek a fully realized teacher in

order to realize the true and imperishable Brahman.

Chapter 2, Section 1

Higher Knowledge

In this Section of the Upanishad, all experiences are traced back to their

ultimate cause from which they proceed, in which they subsist and into which they return. The knowledge of this ultimate Cause means the knowledge of

everything that exists. This ultimate Cause is the object of higher Knowledge, Para

Vidya or Brahman Vidya, which is the subject matter of the following Mantras or Verses.

II-i-1: That thing that is such is true. As from a fire fully ablaze, fly off sparks in their thousands that are akin to the fire, similarly O good-looking one,

from the Imperishable originate different kinds of creatures and into It

again they merge.

As from a large conflagration of fire thousands of sparks emanate in all directions, in a similar manner, varieties of individualities – species of beings and

things – emerge from this imperishable Reality and return to it, as sparks of fire

that rise from the conflagration shoot up and then go back to their source,

which is the fire itself. Thus is the world coming from its cause, which is the imperishable Brahman. It comes, it is sustained, and it returns.

The illustration of the fire and sparks is to indicate that there is some quality in us which will enable us to reach God. If the effect is totally

disconnected from the cause – if there is nothing in the effect which can be called

similar to the essence of the cause – there will be no relationship between them.

This is to indicate that in spite of our separation from God, our fall from Brahman, as it were, we are still endowed with that potential for returning to

Brahman because the seat of Brahman is planted in our own heart. This

illustration makes out that basically we are verily that which we are seeking. If we are entirely dissociated from that, there will be no possibility of our

returning to it. The Atman is Brahman basically.

II-i-2: The Purusha is transcendental, since He is formless. And since He is

coextensive with all that is external and internal and since He is birth-less, therefore He is without vital force and without mind; He is pure and

superior to the (other) superior imperishable (Maya).

II-i-3: From Him originates the vital force as well as the mind, all the senses, space, air, fire, water, and earth that supports everything.

II-i-4: The indwelling Self of all is surely He of whom the heaven is the head, the moon and sun are the two eyes, the directions are the two ears, the

revealed Vedas are the speech, air is the vital force, the whole Universe is

the heart, and (It is He) from whose two feet emerged the earth.

II-i-5: From Him emerges the fire (i.e. heaven) of which the fuel is the sun.

From the moon emerges cloud, and (from cloud) the herbs and corns on

the earth. A man sheds the semen into a woman. From the Purusha have originated many creatures.

II-i-6: From Him (emerge) the Rik, Sama and Yajur mantras, initiation, all the sacrifices – whether with or without the sacrificial stake – offerings to

Brahmanas, the year, the sacrificer, and the worlds where the moon

sacrifices (all) and where the sun (shines).

From this Being, everything proceeds. Our past, our present, as well as our

future are all in the hands of God. The condition into which we are born into this world, the community in which we find ourselves, the length of life for which

we will be living in this world, the experiences which we will pass through are

all written down while we are still in our mother’s womb.

II-i-7: And from Him duly emerged the gods in various groups, human beings, beasts, birds, life, rice and barley, as well as austerity, faith, truth,

continence and dutifulness.

II-i-8: From Him emerge the seven sense-organs, the seven flames, the seven kinds of fuel, the seven oblations, and these seven seats where move the

sense-organs that sleep in the cavity, (and) have been deposited (by

God) in groups of seven.

There are five sense organs (ears, eyes, nose, tongue, and skin) and five

motor organs (speech, manipulation by hands, locomotion by legs, sex by genital organs, and excretion by rectal organ). Of these, the two sense organs (eyes

with eighty-three percent input and ears with fourteen percent input) are the most

active and provide fuel for the five motor organs. Seven cavities are on the face itself comprising two each of ears, eyes, and nose respectively and one of

mouth.

These senses and their powers of cognition and the capacity involved in

them to perform their function and the particular objects to which they are directed, as also the knowledge that such objects are the requisites for the function

of a specific sense organ, and the physical locations of these senses are all steps

of a Yajna or sacrifice that take place in the creative process of expansion

from the One to the one-thousand shining lights at the astral level and subsequently their permutation and combination that supports the variety in the

lower physical and sub-astral worlds.

Seven functions of the sense organs mentioned, and the flaming anguish of these

senses to grab that particular food or object are known as seven flames. Our

desires are like flames. They rush forth like burning heat in the direction of their objects. And the objects themselves are called samit (an offering), which is

offered into the sacrifice. The sacrifice (homa) is the consumption of the object.

Homa is a ritual in which making offerings into a consecrated fire is the primary

action.

Sacrifice is to give up the lower for the higher. But in the expansive

creative process it is the reverse. In order to create the Objective World, God hid Himself at every creative step but it is His power working at the back of

everything that He created but His creation does not know Him.

In the external sacrifice, we require a solid base or field on which we place a

container in which the fire is burned and some material is poured in the fire with

the chanting of mantras to fulfill our objective. The similar sacrificial process

takes place in our body.

For example our body is the field and the two cavities of the eyes are the

container into which the images of the Objective World are continuously poured and our desires to possess the objects of our liking are the flames and in this

sacrifice the intention or the will to possess the desired object (lower) is the

firming up of the desire or mantra and the objective is achieved at the cost of creative power as consciousness (higher) working in us. In the external sacrifice

we give up the higher for the lower and that is the reason we are unable to

know our Creator.

But in order to know our Creator, we shall have to perform an internal

sacrifice, in which the eyes are closed to the external Objective World and they are

directed inward towards its presiding deity Sun and our faith firms up the desire to know the deity and the appearance of Light within signifies the completion of the

sacrifice. We give up the lower for the higher. We do not stop at the Sun and

aspire to go higher to know the cause behind Sun and then ultimately to

the Absolute Cause, Brahman.

Similar internal sacrifice has to be performed simultaneously at the

cavities of ears so as to withdraw our consciousness from the external captivating sounds and direct our ears inward to hear the Creative Word of God. The command

Be It is the Creative Word of God and through It came Light. This Creative Word

is the support of the entire creation and it is reverberating in all inanimate

and animate life.

The next in line is the cavity of mouth which has to be closed to all good or

bad spoken words and directed inward to invoke the deity of Agni (Fire) from

which it derives its power to speak. Agni is the deity presiding at the navel center which is also the support for the two lower physical and sub-astral worlds. When

Agni is invoked, it increases our will power to restrain the senses and also helps us

to maintain the hold on the applied restraint.

The cavity of mouth performs another function that of intake of food. The

pure and sattvic food should be taken with a prayer of thanks to God. All outward thoughts should be driven away by repeating the Name of the Lord while taking

food so that the effect is credited to the deities within. If we fail to thank the

Lord and consume our food with the thoughts of the Objective World, the

effect will be credited to the demons and our natural orientation for outward expansion will gain more strength.

The preparation for the internal sacrifice will be complete once we provide a solid base to the body in the form of asana; the cross-legged posture so that

locomotion is kept in check. We sacrifice locomotion (lower) which is possible at the

cost of Fire element to know the higher cause working behind the Fire element.

Life is a prayer. The sense organs, in their greed for their objects, are

actually craving for relief from the agony or the involvement in this grizzly

action of their longings for things. There is a deity operating inside the ear as a point of consciousness at the back of the nervous system and the eardrum and that

is the cause of the sounds that we hear. So is the case with all other sense organs.

If we ignore the presence of these conscious points called divinities, we

would be paying disrespect to them, and the Agnihotra - internal sacrifice

would not then be performed.

II-i-9: From Him emerge all the oceans and all the mountains. From Him, flow

out the rivers of various forms. And from Him issue all the corns as well as the juice, by virtue of which the internal self verily exists in the midst

of the elements.

Even the oceans are created by Him. The mountains, oceans and rivers cannot

be there but for the will of That. The rivers flow in a particular direction only, and

not in another direction. The sun rises only in one direction, and not elsewhere. The stars scintillate and maintain their positions not in any other manner,

all because of the operation of the law of Brahman.

All the trees and plants grow only because of the will of That. There cannot

be a breeze moving, wafting through the leaves of trees in the thick of the forest

without the operation of His law. Do you believe that such a thing is possible,

that even an atom cannot vibrate and act in the manner it does unless the central will is there operating at the nucleus of that atom?

II-i-10: The Purusha alone is all this – (comprising) karma and knowledge. He who knows this supreme, immortal Brahman, existing in the heart,

destroys here the knot of ignorance, O good-looking one!

The whole universe is the Purusha alone. Actions and penances also are this

Immortal Supreme alone. One who knows this which is seated within the secret cave, breaks open the knot of ignorance?

Because all is the Purusha alone, it follows that differences are unreal.

Hence, modification is described as merely a play of speech consisting only in name and, therefore, false. What is true is the Purusha alone. Other than this Purusha,

there is nothing. This is the reply given by the preceptor to the disciple’s

question regarding that the knowledge of which means the knowledge of everything.

When the Purusha is known, all is known. In fact there is no such thing as all, except this one Purusha. The Knowledge of the Purusha, therefore, means the

absence of duality which is the same as the destruction of ignorance and

attainment of Immortality and Absoluteness.

However, this realization is possible only under the guidance of a living

realized teacher when we ourselves practice complete withdrawal of

consciousness from the Objective World while living yet in human body and when we actually see the creation from the other side of the mirror of the Inner

Mind at the forehead. Only then the knot of ignorance which has caused us to

believe that we are here as isolated individuals and the world is outside will be destroyed.

Chapter 2, Section 2

Realization of Supreme Being

Armed with the lower and higher knowledge in the preceding sections, the

disciple now moves on towards actual realization of the Supreme Being.

II-ii-1: (It is) effulgent, near at hand, and well known as moving in the heart,

and (It is) the great goal. On It are fixed all these that move, breathe,

and wink or do not wink. Know this One which comprises the gross and the subtle, which is beyond the ordinary knowledge of creatures, and

which is the most desirable and the highest of all.

II-ii-2: That which is bright and is subtler than the subtle, and that on which are

fixed all the worlds as well as the dwellers of the worlds, is this immutable Brahman; It is this vital force; It, again, is speech and mind.

This Entity, that is such, is true. It is immortal. It is to be penetrated, O

good-looking one, shoot (at It).

II-ii-3: Taking hold of the bow, the great weapon familiar in the Upanishads, one

should fix on it an arrow sharpened with meditation. Drawing the string,

O good-looking one, hit that very target that is the Imperishable, with the mind absorbed in Its thought.

II-ii-4: Om is the bow; the soul is the arrow; and Brahman is called its target. It is to be hit by an unerring man. One should become one with It just like

an arrow.

Constant meditation on Om allows the individual consciousness to take the

form of Om itself which is unlimited in its nature. The meditator becomes

ultimately the object of meditation itself. Om is the symbol of Brahman and, therefore, meditation on Om leads to the realisation of Brahman. When one

meditates on Om, the mind gets purified. It is freed from its distractive

nature and, consequently, it rests in the tranquil condition of the Absolute Om.

But this mantra of Om should be given as the spoken word by a living

realized teacher to the disciple for it to be effective. Mere recitation of Om without a living teacher who has realized Brahman within will not produce any

result. This is also the message in ‘The Law of Liberation – Garuda Purana –

Chapter 16.’

Meditation should be practised not with heedlessness and non-discrimination, but

with the power consequent upon complete renunciation of all objects and states, giving rise to absolute passionless-ness thorough concentration of mind.

One thing can become identical with another thing only when that one

thing partakes of the nature of the other thing.

Desires of all kinds, potential or manifested, are detrimental to the consciousness

of oneness and, hence, the realisation of Oneness, or Brahman, follows the practice

of absolute desire-less-ness. All the factors that go to make up one’s individual existence have to be cast off through meditation on the

universal Being, which transcends all planes of phenomenal existence.

II-ii-5: Know that Self alone that is one without a second, on which are strung

heaven, the earth and the inter-space, the mind and the vital forces

together with all the other organs; and give up all other talks. This is the bridge leading to immortality.

This Atman should be known not as any kind of object of knowledge, but as the

substance of one’s own Self as well as the Self of everybody else. As a subject can never become an object at any time, the Self cannot be known through

any means related to objective knowledge. But it is known in the form of Self-

awareness freed from the objective faculties pertaining to the five material sheaths.

This is achieved through a total abstraction of oneself, i.e., refusal to abide by the laws of relative thinking and understanding. This, again, is possible

only after sense-abstraction, which is signified by discipline and control of speech.

Speech is a means of relating oneself to external objects by means of

spending energy. This energy is initially spent out through thinking. Every

thought sends out energy to the object that is thought. In this process, the mind gets transformed. As this transformation is a change of the mind itself,

there is absence of equilibrium in the mind. This disturbed state of the mind

transmits its transformation to the senses, which connect themselves accordingly

with the forms of objects determined by this previous transformation.

The cessation of speech means the stoppage of connections with persons

external to oneself, though subtle connections are kept up by the mind, independent of the senses. Therefore, the gross and subtle relationships are

stopped respectively through cessation of sense-functions and of mental

modifications.

This practice is reinforced by continuous meditation on the nature of the

Atman. The Atman is figuratively described as the bridge to Immortality, meaning,

thereby, that its experience is Immortal.

II-ii-6: Within that (heart) in which are fixed the nerves like the spokes on the hub of a chariot wheel, moves this aforesaid Self by becoming multiform.

Meditate on the Self thus with the help of Om. May you be free from

hindrances in going to the other shore beyond darkness?

When a person appears to have a certain quality, it must be understood

that this quality is of the mind and not of the Atman. When it is said that a person is happy or sorry, pleased or displeased, it means that the mind of the

person has taken certain forms. As all forms are changes felt within, they

cannot belong to the nature of the Atman.

Every experience is a fluctuation of the mind, good, bad or otherwise, in

relation to the individual. Because of the intimate relationship that is between

the Atman and the mind, it appears as though the whole person changes when the mind changes itself. This is the reason why a person says, “I am happy”, “I am

sorry”, etc., though in essence these conditions do not belong to the person at all.

This Atman, which is distinct from the functions of the mind, should be

meditated upon through the symbol of Om. The meditators are those who have

withdrawn themselves from the impulse for desire and action through an intense

yearning for the attainment of Absolute Knowledge, so that obstacles may not impede the free progress of the disciple. The preceptor blesses them with

auspiciousness for the sake of reaching the other shore of darkness, i.e.,

the attainment of the light of the Self.

II-ii-7: That Self which is omniscient in general and all-knowing in detail and

which has such glory in this world – that Self, which is of this kind – is seated in the space within the luminous city of Brahman. It is conditioned

by the mind, It is the carrier of the vital forces and the body, It is seated

in food by placing the intellect (in the cavity of the heart). Through their knowledge, the discriminating people realize that Self as existing in Its

fullness everywhere – the Self that shines surpassingly as blissfulness

and immortality.

In thinking individuals, Brahman manifests as existence and consciousness, but in

inanimate beings only the aspect of existence is revealed. Bliss, however, is experienced in addition to the experience of existence and consciousness

only in the higher class of beings in whom the quality of Sattva is

predominant. In Tamas, Rajas and Sattva respectively, existence, consciousness and bliss are experienced in succession, the succeeding one including the preceding

natures of reality.

Therefore, all individuals belonging to all degrees of manifestation reflect in different degrees the reality of the Self. It is felt as existence by the

individual through the mind which defines one’s personality. Because it is the mind

that reflects the Atman, the presence of the Atman is felt only where the mind manifests itself. There is neither going nor coming nor establishment in

space with reference to the Atman, it is everywhere and it permeates the

entire space.

II-ii-8: When that Self, which is both the high and the low, is realized, the knot

of the heart is broken, all doubts are cleared, and all one’s actions become dissipated.

The knots of the heart are Avidya, Kama and Karma, or ignorance, desire

and action. Avidya is the cause, Kama is the medium and Karma is the

effect. These three binding factors confine experience to an individual personality.

Because ignorance is the cause of all troubles, Knowledge, which is the opposite of ignorance, is able to break open the fort of ignorance, desire and action.

Doubts which trouble the minds of the individuals are ultimately cleared when Brahman is realized. Doubt is a function of the mind, which is an effect of

nescience. When its cause is removed, it is itself removed. When the mind, the

cause of actions, is refined by the removal of ignorance, all actions perish.

Actions are threefold in nature: Sanchita, Prarabdha, and Agami:

• Sanchita Karma is the store of the effects or the impressions of all the actions performed by an individual in his countless previous births. All these effects of

actions have to be experienced by the individual in different bodies.

• A set of actions out of the Sanchita Karma, which can be experienced only

under some particular conditions, is allotted to a particular body for the sake of

experience in those conditions and this allotted portion is called Prarabdha, which forms the basis for current life.

• The Agami Karma consists of actions performed by the individual through a

particular body or the mind which will bear fruit in future.

II-ii-9: In the supreme, bright sheath is Brahman, free from taints and without parts. It is pure, and is the Light of lights. It is that which the knowers of

the Self realize.

The intellect is the seed of the highest empirical knowledge and, therefore,

it is nearest to the consciousness of Brahman. It is characterised by Sattva-

Guna and, therefore, its colour is said to be golden. Because of this Sattva present in it, the human being has consciousness in him, even in his individualized

condition.

But the intellect is also characterised by Rajas; and hence its

consciousness is always objective. Objectivity belongs to the Rajas in the

intellect, and the consciousness in it belongs to Brahman which is behind the intellect. However, the intellect is the pointer to the existence of Brahman.

Meditation is practised through the aid of the function of the intellect. Meditation

is made possible because of the consciousness or Sattva that is in it, and meditation is made necessary because of the Rajas (activity) that is in it

which dissipates energy and impedes real knowledge. The Atman is realised

through the intellect by transcending the intellect. Hence, Brahman is said to be manifest in the intellect.

This Atman is known by those who follow the course of the natural

essential consciousness within through the withdrawal of the senses and the mind. But, those who follow the course of the mind and the senses enter into

the world of sorrow. The mind and the senses constitute the world of darkness

which is illuminated by the light of the Atman.

The whole universe appears to have consciousness and light because the

universe which is truly the region of darkness reflects the consciousness and the light of Brahman. Even the greatest light of the universe and the

greatest consciousness manifest in it are only a borrowed reflection of Brahman.

Brahman is not known by them who are busy with the universe of darkness

in which roam the mind and the senses.

II-ii-10: There the sun does not shine, nor the moon or the stars; nor do these flashes of lightning shine there. How can this fire do so? Everything

shines according as He does so; by His light all this shines diversely.

II-ii-11: All this that is in front is but Brahman, the immortal. Brahman is at the

back, as also on the right and the left. It is extended above and below,

too. This world is nothing but Brahman, the highest.

In truth, that which appears as various names and forms is only Brahman,

which is without names and forms. All are in It but It is not in them in its completeness, as It is not fully manifest in any name or form. True Knowledge is

therefore division-less, without reference to the knower or the known or the

relation between the two. The Upanishads conclude that Brahman alone is the Absolute Reality.

Chapter 3, Section 1

Knower of Self

III-i-1: Two birds that are ever associated and have similar names cling to the

same tree. Of these, one eats the fruit of divergent tastes and the other

looks on without eating.

The two birds are the Jiva and Isvara, both existing in an individual

compared to a tree. They exist together as the reflection and the original. They both manifest themselves in different ways in every individual. Both the Jiva and

Isvara have a common substratum which is Brahman and which is the reality of

both.

Isvara is the inner teacher or the innate grace. Isvara is the untouched and

unblemished and most pure aspect of beginning-less undifferentiated universal

seed consciousness which is unaffected by obscuration (klesha), karmic residues or and the seed germs that result from ordinary actions based on the kleshas (lack

of vision, the egoist mindset, craving, antipathy, and attachment to solidity).

Jiva is the embodied soul, the immortal essence of a living organism

(human, animal, bird, fish or plant etc.) which survives physical death. At

the point of physical death the jiva takes a new physical body depending on

the karma and the individual desires and necessities of the particular jiva in question.

The body is compared to a tree because it can be cut down like a tree. This

tree is also called the Kshetra or the field of manifestation and action of the Kshetrajna or the knower of the field. The body is the field of action and

experience and it is the fruit of actions done already.

That which distinguishes the Jiva from Isvara is the mind only. In fact, the

mind itself constitutes the Jiva. It is the Jiva that is affected by Avidya (Ignorance),

Kama (Desire) and Karma (Action). Because of the conjunction of consciousness with these limiting factors, it has to experience the results

of its actions; but Isvara, who is not limited to any adjunct, has no actions

whatsoever to perform, and so, no experience of the results of actions.

The fruits enjoyed by the Jiva are of the nature of pleasure and pain, i.e.,

they are all relative experiences born of non-discrimination. The experience

of Isvara is eternal and is of the nature of purity, knowledge and freedom.

Relative experience is the effect of the presence of Rajas, but the character

of Isvara is Sattva and, hence, there is no phenomenal experience for Him. He is in fact the director of both the agent of actions and the results of actions.

Isvara’s activity consists in His mere existence. The value of His existence is

greater than that of the activity of the whole universe. It is His existence that

actuates the whole universe of manifestation.

III-i-2: On the same tree, the individual soul remains drowned (i.e. stuck), as it were; and so it moans, being worried by its impotence. When it sees

thus the other, the adored Lord, and His glory, then it becomes liberated

from sorrow.

The grief of the Jiva is the result of its inability to live in conformity with

the forms of the effects of unwise actions done in the past. Such thoughtless actions, no doubt, lead to their corresponding results and as they are not in tune

with the law of Truth, they torment the individual in the form of unpleasant

experiences. Without a relative experience the individual cannot live, and with every relative experience produced by ignorance, fresh misery is

added to the pre-existing lot.

Because of its confinement to the forms of its desires and actions, the Jiva feels itself to be impotent, confused and helpless. It is even made to feel that

a particular experience to which it is connected is alone real and that there is no

reality beyond it. Due to this, it is now and then connected with and separated from the objects of its desire. It is born and it dies, passing through several kinds

of wombs in accordance with the kinds of its actions.

The freedom of the individual consists in the vision of the Lord Supreme

who is co-existent with it, in fact inseparable from it as its very Self. The realisation of Isvara is the same as the raising of the individual consciousness to

the consciousness of Isvara. The Jiva ceases to exist the moment it realises

Isvara. The glory of the real essence of the individual is known only when the veil

covering it is removed. This is achieved in the realisation of God. The ultimate realisation is in the form of the identity of the Self with the Supreme Being.

Here, the whole universe is realised to be the same as the essence of the spiritual

infinite. This realisation puts an end to all kinds of imperfections and sorrows.

III-i-3: When the knowing individual has the vision of the intelligent creator, the Lord, the Purusha, the Brahman which is the source of all, then it shakes

off both merit and demerit, and having become taintless, attains to

supreme equality with the Lord.

Divine knowledge is free from the conception of good and bad, because

this knowledge is non-relative. It is an all-consuming wisdom in which relative natures or conceptions can have no value. Distinctions like virtue, vice, good,

bad, high, low, etc., are made only as long as the all-comprehensive

knowledge, which underlies all these distinctions, is not realised.

The effects of merit and demerit are burnt up by the fire of knowledge,

because these effects are only conceptual and not spiritual. They exist only

as long as the mind exists. When the mind is transcended, they too are transcended. The whole universe stands transfigured in the Absolute.

The Jiva becomes free from blemishes, attachments and sorrows, and gets unified with the Supreme Being. Equality with the Infinite is the same as identity

with the Infinite, which is of the nature of non-duality, limitless and

unsurpassable.

III-i-4: In all beings this one supreme life manifests itself. Knowing this, the

wise one does not speak of anything else. Having his sport in the Self, bliss in the Self, and action in the Self, he is the best among the

knowers of Brahman.

One, who realises this Supreme Being as one’s own Self, ceases from his

natural sense-functions and puts an end to all speech unconnected with

the Self. Rather, he does not speak at all. Speech is a manner of connecting one thing with another thing. In Self-realisation, the relationship of the subject

with the object is transcended and all things become the Self Itself.

Whenever there is a perception of duality, speech has got a value, but in

non-duality all such relationships lose their value. Instead of the experiences

of the external relationships, the knower has the experience of Self-identity. This

experience of the Self is described in the form of finding everything that is found externally, in one’s own Self Itself.

The statement regarding sporting in the Self or finding all bliss in the Self make it

clear that the highest form of happiness is realised without any contact with any object or any condition. Real bliss is not the effect of either mental or

physical contact, but is the result of the absence of all contacts. In short,

bliss consists in the resolution of the very sense of objectivity into the conscious subject.

The action of the knower consists in the knowledge of the Self. Self-delight itself is action for him. It is a simple mass of bliss that he experiences, unhampered

by any function alien to the nature of the Self. The action of the knower is of

the nature of renunciation, meditation and wisdom.

III-i-5: The bright and pure Self within the body, that the monks with (habitual

effort and) attenuated blemishes see, is attainable verily through truth, penance (tapa), correct knowledge, and continence – brahmacharya

(self-control), practised constantly.

Truth is adherence to fact, whether absolute or relative. It is proceeding

along the way of the unity of existence. Relatively, it takes the form of acting in

conformity with facts that are experienced through the process of individual knowledge. Absolutely, it is living in the light of the fact that Existence is absolute

and indivisible. Truth is the way of disintegrating the individual personality

through presentation of the good and not the pleasant.

Tapas, or penance, in its true sense, consist in the withdrawal of senses

and concentration of the mind. Austerity, or penance, is only a means to the end and not the end itself. By Tapas what is meant is not merely bodily

mortification, because bondage does not consist in the body but the mind that

animates the body. The cause of bondage is the mind alone and, therefore,

the discipline of the mind is Tapas.

Proper knowledge is equal vision, or perception of the one Atman in all.

This is a function deeper than that of speaking truth or practicing Tapas. It is a function of the spirit which realises itself in every form of existence.

Brahmacharya (celibacy) is the method of the abstraction of sense-energy

from the externals and the conservation of the same for the sake of steadying the mind and giving it the energy necessary for the practice of

concentration and meditation, though the popular meaning of Brahmacharya is

continence (restraint of the desires and passions, chastity). It really means leading a life befitting the nature of Brahman; or moving or conducting oneself

in accordance with the law of Brahman, which is the unity of existence.

Such control is not merely the abandonment of objects but is the absence

of the taste for objects. Bondage is not caused by the existence of objects but by the connection of the mind with those objects. In short, self-control is absence

of sense-experience, giving rise to mental equilibrium, light, consciousness

and joy.

These observances should be practised continuously without exceptions

until the realisation of the Self, because the stoppage of such practices may lead to

the assertion of individuality and impede the process of Self-realisation. The Upanishad has said that “the Atman is attained by those in whom there is

no crookedness, no falsehood and no play of tricks”.

This Atman is realised within oneself and not outside oneself. This Atman is

realised in one’s own heart, in the form of splendid effulgence, perfectly pure and

limitless in its nature, only by those who are free from attachments and sins,

desires and all kinds of greed.

III-i-6: Truth alone wins, and not untruth. By truth is laid the path called Devayana, by which the desire-less seers ascend to where exist the

supreme treasure attainable through truth.

The sages got a vision of this Truth because they were absolutely free from

such defects as deceit, delusion, fraud, pride, vanity and falsehood. They

found the consummation of their desires and aspirations in this Absolute Truth. They became first desire-less and then sought the Truth. Desire breeds

falsehood, and desire-lessness gives rise to Truth. Truth enables one to attain the

Supreme Treasure which is the Absolute Truth.

III-i-7: It is great and self-effulgent; and Its form is unthinkable. It is subtler than the subtle. It shines diversely. It is farther away than the far-off,

and It is near at hand in this body. Among sentient beings It is

(perceived as) seated in this very body, in the cavity of the heart.

III-i-8: It is not comprehended through the eye, or through speech, or through

the other senses; nor is It attained through austerity or karma. He, who

meditates upon it with absolute purity (Sattva) of mind, as the part-less Being, beholds it through the serenity attained in knowledge.

The serenity of knowledge is that state where nothing is experienced other than simple awareness.

In ordinary human beings, this knowledge is not manifest, since he is not connected with the tranquility of mind and also since he is polluted by the defects

of love and hatred for external things.

As a mirror covered over by dust is not able to reflect an object,

knowledge, though it is present within, is not experienced, as the mind is disturbed by objectivity. When the dirt of the mind consisting of infatuation with

the sense-objects is removed and the mind is rendered calm, pure and peaceful,

then one is said to have attained the serenity of knowledge in which condition alone

one becomes fit for the experience of Brahman.

III-i-9: This subtle Atman should be known with the purified mind into which the Prana with its fivefold aspect has entered. The mind is pervaded

completely by the functions of the Pranas together with the powers of

the senses. In this purified mind this Atman is revealed.

III-i-10: The man of pure mind wins those worlds which he mentally wishes for

and those enjoyable things which he covets. Therefore one, desirous of

prosperity, should adore the knower of the Self.

Because of the omniscience and omnipotence of the knower of Self, whoever worships him becomes prosperous. The resolve (sankalpa) of the

Knower is rooted in Satya or Truth, and his influence upon those who adore and

worship him, is great. Wherever this Knower of the Self moves, there he exercises his influence automatically. Whoever comes in contact with him

gets completely transformed.

Chapter 3, Section 2

Reasserting the Importance of a Living and Fully Realized Teacher

III-ii-1: Him who knows this Supreme Abode of Brahman in which the whole

universe is situated and which is brilliantly shining, those heroes who adore and worship, without any desire in their minds, transcend this

seed of birth.

III-ii-2: He who contemplates on objects of desire, having a desire for them, is born here and there due to those desires; but for him whose desires are

all fulfilled, whose Self is perfectly contented due to the sense of

perfection, all desires dissolve themselves here itself.

An individual is born in that condition of mental experience in which it will

be possible for him to fulfill the desires cherished previously. Desires goad an individual towards virtue and vice, and the performance of actions which lead to

birth and death. Birth and death cannot be negated until all desires are

fulfilled or destroyed. In fact, there is no such thing as complete fulfillment of phenomenal desires as long as one exists as a phenomenal being having desires for

objects of phenomena.

Desires are never fulfilled through acquisition of objects, but they find

their fulfillment, which is the same as their destruction, in the source of Consciousness itself, in the knowledge of which they vanish altogether.

All the different individuals have their cloaks made up of their own varying

desires through which alone they have objective experience which is called birth, life and death. Such experiences cease when these cloaks are cast off and

the Absolute Self is realised under the guidance of a teacher who has realised that

Brahman within.

III-ii-3: This Self (Atman) is not to be attained through discourses, through intellect, or through much of hearing. That which one seeks, by that

alone it is attained. To such a one this Self reveals its true nature.

The Self cannot be realised through an external process of speaking, thinking or

hearing. Whom one wishes to attain, i.e., the Self or the Atman, by him alone is It

attained. The realisation of the Self is actually attained not by the mind, but by consciousness which belongs to the Self and which in fact is the Self

Itself. Our consciousness is diffused, scattered in the Objective World. It has to be

withdrawn from there and concentrated within as advised by the realized teacher.

III-ii-4: This Self (Atman) cannot be attained by one who is devoid of strength,

not through heedlessness, not even through penance which is devoid of its proper insignia. That wise one who strives hard with these methods,

his self enters into the state of Brahman (or the Absolute).

Strength here stands for mental and moral power, or inner toughness, without

which concentration is impossible. One should not expect to know the Self through such heedless practices as attachments to worldly objects and relations, nor

through works done for the sake of personal gain. Even austerity practised

improperly as a sort of mortification without its insignia, viz., inner renunciation,

will not help in the realisation of the Self.

But a wise one who strives hard with strength, carefulness and knowledge

connected with inner renunciation, one who aspires to attain the Supreme Being becomes a Knower of the Self, and his Self enters into the essence of the

Absolute.

III-ii-5: Having attained this, the seers become contented with their knowledge,

established in the Self, freed from attachment, and composed. Having

realized the all-pervasive One everywhere, these discriminating people, ever merged in contemplation, enter into the All.

III-ii-6: Those, to whom the entity presented by the Vedanta knowledge has

become fully ascertained, who are assiduous and have become pure in mind through the Yoga of monasticism – all of them, at the supreme

moment of final departure, become identified with the supreme

Immortality in the worlds that are Brahman, and they become freed on

every side.

III-ii-7: To their sources repair the fifteen constituents (of the body) and to their

respective gods go all the gods (of the senses). Actions, the self consisting of intelligence—all these become unified in the Supreme

Imperishable.

III-ii-8: As rivers flowing into the ocean lose themselves in the ocean, casting off

name and form, so the knower, freed from name and form, attains the

Divine Purusha who is higher than the high.

III-ii-9: Anyone who knows that Supreme Brahman becomes Brahman indeed.

In his line is not born anyone who does not know Brahman. He

overcomes grief, and rises above aberrations; and becoming freed from the knots of the heart, he attains immortality.

III-ii-10: Those who have performed their duties well, who are learned in scriptures, who intensely aspire for Brahman, who faithfully worship the

sacred fire called Ekarshi, who have undergone the vow of the head, to

them alone this Brahma-Vidya should be told.

To them alone should one expound this knowledge of Brahman who are

engaged in the practice of purificatory disciplines, versed in the Vedas, and devoted to Brahman, who personally sacrifice to the fire called Ekarshi with faith,

and by whom has been duly accomplished the vow of holding fire on the head.

In the Atharva Veda there is a form of sacred fire called “Ekarshi,” but in

this verse the reference is to “the sole fire”–the “fire” that is Brahman. And

the vow of holding or carrying the holy fire in the head means one who has

established the Divine Fire of Brahman-realization within himself, who ever carries Brahman in his “head”–his consciousness.

III-ii-11: This highest truth was declared in ancient days by the Rishi Angiras. This Vidya should not be studied by one who has not followed the

prescribed rules. Prostration to the great Rishis! Prostration to the great

Rishis!

Om Peace, Peace, Peace.