Tag Archives: karma

Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 14 (prashna 1)

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[Part – 13 (kaTha 4)]

PRASHNA UPANISHAD

The kaTha Upanishad teaches that only a properly refined and purified mind can serve as the instrument for liberation. The body, the life-principle (prANa), and even the sensory and motor organs are not adequate for this purpose. From this, we may also infer that no action (karma) can directly lead to liberation, since action necessarily involves the organs of activity. Therefore, the path of action, by itself, cannot culminate in liberation.

Though closely associated with the body, the mind is not intrinsically bound to it. It can function either in association with the body or independently of it. When there is conceptualization (savikalpa), the mind appears linked to the body. In a state of non-conceptualization (nirvikalpa), it aligns with brahman and is no longer confined by bodily association. The dream state illustrates this: the mind operates apart from the gross body and even disengages from the external world. In deep sleep, both the world and bodily identification are absent, yet the mind persists in an unmanifest form. Ultimately, in liberation, the mind itself is resolved completely.

At this stage, we must ask: what exactly is the goal to be achieved through disciplining the mind? Can Self-knowledge be regarded as a goal?  Continue reading →

Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 13 (kaTha 4)

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[Part – 12 (kaTha 3)]

Ignorance is nothing more than the perception of multiplicity — focusing on the “particulars” while overlooking the Universal. While our sensory perception is inherently inert, it is the inner Self that provides the illumination required to experience any object. As the kaTha Upanishad declares:

न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।

तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥           –  2.2.15, kaTha.

[Meaning: There the sun does not shine, neither do the moon and the stars; nor do these flashes of lightning shine. How can this fire? He shining, all these shine; through his lustre all these are variously illumined. (Trans: Swami Gambhirananda).]

Because Consciousness is beginningless, the Upanishad reveals that there is, in truth, no death—only the body perishes. While all forms eventually cease, the Formless remains. High-level seekers, like Prahlada or Kuchela, grasp this Truth instantly.

For the seeker of average competency, the method involves a systematic inward withdrawal:

यच्छेद्वाङ्मनसी प्राज्ञस्तद्यच्छेज्ज्ञान आत्मनि ।
ज्ञानमात्मनि महतिनि यच्छेत्तद्यच्छेच्छान्त आत्मनि ॥       —  1.3.13, kaTha.

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Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 12 (kaTha 3)

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[Part – 11 (kaTha 2)]

A strong yearning for liberation propels one towards proper utilization of the body. Shankara says in vivekacUDAmaNi:

दुर्लभं त्रयमेवैतद्देवानुग्रहहेतुकम् ।

मनुष्यत्वं मुमुक्षुत्वं महापुरुषसंश्रयः ॥                      — verse 3, vivekacUDAmaNi.

[Meaning:  Very rare indeed are these three things and happen only due to the utmost Grace of God—a human birth, a burning desire for liberation, and the blessed refuge of an illuminated sage.]

[Meaning:  Very rare indeed are these three things and happen only due to the utmost Grace of God—a human birth, a burning desire for liberation, and the blessed refuge of an illuminated sage.]

While a human body is granted without conscious effort, the latter two—aspiration and mentorship—require concerted will. To truly “live,” one must not simply drift toward a natural end dictated by destiny; rather, one must “die” to the ego intentionally before physical death. Shankara thus exhorts us to seek the company of the noble to ignite this internal transformation.

Following this preliminary foundation, the Katha Upanishad imparts the specific methodology for liberation:  Continue reading →

Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 11 (kaTha 2)

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[Part – 10 (kaTha 1)]

न साम्परायः प्रतिभाति बालं प्रमाद्यन्तं वित्तमोहेन मूढम् । 
अयं लोको नास्ति पर इति मानी पुनः पुनर्वशमापद्यते मे ॥       — mantra 1.2.6, kaTha upa.

[Meaning: The means of attaining the other world does not become revealed to the non-discriminating one who, deluded by wealth, has become negligent. He who thinks, ‘this world alone is and none else’ comes to my thraldom again and again. (Trans: V. Panoli).]

An immature and unreflective person cannot easily avoid the path of the merely pleasurable. The glitter of the world blinds him; fascination replaces discrimination. Captivated by possessions, distracted by sensory allurements, he drifts without awareness of where he is heading. A seeker of the Self, by contrast, must live with vigilance. Spiritual life is not sustained by occasional effort but by sustained alertness. Each moment must be lived with inward attention, for the least lapse gives entry to ignorance. When the light of Consciousness shines unobstructed, ignorance cannot stand; but the instant that light is veiled, even slightly, darkness spreads. Darkness is bondage; light is freedom. Darkness is death; light is life.  Continue reading →

Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 10 (kaTha 1)

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[Part – 9 (kena 4)]

kaTha Upanishad

अतिमुच्य धीराः प्रेत्यास्माल्लोकादमृता भवन्ति ॥    —  1.2, kena Upanishad.

[Meaning: The wise, having relinquished all false identifications, become immortal upon departing from this world.] 

The kena Upanishad tells us that “A dead man becomes immortal after death.” 

At first glance, what the kena says appears to be a paradox: it suggests that one must “depart” to become immortal. If we take this literally, it sounds as though a dead man becomes immortal — yet a dead man is no longer there to experience immortality. This apparent contradiction is the gateway to a deeper Vedantic truth.

kena Upanishad is actually pointing to a “solution” for the one thing we all struggle with: Freedom from the constant, grinding cycle of birth, death, and the misery in between — what the shAstra-s (texts) call samsAra.

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Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 9 (kena 4)

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[Part – 8 (kena 3)]

The Upanishad continues:

यत्प्राणेन न प्राणिति येन प्राणः प्रणीयते । 
तदेव ब्रह्म त्वं विद्धि नेदं यदिदमुपासते ॥                   — mantra 1.9, kena.

[Meaning:  What none can breathe with the breath, but by which the breath is directed, know that alone as brahman, and not this they worship here. (Here the word ’prANa’ may also mean smell. In that case, the translation would be: What one smells not by the organ of smell, but by which the smell is directed towards its objects, know that alone as brahman.)]

The above mantra tells us that brahman is that very Sentience behind everything that “Is” and that “Goes on” in this world and not any idol that we worship. Practices such as worship, mantra repetition, and yoga are efforts to understand brahman without relinquishing name and form. But true Knowing lies in knowing without name and form. Only the formless and featureless can be omnipresent.  Continue reading →

Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 8 (kena 3)

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[Part – 7 (kena 2)]

The utilities that reach our homes offer a useful way to think about Consciousness (AtmA). Water and electricity come through their supply lines, and we access them using specific outlets — a tap for water, a socket for electricity. But these utilities are not produced by our house, nor can we keep them exclusively to ourselves. They are shared resources, available to all houses.

AtmA — Beingness-Consciousness — can be understood in much the same way. It is not generated by the body or the mind. It is already present: unmanifest, universal, and available everywhere. The body is like a house, while the mind and senses — the eyes, ears, nose, and so on — function like outlet points.

When Consciousness breathes, it appears as the life-principle (prANa). When it sees, it appears as the eye; when it hears, as the ear. In short, the same single power of Consciousness manifests as seeing in the eye, hearing in the ear, breathing in the life-principle, and thinking in the mind.  Continue reading →

Chandogya Upanishad and Brahm Sutra Bhasya Part 5

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Part 6

BSB 2.3.9
There is no possibility of origin of Brahman which is of the nature of Existence. It cannot originate from Existence for otherwise it leads to infinite regress. Moreover, there should be some distinguishing features for a causal relationship. Brahman cannot originate from non-existence (Ch 6.2.2). For creation, a primary origin-free material cause is to be admitted, and Brahman is the primary material cause.

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Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 7 (kena 2)

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[Part – 6 (kena 1)]

Thus, the kena Upanishad answers the question about the location of the “AtmA” not by providing a map to the Self, but by challenging us to discover the “sentient source” behind the mind and the senses.

केनेषितं पतति प्रेषितं मनः केन प्राणः प्रथमः प्रैति युक्तः । 
केनेषितां वाचमिमां वदन्ति चक्षुःश्रोत्रं क उ देवो युनक्ति ॥     — mantra 1.1, kena.

[Meaning:  By whom desired and set forth does the mind move towards its subject? At whose bidding does the chief life-principle proceed towards its functions? By whom wished, do the men utter the speech? What effulgent one, indeed, directs the eye or the ear? Translation by Swami Sharvananda, 1920.]

If it is supposed that the body, or any of its parts, forms the locus of the “I AM,” the Upanishad asks whether the body can ever feel the presence of “I Am.” When we say, “I am walking” or “I am sitting,” we only see the body walking or sitting. The body by itself does not have the ability to think or feel “I AM.” It is inert, much like the wall in front of us.  Continue reading →

Chandogya Upanishad and Brahm Sutra Bhasya (Part 4)

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Part 3

Part 5

BSB 2.1.21 to 2.1.23                                                                                                      The opponent argues that texts like “Thou art that” (Ch Up 6.8.7) declaring identity of Brahman and jiva and “Let me manifest name and form by Myself entering the individual soul” (Ch Up 6.3.2) lead to absurdity. The argument is in four parts. Brahman creates the world. Jiva has sufferings in the world. Brahman and jiva are identical. Therefore, Brahman creates sufferings for Himself which is ridiculous. The Vedantin accepts the first two parts with a rider that suffering faced by a jiva is at transactional level. As regards the third part, the identity of Brahman and jiva is from the Absolute standpoint. That is to say, when the limiting adjuncts of a jiva are removed, there is identity.

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