Chapter 3 Section 5
3.5.1
Kahola, the next questioner asks Yajnavalkya to explain Brahman which is immediate, direct, and the self within all. Yajnavalkya has already answered this in the previous section. Therefore, he gives more details. The Self is witnessing consciousness beyond worldly dualities. It is not affected by hunger and thirst, grief, delusion, decay and death. Since the Self is infinite and complete, It is free from desires of son, wealth, etc. All desires are essentially same for they arise out of attachment to perishable, which in turn is due to Self-ignorance. A knower of Self meditates on the Self which means he identifies himself with the non-changing Self. He transcends death and is immortal. He treats himself different from the transient MBS even while using MBS for worldly transactions. How does a Self-realized person behave? It is said howsoever he may behave he is such, i.e., he is ever established in the Self. There is internal transformation. The expression, ‘Howsoever he may behave,’ is intended for a tribute to this state of a knower of Brahman and does not mean reckless behaviour. Kahola withdraws.
Chapter 3 Sections 6 to 8 Introduction In sections 6, 7, and 8 questions are asked about creation. The creation is an effect of which there must be a cause. Hence, traversing back the creation, i.e., from gross to subtle to subtler and so on, the ultimate subtlest cause is intended to be reached in stages with the help of questions asked by the scholars and answers given by Yajnavalkya. It must be noted that what is described seem logical and serves the purpose of teaching. It may not be factual as no one has seen it. The essence is important. “The idea is to show how an aspirant-the subject or seer-can realise his own self, which is immediate and direct, is within all, and beyond all relative attributes, by taking up each relatively external element and eliminating it.” [ Br Up Advaita Ashrama]
3.6.1 Gargi is the scholar opposite Yajnavalkya. She mentions in successive questions, a series of entities from gross to subtle to subtler and asks Yajnavalkya to mention the entity that is subtler than the previous one. Yajnavalkya answers them. When Gargi asks about the entity that pervades Hiranyagarbha, the cosmic subtle body, Yajnavalkya cautions her because it is about something which is beyond the relative realm and should not be known through inference. It is to be taught by a teacher with the help of scriptures. He warns that if she persists, her head will fall. Gargi steps back.
Chapter 3 Section 7
3.7.1 Uddhalaka, with the help of a story asks two questions.
1 Who is the sutra (thread) which holds together, like beads in a garland, this life, next life and all beings from Virat to a blade of grass?
2 Who is the internal ruler controlling this and the next lives, and all beings from within and causes them to discharge their functions?
3.7.2 Yajnavalkya says air is the sutra which holds together this and the next lives, etc. The five vital forces are essentially air. They are subtle matter in which consciousness is reflected making them life-energy. The vital force enables different organs to discharge their functions. Plant does not have mind but has life energy. Hence vital force is the most important entity across all living beings.
3.7.3 to 3.7.14 It would be helpful to recapitulate cosmology to understand Yajnavalkya’s answers to the second question. There are three layers of creation both at micro and macro levels. They are gross, subtle and causal bodies. Gross has the shortest time span. It is destroyed at death. Subtle has longer time span going from one birth to next birth and so on in one cycle of creation. Causal has the longest and exists across all cycles of creation. Consciousness is different form the three layers. It is all pervading, changeless and eternal. It pervades the three layers though it is manifested in subtle body, like mind. It is not manifested in gross body like stone. There are three reflected consciousness at the micro/individual level, call them RC1 to RC3 and three at cosmic level, call them RC4 to RC6. At individual level, RC1 is in gross body and is called visva, RC2 in subtle body (mind and vital force) and is called taijas, and RC3 is in causal body and is called prajna. In deep sleep, gross body resolves in subtle body and subtle body in prajna. Causal body is sanchit karma which cause the next birth.
RC4 is in gross cosmic body and is called Virat, RC5 is in cosmic subtle body and is called Hiranyagarbha, and RC6 is in causal body and is called Isvara or AntaryAmi. The cosmic causal body is the aggregate of all sanchit karma. It is maya power of Brahman. Isvara is Brahman plus maya and is responsible for the creation. Maya is unmanifest and when it unfolds it is creation.
There are natural forces, like, rain, thunder, lightning They are considered devatas as they are not only matter but matter with reflected consciousness. There is gross earth, earth devata which is subtle matter with RC and behind them is the AntaryAmi, Isvara.
There is another division of the creation: adhyAtama, adhibhutam and adhidaivam. AdhyAtama refers to what is within a jiva, addhibhutam represents all living beings, and adhidaivam represents the natural forces.
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