Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha
6-2 Aitareya Upanishad
6-2-1 Aitareya 1.3.13 and 1.3.14
Ai 1.3.12 in chapter 5 has described the entry of Brahman in the body of jivA. The embodied Brahman is jivAtmA. The sentient jivA is a combination of consciousness (AtmA) and mind-body. And AtmA is not different from Brahman. It is an Upanishadic Great Statement ( Mahavakya). A jivA however forgets this fact due to the veiling power of mAyA. It is Self-ignorance. Sometimes, a jivA because of his punyAs earned in previous lives and the current life can get a qualified teacher who out of compassion imparts Brahm-knowledge. The student realizes Brahman as ‘id’ meaning ‘this’, i.e., his Self. The Upanishad calls the knowledge Idandra. As an adorable entity is not called by its direct name, the Upanishad uses the name Indra (not the deity Indra). The message is that by performing virtuous deeds as per scriptural injunctions, a jivA will one day develop mental maturity to know the futility of worldly goals and turn to spirituality and get Self-knowledge with the blessing of a teacher.
6-2-2 Aitareya 2.1.5 and 2.1.6
In mantras 2.1.1 to 2.1.4 (See Chapter 4), the Upanishad has talked about three births involving transmigration from one birth to the next birth. It is difficult to break this chain. It can be broken by gaining Self-knowledge which may take many births. The Upanishad cites the exceptional case of rishi VAmadeva who, while in his mother’s womb, claimed that he knew all previous births. He broke through the cage of ignorance and was born Self-realized and liberated.
6-2-3 Aitareya 3.1.1 to 3.1.4
A seeker must do Self-inquiry under the guidance of a teacher belonging to a lineage. It ensures that the teacher teaches what he has learnt from his teacher. One lineage begins from the rishi VAmadeva. A group of seekers deliberate on two entities. One is the perceiver, and another is the instrument of perception. Instruments of perception, like sense organs, cannot be the Self because there are many instruments of perception and each one changes with time. The mind and intellect are also instruments of perception and cannot be the Self. Finally, they conclude that the ultimate perceiver is the witnessing consciousness and that is the Self. Consciousness cannot be perceived because when illumined by consciousness the instruments of perception are functional. A thought arises in the mind and perception happens. The Upanishad proclaims that all perceptions are manifestations of the undifferentiated consciousness. As manifestations, they are lower Brahman. Indra, Prajapati, Hiranyagarbha, five elements, four types of living beings (born of wombs, eggs, moister, and earth) are lower Brahman. They are impelled by Consciousness which gives reality and existence to them. Having realized Brahman, a seeker transcends all lokAs and desires. He is a jivanmukta and is immortal.
6-3 Isa Upanishad
6-3-1 Shanti Path It is a prayer for successful completion of the study of scripture. In addition, it contains profound teaching. That invisible (Brahman) is complete and infinite and this visible world is complete and infinite. How can two things be infinite? It is so because world is an appearance and manifestation of Brahman like an ornament which is a manifestation of gold. The (infinite) world originates from (infinite) Brahman, yet the latter remains unaltered. From Brahman standpoint, the world does not have an independent existence and is as good as non-existing. Brahman alone is and is non-dual.
6-3-2 Isa 4 and 5 The nature of Atma is summarized below. 1 It is pure consciousness and existence. 2 It is all pervading and present at any place where the mind goes and said to move faster than the mind. 3 As all-pervading, it is both inside and outside. The space inside a pot is the same as the space outside it. It does not move and is motionless. 4 It cannot be grasped by the mind and sense organs. It cannot be experienced. It is free from attributes. It is not an object of knowledge. 5 It is the ultimate subject. The worldly objects, the mind, and sense organs are all objects. Atma is beyond them and invisible. 6 It supports the world because latter borrows existence from It. 7 Advaita starts with I (jivA) am in the world and ends with the world is in me (pure consciousness). 8 It is neither distant nor close. It is far for an ignorant because he does not know Atma whereas for a person of knowledge, it is near because he knows It as his true nature, For him, there is no separation between AtmA and him.
6-3-3 Isa 6 and 7 He who sees all beings in the Self and the Self in all beings, he never turns away from Self and there is no delusion or grief. MantrAs 6 and 7 describe the fruits of knowledge. MantrA 6 uses the language of contradiction. Generally, if there is a vessel containing water, it means water is in the vessel. It does not mean that the vessel is in water. The contradiction is resolved if it is understood that AtmA is the cause of the world. There is a cause-and-effect relationship like gold and ornament. Atma is in the world means that the world is a product of Atma like ornament is of gold. The world is in Atma means Atma is the support of the world like gold is the support of ornament. Gold is the substance, and ornament is the name and form given to gold. Similarly, AtmA is the substance; the world is the name and form. The cause-and-effect relationship between Atma and the world may mean that there is duality. It is not so as Atma alone appears as the world. MantrA 7 clarifies that AtmA and the world are essentially the same because the same Atma is in all beings. A wise person who understands this fact is free from grief and delusion. It is a common experience that revulsion comes when one sees something as bad or different from oneself. It follows that if a person sees the same AtmA in all beings, there is no scope for revulsion and hatred. Furthermore, one has grief and a delusion of insecurity when there is diversity and differences. A person seeing the same AtmA in and through all living and non-living objects is free from grief and delusion. In BG 6.29/6.30, Sri Krishna conveys the same message.
6-3-4 Isa 8 AtmA is different from the three bodies, namely, gross, subtle, and causal and is beyond them. It is self-existent. It pervades the three bodies, yet it is untainted. It is self-luminous and it lends luminosity to three bodies. A mind cleansed of material outlook is necessary to behold the vast, radiant, subtle, ever-pure, and spotless Self. Self is not different from Brahman because the essential nature of both is the same consciousness. Brahman is omnipotent and omniscience. He is the source of creation. But He is not involved in creation. He has allotted the task of creation, sustenance, and dissolution to different gods and deities. Duties are perfectly allotted to ensure cosmic order and harmony.
Contd Part 17