Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 17

Part 16

Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha
6-4 Kaivalya Upanishad
6-4-1 Kaivalya 8 to 10

Brahman is the only reality. The empirical world has borrowed existence. Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and Indra are manifestations of Brahman. The empirical world beginning with time and unfolding of vital forces and fire are manifestations of Brahman. By knowing that Brahman as Self, one conquers the tyranny of death that batters everyone. By Self-knowledge only, one can cross the scourge of time. There is no method other than this. Karma Yoga, UpAsanA Yoga and Bhakti Yoga are supportive disciplines for purifying the mind for gaining knowledge.

Space is in the container. This is the initial appreciation of the space. In the next stage, the container is seen in all-pervading space. Likewise, AtmA is in everybody. In the next stage, all the bodies, planets, stars, galaxies, etc are ‘seen’ as existing in one Atma. There are no individual AtmAs. In the initial stages, God is separate from me. In the final stage, I claim identity with God. 6.29 of BG says that one whose mind is disciplined through meditation perceives the AtmA in all beings and all beings in AtmA.

6-4-2 Kaivalya 11
The Upanishad presents mahAvAkya inquiry by a metaphor. The inquiry consists of sravana and manana. Sravana is consistent and systematic study of the Vedantic scriptures for a length of time under the guidance of a competent AchArya. Manana is seeking clarifications to remove doubts so that the knowledge becomes convincing. Sravana is like kindling the sacrificial fire by Arani Manthana. When two logs of wood are churned in a certain way, the friction creates sparks of fire. The lower block of wood called Adho Arani is made of Asvattha tree. There is a small pit or a scoop in the lower block where another rod of wood is inserted and churned to create the sparks. The churning rod or Uttara Arani is made of Sami tree. Oblation is poured in this fire. Vedanta inquiry is like the Arani Manthan. The lower Arani is the qualified, steady, and focused mind of the student. Churning of the wood is inquiry of mahAvAkya. The inquiry should be repeated to create the sparks of knowledge.

If the seeker has four-fold qualifications in good measure, sravana is sufficient to get Self-knowledge. If the knowledge is unconvincing like a feeble fire, it should be nourished by repeated sravana followed by manana to resolve the doubts with the help of the teacher. Once knowledge is free from doubts, nidhidhyAsanA is meditation on the teachings to remove habitual non-vedantic tenedencies so that fire like knoweldge is like a huge conflagration. There is no role of teacher in NidhidhyAsana. The fire of knowledge burns not only ignorance like oblations but the effects of ignorance like ahamkAra (i-ness) and mamakAra (my-ness), doer and enjoyer. Sanchit and agami karmAs are burnt and prArabdha is defanged. The triangular format of God, jagat and I is replaced by binary format (I and jagat) and finally non-dual I. Verse 4.37 of the Gita says that the fire of knowledge reduces all karmAs to ashes just as a well-kindled fire reduces the oblations to ashes.

6-4-3 Kaivalya 12

A jivA is deluded by mAyA and identifies himself with the mind and body in the waking state and has different worldly experiences. Worldly experiences are inevitable and are not a cause of suffering. Identification with worldly experiences is the problem. On gaining Self-knowledge, the jivA knows that his essential nature is consciousness which is free from all experiences. He transcends them. It is like waking up from a dream. An awaken person is not affected by dream experiences.

6-4-4 Kaivalya 13
During dream, a jivA experiences pleasure and pain in the subjective world projected by the mind. When everything is resolved in the deep sleep, he attains bliss without knowing it. During deep sleep, mind is resolved. There is only a homogeneous mass of consciousness. It is consciousness of absence and not absence of consciousness. Since the mind, the knowing instrument is resolved, there is no knowledge.

6-4-5 Kaivalya 14

The jivA gets a brief respite in deep sleep from waking and dream states. Entering dream and waking up is regulated by karmAs. Whereas waking from normal dream is automatic, waking up from normal waking state requires effort by way of karma yoga, upAsanA yoga followed by jnAna yoga. A jnAni has awakened from the normal waking state and is not affected by worldly experiences.

6-4-6 Kaivalya 15 The essential nature of jivA is consciousness and that of Brahman is existence. Consciousness and existence are two aspects of the same Reality. There is identity of JivA and Brahman. Brahman is the source of the material world. When a person claims his essential nature of consciousness, he also finds that the outward world and his three bodies are born of Him (consciousness). From him are born the five prAnAs, the mind, all sense organs, space, air, fire, water, and the earth. Sense organs and the mind are born of the sattva qualities of subtle elements. PrAna is born of rajasic component of five subtle elements. A jnAni claims that he is the cause of Hiranyagarbha, the total subtle bodies. In short, I am Brahman, the cause of the world.

6-4-7 Kaivalya 16
Space is understood as the gap between two things indicating that there is duality. When duality resolves, space also resolves. Similarly, time is understood as a gap between two events. If duality goes away, the events go away and then time ceases to exist. In a deep sleep state, the duality of objects and events do not exist and therefore space and time are resolved but the timeless and space-less consciousness continues. It is subtler than the subtlest entity.

Subtlety is measured by the number of attributes that an entity has. The greater the number of attributes, the less subtle an object is. Of the five elements, earth is the grossest because it has all the five properties– form, sound, touch, taste and smell. Water is subtler than earth because it has four guṇAs – it does not have smell. Agni is subtler than water because it has only three guṇAs – it lacks smell and taste. Air has two guṇAs, form and touch. Space is the subtlest with one gunA. It has only one property, sound and can be grasped only by the ear, not in the general form, but space sound manifests through speech or any instrument. Brahman is attribute-less. It cannot be objectified and is incomprehensible. A doubt could arise: if it can never be objectified by any instrument, how do I know Brahman exists? The Upanishad says that Brahman exists as the ultimate Subject.

6-4-8 Kaivalya 17 I am that Brahman which illumines the worlds of waking, dream, and sleep. Having known thus, one is liberated from all bonds. One can dwell on Vedantic teaching by claiming through practice that I am completely awake (I am consciousness) though I wear the costumes of a father, mother, spouse, child, etc. When I forget that they are the costumes, I also forget that I am completely awaken and I become a worldly person. Then the world becomes a tyranny.
I am the observer of the mind as well as its three states. They belong to the mind and not to me, the witnessing consciousness. Both Consciousness and Existence are all- pervading. Whereas Existence is manifested in every object, Consciousness manifests in living-beings which have subtle body. I am pure existence. Just as the dream world borrows its existence from the waking state, and the normal waking state borrows its existence from a fully awake (Self-realized) person.

6-4-9 Kaivalya 18
I am distinct from the subject of experience, the object of experience, and the instrument of experience in all the three states. I am the witness which is pure consciousness and which is ever auspicious.
Up to mantra 17, the teacher teaches ‘you are Brahman’ to the student. In mantras 18 through 22, the student presents the teaching from his angle, i.e., I am Brahman. The student claims the binary format (I and the world) and further that I project the world. The world is mithyA like a city reflected in a mirror and I am the self-effulgent non-dual auspiciousness. When I experience something, there is an object of experience. And I temporarily get the status of the subject. When the object is negated, I lose the subjecthood. Minus the object, the Consciousness is not even the subject. What is my nature? I am pure Consciousness. Emotions do not belong to me, but to the mind, the medium of expression.

6-4-10 Kaivalya 19
Everything is born in me alone; everything is based on me alone; everything resolves into me alone. I am that non-dual Brahman. In the dream, I feel that I am a creature within the dream world but the moment I wake up, I reverse the statement: the dream world is born of me and is within me and it resolves into me. I have this knowledge only in the waking state, and not as a dreamer. Similarly, after understanding that I am awaken by Self-knowledge, I make the statement that the world is like a dream which is born out of me, rests in me and resolves in me. This is the meditation prescribed here. The universe of time and space is born out of me. The statement will be a fact only when the meaning of the word “me”, is clear, i.e., I am Consciousness.

6-4-11 Kaivalya 20
I am the smallest and the biggest in creation. The creation is Self plus names and forms, big or small. Names and forms are not separate from Self – just as water that appears as the smallest bubble as well as the biggest ocean. There is neither bubble nor the ocean, there is only water. Similarly, I appear as a micro atom as well as the macro star or sun. I am both cause and effect. I am both jivAtma and paramAtmA. On removing the limiting adjuncts of names and forms, I am non-dual Atma which is of the nature of Consciousness and Existence. And the world is an appearance in me.
I, the Consciousness has been presented as existence and consciousness. Now it is presented as Ananada. It is reflected in the mind and this reflection is called pratibimba- ananda or experiential pleasure. The experiential pleasure appears when the mind reflects Ananda and disappears when the reflection goes away. The mind, by nature, is fluctuating constantly, and hence, the experiential pleasures come and go. I as Ananda is ever-present.

6-4-12 Kaivalya 21
I am without hands and legs (i.e., without form). Yet I am endowed with incomprehensible power. I see without eyes, hear without ears. I am omniscient. But there is no one who is the knower of me. I am pure consciousness. This mantra is for nidhidhyAsanA. The purpose is to understand very clearly that my true nature is Brahman and to revise my original thinking that I am this miserable and limited body-mind complex. I should not only learn to look at myself as Brahman but also align my day-to-day life with this fundamental thought. Change in my opinion about myself should also bring about a change in my opinion regarding family, the world, and events. NididhyAsanA is extremely important. This means that the description of Brahman in the Upanishad must translate to the description of me. Itis jnAna-nishthA

6-4-13 Kaivalya 22
Continuing with Vedantic meditation, the student says, – I am the subject matter of all the Vedas or the scriptures. Through the four Vedas, I am the ultimate truth to be known – Aham Brahmasmi. I am the author of the Vedas when I take the role of Isvara. I am a student of Vedas when taking the role of a jivA. As Brahman, I am the content of the Vedas. Taking the role of the Guru, I am the teacher of the Vedas. So, I am the author, the teacher, the student, and the content. Punya and pApa do not cling to me. I am beyond birth and death. I am different from body, sense organs, intellect. I am different from panchabhutAs.
Swami Parmarthananda advises that Vedantic meditation should be practiced when the prArabdha is favourable so that when prarAbdha is unfavourable it comes in handy. It is like doing exercise when healthy.
6-4-14 Kaivalya 23 The fruits of nidhidhyAsana are described. On gaining the knowledge of supreme Self which resides in the heart and is homogeneous, pure, non-dual, the witness of all and without cause and effect, one attains the nature of the supreme Self. The revised recognition of myself is jnAna-nishthA.
Contd Part 18

One thought on “Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 17

  1. Another especially useful post, Bimal. Kaivalya is one of the lesser known Upanishads and I am not at all familiar with it. This shows that it is just as important and worth studying as those that are more frequently quoted. I have the Swami Tattvavidananda version and, for some reason, only seem to have read 27 pages, so this definitely gets added to my list for early reading!

    Best wishes,
    Dennis

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