Chapter 3 Jiva Jagat Isvara
3-5 Katha Upanishad
3-5-1 Katha 2.3.1
The world has arisen due to kArmic balance of the jivAs carried from the previous cycle of creation. The kArmic balance is in turn due to desire which propels action. Ignorance of Atma gives rise to action. The creation is compared to a tree and its root as Brahman. The branches represent the world consisting of dualities, e.g., heat, cold; pleasure, pain; birth, and death. Brahman is eternally pure, unchanging, and is therefore superior. The trunk is like subtle bodies of all creatures. It grows in strength due to desire represented by sprinkling of water. It has tender sprouts as sensory objects. Beautiful flowers represent good deeds like sacrifice, charity, and austerities. Various tastes are experiences of happiness and sorrow. The nests are the various lokAs beginning from satya loka (also called Brahma-loka) built by birds for living beings from Brahmaji downwards. The tree like world is unsteady and shaken by winds of desires. The leaves are karma kAnda of VedAs that perpetuates the world-tree. Brahman is the root and support of the universe. There is nothing beyond Him just like a pot does not transcend the clay.
3-5-2 Katha 2.3.2 The universe has evolved from prAna. The prAna is a terror like a thunderbolt. It is a mighty terror, like an upraised thunderbolt. As in the presence of the master with a thunderbolt, a servant obeys the command of the master, similarly sun, moon, etc, discharge their functions due to fear of Brahman. Brahman is like the witness to and supervisor of all the activities.
BSB 1.3. 39 dispels a possible doubt raised by the opponent (purva paksha) of Advaita. The doubt is about the meaning of the word prAna. The opponent holds that their usual meanings should be taken, i.e., five vital forces. The conclusion (siddhAnta) is that prAna means Brahman. It is so on account of what precedes and succeeds. In the earlier and following texts, it is Brahman that is dealt with. Introducing vital forces in between is uncalled for.
3-6 Mundaka Upanishad 3-6-1 Mundaka 1.1.8 and 1.1.9 Creation has not happened in one shot, just as a full-fledged tree does not grow in one shot. There are many intermediary stages. Creation is meant for jivAs to experience the results of karmAs. Isvara is omniscient and knows karmAs of jivAs based on which He visualizes the blueprint of creation. When Isvara creates this universe, He not only takes into account the physical laws but also the moral laws governing punya and pApa. The visualisation is in His mind. Maya is like the mind of Isvara. Through Maya, He visualises and the creation evolves in keeping with the moral and physical laws. The universe rests in Brahman in the causal form ready to be manifested. The cosmic subtle body of prAnas and minds called Hiranyagarbha emerge. Hiranyagarbha is also called the first-born. Cosmic subtle body gives rise to individual subtle bodies, individual minds, like, a lump of wheat flour made into smaller pieces. Then emerge five elements in two stages, namely, subtle and gross. Then 14 Lokas emerge where the jivAs exhaust their karmAs. Bhuloka is for human beings. It is the crown of creation because a human being alone can earn new karmAs and change the course of his life.
3-7 Prasna Upanishad
3-7-1 Prasna 1.3 and 1.4 The first disciple, Kabandhi Katyan asks Pippalada, the teacher about creation. How has it come into being? The Guru replies. God does not create directly. He has created Brahmaji to whom is entrusted the task of creation. The creation is for the sake of exhausting punya and papa of jivAs. It is cyclic without a beginning and an end. Visualization is required because the creation is not random. It is according to the laws of karmA. In the first stage, the pair of prAna and rayi, is created. The second stage is the manifestation of time principle. The third stage is of food and the final one is of living beings. At the macro level, prAna refers to invisible world of all minds and rayi refers to the visible tangible universe akin to matter and energy. At the micro level it refers to the consumer of food and the consumed-food. PrAna is subtle body to which food is given for sustenance. Symbolically, sun represents prAna and the moon represents rayi. The logic is that the sun is the source of the digestive power and the moon is the source of all the nourishment in the food. Thus, prAnas have three connotations: the invisible world at macro level, consumer at the micro level and sun at the symbolic level. Rayi is visible world at cosmic level, consumed food at micro level and moon symbolically.
3-7-2 Prasna 1.5 to 1.10
The Upanishad clarifies that prAna and rayi are essentially the same. Like matter and energy in science. The Upanishad glorifies the sun, the symbol of prAna, as a combination of Vishnu, Brahma, and Siva. Sun is the embodiment of energy. One fire has three manifestations: the sun, the fire used for cooking on the earth, and the digestive fire in the stomach. The sun rays provide life to creatures. The sun rays are like hands embracing everything. In the morning, the creatures welcome and pay obeisance to sun rays which give energy and light. Sun is Hiranyagarbha and worthy of worship as Isvara. Wise person worships sun as his soul, the life-giver. The pair of prAna and rayi also represents two time principles. Our day is based on sunrise and sunset. Waxing and waning moon is responsible for Tithi (date), Shukla-Paksha (brighter fortnight) and Krishna-Paksha (darker fortnight). The Upanishad talks about year, month, and day, each divided into two. A year is divided into northern and southern. Nature is the expression of God and its every aspect is worth appreciation. It is not a materialistic appreciation. It is a reverential appreciation. Six months of northern begins in January with northern movement of sun. Even while the sun is rising and setting, it moves northward and then after reaching to a particular level, again it retreats which marks the beginning of the southern movement. A month is divided into Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha because of waxing and waning of the moon. The last one is one calendar day divided into daytime and nighttime.
Spiritual disciplines are of two types, namely, action and meditation. Each can be practiced in two manners: selfish is for getting material benefits and selfless is for gaining qualifications to pursue knowledge. Performance of actions prescribed by scriptures for material benefit brings material benefits in this world and swarga loka (also called Chandra Loka) after death. A combination of action and meditation brings Brahm Loka (Surya Loka) after death. After death, when the jivA has to travel, it doesn’t have the physical body. There are only subtle and causal bodies. When there is no physical body, free will cannot function and a jivA does not know the path of travel leading to higher lokAs. Shukla path leads to Surya Loka and Krishna path leads to Chandra Loka. During the travel, presiding deities of the two paths are the guides. It may be noted that selfish actions and meditations do earn punyas for the Jiva to become eligible to enter higher Lokas. Performance of five great sacrifices is an important discipline.
The Upanishad advises us to lead a simple life, observe truth, be kind towards animals, share wealth with others, feed the guests, birds, and bees, construct wells and tanks, shelters for travellers, temples. If these are done for earning punya, it is religious and it is selfish action. It makes the performer eligible for swarga loka. The downside is that after exhausting the punya, there is return to lower loka. It may be Bhu-Loka or even worse. A grihastha should lead a religious life centred on noble actions. With advancement of age and the body not supporting arduous action-oriented rituals, a person should transit to vAnaprastha way of life in which the focus is on meditation on God. It may be a formal vAnaprastha where the person proceeds to forest or he may lead a meditative life as a grihastha. Meditation is on Hiranyagarbha, the cosmic subtle body. Such a life earns more punyas making him eligible to enter Brahm-Loka after death via brighter path escorted by the presiding deities. Brahm-Loka is the highest goal reachable by selfish sAdhanas. In Brahm-loka, the sensory pleasures are better than swarga-loka and lasts for one cycle of creation. There is rebirth in the next cycle of creation. This is one option available to a person who reaches Brahm-loka. The second option is to acquire Self-Knowledge under the guidance of Brahmaji. On acquiring Self-knowledge, he is liberated and there is no rebirth.
3-7-3 Prasna 1.11
The Upanishad glorifies Surya Devata. Knower of time says that he has 5 feet representing 5 seasons for it revolves with the help of the seasons. Each season consists of 2 months. In India, there are six seasons: spring, summer, rainy, autumn, late autumn or pre-winter, and then winter. In this imagery, late autumn and winter are taken as one. Surya Devata is described as the father, the generator of life. It is responsible for rain waters for the human beings. There is another group of people who describe Surya in the following manner. It moves with 7 wheels with 6 spokes. 6 spokes representing six seasons by separating pre-winter and winter. And Surya Bhagavan is Hiranyagarbha (Isvara) who is the witness and the knower of everything.
3-7-4 Prasna 1.12
Chandra Devata based time is a month with bright and dark fortnights. The Upanishad says that the Lord himself appears in the form of month. It doesn’t say He created time. He manifests as time-principle. In Vishnu Sahasra Nama, one name of the lord is kAla. In Vedic culture bright fortnight is considered favourable for all auspicious activities because it is waxing time. The Upanishad gives a note that if a person practices PrajApati Upasana whether in bright fortnight or dark fortnight, all actions will be as good as doing in bright fortnight fetching higher results. And if a person doesn’t practice Upasana, then all the actions are as though done in dark fortnight. The idea is that Prajapati Upasana makes karmAs auspicious.
3-7-5 Prasna 1.13
One full day, consisting of day and night is created by PrajApati or more accurately, PrajApati manifests in the form of the day and night. Day represents prAna and night represents rayi. During the day-time, prAna is active and powerful. That is why we are advised to eat sufficient food during day-time and eat light during night. Eating light during night is advised because samana, the digestion principle is at a low ebb. For a young couple desiring children, conception must be only in the night time. Conception should not be during the day time. During the night, there is no prAna draining which is good for parent and child. If a person follows this, it is as good as observing Brahmacharya. It is also called PrajApati vrata.
3-7-6 Prasna 1.14
The Upanishad talks about Anna Shristi and PrajA Srishti. Lord of creatures alone takes the form of food. How are the children born from food? The food is consumed by both the male and the female human beings. It is converted into several products and one of the products is the semen in man and egg in female. At the time of conception, in the womb of the mother, fertilization is responsible for the child. All these living beings are born.
3-7-7 Prasna 1.15 and 1.16
Those who follow the aforesaid rule of conjugal life get both male and female children. These are the visible results. For those who undertake rites such as, sacrifices, charity, and lead a moral and ethical life, have completed the scriptural study and do not indulge in union other than at proper time, there is invisible result of place in swarga Loka. Those who practice PrajApati or Surya Upasana in which Surya is visualized as everything, lead a moral life, are upright, straightforward, free from manipulation, give up untruth and double personality, they go to Brahm-loka.
Contd Part 6