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?
Strictly speaking, the Knowledge of the Self (AtmA) cannot be a goal in the usual sense, because it is not something newly produced or acquired. The Self is ever-present, all-pervasive, and of the nature of pure Consciousness. It is, in fact, our very intrinsic nature (svarUpa). To strive to “attain” the Self as though it were something external would be a contradiction, for there is nothing apart from the Self.
The Self is not an object to be created. Anything newly produced is subject to change and eventual destruction. The Self, however, is eternal and immutable. It does not come into being, nor does it perish. Being all-pervasive, it is not located in any particular place. It is ever present, including here and now. Therefore, there is no question of reaching it from elsewhere or acquiring it as something previously absent.
Consider the example of the moon. It already exists, yet effort is required to reach it because of the distance separating it from us. Similarly, one may travel to a temple to worship a deity in a particular form. This does not imply that God is confined to that location; rather, the effort is needed only because of an assumed spatial separation. The Self, however, is not like the moon—distant and separate. Being omnipresent, it cannot be approached through movement or action.
Yet, paradoxically, the Upanishads still enjoin effort in realizing the Self. How is this to be understood?
The prashna Upanishad helps resolve this apparent contradiction. Though it appears to pose a single inquiry, it actually unfolds into six profound questions raised by earnest seekers. These questions were addressed by the sage Pippalāda, regarded as a Brahmarṣi—one who has realized Brahman directly.
Shankara explains that the first three questions pertain to the empirical aspects of life—particularly the mind and the life-principle—and fall under lower knowledge (aparA vidyA). The remaining three deal with higher knowledge (parA vidyA), which leads toward Self-realization. While the earlier answers clarify the functioning of the mind and prANa, the latter guide the seeker toward the recognition of the Self.
The mind and prANa together constitute the subtle body (linga sharIa). This subtle body is often the primary obstacle in realizing the Self. The term linga means a “mark” or “indicator,” derived as līnam gamayati iti lingam—that which reveals what is hidden. What is hidden is the Self, and it is through the subtle body that the Self is, in a sense, indicated or made manifest.
The kaTha Upanishad declares:
“एष सर्वेषु भूतेषु गूढोऽत्मा न प्रकाशते” … | — 1.3.12, kaTha
— “This Self, hidden in all beings, does not reveal itself.”
Thus, the Self remains concealed, and it is the subtle body that plays a role in its apparent revelation. The gross physical body does not govern the individual (jIva); rather, it is the mind and prANa that sustain individuality and bind it to bodily existence. At death, both depart from the gross body, and we say that the person has “passed away.” If prANa remains but the mind is inactive, the body continues in a state akin to deep sleep—not death.
A central question then arises: from where do the mind and prANa originate? At the time of conception, they must enter the developing body from some source. Of the two, prANa is said to enter first. The kena Upanishad asks:
“केन प्राणः प्रथमः प्रैति युक्तः”
— “Directed by whom does the vital force begin its activity?”
The aitareya Upanishad symbolically states that the life-principle enters through the feet. Shankara interprets such descriptions as indicative, suggesting that prANa is not the primary means for liberation. Liberation is attained through Knowledge alone, which frees one from bondage.
Knowledge, in its pure and unaffected form, is said to enter through the crown of the head (brahma-randhra) and manifest as the mind. Both mind and prANa are characterized by constant movement—they arise in motion, persist in motion, and depart in motion. Death itself is described as this departure of the subtle body from the gross body.
The prashna Upanishad thus engages with profound and compelling questions: Where do the mind and prANa arise from? Which of them enters the body first? Why do they enter at all, and where do they go upon death?
In essence, the mind represents the power of knowing, while prANa represents the power of action. Together, they sustain the empirical individual, even as the Self remains ever free, ever present, and untouched by all such processes.
Bhagavad-Gita says:
एकं साङ्ख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥ — 5.5, Bhagavad-Gita.
[Meaning: He (really) sees, who sees Sankhya (Knowledge) and Yoga (action) as one.]
Knowledge is our intrinsic nature (swarUpa). Letting the Knowledge flow out is manifestation (vibhUti). The essence of the truth is the combo of the intrinsic nature and manifestation. The same concept appears in IshAvAsya Upanishad too. It is said:
तदेजति तन्नैजति तद्दूरे तद्वन्तिके । — mantra 5, IshAvAsya.
[Meaning: [It moves and It moves not; It is far and It is near.]
Absence of movement is the intrinsic nature. Movement is the life-principle. Stability is Knowledge. Dynamism is action. The source for the mind is Knowledge and the source for the life-principle is mAyA.
The story of the Sages posing various questions is just a pretext. The actual purpose of the Upanishad is to provide answers to the seekers. The discourse is on the nature of life and the world, their source and how all of it manifests.
[To Continue … Part – 15 (prashna 2)]