The aitareya Upanishad next presents a teaching story to unfold a profound philosophical truth.
It first describes the creation of the celestial deities, the presiding powers that govern the universe. Having brought forth the worlds, the Creator projected these deities, who then approached Him and said, in effect, “The world is our food, and we are its enjoyers. Where shall we abide to experience it?” The gods here represent the powers that function through the organs of perception and action.
ताभ्यो गामानयत्ता अब्रुवन्न वै नोऽयमलमिति । — mantra 1.2.2, aitareya upa.
[Meaning: For them He (i.e. the Creator God) brought a cow. They said, “This one is not certainly adequate for us.” ]
The Creator first produced the body of a cow and then that of a horse. The gods found neither suitable.
ताभ्यः पुरुषमानयत्ता अब्रुवन्सु कृतं बतेति पुरुषो वाव सुकृतम्। ता अब्रवीद्यथायतनं प्रविशतेति॥ — mantra 1.2.3, aitareya upa.
[Meaning: For them He created a man. They said, “This one is well formed; man indeed is a creation of God Himself.” To them He said, “Enter into your respective abodes.” ]
The human body alone proved to be a worthy abode. Each deity entered its respective organ—agni as speech, vAyu as the vital force, and the others into their appropriate functions. The organs are merely the Ayatanas (abodes); the deities symbolize the powers that function through them.
The Upanishad now draws an important distinction between the world and the individual. The world, together with the body, the senses, the mind and the vital forces, is presented as a manifestation through modification (vikAra). The individual, however, is not produced by any modification. The Self does not undergo change to become the individual; it merely appears to be associated with the body while ever remaining unchanged.
Thus, the body, the senses and the mind belong to the objective world and are all objects of knowledge. Knowingness alone is the unchanging Knower. Though the individual appears finite because of identification with the body and mind, his essential nature is Knowingness itself. Limitation belongs only to the adjuncts, never to the Self.
स ईक्षत कथं न्विदं मदृते स्यादिति स ईक्षत कतरेण प्रपद्या इति स ईक्षत यदि वाचाभिव्याहृतं यदि प्राणेनाभिप्राणितं यदि चक्षुषा दृष्टं यदि श्रोत्रेण श्रुतं यदि त्वचा स्पृष्टं यदि मनसा ध्यातं यद्यपानेनाभ्यपानितं यदि शिश्नेन विसृष्टमथ कोऽहमिति ॥ — mantra 1.3.11, aitareya upa.
[Meaning: He thought, “How indeed can it be there without Me?” He thought, “Through which of the two ways should I enter?” He thought, “If utterance is done by the organ of speech, smelling by the sense of smell, seeing by the eye, hearing by the ear, feeling by the sense of touch, thinking by the mind, the act of drawing in (or pressing down) by apAna, ejecting by the procreative organ, then who (or what) am I?” (Translation: Swami Gambhirananda). ]
Having endowed the organs with their respective powers, the Creator reflected, “How can this body exist without Me?” If the organs perform their respective functions, what then is My role? The question directs our attention to the Knowingness because of which all the organs function and their activities are known.
The Upanishad says that the Creator entered through the brahma-randhra, the opening at the crown of the head. This “entry” is not physical. The all-pervading Self neither travels nor becomes confined within the body. The imagery simply explains the apparent association of the limitless Self with an individual body.
The Self is then said to dwell in three “abodes”—the waking, dream and deep-sleep states. These are not physical locations but the three modes of experience. While experiences change from one state to another, the Knowingness that illumines them all remains ever the same.
Having entered the city (purI) of the body, the indwelling Self came to be known as Puruṣa, the One who dwells in the city. The narrative now mirrors the human condition. Identifying with the body and mind, the individual naturally begins to wonder, “Who am I? Am I merely this embodied being, or is my nature something greater?”
The purpose of the Upanishad is to awaken this inquiry. Self-knowledge is not the acquisition of something new but the discovery of what has always been true. When the source of the “I” is examined, identification with the body gradually falls away, and the true nature of the Self stands revealed.
The Upanishad now describes the culmination of that inquiry.
स एतमेव पुरुषं ब्रह्म ततममपश्यदिदमदर्शमिती३ ॥ — mantra 1.3.13, aitareya upa.
[Meaning: He realized this very Purusha as brahman, the most pervasive, thus: “I have realized this”. ]
The inquiry culminates in immediate recognition. The indwelling Puruṣa realizes that he is not a limited individual but brahman, the all-pervading Reality. Nothing new is attained, nor does the individual become brahman. Ignorance alone is removed. The mistaken identification with the body, mind and senses comes to an end, revealing one’s true nature as the ever-free, ever-complete Self.
Self-realization is therefore not a journey to a distant goal but the recognition of what has always been true:
“I am the limitless Self, pure Knowingness, ever free and all-pervading.”
तस्मादिदन्द्रो नामेदन्द्रो ह वै नाम तमिदन्द्रं सन्तमिन्द्र इत्याचक्षते परोक्षेण । — mantra 1.3.14, aitareya upa.
[Meaning: Therefore, His name is Idandra. He is verily known as Idandra. Although He is Idandra, they call Him indirectly Indra. ]
Having realized His true nature, He came to be known as Idandra, later shortened to Indra.
The same symbolism appears in the kena Upanishad. There, after the gods become proud of their victory, brahman appears before them in the form of a mysterious Yakṣa. Neither agni nor vAyu recognizes the Yakṣa. Indra alone persists in enquiry and, through the instruction of Umā Haimavatī, discovers that the victory belonged to brahman alone. Thus, in both Upanishads, Indra represents the seeker who becomes fit for Self-knowledge through inquiry.
The message is universal. Every individual begins by identifying with the body and mind. Through enquiry and the guidance of the Upanishads, that mistaken identity is removed. What remains is the direct recognition that one’s own nature is brahman. This is the fulfilment of human life and the central teaching of the aitareya Upanishad.
(To Continue … … Part – 33 (aita 4))