The instruction to Narada reveals that mantras function strictly at the mental level. Realization requires us to transcend the mind entirely. From our empirical identity down to the vital force (prANa), the scriptures enumerate fifteen transient components of the individual. None of these are absolute. Even the vital force is a continuous motion–an activity rather than an unchanging reality. To awaken to Truth, we must transcend the triad of name, form, and action (nAma, rUpa, and karma). Beyond them lies the unconditioned Infinite brahman, known as bhUma:
यो वै भूमा तत्सुखं नाल्पे सुखमस्ति भूमैव सुखं भूमा त्वेव विजिज्ञासितव्य इति भूमानं भगवो विजिज्ञास इति ॥ — 7.23.1, chAndogya upa.
[Meaning: That which is infinite, is alone happiness. There is no happiness in anything finite. The infinite alone is happiness. But one must desire to understand the infinite’. ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand the infinite’. (Translation: Swami Swahananda).]
bhUmA is the boundless, unconditioned Reality. True fulfillment cannot be found in anything less than this Infinity. The Upanishad defines bhUmA as the non-dual state where all distinctions disappear:
यत्र नान्यत्पश्यति नान्यच्छृणोति नान्यद्विजानाति स भूमा … | — 7.24.1, chAndogya upa.
[Meaning: ‘In which one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else. That is infinite.]
In bhUmā, one neither perceives, hears, nor knows anything separate from the Self. Particulars vanish, and only the Universal—Pure Beingness-Knowingness—shines everywhere.
Why do we fail to grasp Bhūmā when It is all-pervading? Just as one might see only the ornament rather than the underlying gold, our minds are conditioned to register only names and forms. We even notice our subtle thoughts, yet we overlook the foundational “Knowingness” that illuminates them. There is an ever-present, subtle throb of Awareness—the pure inner flash of Cognizance (sphuraṇa)—that whispers our true nature as Beingness-Knowingness. Yet we continuously ignore It.
Relying on the sensory apparatus cannot save us from mortality; the senses reveal only perishable objects. Our physical body is one such object, yet we identify with it completely, mistaking our fleeting thoughts for our true identity and thereby tying ourselves to birth and death.
Uncoupling “Is-ness” from the Form
Whenever we perceive an object, we make a subtle two-part affirmation: “The chair is,” “The table is,” or “The wall is.” The first part—the name tag (chair, table, wall)—is mutable and subject to destruction. The second part—the “is” (the underlying Beingness)—never changes. While forms perish, Is-ness remains immutable and formless, pervading every object. Even if all objects were to disappear, Beingness would remain like space, and “I” would endure as pure, formless Knowingness.
Spiritual practice requires turning Awareness back upon Itself. When Awareness is focused on changing objects, it appears to share in their decay; when Awareness remains aware of Itself, it abides in Immortality.
The Chāndogya Upanishad illustrates this omnipresence of Consciousness-Beingness:
स एवाधस्तात्स उपरिष्टात्स पश्चात्स पुरस्तात्स दक्षिणतः स उत्तरतः स एवेदꣳ सर्वमिति …| — 7.25.1, chAndogya upa.
[Meaning: That Itself is below, That above, That behind, That before, That to the right, That to the left. That itself is all this. (Translation: Dr. G.N Jha).]
Pure Consciousness-Beingness extends in every direction. Spatial directions like front, back, left, and right are finite particulars that exclude one another. But the “seeing”—the Awareness that perceives all directions—is singular and universal. The Upanishad instructs us to dissolve directional particulars into the Universal field of Consciousness.
This realization unfolds through two explicit recognitions. First, we realize that the objective Self (Atmān) pervades everything:
अथात आत्मादेश एवात्मैवाधस्तादात्मोपरिष्टादात्मा पश्चादात्मा पुरस्तादात्मा दक्षिणत आत्मोत्तरत आत्मैवेदꣳ सर्वमिति … | — 7.25.2, chAndogya upa.
[Meaning: Now follows the teaching through the Self. The Self Itself is below, the Self above, the Self behind, the Self before, the Self to the right, the Self to the left: the Self is all this. (Translation: Dr. G.N Jha).]
Second, we recognize that this subjective “I” (Ahaṁkāra in its pure sense) is equally all-pervading:
अथातोऽहङ्कारादेश एवाहमेवाधस्तादहमुपरिष्टादहं पश्चादहं पुरस्तादहं दक्षिणतोऽहमुत्तरतोऽहमेवेदꣳ सर्वमिति ॥ — 7.25.1, chAndogya upa.
[Meaning: Next follows the teaching through the notion of “I.” “I” Itself is below, “I” above, “I” behind, “I” before, “I” to the right, “I” to the left; the “I” is all this. (Translation: Dr. G.N Jha).]
By uniting these two insights, we recognize that the universal Self and the true “I” are identical—a truth encapsulated in the mahāvākya So ‘ham (“I am He”). As the Maitreyi and Skanda Upanishads state:
देहो देवालयः प्रोक्तः स जीवः केवल:शिवः । त्यजेदज्ञाननिर्माल्यं सोऽहं-भावेन पूजयेत् ॥ — mantra 2.1, maitreyi upa, also mantra 10-11, skanda upaniShad.
[Meaning: The body is said to be the temple, the deity Shiva is jIva; one should throw away the ignorance like the flowers already-used (in worship) and worship with the sense of “I am That.”]
Awakening to the Fourth State (TurIya)
When Lord BrahmA instructed Indra—who symbolizes every earnest seeker—the core teaching was to view all experience through the lens of the witnessing “I.”
We must recognize that the waking state, the dream state, and the deep sleep state (prAjña) are three distinct modes or expressions of the Self. Its true, unconditioned nature is realized in turIya (the Fourth), described thus:
अथ य एष सम्प्रसादोऽस्माच्छरीरात्समुत्थाय परं ज्योतिरुपसम्पद्य स्वेन रूपेणाभिनिष्पद्यत एष आत्मेति होवाचैतदमृतमभयमेतद्ब्रह्मेति तस्य ह वा एतस्य ब्रह्मणो नाम सत्यमिति ॥ — 8.3.4, chAndogya.
[Meaning: Now that serene and happy being, rising out of this body and reaching the highest light, appears in his own true form. This is the Atman, said the teacher. This is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman. Verily, the name of this Brahman is the True. (Translation: Swami Swahananda).]
To “rise out of the body” means to shed the deeply ingrained delusion that “I am the physical body.” Just as we easily step away from a chair because we know we are not the chair, we must distinguish our intrinsic sentience from the physical frame. The sentience that illuminates the world is distinct from the body it inhabits. In the very act of perception, Seeingness reaches out to illuminate the object. Recognizing this distinction frees us from bodily identification, revealing our intrinsic formlessness (svarUpa).
Our lifetime offers the opportunity to stabilize in this understanding—to abide uninterruptedly in formless Awareness throughout all our days (symbolized scripturally by a full lifespan of 100 or 101 years). Even while interacting with the world or adopting various social roles, we must never lose sight of our true nature. This is the ultimate message of the chAndogya Upanishad: to live grounded in the direct realization, “I am That.”
(To Continue … Part 39 (brih 1))