The sages often compare death to sleep: just as we wake up and dive back into the world, we are said to be reborn (with some or no gap) after death. But this does not mean we are helplessly caught in an endless cycle of birth and rebirth, because the story of individual bondage tying us down to this cycle is ultimately provisional.
The explanation of the three states of consciousness and latent impressions (vAsanA-s) is a pedagogical tool. It helps us make sense of our apparent individuality, yet none of these states possesses an independent reality outside of Consciousness itself.
What, then, is the substratum in which these states, impressions, and actions appear?
It is Consciousness itself—our essential nature—appearing as its own reflection. Birth and death, merit and demerit, joy and sorrow are merely images in a mirror. On their own, these reflections are insentient; they borrow their existence entirely from the Original. Recognize clearly that whatever appears is none other than your true Self.
Take ignorance (avidyA). It feels like a tangible presence—much like darkness in a room. But what happens to darkness when daylight arrives? It vanishes instantly. When Knowledge (jñAna) dawns, ignorance is realized to have had no independent existence from the start. Recognizing that its apparent reality depends entirely on Consciousness dispels the illusion, revealing our unbroken nature (svarūpa). You do not need to create a new reality; you only need to recognize what is already here.
Think of salt crystals formed from the ocean: each crystal seems separate and self-contained, yet all share the same saline essence. We do not need to physically dissolve the body to return to the ocean—we simply need to melt the mistaken belief that we were ever separate. As the bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad states:
एवं एकधैवानुद्रष्टव्यमेतदप्रमयं ध्रुवम् । [ विरजः पर आकाशादज आत्मा महान्ध्रुवः ॥ — 4.4.20, bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad.
Translation (Swami Madhavananda): It should be realized in one form only, (for) It is unknowable and eternal. The Self is taintless, beyond the (subtle) ether, birthless, infinite and constant.
Maintain single-minded focus on the only One that exists. brahman is the Knower, the Known, and the means of knowing all at once—the entire triad is one.
The shvetAśvatara confirms this vision:
अतः एतज्ज्ञेयं नित्यमेवात्मसंस्थं नातः परं वेदितव्यं च किञ्चित् | भोक्ता भोग्यं प्रेरितारं च मत्वा सर्वं प्रोक्तं त्रिविधं ब्रह्ममेतत् || — 1.12, shvetAśvatara
Translation: This is to be known as eternally existing in one’s own self. Indeed, there is nothing to be known beyond this. As a result of meditation, the experiencer (bhoktA), the experienced (bhogyam), and the power (preritA) which brings about the experience—all are declared to be three aspects of brahman.
It is the one brahman appearing in three roles: the individual experiencer (bhoktA), the experienced world (bhogyam), and the governing lord (preritA or Īśvara).
The Upaniṣhad continues:
तमेव धीरो विज्ञाय प्रज्ञां कुर्वीत ब्राह्मणः । — 4.4.21, bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad.
Translation (Swami Madhavananda): The intelligent aspirant after brahman, knowing about this alone, should attain intuitive Knowledge.
If you desire Self-knowledge, learn to see that same brahman pervading everywhere. It often begins as a flash of insight, but the goal is to stabilize in that awareness (niSThA) and abide constantly as the Self.
The verse adds a crucial caution:
नानुध्यायाद्बहूञ्छब्दान्वाचो विग्लापनं हि तदिति ॥ — 4.4.21, bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad.
Translation (Swami Madhavananda): (He) should not think of too many words, for it is particularly fatiguing to the organ of speech.
Do not get lost in endless intellectual recitations. Words are merely pointers, not the reality itself. Just as a clay pot is fundamentally clay despite its label, the world of relationships and possessions consists of mere names and forms (nAma-rūpa) anchored in pure Beingness.
The Upanishad concludes this section:
एष नित्यो महिमा ब्राह्मणस्य न वर्धते कर्मणा नो कनीयान् । तस्यैव स्यात्पदवित्तं विदित्वा न लिप्यते कर्मणा पापकेनेति ॥ — 4.4.23, bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad.
Translation: This is the eternal glory of a Knower of brahman: it neither increases nor decreases through work. (Therefore), one should know the nature of That alone. Knowing It one is not touched by evil action.
Self-knowledge is not an event that comes and goes. Because this glory is your intrinsic nature, it cannot be expanded or diminished by anything you do. There is no new action required—only the direct recognition of what you eternally are.
Having established that the glory of the Self is untouched by action (karmAsaṃbandhi), Śhaṅkara outlines the inner discipline required of the seeker who wishes to assimilate this truth:
यस्मादेवम् अकर्मसम्बन्धी एष ब्राह्मणस्य महिमा नेति नेत्यादिलक्षणः, तस्मात् एवंवित् शान्तः बाह्येन्द्रियव्यापारत उपशान्तः, तथा दान्तः अन्तःकरणतृष्णातो निवृत्तः, उपरतः सर्वैषणाविनिर्मुक्तः सन्न्यासी, तितिक्षुः द्वन्द्वसहिष्णुः, समाहितः इन्द्रियान्तःकरणचलनरूपाद्व्यावृत्त्या ऐकाग्र्यरूपेण समाहितो भूत्वा ; तदेतदुक्तं पुरस्तात् ‘बाल्यं च पाण्डित्यं च निर्विद्य’ (बृ. उ. 3.5.1) इति ॥ — Śhaṅkara at bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad 4.4.23
Meaning: Since this glory of the Knower of brahman is thus unconnected with work, and is described as “Not this, not this,” therefore, he who knows It as such becomes self-controlled, desisting from the activities of the external organs; also calm, averse to the desires of the mind; withdrawn into himself, free from all desires, a renunciate; enduring, indifferent to the pairs of opposites; concentrated, attaining one-pointedness by withdrawing from the movements of the senses and mind. This has been stated before in the words, “Having known all about the strength that comes from Knowledge, as well as scholarship” (3.5.1).
Mastery over the inner instruments (antaḥkaraNa) is essential. Rather than allowing the senses to chase external objects, the seeker turns inward to cultivate mental quietude and fortitude.
Hear the culmination of Yājñavalkya’s instruction to King Janaka:
तस्मादेवंविच्छान्तो दान्त उपरतस्तितिक्षुः समाहितो भूत्वात्मन्येवात्मानं पश्यति सर्वमात्मानं पश्यति नैनं पाप्मा तरति सर्वं पाप्मानं तरति नैनं पाप्मा तपति सर्वं पाप्मानं तपति विपापो विरजोऽविचिकित्सो ब्राह्मणो भवत्येष ब्रह्मलोकः सम्राडेनं प्रापितोऽसीति होवाच याज्ञवल्क्यः सोऽहं भगवते विदेहान्ददामि मां चापि सह दास्यायेति ॥ — 4.4.23, bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad
Translation (Swami Madhavananda): Therefore, he who knows it as such becomes self-controlled, calm, withdrawn into himself, enduring and concentrated, and sees the Self in his own self; he sees all as the Self. Evil does not overtake him; he transcends all evil. Evil does not trouble him, (but) he consumes all evil. He becomes sinless, taintless, free from doubts, and the brāhmaṇa (knower of brahman). This is the world of brahman, Emperor, and you have attained it—said Yājñavalkya. “I give you, Sir, the Empire of Videha, and myself too with it, to wait upon you.”
One learns to perceive the entire universe within oneself, and oneself as the all-pervading substratum. To such realization, neither merit nor demerit clings; all pairs of opposites are transcended, and binding impressions dissolve in the light of Knowledge.
The Upaniṣhad summarizes this ultimate vision in its solemn invocation:
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ — 5.1.1, bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad
Meaning: Om. That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe), it remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.
Recognize everything as the unbroken Whole (pUrNam). The knower, the known, and the act of knowing form a single Reality. That unmanifest Reality is Perfection; this manifest universe is equally Perfection. Even when creation appears to project from the Source, it is simply the Infinite expressing as the Infinite.
To safeguard this vision in daily life, the Upaniṣhad prescribes the practice of the three ‘da’-s to master the guNa-s: dama (self-restraint) to counter the subtle pride of sattva; dAna (charity) to loosen the grasping impulse of rajas; and dayA (compassion) to dispel the inertia of tamas. These virtues maintain the mental transparency required for Knowledge to shine unobstructed.
The bṛhadAraNyaka completes its discourse with this direct pointer:
ओं खं ब्रह्म । खं पुराणं वायुरं खमिति ह स्माह कौरव्यायणीपुत्रो वेदोऽयं ब्राह्मणा विदुर्वेदैनेन यद्वेदितव्यम् ॥ — 5.1.1, bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad
Meaning: Om is space—brahman is the eternal Space. “The space containing air,” says the son of KauravyAyaNI. It is the Veda, so the brAhmaNa-s (the Knowers of brahman) know; through it one knows what is to be known.
Contemplate these two key pointers: kam (bliss) and kham (infinite space). When the mind is emptied of conceptual clutter, that very openness (kham) is recognized as intrinsic Bliss (kam).
Liberation (mokṣa) is simply this unburdening—ceasing to fixate on objective appearances (an-Atman) and abiding as the witnessing Self (Atman). Thus, the bṛhadAraNyaka Upaniṣhad concludes by pointing directly to the self-luminous Light of Consciousness that you eternally are.
Thus ends the teaching of this large Upanishad – brihadAraNyaka.
(To Go Back to … Part – 1 (Isha))