If we have read the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, we may have come across the mention of a rishi named Vamadeva, who is said, upon realising Brahman, to have “become Manu and Surya”. They feature in 1.4.10,
In the beginning, Brahman was this. It knew only itself: “I am Brahman.” Through that it became all. Whichever of the devas woke up to it became that; whichever of the rishis, likewise; whichever of human beings, likewise. Seeing that, the rishi Vamadeva realised: “I have become Manu and Surya too.”
Why was Vamadeva’s statement considered significant enough to include and explain in the Upanishad? How does saying he has “become Manu and Surya” signify realisation of Brahman?
The answer to both is summed up by the next line of the mantra, “whoever knows ‘I am Brahman’ becomes all this.” Simply put, Manu and Surya are interchangeable with Brahman, so Vamadeva’s identification with them is his becoming it, which is “all this.”
In his commentary, Shankara explains that,
To strengthen the import of the passage that this knowledge of Brahman leads to identity with all, the Śruti quotes some Mantras. How? The sage called Vāmadeva, while realising this, his own self, as identical with That, Brahman, knew, from this realisation of Brahman, i.e. in that state of realisation of the identity of the self and Brahman, visualised these Mantras, ‘I was Manu, and the sun [Surya],’ etc. (Ṛ. IV. xxvi. I). The expression, ‘While realising this (self) as That’—Brahman—refers to the knowledge of Brahman. And the words, ‘I was Manu, and the sun,’ refer to its result, identity with all. [1]
The mantra Shankara is referring to being quoted is Rig Veda 4.26.1, which is the source of Vamadeva’s declaration of being Manu and Surya. Fundamentally, there is only Brahman. Manu and Surya are not separate from each other or, in fact, oneself. Therefore, Manu and Surya encompass “all”. By saying they have become both, Vamadeva is describing the knowledge of Brahman leading to “identity with all”. Realising his self as identical with ‘That’ is no different to saying Brahman.
Seeing the truth of Brahman then inspired him to declare he is both Manu and Surya. This gives us an insight into how mantras in the Vedas originated. Upon a rishi’s realisation, they expressed the knowledge of Brahman in a verse. Rishis (“seers”) are so called because they are saw the inseparable reality of Brahman. As the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad said about Vamadeva’s insight, “Seeing that (Brahman), the rishi Vamadeva realised (they are all)“. This is the wisdom and depth a mantra contains and it is for this reason he was mentioned — to illustrate becoming Brahman.
[1] Shankara Bhashya Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10
There is a reference to Rishi Vamadeva in Aitareya Upanishad 2.1.5 and 2.1.6. Before this, in 2.1.1 to 2.1.4, the Upanishad describes worldly bondage by way of three births of a Jiva. Shankara comments: “Transmigrating in this way, involved in the chain of birth and death through the manifestation of the three states, everyone remains merged in the ocean of this world. If he ever succeeds somehow, in any of the states, to realize the Self as revealed in the Vedas, he becomes freed then and there from all worldly bondages and accomplishes his object. Then in 2.1.5, the exceptional case of Rishi Vamadeva is mentioned who spoke while in the womb, `Even while lying in the womb, I came to know of the birth of all the gods. A hundred iron citadels held me down. Then, like a hawk, I forced my way through by dint of the knowledge of the Self.” 2.1.6 describes what happens after birth: “He who had known thus (had) become identified with the Supreme, and attained all desirable things (even here); and having (then) ascended higher up after the destruction of the body, he became immortal, in the world of the Self. He became immortal.” [Swami Gambhirananda.”[ Eight Upanishads, with the Commentary of Sankara, Vol. II]
Thank you for your comment. The next post focuses on the reference to Rishi Vamadeva in Aitareya Upanishad.