Vedantic teaching, i.e., TTA is completed in section 8 of chapter 6 of Ch Up. It is sravan (listening) to the teacher. Since Svetaketu has doubts, sections 9 to 16 are manan (removal of doubts) so that the student has conviction about the teaching. Svetaketu has doubts because he is unable to figure out why human beings do not claim identity with the Deity though they merge in It every day in deep sleep. In deep sleep, the jiva loses his individuality as he merges with the Deity. That means that the mind, the instrument of knowing is resolved and is dormant. Knower-hood is suspended temporarily. This is why, on waking up, a jiva does not claim identity with the Deity. The teacher explains with illustrations.
Bees collect different juices from different trees reduce them into a homogeneous whole. In the homogeneous collection, different juices lose their individuality. Eastward and westward rivers rise from the sea and merge in the sea. In the sea, waters of all rivers become one and separated-ness vanishes.
It has been said earlier that Existence enters as individual soul in a human being. As Existence is everywhere, entry is figurative.
The mind and body are inert being made of three inert elements. How and why is a human being conscious? The answer lies in the fact that Existence and Consciousness are same. They are two aspects of the Reality. Reality is eternal and changeless. It survives the death of a jiva. If a tree is struck in its different parts, the sap comes out. The sap pervades the tree. Similarly, consciousness pervades the body. When a branch of the tree dries, no sap comes out of it. It is so because, it loses the capacity to hold the sap. It does not mean that the sap has died. Similarly, consciousness is not manifested in a dead body.
When a fruit is broken, seeds are seen. When seeds are broken, tiny seeds are seen. The process of breaking can continue till the availability of appropriate instrument for breaking. As the breaking approaches its limit, tangibility of the object approaches formlessness. It establishes that the most fundamental entity is formless. It exists. It is Existence but cannot be seen and experienced.
The teacher asks the student to have faith that this gross universe which is a product and is possessed of name and form, is born from Existence which is subtle indeed. ShankarAcharyA comments (Ch 6.12.2): “Although the meaning arrived at through logic and scriptures is understood to be so, still in the absence of intense faith it is very difficult for a mind which is engrossed in external things and is impelled by natural tendencies, to comprehend very subtle objects. Hence, he said, have faith.”
A lump of salt is dissolved in water in a glass. But salt is not seen though it exists. Its existence is proved by tasting the water from top, middle or bottom. Similar is the case with Existence. It is everywhere but is not seen. It can be known by appropriate methods, i.e., scriptures and teacher.
A person from the city of Gandhara is kidnapped. He is blindfolded and left in a solitary place. He removes the bandage but he has lost the directions. He shouts for help. He is lucky. A kind passerby guides him. The person with the help of guidance and making inquiries in the villages enroute reaches his own country of Gandhara, attains peace and becomes happy. A jiva is born ignorant, i.e., blindfolded. Due to his punya earned in previous lives, he finds a teacher who is knower of Existence. On being taught by the teacher, he gains knowledge of the Reality. He is taught that he is essentially eternal and changeless Existence, and not a transmigrating soul. With this knowledge, he claims his freedom which he has always been. Bondage is a notion due to ignorance. The Upanishad says that delay in freedom is as long as he is ignorant. Knowledge and freedom are simultaneous. He lives in the world as free person till exhaustion of prarabdha. On fall of the body, being a knower of Existence, he merges in Existence permanently because he is Existence.
A dying person recognises his relatives and friends who surround him so long as speech is not merged in mind, mind into vital forces, and vital forces into warmth. Once warmth of the body merges in the Deity, he does not recognise. For an ignorant person, the merger is temporary because he takes rebirth due to accumulated merits and demerits. For a knower of Deity, the merger is permanent.
A person accused of theft is brought in the court of the king. He pleads not guilty. In order to ascertain if the accusation is correct, he is asked to hold a hot iron rod. If he is guilty, his hands burn and he is jailed. If he is not guilty, the hands are not burnt because he is saved by truth. Similarly, after death a knower of Existence merges in Existence and does not return (is not burnt)
The sage Uddalaka has taught Thou that art to his son Svetaketu. Before the knowledge, Svetaketu has identified himself with mind and body and knows himself as, ‘I am Svetaketu, I am son of Aruni (Uddalaka), I am grandson of Aruna’. After knowledge, he knows himself as the Deity and that mind and body are names and forms superimposed on the Deity. He is liberated. Like Svetaketu, anyone can gain the knowledge and be liberated.
Vedantic teaching, i.e., TTA is completed in section 8 of chapter 6 of Ch Up. It is listening to the teacher (Sravan). Since Svetaketu has doubts, sections 9 to 16 are for removal of doubts (Manan) so that the student has conviction about the teaching. Svetaketu has doubt because he is unable to figure out why human beings do not claim identity with the Deity though they merge in It every day in deep sleep and he loses his individuality. That means that the mind, the instrument of knowing is resolved and is dormant. knower-hood is suspended temporarily. This is why, on waking up, a jiva does not claim identity with the Deity. The teacher explains with illustrations.
Bees collect different juices from different flowers and mix them into a homogeneous whole. In the homogeneous collection, different juices lose their individuality. Eastward and westward rivers rise from the sea and merge in the sea. In the sea, waters of all rivers become one and separated-ness vanishes.
It has been said earlier that Existence enters as individual soul in a human being. As Existence is everywhere, entry is figurative. The mind and body are inert being made of three inert elements. How and why is a human being conscious? The answer lies in the fact that Existence and Consciousness are same. They are two aspects of the Reality. Reality is eternal and changeless. It survives the death of a jiva. If a tree is struck in its different parts, the sap comes out. The sap pervades the tree. Similarly, consciousness pervades the body. When a branch of the tree dries, no sap comes out of it. It is so because, it loses the capacity to hold the sap. It does not mean that the sap has died. Similarly, consciousness is not manifested in a dead body.
When a fruit is broken, seeds are seen. When seeds are broken, tiny seeds are seen. The process of breaking can continue till the availability of appropriate instrument for breaking. As the breaking approaches its limit, tangibility of the object approaches formlessness. It establishes that the most fundamental entity is formless. It exists. It is Existence but cannot be seen and experienced.
The teacher asks the student to have faith that this gross universe which is a product and is possessed of name and form, is born from Existence which is subtle indeed. ShankarAcharyA comments (Ch 6.12.2): “Although the meaning arrived at through logic and scriptures is understood to be so, still in the absence of intense faith it is very difficult for a mind which is engrossed in external things and is impelled by natural tendencies, to comprehend very subtle objects. Hence, he said, have faith.”
A lump of salt is dissolved in water in a glass. But salt is not seen though it exists. Its existence is proved by tasting the water from top, middle or bottom. Similar is the case with Existence. It is everywhere but is not seen. It can be known by appropriate methods, i.e., scriptures and teacher.
A person from the city of Gandhara is kidnapped. He is blindfolded and left in a solitary place. He removes the bandage but he has lost the directions. He shouts for help. He is lucky. A kind passerby guides him. The person with the help of guidance and making inquiries in the villages enroute reaches his own country of Gandhara, attains peace and becomes happy. A jiva is born ignorant, i.e., blindfolded. Due to his punya earned in previous lives, he finds a teacher who is knower of Existence. On being taught by the teacher, he gains knowledge of the Reality. He is taught that he is essentially eternal and changeless Existence, and not a transmigrating soul. With this knowledge, he claims his freedom which he has always been. Bondage is a notion due to ignorance. The Upanishad says that delay in freedom is as long as he is ignorant. Knowledge and freedom are simultaneous. He lives in the world as free person till exhaustion of prarabdha. On fall of the body, being a knower of Existence, he merges in Existence permanently because he is Existence.
A dying person recognises his relatives and friends who surround him so long as speech is not merged in mind, mind into vital forces, and vital forces into warmth. Once warmth of the body merges in the Deity, he does not recognise. For an ignorant person, the merger is temporary because he takes rebirth due to accumulated merits and demerits. For a knower of Deity, the merger is permanent.
A person accused of theft is brought in the court of the king. He pleads not guilty. In order to ascertain if the accusation is correct, he is asked to hold a hot iron rod. If he is guilty, his hands burn, and he is jailed. If he is not guilty, the hands are not burnt because he is saved by truth. Similarly, after death a knower of Existence merges in Existence and does not return (is not burnt)
The sage Uddalaka has taught ‘Thou that art’ to his son Svetaketu. Before the knowledge, Svetaketu has identified himself with mind and body and knows himself as, ‘I am Svetaketu, I am son of Aruni (Uddalaka), I am grandson of Aruna’. After knowledge, he knows himself as the Deity and that mind and body are names and forms superimposed on the Deity. He is liberated. Like Svetaketu, anyone can gain the knowledge and be liberated.
Contd