THE MESSAGE OF THE BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD

Book: Swami Ranganathananda

Review: Satyendra Nath Dwivedi

PART 2

‘Apara-Vidya’ sans ‘Para-Vidya’ – Its Dangers (Cont.)

Knowledge removes fear. Physical knowledge removes some fear, but

spiritual knowledge removes all fear.

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad says:

“Thou art the woman, Thou art the man, Thou art the boy, Thou art the young
girl. Thou art the old man tottering with a stick; Thou art born in these various
frames.” [Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4.3]

“I believe much of the excellence of the ancient Sanskrit philosophers is due to

their having been undisturbed by the thought of there being a public to please or
critics to appease. They thought of nothing but the work they had determined to
do; their idea was to make it as perfect as it could be made. There was no
applause they valued unless it came from their equals or their better; publishers,
editors and logrollers did not yet exist. Need we wonder then that their work done
as well as it could have been done, and that has lasted for thousands of years?”
- Max Muller

They could achieve this because they had only one motive – ‘Truth’. They anted
truth, and they pursued truth with a single-minded devotion, without a public to
please or critics to appease.

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“As a lump of salt dropped into water dissolves in water, and no one is able to
pick it up, but from wherever one takes it, it tastes salt, even so, my dear, this
great, endless, infinite reality is but ‘Pure Intelligence’. (The Self) comes out (as a
separate entity) from these elements, is destroyed with them. After attaining (this
oneness), it has no more (particular) consciousness. This is why, I say, my dear.
So said Yajnavalkya.” [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.12]

It is only ignorance that makes for separation. The separateness, ‘bheda-bhava’

as we call it, is completely gone with the destruction of ignorance through
knowledge. Then ‘abheda-bhava’ comes, the vision of non-separateness that we
are all one. Infinite oneness is the constant emphasis in the Upanishads.

“When the individual existence of the Self that is superimposed by ignorance and
is connected with the body and organs is destroyed by knowledge, the particular
consciousness connected with the body etc, consisting of a false notion, is
destroyed on the destruction of the limiting adjuncts of the body and organs, for
they are deprived of their cause, just as the reflections of the moon etc., and their
effects, the light and so forth, vanish when the water and the like, which form
their support are gone. But just as sun, moon, etc., which are realities behind the
reflections, remain as they are, similarly that Pure Intelligence which is the
transcendent ‘Brahman’ remains unchanged. That has been referred to as Pure
Intelligence. It is the Self of the whole universe, and does not really pass out with
the destruction of the elements, but the individual existence, which is due to
ignorance, is destroyed.”
- Shankaracharya

“Because when there is duality, as it were, then one smells something, one sees
something, one hears something, one speaks something, one thinks something,
one knows something. (But) when to the knower of ‘Brahman’ everything has

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become the Self, then what should one smell and through what, what should one
see and through what, what should one speak and through what, what should
one think and through what, what should one know and through what? Through
what should one know That owing to which all this is known – through what O
Maitreyi, should one know the Knower?” [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.14]

The ‘Atman’ is the eternal ‘Sakshi’ of the whole universe, and it is of the nature of
Pure Consciousness. Because it is Pure Consciousness, it is the Seer. It can
see, know and understand. That is where knowledge reaches its ultimate
consummation. Infinite knowledge is the nature of the ‘Brahman’.

All the Upanishads deal with ‘Atma-ekatva-vidya’, the science of unity of

Atman.

Atman is ‘Vignanaghana’, a mass of Pure Consciousness. The God we worship

is actually this infinite, immortal, non-dual Consciousness beyond names and
forms.

“This earth is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this
earth. (The same with) the shining immortal Being who is in this earth, and the
shining, immortal corporeal Being in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This
(Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is
Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.”
[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.5.1]

Like a thread running through the beads of a garland, this thread of Self
runs through everything in this universe unifying them.

Brahman is all, and when we know ourselves as Brahman, we become all.

Therefore, knowing Brahman is same as becoming everything in the universe.

“Even before realization one has always been Brahman, but through ignorance
one considered oneself different from It. One has always been all, but through
ignorance one considered oneself otherwise. Therefore, banishing this ignorance
through the knowledge of Brahman, the knower of Brahman, having all the while
been Brahman, became Brahman, and having throughout been all, became all.”
- Shankaracharya

We all desire precious things and the most precious thing is the Self. Therefore, it
is expected of us that we put our utmost effort to realize this Truth.

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According to Vedanta, Brahman assumed the forms of infinite number of
creatures – two-legged, four-legged, and all other forms. Then He entered into
them and started functioning inside everything.

“He on account of His dwelling in all bodies is called the ‘Purusha’. There is
nothing that is not covered by Him; likewise there is nothing that is not pervaded
by Him. That is, everything is enveloped by Him as its inside and outside. Thus it
is He who as name and form – as body and organs – is inside and outside
everything.”
- Shankaracharya

The ‘Narayana Suktam’ speaks of it as: “He stands enveloping everything from
inside and outside.”

“This is that meditation on things mutually helpful which Dadyac, versed in the
Atharva-Veda, taught the Ashvins. Perceiving this the Rishi said, ‘(He)
transformed Himself in accordance with each form; that form of Him was for the
sake of making Him known. The Lord on account of Maya (notions
superimposed by ignorance) is perceived as the manifold, for to Him are yoked
ten organs, many hundreds of them.’ He is the organs; He is ten, and thousands
– many and infinite. The Brahman is without prior or posterior, without interior or
exterior. This Self, the perceiver of everything, is Brahman. This is the teaching.”
[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.5.19]

Chapter 3: Yajnavalkya Kand

When a teaching is presented through a beautiful story, and that too a story
which is humorous, that makes the teaching much more palatable.

Those who devoted their whole lives for education never running for money were
the ‘Brahmanas’. They were considered fully devoted to intellectual and spiritual
development.

What is death? It consists of ‘grahas’ (organs) and ‘atigrahas’ (objects) – the

subject-object dimension in our human system. Our sense organs are the
subjects called ‘grahas’. The world outside and the body are the objects called
‘atigrahas’. Emancipation is the resultant liberation from this relative existence of
‘graha-atigraha’ combination in which we are caught up. The sense organs are

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grahas and the rest of the body is atigrahas. The sense organs are captured by
the rest of the body in knowledge, understanding and experience. Liberation is
possible only when death in the form of ‘grahas’ and ‘atigrahas’ are destroyed.
No culture can achieve depth without tackling the problem of death.

The Mundaka Upanishad says:

“Two sciences must be mastered by a human being; one is the science of these
‘grahas’ and ‘atigrahas’, this world of relativity. The other is the science of the
One Imperishable Reality – ‘Apara Vidya’ and ‘Para Vidya’.” [Mundaka
Upanishad

‘Karma’ and reincarnation constitute a tremendous source of strength for Indian

thinking in which the entire responsibility for the human destiny is put on the
human being.

Every action produces an impression upon the human mind, and it also produces
an impression on the world outside.

A few actions repeated become a habit. If we continue the habit a little longer, it
becomes a law unto us. Then we cannot change it at all.

The various actions we have done have left their impressions, which are called
‘samskaras’ or ‘vasanas’. Each person has a particular bent, a psychological
bent made by these ‘samskaras’ or ‘vasanas’ that one has accumulated in the
course of several lives. This is the truth about the psychology of human being.

In the Upanishads the search is for the ‘Truth’ of life. What is this ‘Truth of truth’?
The world we see is true, but is there a truth behind it? That is the main search in
the Upanishads.

‘Brahman’ is not the result of any ‘Karma’. ‘Karma’ functions only in the relative
plane. And liberation consists in our realizing that Eternal Existence – ‘Brahman’,
which is not the effect of any ‘Karma’.

“The authority of the Vedas being inviolable, a Vedic passage must be taken
exactly in the sense it is tested to bear, and not according to the ingenuity of the
human mind. The sun does not cease to reveal objects because of the ingenuity
of the human mind; similarly, the Vedic passages cannot be made to give up
their meaning.” Shankaracharya

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The energy that runs throughout the universe is called ‘Prana’. The Prana is the
diversity of individuals in and through which it functions. That very Prana is also
the aggregate as the unit cosmic energy. Prana is individual, and Prana is also
the total – the particular as well as universal.

Every one can realize this truth of the immortal behind the mortal. This is the
recurring theme throughout our history.

There is beautiful verse in the ‘Shanti Parva’ of the epic ‘Mahabharata’

[12.169.28] which says: “In this human body, there are two data ever present.
One is ‘Amrita’, and the other is ‘Mrityu’. One is immortality, the other is death.
When we pursue delusive things, we get into death. But when we pursue truth,
we get immortal.”

“That which breathes through the ‘Prana’ is your self that is within all. That which
moves downwards through the ‘Apana’ is your self that is within all. That which
pervades through the ‘Vyana’ is your self that is within all. That which goes out
through the ‘Udana’ is your self that is within all. That which equalizes through
‘Samana’ is your self that is within all.” [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.5.19]

Man seeks God. Man has always been seeking something that is immortal,
which is unlike us in this world.

In all the organized religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism, particularly
the Semitic religions, there is an extra-cosmic God. Their God is not at all a part
of this nature. Nature is only His will-power. It has come from Him, but He is
extra-cosmic. Therefore, He is supra-natural.

The Upanishadic sages were earnest seekers of truth. They were earnest in
their search for truth and not for any fancy or opinion. They were not
satisfied with a pleasant dogma.

The universe has come from God and is non-different from Him. That is our
theory in the Upanishads. From Brahman the universe has come, in
Brahman the universe rests, and unto Brahman the universe goes back.

India became the home of harmony in the world of religions and cultures. The
Upanishads have contributed immensely in the evolution of the Indian mind.

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Brahman means something expansive, big, something that deals with this entire
universe enveloping it inside out.

“That reality from which all these beings take birth, that by which they live
after being born, and that towards which they move and into which they
merge – know That. That is Brahman.” [Taittiriya Upanishad 3.1.1]

Our intelligence has the capacity to understand and change the world. But that’s
not all. There is something unique about it. We can understand ourselves also.
We can turn our attention to our inner Self to attain self-knowledge.

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad proclaims the greatest truth:

“Listen to me O children of Immortal Bliss. I have discovered the Infinite

Man, which is luminous like the sun, and beyond all darkness and
delusion. By realizing that truth alone can you transcend death and
delusion. There is no other way to perfection.” [Shvetashvatara Upanishad
2.5, 3.8]

In this human life the greatest thing is to realize our true nature. I am not a
creature among the creatures of this world. There is a profound focus of value
within me. In fact, all values are centred somewhere in my system. I have to
bring it out. Value won’t come from the external nature. It comes from the
‘Atman’.

Every man or woman contains that Divine within himself or herself and has
the organic capacity to realize that truth.

We have to realize the truth. It is not sufficient to merely believe in it. We have
never based religion on belief in our country. Belief is secondary, experience is
primary. Everyone has the right to believe in whatever one thinks right, or one
may even live without any belief at all. They won’t be harmed by our religion or
society. That is our national tradition and wisdom.

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“You cannot see that which is the Witness of vision; you cannot hear the Hearer
of hearing; you cannot think the Thinker of thought; you cannot know that which
is the Knower of knowledge. This is your Self that is within all; everything else
but this is perishable.” [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.4.2]

We are infinite but we consider ourselves finite. Therefore, in order to fulfill

ourselves we run out through our sensory system seeking pleasure here and
there. But once this knowledge is with us, that running out ceases. That is called
‘Renunciation’.

Desires make us outgoing because we feel something is missing here in us, and
we try to get it from outside. On getting that thing we feel appeased for the time
being. Again we are pushed out after some time. We go out again and again to
enjoy because of the emptiness inside.

‘Brahman’ is One without a second, , says Shruti

[Chhandogya Upanishad 6.2.1]. That is imperishable. Names and forms making
for this diverse universe are just appearances. They are perishable.

How to create a crimeless society? By making people realize that they are
superior to things amidst which they live. When that knowledge comes, there will
be no crime.

‘Brahman’ is One without a second. There is nothing apart from It. You and I are
all one. Suppose we realize that we are all citizens of free India, how happily can
we live in this country by helping each other?

The ‘Atman’ is not affected by human misery because It is beyond that. Even sin
cannot touch the Atman. Sin can affect the body, the sensory system and the
mind. All infection can affect only these three, and beyond that is the Atman. No
infection, no sin can ever touch the Atman.

We are in ignorance now. All the evil tendencies come from ignorance
within us and we run out of ourselves committing blunders. But if we
steadily practice discrimination, slowly the knowledge comes that we are
the Infinite One. Through this knowledge the cessation of outside activity
comes. All restraint at the sensory level becomes natural when the
knowledge of the Atman shines even a little in the human mind.

There is something unique in this conscious being called man. That uniqueness
must be realized. Today we know it only hazily. Now we must learn what exactly

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is its depth and its dimension. That is where the Upanishads can help us to
understand and guide.

The infinite Atman is there as pure consciousness in every item of the world. We
have to go deeper and deeper, from gross to subtle, from subtle to still subtler
levels, and the subtlest truth is the Atman of the nature of pure consciousness.

In the Shrimad-Bhagavata [10.2.26] we find God described as

“The world that is perceived as true is established in Truth (God).”

‘Sutra’ is the word for thread in Sanskrit – the thread that holds together all the
beads of a garland. The word is metaphorically used for ‘Prana’, the cosmic force
on which is stung this entire universe of diversity.

“Brahman’ as the ‘Antaryami’ is a very beautiful spiritual concept. Antaryami

means the inner ruler. ‘Yama’ means to rule and ‘Antar’ means inner. The
Supreme Inner Ruler who rules, guides and develops us from within is the
Antaryami. God is Antaryami, the Self of all, like a thread that runs through
pearls.

“He who inhibits all beings, whom no being knows, whose body is all
beings, and who controls all beings from within, is the Internal Ruler, your
own Immortal Self.”
- Shankaracharya

“He is never seen, but is the Witness; He is never heard, but is the Hearer; He is
never known, but is the Knower. There is no other witness but Him, no other
hearer but Him, no other thinker but Him, no other knower but Him. He is the
internal ruler, your own Self. Everything else but Him is mortal.” [Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad 3.7.23]

Our culture has produced thousands of men and women who had gone beyond
all body consciousness and attained to that state of absolute oneness with all.
Therefore, we treated the sensory level of life as ordinary and as a beginning.
We can slowly grow and go beyond it.

During the Upanishadic time, and even in Buddha’s time, the inhabitants of
Benares were famous for both their valour and intellect. People used to go there
as it was a University from very ancient times. Even in Buddha’s time it was a
great intellectual centre.

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In India it was customary for women to take part in discussions in assemblies.
Gargi, a woman philosopher, came to Janak’s assembly and asked questions to
Yajnavalkya.

Where the physical sciences stop, Vedanta begins. Physical sciences deal
with sensory data. Sensory data are limited and beyond the sensory data
physical science has nothing to do. As soon as the physical scientist goes
beyond the sensory data, he or she has to say goodbye to the senses. It is only
the mind in a subtle form which can try to understand what lies beyond the
sensory level. Senses have absolutely no meaning at that level. In meditation we
go beyond the senses.

[To be continued]

Review: Satyendra Nath Dwivedi

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