THE WORLD OF BRAHMAN

 Sage Yajnavalkya came to Janaka, king of Videha with a determination that he would not talk at all. But he had offered a boon to the king earlier according to which Janaka was entitled to ask any question that he liked. Hence, when the sage visited him Janaka seized the golden opportunity and started questioning him on his favorite topics. “ What light does a person here have?” said the king. It is sunlight through which all activities are done said the sage. After sunset it is the light of the moon by which man continues to work said Yajnavalkya replying to the king’s query. To the next question the sage replied that after the setting of both the sun and the moon fire is the light that guides man in his activities. King Janaka was happy to hear these answers. He did not stop there. When all the three are gone speech is the light leading man in his work said the famous sage.To the next question the sage replied that Self is the light  when the sun, moon, fire and speech aren't there! To the next question which is Self Yajnavalkya replies that it is ‘knowledge among the senses--the light within the heart’.

The Self remains the same and “ wanders along the two worlds seeming to think and seeming to move about. In dreams he transcends this world--all forms of death”. The same Self when inside the body mixes with evil and leaves it on dying! The Self, according to the sage, has two states, one in this world and the other in the other world. The intermediate state is the sleeping state! In this sleeping state, the Self sees both the states in the and the other world. The Self equips himself with whatever is needed for the other world and sees the evils of this world and the joys of the other world. He dreams by his own light and becomes self illuminated! The Self creates for himself roads, horses, and chariots where there are none, as well as non-existent joys, pleasures, delights, tanks, lotus ponds and rivers! The Self himself is the agent. After experiencing, he comes to the place from which he started, to dream. Then he returns to the waking state. But He is not affected by it for this person is not attached to anything. From the waking state he returns to the state of dream! The sage says that the person moves about between the waking and dreamy states like a fish moves along both banks of a river.

Like a falcon or an eagle, weary after its flight folding its wings and reaching its nest, the Self reaches a state “ where he desires no desires and sees no dreams”. Like the person, embraced by his dear wife, forgets what is within and without, “ when embraced by the intelligent Self, knows nothing that is without and nothing within! The Self is his only desire, and in which he is without any other desire and free from any sorrow”. In that state all relationships of father,mother,  worlds, Gods, Vedas, thief, murderer, outcaste, mendicants, ascetic, good and evil are totally non-existent! In that state he sees without seeing as he is the seer and imperishable.There is ‘nothing else different from him that he could see’. He smells without smelling, tastes without tasting, speaks without speaking! He hears without hearing, thinks without thinking,he touches without touching! There is no other person but the Self!

Yajnavalkya told king Janaka that “ An ocean is that one seer, without any duality. This is the world of Brahman”. He continued and declared that this is the highest goal, treasure, world, and the  highest bliss! ‘All other creatures  are a fragment of this bliss!’ Sage Yajnavalkya now compares the bliss of an ideal man to that of the Celestials. Hundreds of human bliss equals one bliss of pitris! Hundred bliss of pitris make one unit of the bliss of the Gandharvas! The hundred bliss of Gandharvas is equal to the one bliss of God's! One hundred times of that bliss is equal to one unit of bliss of gods by birth and great Vedic scholars! Prajapati’s bliss is a hundred times of the gods by birth! A hundred times the bliss of Prajapati is that of Brahmana and one without sin and desire! That is the highest bliss! Sage Yajnavalkya said that is the world of Brahman.

Yajnavalkya compares the corporeal self (Jiva) to a heavily laden creaking cart presided over by the intelligent Self as a man breathes his last! The sick and senile man separates himself from his organs like a mango or a fig or a pippla fruit from its stalk and returns to the place from which he started--to new life! Like a caterpillar at the end of a blade of grass drawing itself towards another, the Self, throwing off this body and all its ignorance reaches another body! Like a goldsmith turning gold into new and beautiful shape, the self takes a newer and more beautiful one akin to the pitris, or Gandharvas, or of gods or of Prajapati or of Brahma or of other beings! According as a man acts, or conducts himself, so does he become. Virtuous action makes him virtuous and  sinful acts make him a sinner! The attachment of man decides the type of birth he takes next. After experiencing the results of his karma totally he returns to this world for work again!not it. One without desire or who desires the Self only does not depart elsewhere. “ Being Brahmana he goes to Brahman! ”Yajnavalkya quotes a verse and declares that when all the desires are cast away from the heart completely the mortal becomes immortal and Brahman! The body lies dead and cast away like the slough of a snake on the anthill!’ The Self is incomprehensible and cannot be defined. We can only say, ‘ not this, not this’! One who knows the Brahman transcends all good and evil! He sees the Self in his own self and sees all in the Self! So saying, Sage Yajnavalkya declared that this is the world of Brahman and that King Janaka had attained it!! Very much pleased, king Janaka said that he and his entire kingdom of Videha are at the service of the Sage!!

ON ANANDAM OR BLISS

We have heard the word “Ananda” several times and in fact use it on many occasions. We are so familiar with this word that we fail to realize its true significance! We take the word and its meaning very casually. What is the meaning of this word “Ananda”? Does it mean enjoyment? Does it signify happiness or does it point to pleasure that we very often feel? The enjoyment, happiness and pleasure that we have is transitory, momentary, and ephemeral! They remain for the time being and vanish after the experience is over. They are material pleasures and hence they cannot continue for ever. “Ananda or Bliss”is entirely different! It has nothing to do with the ordinary day to day experiences. It is a kind of indescribable divine elation beyond the comprehension of the common mortal. It cannot be narrated or explained in normal words. One has to experience to realize it. We mistake the usual pleasures and happiness  as “Ananda”. Is it possible for the ordinary mortal to experience this rare kind of divine experience? It is surely  not Impossible but requires  spiritual practices and a concerted effort on the part of the aspirant. Any thing, good and great cannot be obtained just like that!

“Ananda” or bliss is an inner treasure, won by detachment and discipline” remarks Bhagawan Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The Vedas and the Upanishads call this as Brahmananda- the Ananda of the Brahman! The tapas or penance and the discipline required for the attainment of Ananda is wonderfully brought out in the Bhrigu Valli of the Taittiriya Upanishad.The renowned sage Bhrugu approached his father Varuna with a desire for the knowledge of the Brahman. Pleased with his approach, Varuna instructs him on the six main gateways to the knowledge of the Brahman. They are food, Prana or soul, eyes, ears, Manas or mind, and speech. He explains to Bhrugu that Brahman is that object by which all the created beings live and thrive on and finally  merge into IT during the deluge. Varuna asked his son to “obtain this Brahman through these six gateways. Accordingly, Bhrugu performed tapas and found Annam or food as the Brahman since all living beings grow and thrive on annam alone and merge into the same Annam. But he did not accept it as Brahman as Annam is created by the Brahman and it is ephemeral whereas the Brahman is ‘nitya’ permanent and everlasting! “ annam brahmeti vyajanath”............................

“prano brahmeti vyajanath”......Asked by his father to perform penance again, Bhrugu found Prana as the Brahman since as creation, protection and destruction of the universe are dictated by it. But Prana is 'jada’- inert, without awareness while the Brahmin is full of awareness or chaitanya. Hence Prana cannot be equated with the Brahman! Varuna sent him back to do tapas once again and Bhrugu now found that Manas is the very Brahman as through its sankalpa all creation, protection and destruction take place. Once again doubt cropped in him and he could not equate Manas with the Brahman! Rigorous tapas he did again and thought vijnanam or knowledge is the Brahman since everything is done through vijnanam! His doubt did not leave him and he rejected it as the Brahma. Through Vijnanam bodies can be created but not elements like the sky or akasa. So Vijnana cannot be the Brahman! ”Vijnanam brahmeti vyajanath”........

“Anando brahmeti vyajanath”........In this manner sage Bhrugu, the pure souled, performed penance and found that  Anna, Prana, Manas, and Vijnana do not fully qualify themselves to be called the Brahman. At length, through his penance, he recognized the all inherent Ananda or Bliss as the real Brahman! One who performs tapas similarly and rejects Anna, Prana, Manas and Vijnana as Brahman is fixed in the Brahman! He becomes the Brahman himself!  “Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavathi”. This Ananda is thus the inner treasure and a serious attempt has to be made to attain that stage of Divine bliss! Jnanis and great yogis who meditate on the Supreme Reality always and forget everything in the world are those who are entitled to Ananda!

There are three dolls made of salt, cloth, and stone respectively. When they are immersed in water, the first, of salt, dissolves completely and loses its form; the second, of cloth, absorbs a large quantity of water but retains its form and the third, of stone, is impervious to water! The first doll represents the man who merges his Self in the universal and all pervading Self and becomes one with it after losing his identity! He is the liberated man! The second doll stands for the Bhaktha or devotee full of true love of God and knowledge! The third doll, of stone, is an example of the worldly man who will not admit even a true particle of true knowledge! Like the ant that tastes the sugar candy and loses itself in enjoying the sweetness, the aspirant loses and  merges himself into the Divine! The Jiva merges into the Deva and becomes Deva himself!  This rarest of the rare states where every mundane thing and all attachments are totally forgotten in the wonderful union with the Absolute Brahman is called “Ananda” and “ “Brahmananda”! Where is the comparison between our mortal enjoyments and pleasures and Ananda which is eternal Bliss!

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ON DETACHMENT

“Practice detachment from now on; for a day will come when you have to give up all that you hold dear.” counsels Bhagawan Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Can detachment come all of a sudden? It is impossible! Life on earth starts with attachments! The moment the the child sees the light of the day, all types of attachments crowd in! Mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grand mother, grand father and a host of connections attach themselves to the child! Even as the child grows up friends and companions join and attachments increase! As the boy grows into youth and takes up a job, colleagues, managers, officers and others come into the picture! In other words life is a series of associations and connections that one cannot avoid despite himself! Apart from these attachments the attachment to house, property, wealth and various other possessions maintain a stranglehold on man and make him their slave! Wife and children complete the missing connections and the poor man is inextricably entangled in the shoreless sea of samsara! Caught in this web of family and children, property and wealth, man has no

thought of extricating himself from these attachments! He finds indescribable pleasure and happiness in the company of these transitory and mundane connections and imagines that he is perfectly happy!

“ Kimva putra kalatra mitra pasubhir dehena gehena kim jnathvai tat kshana bhanguram”  Of what use are your son, wife, friend, pets, your body and home that vanish in a second? asks a devotee.Fully involved in Samsara, full of ups and downs and its little pleasures, man  thinks that this is all real and everlasting! He forgets that it is all due to the illusion created by Maya! He enjoys for a while but suffers more on account of associations and attachments. There is no escape for him as at every step his attachments drag him down and make him more and more miserable. An eagle caught a prey in its beak and flew into the sky. Many crows and other birds chased it and the eagle didn't know what to do. It tried its best to avoid them but they pursued the eagle. Finally the eagle let the prey down and lo, all the birds disappeared in a moment!  The more you are attached the greater is your suffering!

Arjuna is the victim of “moha”or attachment on the battlefield of Kurukshetra! He, for a moment, is sad at the thought of killing his own kith and kin and his teachers! He even puts down his great bow Gandiva and the arrows! He decides to  take up sanyasa instead of killing all and eat the bloody meal! Krishna explains that the curse of attachment has made him think like that! One should not feel sorry for the body that dies one day or other! Even so he should not weep for the Soul that is indestructible and eternal! But it is very difficult to get detachment because our associations are too long to be detached!! Man earns money by hard work. He tries hard to save it. When it is spent he feels unhappy. When it is lost he feels miserable! Why this money that makes you sad and miserable says a poet!

Attachments should be light, not strong! A father should do his duty just as a father, not more, not less! Catering to the needs of children, bringing them up, getting them married is quite enough! He should not involve in the affairs of his children too much! They may not like it! Desire, one of the six formidable inner enemies, is another reason for attachment! No desire is satiated totally and one is totally attached to the object of his desire! “ Aasa aasa paramam duhkam nirasa paramam sukham”---more and more desire leads to more and more sorrow, no desire leads to great happiness! It is not as if man doesn't know these truths. But he is too attached  to get himself released from the the shackles of samsara and its entanglements. What is the panacea for the sufferings of the ailing man?

When man leaves the world he cannot take any of the attachments dear and near to him! The so called material things have to be left behind however close they might be! There are instances of people who, on their deathbed, do not breathe their last because of their attachment to something or other! it is a sorrowful sight to see such people! Detachment can be developed by starting early in life. Curbing desires, not attaching too much of importance to many things, associating with devotees and saints, reading scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita and the Bhagavata Purana, the lives of famous saints like the Azhwars and Nayanmars, shall surely inculcate the spirit of detachment in any individual! In order to get detached you should think of God. It is too difficult to think of him in the final moments of life!The Bhagavata Purana tells the story of Ajamila who, by calling the name of his son Narayana, went to Vaikunta! Hence let us be prepared to shuffle our mortal coil easily by developing non attachment to things during our short stay on this planet!!

ASATOMA SAD GAMAYA( Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

The three well known and very popular quotations from the Upanishads are “ Asatoma sad gamaya, Tamasoma jyotir gamaya, Mrutyorma Amritam gamaya from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.2.28). The meaning of these statements, respectively is “ Lead me from falsehood to truth, Lead me from darkness to light and Lead me from death to immortality!”. These three statements are referred to as the three Pavamana mantras originally meant to be recited during the introductory praise of the Soma Sacrifice by the patron sponsoring it. What is the significance of these profound mantras? What do the terms ‘ asat, sat, tamas, Jyoti, mrityu, and amirtam’ stand for? Can we take these terms in their casual or ordinary sense or is there any special and esoteric meaning? Coming from one of the great Upanishads, the statements cannot offer any mundane interpretation. They enshrine great philosophical truths which we have to try to understand. The Upanishads speak of “Brahma Vidya” and this is the purpose of all the Upanishads.The Vedantic and Advaitic principle of unreality of the world is implied in the statement!

‘Sat’ is what exists, real, including the Absolute Brahman. 'Asat’ is that which is unreal, nonexistent, and darkness is equal to death. Is the world real or unreal? It is seemingly real but as per Vedanta it is a classical example of unreality! Another Vedantic statement says, “ Brahma Satyam Jagan mithya”! Brahman is Truth, the world is illusion or Maya! How is it? Stepping upon the rope in darkness you step aside thinking that it is a snake! When you switch on the torch you know it is after all a rope!There is no snake at all! The shape and size of the rope,together with the darkness creates the illusion that it is a real snake! But when the torch is splashed, the reality is known! Darkness is avidya or ignorance.Torch or light is knowledge! So when Knowledge dawns, ignorance or avidya vanishes! So when the knowledge of the Supreme Brahman is realized, the world becomes an illusion! Until that state of realization arrives, which is extremely rare, the  world is real for all of us!

“Sat” can also mean Truth. How do you define Truth? It is always stable, changeless permanent. It does not change according to seasons and climate or position! Everything in the world changes. Nature changes according to seasons. Man changes according to stages in his life. Even the cells in the body die and are created again and again! How can, then, the ever changing world be called true or real? ‘Sat’ is imperishable, unchanging and eternal! Man is expected to discriminate between the eternal and the ephemeral.Therefore the need for moving from ‘.asat’ to field of ‘Sat’. ‘Tamas’ signifies darkness, indolence and death. Man is enveloped in darkness as there is no light of knowledge! According to the Upanishads ‘Brahma Vidya’ is the knowledge! All other branches of worldly wisdom, all sciences, arts, literature religion and philosophy are of no use. It is the realization of the Brahma that elevates man and takes him to the resplendent and radiating region of ‘Jyoti’! In fact, the very purpose of man in the universe is to realize himself, to know that he is not the body but the indestructible Soul or Atma that manifests in all creatures! “ ajo nityaha saswatoyam purano nahanyathe hanyamane sareere”.

“Jatasya maranam dhruvam” Death is certain for every birth! But death should be noble. We should not die a bad death like the other creatures in the world! We should achieve immortality through death! This is not leaving behind name and fame in the ordinary sense. You should merge into the Brahman and become Brahman itself which is real, true, imperishable, effulgent and immortal! That exactly is the goal and destiny of man. Most of us think we are living but the fact is that we are dead-- dead to the most essential aspect of the purpose of our existence viz Realization of our own Self! Hence the Upanishadic mantra, “ Mrutyorma Amritam gamaya”.

All the three portions of the mantra mean “ Make me Immortal". “ From the nonexistent, from the unreal, from the apparent, lead me to the other side of it, the Existent, the real, the Noumenon”. The mantra as well as the Upanishad reject the material world as “ unreal, dark and dead” in line with the philosophy of Vedanta. The mantra invokes a concept of transcendental reality! The prayer is for a total rise from this involved, insufficient conditioned ‘being’ to the absolutely independent unconditioned ‘being’ which is simultaneously ”Sat, Jyotir, and amirtham, Existence, Light, Enlightenment, consciousness, Omniscience and immortality! ”The Upanishad wants every human being to attain immortality by realizing himself and feel that he is the very BRAHMAN himself!

EVERYTHING IS BRAHMAN ( Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

Sage Yajnavalkya came to the court of King Janaka of Videha and was received with honor. Janaka enquired of the purpose of his visit. “Is it for the sake of  cattle or for raising subtle questions?” asked king Janaka. Yajnavalkya replied that it was for both. Janaka said that his teacher Sailini had instructed that speech was Brahman as nothing can be achieved without speech. The sage pointed out that the abode of speech and its support is the organ of speech. It should be meditated upon as intelligence. The nature of intelligence is speech itself said the great sage. It is through speech alone that all the four Vedas, Itihasas, Puranas, arts, the Upanishads, food and drink, this world, and the other world are known. As such, Speech is the highest Brahman said Yajnavalkya. When king Janaka offered the Sage “a thousand cows with a bull as big as an elephant” he refused politely saying that his father did not allow it before the disciple was fully instructed! Janaka continued and said that Udanka told him that life was Brahman. What can man achieve without life? The abode of life is Breath and space is its support said Yajnavalkya. It should be meditated as the dear. It is love of life that creates fear of death. Life , therefore, is the highest Brahman.

Janaka said that Barku varshna told him that the eye was Brahman. A blind man cannot see anything in life.The eye is the abode and space its support said Yajnavalkya. One should meditate on it as truth. The nature of truth is the eye itself. In other words sight is the truth. The eye is the supreme Brahman. When king Janaka said that hearing is Brahman the sage replied that the ear is its abode and space its support. It should be meditated as endless. The quarters themselves are endless said Yajnavalkya. There is no end for the quarters as the quarters of space are endless. The ear is the highest Brahman! Continuing, king Janaka told the sage that Satyakama Jabala had told him that Mind was Brahman for without mind nothing can be achieved. The Mind is its abode and space its support. One has to meditate on it as bliss  said Yajnavalkya. Nature of bliss is Mind itself! It is by mind a person marries and has children. Children are a source of bliss especially a son. Hence Mind is the highest Brahman

The spiritual conversation between king Janaka and Yajnavalkya did not end there! Janaka continued and said that Sakalya had told him that the heart was Brahman. What can a heartless person achieve?  The heart is its own abode and space its support! A person has to meditate on it as the stable.The nature of heart is stability. It is the place of all things and the support of all things for all things rest in the heart! The heart is the highest Brahman! Overwhelmed at the answers of Yajnavalkya, king Janaka descended from his throne and came to the sage. He bowed down to Yajnavalkya  and requested the sage to teach him! The sage, on his part, was very happy at the knowledge of the king. He complimented Janaka on his knowledge of the teachings of the Upanishads! He said that king Janaka has prepared well like a man on a long journey securing a chariot or a ship for his travel. Thus he has become wealthy and honorable! He has learnt the Vedas and the Upanishads! Yajnavalkya then asked, “ Where then will you go when you are released from the body?” king Janaka replied that he did not know. Yajnavalkya offered to tell the king where he would go!

Later Yajnavalkya tells Janaka in figurative language the passage of man from the stage of  ‘Vaisvanara’ to that of ‘Taijasa’ and from there to ‘Prajna’ and from there to that of Atman! These stages represent respectively the waking state, the dreaming state, the state of deep sleep, or ‘turiya’ state! “Atman is incomprehensible and can be described as “not this, not this. He is unattached, unfettered. He does not suffer; he does not perish”. Yajnavalkya complimented King Janaka and said that he had reached the state of fearlessness. king Janaka wished the same to the sage and once again bowed to him with great veneration.

The conversation between Janaka and Yajnavalkya is highly philosophical and subtle. The stress in this Upanishad is always on Brahman! Every sensory organ has its use and considered as Brahman. Speech, eye, ear, mind and heart  are nothing if not Brahman! It is Brahman that radiates through these organs! When it shines all other organs become active! It is Impossible to define Brahman. We can eliminate things by saying “ neti, neti”-- not this, not this to comprehend Brahman. The conversation between Yajnavalkya and Janaka throw light on the erudition and scholarship of king Janaka who was the best disciple of the sage Yajnavalkya himself!