That is inside and outside, far and near, moving and unmoving

Sankaracharya says, the Atmatattva though still, is everywhere always and thus goes everywhere. It is unattainable by the unknowing and is far in that sense of the word, even though it is in all beings. And as the s’rutis.. reveal, the “tat” is in and outside all beings.

The Purusha Suktham tells us that the Purusha is in all beings – with one pada (quarter/foot) in the manifest universe and the other 3 padas outside it. So the “tat” is in all of us as well as outside all of us… A limited analogy is like the wind that is in us as prAna, apAna and then again, most of it is outside us.  Anything that is in us as well as extends beyond the manifest universe is both near and far.

If “tat” is everything that there is including space and time, where would it go? It would be still in that sense.

And yet everything in it is moving and changing all the time.. transforming itself. Matter to energy and energy to matter might keep on happening and stuff might move about.. but the total of energy plus matter is a constant and in that sense unchanging.

That moves. That does not move. That is far and that is near.

It is inside All and outside All this.

 

The fifth mantram of the Isa Upanishad says :

tadEjati tannaijati taddUrE tadantikE |

tadantarasya sarvasya tadu sarvasyAsya bAhyatah ||

 

tat ejati – that moves

tat na ejati – that does not move

tat dure – that is far

tat antike – that is near

tat antarasya sarvasya – it is inside all things

sarvasya asya bahyatah – it is outside all this.

satyA

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Isa Vasya Upanishad : Agni! Take me in the right path!: Agne naya supatha : Eighteenth Mantram

In the Isa Vasya Upanishad, which is the last part of the Sukla Yajur Veda,  Yajnavalkya says,

agnE! : Oh Agni! (Fire, Energy)

naya supathA: take (me/us) in the good  path

rAyE : Sankaracharya says rAyE means dhanAya (for wealth) which itself means for the enjoyment (experience – bhOga) of karma phala (the consequences of our good purifying actions)

asmAn : us

vis’vAni : all (sarvANi)

dEva : O Luminary! (Divinity! Divine Being! God)

vayunAni vidwAn : one who knows our karma and gnyAna (knowledge); one who knows all the deities; one who knows all the knowledge

yuyOdhi : destroy

asmad juhurANam  enah : our deceitful sin (kuTila pApam)

bhUyiSThAm tE nama uktim vidhEma : repeatedly we repeat your name as a way to serve you. (since that’s all we can do)

What does Sankaracharya say? 

Sankara refers to the northern way of freedom (moksha, liberation) and the southern path of rebirth. He says supatha the good way is the northern way of moksha. We are asking Agni, who knows all our good deeds and knowledge to avoid the southern path where we would have to experience the benefits of all our good deeds and and instead take us to the northern path where we we will be free of this cycle of birth and death and attendant samsAra (worldly life). We ask agni to destroy all the bad things we did (along with our body). We can now only say his name and can no longer perform any other form of karma (since there is no body to perform it with).

What do I think?

Having attained the state of soham (I am He)  and realising that our breath is the wind, we ask Agni (Fire, Energy), who knows our doings and thoughts to destroy our wrong doings and direct us away from the path of rebirth and into the path of freedom. We know longer “do” karma like yagnyAs and other prescribed vedOkta karma. We merely repeat the name of Agni as our prayer, puja or yagnya.

I think we rely on our divine energy (will power) to make sure that we don’t return from this state of sah aham (soham). It is quite easy to fall from that state, for ordinary people who briefly touch it in their lives. For people like Sankaracharya, there is no return to ignorance – once they know they know!

It is known that some people use these last few mantras as a part of s’rAddha karma (the rites of that accompany cremation), though Sankaracharya has stated that these mantras should not be used for karma kanda (vedic rites). It may be in order to remind and reassure those who grieve and follow the deha (body) to the smas’anam (cremation ground) of the truth.

Next Steps :

• This is the last mantra of this upanishad.
• Learn how to chant this upanishad from a guru as per proper veda swaras.
• Meditate (japa) on the original mantras now that you know the meanings of each word/phrase
• See the meaning that emerges in your mind
• Share with those who are willing to listen to you.
• Sanskrit Dictionary : http://spokensanskrit.de/

Note : 

• I am not a guru.
• I am student like you who is sharing her notes with you, in case it helps.
• Only an AcArya like Sankara, who has “practiced” and “realised” can be called a Guru., I am not yet such a person. I can only hope.
• This is my karma, good and purifying action, for my chitta suddhi. It helps me be more thorough with my studies and helps me remember for a little longer what I study. It strengthens and improves and delights my mind.
• Krishna said that all actions are faulty in the beginning and they improve with time. I will get better with time.

So why do I write ? : Atmanah mOkSArtham jagad hitAya ca. (For my freedom and the welfare of the world)

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula

Isa Vasya Upanishad : This body is finally ash! Remember what was done! : Vayuranilam : Seventeenth Mantram

In the Isa Vasya Upanishad, which is the last part of the Sukla Yajur Veda,  Yajnavalkya says,

vAyuh anilam amRtam : The wind (that which carries away), wind (the forty-ninth of the Maruts), the state of non-death (immortality) 

DSC-0049 : Sankaracharya : Photo Credit : Kavana Vijaya : All Rights Reserved

atha idam : now this

bhasmAntam sarIram : this body is finally (in the end ) ashes

Aum kratO smara : Aum, remember O krata! (sankalpAtmaka: that part of us that can Will things to happen)

kRtam smara : remember kRta (that which was done)

kratO smara kRtam smara :  remember O  krata!  remember what was done.

What does Sankaracharya say? 

Sankara says that we should add the word pratipadyatAm to the first line. “As I die, my prANa (life, breath), my vAyu breaks away from its adhyAtmic enclosure (paricchEda) and enters the adhidaivic (divine) eternal wind, that is the self of all beings (sarvAtmak) having become sUtrAtmA”

(sUtrAtmA is annoyingly translated into english as thread-soul.. which means nothing in itself. It has been described it as a sort of DNA thread that has all the carry forward gene-like stuff on it.

Krishna says in one of the chapters of the Bhagavad Gita that as the wind carries forward smells from place to place, so also the AtmA carries forward its Karma from one birth to another. I think we will for the moment treat it as the “individuality” that survives body-death, till I get greater insights into this, from my Guru or from texts. – Satya)

This body with form (linga), gnyAna and karma, having been offered to agni becomes ashes, and should be left behind.

As per our upAsana, we saying Aum, which is the symbol of the undifferentiated Brahman whose form is truth (satyasvarUpam) and name is Agni.

Remember oh SankalpAtmaka! That which ought to be remembered. And also Remember all the karma that you did anuSTAna. (All the karma that you practiced)

What do I think?

atha idam vAyuh anilam amRtam : Now this life breath is the eternal wind.

I don’t think atha need refer to the moment of death. It in my view refers to the moment of realisation, when in the previous mantram, we said sohamasmi, He I am.

Then I know that “now my breath is the eternal wind.”

sarIram bhasmAntam : The body is ashes in the end.

Aum kratO smara kRtam smara : Aum, remember Oh Doer! remember what was done.

So in this moment of realisation when I realise that I am He behind the golden rays of the sun, and my breath is the eternal wind, I am the  Purusha  (sankalpAtmaka), the doer and I remember what was (actually) done.

I know that everything that moves is under Is’vara sankalpa. I know that I must “do” and live out my entire life-span. I know that not realising my self and not eductating myself will send me to sunless dark worlds. I know that my Self is in All and All is in my Self and that it goes everywhere while being stationary and is faster than the dEvatAS. I know that learning and methods other than Vidya must both be practiced to take me to amRta, similarly I must consider both the manifest and unmanifest in my sAdhana.

Then I regard the Nourisher and ask him to reveal the truth that’s behind his brilliant radiant form only to realise that it is I. I now feel my breath as the wind and recall what it was that was done, by Me the Doer!

This brings us to the last mantram of this upanishad which we shall study next time. Jai Sankaracharya! Jai Yagnyavalkya! (Jai Satya!  ) May those who read my rendition of this Isa Vasya Upanishad be blessed. Thanks for being there!

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula