A Commentary on the Upanishads by Swami Nirmalananda Giri -12

A Commentary

on the Upanishads

by

Swami Nirmalananda Giri

Prana: Its History and Nature

Sanatana Dharma is not a “shut up and believe and obey” religion. Those who

follow the Eternal Dharma must gain the fullest knowledge of how things work, for

without that knowledge mastery will be impossible. And mastery is the result of

evolution. Prana, the universal life force, must be known about and mastered. So:

Conscious being

“When it was the turn of Kousalya, he put this question: “Master, of what is Prana

born; how does he enter the body; how does he live there after dividing himself; how

does he go out; how does he experience what is outside; and how does he hold

together the body, the senses, and the mind?” (Prashna Upanishad 3:1)

All these questions are going to be answered subsequently, so the only important

point is the referring to prana as a conscious being–which it is because it is the life of

Brahman and therefore is Brahman. The fact that everything is conscious is unique to

the teachings of Sanatana Dharma. Science considers itself extremely bold in

cautiously approaching this concept and tentatively postulating it. Those in the West

who bravely make the statement as evident fact are those whose thinking has–at least

in its ancestry–been derived from the wisdom of India.

The worthy questioner

“To which the sage replied: Kousalya, you ask very difficult questions; but since

you are a sincere seeker after the truth of Brahman, I must answer.” (Prashna

Upanishad 3:2) This I have seen for myself in India. The great saints just will not

bother with the idly curious and the hopelessly shallow. But they will gladly speak with

those who are seeking the knowledge of Reality.

Once I made the mistake of taking a Western spiritual wanderer to meet Maitri

Devi, a beloved saint in New Delhi. When he told her he wanted to ask a question she

replied in Hindi: “I do not speak English.” When he asked if someone could translate

his questions she again responded: “I do not speak English.” So I said to him quietly:

“Tell me your question and I will ask it.” For quite some time he would softly tell me

his questions and I would ask them–in English!–and she would readily answer through

a translator. I appreciated her kindness to me, but I also decided to never again bother

her with roamabouts. Other saints I met would do the same–some diplomatically,

others not so tactfully.

We should learn from this and question ourselves as to why we “seek” and even

why we study: To eventually reach the knowledge of God, or just to cram more ideas in

our head to show how “wise” we are? Yogananda often spoke of those who had

“spiritual indigestion” from cramming useless philosophy into their minds.

But Kousalya is a worthy questioner, so the sage replies:

Prana in us

“Prana is born of the Self. Like a man and his shadow, the Self and Prana are

inseparable. Prana enters the body at birth, that the desires of the mind, continuing

from past lives, may be fulfilled.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:3)

Just as the cosmos is an extension of the Consciousness that is Brahman, in the

same way our individual prana is an extension of our Self (atman). It is inseparable

from the Self because it is the Self. This is the authentic non-duality (advaita) of the

upanishads, not a negation or denial of either Prakriti or prana. Seeing them as

separate from Spirit, and therefore dual, is the error–not acknowledging their intimate

reality.

Prana provides the continuity between our present and past lives–both minds and

bodies. It is also the force that enables the continuation of our evolution from past lives,

carries us through this present life and through future ones as well. Prana truly is Life

itself.

This verse also tells us that karma is a matter of the mind, and not some external

force. Change the mind and you change the karma–or even dissolve it. It need never

extend into our external existence. “Working out karma” is not a compelling necessity.

We are never slaves to karma. We are its creators and its masters, at least potentially.

But we have forgotten that fact and lost control of our karma. It must be regained if we

would be free.

Its “associates”

“As a king employs officials to rule over different portions of his kingdom, so Prana

associates with himself four other Pranas, each a portion of himself and each assigned

a separate function.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:4) We usually speak of “five pranas,” but

there is really only pure Prana and its four modalities. Their functions will be outlined,

but first here is the definition of Prana found in our Brief Sanskrit Glossary:

Prana: Vital energy; life-breath; life-force. In the human body the prana is divided

into five forms: 1) Prana: the prana that moves upward; 2) Apana: The prana that

moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general. 3) Vyana: The prana

that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in the body. 4) Samana:

The prana the carries the grosser material of food to the apana and brings the subtler

material to each limb; the general force of digestion. 4) Udana: The prana which brings

up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general force of assimilation.

If this is kept in mind the following will be more comprehensible and meaningful.

“The Prana himself dwells in eye, ear, mouth, and nose; the Apana, which is the

second Prana, rules the organs of excretion and generation; the Samana, which is the

third Prana, inhabits the navel and governs digestion and assimilation.

“The Self dwells in the lotus of the heart, whence radiate a hundred and one nerves

[nadis]. From each of these proceed one hundred others, which are smaller, and from

each of these, again, seventy-two thousand others, which are smaller still. In all these

moves the Vyana, which is the fourth Prana.

“And then at the moment of death, through the nerve in the center of the spine, the

Udana, which is the fifth Prana, leads the virtuous man upward to higher birth, the

sinful man downward to lower birth, and the man who is both virtuous and sinful to

rebirth in the world of men.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:5-7)

This final verse is an interpretive translation saying more than is really there.

Swami Nikhilananda translates it literally: “And then udana, ascending upward through

one of them, conducts the departing soul to the virtuous world, for its virtuous deeds;

to the sinful world, for its sinful deeds; and to the world of men, for both.” As you see,

there is no mention of a “nerve in the center of the spine,” the sushumna. The nadi of

ascending consciousness is spoken of at the end of the Katha Upanishad thusly:

“Radiating from the lotus of the heart there are a hundred and one nerves. One of

these ascends toward the thousand-petaled lotus in the brain. If, when a man comes to

die, his vital force passes upward and out through this nerve, he attains immortality;

but if his vital force passes out through another nerve, he goes to one or another plane

of mortal existence and remains subject to birth and death.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:16)

Here is what I wrote in comment on this verse:

“By ‘heart’ is meant the hub–located in the midst of the upper trunk of the body–of

subtle passages known as nadis (here translated ‘nerves’) through which the life force

(prana) circulates throughout the gross and subtle bodies, just as the blood circulates

from the heart through the veins of the physical body. One hundred of these nadis

direct the life force to the life processes of the bodies and are the forces of

embodiment. One, unique, nadi, however, rises directly upward from the heart-hub

into the head. (This nadi rises from the heart directly into the head–it is not the

passage in the midst of the spine.) If at the time of death the departing spirit leaves

through that channel, he gains immortality. But if his consciousness attaches itself to

any of the hundred other nadis he will be impelled into the subtle worlds that lead

inexorably back to incarnation in relativity.

“In every meditation, by intoning Om in time with the breath we activate this

channel, causing the life force to spontaneously and effortlessly, flow upward into the

thousand-petalled lotus in the head toward the divine radiance that shines above and

upon the upper levels of the brain-lotus. That Divine Light is the essence of Om, the

Life-Giving Word, the Pranava. Then at the end of life, having prepared himself by this

practice, sitting in meditation the yogi ascends upward from the body into the realm of

immortality.”

Cosmic prana

Since each of us is a reflection of the universe, there is a cosmic pranic

arrangement also, so the sage continues:

“The sun is the Prana of the universe. It rises to help the Prana in the eye of man to

see. The power of earth maintains the Apana in man. The ether between the sun and

the earth is the Samana, and the all-pervading air is the Vyana.

“The Udana is fire, and therefore he whose bodily heat has gone out dies, after

which his senses are absorbed in the mind, and he is born again. Whatever his thought

at the moment of death, this it is that unites a man with Prana, who in turn, uniting

himself with Udana and with the Self, leads the man to be reborn in the world he

merits.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:8-10)

This final principle is the most important. It is expanded in the Gita in this way: “At

the hour of death, when a man leaves his body, he must depart with his consciousness

absorbed in me. Then he will be united with me. Be certain of that. Whatever a man

remembers at the last, when he is leaving the body, will be realized by him in the

hereafter; because that will be what his mind has most constantly dwelt on, during this

life. Therefore you must remember me at all times, and do your duty. If your mind and

heart are set upon me constantly, you will come to me. Never doubt this. Make a habit

of practicing meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will

come finally to the Lord, who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.” (Prashna

Upanishad 3:5-8)

This is why the japa and meditation of Om is “The Way,” as Patanjali states in the

Yoga Sutras (1:28)

The knowing of Prana: immortality

The importance of knowing the functions of Prana by direct experience–through

yoga practice–is summed up by the sage, saying:

“The progeny of him who knows Prana as I have revealed him to you is never cut

off; and he himself becomes immortal.

“It was said of old: One who knows the Prana–whence he has his source, how he enters

the body, how he lives there after dividing himself five-fold, what are his inner workings—

such an one attains to immortality, yea, even to immortality.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:11,

12)

For, as the other upanishads declare: Prana is Brahman.

The Witnessing Self

The one in the three

“Gargya then asked: ‘Master, when a man’s body sleeps, who is it within that

sleeps, and who is awake, and who is dreaming? Who then experiences happiness, and

with whom are all the sense organs united?’” (Prashna Upanishad 4:1)

Anyone who ponders the nature of consciousness comes to realize that there are

three modes of experience: waking, dream, and dreamless sleep. All three of these

states are experienced by a single witness who says: “I slept without dream,” “I slept

and dreamed,” and “I am now awake.” Who is that witness? This is Gargya’s inquiry.

Who is the unchanging witness of change? Who is the unseen seer? For no intelligent

person of unclouded intellect can doubt the existence of such a one.

Sleep

“‘As the rays of the sun, O Gargya, when he sets,’ replied the sage, ‘gather

themselves up in his disk of light, to come out again when he rises, so the senses

gather themselves up in the mind, the highest of them all. Therefore when a man does

not hear, see, smell, taste, touch, speak, grasp, enjoy, we say that he sleeps. Only the

Pranas are then awake in the body, and the mind is led nearer to the Self.’” (Prashna

Upanishad 4:2-4)

Prana is the primal life-force or vital energy. The prana that manifests in the

evolving universe also manifests in the evolving body of each human being. In the

body there are five basic forms of prana: 1) Prana, the prana that moves upward; 2)

Apana: The prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general.

3) Vyana: The prana that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in

the body. 4) Samana: The prana that carries the grosser material of food to the apana

and brings the subtler material to each limb; the general force of digestion. 5) Udana:

The prana which brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general

force of assimilation.

The pranas also correspond to the five elements: earth (prithvi), water (apa), fire

(tejas), air (vayu), and ether (akasha). One of these five elements is the foundation for

one of the five senses: earth=smell, water=taste, fire=sight, air=touch, and

ether=hearing/speech.

In the waking state all the pranas are quite active and fundamentally outflowing,

even those that maintain the internal functions of the body being externalized through

being expended in the fulfillment of their tasks. But in sleep they withdraw into the

inner reservoirs of the body and the state of sleep occurs. On the subtlest energy level

they withdraw into the manas, the energy field we call the mind. For the mind is the

highest “sense,” being the sum and goal of them all. It is not amiss to say that the

senses serve the mind–at least when the right order prevails. Otherwise they drag the

mind helplessly along addicting and enslaving it. Breaking the web of this addictionslavery

is then impossible without the practice of pranayama–control and refinement of

the pranas. For this reason all viable spiritual traditions have methods that involve

breath–the most objective manifestation of prana–to some degree. (See Chapter Four:

Breath and Sound in Meditation in Om Yoga–Its Theory and Practice.)

When the pranas withdraw into the mind, their distracting activities lessen–unless

they occupy and overwhelm the mind with constant and vivid dreaming. When/If the

mind is thus granted a reprieve from their clamor, it begins to sense what is behind it,

just as it is behind the senses. The mind is the witness of the senses, but it is also

witnessed. That ultimate witness is the Self. Therefore the upanishad says that in sleep

“the mind is led nearer to the Self.”

Dreams and dreamlessness

Where do dreams come from? Gargya has not asked, but Pippalada tells him:

“While in dream, the mind revives its past impressions. Whatever it has seen, it sees

again; whatever it has heard, it hears again; whatever it has enjoyed in various

countries and in various quarters of the earth, it enjoys again. What has been seen and

not seen, heard and not heard, enjoyed and not enjoyed, both the real and the unreal, it

sees; yea, it sees all.” (Prashna Upanishad 4:5) Everyone is creative in the dream state,

though some are definitely better writer/directors of their inner movies than others.

He continues: “When the mind is overpowered by deep slumber, it dreams no more. It

rests happily in the body.” (Prashna Upanishad 4:6)

From the very first yogis have spoken of the importance of the dreamless, deep

sleep state they call sushupti. This is because in dreamless sleep we are aware of

awareness itself with no interference from the senses. We are aware deep within

ourselves, aware of our nature as simple, pure consciousness. Dreamless sleep is also

proof that the Self exists. For although no objects are presented to the mind, there is a

witness of that non-experiencing. Otherwise we would not awaken and say: “I slept but

had no dreams at all.” Instead we would not know any time had passed, would not

know that we had been asleep. That witness which cognizes the waking, dream, and

dreamless states is the Atman itself.

There is a higher form “when sushupti [the dreamless sleep state] is rightly

cognized [experienced] while conscious,” says the Shandilya Upanishad. In that state

we are “asleep while awake” and are fully conscious of the fact. This is very near the

actual experience of the Self and partakes of that experience to some degree, the

happiness and ease we feel being a touch of the joy (ananda) that is the nature of the

Self. It is extremely valuable because it shows us that when all sensory experience is

gone beyond there yet remains the truth of ourselves in the form of pure,

unconditioned consciousness that is the Self.

In deep meditation we enter this state intentionally and begin working our inner

transformation from this center by the subtle intonations of Om. (See Om Yoga: Its

Theory and Practice for more on this.)

To the Self

“As birds, my friend, fly to a tree for rest, even so do all these things fly to the Self:

Earth and its peculiar essence, water and its peculiar essence, fire and its peculiar

essence, air and its peculiar essence, ether and its peculiar essence, the eye and what it

sees, the ear and what it hears, the nose and what it smells, the tongue and what it

tastes, the skin and what it touches, the voice and what it speaks, the hands and what

they grasp, the feet and what they walk on, the mind and what it perceives, the intellect

and what it understands, the ego and what it appropriates, the heart and what it loves,

light and what it illumines, energy and what it binds together.” (Prashna Upanishad

4:7, 8)

They “fly to the Self” because the Self is their origin. They are returning to their

source after ages upon ages of separation in relative existence/experience.

“For verily it is the Self that sees, hears, smells, tastes, thinks, knows, acts. He is

Brahman, whose essence is knowledge. He is the immutable Self, the

Supreme.” (Prashna Upanishad 4:9) The Self is the Experiencer in all beings, the

knower of all things, and the doer of all acts. This points out the fact that Maya–

illusion–is the misperception of things, not perception itself. Also, sense experience,

thought, and actions are NOT illusions. It is our misunderstanding of them that is

illusion. The Self is real and its experiences are real. It is true that they are purely

mental in nature, but is the mind not real? Again, it is a matter how we perceive.

The Self is a wave of the ocean of Brahman, the Absolute, whose nature is

Consciousness. The Self is immutable, and beyond it there is nothing else, for in

essence it is one with Brahman, the ultimate Being. Yet, the Self needs to attain itself,

needs to attain the consciousness of its Being which is Brahman. Therefore the sage

says further:

The end result

“He who knows the immutable, the pure, the shadowless, the bodiless, the

colorless, attains to Brahman, O my friend. Such an one becomes all-knowing, and he

dwells in all beings. Of him it is written: ‘He who knows that immutable Self, wherein

live the mind, the senses, the pranas, the elements–verily such an one knows all

things, and realizes the Self in all.’” (Prashna Upanishad 4:10, 11)

This is most important, for it indicates that first we know the Self–the individual

Self, the jivatman–and then we are enabled to know the Supreme Self, the

Paramatman: Brahman. And the Self we will know is itself:

Immutable. Eternally changeless, incapable of being either diminished or

increased, for it is one with the Infinite.

Pure. Ever only itself, never really being influenced or changed by any thing

whatsoever. Untainted by any contact, for it is untouchable.

Shadowless. The Self is Pure Light within which there is no shadow of darkness or

differentiation. It is always exactly what it is.

Bodiless. It is perfectly non-dual. It is neither inside or outside of any thing. It

cannot be contained. It is absolutely one, having nothing appended to it or necessary to

it.

Colorless. It has no “qualities” or “characteristics” but is always I AM. The three

gunas are not present in it, nor are any gradations of any kind. It is indescribable. All

we can really say about it is what it is not.

All of these terms indicate that the Self is the same as Brahman. And the Self that

knows its Self–Brahman, “wherein live the mind, the senses, the pranas, the

elements”–does in truth come to know all things and the Self in all things.

Omniscience and omnipresence are experienced by that liberated spirit who knows

its oneness with The All.

Meditation on Om

So far the questions put to Pippalada have been about the components of the

human organism which both empower and limit it. In the last section the subject of the

Self was considered–specifically the nature of the Self and the results of knowing the

Self. Now we approach the subject of the way in which the Self is known. Without

knowing this, all the foregoing teaching is pointless.

Life and death

“Whereupon Satyakama, coming near to the master, said: Venerable sir, if a man

meditate upon the syllable OM all his life, what shall be his reward after

death?” (Prashna Upanishad 5:1)

Satyakama understood that what really mattered was not short-term gain in this

life, but the state of consciousness that would determine where the individual would go

after death when stripped of body, possessions, relationships, and all that is “of the

earth, earthly”–when he has nothing but his degree of evolution to determine his

future.

So he wants to know what will be the result of meditating on Om throughout one’s

life. Literally, the Sanskrit texts asks what will be the result of intense meditation

(abhidhyana) on Om, and what world (loka) will be won (jayati) by means of that

meditation. For the world in which we find ourselves after death reveals our

fundamental state of consciousness.

The supreme attainment

“And the master answered him thus: Satyakama, OM is Brahman–both the

conditioned and the unconditioned, the personal and the impersonal. By meditating

upon it the wise man may attain either the one or the other.” (Prashna Upanishad 5:2)

Brahman is absolutely one, but from our present perspective seems to be of a dual

character. In this verse the expression “higher” (para) and “lower” (apara) are used,

though Prabhavananda has used the explanatory translations “conditioned and the

unconditioned” and “the personal and the impersonal.” It is more usual to use the

terms nirguna (without attributes or qualities–guna) and saguna (with attributes or

qualities) in relation to Brahman. In A Brief Sanskrit Glossary Nirguna Brahman is

defined as: “The impersonal, attributeless Absolute beyond all description or

designation.” Saguna Brahman is defined as: “The supreme Absolute conceived of as

endowed with qualities like mercy, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, etc., as

distinguished from the undifferentiated Absolute–Nirguna Brahman.” Nirguna

Brahman is the “higher” Brahman and Saguna Brahman is the “lower” or lesser. Again,

this distinction is just a means of expression adopted for the limitations of our human

intellects.

Presently it is commonly assumed–erroneously–that there is one way to meditate

on Nirguna Brahman and another way to meditate on Saguna Brahman. But this was

not so in the upanishadic era, as can be seen from the texts cited in both Om Yoga and

The Word That Is God. It was understood that Om is all-inclusive, since It is Brahman

Itself. Consequently, meditation on Om is meditation on both Nirguna and Saguna

Brahman. Our perceptions will be according to whichever aspect we wish to contact.

According to our knowing

It also depends on our experience-knowlege of Om, not mere intellectual ideas. For

Pippalada then says: “If he meditate upon OM with but little knowledge of its meaning,

but nevertheless is enlightened thereby, upon his death he will be immediately born

again on this earth, and during his new life he will be devoted to austerity, continence,

and faith, and will attain to spiritual greatness.” (Prashna Upanishad 5:3) That is, if for

whatever reasons the yogi gains but little experience-knowledge of Om, still he will be

enlightened by it to some degree. This being so, he will not spend a long period in the

astral world, but will quickly be reborn so he can take up yoga again and make better

progress than he did before. To ensure this, in his new life “he will be devoted to

austerity, continence, and faith, and will attain to spiritual greatness.”

“If, again, he meditate upon OM with a greater knowledge of its meaning, upon his

death he will ascend to the lunar heaven, and after he has partaken of its pleasures will

return again to earth.” (Prashna Upanishad 5:4) “The lunar heaven” is the astral world

in which the yogi experiences great happiness and even power according to the

immense strength of positive karma which is engendered by the practice of yoga. Yet

he will in time take birth again on the earth.

“But if he meditate upon OM in the full consciousness that it is one with God, upon

his death he will be united with the light that is in the sun, he will be freed from evil,

even as a snake is freed from its slough, and he will ascend to God’s dwelling place.

There he will realize Brahman, who evermore abides in the heart of all beings–

Brahman Supreme!” (Prashna Upanishad 5:5) Those who experience in meditation

that Om truly is Divinity Itself–is their own Divine Self–will be freed from the

compulsion to earthly rebirth as well as all that has bound them to lower things and,

united with the Light of Spirit that invisibly shines upon us through the intermediary of

the sun, will ascend to the heights of existence and beyond into the transcendent

Being of Nirguna Brahman.

Then Pippalada cites two verses even older than the upanishads that encapsulate all

this:

“Concerning the sacred syllable OM it is written: “The syllable OM, when it is not

fully understood, does not lead beyond mortality. When it is fully understood, and

meditation is therefore rightly directed, a man is freed from fear, whether he be awake,

dreaming, or sleeping the dreamless sleep, and attains to Brahman.

“By virtue of a little understanding of OM a man returns to earth after death. By

virtue of a greater understanding he attains to the celestial sphere. By virtue of a

complete understanding he learns what is known only to the seers. The sage, with the

help of OM, reaches Brahman, the fearless, the undecaying, the immortal!” Prashna

Upanishad 5:6, 7)

As Sri Ramana Maharshi said: Om ever shines within us as the Self. May we all

realize this.

Where is the Self?

“Lastly, Sukesa approached the sage and said: ‘Holy sir, Hiranyanabha, prince of

Kosala, once asked me this question: ““Sukesa, do you know the Self and his sixteen

parts?”” I replied, ““I do not. Surely, if I had known them, I should have taught them to

you. I will not lie, for he who lies perishes, root and all.”” The prince silently mounted

his chariot and went away. So now I ask of thee, Where is the Self?’” (Prashna

Upanishad 6:1)

This is an introduction to the actual teachings of this section, but it contains a

couple of interesting points.

Sixteen parts

The Self is said in this verse to have sixteen “parts.” Yet the Self is one, so how can

this be? The upanishad is referring to the “extensions” or instruments of the Self by

means of which it manifests within relative existence. They will be enumerated shortly.

Spiritual honesty

It is impressive when a spiritual teacher honestly admits to not knowing something.

In a filmed interview, Carl Jung was asked what he thought some dream symbol

meant. He laughed and said: “I haven’t the faintest idea!” End of question!

Here we see the integrity of Sukesha who readily admitted not knowing the answer

to a question. And his reason he gives, saying: “I will not lie, for he who lies perishes,

root and all.” Satya–truthfulness–is one of the essential observances of Yoga according

to Patanjali, and here we see why. This should be taken to heart by us throughout our

life. Sri Ramakrishna said that a person can realize God by scrupulously adhering to

truth.

Abode of the Self

Where is the Self? “The sage replied: “My child, within this body dwells the Self,

from whom sprang the sixteen parts of the universe; and in this manner they came into

being.” (Prashna Upanishad 6:2)

How precious, then, is the human body! And how foolish it is to think that spiritual

experience will involve “escaping” from the body and flying off to some “spiritual

world” to hobnob with angels and masters!

Now he will describe the sequence of cosmic manifestation.

Stabilizing Itself within creation

“If, creating, I enter my creation, the Self reflected, what is there to bind me to it;

what is there to go out from it when I go out, to stay within it when I stay?” (Prashna

Upanishad 6:3) This is a problem for both the infinite and the finite Selves.

“Pondering thus, and in answer to his thought, he made Prana; and from Prana he

made desire; and from desire he made ether, air, fire, water, earth, the senses, the

mind, and food; and from food he made vigor, penance, the Vedas, the sacrificial rites,

and all the worlds. Thereafter, in the worlds, he created names. And the number of the

elements he thus created was sixteen.” (Prashna Upanishad 6:4) We need to take this

part by part.

Pondering thus, and in answer to his thought, he made…. The world was made by

the mere thought of God. As said before, this is the “dream” of God; it is all creative

thought. Merely thinking of something gets us human beings nowhere–we have to

bring it into manifestation by action and materials. This is not the case with God. He

thought–and so it was. Consequently, in the following list of cosmic ingredients, we

must not think of them as “stuff” but as cosmic thoughts.

Prana. First the Universal Life Force (vishwaprana) was manifested. This was the

formless, basic “substance” of relative existence.

Desire. Next came the power of intention or aspiration. For unless we are motivated

with the idea that something can be attained, we will not act. So the power to desire or

will–and thereby to shape and work with the cosmic prana–is absolutely necessary for

anything to “happen.” “Desire” is the explanatory translation of Prabhavananda, and I

think it is the best one. But the actual word in the Sanskrit is shraddha–faith. This was

used, Shankara says, to mean a stimulus to the individual spirits (jivas). That is,

subliminally all of us know that we have come from God and are intended to return to

God. With this aspiration as the deepest impulse of our being, we are moving up the

evolutionary path, ever onward, however many delays our ignorance and laziness may

bring about.

Ether, air, fire, water, earth–the great primal elements and all their variations down

to their material manifestations.

The senses. Actually, the word is indriyam, which means “organs” and often does

mean only the five organs of perception (jnanendriyas): ear, skin, eye, tongue, and

nose, but Shankara feels (and so do I) that it no doubt includes the five organs of

action (karmendriyas): voice, hand, foot, organ of excretion, and the organ of

generation. The indriyas are here being thought of as “wrappings” of the individual

consciousness as well as being instruments of bodily function.

Mind. The indriyas are unconscious. That which activates them is the mind which

both perceives and acts through them.

Food. By this term is meant all that goes to affect the evolving consciousness, from

physical food to psychological and intellectual impressions that shape and move our

development either forward or backward, according to their character. That this is so

is demonstrated by those things that are said to be “made” from food:

Vigor. Virya is the strength and energy that manifests in body, mind, and intellect–

especially as will power in the yogi.

Penance. Tapasya is practical spiritual disciplines, such as moral observances, selfpurification,

and the practice of meditation.

Vedas. The word is not Veda, but mantra–words of power which produce changes

spiritually, mentally and physically by their repetition. From vigor comes the capacity

for spiritual discipline, which is manifested in the form of the repetition (japa) and

meditation (dhyana) centered on mantras, especially the Supreme Mantra: Om.

Sacrificial rites. This is not only an interpretive translation, it is a very narrowing

one. The actual word is karma–a very wide and far-reaching matter, indeed. Here it

means the law of action/reaction which fuels the very existence of the world and our

bodies within it. Karma causes the manifestation of the cosmos and impels all sentient

beings to take incarnation within it in forms appropriate to their level of consciousness

and the nature of their past deeds, both physical and mental. Certainly merit-producing

actions are part of karma, but karma is much more.

All the worlds. The many worlds (lokas) are produced in response to the varying

degrees of evolution and past karma of the sentient beings within them.

Names. The prime factor in relative existence is nama: name. This seems very

peculiar to those whose philosophy does not postulate that everything is ideation–

thought. But the primeval sages of India perceived through their meditation that the

thoughtform, the idea that is the matrix around which the body-vehicle of any

manifested entity forms itself is that entity’s “name.” In the depths of their meditation

the sages perceived the primal thought of each “thing.” Since everything is formed of

vibration, they translated that into spoken forms. In all other languages a word is just

an agreed-upon symbol of an object, but in Sanskrit each word is a sound-form of the

basic energy pattern of the designated object. Sanskrit is a kind of sonic physics–

creative speech. For that reason Sanskrit script is call Devanagari–The City of the

Gods–meaning that the divine powers manifesting as all objects “dwell” in the Sanskrit

words. In the subtle levels of being the Sanskrit word IS the thing designated by the

word. That is why it is stated that the Name of God IS God! Om is Divinity Itself. (See

the section entitled The Glories and Powers of Om in Om Yoga and The Word That Is

God.)

These are the sixteen parts of the cosmic and the individual Selves.

The Great Return

“As the flowing rivers, whose destination is the sea, having reached it disappear in

it, losing their names and forms, and men speak only of the sea; so these sixteen parts

created from out his own being by the Self, the Eternal Seer, having returned to him

from whom they came, disappear in him, their destination, losing their names and

forms, and people speak only of the Self. Then for man the sixteen parts are no more,

and he attains to immortality. Thus was it said of old: ‘The sixteen parts are spokes

projecting from the Self, who is the hub of the wheel. The Self is the goal of

knowledge. Know him and go beyond death.’” (Prashna Upanishad 6:5, 6)

There is an important principle here: All that exists has emanated from the Cosmic

Self and is withdrawn into It–and the same is true of our many levels: they have come

from the true “us” and will remerge in us. The idea that “the world” is to be discarded–

escaped from–so we can be free is as illusory as the world from which we wish to rid

ourselves. It is ignorance alone that we need to banish. We need to refine all our bodies

through the practice of tapasya so they will be seen as nothing more than the

projections of our mind–projections that can be reabsorbed in the state of perfect

knowing. The macrocosm and the microcosm are both “proper” to Spirit and spirit.

They are not impositions or prisons (though we make them so), but rays of the Self.

They exist because we exist.

The only path to the Self is that of knowledge. Once that arises within us, death

dissolves and immortality alone remains.

The right ending

“The sage concluded, saying: What I have told you is all that can be said about the

Self, the Supreme Brahman. Beyond this there is naught.” (Prashna Upanishad 6:7) So

anything more we may say, that has not already been said in the upanishads (and the

Gita), will really be nothing–worthless and pointless, if not outright self-deception. This

merits being taken to heart. We should toss away our books of idle philosophy and

speculation and become genuine yogis. Then we will truly know That Which Is To Be

Known.

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So: “The disciples worshiped the sage, and said: You are indeed our father. You

have led us beyond the sea of ignorance. We bow down to all the great seers!

Obeisance to the great seers!”

Those who teach us the truth of the Self–and more: the way to realize the Self–they

are our true fathers, begetting us in Knowledge. They are worthy of worship

(archanam) and all honor. They are the gods that lead us to God.

Namah Paramarishibhyah–Salutations to the Great Rishis!

A Commentary on the

Aitareya Upanishad

The Worlds and the Self

In his translations of some upanishads Swami Prabhavananda omitted parts that

were in such obscure language that any attempt at translation would really only be

speculation. He also omitted very repetitious passages and those that dwelt with

matters irrelevant to the knowledge of Brahman and the Self. I think that if you get

complete translations of those you will see he was quite justified in this. Anyhow, I am

writing this to explain why in the references to the verses of this upanishad there will

be some jumping around.

The worlds

Before creation, all that existed was the Self, the Self alone. Nothing else was. Then

the Self thought. “Let me send forth the worlds.” He sent forth these worlds: Ambhas,

the highest world, above the sky and upheld by it; Marichi, the sky; Mara, the mortal

world, the earth; and Apa, the world beneath the earth. (Aitareya Upanishad 1:1:1, 2)

Several times in the upanishads we are told that when nothing else existed,

Brahman “was;” and from Brahman proceeded all the worlds. But in these opening

verses of the Aitareya Upanishad the word Atman–Self–is used instead of Brahman.

This is fitting for two reasons: First, because Brahman is the ultimate Self of all.

Second, because what occurred on the cosmic level in relation to Brahman has

occurred on the microcosmic level with each one of us, with each individual Self that

has entered into the field of relative existence. Just as the various worlds or lokas have

emanated from Brahman so the several bodies or koshas have emanated from the

individual Self.

The upanishad lists four worlds that are also levels of existence. Ambhas is the

highest world. It lies beyond the material realm. Marichi is space itself in which many

suns and planets are to be found. For this reason, the upanishad uses the plural term

Marichis, but it is correct to use the singular word since it means the entire cosmos.

Mara is not just planet earth, but any planet on which sentient beings live. Mara means

death, and it is applied to the planets because all beings that live there are mortal. Apa

is the name of the submaterial regions from which atomic matter rises.

These worlds have a more metaphysical meaning as well. Ambhas is the causal

world, Marichi is the astral world, Mara is the physical world, and Apa is the region

where those of low evolution go for a time after death–usually in a kind of sleep. In

later Indian cosmology the non-material worlds are divided into those that are beneath

the earth plane and those that are above the earth plane. The realms beneath are the

regions where animals and low-evolved humans go between incarnations. These

worlds include the negative regions we call “hells.” Apa embraces all these. The realms

above are where normal human beings go between lives, and include the world

humans graduate into when they no longer need evolution on the material place. These

are the astral and causal worlds, Marichi and Ambhas.

The worlds have a psychological meaning, as well. Ambhas is the superconscious

mind, Marichi is the higher intelligence, or buddhi, Mara is the sensory, earthcentered

mind or consciousness, and Apa is the subconscious mind. These

classifications particularly apply to the individual Self of each one of us.

Their guardians

“He thought: ‘Behold the worlds. Let me now send forth their guardians.’ Then he

sent forth their guardians.…He thought: ‘Behold these worlds and the guardians of

these worlds. Let me send forth food for the guardians.’ Then he sent forth food for

them.” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:1:3, 1:3:1)

The word used here for guardians is lokapala. A lokapala is the ruler or custodian

of a world (loka). At the beginning of creation, each world was assigned an overseer or

guardian. These are beings who have evolved to the status of “gods” and sometimes

are mistaken for the Absolute by those within those worlds whose understanding is

imperfect. Nevertheless, to approach them is beneficial, for they will themselves reveal

their limited nature and point questing souls to Brahman the Infinite. The lokapalas are

like gardeners, for they work with living things and their development as well as their

safety. Actually, the picture of Adam in the Bible is very similar–he was to supervise

and foster all forms of life, plant and animal. (Many ancient scriptures contain partial or

garbled accounts that were once expositions of wisdom. But the centuries have altered

and even eroded them.)

The upanishad is speaking of the beginning of things. So immediately after the

manifestation of the worlds, the lokapalas were awakened and made aware of their

assignments; for their work is part of their personal evolutionary process. It is this

work and the “furnishings” of the worlds that are their “food.”

Now the same thing happens with us. We are the custodians of our private worlds

or bodies. And our experiences through those bodies and the development we gain are

our food–just as it is for the lokapalas.

Entering the worlds

“He thought: ‘How shall there be guardians and I have no part in them? If, without

me, speech is uttered, breath is drawn, eye sees, ear hears, skin feels, mind thinks, sex

organs procreate, then what am I?’ He thought: ‘Let me enter the guardians.’

Whereupon, opening the center of their skulls, he entered. The door by which he

entered is called the door of bliss.” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:3:11, 12)

This narrative is more instructive than literally accurate. First of all, there is

nothing that is not a manifestation of Brahman. It is not possible for Brahman to enter

into anything, for It is always everywhere. But the upanishad is teaching us as we

teach children–piecemeal and partially. The idea here is that Brahman is enlivening

and enabling all beings, from the lokapalas down to the least evolved of sentient

beings.

These two verses are more individual than cosmic, however, and refer to us mostly.

Our lokapalas are the various faculties of the mind that administer the different levels

of our being as humans. Brahman is, as I said, always present, but this verse speaks of

the entry of the individual consciousness into the human complex when it incarnates

as a human being. The Self enters through the psychic center or energy whorl called

the Brahmarandhra–the aperture of Brahman–and from there administers its private

cosmos, a god within its finite universe.

According to yogis, when we leave our body we go out through the gate (chakra)

that corresponds to our dominant state of consciousness. Those who are depart

through the Brahmarandhra. Others leave through the lower centers.

Within the three states of consciousness

“The Self being unknown, all three states of the soul are but dreaming–waking,

dreaming, and dreamless sleep. In each of these dwells the Self: the eye is his dwelling

place while we wake, the mind is his dwelling place while we dream, the lotus of the

heart is his dwelling place while we sleep the dreamless sleep.” (Aitareya Upanishad

1:3:12)

This is quite simple: If the Self is not known, then even our waking is only a

sleeping and dreaming. There is a lot of going around and around about the question

of the reality of the world. But the upanishad gives us a quite simple answer: To those

that sleep, not knowing the Self, the world is unreal; to those that are awake in the

knowledge of the Self, the world is real–for the world is the Self. This is the frame of

reference Buddha had when, meeting a Brahmin after his liberation, when the

Brahman asked: “Who are you?” he replied: “I am awake.”

Therefore: “Having entered into the guardians, he identified himself with them. He

became many individual beings. Now, therefore, if an individual awake from his

threefold dream of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep, he sees no other than the

Self. He sees the Self dwelling in the lotus of his heart as Brahman, omnipresent, and

he declares: ‘I know Brahman!’” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:3:13)

This is both the beginning and the end.

More on the Self

The four closing verses of the upanishad need little comment. They begin:

“Who is this Self whom we desire to worship? Of what nature is this Self? Is he the

self by which we see form, hear sound, smell odor, speak words, and taste the sweet or

the bitter? Is he the heart and the mind by which we perceive, command, discriminate,

know, think, remember, will, feel, desire, breathe, love, and perform other like acts?

Nay, these are but adjuncts of the Self, who is pure consciousness.” (Aitareya

Upanishad 3:1:1, 2)

This is extremely important for us, since it is only natural that we would mistake

these various faculties for the Self, for they are functions of consciousness, though not

Consciousness itself.

“And this Self, who is pure consciousness, is Brahman. He is God, all gods; the five

elements—earth, air, fire, water, ether; all beings, great or small, born of eggs, born

from the womb, born from heat, born from soil; horses, cows, men, elephants, birds;

everything that breathes, the beings that walk and the beings that walk not. The reality

behind all these is Brahman, who is pure consciousness.” (Aitareya Upanishad 3:1:3)

This takes us a very necessary step further: Even those things that are not

Brahman Itself in the purest sense, in another sense are Brahman and to be regarded

as such. This is a bit like telling us to go two ways at the same time, something

impossible for the ordinary mind, but quite easy–and natural–for the yogi’s mind.

Swami Gambhirananda’s rendering of the last part of this verse is very revealing:

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“All these have Consciousness as the giver of their reality; all these are impelled by

Consciousness [Prajna]; the universe has Consciousness as its eye, and Consciousness

is its end. Consciousness is Brahman.” What sublime statements. Surely the

upanishads are unparalleled in their beauty and profound teaching.

“All these, while they live, and after they have ceased to live, exist in him. The sage

Vamadeva, having realized Brahman as pure consciousness, departed this life,

ascended into heaven, obtained all his desires, and achieved immortality.” (Aitareya

Upanishad 3:1:4)

And so shall we.

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

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