A Commentary on the Upanishads by Swami Nirmalananda Giri -7

A Commentary

on the Upanishads

by

Swami Nirmalananda Giri

The Power of Enlightenment

“Agni, the all-seeing, who lies hidden in fire sticks, like a child well guarded in the

womb, who is worshipped day by day by awakened souls, and by those who offer

oblations in sacrificial fire–he is the immortal Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:1:8)

According to the researches of Sri Aurobindo, Agni, the supposed “god of fire,” is

really the will power of the individual which manifests specifically in the practice of

yoga. This is not the whimsical will power of egoic goals, but the will to liberate our

consciousness from all bonds. This manifests exclusively in spiritual practice, not in

philosophizing or in feeling “spiritual.” This is the highest form of action possible to

any being in relativity, and merits our careful analysis.

Hidden in fire sticks

The fire for the Vedic sacrifice is kindled by the friction of two sticks. The

upanishad uses this as a simile, saying that the yogic fire “lies hidden in fire sticks.”

Both the Kaivalya and the Swetashwatara Upanishads explain this as follows.

“The mind may be compared to a firestick, the syllable OM to another. Rub the two

sticks together by repeating the sacred syllable and meditating on Brahman, and the

flame of knowledge will be kindled in your heart and all impurities will be burnt

away.” (Kaivalya Upanishad 11) “Fire, though present in the firesticks, is not perceived

until one stick is rubbed against another. The Self is like that fire: it is realized in the

body by meditation on the sacred syllable OM.” (Swetashwatara Upanishad 1:13) Not

only is the will to practice meditation produced by meditation on Om, so is the goal–

enlightenment.

“Like a child well guarded in the womb”

The propensity toward the Divine is rare, and it is also fragile because the

downward pull accumulated in thousands of previous lives threaten its very existence.

Consequently, the wise sadhaka guards it well once it arises, ensuring that it can grow

unhindered and in time come forth as the liberating force we need to be successful

yogis. The observance of Yama and Niyama are absolutely essential in this (see The

Foundations of Yoga), as is the need to reorder one’s life so as not to put this

developing power in danger of harm or destruction.

“Worshiped day by day by awakened souls”

The idea of the previous section is being continued. The awakened (though no yet

enlightened) soul cherishes the yogic will, and realizes that it is a worshipful thing–the

Godward-tending divine power of the divine Self that moves within him like an embryo

within the womb. Day by day he worships it by using it to meditate.

“Those who offer oblations in sacrificial fire”

Those who are consciously engaging in Ishwarapranidhana, the offering of the life

to God, extend the power of their spiritual will beyond the practice of meditation into

every moment of their life and activity, using it to accomplish a spiritualized mode of

life. Here, too, the necessity for reordering the life of the sadhaka is evident.

May that divine Agni be enkindled and maintained within us.

The Infinite Self

“What is within us is also without. What is without is also within. He who sees

difference between what is within and what is without goes evermore from death to

death.” (Katha Upanishad 2:1:10) These words have various levels of meaning, and we

should consider them all.

Microcosms

Many years ago, Dr. Judith Tyberg, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo and director of the

East-West Cultural Center in Los Angeles, told me that she had attended a lecture at

Benares Hindu University in which a map of the universe and charts from Gray’s

Anatomy were compared and seen to be strikingly alike. Our bodies are little models of

the universe.

Some months before she told this to me I had experienced this for myself. While

meditating one day all ordinary physical sensation vanished. Spatial relation ceased to

exist and I found myself keenly aware of being beyond dimension, neither large nor

small, but infinite (for infinity is beyond size). Although the terminology is

inappropriate to such a state, to make it somewhat understandable I have to say that I

perceived an infinity of worlds “within” me. Suns–some solo and others surrounded by

planets–glimmered inside my spaceless space. Not that I saw the light, but I felt or

intuited it in what Saint Teresa of Avila called an “intellectual vision.” Actually, I did not

“see” anything–and yet I did. It is not expressible in terms of ordinary sense

experience, yet I must use those terms. I experienced myself as everything that

existed within the relative material universe. Or so it seemed, for the human body is a

miniature universe, a microcosmic model of the macrocosm. The physical human body

is a reflection of the universal womb that conceived it. I had experienced the subtle

level of the physical body that is its ideational (i.e., causal) blueprint. On that level it

can be experienced as a map of the material creation.

In this matter, it was crucial that I not mistake the copy for the Original and think I

was an infinite being or had attained Cosmic Consciousness–Macrocosmic

Consciousness. It was microcosmic consciousness–not an insignificant experience, but

certainly not the final step in evolution.

“As above, so below”

In the Hermetic Philosophy of the ancient Mediterranean world there was a

principle: “As above, so below.” That is, this material plane of existence is a mirroring

of higher levels of being all the way up to the Absolute. Therefore, by studying earthly

phenomena we can gain some idea of heavenly things. Also, that material conditions

are reflections of psychic forces. Astrology is an example of this. The physical planets,

through universal gravitation, certainly have some influence on our physical being, but

their movements are indications of the arising and subsiding of inner, subtle energies

that greatly affect us, both psychologically and externally.

We need to realize that the inner is always more real than the outer. The thirtyfourth

Ode of Solomon, one of the earliest Christian hymns, says: “The likeness of that

which is below is that which is above. For everything is above, and below there is

nothing, but it is believed to be by those in whom there is no knowledge.” (Odes of

Solomon 34:4, 5)

This is also true in yoga. Everything real happens in the head–the Sahasrara, the

Thousand-petalled Lotus, the astral/causal brain. This is why Paramhansa Nityananda

told his students: “Awareness [buddhi] should be concentrated in the head. Your

attention should always be above the neck; never below the neck.” (Chidakasha Gita

276) Yogis should never look to or trust phenomena that take place in the body below

the Sahasrara.

Outer/inner

The outer is the inner; the inner is the outer. We have touched on this slightly. It is

of inestimable importance to realize that our outer life is but a mirror image of our

inner life, that whatever is taking place in our external body and environment is

happening in the depths of our mind. So by studying and analyzing our outer life we

come to gauge the true character of our inner life. This is not palatable to the ego, for it

means that our misfortunes are our own doing and reveal our inner negativity. As the

Chinese maxim has it: When mean-spirited people live behind the door, mean-spirited

people come in front of the door. So let us be careful before we indulge in a litany of all

the wrongs we have suffered and all the bad people that have done those wrongs to us.

We will only be confessing our own sins. It is not sympathy we need, but selfcorrection.

As a very wise book, The Astral City, says: “Self-pity is a symptom of mental

illness.”

Consistency

It is also necessary that our inner and outer lives be identical. We are all aware that

very corrupt people can act and speak in a seemingly virtuous way. Also, many softhearted

people pretend to be callous or even prickly. But neither is admirable. “What

you see is what you get” should be our rule of life. Our outer life must be an exact

imaging of our inner life. In the Gospel of Thomas, section 22, Jesus tells his disciples

that they will enter the kingdom of God: “When you make the two one, and when you

make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the

below.”

The inner and outer Reality

God is the inner, and God is the outer. “He who sees difference between what is

within and what is without goes evermore from death to death.” We are bound to the

cycle of perpetual births and deaths until we see God, both within and without–until we

know that God is the sole reality of both “the world” and ourselves. In that vision we

become immortal. The great Swami Sivananda wrote the following expressing this

truth:

When I surveyed from Ananda Kutir, Rishikesh,

By the side of the Tehri Hills, only God I saw.

In the Ganges and the Kailas peak,

In the famous Chakra Tirtha of Naimisar also, only God I saw.

In tribulation and in grief, in joy and in glee,

In sickness and in sorrow, only God I saw.

In birds and dogs, in stones and trees,

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In flowers and fruits, in the sun, moon and stars, only God I

saw.

In the rosy cheeks of Kashmiri ladies,

In the black faces of African negroes, only God I saw.

In filth and scents, in poison and dainties,

In the market and in society, only God I saw.

In Brahmakara Vritti and Vedantic Nididhyasana,

In Atmic Vichara and Atmic Chintana, only God I saw.

In Kirtan and Nama Smaran, in Sravana and Vandana,

In Archana and Padasevana, in Dasya and Atmanivedana, only

God I saw.

Like camphor I was melting in His fire of knowledge,

Amidst the flames outflashing, only God I saw.

My Prana entered the Brahmarandhra at the Moordha,

Then I looked with God’s eyes, only God I saw.

I passed away into nothingness, I vanished,

And lo, I was the all-living, only God I saw.

I enjoyed the Divine Aisvarya, all God’s Vibhutis,

I had Visvaroopa Darshan, the Cosmic Consciousness, only

God I saw.

Glory, glory unto the Lord, hail! hail! hail! O sweet Ram.

Let me sing once more Thy Name—Ram Ram Ram, Om, Om, Om, only God

I saw.

The seeing mind

Jesus, who said: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” (Matthew

5:8) had learned this well in India. For the next verse of the Katha Upanishad tells us:

“By the purified mind alone is the indivisible Brahman to be attained. Brahman alone

is–nothing else is. He who sees the manifold universe, and not the one reality, goes

evermore from death to death.” (Katha Upanishad 2:1:11)

The necessary purification is profound, for Saint John tells us: “Every man that

hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he [God] is pure.” (I John 3:3) Those

whose minds have been made pure in the contemplation of God automatically see Him.

As Patanjali explains: “God is a Spirit….…His designator is Om. Its constant repetition

and meditation is the way. From it result the disappearance of obstacles and the

turning inward of consciousness.” And, more importantly, they attain God, as the

upanishad says. They come to know themselves as gods within God.

The universe and ourselves are in an ineffable way part of the indivisible Brahman.

That is why Jesus said: “This is life eternal: that they might know thee the only true

God.” (John 17:3) And why the upanishad tell us that “He who sees the manifold

universe, and not the one reality, goes evermore from death to death.”

The upanishad calls us to see God and enter into Life Eternal.

The Dweller in the Heart

For numberless ages, in the rest of the world people were intent on the awesome

greatness of God–and nothing more. Whereas in India the sages were intent on the

awesome greatness of both the individual and the Universal Selves. Perceiving their

unity, they understood that whatever can be said about one can be said about the other.

Thus their teachings are a unique revelation of the true nature of us all. Without this

self-understanding, our life is nothing but confusion with a few random stumblings into

insight. It is an absolute necessity that we comprehend the upanishadic teachings and

strive to gain the upanishadic vision.

In the lotus of the heart

“That being, of the size of a thumb, dwells deep within the heart. He is the lord of

time, past and future. Having attained him, one fears no more. He, verily, is the

immortal Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:1:12) This verse tells us several things about our

true Self.

That being, of the size of a thumb, dwells deep within the heart. Since the Self

transcends space, how can it have a measurable size? It cannot. Shankara explains in

his commentary that “the lotus of the heart is of the size of a thumb. Existing in the

space within the lotus of the heart, [the Self] has the size of a thumb, just like space

existing in a section of a bamboo that is of the size of a thumb.” Just as water filling a

vessel sunk in the ocean has volume and shape, in the same way the Self seems to have

a shape and a measure. But once the vessel is broken, the shape and volume of the

water cease to be, and so it is with the Self. Incarnate in a body, the Self pervades it and

reflects it, but upon the dissolution of the body those seeming conditions cease

instantly, for they have no objective reality. So it is not the Self that is really of the size

of a thumb, but rather the lotus of the heart within which it momentarily dwells.

We should not mistake the lotus of the heart for the organ that pumps blood

through the body. The real lotus of the heart is the core of the Thousand-Petalled

Lotus, the Sahasrara located in the head. This thumb-shaped nucleus is also referred

to in yogic teachings as “the Linga in the head.”

“Deep within the heart” indicates that the Self is the inmost level of our being, our

absolute essence beyond which we simply do not exist. It also indicates that to know

ourself we must meditate and penetrate deep into our consciousness. There is no other

way.

He is the lord of time, past and future. It is a grave error to think that we are helpless

flotsam and jetsam on the bosom of the ocean of Relativity, being moved about by

forces such as karma, our thoughts, and even God. It is our own Self that determines

whatever happens to us and is the sole controller of our past, present, and future. Look

at the chaotic lives of those who “trust in God” and “surrender to the Divine Will.”

They rationalize their disordered state by saying they have peace of mind through

their attitude, but that is a poor substitute for the truth. Look at how many people die

peacefully. Peace counts for little when it is nothing more than an opiate. We must stop

living a lie. It is not our karma, our thinking, or even God that ordains our life. It is our

Self. And until we unite our awareness with the Self we shall know nothing but

uncertainty and confusion. But when we do, “sorrow melts into that clear

peace” (Bhagavad Gita 2:65) which is ours forever.

Having attained him, one fears no more. For what can produce fear in the knower of

the Self? As Emily Bronte wrote:

O God within my breast,

Almighty, ever-present Deity!

Life, that in me has rest,

As I, undying Life, have power in Thee!

Vain are the thousand creeds

That move men’s hearts: unutterably vain;

Worthless as withered weeds,

Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,

To waken doubt in one

Holding so fast by Thy infinity,

So surely anchored on

The steadfast rock of Immortality.

The smokeless flame

“That being, of the size of a thumb, is like a flame without smoke. He is the lord of

time, past and future, the same today and tomorrow. He, verily, is the immortal

Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:1:13) Now we learn some more essential facts about our Self.

Like a flame without smoke. The Self is pure light without covering or admixture. In

our present state of delusion we think that the Self can be inhibited and even

corrupted, but that is not so. The various energy levels within which the Self is

dwelling certainly can be inhibited, corrupted, and even destroyed. If we identify with

those levels we will live in fear and uncertainty, relieved only occasionally by utterly

false hopes. “It is your ignorance, it is the world’s delusion that gives you these

dreams” (Bhagavad Gita 5:14) of both hope and fear. But once our consciousness is

posited in the Self, all that is past, dispelled by the eternal Light of the Self.

The same today and tomorrow. The changeless nature of the Self puts us beyond all

fear, concern, and anxiety, “knowing It birthless, knowing It deathless, knowing It

endless, for ever unchanging.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:21) The Self really has no past,

present or future. It is, itself, the Eternal Now.

Liberating unity

“As rain, fallen on a hill, streams down its side, so runs he after many births who

sees manifoldness in the Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:1:14) The “gravity” of delusion

pulls inexorably downward those who think that the many layers of their incarnate

existence are the Self. Yet, they do not think they are enslaved by the consequences of

their ignorance, but think they have free will as they “run” into the valleys of darkness

and pain. “It’s my life, and I will do what I want to,” they shout as they roll downward

into the jaws of sorrow and death. Only when the unity of our Self is known–both in the

fact of its unitary state of being and its eternal oneness with Brahman–will the

earthward pull disappear along with the compulsion to continual rebirth. “If a man sees

Brahman in every action, He will find Brahman.” (Bhagavad Gita 4:24) It is as simple

as that.

Ever the same

“As pure water poured into pure water remains pure, so does the Self remain pure,

O Nachiketa, uniting with Brahman.” (Katha Upanishad 2:1:15)

We and Brahman are one Substance. There is no difference. We are not

“creations,” we are beginningless and endless, co-eternal with God. “There was never a

time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings. Nor is there any future in

which we shall cease to be.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:12) Knowing this makes all the

difference–the only difference we need. Brahman is Pure Being and we are Pure

Being. Uniting with Brahman we remain what we always have been, but no longer

subject to ignorance and delusion. As Jesus said: “Him that overcometh will I make a

pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” (Revelation 3:12) The Self

does not change, but becomes irrevocably established in the consciousness of its

changelessness.

The Birthless Self

The subject of the Self is virtually inexhaustible. It is the sole object of the

upanishads. So Yamaraj continues to expound the Self to Nachiketa.

“To the Birthless, the light of whose consciousness forever shines, belongs the city

of eleven gates. He who meditates on the ruler of that city knows no more sorrow. He

attains liberation, and for him there can no longer be birth or death. For the ruler of

that city is the immortal Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:1)

This verse tells us many aspects of the Self, each of which should be scrutinized in

turn.

Birthless

A cornerstone of Eastern wisdom is the understanding that verbal formulas can

never encompass the truth, but can only be hints, albeit excellent hints–that truth is

always beyond books, concepts, and words; that in time the aspirant must pass beyond

them into the level of spiritual intuition in which direct knowledge is possible. Yet it is

understood that the aspirant will not be able to fully translate such direct knowledge

into words. As the adage says: “He who knows tells it not; he who tells knows it not.”

Not from an attitude of arcane secrecy (always a symptom of spiritual pathology), but

from the fact that knowing transcends speech and (discursive) thought.

Nevertheless, “According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29) And faith is

conceptual, even if not fully verbal. Consequently, our ideas about ourselves, our

nature, and our life have a profound influence on our life and its unfoldment. If we

think we are sinful mortals, we shall live like sinful mortals, incapable of reaching God.

If we think we are evolving consciousness, moving onward to spiritual heights, we

shall evolve beyond human limitations. But if we think we are eternal beings, part of

God’s infinite Being, we shall rise to the state of Divine Unity and manifest the

declaration: “Ye are gods.” (Psalms 82:6)

“There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings. Nor

is there any future in which we shall cease to be.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:12) It is necessary,

then, for us to firmly set in mind that we are birthless beings, that we have never

“come into being” or been “created.” Rather, we are co-eternal with God, the Essence

of our existence. We never came into being, nor shall we ever cease to be. When we

understand that our consciousness is somehow a wave of the Infinite Consciousness

that is God, that we are irrevocably a part of God’s infinite Light and Life, it will have a

transforming effect on us.

Sri Ramakrishna was fond of the simile of a washerman’s donkey. Each night the

washerman passes a rope around the legs of the donkey and then removes it. The

donkey believes it has been tied, so it never tries to move away from that spot. Its

bondage is imaginary, yet because of its belief it is as bound as though it were tied. It is

the same with us. If we believe we are bound, we shall be bound. But if we believe we

are free we can manifest that freedom. This is what yoga–and yoga alone–is all about.

The light of consciousness

God cannot be defined, but it can be said that God is Light ( (I John 1:5))–even

more, that God is the Light that is Life (John 1:4, 9). In other words, God is Conscious

Light. And so are we. If this is realized, then we will not identify with the change and

dissolution that is inherent in relative existence. The hymn says: “Change and decay in

all around I see; O Thou Who changest not, abide with me.” The mistake is in thinking

that what is needed is God as a separate being, when what is really needed is the

abiding awareness of our own Self, of which God is the Essence. As the Psalmist sang:

“I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.…When I awake, I am still with

thee.” (Psalms 17:15; 139:18)

Forever shines

Our divine nature may be obscured to our earthly eyes in the way that clouds can

hide the sun and even make the earth dark. But the sun ever shines. Night occurs

because of the turning of the earth, and spiritual ignorance and darkness arise because

our awareness is turned wrong. Yet, as Buddha said: “Turn around and lo! The Other

Shore.” And Jesus said over and over: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”–right here

where it has always been. It is only a matter of attunement of consciousness. Again,

that is where yoga comes in.

The Self is what It is forever, nothing can alter that. So what we need is a recovering

of Consciousness. It need not be produced or even gained–only recognized. This is

difficult for us to grasp since we have become habituated to the ways of relativity in

which everything is a “process” moving along in stages. Yoga reveals the Truth of our

Selves, and since the clouds of illusion have to be moved aside to reveal the evershining

Self, yoga appears to be a process, too, but essentially it is not. Yoga is simply

Seeing True.

The city of eleven gates

The human body is usually called “the city of nine gates” for the nine apertures of

the body, but here it has the number eleven. Shankara says this is because the navel

and the Brahmarandhra, the “soft spot” at the crown of the head are also being

counted as gates. This is appropriate, as before birth we are nourished through the

navel, and at death we often depart through the Brahmarandhra.

The important point that is being made here is in contradistinction to religions

other than Hinduism, and even to the attitudes found today in contemporary Indian

philosophy. For it is commonly thought very “spiritual” to disregard the body, push it

aside in our consciousness, and despise it as a liability and even a prison. But the

upanishad tells us that the body is not alien to the Self (atman), but rather belongs to

the Self, just as the cosmos belongs to God–and is in a sense the “body” of God. (It is

important to continually keep in mind that whatever can be said of God can usually be

said about the individual being, as well.) The body is ours, and is fundamentally a

mirroring of our personal consciousness, which is why we can legitimately speak of

“the body-mind connection.”

The body is the vehicle through which the individual evolves during the span of life

on earth, and must be taken into serious account by the yogi who will discover that the

body can exert a necessary effect on the mind. For example, the yogi meditates and

discovers that the process of yoga takes place in the thousand-petalled lotus of the

brain. For, as Paramhansa Nityananda said: “All takes place to a raja yogi in the brain

center.” (Chidakasha Gita 214) “What is called Raja Yoga is above the

neck.” (Chidakasha Gita 248)

Furthermore, the yogi joins the japa (repetition) of Om to the breath: “With Om

alone he should breathe” (Amritabindu Upanishad 20). “Because in this manner he

joins the breath and the Syllable Om, this is called Yoga [joining] (Maitri Upanishad

6:22-26).

This joining of Om to the breath is what is known as pranayama. “Pranayama is

composed of the Pranava, Om; [therefore] he should repeat the Pranava mentally. This

only will be pranayama” (Darshan Upanishad 6:2,5,6). “Pranayama is accomplished

through concentrating the mind on Om” (Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad). “The

Pranava alone becomes the pranayama” (Shandilya Upanishad 6:2). “Pranayama is

accomplished by effortlessly breathing and joining to it the repetition of the sacred

Om” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:78).

The yogi who observes will discover that the diet of the physical body is also the

diet of the mind, that whatever is eaten physically will have an effect mentally. One who

does not know this is no yogi at all.

No more sorrow

“He who meditates on the ruler of that city knows no more sorrow.” When we

meditate on our Self, our atman, we will end all sorrow. The Gita says of the yogi who

meditates on the Self: “To obey the Atman is his peaceful joy; sorrow melts into that

clear peace: his quiet mind is soon established in peace.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:65) “When,

through the practice of yoga, the mind ceases its restless movements, and becomes

still, he realizes the Atman. It satisfies him entirely. Then he knows that infinite

happiness which can be realized by the purified heart but is beyond the grasp of the

senses. He stands firm in this realization. Because of it, he can never again wander

from the inmost truth of his being. Now that he holds it he knows this treasure above

all others: faith so certain shall never be shaken by heaviest sorrow. To achieve this

certainty is to know the real meaning of the word yoga. It is the breaking of contact

with pain. You must practice this yoga resolutely, without losing heart.” (Bhagavad

Gita 6:20-23)

We must meditate on the Self–not on external deities or symbolic forms of psychic

states. As Sri Ma Sarada Devi said: “After attaining wisdom one sees that gods and

deities are all maya.” (Precepts For Perfection 672.) The upanishads, Gita, and Yoga

Sutras know nothing of meditating on “ishta devatas”–only on Om, for Om is our Self.

Here are a few upanishadic statements on the subject:

“The Self is of the nature of the Syllable Om.” (Mandukya Upanishad 1.8.12)

“Directly realize the self by meditating on Om.” (Vedantasara Upanishad 1)

“The Self is of the nature of the Syllable Om. Thus the Syllable Om is the very

Self.” (Mandukya Upanishad 1, 8, 12)

“Meditate on Om as the Self.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.3-6)

“Om is the atman himself.” (Narasingha Uttara-Tapiniya Upanishad)

“Om is a single syllable that is of the nature of the Self.…Om is the true form of the

Self.” (Tarasara Upanishad)

Liberation–no longer birth or death

“He attains liberation, and for him there can no longer be birth or death.”

There is no need for commentary, but here is some corroboration:

“Know this Atman unborn, undying, never ceasing, never beginning, deathless,

birthless, how can It die the death of the body?” (Bhagavad Gita 2:20)

“The seers…reach enlightenment. Then they are free from the bondage of rebirth,

and pass to that state which is beyond all evil.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:51)

“Knowing the Atman, man finds Nirvana that is in Brahman, here and

hereafter.” (Bhagavad Gita 5:26)

Immortal

“For the ruler of that city is the immortal Self.”

The Gita encapsulates it perfectly:

“This true wisdom I have taught will lead you to immortality. The faithful practice it

with devotion, taking me for their highest aim. To me they surrender heart and mind.

They are exceedingly dear to me.” (Bhagavad Gita 12:20)

“For I am Brahman within this body, life immortal that shall not perish: I am the

Truth and the Joy for ever.” (Bhagavad Gita 14:27)

The Shining Self

“The immortal Self is the sun shining in the sky, he is the breeze blowing in space,

he is the fire burning on the altar, he is the guest dwelling in the house; he is in all

men, he is in the gods, he is in the ether, he is wherever there is truth; he is the fish

that is born in water, he is the plant that grows in the soil, he is the river that gushes

from the mountain–he, the changeless reality, the illimitable!” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:2)

Where in all the scriptures of the world can we find such a thrilling statement–

thrilling and glorious because it is TRUE?

The two that are One

To fully comprehend the teachings of the upanishadic sages we must keep in mind

that whatever can be said of the Paramatman on the cosmic, universal level can usually

also be said of the jivatman on the level of our individual life within the cosmos. So the

upanishads are describing not only God, the Supreme Spirit, but the nature of our own

individual spirit.

What is needed

There is another, essential, side to this upanishadic statement–and indeed to all

scriptural teachings–that must be kept in mind at all times in our study: We must

experience and know the realities spoken of by the sages. They did not write down their

perceptions for us to merely accept them and be intellectually convinced of their

veracity. Rather, they wrote them down as signposts so we could check our own

perceptions against them. Never did they mean for their writings to become dogmas

and doctrines. They assume that their readers will be yogis like themselves, sadhakapilgrims

pressing on toward the ultimate frontiers of consciousness.

This is the absolutely unique character of the basic texts of Sanatana Dharma. All

other scriptures, including those of later authorship in India as well as those of other

religions, are statements of “truths” we are supposed to accept “on faith” without

question. This is why intelligent investigation and analysis are so little valued by the

expounders of those scriptures, why nearly all religions warn their adherents away

from reading the books of “heretics” and demand that they shun their company.

Intellectual fearlessness terrifies “the chosen faithful” and sets their teeth on edge.

But no religious system that employs a single bond can lead us to freedom. For

example, in Yoga, yama and niyama are not “commandments” but helpful information.

Just as we learn what food is harmful to the body, so from Patanjali we learn what

conduct limits and clouds the consciousness of the aspiring yogi. If we wish to ignore

his counsel, that is our own concern. No one will call us to account for our

heedlessness except our own Self. Those who are fit to be yogis joyfully learn what to

cultivate and what to avoid, and live accordingly. Those who drag their feet, sigh, and

sullenly demand mitigations, are simply not fit for yoga and should occupy themselves

in other areas. This is why Jesus asked: “Which of you, intending to build a tower,

sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it

begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” (Luke

14:28-30)

Every yogi must be adhikarin–qualified and worthy, fit for yoga and capable of its

total practice. Jesus said: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I

will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in

heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is

light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) It is interesting that he likens spiritual life to the

cumbersome wooden yoke of oxen or bullocks, assuring us that it will be restful and

easy and light to bear. How is this? To a strong ox or bullock the heaviest of yokes will

be of no consequence. So if we are the kind of people for whom yoga is intended, its

requirements and disciplines will be light and easeful. But if, instead of being oxen or

bullocks we are dogs and swine–symbols used by Jesus for the unworthy–the “light

and easy” yoke will break our backs! This is why some people should take up bowling

or surfing and forget religion altogether, what to say of yoga.

For the serious seekers, though, the ancient rishis hold back nothing, but give the

full picture of the Self.

“The immortal Self”

The self can appear (please note I say “appear”) to enter into numberless conditions

and interior states. It even experiences millions of births and deaths, yet It never really

dies, for immortality is a fundamental trait of Its nature. It is not easy, but the yogi must

cultivate a continual awareness that he is Immortal Being–never anything less, and

never anything more–and order his life accordingly. I do not mean by this that he

denies his present (seeming) condition, but that, as Yogananda continually advised, he

is always aware that he is only sitting in the motion picture theatre of the cosmos

watching a movie that, cosmic as its scope may be, can be wiped away in a moment,

that only he and the other viewers are real, that all must eventually leave the theater

and go home to Infinity. How splendid are the truths of the Vedanta!

“The sun”

The Self is the source of all light–the Inner Light of Consciousness that illumines all

things. For outside the Self there is no perception of even the brightest of material

suns. It is the presence of the Self that produces awareness of all phenomena. Outside

the Self nothing at all exists. Within the Self is everything.

“Shining in the sky”

The Self shines in the “sky” of the Chidakasha, the subtle Ether (Akasha). The

Chidakasha is the infinite, all-pervading expanse of Consciousness from which all

“things” proceed; the true “heart” of all things. The “shining” of the Self in the

Chidakasha is the emanation of Om. In the individual, the Chidakasha is the subtle

space of Consciousness located in the Sahasrara, the Thousand-petalled Lotus that is

the astral/causal brain. From that point Om, the Word of Life (Pranava) enlivens and

illumines all things; which is why we meditate upon Om in the head.

“The breeze blowing in space”

The Self is also that power which moves within the Chidakasha as the wind moves

within earthly space. As the wind causes movement in the trees and on the surfaces of

earth and water, in the same way it is the Self that produces all movement in the

cosmos, in all the worlds gross and subtle.

“The fire burning on the altar”

The Self is the transmuting force of Cosmic Fire on the altar of the universe. In

India of the upanishadic rishis there were no temples, nor were there any external

religious rites other than the sandhya (morning and evening salutations of the sun)

and the havan, the fire ritual in which by the agency of consecrated fire the offerings

were transformed into subtle energy forms and transferred into higher worlds. The

Self, then is the ultimate transmuting power which evolves both the cosmos and the

personal energies of the individual spirits within it. The entire universe is an altar in

which, through the power of the Self, all things are offerings unto–and into–Infinite

Being.

“The guest dwelling in the house”

All things, even the least atom, are “houses” for the all-pervading Self. All things

that exist have the Self as their inmost dweller. Where there is any objective “thing,”

there is the Self. Yet, since no things are permanent, the Self is only a momentary

Guest–but none the less real for that.

“In all men”

What is meaningful to us is the truth that the Self is the dweller in all consciousness

beings. And since they are not “things,” the Self is not a guest but the permanent

Indweller as the Self of the Self. The consciousness of each one of us is the only temple

in which Spirit ever dwells in Its essential being. Although it can be said that in a sense

our bodies are temples of God, that is not really true in the purest sense. Only in our

consciousness is Spirit to be found. This is why the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita

insist that we must identify with the Self alone, seeing all else as mirages destined to

dissolve away and cease to exist. Their message has been summed up by Shankara in

these words: “Brahman is real. The world is illusory. The jiva is nothing but Brahman.”

“In the gods”

In the upanishads, “gods” mean not only highly evolved beings that can control the

forces of nature, etc., “gods” are also our higher faculties of perception which illumine

our awareness of both the inner and outer worlds. Here the idea is that the Self is the

enlivening power by which our higher faculties function.

“In the ether”

The Ether, the Chidakasha, is the natural home of the Self. Only in this inmost level

of being can the Self be always perceived. In the lesser levels we usually “lose” the Self

by losing perception of It. How can we establish ourselves in “etheric awareness”?

Through the unique property of akasha: sound–specifically, through the japa and

meditation of Om, as Patanjali has stated in the Yoga Sutras. In the Vedanta Sutras of

the sage Vyasa (also called the Brahma Sutras) he tells us: “Anavrittih shabdai–By

sound vibration one becomes liberated.” (Vedanta Sutras 4.4.22)

“Wherever there is truth”

Wherever there is true knowing, there the Self is operative as the Sun of

Consciousness, revealing both relative and absolute truth. For Truth is Its nature. A

popular Sanskrit adage is: “Truth alone conquers,” meaning that victory over

ignorance and bondage is found only in the Self, the ultimate Truth.

“The fish that is born in water”

Egotism is a prime trait of human beings–usually in the form of outright arrogance.

In religion this manifests in the insistence that human beings are superior to all other

beings. Even in India we have the idea that “even the gods pray for human birth”

because supposedly only human beings can be enlightened. In Christianity there is an

insistence that human beings are higher than angels because they alone can be

“saved” through Christ. In the most ignorant of religions there is the insistence that

only human beings are immortal and that animals are some kind of animated

machines, that human beings alone are “in the image of God” and suchlike.

Therefore the upanishad tells us the truth: that even in the dullest of animals–the

fish–the Self is present, that the fish is the Self in manifestation, as are we.

“The plant that grows in the soil”

Lest we confine the Self to animal life, the upanishad further tells us that plants are

dwellingplaces of the Self, too.

“The river that gushes from the mountain”

And lest we think that the Self is only in “living” things, the seers assure us that in

inanimate things the Self is living and moving. Everything is alive in Spirit. What a

sublime world-view!

“The changeless reality”

All the things listed as abodes of the Self are ever-changing, and their forms are

evanescent, soon seen to be without permanent reality. Since we identify with what we

see around us, we continually fall into the snare of thinking that we, too, change and

have no ultimate reality. Even if we think otherwise intellectually, we keep acting in a

delusive manner. Hence we must keep reminding ourselves that we are changeless

and absolutely real.

“The illimitable”

Equally wonderful is the truth that we are beyond limitation, that infinite are our

possibilities–for we are the Infinite Self.

The call

Those who embodied their realizations in the upanishads did not do so to furnish

us with a bundle of beliefs to “take on faith” and wrangle over. Their intention was to

spur us onward to attain the same vision as they possessed, to be sages equal with

them, no longer “servants” but “friends.” (“Henceforth I call you not servants;…but I

have called you friends.” John 15:15) Their call to us is the same as that of Swami

Vivekananda, who continually exhorted his hearers: “Awake! Arise!”

The Life-Giving Self

Just as children babble on aimlessly about things they do not understand, so we do

the same, though in a more sophisticated way, especially in religion and philosophy. So

the three verses relating to the Self and life are very much needed by us. First the

upanishad tells us:

“He, the adorable one, seated in the heart, is the power that gives breath. Unto him

all the senses do homage.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:3)

Adorable

The word Prabhavananda translates “adorable” is vamanam, which means

adorable, dear, and pleasing. These epithets are traditionally used in relation to Shiva,

the symbol of the atman and atmic consciousness. This is important, for the Self is not

just Truth or Reality–a mere abstraction–but when experienced as either the individual

Self or the Supreme Self produces in us a personal response, literally the response of

bhakti (devotion) and even prema (love).

In contemporary India there is the idea that bhakti and prema can only be

experienced toward a being that possesses form (rupa) or qualities (guna)–that it is

impossible to have these responses to Brahman the transcendent Being. But in the

upanishads and the Gita we are constantly exhorted to love Brahman–not just some

“forms” of Brahman–and the atman. This also indicates that the ancient upanishadic

sages did not believe that the Absolute or the Self was without attributes of any kind.

Rather, they considered that, although anything said would be only approximations of

divine realities, still human beings could conceive of God in at least a dim way. And

they absolutely could experience God, and have reactions and definitions arising from

their experience. In Chapter Twelve Krishna speaks of this in more detail, and we will

consider it there.

To the yogi, then, the Self and Brahman are equally adorable.

Seated in the heart

God and the Self are seated in the heart, as the upanishads and the Gita continually

emphasize. There they abide permanently–it is not a matter of occasional visitations.

Knowing this, Jesus said: “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)

This, too, is a matter of direct experience. Saint Luke used the word idou–in other

words, “See for yourself that the kingdom of God is within you.” This is not something

Jesus wants us to believe and act on blindly–he wants us to experience this truth, for

only experience produces lasting effects.

The heart is the throne of God and the throne of the divine Self. When Jesus says:

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also

overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne,” (Revelation 3:21) he is

speaking of our heart–not his. Our heart and the heart of God are not the same, but

they are ONE.

Power that gives breath

The upanishads literally say that it is the Self which produces our inhalations and

exhalations. “Who could live, who could breathe, if that blissful self dwelt not within

the lotus of the heart?” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:7) “The Self is the breath of the

breath.” (Kena Upanishad 1:2) “The breaths are the Real, and their Reality is the

Self.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.1.20) “He who breathes in with your breathing in

is your Self. He who breathes out with your breathing out is your

Self.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.4.1) “From him is born the breath.” (Mundaka

Upanishad 2.1.2, 3) “The shining, immortal person who is breath is the Self, is

Brahman.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.5.4) “Which is the one God? The breath. He

is Brahman.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.9.9)

In the spiritual texts of India the word hridaya–heart–means not just the heart, or

core, but also is said to indicate the space (akasha) where the inbreath and outbreath

merge–the ultimate heart. This is why yoga must involve working with the inhaling

and exhaling breaths in the form of subtle pranayama. “The breath is the Supreme

Brahman. The breath never deserts him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it. Having

become a god, he goes to the gods.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.1.3) “They who

know the breath of the breath…have realized the ancient, primordial

Brahman.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.18

The senses do homage

In the primal texts of Sanatana Dharma we find references to “gods” (devas). In

modern Hinduism we find a panorama of all kinds of gods, demigods, and suchlike, so

it is supposed that the ancient texts refer to them when speaking of “devas.” But a

simple perusal of the context of those references reveal that the upanishadic sages

meant the senses (jnanendriyas), not some kind of external deific intelligences.

The senses “do homage” in the sense that in the evolved individual they draw near

to (upasate) and become merged in the Self, which is their source. Now this tells us

two interesting and usually unsuspected things. First, that it is natural for the Self to

control the senses, not to be their slave. Second, it is completely natural for the senses

to move inward toward the Self and experience the Self by uniting with It. Neither of

these is our present experience. Rather, we consider it normal for the Self to be bound

by the senses, and for it to require great struggle to turn them inward and bring them

to experience of the Self. Evidently we have lived in a subnormal condition so long that

we have come to think subnormality is normal. We are like the drunk man who was

walking along with one foot on the sidewalk and the other down in the street. When

someone stopped him and asked why he was walking that way, he burst into tears and

answered: “Thank God! I thought I was a cripple.”

Basically, the Self is the goal of all.

The essence

The upanishad then asks: “What can remain when the dweller in this body leaves

the outgrown shell, since he is, verily, the immortal Self?” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:4) The

answer is quite simple: nothing but the body remains, for the Self is as different from

the body as the pearl is from the oyster and its shell. The departure of the Self

produces death and decay, for it is the Self alone that gives–and is–life, the sustenance

of the body.

Jesus, himself a yogi having lived over half of his life in India, said: “Man shall not

live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of

God.” (Matthew 4:4) That is, we live not on matter, but on the very Life of God–

because matter is only a modification of that Life Energy. The upanishad–which Jesus

would have known–expresses the same idea by saying: “Man does not live by breath

alone, but by him in whom is the power of breath.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:5)

It is not breath that makes us live–though breath is the basis of our body’s

metabolism. This is why yogis can live without the physical act of breathing. What we

cannot do without, and by which we do live is Him who is the source of breath,

especially in His primeval form: Om, the Pranava, the Life-Giver, the Word of Life.

Through the repetition and meditation of Om as recommended by Patanjali we enter

into communication with the Lord, Ishwara, and then into unity with Him.

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

The Eternal Brahman–The Eternal Self

Brahman and the Self

“And now, O Nachiketa, will I tell thee of the unseen, the eternal Brahman, and of

what befalls the Self after death.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:6)

This is an interesting juxtaposition: Brahman and the Self after death (of the body).

The upanishad puts these together because Brahman and the Self are one, and after

death the spirit recovers the memory of its immortality–its eternity. One with

Brahman, the Self yet experiences many changes. Those changes may only be

appearances, but they are nonetheless real, and profoundly affect the Self in its

evolutionary journey. So they need to be set forth.

The ignorant

“Of those ignorant of the Self, some enter into beings possessed of wombs, others

enter into plants–according to their deeds and the growth of their intelligence.” (Katha

Upanishad 2:2:7)

Here again we have a most interesting thing. Instead of discussing the worlds

entered by the spirit after bodily death, and their nature as reflections of the spirit’s

karma, physical rebirth is immediately being spoken of. This is because it takes a

goodly degree of evolution for the subtle worlds to have meaning for the developing

spirit. The undeveloped learn neither from earthly or astral experiences. Further,

many of them simply go to sleep at the moment of death and awaken only at the

moment of birth. The period of time in between does not exist for them in any

meaningful sense.

In his commentary on this verse Shankara cites another upanishadic statement:

“Creatures are born in accordance with their knowledge.” For evolution is a matter of

knowing (jnana). The spirits that are unaware of their true nature come back into two

general categories: into living organisms that gestate them in some form or other, and

plant life. Obviously, very little goes on in the life of the plant as far as consciousness is

concerned. Only those who are “born” and live a life with some degree of control over

a body vehicle can develop their consciousness to any significant extent.

Implicit in this verse is the principle of the transmigration of the atman from lower

to higher forms of life. We start out as atoms of hydrogen, move into mineral forms,

then plant forms, then “living” organisms, and then into the human body from which

we shall eventually evolve into forms in higher worlds. For most of the time evolution

is automatic and incredibly slow. But at some point we become capable of directing and

enhancing our evolutionary movement. At first this is only through thinking and

acting, but eventually we become capable of yoga, of fully taking charge of our growth

in consciousness. Until this point is reached, little of any importance occurs to us. So

the upanishad is starting at a basic rung of the ladder of evolution. But since, as I have

said, nothing of much value take place on that level, the upanishad moves ahead quite

a bit to the level when we are capable of dreaming–to at least the intelligent animal

level.

Dream creation

“That which is awake in us even while we sleep, shaping in dream the objects of our

desire–that indeed is pure, that is Brahman, and that verily is called the Immortal. All

the worlds have their being in that, and no one can transcend it. That is the

Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:8)

It is a fundamental assertion of India’s primal wisdom that there are four states of

consciousness: jagrat (waking), swapna (dreaming), sushupti (dreamless sleep), and

turiya, the pure consciousness that witnesses the first three. Turiya is the state proper

to the Self–actually is the Self–which is why this verse speaks of It as “that which is

awake in us even while we sleep.”

“Shaping in dream the objects of our desire.” But there is more to this Self than

consciousness. It is also creative power. Although as yogis we use the terminology of

Sankhya and speak of Purusha and Prakriti as two entities, we are only speaking of two

aspects or views of the One Existence. They are absolutely One. The upanishad

reveals this by telling us that the Self is not only Witness, It is also the Witnessed.

The Self is desireless, yet it shows us in dreams the things we desire. Why?

Because the Self is more than Witness, It is Guide and Guru. In every way it is

attempting to show us our present spiritual status. Dreams are one of the avenues for

its teaching. It is true that dreams arise from the subconscious, but they do so at the

impulse of the Self. Unfortunately our subconscious is distorted, like a badly ground

lens, so the original imaging of the Self comes through to us distorted or partial, and

the message is flawed. However, the more we clarify our minds through meditation,

the more faithful our dreams will be to the original impulses from the Self. In time our

dreams can become authentic spiritual visions, at least on occasion.

Although showing us our desires, the Self remains pure–the actual word being

“white” to signify that the Self has no inherent “colors” (qualities or traits), for it is

Brahman by nature. Thus it is also immortal, no matter how many “deaths” we may

experience, both through the death of the body and the “little death” we experience

each time we sleep–dreams being a kind of “after death” astral experience.

All “worlds,” all levels of experience, arise from the Self in Union with Brahman.

Nothing exists apart from the Self. The Self is also the ultimate Being. There is no

“going beyond” it. Because it is one with Brahman, even conscious union with

Brahman does not cancel out our awareness of the individual Atman. This is a most

important principle, for many are led into the delusion that they have transcended the

Self and “entered the Not-Self,” when they have merely sunk into the morass of

tamasic ignorance. They are suffering from the subtlest form of mental illness which in

time will manifest as recognizable psychosis and lead to great mental and moral

disintegration–in many instances to attempted or successful suicide.

The indwelling Self

“As fire, though one, takes the shape of every object which it consumes, so the Self,

though one, takes the shape of every object in which it dwells. As air, though one,

takes the shape of every object which it enters, so the Self, though one, takes the

shape of every object in which it dwells.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:9, 10)

Each individual Self inhabits a vast number of body-vehicles as it moves up the

ladder of evolution to the Highest. (For a detailed study of this, see Ladder of Light.)

And in each one it appears to actually become that vehicle. Yet the Self remains only

Itself, one and unique. In this way the Self gathers experiences of every form of life

that exists. This is necessary for It if It is to approximate the status of Brahman, for

Brahman, existing in all forms, has the experience of “being” all those forms. Hence

the microcosmic Self mirrors the Macrocosmic Self.

The untouched Self

“As the sun, revealer of all objects to the seer, is not harmed by the sinful eye, nor

by the impurities of the objects it gazes on, so the one Self, dwelling in all, is not

touched by the evils of the world. For he transcends all.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:11)

Having spoken to us of the fact that the Self somehow takes on the form of its many

incarnational forms, the upanishad reminds us that the Self is nonetheless absolutely

unmarked by that “formation” and undergoes no alteration or conditioning whatsoever.

Even while immanent in relative existence, the Self remains essentially transcendent,

in the same relation to its incarnate form as is Brahman to the universe. The divine eye

of the Self illumines all things yet is affected by none.

Bliss and peace

“He is one, the lord and innermost Self of all; of one form, he makes of himself

many forms. To him who sees the Self revealed in his own heart belongs eternal bliss–

to none else, to none else!” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:12)

The Self is ever the Master, however much the forms inhabited by the Self may be

bound. The Self is the essential principle of the existence of all those forms, always

remaining one and unchanged. He alone who beholds the Self in/as the core of his

being possesses eternal bliss.

“Intelligence of the intelligent, eternal among the transient, he, though one, makes

possible the desires of many. To him who sees the Self revealed in his own heart

belongs eternal peace–to none else, to none else!” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:13)

Consciousness of the conscious, the eternal link between all the temporal bodies It

inhabits, the Self is that which “makes possible the desires of many” through countless

incarnations. He alone who beholds the Self in/as the core of his being possesses

eternal peace.

The Radiant Self

Yamaraj has presented his student with a great deal of philosophical knowledge

regarding the Self. This is all valuable, but Nachiketa feels impelled to ask a question,

without the answer to which all the teaching on the Self means nothing. He asks: “How

O King, shall I find that blissful Self, supreme, ineffable, who is attained by the wise?

Does he shine by himself, or does he reflect another’s light?” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:14)

It is pointless to hear about the Self if we do not know how to find the Self. It is true

that in metaphysical realms the majority of people are enamored of theory and

discussion without practical application, but the wise see things differently. Nachiketa

has already grasped the fundamental nature of the Self.

Blissful

Analysis shows that the basic motivation of all beings is bliss (ananda) or happiness

(sukham), that all the things we strive for are only prized because their acquisition will

give rise to joy. In this perspective we see that all beings are in search of the Self, for It

alone is of the nature of joy. Once a person grasps this fact–really grasps it–he can only

seek for the Self, all else being seen as insignificant.

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad we find the following relevant exposition:

”It is not for the sake of the husband, my beloved, that the husband is dear, but for

the sake of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of the wife, my beloved, that the wife is dear, but for the sake

of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of the children, my beloved, that the children are dear, but for

the sake of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of wealth, my beloved, that wealth is dear, but for the sake of

the Self.

”It is not for the sake of the Brahmins, my beloved, that the Brahmins are held in

reverence, but for the sake of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of the Kshatriyas, my beloved, that the Kshatriyas are held in

honor, but for the sake of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of the higher worlds, my beloved, that the higher worlds are

desired, but for the sake of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of the gods, my beloved, that the gods are worshiped, but for

the sake of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of the creatures, my beloved, that the creatures are prized,

but for the sake of the Self.

”It is not for the sake of itself, my beloved, that anything whatever is esteemed, but

for the sake of the Self.

”The Self, Maitreyi, is to be known. Hear about it, reflect upon it, meditate upon it.

By knowing the Self, my beloved, through hearing, reflection, and meditation, one

comes to know all things.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.5)

Supreme

The Self is supreme–there is nothing that is higher or more desirable than the Self;

there is nothing that exists beyond the Self. It is supreme because It is Existence Itself.

There is no reality other than the Self. We must seek the Self because only the Self can

be attained–everything else is a mirage.

Ineffable

The Self cannot be defined or evaluated in the terms of relative existence or relative

objects–none of which exist outside the Self. Consequently the Self cannot be

intellectually understood or even defined. Nevertheless, the Self can be known in a

manner beyond any ordinary knowing, for It can be experienced as both object and

subject–a quality unique to Itself.

Attained by the wise

The Self is attainable. Those who at present are ignorant of the Self can become

knowers of the Self. Although only the knowers of the Self are fully worthy of being

called wise, we can certainly call those who are seeking the Self also wise. All of us can

be the potentially wise if we follow the path to Self-knowledge as outlined in the

upanishads, the Gita, and the Yoga Darshan of Patanjali.

A necessary question

Nachiketa has declared the Self to be Supreme, yet he prudently follows that

statement with a question to dispel any possibility that he may be misunderstanding

Yama’s teaching: Does the Self shine by Itself, is Light Its essential nature, or does It

reflect another’s light? This is a most crucial inquiry. Is the Self Light, or is Its light

drawn from a source other than the Self? This is a question that penetrates to the

foundations of the cosmos, demanding a clear insight.

The sublime answer

“Him the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning–nor,

verily, fires kindled upon the earth. He is the one light that gives light to all. He

shining, everything shines.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:15) So Yama answers his worthy

pupil’s worthy question.

Nothing of heaven or earth illumines the Self or causes It to be radiant. Rather, It is

swayamprakash–self-luminous. Furthermore, it is the Self that illumines all beings.

“He is the one light that gives light to all.” The Self is the essential nature of all sentient

beings that “shine” with consciousness. “He shining, everything shines.”

All glory to the blissful, supreme, and ineffable Self! All glory to the wise who strive

to attain that Self as well as the supremely wise who have attained It!

The Universal Tree

“This universe is a tree eternally existing, its root aloft its branches spread below.

The pure root of the tree is Brahman, the immortal, in whom the three worlds have

their being, whom none can transcend, who is verily the Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:1)

Little needs to be said about this verse, its meaning is quite obvious. We can,

however, infer a significant principle: all things are rooted above in the Supreme

Consciousness, in Brahman. Everything has Brahman for its essential Being. From

this we get the Hermetic principle: As Above, So Below. Applying this principle to our

own experience we can come to understand a great deal about the higher–and truer–

nature of what is arising and subsiding in our life. Original Christianity, being rooted in

the upanishadic teachings of Jesus (Isha Nath), taught the same, and that is why in the

oldest text of Christian hymns, The Odes of Solomon, we find this: “The likeness of that

which is below is that which is above. For everything is above, and below there is

nothing, but it is believed to be by those in whom there is no knowledge.” (Odes of

Solomon 34:4, 5) That is, the ignorant believe that “things” have an independent

existence–an existence that can cease–rather than the truth that they are not only

rooted in Brahman, they are an imperishable extension of Brahman. “For in him we

live, and move, and have our being…for we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:28) as Saint

Paul pointed out. “And he is before all things, and by him all things

consist.” (Colossians 1:17) David simply sang: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in

thy light shall we see light.” (Psalms 36:9) Brahman is the ultimate state and stage of

being. There is no transcending Brahman, for Brahman is truly the Self of all.

From this we see the principle only (comparatively) recently discovered by science:

that in essence all things are immortal, that there is not a single atomic particle in

creation that can go out of existence, that the changes we think are death and birth are

only rearrangements of the living energies of which all consist.

A yogic aspect

Though yoga is not the subject of this verse, we can extract some important yogic

information from it.

Since we are miniature cosmoses, little universes, our origin is also “above” in the

root ball of the brain, the Thousand-petalled Lotus, the Sahasrara. Therefore, to

experience that Source, in meditation we orient our attention toward the head, and we

invoke the “pure root” of our being in the form of Om, which is the same as Brahman.

The fearless Source

“The whole universe came forth from Brahman and moves in Brahman. Mighty

and awful is he, like to a thunderbolt crashing loud through the heavens. For those

who attain him death has no terror.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:2)

“Awful” is outdated English. “Awesome” is much more correct. (In older forms of

English, “awful,” “horrible,” and “terrible” all meant awesome, and were positive, but at

this point in time they have reversed polarity and become negative descriptions.)

Brahman is Inexorable Power as well as Infinite Consciousness. His presence is

like the thunderbolt whose light blinds us to all lesser lights, whose Creative Sound is

Om expanding through the Chidakasha, the Ether of Consciousness, in which all

things exist–and of which they consist. Those who unite with this Brahman experience

their eternal immortality and become fearless, especially in the face of the mirage

called death.

The Divine Will

“In fear of him fire burns, the sun shines, the rains fall, the winds blow, and death

kills.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:3)

Here, too, a state of ecstatic awe and wonder is meant. In older English, which

Prabhavananda is using, “fear” meant to be filled with awe and respect–not to be afraid.

So when we read in the older Bible translations that we should fear God we are actually

being told to reverence God.

In awesome reverence of Brahman the creation responds to the Supreme Will–for

it is itself an extension of Brahman, as already said. All that occurs is the movement of

Divine Consciousness, is response to Divine Will. Brahman moves Brahman, and

creation manifests and moves onward. Brahman ceases to move Brahman, and

creation resolves into its potential, causal form and seems to cease. At all times it is

Brahman reacting upon–and to–Brahman. Even death is only a change of Life.

The root of rebirth

“If a man fail to attain Brahman before he casts off his body, he must again put on a

body in the world of created things.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:4)

Perfect knowledge of Brahman resulting from total union of our consciousness

with Brahman’s Consciousness is the only passport beyond this world–or any worlds

of relative existence. Knowledge is the root determinant of our rebirth or our freedom

from rebirth. This is why most religion is so useless–it deals with “good” and “bad,”

with “truth” and “error,” on the tiny level of individual human mentalities. The infinite

scope of Brahmic Consciousness simply does not come into its purview. Human beings

waste lifetimes with such mundane religions that only program them for more and

more births upon this earth. Even their ideas of the afterlife and “heaven” only

condition them for more birth and bondage. Degenerate Christianity, especially, with

its doctrine of physical resurrection and immortality instills material consciousness in

its adherents, condemning them to the wheel of perpetual birth and death. Thinking

they are “creatures,” they sink into the quagmire of “creation.” Actually, they impel

themselves into the morass, calling it the will of God. As Jesus said: “If therefore the

light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23) If our

“truth” be actually untruth, its blinding–and binding–power is nigh well inescapable.

The realm of realization

“In one’s own soul Brahman is realized clearly, as if seen in a mirror. In the heaven

of Brahma also is Brahman realized clearly, as one distinguishes light from darkness.

In the world of the fathers he is beheld as in a dream. In the world of angels he appears

as if reflected in water.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:5)

First, this verse should put the lie to the absurd claim in contemporary Hinduism

that enlightenment is impossible unless the individual is born on earth in a human

body. What is the truth is the fact that the highest realm of relativity, the heaven of

Brahma (Brahmaloka) is the only one in which the capacity for realizing Brahman is

inherent in the form proper to that world. In all other worlds the incarnational form is

the bar to such realization, for in the minds of the inhabitants of those worlds Brahman

appears only as a dream or a reflection in water.

The most important fact, though, is the statement that Brahman can be “seen” and

experienced in the Self of each one of us–no matter what world we may or may not

inhabit. We need not aspire to ascend to any other world, thinking that incarnation

there is necessary for our spiritual liberation. Not at all. Whatever world we may be in,

whatever form we may find ourselves incarnate in, we can realize Brahman perfectly.

Why? Because our Self is one with Brahman. This is why we sometimes read in the

lore of India about animals that at their death attained moksha (liberation). It is all in

the knowing, the jnana.

Hierarchy of Consciousness

The senses

“The senses have separate origin in their several objects. They may be active, as in

the waking state, or they may be inactive, as in sleep. He who knows them to be

distinct from the changeless Self grieves no more.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:6)

If a lost person could somehow be lifted up high and see his surroundings from

that perspective, he could easily see his way out of his confusion. In the same way,

those who are lost in the jungle of the senses can find their way by heeding the

wisdom of the upanishads.

Sense experience is just that–the experiences of the senses themselves. The Self

witnesses these experiences and thinks that it is really undergoing them and being

affected by them. This produces great fear and suffering, what to say of the mountainhigh

heaps of illusions and delusions those experiences produce–not in the Self, but in

the mind. The Self, however, attributes these things to itself and fears and suffers even

more. Whether the senses are active or inactive, the potential suffering is ever there.

If, however, we can realize that such perceptions are utterly separate from us, from our

Self, all fear and sorrow cease forever. But we must realize that truth, not just accept it

or act as though it is so. In other words, we must become yogis, for only yogis realize

the truth of the Self and the error of the Not-Self.

The hierarchy

“Above the senses is the mind. Above the mind is the intellect. Above the intellect

is the ego. Above the ego is the unmanifested seed, the Primal Cause. And verily

beyond the unmanifested seed is Brahman, the all-pervading spirit, the unconditioned,

knowing whom one attains to freedom and achieves immortality.” (Katha Upanishad

2:3:7, 8)

It will be good to do some vocabulary building at this point.

By “senses” is meant the five organs of perception: ear, skin, eye, tongue, and nose.

At other times “senses” means the five organs of action: voice, hand, foot, organ of

excretion, and the organ of generation. Often the word “senses” really refers to the five

sense perceptions.

By “mind” is meant the sensory mind; the perceiving faculty that receives the

messages of the senses.

“Intellect” is the faculty of understanding, of reason–the thinking mind.

The “ego” is the false “I”–egoism or self-conceit. It is also the self-arrogating

principle “I” that is projected by the mind rather than the real Self. “Ego” is in

manifestation whenever “I” is said or claimed by anything other than the spirit-self.

“The unmanifested seed, the Primal Cause” is Prabhavananda’s translation of two

terms: Mahat (Tattwa) and Avyakta. The Mahat Tattwa, or “Great Principle” is the first

evolute from Prakriti. It is the principle of Cosmic Intelligence (Buddhi). The Avyakta

is the Unmanifest, the primal Prakriti, from which all things evolve.

It is necessary for us to be aware of this hierarchy, for the lesser levels can be

controlled from the higher levels, thus saving a great deal of time and frustration.

The Supreme, the Source

Beyond all these various levels that are the machinery of the individual and the

cosmos is That which is the Supreme, the Source of all. Regarding That, the upanishad

continues: “And verily beyond the unmanifested seed is Brahman, the all-pervading

spirit, the unconditioned, knowing whom one attains to freedom and achieves

immortality.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:8)

The Self and Brahman being one, it is the knowledge of our Self that bestows upon

us freedom and immortality.

To know the Self

But how do we know this Self–not merely hear about It or believe in It, but truly

know it by direct experience?

“None beholds him with the eyes, for he is without visible form. Yet in the heart is

he revealed, through self-control and meditation. Those who know him become

immortal.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:9)

What could be simpler? We enter into the heart, into the Chidakasha (not the

physical organ called “the heart”) that is at the core of our being. There the Self is

revealed to the disciplined meditator. Immortality is the result of such knowing. The

upanishad continues with a description of the process that leads to Self-knowledge.

“When all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers

not–then, say the wise, is reached the highest state.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:10)

This is extremely, extremely important. Because of the razzamatazz of the Yoga

Carnival that has been rioting on from the last century, nearly everyone thinks that the

highest state involves chills and thrills in the form of inner sensory experiences of

cataclysmic proportion, including “opening of chakras” and “rising of kundalini.”

Notice that the upanishad says nothing like that–nor does the Gita or the Yoga Sutras.

What it does tell us is that the pure consciousness that is Reality is experienced “when

all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers not.” That,

and that alone, is the highest state which in time becomes permanent and is itself

liberation.

Yoga

Obviously much that is called yoga is not yoga at all. This is brought out by the

next verse: “This calm of the senses and the mind has been defined as yoga. He who

attains it is freed from delusion. In one not freed from delusion this calm is uncertain,

unreal: it comes and goes.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:11)

The state of calm, or steadiness (sthiram) in awareness of awareness itself, is yoga.

This frees us from delusion because it makes us aware of our true nature as the Self. In

those who have not attained perfection this state comes and goes. The upanishad tells

us this so we will not be foolish enough to think that experiencing it once or even a few

times is enough and wrongly think we are enlightened. (People claim enlightenment

on the basis of much less.) We must practice diligently to become permanently

established in it.

Although I have told about Lahiri Mahashaya’s teaching on the subject of this

state–which he called sthirattwa–in the Gita commentary, I would like to repeat it here.

Yogiraj Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya continually expounded the idea that the

goal of yoga is to be established in sthirattwa, in perfect tranquility.

“A group of spiritual leaders from Calcutta once conspired against Lahiri Mahasay.

They invited him to join in an evening discussion on spiritual matters. Lahiri Mahasay

accepted the invitation and accordingly attended the meeting.

“The conspirators had well prepared themselves to trap Lahiri Mahasay. For

example, if Lahiri Mahasay were to express his preference for a particular deity, or

Istadev, ‘desired Lord,’ then a particular leader would find exception to that choice.

“In fact, each member of the group selected a particular Devata, ‘deity’ such as

Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna, Lord Siva, the Goddess Kali (the Divine Mother) and

prepared to debate and challenge Lahiri Mahasay’s choice.

“As soon as Lahiri Mahasay arrived, he was received in the traditional manner and

shown proper courtesy. After a while one of the members of the group asked Lahiri

Mahasay, ‘Upon which deity do you meditate?’

“Lahiri Mahasay looked at him but did not reply. Then another gentleman asked

him, ‘Who is your Istadev, “desired deity?”’ Lahiri Mahasay turned his head towards

him and looked at him in the same way, while keeping his peace.

“Finally, a third gentleman asked him, ‘Can you tell us upon which deity usually you

meditate?’

“Lahiri Mahasay faced him and said very gently, ‘I meditate on Sthirattva

(Tranquility).’

“The gentleman replied that he did not understand what was meant by this. Lahiri

Mahasay continued to observe silence. After some time, another gentleman asked

him, ‘Could you please explain this? I do not understand exactly what you are saying.’

“Lahiri Mahasay, as before, continued to maintain silence. Another gentleman

asked, ‘Can you enlighten me as to what you mean by that? I do not understand at all!’

Lahiri Baba told him, ‘You will not be able to understand, and also I will not be able to

make you understand (realize) through words.’

“The group was at a loss. All of their preparation and conniving had come to

naught. Only silence prevailed. All kept silent.

“After a long time Lahiri Mahasay got up and silently prepared to leave the

meeting. All showed him the traditional courtesy as he left.”

As Paramhansa Yogananda, who made Lahiri Mahashaya known in the West, often

said: “He who knows, knows–none else knows.”

How can Brahman be known?

“Brahman words cannot reveal, mind cannot reach, eyes cannot see. How then,

save through those who know him, can he be known?” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:12)

Brahman can only be truly known by direct experience in meditation. This verse is

not speaking of that ultimate knowing, but of the “knowing about” Brahman so we can

be stimulated to seek Brahman. Empty words and intellectual ponderings cannot bring

about this knowing, nor can our mind and senses. But those who know of Brahman–

even imperfectly–possess a spiritual power in their presence and in their words which

convey an intuitive glimmer of the reality of Brahman. That glimmer, entering into our

hearts through contact with them, causes our inmost awareness to awaken, arise, and

respond, and seek the full realization of Brahman for ourselves. This is why the

company of sadhakas is essential for the questing soul. It is like one candle lighting

another.

The two selves

“There are two selves, the apparent self and the real Self. Of these it is the real Self,

and he alone, who must be felt as truly existing. To the man who has felt him as truly

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existing he reveals his innermost nature.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:13)

It is common in Western metaphysical thought to speak of the “lower self” that is

not truly the Self, but the lesser aspects of human existence, and the “higher self” that

is the real Self. We must distinguish between the two, and this is impossible without

enough inner development making possible the intuition of the Self, even if It is not

directly known. One who has this intuition, if intelligent, will then begin to seek to

know the Self, to become a yogi in some manner. To such a one who perseveres, the

Self will be revealed in Its fulness. As Swami Gambhirananda renders the first part of

this verse: “The Self is to be realized as existing, and then as It really is.” This

realization is what is meant by distinguishing between the unreal and the Real.

From Mortality to Immortality

“Lead me from death to immortality” is part of a prayer at the beginning of the

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In this final part of the Katha Upanishad we are given

practical understanding of the way in which immortality is gained.

“The mortal in whose heart desire is dead becomes immortal. The mortal in whose

heart the knots of ignorance are untied becomes immortal. These are the highest

truths taught in the scriptures.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:14, 15)

When desire dies, when ignorance drops away, immortality is revealed. Practically

speaking, we “become” immortal, but in reality we have always been immortal. Yet,

like a millionaire who thinks he is a pauper, our immortality is of little meaning to us

until we come to realize and experience it.

Furthermore, the upanishad tells us that in essence this truth is the only spiritual

teaching there is–not just “the highest truths” as Prabhavananda renders it. Shankara

says that this is the only teaching in all the upanishads, however varying the

approaches may be. The aspirant must not lose himself in philosophical byways,

including those set forth in mountains of books on Yoga and Vedanta. He must keep

his vision clear and focused by understanding that liberation is the only “point” the

upanishads ever make.

Attaining immortality

It is easy to tell ourselves to rid ourselves of desire and ignorance, but how is that

to be done, especially since we have been in the grip of these two ogres for creation

cycles? The upanishad gives us the yogic key to rising above desire and ignorance into

immortality:

“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)

It is noteworthy that this comes at the very end of the upanishad. Yogananda used

to say: “Yoga is the beginning of the end.” So it is appropriate that after all the

philosophical exposition the yoga teaching should be given.

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.

The Supreme Person

Who is liberated in this manner? In conclusion to his teaching, Yama tells

Nachiketa:

“The Supreme Person, of the size of a thumb, the innermost Self, dwells forever in

the heart of all beings. As one draws the pith from a reed, so must the aspirant after

truth, with great perseverance, separate the Self from the body. Know the Self to be

pure and immortal–yea, pure and immortal!” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:17)

If the Self is seen, immaterial as it is, it will appear as an oval light, in the shape of a

human thumb. (The shape is also that of a Shiva Linga, which is a symbol of the Self.)

Those who have seen this are unanimous in describing it in the manner of the

upanishad. In my early teens I met a Christian minister who described the death of his

twin brother. He said that at the moment of death his brother’s mouth opened, and as

he exhaled for the final time, a white light shaped like a thumb emerged from his

mouth and passed from the room.

It is through meditation, as I have described it, that we daily work on the separation

of the Self from the body which will finally occur at the time of death. Not that we leave

our body in meditation, but we begin conditioning all our bodies so they will not hold

on to us at the final moments. As the fully ripened kernel of a nut pulls away from the

shell so that when it is cracked the kernel comes out in full separation, so will it be with

our Self in relation to the body. Sri Ramakrishna described it as being like the release

of a fish back into the river.

May these final words of Yama echo within us: “Know the Self to be pure and

immortal–yea, pure and immortal!”

Nachiketa–and us

Now the upanishadic sage gives us a final assurance:

“Nachiketa, having learned from the god this knowledge and the whole process of

yoga, was freed from impurities and from death, and was united with Brahman. Thus

will it be with another also if he know the innermost Self.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:18)

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

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