DEBATE IN JANAKA’S COURTROOM (3)
(BHUJYU QUESTIONS YAAJNAVALKYA)
(1)
अथ हैनं भुज्युर्लाह्यायनिः पप्रच्छ
याज्नवल्क्येति होवाच ।
मद्रेषु चरकाः पर्यव्रजाम ।
ते पतञ्चलस्य काप्यस्य गृहानैम ।
तस्यासीद्दुहिता गन्धर्वगृहीता ।
तमपृच्छाम कोऽसीति ।
सोऽब्रवीत्सुधन्वाङ्गिरस इति ।
तं यदा लोकानामन्तानपृच्छाम
अथैनमब्रूम क्व पारिक्षिता अभवन्निति ।
क्व पारिक्षिता अभवन् स त्वा पृच्छामि याज्ञवल्क्य
क्व पारिक्षिता अभवन्निति ॥१॥
Then, Bhujyu,
the grandson of Lahya questioned.
He said;
“Yaajnavalkya!
We wandered in
Madra country as students.
We came to the
house of Patancala of the lineage of Kaapi.
His daughter had
been possessed by a Gandharva.
We asked him- “Who are you?”
He said- “I am Sudhanvaan, in the lineage of
Angirasa”.
We asked him
about the limits of all worlds and told him –
“Where were the descendents of Pareekshit?”
Where were the
descendents of Pareekshit?
I ask you, hey
Yaajnavalkya, where were the descendents of Pareekshit?”
(Since what Gandharva related to us was a very secret
knowledge, you Yaajnavalkya do not know of it. If you already know that secret
knowledge, explain to us; or find yourself as defeated.)
स होवाच ।
उवाच वै सः
अगच्छन्वै ते तद्यत्राश्वमेधयाजिनो गच्छन्तीति ।
क्व न्वश्वमेधयाजिनो
गच्छन्तीति ।
(Yaajnavalkya
answered)
He said;
“Gandharva must have told you that they went where the performers of the
Horse-sacrifice go.”
(Bhujyu asked
again)
“Where do the
performers of the Horse-sacrifice go to?”
(Upanishads always have managed to conceal the Supreme
Knowledge in ordinary day to day language. Very few had the capacity to see
through those words to arrive at the real meaning intended by these Mantras.
Horse Sacrifice is highly celebrated among all kings of the
yore.
However, in Brhadaaranyaka Upanishad, Horse-sacrifice refers
to the slicing of ignorance in the form of the perceived world. (a/shva - that
which is ever changing)
Pareekshit was the last king of the ‘Lunar dynasty’ and was
present when KaliYuga overlapped DvaaparaYuga. This king has nothing to do with
the Upanishad Mantras.
The term Pareekshit means-‘One who possesses all that is
around him (pari/ksi).
Therefore in this context of debate on Brahman, the word
Pareekshit means Brahman who possesses all that is around him as his
manifestation.
Who are Pareekshit’s descendents?
All those who realize Brahman are Brahman in essence; and so
are the true descendants of Brahman, the Pareekshit; for they have performed
the Horse-sacrifice of destroying (the reality of) the perceived world
(DrshyaJagat).
Therefore, “Where do
the performers of the Horse-sacrifice go to?”
- means -
“Where do those who
realize Brahman go to, when their mortal coil falls down lifeless?”)
(2)
द्वात्रिंशतं
वै देवरथाह्न्यान्ययं लोकः ।
तं समन्तं पृथिवी
द्विस्तावत्पर्येति ।
तां समन्तं
पृथिवीं द्विस्तावत्समुद्रः पर्येति ।
तद्यावती क्षुरस्य
धारा यावद्वा मक्षिकायाः पत्रं तावानन्तरेणाकाशः । तानिन्द्रः
सुपर्णो भूत्वा वायवे प्रायच्छत् ।
तान्वायुरात्मनि
धित्वा तत्रागमयद्यत्राश्वमेधयाजिनोऽभवन्निति
।
एवमिव वै स वायुमेव प्रशशंस ।
तस्माद्वायुरेव व्यष्टिः वायुः समष्टिः ।
अप पुनर्मृत्युं जयति य एवं वेद ।
ततो ह भुज्युर्लाह्यायनिरुपरराम॥२॥
इति त्रितीयं ब्राह्मणम् ॥
“Thirty two
times the space covered by the sun’s chariot in a day makes this world (entire
manifest Jagat).
(Loka is that which gets
perceived by the senses and mind.)
Around it,
covering twice that area is the Prthvee.
Around the
Prthvee, covering twice the area is the ocean.
As is the edge
of a sharp knife, or the wing of a fly, so is there - just that much opening at
the junction (of the two halves of the cosmic shell).
(Through that
they go out.)
Indra became
Suparna and gave them to Vaayu.
Vaayu held them
within himself and deposited them where the previous performers of the Horse
sacrifice went to.
Thus did the
Gandharva praise, Vaayu.
Vaayu alone is
the diversity of individuals; and Vaayu is the aggregate.
He who knows
this conquers the death.”
Then Bhujyu, the
grandson of Lahya kept silent.
[Thus ends the
Third Braahmana section.]
(Brahman is formless.
Its shine alone appears as the perceived world called Jagat.
Who sees it?
Nobody; but Brahman alone stays both as the perceiver and
perceived, since there exists nothing other than Brahman.
Brahman alone ‘swells up’ as the Jagat; that is why ‘That’ gets referred to, by the term
‘Brahman’. (Brhm/to swell)
Does Brahmaanda exist
as a solid reality made of solid elements?
Brahmaanda, the Cosmic egg is as much real as what you conceive
in a dream; and is made of pure emptiness alone.
Wake up from the dream; and everything that stayed as real
in the dream is gone off in a puff, instantly. None of the palaces and forests
you saw in a dream, exist as solid objects anywhere in the waking world, when
you wake up from that dream.
The dream-world is made of the mind-conceptions only.
So also, the waking-state called Jagat is made of
mind-conceptions only.
A Knower of Brahman has woken up from the dream called
Jagat.
Till his mortal coil is seen as dead by the others around
him, he also has the perception of the world like everyone else; but he sees it
not assolid and real, but as emptiness of Brahman-expanse alone.
He remains as Brahman himself and watches his life-dream
with the full knowledge of its unreal nature.
So, where do the
liberated ones go after the death of the bodies?
Nowhere!
They are like pots sunk in ocean waters.
Inside and outside there is only the Brahman state, like the
pot has only the ocean-water inside and outside. When the pot breaks, the ocean
never feels it at all.
For a knower of Brahman, his body is like a pot sunk in the ocean of Brahman
He never knows of it at all.
Pot is non-existent for the ocean; body is non-existent for
the Knower of Brahman.
If still you pose a question as to where the Knowers of
Brahman ‘Pareekshit descendents’ go to, then here is how it can be explained to
the ignorant minds, who cannot think of anything without the ideas of space.
“Thirty two times the space covered by the sun’s chariot
in a day makes this world.
If Brahman has to be described as a solid space, how big it
could be..?
Unimaginable!
If you think the sky alone is the biggest space that can be
imagined by your little mind, then imagine the space travelled in a day by the
Sun’s chariot for thirty two times.
What is sun’s chariot?
The chariot is the perceiving mind which is endowed with the
conception of a physical body. Sun is the witness state of the Knower of
Brahman.
Why thirty two?
Ten sense organs, mind, intellect, ten directions, five
elements and their subtle essences; these alone make up the world.
So Jagat is that much: or that much as the sun’s chariot
going round the sky-region thirty two times.
in a day
‘day’ refers to knowledge shine of the Knower of Brahman.
Around it, covering twice that
area is the Prthvee.
What is Prthvee?
Prthvee cannot be translated as ‘earth’.
Earth in modern vocabulary means this earth planet.
This tiny planet is not even equal to a dust particle in
size, in the vast space of the universe that contains it. This universe again
is nothing but one tiny ‘Trasarenu’ (dust mote floating in sunlight) in Brahman
shine.
‘Prthvee’ means the spread out land or stage where Vaasanaas
unfold as perceptions.
(Prth/to spread)
What are Vaasanaas?
Vaasanaas are subtle wants or latent desires that rise up
from Brahmaa, the Creator of a particular world-creation. (There are countless
Brahmaas and creations that rise up like bubbles in the ocean of Brahman
Our lives are just the arenas of space and time produced by
the Vaasanaas.
This stage of Vaasanaa-unfoldment is known as ‘Prthvee’.
There is no universal time or space experienced by all at
once as absolute realties. Each mind creates its own personal field of
experience with its own ‘time and space’ measurements.
The dreams get experienced differently in their own minds by
all the persons who are asleep in a room; so also, the world experiences are
also experienced differently by every one in a world-existence.
Each dream is private and personal; so is the perceived
world different for different minds. We live inside a world as agreed upon by
words (Vaak); not inside a solid world made of elements.
Therefore…
If material space can be imagined as huge as a path
traversed by the sun’s chariot thirty
two times in a day, that is the size of the perceived world.
Now imagine again, ‘Prthvee’ as double that size (though
Prthvee is just the world-stage perceived in the ignorant minds).
Why double?
Never can one fully experience the Jagat-space all over;
there is always some space that stretches out never reaching its end ever.
After all Prthvee is Brahman alone; how can it have any end?
However much you traverse along the space, it will extend as
if doubled in size.
Around the Prthvee, covering twice
the area is the ocean.
What is ocean?
Ocean is a huge collection of waters.
What are ‘waters’ in
Upanishad language?
Experiences!
Waters are never-ending like the stretching surface of the
ocean.
Experiences also never end, for the ignorant minds.
Vaasanaa unfolds the Prthvee, the stage for experiences; but
the minds steeped in hatred and attachment, fail the purpose of fulfilling the
Vaasanaa; instead they gather up more Vaasanaas in their life-path; and through
ignorance produce more ‘’Prthvee to be crossed over’.
The process goes on and on through many births and the end
never gets reached.
The ignorant exist as constant dream-identities, going from
one dream to another, without ever waking up.
Experiences can be different for different minds depending
on the varied levels of knowledge gained by them.
Oceans are seven in that count.
If you enjoy ‘suffering through anxiety’ more than the
‘happiness of the anxiety-less state’, you have the salt ocean.
If you have only pleasures at your door-step without any
suffering as in Gandharva Loka, you have the ocean of sugarcane juice (without
stickiness of course).
If you have the silent states of contemplation as your
nature, then you have the curd ocean.
If you have the intellectual capacity to churn the
experiences and rise up higher in knowledge, then you have the ghee ocean.
If your experiences are very pure and pleasant, then your
ocean is filled with milk (of course not the milk produced from the udders of
cows).
If you have exhilarating experiences as with a spouse like
Shiva, Naaraayana and other Siddhas, you will have the ocean of wine (these
experiences do not belong to the inert chemical world of earth planet).
If you experience pure Brahman without any narrative made up
by the mind, then you have the ocean of pure waters.
Of course, if a person believes in the real existence of
these oceans; and wants to have a sight seeing trip, he can see them as solid
oceans each double the size of the other. Rising from the lowest of all is the
salt ocean; and the milk ocean stays at the top.
Actually the description of the manifest universe of Brahman
is like this;
Seven oceans, seven islands and seven mountains each double
the size of the previous one, in a spherical form, rising from within the
previous one.
On top of it all is the Meru Mountain
After crossing over the Prthvee and ocean-stretches you will
reach the great chasm of darkness or ignorance double the size of the ocean.
This darkness is ‘Aloka’. Nothing is seen here.
The huge hill of Lokaaloka (Loka and Aloka) covers all this.
Though it is not a solid mountain; but only the perceived
and non-perceived state of a mind; it looms up as a solid rocky mountain for
the ignorant.
For the knower, it is like a mist rising from Brahman. It
does not ever block his path.
This Lokaaloka is so huge that every atom of this gigantic
hill contains a world within it. Each of
the worlds again contains worlds inside its own atoms.
There is no count of worlds that can exist within this
Lokaaloka hill.
As is the edge of a sharp knife, or the wing of a fly, so
is there just that much opening at the junction (of the two halves of the
cosmic shell).
You have to imagine Prthvee stretching all around you; then
the ocean surrounding it; and the dark chasm surrounding it; and then all that
inside a huge Brahmaanda egg!
This egg was broken by Brahmaa when he started the process
of creation.
This Brahmaa is a concentrated form all the Brahmaas.
He is Brahman manifest as Brahmaa.
The egg broke into two halves; the top one became the sky
(dyau), the bottom one became the Prthvee and the intermediate space was
Antariksha.
Why Brahmaa broke into
two pieces?
That was the point where ‘one’ appears as if it is two.
It is the state of delusion and differentiation.
No Jeeva can get out of this egg-space.
It is very a tiny gap; and sharp like a razor. One may get
caught by many misconceived theories and get into worse states of darkness and
ignorance; that is why it is dangerous like crossing through sharp razor- like
space.
Slightest disturbance in the mind, even as much as a flutter
of the wing of a tiny fly; then you swerve down from your Knowledge state and
fall, one knows not where!
Even the idea that ‘I am a Knower of Brahman’ will end you
up in another worldly existence. One can easily end up in any world-existence
in the Lokaaloka hill teeming with worlds; or fall into any ocean or mountain
or island; or even start falling down the chasm without ever reaching the
bottom.
Brahman does not ‘know’ that he is Brahman; Brahman is not
an object of Knowledge; it is just an unperturbed state of silent emptiness of
knowledge.
If Brahman knows that
it is Brahman, then the world shines forth as its knowledge!
A Knower of Brahman does not ‘know’ that he is ‘knower’; but
just ‘is’ as ‘Knowledge’.
A man who has woken up from the dream does not ‘know’ that
he is awake; but is ‘awake; that is all!
A Knower of Brahman is Brahman without ‘knowing’ that he is
Brahman.
He is just that; without the fluttering of any thought!
He is just the silent state, though engaged in his duties of
the world.
The ignorant keep wandering inside the broken shell-pieces,
forever and ever, engaged in fulfilling Vaasanaas.
They are in the dark chasm sometimes; caught in the waves of
the oceans sometimes. They keep appearing and disappearing in the countless
worlds of the Lokaaloka hill.
They have no fixed identities; and have no freedom to choose
their experiences.
Experiences experience
them as objects!
The Brahmaanda shell is a Chit-Brahmaanda, which contains
the Aakaasha, Antariksha, and Prthvee.
It is the entire shine of Brahman described as Brahmaanda
shell.
(Through that they go out.)
Knowers of Brahman escape through the tiny gap between the
shell pieces and enter the ‘Brahmaakaasha’.
This ‘Brahmaakaasha’ is Brahman-state without perturbation.
These descendents of Pareekshit stay as Brahman alone.
From this level, they act as any identity in any world in
the Lokaaloka hill, with full freedom; or need not take any identity also.
They are ever free and shine as Brahman.
What can ever bind a Brahman-Knower?
Indra became Suparna (bird with
excellent wings) and gave them to Vaayu.
Vaayu held them within himself
and deposited them where the previous performers of the Horse sacrifice went
to.
'Indra’ is the mind who controls the senses.
‘Suparna’ (golden bird with excellent wings) is the
intellect shining with knowledge; and is endowed with the excellent wings of
Viveka and Vichaara.
This Suparna gave them to Vaayu.
Vaayu is Praana.
Through the process of proper reasoning, a man withdraws
himself to the Praana level, which is taintless Brahman.
Mind, the shine of Praana-force remains silent without perturbation.
The Knowers of Brahman remain without the perturbation of
the mind; in the Praana level,
Thus did the Gandharva praise,
Vaayu.
Such a state of a Knower, who acts from the taintless Praana
level only, is indeed praiseworthy. He never acts as the ignorant mind.
Vaayu alone is the diversity of
individuals; and Vaayu is the aggregate.
Vaayu is Praana; the vibrating power of Brahman which shines
as the Jagat.
Vaayu is the contact principle that divides as it were,
Brahman into various names and forms through Vaak.
Vaayu is formless Brahman and is the essence of all names
and forms.
Vaayu is the mind in the ignorant.
Praana is mind; mind is Jagat.
Praana is Brahman when the mind is silent.
Brahman alone is!
“He who knows this conquers the
death.”
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