The Essence of the Aitareya and Taittiriya Upanishads 4.6. - Swami Krishnananda.

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Thursday, January 28, 2021.11:18. AM

Chapter 4: Cosmology 6.

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The sense organs are contained in this body. We are generally told that the karmendriyas, or the organs of action—speaking, grasping, locomotion, etc., which are the tendencies to action and the limbs that help such activity—are all motivated and controlled by the prana. The prana is the synthesised form of rajasic force, and the karmendriyas, or the organs of action, are the discrete or the diversified forms of the same energy. So we may say that all our activities are nothing but prana working. But these activities have ideas behind them, thoughts behind them. Thoughts precede action.

The mind together with the senses of knowledge constitute the manomaya kosha, or the mental sheath. Here we are in an animal level, practically. On the pranic level, we are like vegetables; and on the purely physical level, we are like inanimate matter. But on the thinking level, we are like animals, and only on the intellectual level are we superior to animals. That is a still higher stage. The vijnana, or the intellect, is something like a purified form of the mind. It is purified in the sense that it is capable of determinate thinking, while the mind is usually engaged in indeterminate thinking. There is a translucent feeling of the presence of things and an indistinct thought of objects outside when the mind operates. It cannot decide, it cannot judge, it cannot discriminate, it cannot argue, and it cannot come to a conclusion. This is the mind, as we see it operating in animals, for instance. This is what we call the instinct level, when we are not self-conscious to the extent necessary for judging things in terms of pros and cons, etc.

The senses of knowledge—seeing, hearing, etc.—are the manifestations of the mind, just as the organs of action are the manifestations of the prana. While the organs of action are in the pranamaya kosha, or the energy body, the senses of knowledge are in the manomaya kosha, or the mental sheath. They are internal because they are conscious in some way, whereas the prana is not conscious; it is simply active. The manomaya kosha, or the mental sheath, acts in collaboration with the vijnanamaya kosha, or the intellectual sheath, which also works with the aid of the senses of knowledge, so that we may say the intellect, the mind and the senses of knowledge form a single family. They are a single group, and they work together. This is the highest point of individuality conceivable. We are now on the intellectual level, having risen above the mental level, the prana level of the vegetable kingdom, and the inorganic level. So we are able to think in a logical fashion, understand the causes of effects, and effects of causes, etc., and link causes with effects. This is a prerogative of the human individual that causative thinking is possible, whereas animals are incapable of doing that. They cannot remember things as we do. We can think of the past, and we can think ahead. This is the intellectual level.

Now, consciousness brilliantly manifests itself in the intellect, no doubt; but we are not satisfied merely with the intellect. Understanding alone does not make us happy. Happiness is a different thing altogether. The great Reality, the Supreme Being, is said to be constituted of three constitutive essences, we may say: sat, chit and ananda—Existence, Consciousness and Bliss.

We can see existence even in a wall or a brick, but not consciousness. We can see existence and consciousness in a human being where the intellect functions—when we think, or argue and speak; but we need not be happy at that time. So happiness is not necessarily a condition which follows intellectual functions, because even in the intellect there is an element of rajas. Happiness is possible of experience only when there is freedom from rajas totally. There should not be an iota of rajas or tamas if we are to be happy. If there is tamas, we will be asleep like a stone. If there is rajas, we are awakened from sleep and we are conscious of things, but not happy. In that condition of rajas, we are like muddled water which is shaky, where a reflection of the sun is possible, but not a clear reflection. Only when sattva predominates is there a clear reflection of Reality and we can experience happiness.

Happiness is what we seek. We can understand that it is not ordinary knowledge that we are after in this world. We are after knowledge for the sake of a satisfaction that it brings. And, how knowledge brings satisfaction is a very important topic. Happiness is what we are after; it is happiness for which everyone works, and happiness seems to be the aim and objective behind even the operation of consciousness in this world. Consciousness is incomplete, and existence is incomplete, if bliss is not there. That bliss is the ultimate content of the Absolute. How it comes, and how we are partially experiencing it in our individual lives, we shall see later.

End.

NEXT : Chapter 5: Ananda Mimamsa

To be continued ...

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