The Chhandogya Upanishad - 4.3.2 - 37: Swami Krishnananda.

 

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Sunday, 10 Sep 2023. 07:40.

CHAPTER 4: AN ANALYSIS OF THE NATURE OF THE SELF

SECTION 3: THE SPACE WITHIN THE HEART

Post-36.

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Mantram-2 :

"Atha ye casyeha jiva ye ca preta yac-canyad-icchan na labhate, 

sarvam tad atra gatva vindate, atra hi asyaite satyah kamah anrtapidhanah, 

tad-yathapi hiranya-nidhim nihitam aksetrajna uparyupari sancaranto na vindeyuh, 

evam evemah sarvah praja ahar ahar gacchantya etam brahmalokam na vivdanti, anrtena hi pratyudhah."

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Commentary:

If only one were to dive into the ocean of one's own heart, one would see there everything that one cannot even dream of in one's mind. All those who have died since ages, millions and millions of years ago, and all those who have not yet come into being at all but are to manifest themselves now or in the ages to come—all these forms are capable of being perceived in one's own heart. But in this world this is not experienced, because this is a world of physicality and intense bodily awareness. On account of this, everything seems to be scattered hither and thither, as if one thing has no connection with the other thing, while really in the heart of all things can be discovered the treasure of the whole universe wherein you find the entire population of the cosmos right from the time of creation till the time of dissolution.

An example is given here to illustrate this. It is something like people walking over a treasure and not knowing that there is a treasure underground, says the Upanishad. Someone might have buried some treasure-trove under the earth and many people may be walking over it without knowing that a big treasure is underneath. Similar is the case with us who carry treasures in our own hearts. In our own selves, all these are contained. But we cannot have entry into them on account of the absence of the awareness of the fact that they are there. The consciousness of this fact is repelled by the very existence of interest in something else. We stumble upon the treasure every day. We fall upon Truth and contact everything, everywhere, in all our experiences—past, present and future-throughout the various incarnations we take, but we cannot know that we are coming in contact with it, just as subtle, etheric waves and light waves may be passing through this very hall in which we are seated but we cannot know that they are passing. These waves are of high frequency. Neither that which is too low in frequency nor that which is very high can be comprehended by us who can experience only a particular range of frequency. Thus it is that we ourselves do not know what we contain in ourselves.

It is impossible to know this great treasure by a projection of the mind outwardly, because it is seated within the heart of things. It is not external. As a matter of fact, it is the search we make externally that is the obstacle in knowing that which is within one's own self. Things do not exist as externals. They are not exclusive. In fact, everything is inclusive. The knowledge of this internal connection is denied by the very desire to see things externally. Thus we see that the contradiction that arises on account of the desire which projects itself through the senses in respect of externality of things prevents the knowledge of things as they really are.

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Next

Mantram-3

To be continued

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