ISAVASYA UPANISHAD : Mantram : 8.

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD :

or


VAJASANEYI    SAMHITA    UPANISHAD


Mantram : 8.


 Discussion-4. "Self"  ..."Not  this,  not  this"  ...'Post  and  ghost' .....

So  far  Self  has  been  indicated  by  the  Rishi-s  in  the  language  of  negation  :  

"Not  this,  not  this."

There  are  two  methods  by  which  we  can  explain  the  "Post"   to  a  deluded  man,  who  is  suffering  under  his  own  delusions,  caused  by  the  vision  of  the  "ghost."

He  can  be  shown  that  the  'ghost '  is  a  delusion,  and  he  can  also  positively  guided  to  the  recognition  of  the  'post. '

With  the  deluded  friend  of  ours,  we  can  only  start  in  the  language  of  negation.

Similarly,  here  the  great  Rishi  addressing  us  starts   with  the  language  of  negation.

Rishi  negates  all  other  possibilities  of  our  misunderstanding  of  the  'Atma.' 

Without  correct  training  and  guidance,  one  is  apt  to  consider  that  the  'Self'  is  the  body  or  the  intellect.

The  above  expression  have,  in  their  very  grouping,   indicated  to  the  student  that  the  'Atma'  is  neither  the  physical  nor  the  subtle  nor  the  casual  body.

"Transcending  them  all  is  the  Self,  Eternal  and  Perfect." 

But,  the  seeker  knows  no  entity  beyond  the  physical,  the  subtle,  and  the  casual  structures  and,  therefore,  he  is  apt  to  misunderstand  the  Self  to  be  a  complete  negative  idea  with  no  positive  qualities   of  existence  in  it.

In  order  to  remove  the  idea  that  when  the  "three  bodies" are  removed,  the  'Self,'  in  its  essential  nature,  would  become  a  zero  or  a  non-entity,  and  to  assert  that  It  is  a  positive  factor  with  all  the  dynamic  qualities  of  Life  as  such,  we  have  here  a  series  of  phrases  to  declare  the  Eternal  nature  of  the  Self.

Next :  Discussion-5.  "The  Self  is  the  Seer"  .....

To be continued   ....