ISHAVASYA UPANISHAD : - 4. Swami Tejomayananda.

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Friday, April 22, 2022. 20:00

Wave 2: MEDITATIONS on the Self

Mantras 4-8 (5 No.) 

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Mantram -4: The Elusive Self or Atman

1" Anejat ekam  manasah javeeyah, 

2 na enat devaah apnuvan  poorvam-arshat;

3 tat dhaavatah anyaan - atyeti tishthat,

4 tasmin apah maatar - ishwaa dadhaati."

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Translation :

1 Anejat ekam manasah javeeyah, = The Self is the motionless one,  yet it is swifter than the mind.

2 na enat devaah apnuvan =  poorvam-arshat; The Devas (senses) cannot overtake It, for It runs before them.

3 tat dhaavatah anyaan-atyeti tishthat, = Than others who run after It,  It overtakes them while sitting!

4 tasmin apah maatar-ishwaa dadhaati. = In It, as water by the air, all actions of all living beings are supported.

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Commentary :

The next five verses (4-8) are Upasanas or meditations on the Self so that we understand what our spiritual goal, our true being, the Self, really is. These verses sound like riddles. The Self is who we are at the core of our heart. There must be something very special about the Self that frees people who realize It, and keeps in bondage those who live in forgetfulness of It.

In spite of being motionless, it is swifter than anything else.

2 The Devas are the mind and senses. The deluded mind, not aware of who the Self is, tries to catch it conceptually in so many different ways through different philosophies, and, of course, it never succeeds. The Self, as it were, is always ahead of the mind. It can never be reached even by the instruments of the mind, namely, the senses.

The senses are here depicted as police officers sent out by the mind with warrants to ‘arrest’ the Self. The Self eludes them all; they fail totally to catch it. The tongue fails to describe It. The eye cannot have even a glimpse of It. It is the same with the other senses. When they try finding It in the external world, they cannot find a trace of the Self.

3 So the mind tries to search for the Self within. The mind is told that It is seated in the heart, that It is in the core of one’s being. Even this ‘sitting’ Self cannot be caught! Why?

Even the mind that tries to concentrate and meditate is filled with thoughts running about everywhere. The thoughts draw its attention, and once that happens, how can the mind settle on the Self? No matter how much it meditates, it seems a futile exercise to hunt down the Self. The Self simply cannot be arrested by any officers which the mind deploys, whether externally or internally.

4 The Self seems to have found a perfect hiding place. However, although it evades the officers hunting for It, It leaves Its scent everywhere. But the best sniffer dogs cannot seem to pick up this scent. There are umpteen clues that tell us that It is around somewhere. Most notable among them is Life itself! If the Self where not around, where does Life come from? The Life-force enlivens our body and mind; by the signs of life we infer the presence of the Self. The Prana or life-force supports all living beings. Without Prana, the body dies. All activity of the body is also an expression of this life-force, whether it is physical action or mental activity. Yet the Self is too subtle for us catch it!

The scenario may be compared to this illustration: The secret police are hot on the heels of a serial murderer, but they just cannot pin him down. Every few days, a crime takes place which is a replica of all the previous crimes. So, the police know that the culprit is around, and that he is somewhere within their clutches. Yet he cannot be traced!

The truth is that the instruments we have employed are not the right means to obtain Knowledge of the Self. The means are powerless to locate the Self. The mind is the Drishtha (the ‘seen’) while the Self is the Drishya (the ‘Seer’). The seen can never comprehend the seer. [Refer to Drg-Drishya Viveka, Text 13.] It is impossible for the mind to have knowledge of the Self. In fact, it is only when the mind’s activity ceases completely that the Self reveals itself fully.

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Next 

Mantram 5: Finding the Correct Means

To be continued ....

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