ISHAVASYA UPANISHAD : - 5. Swami Tejomayananda.

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Friday, May 13, 2022. 18:00

Wave 2: MEDITATIONS on the Self

Mantras 4-8 (5 No.) 

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Mantram 5: Finding the Correct Means

"Tat ejati tat na ejati, tat doore tat u antike;

 tat antah asya sarvasya,  tat u sarvasya asya baahyatah."

Translation :

1 Tat ejati tat na ejati, = That (the Atman) moves and yet It moves not;

2 tat doore tat u antike; = It is far away and yet It is near;

3 tat antah asya sarvasya, = It is within all of this;

4 tat u sarvasya asya baahyatah.=  and yet It is also outside of all this.

Commentary :

This second verse dealing with the “Riddles”, places before us more clues as to

where the Self could be hiding. The whole hunt seems to be a futile exercise. The point

being made is that we are using the wrong means to discover the Self. Until we adopt the

right means, it is going to be impossible to find the Self.

To know if a flower is real or artificial what are the right means? It cannot be the

eyes; the artificial flower looks identical to the real. It cannot be the ear; both remain as

dumb as doorposts. It cannot be the nose because the artificial flower has been sprayed

with the same scent as a real one. The ‘touch test’ too is not conclusive; both flowers can

feel the same to the skin. 

The answer is Time. If given sufficient time, the real flower will fade while the

artificial flower will not. Time is the correct means to ascertain the truth about the flower.

1-4 In the same way, this verse gives us the strongest hint that we are seeking the

Self with the wrong means. The Self is beyond all mental concepts. Far and near, within and

outside, moving and unmoving – all these are concepts in the mind, based on time and

place. They tell us that with the mind we can never ‘catch’ the Self. The mind and the Self

are in two totally different realms of reality.

Such verses are deliberate and quite common in Vedantic literature. The author

knows that it is only when the mind is compelled (by such contradictions) to abandon its pet

ideas, will it quieten down and make it possible for the Self to shine forth of its own accord.

Verses such as this do not allow one to form a concept. When the mind is forced to stop

making concepts, that is the only time it can get close to understanding what the Reality is.

It may feel uncomfortable in the zone it is being pushed into but at least it has a better

chance there than in its own fanciful conceptual world.

The contradictions themselves need not be taken seriously, nor is it necessary to find

philosophical explanations for them. That would only lead to building up more concepts.

Guruji added a riddle of his own: “Which runs faster, heat or cold?” Answer: “Heat –

you can catch a cold quite easily!”

Reading such verses has bewildered many people. There was one Western critic who

said, “The Upanishads are a blabbering in early childhood.” Well, if that is so, then the

blabbering was done in perfect Samskrit!

Guruji defended these verses purely on the basis of logic, leaving out all emotional

reasons there may be, such as defending one’s “national pride” and so on. He said it was all

to do with which standpoint we are observing from. The standpoint from the perspective of

the body and mind (the Upadhis) will naturally be diametrically opposite to the standpoint

from the Self, which is the standpoint the Upanishads are pointing to.

The view from the ground is always different from the view at the top of the

mountain. Common experience is at ground level and God-experience is at the mountaintop. The viewpoints are bound to differ. From ground level it is not possible to understand

what it is like at the top. This is what is being highlighted by mantras such as mantras 4-8.

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Mantram 6: The Jnani – Seer of the Self

To be continued .....

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