MUNDAKA UPANISHAD - 8. Swami Advayananda.

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6 Chapters (64 Mantras)

Chapter-1.

Section-1.

1. THE ORIGINS OF KNOWLEDGE : (Mantras 1-9, 9 no.)

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Thursday, July 14, 2022. 07:00 

Mantram 1.8: Tapas – the Forerunner of Creation..

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Mantram-8.Sequence of Creation of the Universe

"tapasaa cheeyate brahma, tatah annam abhijaayate;

annaat praano manah satyam, lokaah karmasu cha amritam.  

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Translation :

1 tapasaa cheeyate brahma,      = In brooding meditation (Tapas), the 

joyful creative urge of Brahmaji swells.

2 tatah annam abhijaayate;      = Then, from Him food is produced;

3 annaat praano manah satyam,   = from food the Prana, the mind, 

the elements;

4 lokaah karmasu cha amritam.   = the worlds of action and of 

immortality.

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Commentary :

The link passage explains that creation is not chaotic but an orderly growth. There is 

ORDER in the cosmos; it is not random. That is the main point brought out here. The order 

comes through clearly in this verse: from the causal, to the subtle, and finally to the gross 

level. These three stages may be compared to the three signals athletes receive just before 

a race begins: “On your mark (causal)…Get set (subtle)…GO (gross)!”

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Creation at the Causal Level :

1 Tapasaa Cheeyate: These words are suggestive firstly of the joy felt by Brahmaji as 

He prepares Himself to create something. Secondly, there is a ‘swelling’ that Brahmaji 

experiences as He conceives His creation. This creative urge accompanied by a ‘joyful 

swelling’ is what is captured in the word ‘Cheeyate’.

There is an enthusiasm and joy that are an integral part of the urge to create; an 

inspiration, an expectancy, a looking forward to the new creation. Samskrit is able to 

capture this feeling beautifully in the very structure of its words. 

Tapas is usually translated as “austerity”. Here it is intended to mean a focus of one’s 

energy with concentration on the purpose of creating something. Tapas is the intensity of 

the intention to create, and includes obtaining the know-how to do so. Brahman gathers to 

Himself the knowledge of creation, He then focuses intensely upon it, and creates what He 

desires. This initial step provides the “Causal Food” to produce the creation.

Once the intention of Brahma is made known, then the world of Samsara becomes 

ready to receive the manifestation. This begins in the subtle world. The cosmic mind gets 

ready to receive the creative urge. It is still not at the gross level, but is ‘grosser’ than the 

causal level. 

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Creation at the Subtle Leve :

2-3 There are various stages at the subtle level of creation that occur before anything finally manifests at the gross level. These steps are given in the Bhashya as follows:

i) Differentiation – undistinguished urge becomes distinguished (intellect operates); 

ii) Determination – produced by Sankalpa (sets the will into operation); 

iii) Deliberation – brought about by Vikalpa (sets up the plan of action);

iv) Fertilization – known as Nirnaya (putting the plan into action). 

Differentiation or specificity begins to occur at the intellect level. From the overall 

intention, the various specific sub-units that go to make up the big picture become active.

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Creation at the Gross Level:

4 The impulse of creation reaches the manifested gross plane where it is called Satya

(existence). The gross creation is the first time that the unmanifested steps become 

manifested in physical form. Creation now becomes observable and knowable through the 

senses. It has a well-defined, definite form attached to a name. These two are the essential 

features at the gross level. Form and name are identifying characteristics of gross creation.

The five gross elements are first created, from which the worlds or Lokas are built. 

Thus we see a well-ordered structure or plan that is followed in the process of creation. 

Every stage in the process takes its own time, it cannot be rushed, and requires its own 

resources for execution.

Whatever has been set in motion with the first impulse of intention, has to bear fruit 

(Karmaphala) at some time in the future. In this sense the Karmaphala is a certainty and is 

said to be Amritam or ‘indestructible’. An arrow shot has to hit its target.

In living beings the same series of orderly steps are followed at the microcosmic 

level. An exampIe of how it works is seen in the sequence of events that lead up to the birth 

of a child.

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Vedantic View of Creation – Linked to Its View of Reality :

The Vedantic view of creation is to see it as a bridge from the known to the 

Unknown; every unit of creation has as its ultimate purpose to serve as a pointer to the 

Reality underlying it. In this sense, creation serves as a means by which we can ‘recognise

the Lord’. Recognition of the Lord is followed by praise of the Lord.

Vedanta has no intention to present the logic of creation, for it sees creation as an

unreal superimposition not to be taken too seriously but to be transcended. The danger of 

taking a theory of creation too seriously is that it makes creation appear as ‘true’ when in 

fact it is ‘unreal’.

The less a student of Vedanta is concerned with these explanations, the more he can 

focus on Vedantic principles. A restless intellect requires more data on creation. As a 

general rule, we find that texts that focus a lot on such details are texts which are meant for 

beginners on the spiritual path. In this text, the job is done in the briefest manner, so that 

more important aspects of spirituality concerning the Reality get due prominence.

This mantram may well be the shortest, most concise verse on the creation process. A 

wealth of meaning is contained in it, together with the feeling and enthusiasm that creation 

is accompanied by.

For the information of readers, Acharyaji spent about 4 lectures on this single mantram!

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Next -

Mantram- 9.

9: Thorough Knowledge – in Totality & in Detail (Summing up )

To be continued .....

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