MUNDAKA UPANISHAD - 15. Swami Advayananda.

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6 Chapters (64 Mantras)

Chapter-1.

Section-2.

2. A CLOSE LOOK AT RITUALS : (Mantras 10-22, 13 no.)

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Wednesday, November 16, 2022. 08:00.

Post - 15.

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15. Mantram - 2.6. Enticements to Reach Heaven : (with translation )

1 “ehi ehi” iti tam aahutayah suvarchasah,   =  “Come hither, come hither,” thus say  the brilliant oblations unto him,

2 sooryasya rashmibhih yajamaanam vahanti;   =  And like the rays of the sun, they carry the sacrificer.

3 priyaam vaacham abhivadantyah archayantyah =  Pleasant words of praise do they address him with: 

4 “eshah vah punyah sukritah brahmalokah.”   =  “As a result of all your good deeds, this is the holy world of Brahma (you deserve).”

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Commentary :

1-2 If the idea conveyed by the previous verse is accepted, then with a little further 

extension of it, we would get this verse, wherein we actually see the fire coming “alive” and 

talking to us! This is no idle imagination, but very powerful auto-suggestion.

Seen this way, verses 14 and 15 give us great insight into the intentions of the Rishis 

when they conceived the fire-sacrifice as a ritual to be regularly performed by a whole 

civilization of mankind. It tells us more about the knowledge the Rishis possessed of the 

utility of fire as a medium to carry messages. Fire was known to convey messages instantly. 

The messages given to it through the offerings are, as it were, delivered by ‘Speed Post’ to

the very desk of the appropriate Deity.

In these two verses, it is described how the performer of the sacrifice is connected to 

the Deity he is worshipping by the flame of the fire, just as one “rides on a ray of the Sun”! 

And this is not after one departs from the body; there is no mention of death. It is a living 

experience that is felt in the core of the worshipper’s being.

3-4 This part of the verse is a vivid insight into how the flames lead the soul after

death. This is how the soul is led to its appropriate destination, the world of its desire, by 

the brilliant flames of the cremation fire. The soul receives a royal welcome at the gates of 

heaven. This is reminiscent of how great leaders are treated on earth during special 

occasions or even during conferences. The flames lay out the “Red Carpet” for the person 

who has deserved to go to heaven due to his good deeds.

Indeed, in the light of the next chapter on liberation from all desire, some students 

may see in these 4 lines a touch of sarcastic humour in the Rishis.

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Next-
16 Mantram - 2.7: A. Rituals – Their Inherent Undependability
To be continued 

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