TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD – 20. Rishi Yajnavalkya.

=========================================================================

PART 1:  Chapters : 12.

Chapter - "pramaa aayantu brahmachaarinah swaahaa;"-1.On the Science of Pronunciation etc.

Section-5.The mystic expression'Mahah'       

=========================================================================

Thursday, January 26, 2023. 07:00.

Mantram - 1.5:6: Conclusion on Vyaahritis

Post-20.

======================================================================

Mantram -6: Conclusion on Vyaahritis

With Translation :

13 taah vai etaah chatasrah chaturdha;   =  The four Upasanas are fourfold in themselves;

14 chatasrah chatasrah vyaahritayah;   =  Four by four are the Vyaahritis;

15 taah yah veda; sah veda brahma;  =   He who knows these; He knows Brahman;

16 sarve asmai devaah balim aavahanti   =  All the Devas carry offerings unto such a one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bhashyam (Vyakyanam) :

There are three points to be explained in this mantram :

13-14 i) Rows & Columns: The first two lines are saying the same thing in two ways, 

the only difference being that the first line says that each column (i.e Upasana) has four 

rows; whilst the second line says that each row (i.e. the Vyaavritis) has four columns. This is 

just to clarify the categories to the student. A 4 x 4 matrix is meant, having 16 squares in it.

15 ii) Saguna Brahman (Hiranyagarbha): All the 16 elements listed in the above 

Upasanas and in the given above are the full representation of Hiranyagarbha, the 

Consciousness associated with the Cosmic Subtle Body. Since this covers the entire Samashti 

(Macrocosm) manifestation, the knower of these 16 elements is said to know Brahman, 

which has to be interpreted as the Saguna Brahman.

16 iii) The Devatas: Here the word does not mean Deities, as it did in Upasana 2. The 

Devatas stand for the sense-organs. The Deity of each sense organ of perception “carries

the perceptions to the Lord”, the mind within.

A Comparison to Mandukya Upanishad :

The above four Upasanas may be considered as the forerunner to the theme 

expounded in the Mandukya Upanishad (pronounced as ‘Maandookya’). In the Mandukya

(Text 41), Consciousness is divided into four quarters. They are waking, dream, deep sleep 

and Turiya states. It is shown how the Turiya state Consciousness is present in all the other 

three states, but is not known in those states by the ordinary man. Only the realised saint is 

aware of the Turiya state and is rooted in it even while he is in the other three states.

These Upasanas lead us towards an understanding of the central teaching of the 

Mandukya Upanishad – that everything is pervaded by Pure Consciousness, which alone 

exists; all else is a superimposition upon Consciousness.

*****

Next
SAGUNA-BRAHMAN UPASANAS
Anuvaka 1.6
Meditations on Form 
To be continued

=======================================================================