AITAREYA UPANISHAD - 24. Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya.

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Friday, April 07, 2023. 08:15.

PART 2 : The “THREE BIRTHS

Chapter 4 - 

Mantram - 4.4: The “Third Birth” – The Pregnant Son

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13

sah asya ayam aatmaa; punyebhyah  =  That Son who is the father’s own self,

karmabhyah pratidheeyate;  =   Is initiated to perform the pious deeds.

14 

 asya ayam itara aatmaa;  =  Then the father who is the son’s other self,

kritakrityah  =     Having had his sense of inward satisfaction

 vayogatah, praiti;  =   and reaching a ripe old age, dies.

15 

sah itah prayan eva,  =  Though he has departed,

 punah jaayate;  =   “he” is born again (in his son).

 tat asya triteeyam janma.  =   This is his THIRD BIRTH

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Bhashyam (Vyakyanam) :

These are crucial lines. They indicate the strong link or identity between father and

son. The two words are used interchangeably. What is the spiritual message that the Rishi is

trying to pass on to us? How are we to understand this “third birth”?

THE INDIAN FAMILY TRADITION :

The “Third Birth” is the fulfillment of a huge social responsibility. The father hands

over the reins to his son, and the son accepts the reins. He takes over the role of the father,

bearing the burden of the whole chain of responsibility which the father once bore. The

father “dies” to his responsibilities, and they are “born” into the son. One may say that the

father actually becomes the ‘son’; and the son becomes the ‘father’.

This may just sound like a play of words, but it isn’t. There is a genuine feeling of

identity between the father and the son. When the father’s role is transferred to the son,

the son becomes the ‘father’ of the household, and the aging father who needs to be cared

for becomes the ‘son’. This in fact is true in every practical respect, as seen below.

Just as the father nourished the son during the latter’s growing phase, so too, the

son (who is now the ‘father’) nourishes the father (who is now the ‘son’) in his dying phase!

This is the age-old wisdom in which the Vedic civilisation survived generation after

generation. There is great wisdom, love and shared responsibility in this set up.

In the ancient Indian family tradition, there were no “Old-age Homes”. The family

support was tremendous. It has to be seen to be believed by the modern sceptic. In today’s

society this may seem Utopian, but it has actually worked very well in Indian society for

thousands of years. That is proof of its value, based on the sound principles of living with

communal sense rather than ego-sense. And we are not talking religion here; we are simply

talking of a viable family system based on sound principles of love and dutifulness.

The Third Birth :

13-14 

 son, after spending his early years up to puberty in a Gurukula where he

gets educated in the skills needed for a cultured life, returns home to his parents. The father

is happy to see him back. He can now teach him the family trade and see to the son’s

marriage and settle him into family life.

The son quickly learns the father’s trade in a few years. When he has been well

trained, he is ready to take the responsibility from his father and acquit himself honourably

on the stage of life. He relieves his father of his burdensome duties, and the father, too, is

ready to retire. It’s the son that becomes “pregnant” to receive the seed of Civil

Responsibility. The transfer of responsibility to the son is the “THIRD BIRTH”.

15 

We suddenly realise that the Rishi is really speaking not just of the birth of the

body but the survival of Human Civilisation. The Third Birth is distinctly about the march of

civilisation from one generation to the next. The birth of an individual is a step in the

ongoing march of mankind, be it progressive or retrogressive. Human civilisation marches

on relentlessly from generation to generation!

The Three Swapnas, the Three Births :

1. 

The Three Swapnas: Earlier, in verse 3.12, we stated that our three states of

experience – i.e. waking, dream and deep sleep – were all Swapna states as far as the Soul is

concerned. Until man awakens to his spiritual destiny, he is considered to be in a state of

slumber. All three states of consciousness are just different forms of slumber or Swapna!

In the context of the Three Births, we are in a position to give an explanation for this

from the standpoint of the Soul.

2. 

The Three Births: These are all aspects of one single impulse in Nature. Nature has

the one purpose of evolving Her creation until it reaches perfection. Man may be considered

to be the glory of all living beings produced by Nature, but there is still a long way ahead to

bring man to perfection. The chain of civilisation has the intention of improving upon man.

The first birth is when the potential human being is conceived in man and manifests

as semen. This contains the hopes and aspirations of what man wants to achieve. The

second birth produces the physical instrument that would accomplish this hope. That

instrument makes every effort to bring to fruition these hopes and aspirations of man. Then

comes the third birth when he passes that hope and aspiration on to the next generation to

continue the progress of mankind.

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Next

Mantram - 4.5: Breaking Through Iron Fetters

To be continued

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