MUNDAKA UPANISHAD - 41. Swami Advayananda.

Chinmaya Mission :

Chinmaya Year End Family Camp at Chinmaya Vibhooti was brimming with several young families with children between the ages 2 and 16 from several parts of the world. 

Children learnt values with fun through the stories of Shri Krishna. 

Their day was packed with Yoga, story telling, arts and crafts and Bhajans with their dedicated sevaks Swamini Supriyananda, Brni Anupama Chaitanya, Brni Maitreyi Chaitanya and several supporting sevaks and sevikas.

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Sunday, 24 Dec 2023. 07:00.

6 Chapters (64 Mantras)

4. PENETRATING BRAHMAN

(Mantras - 33-43, 11 no.)

dviteeya mundake dviteeyah khandah –

Here begins the second Section of the second Canto. 

Post - 41.

41. Mantram - 4.9: The Knower of Brahman

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41. Mantram - 4.9: The Knower of Brahman

1 hiranmaye pare koshe,  =  In the innermost sheath of golden hue,

2 virajam brahma nishkalam;  =  dwells Brahman, the stainless and indivisible;

3 tat shubhram jyotishaam jyotih, =  He is purity, He is the Light of all lights;

4 tad yad aatmavidah viduh. =  That is what the knowers of the Atman testify.

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With the culmination of Sadhana comes the awesome experience of the state of 

unity or Oneness with Brahman. This verse brings us the gist of this experience in beautiful 

poetry. The awe-inspiring descriptions of Brahman have no end. The Rishis have never tired 

of glorifying the Divine with every breath, with every thought, word and deed.

Glowing tributes such as this verse are the treasures of our ancient civilization. The 

Lord’s immaculate purity and stainlessness, his luminosity, his integral all-inclusive nature –

all these are glorified in this verse as we bring to mind the great Goal behind the spiritual 

quest. Our mind gets another huge lift from reading the glory of the Lord.

1 

In the supreme, bright sheath; it is called a sheath because even this bright glow is 

not actually the Self, but an indicator of It. We see how thorough the Rishis were! They 

never allowed the slightest duality to taint their vision of the Unity. 

2-3 

Taintlessness in a tainted world; purity in the midst of impurity – these rare 

qualities draw reverent attention from the pure-hearted. Taintlessness is equivalent to 

freedom from all Tamas and Rajas; defects such as restlessness and laziness are absent in 

the taintless Supreme. In a civilization that thrives on Tamas and Rajas, Sattwa is rare and 

therefore very precious.

4 

What has been said here of the Self is the voice of many saints and sages. It is not a 

claim made by a single individual. These descriptions bear the authorative support of 

numerous saints over a long period of human history. They are trustworthy.

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Next

42 Mantram - 4.10: Self-Luminous Nature of Brahman

To be continued

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