PRASHNA UPANISHAD - 47 : Rishi Pippala.
Swami Udit Chaithanya
Bhagavatham Village
Addressing Children in Bhala vihar day
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#6 Questions, 67 Mantras: “Questions from Disciples Answered.”
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GAARGYA’S QUESTION
Query No 4:
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Wednesday 14, Feb 2024. 07:30.
Mantram - 4.8
Q.4D – Prajna: Always Heading Home.
Post-47.
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Mantram-4.8:
Q.4D – Prajna:
4.8.1 i) The Five Elements:
1.
Prithivee cha prithivee-maatraa cha; = The Earth and its subtle elements;
apah cha aapah-maatraa cha; = Water and its subtle elements;
tejah cha tejah-maatraa cha; = Fire and its subtle elements;
vaayuh cha vaayu-maatraa cha; = Air and its subtle elements;
aakaashah cha aakaasha-maatraa cha; = Space and its subtle elements;
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4.8.2 ii) The Five Organs of Knowledge:
2.
Chakshuh cha drash-tavyam cha; = The Eye and what can be seen;
Shrotram cha shrotavyam cha; = The Ear and what can be heard;
Ghraanam cha ghraa-tavyam cha; = The Nose and what can be smelt;
Rasah cha rasayi-tavyam cha; = The Tongue and what can be tasted;
Tvak cha sparshayi-tavyam cha; = The Skin and what can be touched;
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4.8.3 iii) The Five Organs of Action:
3.
Vaak cha vak-tavyam cha; = The Tongue and what can be spoken;
Hastau cha aadaa-tavyam cha; = The Hands and what can be grasped;
Upasthah cha aanandayi-tavyam cha; = The Genitals and what can be enjoyed;
Paayuh cha visarjayi-tavyam cha; = The Anus and what can be excreted;
Paadau cha gan-tavyam cha; = The Feet and what can be walked on;
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4.8.4 iv) The Four Antahkaranas:
4.
Manah cha man-tavyam cha; = The Mind and what can be thought of;
Buddhih cha bod-dhavyam cha; = The Intellect and what can be determined;
Ahamkaarah cha ahamkar tavyam cha; = The Ego and what can feed or expand it;
Chittam cha chetayi-tavyam cha = The Memory and what can be remembered;
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4.8.5 v) The Life-Giving Principles:
5.
Tejah cha vidyotayi-tavyam cha; = The Body Heat and what has to be kept alive;
Praanah cha vidhaarayi-tavyam = and the Pranas and the objects that they
cha. = keep alive and functioning –
[No text – this is an extrapolation = All go to rest in their own state of sleep, like
to the mantram] = birds in their nest.
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Commentary:
1-4.
A detailed account of what rests during the deep sleep is given here. It is a long
list, but essentially it is everything that the gross and the subtle body are made up of.
Everything has to shut down sooner or later. These items rest during deep sleep each night.
5.
In the case of the life-giving principles of Tejas (body heat) and the Prana (life
force), they stand guard even at night, like the few essential services in a city that are kept
open 24 hours a day such as the convenience stores on the highway, and the hospitals.
However, they also need to rest. When they take their rest, it simply means one
human birth is over. When they wake up the next “morning” it is the dawn of a new birth!
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FROM APARA TO PARA VIDYA :
We have arrived at a crucial divide in the text. At this point we make a major change
in our subject matter. We are moving from dealing with the relative existence as known to
us, to the absolute existence as known to the realized Rishis and sages. The Rishi Pippalada
must surely be savouring this moment when he is about to disclose to his students the
greatest secrets of the spiritual path.
And we the readers, too, if we have been as thirsty for knowledge as the six
students, will be hanging onto his every word as he takes us to the end of this text.
We have come to where the Upanishad wants to take us – to the brink of Self
Knowledge. This knowledge is what is called Para Vidya. This knowledge leads to the
Supreme Brahman.
With Question 4E, the great plan of this Upanishad is beginning to unfold itself. This
knowledge is the bud which flowers out, ripens into fruit, and culminates in Self-realisation.
Para Vidya will continue right up to the end of Chapter 6.
Right now we are at the very threshold of the leap into “unchartered territory”
(Brahman). What follows from here onwards is a discussion on the transcendent Self, the
Unknowable, the Immortal, the Eternal, and the Indestructible Self!
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The greatness of the Upanishads lies in their power to bring us
to this point of our spiritual journey. The journey beyond this point
depends on the greatness of the seeker!
*****
Next
Mantram - 4.9 Q.4E – The Witness of All States
Continued
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