KATHA UPANISHAD - 55. Swami Advayananda.

Chinmaya Mission:

Swamini Supriyananda's workshop, 'Cultivating Resilience,' held at Kings College London's Chinmaya Mission Yuva Kendra, garnered significant interest and participation.

Aimed at youth aged 18 to 35, the workshop offered profound insights into overcoming adversities.

Attendees were immersed in a day-long exploration of techniques and strategies to advance despite challenges.

Through interactive sessions and discussions, they learned to cultivate resilience, enabling them to face life's hurdles with strength and determination.

The event's success underscored the importance of resilience-building in empowering young individuals to thrive amidst adversity, marking a significant step in their personal and professional development.

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Wednesday 01, May 2024 06:40.

Chapter 1.3: 17 Mantras: THE JOURNEY AHEAD

Mantram - 1: The Two Drinkers
Post - 55.

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Link Passage (Bhashya) Connecting Chapter 1.2 With Chapter 1.3:

Thus far we have learnt about Vidya and Avidya, or Sreyas and Preyas, the two

choices that stand before man at every moment. We have seen their broad characteristics

and known of the opposite nature of their fruits or results in the last Chapter. In this

Chapter we aim to go further in our understanding of their deeper nature. In particular, we

are interested in the means to acquire knowledge or Vidya.

In order to do this, an Extended Metaphor is introduced into the text for ease of

understanding. Two selves are posited at the outset, the Jiva and the Supreme Self. One is in

the process of attaining or the attainer, and the other is that which is to be attained. One is

the traveller, and the other is the destination. The obvious metaphor for such a situation is

the means of travel common in Vedic times – namely, the CHARIOT.

This entire Chapter is centred around this magnificent metaphor which clearly

contains the whole concept of the Sadhana to be done by the traveller to reach his desti

nation safely and with ease.

THE TRAVELLERS:

Chapter-1.3.

Mantram - 1: The Two Drinkers

Ritam pibantau = Two drinkers of the inevitable fruits

sukritasya loke = of their good works in the world,

goohaa(yaa)m pravishtau = have entered and are seated in a deep hidden cave

parame paraadhe; = which is the abode of the Most High.

chhaayaa-tapau = “These two are as different as shadow and light,”

brahmavidah vadanti = so say i) the knowers of Brahman;

pancha agnayah ye =ii) those who worship the “Five Fires” (i.e. the householders);

cha trinaachiketaah. = and iii) the performers of the “Tri-Nachiketas” sacrifice.

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The Literal Scenario:

At first reading, the literal meaning of this strange mantram, is quite amusing:

Two drinkers? At once the picture pops up in our mind’s eye of two persons who, at

the end of a hard day’s honest work, are sitting together relaxed, having a drink. A secret

cave? This must be their remote meeting place. They cannot drink in the open, so they

select a dark corner of the cave where they may not be disturbed in this pastime – least of

all overheard by anyone! One of them is a regular drunkard, the other who always

accompanies him is . . . is a teetotaler! He is having only grape juice, but who would believe

that? His association with his friend implicates him in the drinking without question.

What an exciting start to an Upanishadic drama! Our curiosity is aroused – we are

tempted to read more . . . Is this the right book we have in our hands? Is this the Katha

Upanishad, or is it some common novel we have accidentally picked up in its place? Sure, it

is the right book. At this point we realize that the Upanishads need a qualified Teacher to

explain their meaning to us. Sandeepany provides just that –

The Figurative Scenario:

Pibantau: “the two drinkers”. Poetry and drama aside, let us first identify the

drinkers. They are actually father and son. The Jiva or individual self is the son, and Atman,

the Supreme Self, is the Father. In essence, the son is a chip of the old block; he has the

likeness of his father. The father represents the role model, the Destination

The son is getting there slowly, he is the Travellerto be reached. who will reach the destination eventually.

The father is concerned with the difficulties the son is facing in reaching him, so he keeps a

watchful eye on him. The son seems to have encountered some problems.

Ritam: “the drink”. What are they drinking? Literally, Ritam this means “the truth”,

but in this case the truth is “the fruits of their actions”, i.e. their Karma. The word Truth is

used because only by the fruits of actions can we truly know the motives with which they

were performed. There is no clearer indicator of the truth of actions than their fruits.

The drinking: this is the activity they are engaged in, a figurative way of expressing

the ‘Enjoyership’ attached to the hard work the Jiva puts in. The daily grind at work has a

singular motive – to enjoy some pleasure, whatever it may be. And ‘drinking’ symbolizes this

enjoyment. This is the Jiva’s daily pastime, and the father is witnessing it at every moment.

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Goohaam (the Bhashya corrects this to Goohaayaam): “in a dark, secret cave”.

This is the secret meeting place where the drinking is taking place. Where is this cave? It is in

the core of one’s heart, a common reference in the Upanishads. This heart is not the visible

heart, but is actually the intellect. That is the meeting point of the two ‘drinkers’. In the

intellect the Supreme Self gets reflected and the reflection is named the Jiva or Ego.

Pravishtau: “entering”. The Supreme Self is actually a teetotaler, meaning that He is

aloof from all worldly happenings. He is untouched by our Upadhis or conditionings. Yet He

cannot avoid being accused with the Jiva of being party to the enjoyment, however innocent

we know He is. The Self, by the very fact of entering the gross body equipment gets

contaminated by that body in the intellect and becomes the Jiva. The contaminated or

reflected Consciousness (the Jiva) is the one who does and enjoys, but to all appearances

the Self, too, gets implicated in the doing and the enjoying. The association is inevitable.

Shankaracharyaji uses his own simile here to explain the association of the Self with

the Jiva’s activities. The ‘Chatri’ or umbrella simile was well-known in those days. A

procession going past had many in the group holding umbrellas, but not all. However, as the

procession went by, it was common to hear it said, “There go the chatriwalas, the

‘umbrella-people’!” All in the procession get blanketed with the same epithet, including

those who do not carry an umbrella. The Self, the teetotaler, is in the same situation; He

cannot avoid being in the dock with the accused Jiva.

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Chinmaya Mtssion:

Chinmaya Mission Delhi organized a unique "Swaranjali workshop" led by Mrs. Pramodini Rao, Director of Chinmaya Naada Bindu, a Gurukula for Indian Performing Arts at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth near Pune, and Shobha Iyer.

The workshop was inaugurated by Swami Avyayananda and saw the participation of fifty individuals from across Delhi NCR.

The meticulously curated event commenced with sargam exercises to warm up, followed by an exploration of classical bhajans, rhythm, and devotional songs composed by Guruji Swami Tejomayananda, Sant Brahmananda, and Smt. Susheela Acharya.

Pramodini ji skillfully incorporated Vedantic philosophy into her teachings, highlighting the significance of maintaining taal by adjusting even a split-second beat.

She emphasized the necessity of unwavering focus to render both simple and intricate sargam, encouraging participants to persistently overcome obstacles without succumbing to defeatist attitudes.

Shobha ji's musical expertise and delightful sense of humor significantly contributed to the workshop, leaving attendees in fits of laughter.

The participants committed themselves to diligently learning her unique style of reciting the jaikaras: ‘Krishnachandra Bhagavan ki Jai’ and ‘Sadgurunath Maharaj ki jai’.

Mementoes from Chinmaya Naada Bindu were thoughtfully presented to all participants as tangible reminders of the enriching experience.

Swamiji aptly declared the workshop a success, evident in the participants' eagerness for an encore.

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When it is said the two are different as shadow and light, it refers to the status of

the Self and Jiva, the Self being the original light and Jiva being the reflected light and, it may

be added a very poor version of it. The Jiva is limited, the Self is limitless; this is the wide gulf

between them.

Connection With the Vedas:

Three types of people accept the existence of these two as being apart from each

other, yet related as father and son. Each type represents one of the three major divisions

of the Vedas, as described under each of them below. They are:

i) Brahmavidah: “the knowers of Brahman”. They represent the Jnana Kanda

of the Vedas. They are the wise, realized sages who know Brahman, know the truth of the

Self’s innocence. They know by direct experience that the Self is untouched by the deedss or

misdeeds of the Jiva, that the two are like ‘chalk and cheese’, or like shadow and light.

The other two types know about the Self and Jiva by knowledge at the intellectual

level, not by direct experience. They accept the two on faith to obtain certain favours:

ii) Pancha-Agnayah: “performers of the ‘Five Fires’”, i.e. the householders. They

represent the Karma Kanda of the Vedas. They perform these sacrifices in order to obtain

certain desirable results from them on earth. Their commitment in doing these sacrifices is

to align themselves with the Laws of Nature, that is, to obey Dharma and thereby make

themselves worthy of what they desire. They look upon the Self as the Supreme Giver or

Dispenser of the fruits of their actions.

iii) Tri-Nachiketaah: “those who perform the Nachiketas Fire three times”, as

earlier described, i.e. the worshippers or Upasakas. They represent the Upasana Kanda

of the Vedas. This group wish to go to the heavenly worlds to enjoy a more refined lifestyle.

They have seen through the shortcomings of the pleasures found on earth. They look upon

the Self as something to be worshipped, from whom they will accumulate merits.

The connection of this verse to the whole Vedas asshown above, makes this mantram a

very significant one. Placed at the very start of the Chapter, it not only links this chapter to

the previous two, but also sets the foundation for the Chariot simile that is to follow.

Connection With the Third Boon:

All three categories of people mentioned here are aware of the knowledge that the

Jiva exists, and that it is quite different from the Self. This directly relates the verse to

Nachiketas’s third boon where the question arises. These three groups say, “He exists”.

Those who are ignorant of the existence of the Self, and who have not even been

included on the menu of the Lord’s dinner in the last verse of the previous chapter, are the

atheists, the materialists, etc, who simply live the animalistic life described in 2.24, giving no

thought to their spiritual development. These groups say, “He does not exist”.

*****

1.3.2: Summary Statement of Chapters 1 & 2

Continued

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