PRASHNA UPANISHAD - 55: Rishi Pippala.

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#6 Questions, 67 Mantras: “Questions from Disciples Answered.”

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SATYAKAMA’S QUESTION 
Query No 5: “The Development of Power” 

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Tuesday 04, June 2024. 07:00.
Mantram - 5.5: Three Letters (Separately) – Gift of Brahmaloka
Post-55.

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Mantram - 5.5: Three Letters (Separately) – Gift of Brahmaloka:

5.5.1 i) The Upasana: 

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Yah punah etam trimaatrena Om = He again, if on all three letters (A,U,M) of Om,  

iti etena eva aksharena =  i.e. on the whole syllable “Om” itself, 

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param purusham abhidhyaayeeta = he meditates, as the Supreme Purusha, then  

sah tejasi soorye sampannah. =  he becomes unified in the light of the Sun*.  

*Sun represents Brahmaloka, the highest heavenly world, from which one does not return to Earth, as one does from the lesser heavenly worlds, such as the Moon. 

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5.5.2 ii) The Phala: 

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Yathaa paadodarah = Just as a snake (that which has legs on its stomach) 

tvacha vinir-muchyata, =  becomes freed from its slough,  

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evam ha vai sah = in exactly the same way,    

paapmanaa vinir-muktah. =  he becomes free of his sins.  

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Sah saamabhih unneeyate = By the Sama Veda Mantras, he is lifted up  

brahmalokam. =to Brahmaloka, the world of Brahmaji.  

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5.5.3 iii) The Vision of the Supreme: 

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Sah etasmaat jeevaghanaat = Out of the total mass of beings, he of all goes 

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paraatparam = to the One higher than even Brahmaji,    

purishayam =to the One who has entered all the bodies,   

purusham eekshate. = to the Supreme Purusha, and has His Vision! 

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5.5.4 iv) The Sruti Quotation in Support: 

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Tad etau shlokau bhavatah: = Bearing on this, there occur two verses: 

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Rare is the person who can raise himself to this stage. For this leads to liberation. 

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 Three Matras means the third level of understanding. If the worshipper uses all the 

three letters, chanting them separately, syllable at a time,  

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 and having the Supreme Purusha as his goal, his consciousness settles on the 

causal consciousness, represented by Deep Sleep. The Consciousness associated with this is 

called Ishwara. Hence, this type of Upasana is termed Ishwara worship. 

This is the stage that demands the maximum self-sacrifice. The Sadhaka here is a 

master of his senses, has intense dispassion, practises Brahmacharya or celibacy, and 

follows a rigorous, austere routine in his daily life. In his Sadhana he has raised his vision to 

see Brahman in all the three states – this is the meaning of ‘by all its three Matras’. 

Such a person, at death (implying that although he tried very hard, he did not 

succeed in realizing God), gets united with the Sun. He is guided by the Devata to Suryaloka 

(same as Brahmaloka). There is no return for him to this earth plane. 

The Simile of the “Sloughing Snake”:

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 This is a magnificent simile to illustrate one’s freedom from all sins. But before that 

an interesting name for the snake is used here – Padodara, “creature which uses its stomach 

as its feet”. What a novel method of naming. It was quite common in those days to use this 

method. We know Lord Ganesh was called Lambodara because of his large belly. Lord 

Krishna was called Damodara, as He was tied by Yashoda to a tree with a rope around his 

waist.  

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 The snake, at the right time, slides out of its skin and becomes totally free of it. The 

skin still appears like a snake but it has been vacated by its occupant! What a fine analogy to 

tell us that this is how the realized saint is free of all sins, once and for all. He is not like us 

who wash off our sins with a Ganges bath, merely to make ourselves ready for a new set of 

sins!  

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 Brahmaji Himself comes to take the saint away to His abode, to the 

accompaniment of all the Sama Veda hymns. 

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 There Brahmaji Himself gives him the required knowledge of the Self by which he 

gets liberated (Krama Mukti).  

This ends the Sage Pippalada’s message on the fifth query. He now quotes two 

verses from the Veda that support what he had taught so far. Students will remember that 

Pippalada’s story appears in a Brahmana, not an Upanishad of the Vedas. Therefore he finds 

it necessary to quote from an Upanishad to consolidate his teaching. 

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 The next Mantram is the first of the two verses quoted by the sage.

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 Next

Mantram - 5.6:Three Letters (Together) – Gift of “Unshakable Yoga”

Continued

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