The Essence of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: 23. Swami Krishnananda.

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Wednesday 03, July 2024, 07:40.
Scriptures
Upanishads
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 
Chapter 6: The Principles of Meditation-3
Chapter 7: The Principles of Meditation - 1.
Post-23.

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The third weakness is the finding of joy in the suffering of others, the inflicting of pain upon others, cruelty of any kind, harm done to others. This is the demoniacal instinct, whereby we get enraged and commit violence upon other living beings. The tendency to wreak vengeance, do harm or injury, bring about destruction in respect of others, is a weakness—the worst one. Greed by which one appropriates things to oneself is a weakness, and attachment to things, the great passion for objects, is another weakness. As long as these weaknesses preponderate in oneself, spiritual aspiration is out of question, God-realisation is far from one's reach. So the Upanishad, by way of an anecdote, or a story, tells us that the Creator, Prajapati, Himself told the celestials, the humans and the demons that they should restrain themselves (Damyata), that they should be charitable (Datta), and that they should be compassionate (Dayadhvam). These were the instructions given by Prajapati to his children—the celestials, the humans and the demons.

In connection with the injunction of meditation on the Gayatri-Mantra, it is enjoined upon the meditator that the first foot of the Mantra should be identified with the three worlds—earth, atmosphere and heaven; the second foot with the three Vedas, —Rik, Yajus and Saman; the third foot with the three vital functions—Prana, Apana and Vyana ; and the fourth foot with the sun. The result of such meditation is mastery over the worlds, proficiency in the higher knowledge, control above all living beings, and transcendent spiritual excellence. This Mantra is called 'Gayatri' because it protects (Trayate) one who recites it (Gayan). Thus, the Gayatri is all the worlds, all the Vedas, all beings, nay, Reality Itself. Whatever one wishes through it, that does take place.

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Chapter 7: The Spiritual and the Temporal:

The stages of the evolution of man's desires and aspirations may be said to rise from his economic needs (Artha) to his vital urges (Kama), from these two, further on, to the fulfilment of the Universal Law (Dharma) and, finally, the liberation of the self in the Absolute (Moksha). The last-mentioned, the longing for spiritual freedom, is, again, constituted of certain stages of approach to Reality. From the ordinary impulse to the doing of selfish actions, there is an onward, rather an upward, ascent to the performance of unselfish activity (Karma-Yoga), and then through the more inwardised stage of devotion, adoration and worship (Upasana), one finds the culmination of one's aspiration in total spiritual absorption by means of the higher knowledge of Reality and meditation on It (Jnana).

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad purports to be a compendium of instruction on every one of these stages of the ascent of the soul to the Supreme Being. While the first four Chapters are confined pre-eminently to the elucidation of the nature of Reality( Jnana) and Its Law as operating in the Universe (Dharma), there is a predominant emphasis on internal worship (Upasana) in the Fifth Chapter, to which subject it is entirely devoted. There is reference interspersed in different places, in some degree, to ritualistic performances as well as concrete meditations in practically all the Chapters of the Upanishad.

The First Section of the Sixth Chapter is, again, a discourse on worship and adoration, the objects here being the supreme Prana, the speech, the eye, the ear, the mind, etc., in their universalised forms. The superiority of the Universal Prana over everything else is emphasised. The second section of the Sixth Chapter deals with the famous Panchagni-Vidya, or the doctrine of the Five Fires, as taught by king Pravahana Jaivali to the Brahmana sage Gautama, in answer to the great questions: (1) Where do people go after death? (2) From where do people come at the time of birth? (3) Why is the other world never filled up even if many die here repeatedly? (4) How do the liquids offered as libations rise up as a human being? (5) What are the paths of the gods and the manes?

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Continued

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