PRASHNA UPANISHAD -64: Rishi Pippala.

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

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SUKESHAA’S QUESTION: 
Query No 6: The Source of Power

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Monday 07, October 2024, 06:30.
Mantram - 6.5: Transcending the 16 Kalas 
Post-64.

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Mantram - 6.5: Transcending the 16 Kalas: 

6.5.1 i) The Simile of the Flowing Rivers: 

1 

Sah yathaa imaah nadyah syan = Just as these rivers have just one goal – 

damaanaah samudraayanaah; =  to flow towards the sea. 

2 

samudram praapya = After reaching the sea, 

astam gacchhanti bhidyete = they get merged into it and lose,    

taasaam naama-roope; =  their own identity as names and forms. 

3 

“samudra” iti evam pra-uchyate; = They are known simply as the “Ocean”. 

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6.5.2 ii) The Application to the Sixteen Kalas: 

4 

Evam eva asya paridrashtuh, =  So also, of That all-seeing Purusha, 

imaah shodasha kalaah = these sixteen Kalas (or parts),  

purushaayanaah, = have only the Purusha as their goal, 

5 

purusham praapya = after reaching the Purusha,  

astam gacchhanti bhidyete = they get merged into It and lose  

taasaam naama-roope; = their own identity as names and forms. 

6 

“Purusha” iti evam pra-uchyate = They are known simply as the “Purusha”. 

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6.5.3 iii) The Phala or Fruit: 

7 

Sah eshah akalah = such a man (of realisation) is freed from the Kalas (parts) 

amritah bhavati. = and becomes immortal. 

8 

Tad eshah shlokah: = On this point, there is the following Sruti verse: 

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Here a description is given of the time of illumination. The 16 Kalas represent 

everything that the individual took to be his world. For simplicity, one could even classify 

them all into just two categories – Name and Form. If even that is too many, we can use 

“Idam”, meaning “That”, the Supreme Purusha, into Whom everything merges. 

The Simile of Flowing Rivers:

1-3

 The example is given of how the rivers merge into the ocean and lose all identity. 

When the Ganga merges into the ocean it does not seek to retain any of its famous identity. 

It does not tell the ocean that it is a world-famous river and that it does not want to 

get into an ordinary ocean. It does not ask for a royalty from the ocean for entering into it. 

The individuality is completely obliterated.

 

Guruji gave another example of his own: people are sitting in a cinema theatre and 

watching a film. They are so intensely absorbed in the film that no one notices the blank 

screen. All of a sudden, the film reel snaps and there is only white light on the screen. People 

start whistling and shouting. Pujya Gurudev used to describe this scene as “the joy of realiz

ation” – seeing the blank screen of Brahman alone before them! 

The Application of the Simile:

4-6 - 

 This gives the application of the simile. It is perfectly straightforward. 

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As is the style of the Upanishad, the Phala is given at the end, i.e. the result one 

attains when the Kalas are transcended. The reward is Immortality. One goes beyond the 

pale of Death. There is no future birth for such an illumined soul. 

 8

A Sruti quotation is given to support the statement made by the Rishi: 

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Next

Mantram - 6.6: Sruti Quotation: Knowledge Liberates

Continued

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