KATHOUPANISHAD - 72. Swami Advayananda.

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Thursday 19, December 2024, 06:15.
KATHA UPANISHAD  
Part 2 – Total 49 Mantras 
Chapters 2.1, 2.2 & 2.3 
Chapter 2.1: (15 Mantras) 
INTELLECT – INDIVIDUAL INTELLIGENCE 
Mantram- 2.1.6 & 7: Hiranyagarbha – Brahman in Subtle Creation  
Post - 72.

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Mantram- 2.1.6 & 7: Hiranyagarbha – Brahman in Subtle Creation:  

1 

Yah poorvam tapasah jaatam = He is the “first-born” of the Austerity of Brahmaji;  

2 

adbhyah poorvam ajaayata; = He is born prior to the five elements (waters). 

3 

guhaam pravishya tishthantam = He enters and takes his seat in the heart cavity,   

4 

yah bhootebhih vyapashyata. = in the midst of the elements – He now truly ‘Sees’. 

5 

Etat vai tat. = This is verily That! 

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6 

Yaa praanena sambhavati = It is She (Hiranyagarbha) from whom Prana is born. 

7 

aditih devataa-mayee; = She is the Enjoyer in the form of the Devas. 

8 

guhaam pravishya tishthanteem =She enters and takes her seat in the heart cavity,   

9 

yaa bhootebhih vyajaayata. = in the midst of the elements – She is now truly ‘born’. 

10 

Etat vai tat. = This is verily That! 

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These two mantras are near ‘identical twins’, as it were. v 2.1.6 views Hiranyagarbha from the perspective of Brahman, while v 2.1.7 views it from our human perspective as 

creatures on earth. Hence, in slightly different ways, both describe how Hiranyagarbha can be looked up to as nothing but Brahman Himself in a conditioned form. 

The Upanishad is here pushing us forward to the Truth that Brahman in manifestation is no less than the Pure Brahman in isolation. 

We discuss the two verses together, taking corresponding lines from each of them. 

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1

 & 6 Yah (m) & Yaa (f): “He (She) who”. Both refer to Hiranyagarbha, the subject. 

The male gender is used from Brahman’s standpoint, and the female gender from creation’s standpoint. To creation, Hiranyagarbha is “Mother”, creation’s “Womb” out of which  creation emerged. She is Brahman in association with the subtle conditionings of Creation.   

 Jaatam: 

“the First Born”; and Praanena Sambhavati: “from whom Prana is  born”. The first step in creation is the willing or Austerity of Brahman. The Tapasvin in Brahman, called Ishwara, combines with the creative power called Maya at the Causal level. 

The first fruit of this union is Hiranyagarbha, meaning “Cosmic Womb”, at the Subtle level, who represents the female potential to produce creation.  Hiranyagarbha thus comes to be known as the “First Born”, since all that is ever born is born through her ‘umbilical cord’, as it were. This is from Brahman’s standpoint. From the standpoint of human beings, immediately beyond the gross body we see a Life-Force in control and enlivening the body. That Life-Force is termed Pra in the Vedas. 

Prana or the Life Principle is the closest “God” in relation to the body, which is why Antikaat  (“mantram close”) was used in mantram 5. Prana to us is as good as Hiranyagarbha.

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2

 & 7 Adbhyah Poorvam: “prior to the five subtle elements”. From Brahman’s standpoint, this clarifies exactly what “First-Born” refers to. In the hierarchy, Hiranyagarbha is after Ishwara but before the creation of the Adbhyah or five Tanmatras or subtle elements. Adbhyah literally means “the waters from which creation arose”. 

From the standpoint of man, the representation of Prana continues. Here, the term Aditi is significant. It means “the eater or enjoyer”, and is used in place of Hiranyagarbha 

who as Prana or life-force is seen to be the enjoyer through the body. In this sense, all the Deities would be included as being under the control of Hiranyagarbha. 

3

 & 8 Guhaam Pravishya: The entry of Consciousness is described identically in both mantras. 

In fact, the entry of Brahman is by definition as Hiranyagarbha, the consciousness associated with the subtle creation. Wherein did she enter? The Guha or cave, the very core of our being, is the intellect. It is called the “cavity of the heart”. 

That is where Consciousness enters the human being and establishes its ‘residence’. Once Hiranyagarbha takes His seat, all the Deities in charge of the different functions of the body take up their respective residences in the organs and senses that they govern. 

The main idea conveyed through these facts is to tell us that the very elements from which the mind, intellect and gross body are created, are to be seen as nothing short of the Self. For the Self indwells all of them. 

4

 & 9 Consciousness gets associated with ‘the elements’, meaning it gets associated with the living being through the intellect. 

From Brahman’s standpoint, this entry is as the ‘Seer’ (Vyapashyata) or Witness of all that is experienced by the Jiva. 

From the Jiva’s standpoint, the entry of Consciousness is seen as ‘birth’ (Vyajaayata). 

Seeing Hiranyagarbha as the Self is explained by a simile. In the garden of Brahman   there are many plants. All may be looked upon and revered as Brahman Himself. 

5 

& 10The Mahavakya: 

In conclusion, the whole subtle world is to be seen as God. 

The subtle world specifically refers to all living creatures. It is in the living creatures that God manifests in a special way with the subtle body equipment of mind, Prana and senses. 

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Next

Mantram - 2.1.8: Hiranyagarbha’s Worship in Virat

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