TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD – 71. Rishi Yajnavalkya.

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Friday 13, December 2024, 07:35.
Taittiriya Upanishad
Part-2.
BRAHMANANDA VALLI
PART 2: 9 No. Anuvakas (Chapters)
THE BLISS THAT IS BRAHMAN
Anuvaka 2.5 
From Vijnanamaya to Anandamaya 
Mantram - 2.5.4:  Human Form Characteristics of Anandamaya Kosha 
Post - 71.

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INSIGHTS INTO “ANANDA” & “BRAHMAN” 

(from the Bhashyam) 
Two key sources of confusion are:  

i) The word ‘Ananda’: 

The subject here is the Anandamaya Kosha, not the Supreme   Brahman. Thus, the Ananda spoken of is the “conditioned” joy experienced by the Jeeva, and not the Infinite Ananda or Bliss experienced in the Self. There is ambiguity in using the term ‘Ananda’ for both relative as well as absolute bliss. 

ii) The word ‘Brahman’: 

In the context of Anandamaya Kosha, as in all the other Koshas, the constituent of the Kosha is considered to be ‘Brahman’. This ‘Brahman’ must not be confused with the Supreme Brahman, which is beyond all five sheaths. One needs to be careful, especially at this level, of the two uses of the word Brahman.   

Ananda is the Trunk: 

Item d. above is Ananda. This cannot be Pure Ananda, the Bliss of the Self, since that is none other than the Supreme Brahman, which has already been ascribed the role under item e. of “the stabilizing tail”. It cannot be given two opposing roles. Hence, we can deduce that item d. refers to Ananda, as the trunk or ‘self’ (Atmaa) of the Anandamaya Kosha has to be translated as “general pleasure” which is the common factor for all the 3 stages, viz. Priya, Moda and Pramoda. 

The fact that this general pleasure is related to (actually arises from) the Supreme Bliss of the Self is a separate matter. The Bliss of the Self is infinite and not dependent on 

sense objects, whereas the Ananda of the Anandamaya Kosha is dependent on the state of the Upadhis at any given time. The intensity of this Kosha Ananda does not come from the objects enjoyed, but from the momentary calming of the mind (the Upadhi) at the moment of enjoyment. In fact the more intense the sensual attraction, the further away from the Supreme Ananda is the quality of the Kosha Ananda that is enjoyed. Sense pleasure is the  

very antithesis of the Pure Bliss of the Self, which can only be enjoyed when all craving for sense pleasure has come to an end. 

Brahman is the Stabilising Tail: 

Brahman here refers to none other than the Supreme Brahman, the Self. Readers are reminded that we have been using the word ‘Brahman’ for all the Upasanas done on each Kosha, where the constituent of the Kosha isto be regarded as Brahman. 

 With respect to each Kosha, this is relatively true. Food is ‘Brahman’ to the body; Prana is ‘Brahman’ to the Pranamaya; Mind is ‘Brahman’ to the Manomaya; Intellect is 

‘Brahman’ to the Vijnanamaya; and Pleasure is ‘Brahman’ to the Anandamaya. Transcending all these secondary ‘Brahmans’, through the respective Upasanas, we now come to the Absolute Brahman who is the support of them all.

  For this reason, Brahman Himself is made the “supporting tail” of the Anandamaya  Kosha. By being the support of this Kosha, it becomes the ultimate support of all the other Koshas as well. 

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INSIGHT INTO “CONDITIONED ANANDA” (PLEASURE): 

(Bhashya reference H/) 

The Ananda of the Anandamaya Kosha is a conditioned state, not an absolute state. 

The conditioned state of Ananda or ‘pleasure’ is experienced through the human Upadhis. In the case of the Anandamaya, this Upadhi is the desire in man, his Vasanas, his latent tendencies, which are founded on Avidya, root Ignorance. When seen through Avidya, theAbsolute Bliss gets conditioned, diluted many, many times, and is not experienced in its Pure state but diluted by the formations of desire and all the impurities in the other sheaths as it filters through them. 

What is finally experienced through the Anandamaya is a far cry from the Absolute Bliss of which it has now become only a semblance. Absolute Bliss cannot be photocopied and cannot be experienced through the Upadhis! 

Karma and Upasanas are usually done to experience this semblance of Joy. They are desire-prompted actions themselves. Those practising them do not have the purity of mind 

to experience Absolute Bliss and have to be content with a poor reflection of it.  

This joy at the Anandamaya level can be given this much credit only: that it is closer to the Self than all the other sheaths. The Anandamaya Kosha is subtler than the intellect 

sheath. The joy that emerges from the Anandamaya Kosha can be interpreted only after it passes through the subsequent sheath of the intellect. Even then, the mind still has to 

receive it and satisfy itself according to its own mental inclinations. The feeling of joy is at the mind level, not the Anandamaya level. Eventually, the joy filters all the way down to the Annamaya Kosha as well, where it affects the body in proportion to its quality and 

magnitude, bringing either tears of joy or tears of sorrow; it can also bring horripilation, gasps of delight, frowns of displeasure, etc, at the body level. 

The Bhashya expresses the above idea as: “Thus, too, it will be said (in Anuvaka 8 later) that bliss increases a hundredfold in every successive stage, in proportion to the 

perfection of detachment from desires. From the standpoint of the knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, the Bliss of Brahman is certainly the highest. It does not come in degrees 

if intensity as compared with the joy of the Anandamaya Kosha, which attains excellence gradually.” In other words, Absolute Bliss is immeasurable; it cannot be quantified. 

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WHY ANANDAMAYA KOSHA IS NOT-SELF: 

(Five Reasons from the Bhashya) 

i) The suffix ‘maya’ (“made of”) in Anandamaya, gives the first hint that this is a conditioned state, and Anandamaya is being referred to as “conditioned Brahman”, that is seeing Brahman through the material vestures (Maya or Avidya) of the Anandamaya Kosha. 

ii)  Later in Anuvaka 8, the text says, “He attains (Samkramana) the self-made of bliss” in the same way as it is said “He attains the self-made of food.” The Self is not an attainable object. Thus, the Anandamaya cannot be the Self and has to remain in the group of the other Koshas, which are all not-Self. 

iii) For all the Koshas, the imagery has been used of speaking of its parts as the head, right side, supporting tail, etc. This cannot be done if it were the Self. The Self is   attributeless and partless, homogenous and without distinctions. 

iv) If Anandamaya were indeed Brahman, then ‘Brahman’s’ existence cannot be doubted. The Anandamaya is clearly existing in everyone, without any doubt. it would then 

not make any sense to posit whether Brahman exists or not, as is done in the verse that follows (2.6.1). This becomes an indirect proof that Anandamaya Kosha is not Brahman.  

v) Brahman is said to be the ‘stabilizing tail’ of the Anandamaya. It means that Brahman is the final benchmark against which the Anandamaya Kosha can be measured. If 

Brahman were the Anandamaya itself, then how can it be said to support itself? We run into a logic problem. This, too, is considered as proof by Sri Shankaracharyaji that the 

Anandamaya cannot be Brahman; it has to be the NOT-SELF, as all the other Koshas are. 

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Next

Anuvaka 2.6 

From Anandamaya to Atman  

Continued

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