TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD – 92. Rishi Yajnavalkya.

 

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Sunday 29, June 2025, 08:00. 
TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD   Pertaining to the SELF-CREATION of Brahman there is a Shruti Mantram… Upanishad Part-2. 
ABHAYA PRATISHTHAA  
BRAHMAANANDA MEEMAAMSAA 
Anuvaka 2.8 A Measure of “Relative Joy” 
Bhashya F: 
THE MAHAVAKYA OF THIS UPANISHAD 
Coverage: Mantras From 2.8.13 to 2.9.1.
Post-92.

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Objections & Answers

Objection - 4:  Both Options Have Defects. Now What?  

Poorvapakshi: Since both these options have defects, it seems to me that further 

discussion would be useless ….. unless we find a third, flawless option. If not, let us just quit 

this whole enquiry! 

Answer: No, I don’t think we should give up so easily. Let us explore these defects 

and see if we find a way to arrive at an acceptable answer. I am sure we can succeed.

 

Objection - 5:  I Am Not So Optimistic!  

Poorvapakshi: You will simply go on thinking without hitting upon any meaning. I do 

not think we are going to make any headway in this discussion. 

Answer: Then you find a way out, for we have to get to the bottom of this. 

Objection - 6: You Have Too Many Opponents! 

Poorvapakshi: You are a Monist, since you follow the Vedic ideas. The Dualists are 

too many, and they are outside the fence of the Vedas. I do not see that you have any 

chance at all of convincing them. There are many elephants, and you are the only LION! 

Answer: Thank you! I take that as a compliment. You have branded me correctly – I 

am a sworn Monist and wedded to Non-Duality. As that is the Truth, I shall conquer all the 

opponents. Come, let us begin the debate. 

On that very enthusiastic note, filled with the confidence of a Brahma-Nishtha and a 

lover of Truth, Sri Shankaracharyaji proceeds with the debate. 

J

 / The text is clearly speaking of “merging” into that state of Brahman. This gives us 

the first clue: The attainer must be the Supreme Self also. We had the statement “The 

knower of Brahman attains the Highest.” (Anuvaka 1, 1) This has to mean that through the 

knowledge of the Self, one becomes the Supreme Self.  

This sparks of objections from the Poorvapakshi. A healthy, vigorous debate follows.  

From this Obj 7, Obj 8 , Obj 9.

 Objection - 7 :  and Obj 10 arise: How Can One Thing Become Another? 

Poorvapakshi: If both, the Supreme Brahman and the Jeeva are the same, there is a 

problem. For, it is unsound to say that one thing can become something else. That is only 

possible if one is himself the Supreme Brahman. 

 

Answer: Good, that is where we want to go. This becoming is of a different kind than 

what you are thinking. The individual soul does not ‘become’ Brahman the way you are 

thinking. The knowledge of Brahman helps the seeker to eliminate each of the five sheaths 

we have, from Annamaya to Anandamaya. These have their distinct selves, which need to 

be transcended. These distinct selves are really part of the non-Self. They are superimposed 

on the true Self which is the same as Brahman.  

 

Objection 8:  What Was That? 

 

Poorvapakshi: That is something completely Greek to me! Where do you get such 

strange ideas from? 

Answer: Look, knowledge alone is needed here; there is no travelling anywhere, do 

you see that? This knowledge is only for taking the ignorance away. You still stay where you 

are, you are not getting ready for a long trip. The operation is quite simple – it is the 

removal of ignorance. There is no trip to get excited about. Do you understand?  

 

Objection 9:  Is Knowledge then Just a Map? 
 

Poorvapakshi: If I give you information about how to get to a place, that is not 

sufficient for you to get there. You have to do something yourself to get there. If you get a 

prescription from a doctor, that is not going to make you well; you have to buy the medicine 

and take it before you get well. I cannot see what you mean. 

Answer: Alright, I think I know why you do not. Your analogy is not appropriate. In 

your example, the information is not about the destination, but the path to it. Therefore, 

the information is not sufficient. In the case of knowing Brahman, the information is all 

about Brahman, the goal only, not the path to it. There is no ‘going’ to Brahman. 

 

Objection 10:  Are Not Karmas and Upasanas the Means, not the Goal? 

 

Poorvapakshi: I do not agree with you there. There is so much knowledge focused 

on the means, such as the Karmas and the Upasanas, the rites and rituals, needed to go 

there. That knowledge is the means, not the goal. 

Answer: The knowledge you speak of is a different category. I am speaking of Self

knowledge. It works differently. You see, liberation is already there, it is eternal; the Self and 

Brahman are One, forever; they do not become One. The knowledge only removes the 

obstruction (Ignorance) to this vision. There is an error in identity. Identity has to shift from 

the body, mind, etc., to the Self. The knowledge helps one to do that. 

Remember the Lord has already ‘entered’ there; He is immanent in creation. Further, 

you have the proof of the person becoming fearless when he knows Brahman, which can 

only happen if he sees only the Self everywhere. Thirdly, Duality is caused by ignorance, so 

the sole purpose of knowledge is to get rid of it. Nothing else is needed to do that. 

*****
Next
Duality – the Symptom of Ignorance
Continued

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