AITAREYA UPANISHAD - “By a Peasant for the Peasant”: 7. Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya.

 

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Friday 23, January 2025, 05:10.
AITAREYA UPANISHAD: “By a Peasant for the Peasant” :  
Composed by Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya
Series of 10 Lectures - by SWAMI ADVAYANANDAJI
Acharyaji, 15th Batch Vedanta Course
AT SANDEEPANY SADHANALAYA, POWAI, MUMBAI
February 15th – February 23rd, 2013.
Reflections by SWAMI GURUBHAKTANANDA
PART 1:   Chapter 2 - 5 Mantras:  ABODES for the Devatas
Post-7.

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Mantram - 2.2: Cows and Horses – The Trial Abodes: 

4

taabhyah ashwam aanayat; taah abruvan  = He brought a cow for them. They said: 

na vai nah ayam alam iti. = “Indeed, this too is not sufficient

 5 

taabhyah ashwam aanayat; taah = He brought a horse to them. They said: 

abruvan na vai nah ayam alam iti. = “Indeed, this too is not sufficient for us.” 

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Democracy At Work:

Brahmaji believed in democracy, so He gave the Devatas a good hearing, and then  pondered over the problem placed before him. The creation process has to be a two-way democratic set-up. It is no use Brahmaji taking all the decisions without the approval of the people who have to live with the system. 

In a way, Brahmaji is only a ‘Contractor’, carrying out the orders of his subjects  according to their needs and wishes. A contractor is given a plan by his client. He builds the  project according to that plan, hands it over to his client, gets paid for it, and moves on to his next project. 

It is the same in creation. The client is the individual being. According to his Karma resources, he orders what he can afford, and is given only what he deserves – nothing more. 

The Options Are Weighed:

The earlier trials were of creatures which operated only with one or two senses. So some Devatas did not get catered for and complained. 

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4

Brahman proposes a cow to start with. The Devatas are given sufficient time to  inspect this proposal. They make their observations: They liked the digestive system, especially the spare stomach which they can use to store surplus food, and draw from it later according to their requirement. But they do not like the clumsy, slow-moving body. It restricts their range for finding food. 

The cow-body looked very nice, but some Devatas found certain functions to be cumbersome. The mouth did not have sufficient teeth – among the front incisors, there was  no upper set, so they could not cut their food! 

5

So, as is the system Brahmaji has created, the next phase of negotiation began. A horse is offered to them. It is fast and slim! What a pleasure to be in the body of a horse! Now the Devatas could race to their food – their range had increased. But there were disadvantages, too. How can a horse protect itself from the ferocious lion and tiger? It will need to submit to domestication and be a slave for the rest of its life. Some Devatas were  happy in it, but not the Devatas of the mind and intellect. The latter found no scope to grow  in the body of a horse. 

It may be safely presumed that a number of bodies ranging from the ant to the  elephant must have been offered as residences for the Gods. They tried them all, but always found something deficient. 

Brahmaji took all these complaints as well as any suggestions into account. And then – He came up with an absolutely brilliant solution.

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Next 
Mantram - 2.3: MAN – The Perfect Abode!  
Continues

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