Aitareya Upanishad - 7

 

Chapter 3, Section 1

Mantra 1

Om. Ko’yam athmeti vayam upaasmahe? katarah sa athma? yena va pasyati, yena va srinoti, yena va gandhanaajighrati, yena va vacham vyakaroti, yena va svadu chasvadu cha vijaanaati? II1II

Om! Who is the one that we worship as the Self? Which of the two is the Self? Is it that by which one sees and by which one hears; also by which one smells fragrance and by which one utters speech and by which one tastes the sweet or the sour?

 

This Mantra wants to convey the role of Athma, the Pure Consciousness, as the real Self, the witness in whose presence one visualizes all objects through one’s eyes; hears sounds through the ears; smells through the nostrils; speaks through the speech organ; distinguishes the tasty from the non-tasty through the tongue as contrasted with the Jiva, the ego-self, who is associated with the reflection of Athma in the mind and is looked upon as the kartha and bhoktha in all one’s actions listed above.  So it starts with the question by the student as to which of the two, the Brahman and Purusha, who had been introduced in the earlier chapters and who are present in the human body as Consciousness and Prana is to be meditated upon in upasana to attain the Liberation that the sage Vamadeva attained. 

Mantra 2

Yadetad hridayam manas chaitat, samjnanamaajnanam vijnanam prajnanam medha drishtirdhrirtirmatirmanisha jutih smritih sankalpah kraturasuh kamo vasa iti. sarvanyevaitani prajnanasya namadheyani bhavanti. II2II

Is it the heart (intellect) and the mind? It is consciousness, lordship, knowledge, wisdom, retentive power of mind, sense knowledge, steadfastness, thought, thoughtfulness, sorrow, memory, concepts, purpose, life, desire, longing: all these are but various names of Consciousness (Prajnanam). 

The question raised was answered by the Acharya that Consciousness is that Athma which is to be meditated upon. This entity – Consciousness – has several names as stated in the Mantra.  The several names are nothing other than Consciousness in the sense that all different ornaments are  nothing but gold.  After the enumeration of inner world faculties in this Mantra, the various objects of the outside world are listed in the next Mantra.

Mantra 3

esha brahmaisha indra esha prajapatirete sarve deva imani cha, panchamahabhutani prithivi vayur akasa apo jyotimsi tyetanimani cha, kshudramisraniva bijanitarani chetarani chandajani cha, jarujani chasvedajani chodbhijjani cha, asva gavah purusha hastino yatki~nchedam prani ja~ngamam cha, patatri cha, yachcha sthavaram sarvam tatprajanetram prajnane pratishthitam, prajnanetro lokah prajna pratishtha, prajnanam brahma.II3II 

This is Brahma, This is Indra, This is Prajapati; This is all these gods; This is the five great elements—earth, air, akasa, water, fire; This is all these small creatures and the other seeds of creation; those born of an egg, of a womb, of sweat and of earth; This is the horses, cows, human beings, elephants and whatever breathes here, whether moving on legs or flying in the air or immovable. All these are guided by Consciousness and are supported by Consciousness. The Universe has Consciousness as its guide (eye).  Consciousness is the basis of all; verily the Consciousness is Brahman (Prajnanam Brahma). 

Having been so taught the student came to the conclusion that Consciousness itself is the creator of all and it is This that provided multifaceted powers to all. This alone is worthy of being worshipped by everybody. This Itself is Brahma, Indra and Prajapati. The gods such as Indra, the five elements and creatures born of egg, uterus, sweat, and erupting from the earth, horses, cattle, elephants, and humans- all collectively referred to as world of moving and non-moving creatures; all derive power from Consciousness that is the Knowledge itself.  Only due to Its power all are capable of functioning and they all are seated in It alone. The entire universe is sentient or animated only due to this Supreme Power who is their base.. That Consciousness is Brahman who is described in several ways by different thinkers as it is conceived in their minds. “Consciousness is Brahman (Prajnanam Brahma)” is the Mahavakya (Great Saying of Jiva-Brahma-Ikyam) propounded by this Upanishad.

Mantra 4

sa etena prajnenatmana smallokad utkramya amushminsvarge loke sarvan kaman aptva amritah samabhavat samabhavat. II4II

He, having realized oneness with Pure Consciousness, soared from this world and having obtained all desires in yonder heavenly world, became immortal; yes, became immortal. 

The Upanishad concludes with an assertion that the one who has this knowledge of one’s true Self, Athma, as Pure Consciousness, that is Brahman, transcends beyond this world in the sense that he could no more come back to the lower identifications with his body and mind. He lives in his own Infinite experience of Bliss Absolute in himself, desiring nothing, wanting nothing and expecting nothing.  After death he merges with the Supreme Absolute of everlasting bliss getting rid of the cycles of birth and death, which the Upanishad names as ‘becoming immortal’.  The words ‘becoming immortal’ is repeated to indicate the end of the chapter as well as of the Upanishad.

Acknowledgement

While concluding the series of blogs on Aitareya Upanishad, I wish to record my deep debt of gratitude to the speeches and writings on Aitareya Upanishad, of:

1)   Swami Chinmayananda

2)    Swami Paramarthananda  &

3)  Sri T.N.Sethumadhavan

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Aitareya Upanishad - 6

 

Chapter 2, Section 1

This section opens with an announcement, “Apakramanthu garbinyah (pregnant women, please vacate)”.  At the end of the section there is a similar announcement, only this time it requests the pregnant women to reenter the hall of study. This shows that women had free access to the Vedantic classes as students even in the ancient days.  As the process of procreation is going to be the topic, the Acharya did not want to expose the expectant mothers to certain thoughts the lecture would be focusing on. After they left the classes continued. 

Mantra 1

Om. purushe ha va ayam aadito garbho bhavati;

yat etat retah tat etat sarvebhyo angebhyastejah sambhootam;

aatmanyeva aatmaanam bibharti;

tatyada striyaam sinchati, atha enat janayati;

tatasya prathamam janma. II1II

Om! In a man, verily, is first produced that which (later) develops as the embryo. That which is the semen (or seed), is drawn from all his limbs, and is the essence of his strength and vigour. In his own very being, he holds that self (as semen).  When he pours this into a womb, he causes it (the Self, a child) to be born.  This is his First birth. 

The conception process begins in man, and develops later in the woman as the embryo and thereafter as the foetus.  The production of semen, the vital fluid in man, comes from the best part of food. It is formed from the condensation of the finest particles of strength and vitality within the human body. First the man holds and nourishes it in his own body and it is not different from him. When he injects this in woman’s body he procreates himself in the form of a foetus. Since the husband plays the primary role, it is he who is considered to be “pregnant” with the seed, ready to play his part in the creation process. The moment of conception is called his First birth.

Mantra 2

tat striya atmabhutam gacchati, yathaa svam-angam tathaa;

tasmat enaam na hinasti; saasyaitam atmanam atragatam bhaavayati. II2II 

That seed goes into the very “being” (womb) of the woman, as though it were her own limb.  Hence, the (foetus) does not injure her. She nourishes this Self (her husband’s), that has thus come into her.

The semen injected into the body of the mother gets assimilated with her body and becomes an indivisible part of her; hence she does not feel hurt or burdensome during pregnancy. The mother, whose role in receiving the semen was secondary, now takes over the primary role by nurturing the seed in her womb. The father, who has now to provide for her, plays the secondary role from this point forward.  The lady nourishes that foetus as the Self of her husband.

Mantra 3

sa bhavayitree bhavayitavya bhavati; tam stree garbham bibharti;

so’agra eva kumaram janmano’gre’dhibhavayati;

sa yatkumaram janmano’gre adhibhavayatyatmanam eva

tat bhaavayatyesham lokanam santatyaa; evam santata hime lokaah;

tat asya dviteeyam janma.II3II

With the role of the mother as nourisher, comes also her need to be well-nourished. She bears him as an embryo in her womb. He, the father, even before the child’s birth, and naturally thereafter, too, nourishes it.  The couple jointly, in nourishing the child from its birth onwards, feel it is their own self being nourished for the continuation of these worlds.  Thus are these worlds continued. This is the Second birth.

The pregnant woman who holds the foetus should therefore be taken care of well by every member of the family. While the mother protects the unborn child in her womb, the father takes care of the child after delivery till it gets fully grown up and becomes a sound person in the society. This act on his part is for maintaining the continuity of the race. This coming out of the womb and taking birth as a child is his Second birth.

Mantra 4

sah asya ayam aatmaa; punyebhyah karmabhyah pratidheeyate;

atha syaayam itara athma; kritakrityo vayogatah, praiti;

sah itah prayanneva, punarjaayate; tadasya triteeyam janma. II4II 

That Son who is the father’s own self, is initiated to perform the pious deeds.  Then the father who is the son’s other self, having had his sense of inward satisfaction and reaching a ripe old age, dies.  Though he has departed, “he” is born again.  This is his Third birth. 

The father himself becomes the son in the manner explained in the above Mantras. When the son comes of age, the father entrusts him with all the family duties and responsibilities and feels free from parental debt. After this, one day the father departs from the earth. Then according to his karma he is reborn again somewhere else in another womb. This is his Third birth. The First birth is when the potential human being is conceived in man and manifests as semen. This contains the hopes and aspirations of what man wants to achieve. The Second birth produces the physical instrument that would accomplish this hope. That instrument makes every effort to bring to fruition these hopes and aspirations of man.  Then comes the Third birth when he pursues that hope and aspiration in the next generation to continue the progress of mankind. This way the chain of birth and death continues so long as the man does not consider this chain as a bondage and torture and does not make effort to get released from it during his birth in the human form. Therefore, the Upanishad stresses the need for one to try to break this chain giving the example of one, who has got himself freed from the chain, that is given in the next two Mantras.

Mantra 5

tad uktam rishina – garbhe nu san anvesham avedamaham, devaanaam janimaani visvaa; satam ma pura aayaseerarakshannadhah, syeno javasa niradeeyamiti. garbha evaitachchayano, Vaamadeva evam uvacha. II5II

About this a rishi has said: “While yet in the embryo, I knew well all the births of these Deities!   A hundred iron citadels confined me down; yet, like a hawk in full flight, I burst through them all.”  The Rishi Vamadeva had spoken thus even while lying in the womb!

Transmigrating in this way, involved in the chain of birth and death through manifestation of the three states mentioned earlier, everyone remains in the cycle of samsara. If in any of the states, he succeeds to realize the Self as revealed in Vedas, he becomes freed then and there from all worldly bondages.  To illustrate this, Acharya quotes the example of Sage Vamadeva.  Sage Vamadeva, even while he was in his mother’s womb, obtained the Self-knowledge. He said at that very moment, “O, what an amazing thing that while living in the womb itself I came to know the reality about these deities i.e. inner senses and their several births. In other words, I knew that it is the inner organs and indriyas which are subjected to birth and death and not the Athma. Before I realized this secret I had to pass through several bodily cages, hard like iron. I had such a strong identity with them that it was very difficult for me to get rid of them. Now, by applying the full strength of knowledge I had gained, I had broken all the fetters and became detached and free from the shackles of samsara imposed by the body once and forever.  I have understood that I am not the body and I have no relation with the body”.

Mantra 6

sah evam vidvaan; asmacchareera-bhedaat; oordhva utkraamyamushmin swarge loke sarvaan kaamaan aaptvaa amritah samabhavat, samabhavat. II6II

Having gained knowledge of the Athma, and separated himself from body consciousness, he (Vamadeva) betook on his upward path; He attained the heavenly worlds of Bliss and all his desires. He became immortal – yes, he became immortal! 

Once the highest state of spiritual realisation is reached, the attainment “of the heavenly worlds of Bliss” accompanies it without saying. While still in his body, the realized sage Vamadeva experiences all the heavenly regions of Supreme Bliss. He enjoys all desires simultaneously as he feels totally fulfilled. Immortality covers all attainments in one sweep. It is the supreme fruit of realisation. In short he becomes a Jivan muktha who attains Videha mukthi on relinquishing the body. 

The repetition of the line “became immortal” twice is to denote that end of section 1 and chapter 2 as well is reached.  The chapter ends with the announcement “Yatha sthanam garbinyah (Pregnant women can resume their seats)”

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Aitareya Upanishad - 5

 

Sec. 3 Mantras 11-14

Mantra – 11

sa ikshata katham nvidam madrite syaditi sa ikshata katarena prapadya iti,

sa ikshata yadi vachabhivyahritamn yadi pranenabhipranitam

yadi chakshusha drishtam yadi srotrena srutam yadi tvacha sprishtam

yadi manasa dhyatam yadyapanenabhyapanitam

yadi sisnena visrshtam atha ko’hamiti.II11II

He bethought Himself: "How could this exist without Me?".  Then He pondered: "Which way shall I enter it?".  He said to Himself further: "If speech is uttered by the organ of speech, if smelling is done by the nose, seeing by the eyes, hearing by the ears, touching by the skin, thinking by the mind, eating by the apana and the emission by the reproductive organ, then who am I?"

 

The Supreme Self found itself in an unusual paradoxical position. It thought that if every other organ of the body does only its assigned job, then who is there to co-ordinate. Only where there is a Knowing principle, there the reports from the various organs like eyes, ears etc. can be unified and synchronised for a total experience.  So it started thinking about playing the role of the master of assemblage to give a purpose or fulfilment to the assembly and pondered over the way through which it should enter the body to assert itself and play that role. The basic idea is to make them all function collectively, in a co-ordinated matter through His proximate presence as the Supreme Self.  Just as a palatial house has no meaning without the existence of the householder to live in it, the beautiful human body has no meaning, without the Supreme Self, the Athma, as its indweller.

Mantra 12

sah etam eva seemaanam vidaarya, etayaa dvara prapadyata;

saeshaa vidritihr naama dvastad, etannaandanam;

tasya traya aavasathaah, traya swapnaah;

 ayam aavasathah, ayam aavasathah, ayam aavasathah. II12II

Then He opened the suture on the skull, and entered by that door. This is the door named “Vidriti”; this is Naandana, the “place of bliss”.  He has three dwelling places, and three conditions of sleep (dream). This is a dwelling place; This is a dwelling place; This is a dwelling place.

So, piercing the skull, He entered through that door. That door is known as the Vidriti, the cleft. This is the place of bliss, Naandana.  Athma, thus embodied, has three abodes, three states of sleep (dream). According to Sri Sankara the three abodes are the right eye in the waking state; the mind in the dream state and the heart in deep sleep state. The three states of dream are waking, dream and deep sleep.  All the states, even the waking, are considered as ‘dream’ because self-ignorance is common to them all. Sri Sankara states of the waking state “There is no consciousness of one’s own supreme Self, and in it are perceived unreal things as in a dream”.  Creator entered the created body and occupied as the experiencer Jivathma.  This entry is called anupravesa.

Mantra 13

sa jato bhutany abhivyaikhyath kimihaanyam vavadishaditi,

sa etameva purusham brahma tatamamapasyath. Idamadarshamiti3 II13II

Having been born as the jiva (i.e. entering the body), He realised the elements (deities) as one with Himself.  “What is there other than Me that needs to be named?”  He saw the all-pervading Brahman.  With wonder He said to Himself, “Oh, I have seen this before!”

The passage tries to describe the experience of the Self (Athma), when having entered the body and gazed out into the world of plurality, through the sense-objects, mind and intellect, and could perceive only His own transcendent nature everywhere.  At the perception of Supreme Brahman over-spreading all, He cried out, “Oh! I have seen this”. The word ‘seen’ here does not mean seeing something separate from oneself.  But it is Athma Sakshatkaram , Self-Realisation.  It is Self, seeing the Self, where seeing has a special connotation.  It is the experience of Self beyond all doubts and as convincing as something one has seen. In short, He recognizes everything around Him as Himself only.  The letter 3 at the end of the last word denotes the elongation of the last word into 3 Matras to express the joy of having attained union with Brahman.

Mantra 14

tasmadidandro namedandro ha vai nama,

tamidandram santamindra ityaachakshate parokshena .

parokshapriya iva hi devah, parokshapriya iva hi devah. II14II 

Therefore, He is called Idandra.  Idandra, indeed is His name. Him who is Idandra, they (the deities) call indirectly as Indra. For the deities appear to be fond of cryptic epithets; the deities appear to be fond of cryptic epithets (Indirect names).

Because He saw the all-pervading Brahman subjectively as ‘this’ (Idam), the Brahman is called as Idandra.  Since deities are fond of being called by indirect names He is called Indra.  Further, it may be out of respect He is called by a shorter appellation, Indra, as we generally out of respect and reverence address certain individuals directly not by their personal name but by a reverential appellation.  The repetition of last line is to indicate the conclusion of chapter 1.

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Aitareya Upanishad - 4

 

Sec. 3, Mantras 1to10

Mantra 1 & 2

sa iIkshateme nu lokashcha lokapalaschannamebhyah srija iti. II 1 II

He bethought Himself: "Here now are the worlds and the world-guardians. Let Me cerate food for them."

So’po abhyatapattabhyo abhitaptabhyo murtirajayata.I

ya vai sa murtirajayatannam vai tat. II 2 II

He brooded over the waters. From the waters, thus brooded over, there emerged a material form. The form that so emerged is indeed food.

After creation of these deities, Iswara thought He should create food for them as hunger and thirst are co-existent with them.   He brooded over the waters, representing the five elements, from which there emerged the ‘organic matter’ as food.

Mantra 3

tadenatsrishtam parang tyajighamsattadvacha-jighriksat

tannasaknod-vacha grahItum,

yaddhvainadvacha-grahaisyad-abhivyahritya haivannam-atrapsyat. II3II

The food so created wished to flee away. He (the first embodied being) sought to grasp it with speech. But he was not able to grasp it with speech. If, indeed, he had grasped it with speech, one would then have been satisfied by merely uttering the word 'food'.

In order to quench the hunger and thirst of the worlds, gross food was created. That food thought that they would eat it away and to escape from the eater, it started running away. Then jivathma in the form of human being tried to catch hold of it by speech but failed to grasp it by speech. At that time if that Jivathma could hold the food by speech, now the human beings also could feel satiated by simply uttering the word 'food' but it did not happen like that.

The next six Mantras from 4 to 9, give similar examples of different organs of the body trying to catch the food and failing in their efforts.  So Mantras are not quoted and only their meaning is given Mantra-war.

Mantra 4 to 9

He sought to catch it (food) by breadth (smelling).  He could not seize it by smelling.  If he had caught it by smelling, then one would have been satisfied indeed by merely smelling food (Mantra 4)

He sought to catch it by the eyes.  He could not seize it by the eyes.  If he had caught it by the eyes, then one would have been satisfied indeed by merely seeing food (Mantra 5)

He sought to catch it by the ears.  He could not seize it by the ears.  If he had caught it by the ears, then one would have been satisfied indeed by merely hearing about food (Mantra 6)

He sought to catch it by the skin.  He could not seize it by the skin.  If he had caught it by the skin, then one would have been satisfied indeed by merely touching the food (Mantra 7)

He sought to catch it by the mind.  He could not seize it by the mind.  If he had caught it by the mind, then one would have been satisfied indeed by merely thinking about food (Mantra 8)

He sought to catch it by the reproductive organ.  He could not seize it by the reproductive organ.  If he had caught it by the reproductive organ, then one would have been satisfied indeed merely by emission. (Mantra 9)

Mantra 10

tadapanenajighrikshat tadavayath saisho-annasya graho

yadvayuranayurva esha yadvayuh. II10II

He sought to grasp it with the apana and he grasped it. Therefore, apana alone is that which catches the food; and indeed, the apana (Vayu) is the chief cause in supporting life by food.  

Lastly, he tried to grasp the food with apana through the gate of mouth and he succeeded. It is with the help of apana the food eaten gets assimilated and the assimilated food keeps all the sense-organs active and efficient in the human body.  Apana is a part of the five-fold Prana.  Since apana, with the other four upa-pranas, grasps food, retains, consumes and assimilates it and rejects the waste by-products, it is the chief cause in supporting life by food  and therefore it is called Vayu.

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Aitareya Upanishad - 3

 

Section - 2

Mantra 1

ta eta devatah srishta asminmahatyarnave prapatan

tam asanaya pipasabhyam anvavarjath I

ta enamabruvannayatanam nah prajanihi I yasminpratishthita annamadameti. II

These deities, thus created, fell into this great ocean.  Then He, Iswara, subjected them to hunger and thirst. They (the deities) said to Him: "Find out for us an abode wherein being established and may eat food (earn our experiences)." 

The various deities that were created were thrown into this world of endless agitations and constant changes.  Sri Sankara comments “The created Beings fell into the Great Ocean i.e., samsara or the phenomenal world where the great water-currents consist of miseries created by ignorance, desire, and action and which is filled with vicious crocodiles in the shape of painful diseases, senility and death.”  The first-born Purusha, from whom the instruments of perception and deities were separated out was subjected to hunger and thirst.  As the Purusha was afflicted with hunger and thirst, His offsprings, the deities, were also subjected to them. The deities then asked for an abode where they could live and grow. This allegory emphasizes the basic fact of life that desires, want and their fulfillment are applicable to the whole of creation and none is immune to them.  All the beings tried their best first to survive, but it was just impossible unless they had their own personal abodes. What they needed was a Body of manageable size through which they could function within reasonable range for all their needs to be met.  They arrived with this request to Iswara.

Mantras 2 & 3 

tabhyo gamanayatta abruvanna vai no’ayamalamiti. I

tabhyo’svamanayatta abruvanna vai no’ayamalamiti.II2II

tabhyah purushamanayatta abruvan sukritam bateti

purusho vava sukritam ta abravidyathayatanam pravisateti.II3II

He brought (the form of) a cow. They said: "But this is not enough for us." He brought them (form of) a horse. They said: "This, too, is not enough for us." He brought them (form of) a person. The deities said: "Ah, this is well done, indeed."   Therefore, (form of)a person is verily something well done. He said to the deities: "Now enter your respective abodes." 

The allegory continues. Iswara offered the cosmic powers, the form of a cow as an abode for them to live in, and they rejected it as insufficient for them.  Then He offered them the form of a horse and this too they rejected as insufficient.  Then He offered them the human form which they accepted with joy claiming it as a masterpiece. They being satisfied with the human form as their residence, Iswara asked them to take their place in their respective abodes.  The choice of a human being as residence signifies the superiority of human birth whose body can be made use of as a vehicle for performing good and noble actions including realization of God. No other body can give such variety of options.

Mantra 4

agnirvagbhutva mukham pravisat, vayuh prano bhutva nasike pravisat, adityashchakshurbhutva akshini pravisat, disah shrotram bhutva karnau pravisan, oshadhivanaspatayo lomani bhutva tvachampravisan, chandrama mano bhutva hridayam pravisan, mrityurapano bhutva nabhim pravisat, apo reto bhutva sishnam pravisan. II4II

The deity fire became the organ of speech and entered the mouth. Air became smell and entered the nostrils. The sun became sight and entered the eyes; the quarters of space became hearing and entered the ears. The deity of plants and trees, became hairs and entered the skin. The moon became the mind and entered the heart. God of death became the apana and entered the navel. The God of waters became semen (seed) and entered the reproductive organs. 

The Upanishad illustrates in this Mantra the details of cosmic powers which reside in human body and empower its various organs of perception and action.  This Mantra is the counterpart of Mantra (1-4).  The eight elements when created came in an order reverse to the above, i.e. the physical organ came first, then the object associated with it, and then the deity who was to govern it.

Mantra 5 

tamasanayapipase abrutaam avabhyamabhiprajanihiti, 

te abravidetasveva vam devatasvabhajami etasu bhaginyau karomiti.I

tasmadyasyai kasyai cha devatayai havirgrihyate bhaginyavevasyam

asanayapipase bhavatah. II5II

Hunger and thirst said to Him (Iswara): "For both of us also find an abode."  He said to them: "I assign the two of you a place along with these deities; I make you co-sharers with them."  Therefore, to whatsoever deity an oblation is made, hunger and thirst became sharers in it. 

Seeing other deities occupy their allotted places in man, hunger and thirst also demanded their own abode for themselves.   Instead of assigning them an independent abode, Iswara asked them to share the abode with all the other deities. This signifies that desires afflict all the senses and that hunger and thirst are mere sensations which cannot subsist independently without their supporting sense organs; for example, mere hunger cannot eat food unless it takes the help of the mouth to eat.  This passage gives out a psychological truth.  None of the faculties in the human being would have ever struggled to develop itself unless goaded by some driving impulse from within.  Thirst and hunger provided this impulse.

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Aitareya Upanishad - 2

 

Section 1

Mantra 1

Om athmaa vaa idam eka eva agra aaseet;  na anyat kinchana mishat.I  Sa eekshata, lokaannu srija iti.II

Om. Verily, this one Athma alone was existing in the beginning. Nothing else whatsoever was there that winked.  He willed Himself; “I shall create the worlds.”

 

The Upanishad starts with the theory of Creation.  It is the common experience that change can take place only upon a changeless base; just as the moving train must have a rigid ground to move upon.  Similarly, the world around us is ever changing and the continuity of change gives us the illusion of permanency to it. For this phenomenon of continuous change, we must have a changeless, permanent factor and all our scriptures are an enquiry into the existence and nature of that permanent Absolute Factor. This Upanishad is one such enquiry. In this Mantra the master says that ‘in the beginning’ i.e., before the manifested creation came into existence ‘Athma alone existed’. It is just like telling in a cloth shop that before all the varieties of fabrics came into being all those were nothing but cotton. In the same way we are told that before the manifested world got projected, it was all Consciousness alone, all pervading and eternal.

Here the sage has deliberately used the word Athma and not Brahman as we can see from the example of foam.  Prior to its manifestation foam was being called as water and after its manifestation it is called both as water and foam. The idea is that before the creation of the pluralistic world of objects, names and forms all that remained was the Athma (individual Consciousness) which is nothing other than Brahman (Universal Consciousness) for there is no difference between pot space and universal outer space. The Mantra adds that there was no other active principle or entity at that time other than the Brahman. This means that the Brahman did not create the world of plurality out of some material cause different from Itself that already existed like a potter making a pot out of clay that already existed. So in the creation of the world the Brahman himself is the material and efficient cause.  Brahman with its power of Maya manifest is called Iswara.  As Iswara, He thought:” I shall indeed create the worlds”.   So the Iswara, Brahman, with the power of Maya manifest, willed to create a world of multiplicity and relativity and Creation is a consequence of that Will Power.

Mantra 2 

sa imaan lokaan asrijata I ambhah marichih, maram, aapah. adah ambhah, parena divam, dyauh pratishthaa; antariksham marichayah I prithivi maroh; ya adhastaattah apah. II

He created all these worlds: Ambhah, Marichih, Marah and Aapah.  Far beyond is Ambha, just above the heaven, with heaven acting as its support; Marichih is the region of atmosphere; The Earth is Marah; What lies below Earth is Aapah. 

Loka means field of experience and fourteen lokas are created as per puranas because Jivas, the living beings, after death, require an environment to exhaust their accumulated punya, papas. Therefore, higher lokas are created for exhausting punyam. They are for higher beings among Jivas.  Same way the lower lokas are created for exhausting papas of lower beings among Jivas.  The four divisions listed here are equivalent to all the 14 worlds.  They are as listed below:

1.    Ambhah – all the 5 heavenly lokas from Suvar upwards; namely Suvar, Mahah, Janah, Tapah, and Satya; Satya is Brahmaloka, the highest heaven.

2.    Marichih – the interspatial world, Bhuvah, between heaven and earth;

3.    Marah – the Earth, Bhuh;

   Aapah – all the 7 underworls; namely, Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasatala, Talatala, Mahatala, and Patala.  Patala is the lowest hell.

Mantra 3

Sa eekshateme nu lokaah lokapalannu srija iti; So’dbhya eva purusham

samuddrityamurchhayat. II

He (Iswara) reflected: “Here now are the worlds, (just created). Let Me now create protectors for these worlds.”  Then He raised the Purusha from the waters in the form of a lump and gave Him a shape. 

He then reflected “here are the worlds, let me now create guardians of the worlds to protect it”. He then, like a potter, who first takes a lump of clay in his hands and then gradually gives it a shape, took out a ‘handful’ of this Water of Life.  Then He “gave it a shape” that resembled a Purusha, human form.  Here water should include all the other 4 elements as well.  From the five gross elements Iswara created the Virat Purusha, the chief deity of the whole gross manifestation. Thus we have the creation of VIrat Purusha.  As regards other deities, their creation follows in the next Mantra. 

Mantra 4

tamabhyatapattasyabhitaptasya mukham nirabhidyata yatha andam

mukhadvagvacho agnih I nasike nirabhidyetam nasikabhyam pranah pranadvayuh I akshini nirabhidyetamakshibhyam chakshushchakshusha adityah I

karnau nirabhidyetam karnabhyam shrotram shrotraddishah I

tvangnirabhidyata tvacho lomani lomabhya oshadhivanaspatayo I

hridayam nirabhidyata hridayanmano manasashchandramah I

nabhirnirabhidyata nabhya apano.apanopananmrityuh I

shishnam nirabhidyata shishnadreto retasa apah II

Iswara brooded over him. From him, so brooded over, the mouth was separated out, as with an egg; from the mouth, the organ of speech; from speech, fire, the controlling deity of the organ.   Then the nostrils were separated out; from the nostrils, the organ of smell; from smell, air, the controlling deity of the organ.  Then the eyes were separated out; from the eyes, the organ of sight; from sight, the sun, the controlling deity of the organ.  Then the ears were separated out; from the ears, the organ of hearing; from hearing, the quarters of space, the controlling deity of the organ.  Then the skin was separated out; from the skin, hairs, the organ of touch; from the hairs, plants and trees, air the controlling deity of the organs.  Then the heart was separated out; from the heart, the organ of the mind; from the mind, the moon, the controlling deity of the organ. Then the navel was separated out; from the navel, the organ of the apana; from the apana, Death, the controlling deity of the organ.  Then the reproductive organ was separated out; from the reproductive organ, semen, the organ of generation; from the semen, the waters, the controlling deity of the organ. 

He brooded over the lump, intending to give it the shape of a man. It will be seen from the stages of evolution of man as described above that the visible instruments are formed first, next the subtle organs which are the real instruments of perception and last the controlling deities which animate each organ. The controlling deities are the guardians of the respective organs. The process of creation described here is analogous to the development of embryo in an egg or foetus in the womb. The microcosm of man and macrocosm of cosmos follow an identical pattern. The deities, their seats and the objects in a table form are as below:

Deities	Seats	Objects
Fire (Agni Devata)	Mouth	Speech
Air (Vayu Devata)	Nostrils	Smell
Sun (Aditya Devata)	Eyes	Sight
Space (Disha Devata)	Ears	Hearing
Earth (Vanaspatayah)	Skin	Hair
Moon (Chandramaah)	Heart	Mind
Death (Mrityuh)	Navel	Excretion
Water (Aapah)	Genitals	Semen or Seed

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