Taittriya Upanishad – 8

Chapter 2, Anuvaka 5

 

Mantra 2-5-1

vijnanam yajnam tanute I karmani tanute'pi ca I

vijnanam devah sarve I brahma jyesthamupasate I

vijnanam brahma chedveda I tasmacchenna pramadyati I

sarire papmano hitva I sarvankamansamasnuta iti I

The intellect accomplishes the sacrifices; it also accomplishes all actions. All the Gods worship the intellect, as Brahman, the eldest. If a man knows the intellect as Brahman and if he does not swerve from it, he leaves behind in the body all sins and attains all his desires.

            The essential feature of the intellect is its ability to know.  Through knowledge it can perform sacrifices, i.e. acts of sacrifice, charity and austerity. And it can do these really well for the same reason. In other words, intellect enhances one’s power to acquire knowledge as well as to execute actions due to the understanding gained about the way actions work.  Kathopanishad (3.3) in the chariot analogy states: “buddhim tu saradhim viddhi, manah pragraham eva cha (Know the intellect as the charioteer and the mind as verily the reins)” meaning that intellect determines the movement of the individual. Aware of the importance of intelligence Indra and other deities worship Hiranyagarbha, Samashti Vijnanamaya, as Brahman.  Meditating upon Hiranyagarbha, one gets rid of past sins and enjoys everything one wants.

Mantra 2-5-2

tasmadvijnanamayat I

anyo'ntara athmanandayaisa eva sarira athma yah purvasya I

tasmadva etasmayah I tenaisha purnah I

sa va esa purushavidha eva I tasya purushavidhatam I

anvayaṃ purushavidhah I tasya priyameva sirah I

modo dakshinah pakshah I pramoda uttarah pakshah I

ananda athma I brahma puccham pratishtha I

tadapyesha sloko bhavati II

This is the embodied soul of the former. Verily, different from this, which consists of the essence of the intellect, but within it, is another self, which consists of bliss. By this the former is filled. This too has the shape of a man. Like the human shape of the former is the human shape of the latter. Priya is its head; Modha its right wing; Pramodha its left wing; Aananda its trunk; Brahman its tail, its support. About this, there is also the following (Sruthi) verse.

This Vijnanamaya kosa, is the embodied self of the Manomaya kosa (the Self as the mind).  Within the Vijnanamaya kosa (the Self as intelligence) there is another Self, known as Anandamaya kosa, the Self as bliss. The Vijnanamaya kosa is filled by the Anandamaya kosa which is also like a human body having a human form. This is also compared to a bird as in the previous instances.  Priyam, the joy of seeing things is the head, Modha, joy of acquiring things is right wing, Pramodha, joy of enjoying things, is left wing, and Aananda, bliss is the middle part of the body or its trunk.  Brahman is its supporting tail.  Now, we shall see the parts in a little more detail.

1.    Priyam - the pleasure of merely thinking of sense objects.  It also includes seeing as in window –shopping etc.

2.    Modha – The pleasure of mere possessing of the desired sense-object.

3.    Pramodha – The pleasure or the ecstasy of actually enjoying the desired sense-object

4.    Aananda – The whole relative bliss that is split into above three stages. It is only a pseudo-Bliss as compared to the perfect Bliss of Supreme Brahman. In Anuvaka 8, different degrees of this Ananda are described with a measuring scale.

5. Brahman – The perfect, incomparable Bliss of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality. This is the original Bliss, unmodified by any of the human form’s Upadhis. It is only experienced by the enlightened persons who have realised Brahman.

            So far in this chapter the Upanishad described the five sheaths which constitute the embodied being. They are the Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijjnanamaya and Anandamaya - in that order, from gross to subtlest, arranged as latter inside the former with the outer deriving its reality from the inner.  Brahman is beyond the sheaths, inner than the innermost and is the Ultimate Reality. It is untouched by any of the sheaths but is the unrelated substratum of all.  These sheaths are different layers of one’s personality. These sheaths have been described in order to demonstrate the transcendental Brahman. Through the contemplation of the sheath of bliss, the aspirant ultimately realizes the pure Brahman. The example is that the luminous ray of the gem is mistaken for the gem itself; but by following such ray one ultimately reaches the gem. Beyond the sheath of bliss there exists the Pure Brahman which transcends all duality and is the substratum of phenomenal universe.  There is the following Sruthi Mantra about Anandamaya kosa which will come in the next anuvaka.  This anuvaka ends with this Mantra.

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