Svetasvathara Upanishad – 2

  Chapter 1 (Mantras 3 to 6)

Mantra 1-3

te dhyanayoganugata apasyan devatmasaktim svagunair nigudham I

yah karanani nikhilani tani kalatmayuktany adhitishthaty ekah II 1.3 II

They (Brahmavadis), absorbed in meditation through one-pointedness of mind, discovered the creative power, belonging to the Lord Himself and hidden in its own gunas. That non-dual Lord rules over all those causes - time, the self and the rest.

            After asking each other the questions and getting no answers, they began to meditate deeply and they discovered through intuition that the attributeless Brahman or Pure Consciousness, which is beyond time, space and causality, is the only Reality which through its own power of Maya was the cause of the creation of the universe. Maya is the power which belongs to Brahman and is not independent of it. Brahman and Maya are inseparable like fire and its power to burn.  This Maya, power of Brahman is hidden by the veil of its three gunas; satva, rajas and tamas.  This non-dual Brahman rules over all the secondary causes of the universe like time, the self, etc.  The gist of this mantra is that Pure Brahman is not the cause of the universe; but associated with its power of Maya it appears to be the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe. Through the example of wheel and river, this is explained further in the next two Mantras.

Mantra 1-4

tam ekanemim trivrtam shodasantam satardharam vimsatipratyarabhih I

ashtakaih shadbhir visvarupaikapasam trimargabhedam dvinimittaikamoham II 1.4 II

We think of Him as the universe resembling a wheel which has one rim with triple tire, sixteen extremities, fifty spokes, twenty counter-spokes and six sets of eight; which is driven along three different roads by means of a belt that is single yet manifold; and with each revolution gives rise to two.

            This abstruse Mantra uses a highly technical imagery.  In this Mantra the world is compared to a rotating wheel.  Its chief characteristic is movement that represents the universe in constant cyclic motion. The wheel is called Brahmachakra, as Brahman is meditated upon as the wheel of universe. Let us have a brief look at the technical terms used before going to the next Mantra:

1)    Rim with triple tire – Maya with its three gunas, satva, rajas and tamas.

2)    Sixteen extremities – pancha bhuthas, five Karmendriyas, five Jnanendriyas and the mind.

3)    Fifty spokes – Various mental conditions including siddhis, misconceptions and disabilities.

4)    Twenty counter-spokes – Ten sense-organs and the corresponding sense-objects.

5)    Six sets of eight – Forty-eight types of human capabilities and qualities.

6)    One belt – Kama or desire.

7)    Three different roads – Dharma, Adharma and Jnana.

8)    Revolution – delusion or bhrama, giving rise to happiness and misery.

Mantra 1-5

panchasroto'mbum panchayonyugravakram

panchapranormim panchabuddhyadimulam I

panchavartam panchaduhkhaughavegam

panchasadbhedam panchaparvamadhimah II 1.5 II 

We think of Him (in His manifestation as the Universe) who is like a river that contains the waters of five streams; that has five big turnings due to five causes; that has the five Pranas for the waves, that has the mind, the basis of five-fold perception, as the source and the five-fold misery for its rapids; and that has five whirlpools, five obstructions and fifty (innumerable) branches.

            Now the comparison is made with a river.  The following points of resemblance between the river and the universe makes this comparison significant:   .           

          1)   The river water comes from the sea and goes to the sea; Universe comes from Lord and goes back to Him.

         2).    Waters of the river are not different from the ocean; Universe is not different from the  Lord in the absolute sense.

        3)   The river is always flowing, moving, in a state of flux; Universe is also in a state of  constant change.    

The comparison runs thus:

1.    Five streams –  Five Jnanendriyas.

2.    Five causes – Panchabhutas (Five elements).

3.    Mind --- as the source - Mind is the root cause responsible for the perceptions of the five sense organs. The mind is behind these organs but for which the organs cannot function. The whole universe consisting of animate and inanimate objects is the state of the mind alone; when the mind stops, the world ceases to exist i.e. the multifarious universe is not perceived.

4.    Five-fold misery - This consists of resting in the womb, being born, growing old, becoming sick and dying.

5.    Five whirlpools - The five objects of the senses (sound, form, taste, smell and touch). They are called whirlpools because they are the channels through which commotion in our minds is created.

6.    Five obstructions -  Ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and too much preoccupation with anything.

Mantra 1-6

sarvajive sarvasamsthe brhante tasmin hamso bhramyate brahmachakre I

prthag athmanam preritaram cha matva jushtas tatas tenamrtatvam eti II 1.6 II

In this great wheel of Brahman, in which all things abide and finally rest, the individual self travels about so long as it thinks the Self is different from the Controller. When blessed by Him the individual self attains Immortality.

            All beings evolve from the Brahmachakra i.e., evolve from Brahman with its creative power Maya.  The individual self, the Jiva, roams about in the phenomenal world, assuming different bodies - human, subhuman, and superhuman. The cause of the Jiva’s wandering in the samsara is due to the mistaken notion that the individual self is different from the Supreme Self that is to say the Supreme Lord, the Controller of the Universe.  When blessed by Him i.e., when the knowledge of the identity of the individual Self with the Supreme Self is gained through His Grace, Jiva gets absorbed in the Brahman, or freed from the wheel of Brahman. In short the one who knows oneself to be Brahman or the Ultimate Reality is Liberated and one who knows not remains stuck in the worldly cycle.

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