Svetasvathara Upanishad – 13

Chapter 4 (Mantras 16 to 22(end)) 

Mantra 4-16

ghrtat param mandam ivatisukshmam jnatva sivam sarvabhuteshu gudham I

visvasyaikam pariveshtitaram jnatva devam muchyate sarvapasaih II 4.16 II

By knowing Him, the auspicious, hidden in all beings, like the film that rises to the surface of clarified butter, the sole Pervader of the universe, the Brahman, one is released from all fetters.

One becomes free forever from all bondages by knowing the Brahman who is subtle as a film on the clarified butter and who is supreme good for all, who is hidden in all beings and who pervades the entire world.

Mantra 4-17

esha devo visvakarma mahatma sada jananam hrdaye samnivishtah I

hrda manisha manasabhiklpto ya etad vidur amrtas te bhavanti II 4.17 II

The creator of the world; great souled, the Supreme Lord, always seated in the heart of every one; He manifests Himself by meditating through heart, intellect and mind; They who know Him become immortal.  

The omnipresent and omnipotent Supreme Lord, the sole creator of the world is always seated in everyone’s heart. He is revealed through meditation. One who realises Him as his Real Self becomes free from the cycle of birth and death.

Mantra 4-18

yadatamastanna diva na ratrir na sannacasacchiva eva kevalah I

tad aksharam tat savitur varenyam prajna cha tasmat prasrta purani II 4.18 II

When there is complete absence of the darkness of ignorance, then what is experienced is neither day nor night; neither existence or non-existence; only Brahman, undifferentiated and bliss absolute, called here Siva.  Even the presiding deity of sun and other planets paid homage to this Brahman. From Him has emerged the ancient wisdom that spread all over the world.

            Because darkness is symbolic of ignorance, the Upanishad says that Brahman is without darkness.  Brahman is knowledge itself.  Brahman is the Absolute. Words are simply not enough to give an idea what it is like.  Brahman is not an object that one can perceive and describe. It is beyond the description of relative terms like day and night, existence and non-existence.  It is something permanent and full which never changes.  In the words of Dr.S. Radhakrishnan “The characterization of the Supreme which transcends the duality of subject and object can only be negative and cannot be a field of clear definition and demonstration”.   He is the source of all the wisdom that has come down to us in the form of Vedas.

Mantra 4-19

nainam urdhvam na tiryancham na madhye parijagrabhat I

na tasya pratima asti yasya nama mahad yasah II 4.19 II

No one can grasp Him from above, or across, or in the middle. There is none equal to Him. His name is ‘Great Glory’.

            Brahman who has been described in various ways in the previous Mantras is beyond one’s perception.  He cannot be seen or grasped in whatever manner one may try because He is entirely beyond grasp.  When Sastras talk of knowing Him, it only means realizing Him through personal experience. Such a realized soul too cannot express Him through words because mind and speech cannot reach there.  He is absolutely different from physical objects which can be understood or grasped. Mundaka Upanishad (2.2.10) and Katha Upanishad (2.2.15) speak of Him thus “Him the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning–nor, verily, fires kindled upon the earth. He is the one light that gives light to all…”.  To say anything about Him is to limit the unlimited.  He has no equal and He is what He is and so He is called “Great Glory”.

Mantra 4-20

na samdrse tishthati rupam asya na chakshusha pasyati kaschanainam I

hrda hrdistham manasa ya enam evam vidur amrtas te bhavanti II 4.20 II

Brahman is not perceptible; no one can see Him with the eyes. Yet, through pure intellect and the Knowledge of Unity based upon reflection, one can realize Him in the pure heart. When one realises Him, He becomes immortal.

Brahman is not perceptible.  Nobody can visualize Him physically. Those who experience Him through meditation become immortal - free from birth and death forever.

Mantra 4-21

ajata ityevam kaschid bhiruh prapadyate I

rudra yatte dakshinam mukham tena mam pahi nityam II 4.21 II

O Rudra, You are birthlesss and this is why people frightened by death seek refuge with you. Please turn your benign face towards me and protect me always.

     This Mantra reveals the attitude of Bhakti or devotion to Brahman, who is called Rudra here. Some intelligent, discriminating people know Brahman to be birthless and so deathless as well i.e. immortal.  Fearing death and desirous of freedom from the cycle of birth and death, they take refuge in Him, realizing that the immortal Brahman can alone save them from the cycle of birth and death. So the Mantra is a prayer to Brahman for His Grace to get liberated from this fearful cycle of birth and death.   

Mantra 4-22

ma nas toke tanaye ma na ayushi ma no goshu ma no asveshu ririshah I

viran ma no rudra bhamito vadhir havishmantah sadam it tva havamahe II 4.22 II

O Rudra, Please do not be angry with us and hurt us or our sons and grandsons.  Do not destroy our cattle, horses and our strong servants. With oblations in hand, we pray to you seeking your protection.

            This Mantra is also occurring in Anuvaka 10 of Rudra Suktham (Namakam).  This Mantra presents a contrasting picture of the trend of the discussions. So far, the prayer has been for Knowledge. Now this prayer is of mundane variety seeking personal blessing and material advantage from the Supreme implying the idea of dualism. The reason is that before one can attain Brahma Jnanam, the Supreme knowledge, one is on a relative plane and one is conscious that one has a body.  So long as one lives in the relative plane of life and one is conscious of one’s body, one can reach non-dualism through dualism alone.  As long as one is attached to the body, one has to have recourse to dualism-to worship and prayer. But he must remember that his goal is non-dualism. In this process, one is using non-dualism to reach dualism. With this Mantra, the chapter ends.

-----------------------