Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

प्रश्नोपनिषत्
Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

प्रश्न उपनिषत् Introduction
प्रश्नोपनिषत्
Introduction
I have told you before I will be taking up प्रश्नोपनिषत्
for study, hereafter on Saturdays between seven and eight. I
am taking the उपनिषत् not keeping fresh उपनिषत् students in
mind. So if there are any students here who have not at all
heard any उपनिषत् you may find it difficult. I am taking for
granted that the students here have got the background of
other उपनिषतs् which we saw before, either here or
elsewhere. And therefore I don’t want to give an elaborate
introduction to this उपनिषत् also. But certain important points
I would like to remind you regarding the word उपनिषत् itself.
Meaning of उपनिषत्
उपनिषत् is known by different other words, sometimes it is
called वेदान्तः, sometimes it is called ब्रह्मनवद्या, sometimes it is
called ज्ञानकाण्डः and sometimes it is called उपनिषत्. We
have seen the significance of each of these words. This is
called वेदान्तः because this comes at the end portion of the
वेदs, वेदस्य अन्तः. अन्तः means the final portion. So since this
subject matter is generally discussed at the end part of the वेद
it is called वेदान्तः. We should remember generally at the end
portion of the वेदs, need not be always. Sometimes we have
the उपनिषतs् in the beginning part of the वेद itself. We call it
संहितोपनिषत् but generally it occurs at the end portion
therefore, it is called वेदान्तः. Its positional name it is.
2
Then it is known by the name ज्ञानकाण्डः because in
this part of the वेद purely knowledge alone is discussed and no
कर्म is discussed, which differentiates this from the initial
portion of the वेदs. In the initial portion of the वेदs there are
varieties of कर्म s discussed either कानिकर्् कर्म like याग,
पजू ा etc., or वानिकर्् कर्म like जप, पारािण etc., or र्ािसर््
कर्म like meditation on various forms like गाित्री etc. Where
as in the वेदान्त there is no जप, in वेदान्त there is no पजू ा, in
वेदान्त there is no सगुण ध्िािर््, in वेदान्त there is only one
thing - something to be understood, something to be known,
pure knowledge alone is the discussion in this section. And
therefore it is known by the name ज्ञानकाण्डः. कर्म णः
गन्धोऽहि नाहस्त. काण्डः means section, ज्ञानकाण्डः means
the knowledge section of the वेदs. The previous portion is
कर्म काण्डः, the action section. Action packed, generally
people like that only.
Then the third name that we said was ब्रह्मनवद्या. It is
known by this name because it is very evident because this
deals with knowledge of ब्रह्मि्. Because when you say
ज्ञानकाण्डः it means only knowledge, it doesn't say
knowledge of what. Physics also is knowledge only,
mathematics also knowledge only, economics also knowledge
only. So when you say वेदान्त is ज्ञानकाण्डः, is it physics
knowledge? Or is it astrology? Many people seeing a साधु ask
to see the hand. If you go to ऋनषकेश they won't leave at all.
So even when there is a checkpost in the car, the checkpost
3
man also bring his hand स्वानर्नज, थोडा हाथ देनिए. So many
people think that सन्न्िास means he must predict the future,
look at the hand or give some पररहार for some disease. So
generally there is a confusion regarding the subject matter of
वेदान्त. So it is made clear it doesn't deal with the prediction
of future, it doesn't deal with miraculous powers, it doesn't
deal with palmistry, it doesn't deal with astrology, it deals with
ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्मनवद्या. So never go and ask a सन्न्िानस what will be
my future condition. He will say you are ब्रह्मि् without past,
present or future. That is the only answer he gives. What is
past, what is future?
न जायते हियते वा कदाहिन् ॥ गीता २-२० ॥
So content-wise it has got the name ब्रह्मनवद्या.
Then last is the word उपनिषत्.
उपनिषत् शब्दाथम ः –
I have given different meanings to the word उपनिषत्
but the essential meaning is ‘the destroyer of संसार’ or
sorrow, संसार िाशकः. This meaning is derived from the
word उपनिषत.् I have given you different meaning for उप, नि,
सत् etc. One more meaning I will give, even by different
आिािम s. Ok, even though the word is one they derive in
different ways. This is in the form of a श्लोक itself. Why it is
called उपनिषत्? There is a beautiful श्लोका revealing the
meaning of the word उपनिषत.्
उपिीिेर्र्ात्र्ािर्् ब्रह्मापास्तद्विर्् पुिः ।
4
निहन्त्िनवद्यार्् तज्जर्् ि तस्र्ात् उपनिषन्र्ता ॥
उपिीिेर्र्ात्र्ािर्् – so the first part of the word is उपनि.
उिहन means that which takes near to. उिहन means taking
near. That is why it is called उपिििर््. Whenever they give
the sacred thread that is called उिनयन कर्म . Why it is called
उिनयनर््? Because this ब्रह्मिारर, the student is taken near.
Near to whom? गुरु उि नयनर्् is उिनयनर््. So really the
meaning of sacred thread ceremony is once that ceremony is
performed the ब्रह्मिारर should leave the home and he has to
go to the गुरु in गुरुकुल. Only then it can be called
उिनयनर््. So what I want to say is the word उिहन means
taking near. So उपनिषत् also does the same job it seems.
उिनीय. Who is taken to whom? Taking near means there
must be somebody who is taken near and to somebody it must
be. In the case of उिनयन ceremony ब्रह्मिारर is taken. And
near whom? The गुरु. But here the उपनिषत् takes the
जीवात्र्ा – इर्र्् आत्र्ािर्् – उिनीयेर्र्् आत्र्ानर््. So the
उिहनषत् takes the जीवात्र्ा, the संसारी आत्र्ा, the miserable
student. So इर्र्् जीवात्र्ािर्् उपनिि. To whom? ब्रह्म
अपास्त-द्विर्् पुिः – the जीवात्र्ा is taken to ब्रह्म , परर्ात्र्ा.
What type of ब्रह्मि् it is? अपास्तद्विर्् – which is free from all
dualities, which is पण ू म र््, अद्विर््, अिन्तर््, निनवम शेषर््,
निनवम कल्पर््. So, अपास्त-द्विर्् means अद्वैतर्् इत्िथम ः.
अपास्तर्् means free from, द्विर्् means duality. So this
उपनिषत् takes the जीवात्र्ा near the परर्ात्र्ा, परम्ब्ब्रह्म. This
is the meaning of the portion उपनि.
5
Then what is next part? सत् is there in उपनिषत्. That
meaning is given in the next line निहनन्त अनवद्यार्् तज्जर्् ि.
By way of uniting the जीवात्र्ा and परर्ात्र्ा what does the
उपनिषत् do? निहनन्त – destroys. Destroys what? अनवद्यार्् –
ignorance. So it destroys the ignorance which created a
division between जीवात्र्ा and परर्ात्र्ा. So by way of
pointing out the unity between जीव and ब्रह्मि्, the identity
between जीव and ब्रह्मि्, the उपनिषत् destroys the ignorance.
What type of ignorance? Ignorance which divides जीव and
ब्रह्मि्. Does it destroy only ignorance? No, not only that,
तज्जर्् ि – anything that is born out of ignorance also is
destroyed. तज्जर्् means अनवद्या जर््. So, अनवद्यािाः ित् जातर््
तत् सवम र्् अनप अवसादिनत निहनन्त िाशिनत. In fact, that is
more important. What is it that is born out of अनवद्या? All
problems, generally known as संसार, are born out of अनवद्या.
Therefore, तज्जर्् means संसारर््. So it destroys ignorance
and ignorance born संसार also. Because अहङ्कार is born out
of ignorance, कतम त्त वभोक्ततत्व is born out of ignorance, कर्म is
born out of ignorance and कर्म फलर्् in the form of पुण्ि-पाप is
born out of ignorance and because of कर्म फलर््, सि ु -दुःिर््
is born out of ignorance and because of that again पुिरनप
जििर्् पुिरनप र्रणर्् is born of ignorance. So ignorance
creates अहङ्कार, कतम त्त व, कार्, कर्म , पुण्ि-पाप, पुिजम न्र् and
सि ु -दुःि. This group of seven is called संसार. The root of all
them is अनवद्या. And the उपनिषत् destroys अनवद्या and also the
seven-fold संसार born out of this अनवद्या. So, तस्र्ात् उपनिषत्
6
र्ताः. Therefore, since it is the destroyer of संसार therefore, it
is called उपनिषत्. So according to the derivation the final
meaning of उपनिषत् is उपनि means that which unites
जीवात्र्ा and परर्ात्र्ा, सद् means that which destroys संसार.
Therefore, the final meaning is ‘that which unites जीवात्र्ा
and परर्ात्र्ा and thus destroys the संसार’ is called उपनिषत्.
But here also a beautiful subtle point is worth noting. That the
word उपनिषत् itself or वेदान्त for that matter, will take
उपनिषत् itself is used in two different meanings
i) The very text itself – the words and sentences themselves
is called उपनिषत्. The वेदान्त वाक्िानि also is called
उपनिषत.् So whenever you read उपनिषत्, what do you
read? The वेदान्त वाक्िानि you read.
ii) By the analysis of the वाक्िर््. वाक्िर्् is the one which
you read, which you hear, which you do नविार, र्ीर्ांसा,
and after the analysis of the वेदान्त वाक्यर््, a knowledge
is born in the mind which is not a visible knowledge,
which is not an audible one, this knowledge born out of the
enquiry is also called उपनिषत्.
So उपनिषत् means the very वाक्िर्् like
ब्रह्मा देवानां प्रथर्ः संबभवू हवश्वस्य कताम , केनेहषतं
ितहत प्रेहषतं र्नः केन प्राणः प्रथर्ः प्रैहत युक्तः । So all those
वाक्िर््s which is शब्दात्र्कर््, which is the form of sound,
the sound also is called उपनिषत.् And out of this sound when
you understand, a knowledge comes which is वत्त्त िात्र्कर््,
7
अन्तःकरण वत्त्त िात्र्कर्् that is also called उपनिषत्. In fact
when a person reads उपनिषत,् suppose without enquiring into
the meaning, for him उपनिषत् is mere sound alone. So
without any study of the उपनिषत् you go and listen to various
उपनिषत् chantings. Suppose somebody's chants बहत दारण्िक
उपनिषत् and when you listen to that there you can only hear
to the sound but you do not get the अथम . So one is sound or
शब्द and another one is अथम . शब्द is प्रर्ाणर्् and अथम is प्रर्ा.
Isn't it? शब्द is प्रर्ाणर््, it is a means and अथम is the प्रर्ा, the
knowledge, the end. When you say the word उपनिषत् it refers
to what is the question. We say it refers to both.
So the word उपनिषत् connotes the शब्द also, the
वाक्िर्् also which is प्रर्ाणरूिर्् and whenever we enquire,
we are enquiring into उपनिषत्, the वाक्ि प्रर्ाणर्् alone and
out of the enquiry when we get the knowledge that knowledge
is also called उपनिषत्. So we study उपनिषत् for उपनिषत्.
We study उपनिषत् वाक्िर्् to get उपनिषत् वाक्ि अथम .
Now if both the meanings are there, उपनिषत् means
the sound, the र्न्त्र also and the र्न्त्र अथम also. Then the
question comes, which is primary meaning and which is
secondary meaning? If two meanings are there then only one
should be main, you cannot have more than one main
meaning. Therefore, which meaning is the primary meaning of
the world उपनिषत?् Does it refer to the knowledge or does it
refer to the sound or the words? Which is the primary meaning
of the word उपनिषत्? Is it the तत्त्वर्नस word that is the
8
primary meaning of the word उपनिषत्? Or is it the knowledge
born out of the तत्त्वर्नस which is the primary meaning?
Knowledge or word? So we conclude the knowledge alone is
the primary meaning of the word उपनिषत्. The text
प्रश्नोपनिषत् is really not उपनिषत्, but out of the study of the
text if we get a knowledge, that knowledge is called उपनिषत्.
The text तैनिरीि itself is not उपनिषत्, that is only secondary
meaning. Out of the study of तैनिरीिोपनिषत् what knowledge
happens in the mind that is called the primary meaning of the
उपनिषत्. Why? Why do you say that is the primary meaning?
Why can't you say the text is the primary meaning?
Knowledge is by extension it is. So we say the knowledge is
the primary meaning of the word उपनिषत् because of the
following reasons. As we have said उपनिषत् is the destroyer
of संसार. Now tell me does the वेदान्त वाक्िर्् destroys
संसार, the words and sentences remove the संसार or
understanding of the words and sentences remove the संसार?
Which removes संसार? In fact, if words can remove the
संसार, we need not attain the class. Because you know if you
know the script you can actually go through the entire
उपनिषत् and read it and even get it by heart also and you can
daily chant all the 10 उिहनषत्s five times even. If the
उपनिषद् शब्द रानशः, the उपनिषत् वाक्िर््s can liberate, then
anybody can get liberation by वाक्ि आवनत िः. Therefore,
उपनिषद् वाक्िर्् cannot destroy संसार. Therefore, it cannot be
really called उपनिषत्. Secondarily it can be called उिहनषत्.
9
But the primary meaning of the word उपनिषत् is by the
analysis of the वेदान्त वाक्िानि what knowledge comes like
अहर्् ब्रह्म अनस्र्, I have no limitations, I have no wants, I have
no problems, ि बन््ुः ि नर्त्रर्् गुरुिै व नशष्िः, ि र्े द्वेषरागौ ि
र्े लोभर्ोहौ, when that wisdom comes, that wisdom is the
primary meaning of the word उपनिषत्. So we are studying
प्रश्नोपनिषत्. Here उपनिषत् is secondary meaning for getting
ब्रह्मनवद्या knowledge which is the primary meaning of the
word उपनिषत.् Ok this is the general understanding of the
word उपनिषत.्
And as we had seen before several उपनिषत्s are there
belonging to four वेदs out of which many उपनिषत्s are
popular because of शङ्करािािम ’s commentary is there and
among those ten उपनिषत्s commented by शङ्करािािम ,
प्रश्नोपनिषत् also happens to be one of the ten. So as the
popular श्लोक goes
ईशकेनकठप्रश्नर्ुण्डर्ाण्डूक्यहतहिरीः ।
ऐतरे यञ्ि छान्दोग्यं बिृ दारण्यकं तथा ॥
So in that list प्रश्नोपनिषत् also has been beautifully
commented by शङ्करािािम . Therefore, we can study it
elaborately.
प्रश्नोपनिषत् belongs to अथवम णवेद. We have seen two
other उपनिषतs् belonging to अथवम णवेद. Do you remember?
One is र्ुण्डक and another is र्ाण्डूक्ि. And प्रश्नोपनिषत् also
is an आथवम ण उपनिषत्, an उपनिषत् belonging to अथवम णवेद.
10
And this प्रश्नोपनिषत् is known as a commentary upon
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. It is nothing but an elucidation, throwing
some more light upon the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. So generally, there
are certain उपनिषत्s where one उपनिषत् will be commented
upon by another उपनिषत्. Now therefore, र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् is
called र्न्त्रोपनिषत् and प्रश्नोपनिषत् is called ब्राह्मणोपनिषत्.
Why do we call so? Because in the वेद itself, generally they
divide it into two portions र्न्त्र-भागः and ब्राह्मण-भागः.
Generally, the ब्राह्मण-भागः will be elaborating, commenting
upon the र्न्त्र-भागः. In fact the definition of the वेद itself,
they say, र्न्त्रब्राह्मणिोः सर्हू ः वेदः – वेद is a mixture of र्न्त्र
and ब्राह्मण; र्न्त्र meaning the summarized portion of the वेद
and ब्राह्मण means the elaborated portion of the वेद. And this
relationship is there between र्ुण्डक and प्रश्न. र्ुण्डक is र्न्र
portion and प्रश्न is ब्राह्मण. Therefore, many of the topics are
nothing but the elaboration of the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् portion
alone. For example, in the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् two नवद्याs were
introduced, if you remember.
द्वे हवद्ये वेहदतव्ये इहत ि स्र्
यद्ब्रह्महवदो वदहन्त िरा िैवािरा ि ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-४ ॥
तरािरा ऋग्वेदो यजुवेदः ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-५ ॥
So अपरानवद्या was talked about and अपरानवद्या consist of (now
you know why I said I require students who have heard the
उपनिषत्s before. So other students might not remember. Why
remember, they have not learnt therefore, no question of
remembering.) In अिराहवद्या, they talked about कर्म and
11
उपासिा where mentioned briefly and here, in the
प्रश्नोपनिषत्, that कर्म and उपासिा portions will be dealt with
a little more elaborately, detailedly.
When the respective portions come I will point out
which belongs to which portion of the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् etc.
And in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् we saw two गनतs were pointed out
कतष्ण गनतः and शुक्ल गनतः, these two गनतs are clearly
discussed in the प्रश्नोपनिषत्. What is कतष्ण गनतः, who goes
through कतष्ण गनतः, what is शुक्ल गनतः, and who goes
through शुक्ल गनतः, so these details are given which we can
call as an elaboration of अपरानवद्या. That is one topic. I will
just give you the gist of topics. And the उपासिा portion also
was hinted in the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् but elaborately was not
dealt.
तिःश्रद्धे ये ह्युिवसन्त्यरण्ये
शान्ता हवद्वांसो भैक्ष्यियाां िरन्तः ।
ू म द्वारे ण ते हवरजाः प्रयाहन्त
सय
यरार्त ृ ः स िुरुषो ह्यव्ययात्र्ा ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-११ ॥
So this is just before िरीक्ष्य लोकान्, you can easily
remember. So just before िरीक्ष्य लोकान् one र्न्त्र is devoted
to उपासिा. But we find in प्रश्नोपनिषत् two full chapters are
devoted to प्राणोपासिा. प्राण or नहरण्िगभम उपासिा is
discussed in the second and third chapters. So first chapter we
get कतष्ण गनतः and शुक्ल गनतः topic and the second and third
chapters the उपासिा is elaborated, especially प्राणोपासिा or
नहरण्िगभम उपासिा. So this also comes under which नवद्या -
12
अपरा or परा? उपासिा also comes under अपरानवद्या remember.
Then from the fourth chapter onwards the ब्रह्मनवद्या is given
through सुषुनि discussion which refers to परानवद्या. परानवद्या is
discussed in 4th the chapter as well as in the 6th chapter, in fact,
that alone is the most popular one. In the 4th the discussion is
through सुषुहि and in the 6th we get the discussion in the form
of the षोडशकलापुरुषः, which is a well-known expression for
परम्ब्ब्रह्म. परम्ब्ब्रह्म is named as षोडशकलापुरुषः. In fact, they
say whenever they do आशीवाम दर्् they say that आशीवाम दर््
indicates षोडशकलापुरुषो भव. So may you become पण ू म पुरुषः,
षोडशकलापुरुषः may you become. That is the आशीवाम दर््.
People think that it is something else.
In the 5th chapter, ॐकार उपासिा is dealt with, which
was also hinted in र्ुण्डक as
प्रणवो धनुः शारो ह्यात्र्ा ब्रह्म तल्लक्ष्यर्ुच्यते ।
अप्रर्िेन वेद्धव्यं शरवत् तन्र्यो भवेत् ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-२-४
॥
धनुगम िृ ीत्वौिहनषदं र्िास्त्रं
शरं ह्युिासा हनहशतं सन्धयीत । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-२-३ ॥
Thus the ॐकार उपासिा was given in two र्न्त्रs in
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् but that has been put in one whole section.
Thus we find शुक्ल, कतष्ण गनतः discussed in the first
chapter, in the second and third प्राण उपासिा is discussed, in
fourth परानवद्या through the सष
ु ुनि, in the fifth ॐकार उपासिा
and in the sixth षोडशकलापुरुषः. This is the pattern of
13
प्रश्नोपनिषत्. So that you know what are you looking for. So
at least for the first three chapters वेदान्त will not come
because शुक्ल गनतः and कृष्ण गनतः and all those things. Now
the next question is then why do you call it प्रश्नोपनिषत्. Why
this name came? In र्लिाळर्् प्रश्न means trouble. प्रश्नः
means question. Here each chapter is introduced with a
question and each topic is given as an answer to that question.
Unlike र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. In र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् the student asks
one question only. All the topics are discussed as an answer to
that one question. Do you remember what is the question in
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्?
कहस्र्न्नु भगवो हवज्ञाते सवम हर्दं हवज्ञातं भवतीहत ॥
र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-३ ॥
Only one question and all topics are given as an answer to that
single question. But in this उपनिषत् each chapter contains a
topic and each of this topic is introduced as an answer to a
question. Thus each chapter begins with a question. And
therefore six chapters are introduced through six questions.
So, full of questions. Therefore, प्रश्नोपनिषत्. And not only
that we have so many questions - six questions and that too
not asked by one नशष्ि. There are six नशष्िs are there, six
हशष्यs put six questions and all these are answered in six
different chapters and therefore it is प्रश्नोिररूपेण प्रनतपानदता
िा उिहनषत् प्रश्नोपनिषत.् That which is revealed through
प्रश्नोिर form. But the teacher is one only. You should not
think six students, six questions, therefore six teachers. No.
14
The teacher is one only. So this is the background of the
प्रश्नोपनिषत् name also.
शानन्तपाठः
ॐ भद्रं कणेनभः शण
त ुिार् देवाः भद्रं पश्िेर्ाक्षनभिम जत्राः ।
नस्थरै रङ्गैस्तुष्टुवााँसस्तिनू भर्विम शेर् देवनहतं िदािुः ॥
स्वनस्त ि इन्द्रो वद्ध
त श्रवाः स्वनस्त िः पषू ा नवश्ववेदाः ।
स्वनस्त िस्तार्क्ष्िो अररष्टिेनर्ः स्वनस्त िो बहत स्पनतदम ्ातु ॥
ॐ शानन्तः शानन्तः शानन्तः ॥
And like any other उपनिषत् this also begins with a
शानन्तपाठ and here we need not see the शानन्तपाठ because
this is आथवम ण शाहन्तिाठ, भद्रं कणेहभः शण ृ ुयार् देवाः, whose
meaning we have already seen. But the essence of शानन्तपाठ
is what? My स्थल ू सक्ष्ू र्शरीरर््, my physical and subtle body
must function in a fitting manner so that I can absorb the
teaching. That is the essence of शानन्तपाठ. So, र्र्
स्थलू सक्ष्ू र्शरीरर्् हवद्याप्राहि योग्यतार्् आप्नोतु. Let my
physical and subtle body gain the fitness योग्यता, िारत्वर्् to
receive the wisdom. Because as we generally know that even
if the content is very good maybe milk but if the container is
not properly cleaned the milk may not be available as milk, it
will get in modified form. That is what happens. The अद्वैत
wisdom also when it doesn't come to a proper अन्तःकरण by
the time the student understands it ends up in द्वैत wisdom or
some other thing. So similarly, the best seed also if it is not
15
sown in a properly prepared land even the best seed will fail.
So here also even if the वेदान्त itself is the best seed it cannot
sprout forth into र्ोक्षफलर््, र्ोक्ष fruit might not come if I
don't have the preparedness. And therefore through this prayer
the preparedness, िोग्िता is asked for. This is the शानन्तपाठ.
After the शानन्तपाठ the actual text is going to begin and I
don't want to go into शानन्तपाठ details. We will now go to the
text proper.
16
प्रश्न उपनिषत् प्रथर्ः प्रश्नः
प्रथर्ः प्रश्नः
Verse No. 1.1
सक ु े शा ि भारद्वाजः शैब्यश्च सत्यकार्ः सौयाम यणी ि गाग्यम ः
कौसल्यश्चाश्वलायनो भागम वो वैदहभम ः कबन्धी कात्यायनस्ते िैते
ब्रह्मिरा ब्रह्महनष्ाः िरं ब्रह्मान्वेषर्ाणा एष ि वै तत्सवां वक्ष्यतीहत
ते ि सहर्त्िाणयो भगवन्तं हिप्िलादर्ुिसन्नाः ॥ १ ॥
The first two र्न्त्रs happens to be introduction by way
of bringing the teacher and student together. Because we have
seen in any ब्रह्मनवद्या teaching, the teaching has never begun
directly and immediately, always some initial portion is
devoted to in bringing the student and teacher together. In the
भगवद्गीता also, in the entire first chapter there was no
teaching, it was bringing अजम ुि and कतष्ण together in a
student-teacher relationship. Because अजम ुि and कतष्ण were
together before also but they were together as
सखेहत र्त्वा प्रसभं यदुक्तं ॥ गीता ११-४१ ॥
सखायौ न तु गुरु हशष्यौ. So that way they have to be brought
and this will be done in various methods. It can be in the form
of a story as we get in भगवद्गीता or we get in कठोपनिषत्,
very elaborate story about how father performed िज्ञ and he
cursed the son and went to िर््र्म राज all are story meant for
bringing the teacher and the student. similarly, here also it is
given in the form of a story like or a previous incident and the
purpose is to bring the student and the teacher together. And
through this method so many things are conveyed that we
17
should remember. One thing is that उपनिषत् should be
studied always from a teacher. So that is one main idea.
तत् हवज्ञानाथम र्् सः गुरुर्् एव अहभगच्छे त् । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत्
१-२-१२ ॥
Whether the translation is available, whether the
commentaries are available that is all immaterial. गुरुर्ुखतः
श्रवणादेव वेदान्तज्ञानर्् प्रािव्यर््. That is one thing.
Then the second thing is the सम्प्प्रदाय is highlighted.
No गुरु is great by himself. He is now गुरु because he was
नशष्ि full stop. Nobody is great, no आिािम plays a unique role
because people always in our tradition the greatness of an
आिािम is not in fresh contribution but only in the retention of
the tradition. In all other branches of science the greatness of a
person is in fresh contribution. That scientist is great if he has
given something which other people have not given. If you tell
something new then you are great. But in our tradition, if any
of the आिािम has said something other than the tradition he is
disqualified. This is a very important difference between all
other field of knowledge and ब्रह्मनवद्या. In all other field of
knowledge new methodology, new teaching is a plus point but
in spiritual field new methodology, new method of teaching is
a minus point. That is why when some people try to say that
रार्कतष्ण परर्हंस, रर्ण र्हनषम have paved a new path, when
they say that they forget that it is not the glorification of those
people, they become disqualified from the tradition. If you
have to include them in the tradition only way is we should
18
say that they have not contributed anything new, they have
been only one of the links in the perpetuation of the tradition.
Similarly, शङ्करािािम is great not because he said something
other than र्विास but he said what र्विास himself said but in an
elaborate or in a different manner. So no new topic, no new
method also, अध्यारोि-अिवादाभ्यार्् हनष्प्रिञ्िर्् प्रिञ्च्यते ।
that is the only method. And the teaching also is only one -
you are ब्रह्मि्. After sometime you are ब्रह्मि् teaching will not
change. And therefore सम्ब्प्रदाि, the glory of the सम्ब्प्रदाि is
hinted, the necessity of the teacher is hinted and sometime
indirectly the qualifications necessary also will be hinted. As
we saw in कठोपनिषत् we find how िनिकेतस् has got नववेक,
how िनिकेतस् has got वैराग्िर्् etc., was indicated through
the story. िनिकेतस् said I don't want anything.
श्वोभावा र्त्यम स्य यदन्तकैतत्
सवेंहद्रयाणां जरयंहत तेजः । ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-१-२६ ॥
So thus through the story the वैराग्िर्् is hinted. And in गीता
also first chapter he said
राज्यं सुराणार्हि िाहधित्यर्् ॥ गीता २-८ ॥
I don't want he said. So there also it is hinted that अजम ुि is not
interested in victory or kingdom or anything. वैराग्िर्् is
hinted. In र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्
शौनको ि वै र्िाशालोऽङ्हगरसं हवहधवदुिसन्नः िप्रच्छ । ॥
19
र्िाशालः it was said, indicating his qualification. So thus
through the story qualifications will be highlighted both गुरुs
and हशष्यs, through the story the glory of the tradition will be
hinted and through the story the necessity of a teacher will be
hinted. Here also the two श्लोकs are going to point out all
these things.
And here we find six students are introduced in the first
र्न्त्र. Six students twelve names are there. Each student has
two-two names, because we know everyone has got two
names. So therefore, we have to take each pair as one-one
student. So, सक ु े शा भारद्वाजः together is one name, शैब्यः or
सत्यकार्ः is the second student, सौयाम यणी or गाग्यम ः is the
third student, कौसल्यः or आश्वलायनः is the 4th student,
भगम वः or वैदहभम ः is the fifth student, कबन्धी or कात्यायनः is
the sixth student. And two-two names are given, one is the
original name and the other is to show his परम्ब्परा. Like here
also they add one name to the right hand side or to the left
hand side. One will be the father’s or grandfather’s name or
the गोत्र name is given to indicate that this person belongs to a
nobel family. Why do we talk about parents? Because the
purpose is once the parentage is known then we can easily
guess what type of the child he will be. That is why invariably
they used to ask who are the parents, who are the grandparents
etc. And here those names are also given to show that they are
all great people belonging to great families indicating they
have had proper the संस्कारs. Because remember before
20
coming to वेदान्त, a person goes through संस्कारs. First
listening to वेद श्रवण itself is a wonderful संस्कार. We get
faith in the वेदs and उपिििर्् and each one of them certain
संस्कार is done to create a श्रद्धा in the वेद. And if it is not
there, he will look up on वेद also as one of the textbook
written by one of the authors at some time in the history.
Therefore, the संस्कारs are all there to create श्रद्धा in the वेद.
So if the parentage is beautiful he would have created श्रद्धा
towards सन्न्िानसs, otherwise just by seeing them only one
gets angry. So, श्रद्धा towards ब्राह्मणs. Respect to ब्राह्मण is
respect to वेद. So a respect to a सन्न्िानस is respect to वेदान्त.
All these things have to be created in the beginning itself and
ु े शा is
that is all there in these people that is hinted here. So सक
the name, भारद्वाजः refers to his गोत्र. भरद्वाजस्य अित्यं
भारद्वाजः – a great भरद्वाज’s son he is. And similarly,
सत्यकार्ः is the name, शैब्यः is the son of हशहब हशबेरित्यं
शैब्यः. So हशहब must have been a famous person, famous ऋनष.
Here it is not the emperor. Thus famous ऋनष’s son. And the
very word सत्यकार्ः shows what is his only aim in life. सत्ि
alone he wants. And similarly, सौयाम यणी is the name, गाग्यम ः
refers to the गोत्र, गगम गोरोत्िन्नः. गगम ऋहष is a famous ऋनष,
in that family he comes. Then कौसल्य is the name,
आश्वलायनः refers to that गोत्र. अश्वलस्याित्यर्ाश्वलायनः. He
is the son of a great ऋनष. भागम वः वैदहभम ः. भागम वः again refers
to भग ृ ुगोरोत्िन्नः, भग ृ ु ऋहष’s family he belongs to. And
वैदहभम ः is his name. And कबन्धी is another name, कात्यायनः
21
refers to his parentage. कत्यस्याित्यं िुर्ान् कात्यायनः. So
कत्य also must have been a famous ऋनष of those days. Thus
all these people are basically आहस्तकs, have faith in the वेदs,
they have been properly brought up and therefore they have
the necessary qualifications. And the उपनिषत् itself
particularly adds, not only they have wonderful संस्कारs from
the parentage itself, they themselves where doing a lot of
सा्िा. That is said in the next portion. एते ब्रह्मिराः
ब्रह्महनष्ाः. So if the students themselves are ब्रह्महनष्ाः then
why should they come at all? ब्रह्महनष्ाः means र्ुक्तः. So
therefore, शङ्करािािम comes here. ब्रह्म should be understood
as सगुण ब्रह्मिराः सगुण ब्रह्महनष्ाः. They want to know
निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म but now they are established in सगुणर्् ब्रह्म.
They are coming for higher study. That is said here. The exact
meaning and other details we will see in the next class.
ॐ िण ू म र्दः िण
ू म हर्दर्् िण ू म र्ुदच्यते । िण
ू ाम त्िण ू म स्य िण
ू म र्ादाय
ू म र्ेवावहशष्यते ॥ ॐ शाहन्तः शाहन्तः शाहन्तः ॥ िररः ॐ.
िण
22
र्न्र. 1.1 - 1.4
The उपनिषत् begins by introducing the गुरु and नशष्ि
to point out the importance of the गुरु, to point out that the
tradition has been beginningless. This particular introduction
is given as in other उपनिषतs् . The names of six students have
been enumerated in the beginning and these people are said to
be qualified students. And by mentioning the qualifications of
the students here the उपनिषत् is indirectly teaching the
qualifications necessary for all students. What type of students
they were? We were seeing in the last class, ते ि एते ब्रह्मिराः.
And here the meaning of the word ब्रह्म is अपरर्् ब्रह्म or सगुण
ब्रह्म. So सगुण ब्रह्मिराः they were all committed to the
उपासिा of सगुण ब्रह्म. सगुण ब्रह्म in any form, in the form of
an इष्टदेवता or in the form of the नवराट itself or even in the
form of नहरण्िगभम or in the form of ॐकार they were all
committed to सगुण ब्रह्म उपासिा. And that means they are
already gone through कर्म काण्ड and they had acquired
नििशुनद्ध, the purification of the mind and they have gone
through उपासिाकाण्ड and they have got a निििैश्चल्िर्् also.
In short, they are सा्िा ितुष्टि सम्ब्पन्ि अन्काररणः. That is
indicated by the word ते ब्रह्मिराः. And not only they were
उपासकs, it is not that they have been doing उपासिा for a
23
short while, they have been ब्रह्महनष्ाः, they are established in
सगुणर्् ब्रह्म. Here also ब्रह्म means सगण ु र्् ब्रह्म. अिरं
ब्रह्महनष्ाः सगुण ब्रह्महनष्ाः which कतष्ण points out in the
गीता as अव्यहभिाररणी भहक्तः, अनन्ययोगेन भहक्तः etc. It
means they had been practicing उपासिा for sufficiently long
time and therefore they are हनष्ाः. This is according to
शङ्करािािम ’s commentary. But another commentator takes
the word ब्रह्म as वेद itself. So he says ब्रह्मपराः means वेदपराः
they are committed to the study of वेद, the scriptures and also
ब्रह्महनष्ाः, वेदेहनष्ाः. So that means they are वैनदक र्ागम पराः,
वेद र्ागम is not new to them, they have been following a Vedic
way of life, which indicates that they have got sufficient श्रद्धा
भनक्त etc., in the वेदs. So this is a plus point. When a person
directly studies the वेदान्त what happens is he is learning the
वेदs directly in the form of वेदान्त. Therefore, the initial part
of the study is wasted because it takes some time to develop
श्रद्धा itself in the वेद. Initially, I approach the वेद only in the
form of a book, I don't have श्रद्धा, reverence in the वेद.
Therefore, initially when I study वेदान्त I find that I don't have
faith in the statement. But if a person has followed कर्म काण्ड
of the वेदs and later उपासिाकाण्ड of the वेदs already has
developed श्रद्धा in the वेदs, therefore when he comes to the
वेदान्त portion he need not separately spend time to develop
श्रद्धा. And here also the student have already gone through
कर्म काण्ड and उपासिाकाण्ड therefore, they know what
attitude they should have towards the वेद. आनस्तक्ि बुनद्धः is
24
strong enough. That is also indicated by the second
interpretation वेदिराः, वेदेहनष्ाः. Ok. What is the purpose of
their visit to the teacher? That is clearly said िरं ब्रह्म
अन्वेषर्ाणाः – they were all uniformly seeking परम्ब्ब्रह्म. That
means what? They have understood that by अपर ब्रह्म उपासिा
by सगुणर्् ब्रह्म उपासिा र्ोक्ष is not possible they have
understood. The limitation of सगुणर्् ब्रह्म उपासिा they had
understood, that is why they came to परम्ब्ब्रह्म or निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म.
If by कर्म काण्ड and सगुण ब्रह्म उपासिा themselves if they
had attained र्ोक्ष, if they had attained what they wanted there
afterwards they would not have travelled further. The very fact
that they are coming to परम्ब्ब्रह्म shows they have not been
satisfied by अपरर्् ब्रह्म. When do you go to another shop? If
in the first shop itself you have got a satisfactory material
there you are going to purchase and go back home. In the hot
summer months who will travel from place to place. If I leave
one shop and go to another shop it shows the first shop has not
been able to satisfy me. Similarly, कर्म काण्ड has not been able
to satisfy them even सगुण ब्रह्म, उपासिाकाण्ड has not been
able to satisfy them, therefore, िरं ब्रह्म अन्वेषर्ाणाः.
िरीक्ष्य लोकान् कर्म हितान् ब्रह्मणो हनवेदर्ायान्नास्त्यकृतः
कृतेन । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१२ ॥
तस्र्ात् ब्रह्म हवज्ञानाथम र््. Because they had heard in
तैनिरीिोपनिषत्
ब्रह्महवदाप्नोहत िरर्् । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-१-१ ॥
25
Only by परम्ब्ब्रह्मज्ञान one can attain the infinite, the absolute
they had understood. Therefore, ब्रह्म हजज्ञासवः सन्तः. After
अथातो धर्म हजज्ञासा is over, now they are coming to अथातो
ब्रह्महजज्ञासा. Therefore, ब्रह्म हजज्ञासवः सन्तः. And अन्वेषणर््
means seeking, searching. And why did they come to
हिप्िलाद? हिप्िलाद is going to be the teacher here. भगवन्तर््
हिप्िलादर्् उिसन्नाः. That comes later you see. हिप्िलाद is
the name of the teacher perhaps he must be living on हिप्िला
fruits. हिप्िलर्् अहस्त इहत हिप्िलादः. That might be the
reason, whatever it is. हिप्िलादर्् उिसन्नाः – they
approached. They did not call him to them but they went there
तहद्वज्ञानाथां स गुरुर्ेवाहभगच्छे त् ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१२ ॥
न गुरुर्् आह्वयेत.् And we should make sure that हिप्िलाद is
qualified to give them the teaching because when we read the
qualification of the student themselves they seem to be such a
great one, because ब्रह्मपराः ब्रह्मनिष्ाः etc. So if students
themselves are such a great ones that teacher must be
definitely greater and therefore the उपनिषत् gives a beautiful
adjective. What type of हिप्िलादः? भगवन्तर्् हिप्िलादर्् – he
is not an ordinary person भगवाि् हिप्िलादः. भगवाि् means
what? सवम ज्ञः, सवम शनक्तर्ाि् I have talked about the भग as the
sixfold wealth etc., and भगवाि means the one who possesses
the sixfold wealth. In fact, the one who possesses all wealth. I
don't want to go to those details, you can recollect. And that
means here the गुरु has got all the knowledge of the शास्त्रs
and not only he is सवम ज्ञः, knowledgeable, he is सवम शनक्तर्ाि्
26
because communication power must be there, remember
always. Mere knowledge will not be sufficient a teacher is one
who knows and who has the सार्र्थयम , who has the नैिुण्यर््,
who has the पटुत्वर्् for communication. So knowledge
without communication is useless, communication without
knowledge is dangerous because wrong communication will
be done, that is more dangerous. And therefore teacher must
possess the power of knowledge and the power of
communication. Both are there in नपप्पलाद in abundant
measure, therefore he is called भगवाि् नपप्पलाद. That is why
these six students choose the right person. Therefore
भगवन्तर्् हिप्िलादर्् उिसन्नाः. How did they approach?
उपसदि नवन् has to be mentioned. How a Vedantic teacher
must be approached has been already indicated in भगवद्गीता
and in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. In भगवद्गीता,
तहद्वहद्ध प्रहणिातेन िररप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उिदेक्ष्यहन्त ते ज्ञानं ज्ञाहननस्तत्त्वदहशम नः ॥ गीता ४-३४ ॥
Go with humility, go with reverence, go and prostrate and ask
question with humility and serve the teacher. And remember
when we say serving the teacher it is not serving the teacher as
a person, there teacher represents शास्त्रर््. Therefore, it is all
to develop reverence in the शास्त्रर्् alone. Teacher as a person
is as perishable as any other person. When we serve the
teacher remember we are serving the teaching, the शास्त्रर््. So
शानस्त्र पज
ू ा is as good as शास्त्र पज
ू ा. That is said in भगवद्गीता.
And in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् what is said?
27
तहद्वज्ञानाथां स गुरुर्ेवाहभगच्छे त् सहर्त्िाहणः श्रोहरयं
ब्रह्महनष्र्् ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१२ ॥
He should approach with some offering. And सनर्त् is the fuel
which may be necessary for the आश्रर्र्् and सनर्त् represents
any offering, need not necessarily be सनर्त् itself, उपहार
पानणः इत्िथम ः. उििारर्् means what? Some offerings - it can
be fruits or it can be fuel, it can be anything. And therefore,
here also the students how did they approach? सहर्त्िाणयः
उिसन्नाः – with some offerings they approached. Therefore,
they were not approaching him as a person but they were
approaching him as though approaching the Lord in the
temple.
ररक्तिाहणनम गच्छे त् राजानं देवतर्् गुरुर््
To these three places one should not go with empty hand.
ररक्तिाहणः means empty hand. So with empty hand one should
not go to three places. राजानर्् – the king, देवतर्् – the Lord,
गुरुर्् – the गुरु, the आिािम . Anyway सहर्त्िाणयः उिसन्नाः.
And with what motive they went? With the hope that एष ि वै
तत्सवां वक्ष्यहत – that एषः नपप्पलादः ,this हिप्िलाद will be able
to teach us everything. This is within inverted commas. This is
the thinking of the six disciples. So thinking that “this भगवाि
नपप्पलाद will not disappoint us, he will be able to answer all
questions” with this hope they approached नपप्पलाद with
proper attitude. Therefore, indirectly the उपसदि नवन् also
has been taught - how to approach the teacher. Thus
28
qualifications mentioned and methodology of approach
mentioned, all these are indicated. Ok. Continuing;
Verse No. 1.2
तान्ि स ऋहषरुवाि भय ू एव तिसा ब्रह्मियेण श्रद्धया संवत्सरं
संवत्स्यथ यथाकार्ं प्रश्नान्िच्ृ छत यहद हवज्ञास्यार्ः सवां ि वो
वक्ष्यार् इहत ॥ २ ॥
So you have to imagine that these six students went, reached
नपप्पलाद and they must have all done साष्टाङ्ग प्रणार् and
they must be waiting there and looking at the face and the
approach itself नपप्पलाद must have understood that they are
all seekers of knowledge. By seeing itself one can understand.
You can always see. And what नपप्पलाद do? He says all of
you stay in the आश्रर् for one year. So this is the essence of
this र्न्त्र. All of you stay for one year and after one year you
will be allowed to ask question. And even then I won't
guarantee that I will answer them, if I know I will answer.
Imagine nowadays when everybody comes with a watch and
with a limited time. So in those days how it was, he asked
them to stay for some time and said after some time alone I
will teach. Often you will find in our scriptures and all it is
mentioned. Teacher always hesitated to give the knowledge
to the students. The reason was manifold.
The first thing is the teacher has to know how far
sincere the student is. If the student is very casual then if the
teacher ask him to come the next day he will not come. Many
29
people say that they have a question to ask but won't turn up.
So always to find out whether it is a serious question or not
the best method is even though the teacher might know the
answer, to find out the sincerity he will say come tomorrow
etc. Because unless the sincerity is there the teaching will not
go home and therefore the teachers used to test by making
them come again and again and not only that in the आश्रर् they
had to do manual work and all and sometimes food was not
properly given, all kinds of tests, sometimes even very tough
test were done to find out sincerity. If for him र्ोक्ष is the only
thing he will be ready to undergo any amount of difficulties
for that. So this is one purpose why the teacher always
postponed.
And the second purpose is the teacher has to know
whether the student is qualified. If to an unqualified student it
is given it might not be understood not only it might not be
understood, it may be even misunderstood which is still
worse, which कतष्ण tells in the third chapter
न बुहद्धभेदं जनयेदज्ञानां कर्म सङ्हगनार्् । ॥ गीता ३-२६ ॥
And therefore teacher wanted to know whether the student is
qualified,
And the third reason is if it all the student is lacking
certain qualifications, for some people वैराग्िर्् may be weak,
for some people वैराग्िर्् is strong बुनद्ध will be less,
intelligence is not there unfortunately वेदान्त requires a very
30
sharp intellect unlike पुराणs. For पुराणs no बुनद्ध is required.
In fact, it should not be there, because if you are very
intelligent and you read पुराणs lot of problems will come. So
for वेदान्त lot of intelligence is necessary, some people may
lack that sharpness of the बुनद्ध.
अग्र्यया बुद्ध्या ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-३-१२ ॥
it may be missing. For some people शर् may be missing, some
people श्रद्धा may be missing. So during that gap the teacher
can help the student, fill up those gaps and make him well
qualified student.
So what all benefits? So sincerity can be found out,
whether the students qualified can be found out and if
anything is missing that can be filled up.
And lastly another reason also is there. A rapport, a
proper understanding between the teacher and the student has
to be created. Only then communication takes place. When a
student attends a fresh class and when the teachers face is
totally unknown, there is no familiarity at all, initially
sometime he will not be listening to the talk at all, a few
minutes at least, at least half of the class will go to get the
rapport. And once there is some kind of familiarity, now you
forget the personality and you enter into the subject matter.
Otherwise initially that rapport is not created. Therefore,
during that one year that loving relationship is created, the
student knows that this person is like my father, even though I
31
had left home, I am missing my mother and father, this person
can be trusted and he is like my mother and father - that loving
relationship is struck and that also will be conducive for the
teaching to take place. Thus because of all these reasons,
generally what they do is they say remain here for some time
and many people in between go also. You can see. Because
in our आश्रर् it all happens, that some boy came and asked at
the end of the course can we produce नवभनू त? So he had an
idea that any Vedantic course or वेदान्त means producing
something, it is miraculous powers and हसहद्धs and he
expected to get after the study of गीता उपनिषत्s. I said ‘No’.
Next day he left. So therefore in the meantime the student
also can know what he is in for and if the student expect
something else the teacher can say you won't get those things.
What we are in for is purely wisdom and nothing else.
Thus here also नपप्पलाद is going to say the same thing.
तान् ि सः ऋहषः उवाि. ऋनषः हिप्िलादः. ऋहषः means what?
ज्ञानि, ऋषनत, जािानत इनत ऋनषः. ऋहषः does not mean bearded
person and all. So not that dress. ऋनष means ज्ञानि, ऋषहत
जानाहत इहत ऋहषः. ऋहषः तान् उवाि. तान् means what?
हशष्यान्, all those six disciples he said. What did he say?
संवत्सरं संवत्स्यथ. You should live in this आश्रर् for one
संवत्सरर््, one year. Ok, that will be very nice because many
people think that it is nice picnic, nice holiday resort, we can
happily stay. So therefore when नपप्पलाद said whether
teaching is there or not and definitely in those days आश्रर्s
32
must be all beautiful with wonderful trees and all and the river
must be flowing nearby and regular food and all must be
available, therefore it will be wonderful thing to stay. So the
teacher says ‘No’, this is not for enjoying. How should you
remain here? तिसा ब्रह्मियेण – it is not a life of comfort and
luxury but a life of तपस् and ब्रह्मििम र््. तपस् means what?
Discipline. So whatever food is available in the आश्रर् must
be taken. Thinking that pickle may not be there they will
bring to the camp. So they bring snacks and all to the आश्रर्
and what they do is give to the स्वानर्नज so that they don't
have that guilty feeling, so that they will not feel the guilt. No
when you go to आश्रर् should not take anything, intermediary
eating should not be done, whatever be the discipline,
whatever be the schedule, whatever be the food that must be
taken. That is called तपस्. And ब्रह्मियेण. ब्रह्मििम र्् also the
discipline of the student avoiding all comforts.
सखु ाथी िेत् त्यजेहद्वद्यार्् हवद्याथी िेत् त्यजेत्सुखर्् ।
सुखाहथम नः कुतो हवद्या कुतो हवद्याहथम नः सुखर्् ॥
You should not be सख ु ाथी. If you are a सुखाथी you should
not be, you cannot be हवद्याथी. Comfort and knowledge
generally don't go together. Therefore, you must be ready.
Even research people, why वेदान्त alone, even in the
scientific field research people they go from place to place in
search of manuscripts and other things and they don't eat, they
work day and night, they have to give up comfort only then
they can come up in that field. And therefore ब्रह्मियम र्् means
33
giving up all comforts; the life of a student. And तिसा
following all disciplines. And श्रद्धया. श्रद्धया means what?
Maintaining your श्रद्धा in the गुरु and शास्त्रर््. At no moment
you should doubt the motive of the teacher because the teacher
may ask the student to clean the आश्रर्र््. Then the student
can think, ‘so teacher thought that six people are available
therefore, no servants are necessary.’ So you may tend to
doubt a teacher because what is our mind, how do you judge
other people? Whatever be our mind that alone we attribute
to others also. Our mind is always business mind, therefore
we think that the teacher also like that. No, we should have
infinite श्रद्धा in the teacher, that if he ask me to do something
there must be some purpose, meaning in that. That is called
गुरु भनक्त and शास्त्र भनक्त. That is indicated by the world
श्रद्धा. That is why they tell a story that one student was staying
with a teacher and suddenly one night the teacher told the
student to get out. The student got out and he didn't know
what to do because he has renounced the home and everything
and the only shelter was this आश्रर् and he has no other place
to go and he was miserable and two three days he just slept
somewhere and he ate food whatever is available and he
thought the people are like that, I thought my गुरु will be at
least sane, he will be truly loving but I never thought my गुरु
also will be fickle minded like other people, even without
thinking at the midnight he is sending me out. He was
judging the गुरु like that and after a week or so the very same
34
गुरु send the हशष्यs to call that student and admitted back into
the आश्रर्. Then he asked why did you send me like that?
Then he said it seems you have renounced the home but you
have been slowly developing attachment with the आश्रर् as
though it is another home again. Therefore what has
happened is you have shifted your attachment from one type
of building to another type of building. You are trying to find
security in the आश्रर्. The purpose of the Vedantic teacher is
not to create security anywhere else, the student or anyone
should find the security in himself. सन्न्िास means not
depending on anything external. And when the teacher kicked
out the student, student got out of that attachment also and
then he said you enter back the आश्रर्. Therefore, the
treatment appeared to be a rude treatment but detachment can
come only when we go through such situations. Thus teacher
may sometime even do like that but always the purpose is
what? Positive only. Therefore, here also he says तिसा
ब्रह्मियेण श्रद्धया. सि you have to add. तिसा सि ब्रह्मियेण
सि श्रद्धया सि एकर्् संवत्सरर्् संवत्स्यथ. And there
afterwards यथाकार्र्् प्रश्नान् िच्ृ छत. And after one year you
can ask questions यथाकार्र्् as you like, whatever spiritual
questions you want you can ask. The teacher says this
because he knows the students are all spiritual students,
therefore he says प्रश्नान् िच्ृ छत. And even if you ask
questions what is my attitude? यहद हवज्ञास्यार्ः – if I know
the answer सवम र्् वक्ष्यार्ः – then I will answer all the
35
questions. Ok. But when you read this a doubt may come. So
the teacher himself is dilemma. So the teacher himself is not
sure about himself. So he himself seems to be a संशहयत,
otherwise why should he say यहद हवज्ञास्यार्ः. Therefore,
शङ्करािािम writes in his commentary ‘this is not to show that
teacher is doubtful. This is only to show the humility of the
teacher.’ Teacher is cent percent sure that I can answer all
questions on वेदान्त. He doesn't have any doubt because he is
भगवाि नपप्पलाद. How can he not know things. Still he says
if I know I will teach only to show that the humility that I
don't want to claim that I know everything.
अनुद्धतत्वप्रदशम नाथम र््. उद्धतत्वर्् means गवम ः. अनुद्धतत्वर््
means what? गवम रानहत्िर््, गवम अभावः. गवम अभावप्रदशम नाथम र््.
Or अर्ाहनत्वप्रदशम नाथम र््, I am not a र्ानि. सवम र्् ि वो वक्ष्यार्
इहत. इहत should be connected with उवाि, इहत ऋहषः उवाि –
this were the words of नपप्पलाद. Continuing;
Verse No. 1.3
अथ कबन््ी कात्िािि उपेत्ि पप्रच्छ भगवन्कुतो ह वा इर्ाः
प्रजाः प्रजािन्त इनत ॥ ३ ॥
अथ. अथ means अिन्तरर््, आनन्तयम अथे, afterwards.
Afterwards means after what? So you have to add संवत्सर
अिन्तरर््, after one year. Here we talk next moment but there
in the original story संवत्सरादध्ू वम र््, after one year of a life of
तपस्, ब्रह्मििम and श्रद्धा. After finding that the students were
fit enough for questions, they were पात्रर््, नपप्पलाद allowed
the students to ask the question. All this you have to supply.
36
So one year was over, teacher found the students to be fit and
the students approached him and they are going to ask the
question. Now the first student is coming up. Who is he?
कबन्धी कात्यायनः. So in the list the sixth one. In the first
र्न्त्र six students were talked about and in the reverse order
the questions are going to be asked. The sixth student will ask
the first question, fifth will be the second, fourth will be the
third, third will be fourth, second will be fifth, and first will be
last. So that way the questions are going to be asked. अथ
कबन्धी कात्यायनः. They are not two students, remember.
कबन्धी alias as they say, कबन्धी otherwise known as
कात्यायनः उिेत्य. उिेत्य means after approaching. Because it
is said that when you ask, you should read गरु ु गीता and some
other पुराणs how you should treat a teacher, my god! If you
see it seems we cannot do it. So when he walks you should
walk behind and how you should talk, all those restrictions are
mentioned not that standing far away like in the house she will
be in the kitchen and he will be in the front therefore it should
not be talked loudly from distance, he has to go nearby and
there afterwards with proper attitude he should ask. And
therefore he says कबन्धी कात्यायनः उिेत्य – he went near
the teacher. िप्रच्छ – he asked. Now comes the first question.
So you should remember the six questions. The first question
is: भगवन्. So first he addresses the teacher as भगवन,् Oh
Lord! Again indicating his reverence to the teacher. कुतः ि
वा इर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते – from what source are all these प्रजाs,
37
प्रजाः means living beings, प्राहणणः. कुतः means कस्र्ात्
कारणात्, from which cause do all these living beings
प्रजायन्ते – come up, originate. So in short, what is the origin
of species as they say, so what is the origin of all living
beings? In short, the question is regarding सनत ष्ट. How does
the creation of all living beings takes place? कुतः ि वा. वा
should be converted into वै. ि वै are just for emphasis, no
special meaning for them. इर्ाः प्रजाः. So when he says इर्ाः,
he must be referring to all the जीवरानशs. Therefore, right from
देवs onwards up to a tree स्थावरजङ्गर्रूि िरािर जीवराहशs
इहत. इहत indicates with an inverted commas. इहत कबन्धी
कात्यायनः िप्रच्छ, thus he asked. This is the question. Now
the teacher has to answer. Continuing;
Verse No. 1.4
तस्र्ै स होवाि प्रजाकार्ो वै प्रजापनतः स तपोऽतप्ित स
तपस्तप्त्वा स नर्थुिर्ुत्पादिते रनिं ि प्राणं िेत्िेतौ र्े बहु ्ा
प्रजाः कररष्ित इनत ॥ ४ ॥
So in the उपनिषत् the punctuation marks should be put
properly. In some books punctuation may not be clear. So in
the previous र्न्त्र, “अथ कबन्धी कात्यायन उिेत्य िप्रच्छ.”
This is a statement of whom? The उपनिषत् itself is making
this statement. And after िप्रच्छ should be next sentence
within inverted commas, these are the words of the student.
Therefore, then िप्रच्छ. भगवाि् onwards should be within
inverted commas. And here also, in this र्न्र also “तस्र्ै स
िोवाि” fullstop. Then “प्रजाकार्ो वै प्रजािहतः सः तिः
38
अतप्यत” that is another sentence. Then “स तिस्तप्त्वा स
हर्थुनर्ुत्िादयते रहयं ि प्राणं” is another sentence. Otherwise
later when you read उपनिषत् it appears as though one
sentence. You can't imagine a sentence without punctuation.
Therefore, up to रहयं ि प्राणं is one sentence. Then एतौ र्े
बिु धा प्रजाः कररष्यत इहत. So तस्र्ै स िोवाि, this is the
Upanishadic word, उपनिषत् tells us the story. What does it
say? सः हिप्िलादः तस्र्ै कात्यायनाय उवाि – that teacher
नपप्पलाद answered the student कात्यायन. And here
afterwards it is going to be the words of the नपप्पलाद teacher,
he is going to talk about the creation now. Here afterwards
the description of creation is going to come and for that he
introduces the creator first. And here the creator is नहरण्िगभम ः
who is known as प्रजापनतः. And you should remember really
speaking नहरण्िगभम himself is created. नहरण्िगभम sometimes
known as ब्रह्मानज, ब्रह्म, हिरण्यगभम , in this context प्रजािहतः.
So this नहरण्िगभम ’s definition you should remember. सर्हि
सक्ष्ू र्शरीर उिहितर्् िैतन्यर्् is हिरण्यगभम . And नहरण्िगभम is
really born out of whom? नहरण्िगभम is born out of, you should
remember र्ुण्डकोपनिषत,् is born out of ईश्वर, who is सर्हि
कारणशरीर उिहितर्् िैतन्यर््, र्ाया उिहितर्् िैतन्यर््. And
therefore, original creator is ईश्वर and from ईश्वर नहरण्िगभम is
born and the नहरण्िगभम becomes the creator of the rest of the
creation. So first ब्रह्मा is created and ब्रह्मा becomes the creator
of all other beings.
ब्रह्मा देवानां प्रथर्ः संबभवू ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-१ ॥
39
First ब्रह्मा is born and there afterwards ब्रह्मानज creates all
other beings. And here the birth of ब्रह्मानज is not mentioned,
here we are discussing only from ब्रह्मानज onwards how the
creation came that is our discussion here. And therefore, we
have to remember this - it starts from नहरण्िगभम here. It is
said that ईश्वरः, the Lord created ब्रह्मानज. In the भागवत पुराण
and all it will be so dramatically said therefore it will become
clearer. Here उपनिषत् just puts in a nutshell. So ईश्वरः, in
भागवतर्् it will be described as नवष्णु, सर्हि कारणशरीरर््
िैतन्यर्् is called नवष्णु. हवष्णु creates ब्रह्मा out of his navel.
ब्रह्मा is created and there afterwards नवष्णु does not directly
create all beings, नवष्णु puts ब्रह्मानज incharge of the creation of
all other things. In भागवतर्् and all they give a long story. So
ब्रह्मानज came first and so he looked around, he didn't know
anything, then he was asked to create, then ब्रह्मानज says you
are asking me to create ‘I don't know how?’, then it is said that
ईश्वर taught ब्रह्मानज how to create.
ॐ यो ब्रह्माणर्् हवदधाहत िवू म र्् यो वै वेदांश्च प्रहिणोहत तस्र्ै । ॥
श्वेताश्वतरोिहनषत् ६-१८ ॥
ईश्वर gave all the scriptural knowledge and all the सनत ष्ट
technical know-how, so all those things were given to ब्रह्मानज
and there afterwards ब्रह्मानज creates all other. So those stages
are not mention here. And after नवष्णु taught everything to
ब्रह्मानज what happened? ब्रह्मानज developed an interest in the
creation. Earlier he was not having any interest. So then he
developed an interest, that is said here. प्रजािहतः means
40
नहरण्िगभम ः प्रजाकार्ः अभवत् – became desirous of creating
this universe. Why? Because necessity is the mother of
invention. So anything you create only when you feel the
necessity of it. When it is very hot and you are not able to
stand, you think of inventing a fan and then AC, everything.
So कार् is the source behind कर्म . जािानत, इच्छनत, ितते. He
knows desires work for. So नहरण्िगभम also knew about
creation, desired to create, otherwise he would not have come
and thereafter he created. So प्रजािहतः प्रजाकार्ः अभवत.्
Indeed वै is emphasis. And afterwards what did you do? सः
तिः अतप्यत – there afterwards he performed the तपस्.
Because as I said he didn't know how to create. The details of
the creation etc., he didn't know, therefore he did तपस् on
ईश्वर, सर्हि कारणशरीर उिहितर्् िैतन्यर्् he meditated
upon that Lord. And then what happened? That Lord gave
him the knowledge. Therefore, in keeping with the scriptures
he remembered the previous order of the creation. So here
तपस् means visualization of the पवू म सनत ष्ट. िवू म सहृ ि हवषय
आलोिनर्् कृतवान् इत्यथम ः. Because this is not the fresh
सनत ष्ट, सनत ष्ट is अिानद-अिन्त and therefore you should
remember no ब्रह्मानज creates a fresh creation, because
ब्रह्मानजs themselves appear, creates, disappear, again another
ब्रह्मानज comes, appears, creates, disappears. Like that
ब्रह्मानजs themselves come and go
अव्यक्ताद् व्यक्तयः सवाम ः प्रभवन्त्यिरागर्े ।
रात्र्यागर्े प्रलीयन्ते तरैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके ॥ गीता ८-१८ ॥
41
And therefore here ब्रह्मानज’s तपस् is visualization of the पवू म
सनत ष्ट. And that too in keeping with the कर्म of all the people,
because देवs have to be created - इन्द्र अनग्ि वरुण etc. But I
have told you इन्द्र वरुण अनग्ि etc., are not people but they
are themselves posts alone, therefore we have to find out who
have done hundred अश्वर्ेधयागs. So in पुराणs and all we read
whoever has done sufficient कर्म for इन्द्र पदनव that जीव must
be made into इन्द्र. And another जीव who has done proper
rituals must be made into अनग्ि. Thus देवs, र्नुष्यs, िशुs,
िहिs all of them are to be created and they are not by chance
but they are all according to
यथाकर्म यथाश्रुतर्् ॥ कठोिहनषत् २-२-७ ॥
and therefore he has to visualize the कर्म s and he has to
visualize the methodology of creation in keeping with the पवू म
सनत ष्ट. So, सः तिः अतप्यत. And there afterwards what? There
afterwards he created. So here afterwards the details of the
creation are going to come. Those details we will see in the
next class.
ॐ िण ू म र्दः िण ू म हर्दर्् िण ू म र्ुदच्यते । िण
ू ाम त्िण ू म स्य
ू म र्ादाय िण
िण ू म र्ेवावहशष्यते ॥ ॐ शाहन्तः शाहन्तः शाहन्तः ॥
िररः ॐ.
42
तान्ि स ऋहषरुवाि भय ू एव तिसा ब्रह्मियेण श्रद्धया संवत्सरं
संवत्स्यथ यथाकार्ं प्रश्नान्िच्ृ छत यहद हवज्ञास्यार्ः सवां ि वो
वक्ष्यार् इहत ॥ २ ॥
अथ कबन्धी कात्यायन उिेत्य िप्रच्छ भगवन्कुतो ि वा इर्ाः
प्रजाः प्रजायन्त इहत ॥ ३ ॥
तस्र्ै स िोवाि प्रजाकार्ो वै प्रजािहतः स तिोऽतप्यत स
तिस्तप्त्वा स हर्थुनर्ुत्िादयते रहयं ि प्राणं िेत्येतौ र्े बिु धा
प्रजाः कररष्यत इहत ॥ ४ ॥
Of the six students कबन्धी otherwise known as
कात्िािि puts a question to नपप्पलाद ऋनष regarding the
सनत ष्ट. He asked the question कुतो ि वा इर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्त
इहत – from what source these प्रजाs come into being. And not
it is not merely the source alone, he wants to know in what
order or in what manner the creation comes out. This is the
question. And नपप्पलाद begins to answer and here he is
talking about the creation from नहरण्िगभम onwards. Normally,
in the उपनिषत् creation begins from ब्रह्मि् itself and the
general pattern is from ब्रह्मि् the पञ्िभतू s came and the
सर्नष्ट प्रपञ्ि came, identified with the सर्हि सक्ष्ू र् प्रिञ्ि
नहरण्िगभम comes to picture that is the general pattern. But in
this उपनिषत् from नहरण्िगभम onwards alone सनत ष्ट is
43
discussed. And नहरण्िगभम is here called प्रजापनत and here
also प्रजापनत otherwise नहरण्िगभम before creating the universe
does तपस् as we saw in तैनिरीिोपनिषत्.
सोऽकार्यत । बिु स्यां प्रजायेयेहत । स तिोऽतप्यत । स
तिस्तप्त्वा । इदं सवम र्सज
ृ त ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-६-४ ॥
In तैनिरीिोपनिषत् ब्रह्मािन्द वल्ली we saw but the only
difference is there in ‘स तिोऽतप्यत’ स means र्ािा सनहतर््
ब्रह्म, ईश्वरः but here सः means नहरण्िगभम . That is the
difference. And just as there ईश्वर performed तपस,् here
नहरण्िगभम is also performing तपस्. And the meaning of the
तपस् is exactly the same as in तैनिरीिोपनिषत्. तपस् means
visualization, mental picturisation of the whole creation to
come. So mental visualization means all the कर्म s of the
जीवरानशs must be kept in mind and accordingly various fields
of experience must be created. Just like when a house is built
different members of the house should be kept in mind. When
the thought of wife comes then what room is created? Kitchen.
And when the thought of the child who is going to school that
child comes, you have to create a studyroom. And similarly
when you think of अनतनथ - drawing room, visiting hall etc.
Thus for every individual a respective field is necessary,
similarly all जीवs require different different fields and all the
things have to be kept in mind, that is called तिः,
यस्य ज्ञानर्यं तिः ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-९ ॥
44
visualization here is called ज्ञानर्् and not only he remembers
them, he remembers the previous सनत ष्ट also,
ू ोिन्द्रर्सौ धाता यथा िवू म र्कल्ियत् । ॥ ऋग्वेदः र्ण्डल १०-
सय
१९० ॥
यथा िवू म सहृ िः आसीत् तत् स्र्त्ृ वा इदाहनर्् अहि सहृ ि करोहत,
remembering the previous creation प्रजापनत or known as
ब्रह्मानज otherwise known as नहरण्िगभम plans this creation and
that is said here. स तिोऽतप्यत स तिस्तप्त्वा up to that we
saw. So planning is ready, visualization is ready only now the
contractor the workers have to come and as far as Lord is
concerned workers are not necessary, सङ्कल्ि र्ारेण सवम र््
सज ृ हत. And here afterwards the सनत ष्ट details are going to
come. The सनत ष्ट will be taught in five stages, which alone I
have written here in the form of नर्थुि सनत ष्ट, लोक सनत ष्ट,
काल सनत ष्ट, अन्ि सनत ष्ट and finally प्रजा सनत ष्ट. This is how the
entire section is going to proceed, because the question was
भगवन्कुतो ि वा इर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्त – how do the प्रजाs come
into being was the question and therefore finally नपप्पलाद
ends in प्रजा सनत ष्ट, because the question was dealing with
प्रजाs. प्रजा is the final stage of creation. The literary meaning
of the word प्रजा is living beings. प्रजा means प्रानण, all living
beings whether it is plants or animals or humans, they are
generally called प्रजाः. प्रजािन्ते इनत प्रजाः. And here the
सनत ष्ट will be taught in a peculiar method and in mysterious
method it will be said and not only that the pattern will not be
like other उपनिषत्s. Therefore, it may appear a little bit
45
complicated. I will try to explain in the best way possible,
perhaps you will have to go home and revise, because here
सनत ष्ट is peculiar. But one point we should remember the
question was about सनत ष्ट. कुतः ि वा इर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते. The
question was evidently about creation alone. The answer also
is dealing with सनत ष्ट alone. Even though the question and
answer are both dealing with the सनत ष्ट, the तात्पिम र्् of this
section, the importance of this section is not in सनत ष्ट. Though
the question is about सनत ष्ट and answer is about सनत ष्ट the
stress is not in सनत ष्ट. How do you know? शङ्करािािम is there
to help us. Now why we say in सनत ष्ट the तात्पिम र्् is not
there? Because by knowing सनत ष्ट पुरुषाथम ः कनश्चत् िानस्त. We
don't get any प्रिोजिर्् out of it. It is purely of academic
interest alone. There is no change going to be there in our life.
And if निष्प्रिोजिर्् topic is taught in the श्रुनत then श्रुनत will
not be a प्रर्ाणर््. The very definition of प्रर्ाणर्् is अनहधगत
अबाहधत अथम वत् ज्ञानजनकर्् प्रर्ाणर््. It should be it अथम वत्
प्रिोजिर््. So by mere analysis of सनत ष्ट one is not going to
get any प्रिोजिर््. So therefore सि ृ ौ तात्ियम र्् नाहस्त. And
it is a great consolation because here the सनत ष्ट topic is so
complicated but if it is unimportant then we can leave it
saying out of syllabus. Then what is going to be the important
topic here? While discussing the सनत ष्ट, incidentally, नपप्पलाद
is dealing with अपरानवद्या consisting of कर्म and उपासिा. And
he clearly points out that those people who perform केवलर््
कर्म , they will go through what गनत? कतष्णगनत. And they
46
will attain what लोक? स्वगम लोक. कनर्म णः कृष्णगहत द्वारा
स्वगम लोक प्राप्नोहत. कनर्म s go to स्वगम लोक through कतष्णगनत
which we have seen in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् therefore I will not
spend lot of time in that. And similarly those people who do
कर्म उपासिा सर्ुच्ििः or even केवल उपासिा, advanced
उपासिा also those who do, for them what is the गनत?
शुक्लगनत द्वारा they go to ब्रह्मलोक. Thus कर्म leads to
स्वगम लोक, कर्म -उपासिा mixture leads to ब्रह्मलोक and these
two together are called अपरानवद्या. कर्म and उपासिा together
are called अपरानवद्या. Ok. That is not discussed as the main
topic because the question was dealing with सनत ष्ट but what
नपप्पलाद does is while answering सनत ष्ट question incidentally,
he is incorporating, he is adding this additional point also that
कर्म leads to स्वगम लोक and that उपासिा leads to ब्रह्मलोक.
Ok. Why should अपरानवद्या be discussed? We are studying
उपनिषत्, which is परानवद्या. So the next question is why
should अिराहवद्या be discussed? If you say सनत ष्ट is
निष्प्रिोजिर््, why should we discuss अपरानवद्या? What
प्रिोजिर्् we get through अपरानवद्या? For this आिन्दनगरी
and all so beautifully they bring out this point. It is discussed
for वैराग्ि नसद्ध्िथम र््, to get detachment from them. How do
you get detachment? When नपप्पलाद says कर्म gives
स्वगम लोक and कर्म उपासिा mixture gives ब्रह्मलोक, one thing
is clear from this that both of them do not give र्ोक्ष. They
give rise to only ephemeral लोकs but they are not useful for a
र्ुर्ुक्षु. Thus through the first chapter a student, a र्ुर्ुक्षु will
47
come to know that both कर्म and उपासिा are not going to
help me out, what I require is only ज्ञानर््. That is how this
chapter is indirectly going to help परानवद्या by creating
वैराग्िर््. Ok. And how will he introduce this topic? That's
what I have put; while सनत ष्ट is talked about he will talk about
moon and Sun. Moon standing for स्वगम लोक and Sun
standing for ब्रह्मलोक. While सनत ष्ट is talked about he will talk
about moon सनत ष्ट and Sun सनत ष्ट, moon will represent
स्वगम लोक and Sun will represent ब्रह्मलोक. Then later he will
talk about the दनक्षणािि and उिरािण सनत ष्ट and during that
time it will be pointed out that दनक्षणाििर्् represents
कतष्णगनत and उिरािणर्् represents शुक्लगनत and he will
mention that कनर्म s will go through कतष्णगनत to स्वगम लोक
and उपासकs through शुक्लगनत will go to ब्रह्मलोक. And that
is how सनत ष्ट and अपरानवद्या are both going to be clubbed,
which will seemingly complicate this chapter further. So if
you have got the main picture, what is the main topic, what is
the incidental topic, if it is clear this chapter will be easier.
Ok. So now you have seen up to स तिोऽतप्यत । स तिस्तप्त्वा
up to that is the preparation for the creation. Now comes the
first stage of creation. What is that? सः हर्थुनर्् उत्िादयते.
सः means प्रजापनतः. प्रजािहतः means नहरण्िगभम ः अथवा ब्रह्मा.
सः हिरण्यगभम ः प्रजािहतः हर्थुनर्् उत्िादयते. हर्थुनर्् means a
pair. So, हर्थुनर््, युग्र्र््, द्वन्द्वर््, they are all synonyms. So
first he creates a pair. What are they known as? रहयं ि प्राणं
ि, which are known as रहय and प्राण. So this is the first
48
stage of creation. That is why I have written नर्थुि सनत ष्ट is
the first stage, which consists of रनि and प्राण. What do you
mean by रनि and प्राण? In fact रनि and प्राण are not two
things at all but they are two principles, concepts or ideas.
When there are two things which are mutually
complementary, we call that pair as नर्थुिर््. When there are
two things which are distinct, different only even though they
are different, even though they are all almost opposite in
nature but they put together make a whole, they are
complementary pair, mutually complementary pair,
complementary means what? That which completes is called
complementary. So therefore रनि and प्राण are not particular
thing. In any pair if they are mutually complementary one can
be called रहय and the other can be called प्राण. For example if
there is day and night they are mutually complementary, only
when both of them put together it becomes one whole day.
Therefore, day and night will be called नर्थुिर्् and one will
be रहय and another will be प्राण. Similarly, उिरािणर्् and
दनक्षणाििर््. Both together will make a whole, they are
complementary therefore they are called नर्थुिर्् and one is
रहय and another is प्राण. Or in scientifically speaking -
positive and negative. So in atom also they say there is a
positive charge and a negative charge making one whole.
Therefore, one is रनि and another is प्राण. In fact, what the
उपनिषत् wants to say is the whole creation is made up of such
complementary pairs. A very beautiful and high concept. The
49
whole creation is made up of such mutually complementary
pairs. So in कालर््, in time also you can see this
complementary pairs - day and night, उिरािणर्् and
दनक्षणाििर््. You take the individual's life - birth and death.
You should remember that death is also part of life only.
Therefore, life if it is to be taken as a whole it must include
जन्र् and र्रणर््, सनत ष्ट and प्रलिर््. Similarly, taking couple
also - male and female are called हर्थुनर््, one is रनि and
another is प्राण. Thus, whether you take time concept or
whether you take any inert thing or whether you take living
beings, if we see the whole creation consist of relative pairs
and as an example शङ्करािािम gives भोक्ता and भोग्यर््, अिा
and अन्नर््. भोक्ता means अिा, eater, experience, subject.
अन्िर्् is object, eaten, experienced. There is no life possible
unless there is the pair of subject and object. No doubt subject
and object are हवरुद्धौ स्वभावौ, of opposite nature but one is
incomplete without the other. The subject cannot be a
complete one unless there is an object. Similarly, object is
incomplete without the subject. There cannot be an
experiencer without an object of experience. And you cannot
talk of an object of experience without an experiencer.
Therefore, subject and object is what? नर्थुिर््, one is रहय
and another is प्राण. And it is this relative concept, because
सनत ष्ट means relativity will come, so it is this relative concept
which is created first by प्रजापनत. And creation means they
are inseparable, that is why अ्म िारीश्वर concept. All those
50
things indicate what? The whole consist of mutually
complementary pair. And that is what is said here. रहयं ि प्राणं
ि. So what is the translation. रनि means रनि. It is very
difficult to translate. Many people, many commentators in
English they have tried to use some word or the other but what
I find is any translation we use it doesn't fit in properly, they
can come only to the nearest translation, therefore what I
decided is not to translate it. रनि means रनि, that means one
of the mutually complementary pairs. रहय means what? One
of the complementary pairs. प्राण means what? The other of
the mutually complementary pairs. So if you go by
शङ्करािािम you have to translate as subject and object. But
that will create problem, when day and night comes - which is
object and which is object? So thus if you want you can use
some such words but what I prefer is to call रहय as रहय and
प्राणर्् as प्राणर््. But dictionary meaning is what? The
dictionary meaning of रहय is water or wealth. रनि literally
means water or wealth. And प्राणः is well known word. प्राणः
means the vital force, vital energy is called प्राणः. This is the
literal translation. But we will keep only रनि and प्राण. So, सः
हर्थुनर्् उत्िादयते रहयं ि प्राणं ि. Ok. For what purpose?
That is said “एतौ र्े बिु धा प्रजाः कररष्यत” इहत. With this
intention, this is within inverted commas, which indicates the
intention of प्रजापनत. So thinking that एतौ. एतौ means
रहयप्राणौ, this pair र्े बिु धा प्रजाः कररष्यतः – will produce
many beings ultimately, through various stages. So this pair
51
will produce many living beings ultimately, र्े. र्े means for
me, who is the father, for me the father let this pair produce
many living beings by going through the stages of what you
call लोक, then कालर््, then अन्िर्् and then ultimately प्रजाः
also. In अन्िर्् also you will find this pair will be there.
When अन्िर्् enters a male it will become बीजर्् and अन्िर््
enters a female then it becomes again the potential form of
that, in English medicine they say ovum and sperm, they are
the two aspects of अन्िर्् representing रनि and प्राण, mutually
complementary thing. With these two aspects only all the
beings are born and you take every being every being consist
of again male and female principle, x chromosome and y
chromosome. So in male also there are some female
principles are there, in female also male principle are there.
Then how is male a male and female is a female?
Predominance of male principle if it is there it becomes male,
predominance of female principle is there is called female.
What I want to say in everywhere you will find mutually
complementary pairs. Thus from this alone the whole creation
is going to come. That is the topic here. So, एतौ रहयप्राणौ
बिु धा. बिु धा means what? In manifold ways with different
characters, with different nationality, with different
intelligence, with different कर्म s, बहु प्रकारे ण. And not only
that of various species also - human species, animal species,
bird species, tree species. Thus बिु धा अनेक प्रकारे ण प्रजाः
कररष्यतः. कररष्यहत, कररष्यतः, कररष्यहन्त. कररष्यतः is
52
dual. Because एतौ is dual. So this pair should be producing
many living beings and I will become the great creator,
नपतार्हः, therefore प्रजापनत is called नपतार्हः. Normally, you
can say grandfather, great grandfather but प्रजापनत is in the
nth grade. Therefore, what you do? You generally call him
हितार्िः. So for me this will be created. Ok. Continuing;
Verse No. 1.5
ू ं िार्त
आनदत्िो ह वै प्राणो रनिरे व िन्द्रर्ा रनिवाम एतत्सवं िन्र्त ू ं
ि तस्र्ान्र्नू तम रेव रनिः ॥ ५ ॥
Now the second सनत ष्ट is going to be लोक सनत ष्ट and we
will have a pair of लोकs because at every stage we will have
a pair you should remember. And what type of pair it will be?
It will be mutually complementary pair of लोकs should be
created and if they are mutually complementary one will be
called रनि another will be called प्राणः. So what are those two
लोकs? They are the moon and the Sun सोर्सुयौ, the moon
and the Sun are the first लोक pair, लोक नर्थुि सनत ष्ट. And
how do you say they are mutually complementary? Because
if you observe the light the day is presided over by the Sun,
the night is presided over by the moon and both together
revolving creating day and night, they maintain the whole day
i.e., 24 hours. Thus, the Sun and moon mutually taking
charge of the creation during day and during night they make
the life a whole affair. If day and night are not there our life
will not be complete because, activity is completed only when
it is followed by rest. And rest must be followed by activity.
53
And activity is presided over by the Sun, rest is presided over
by the moon. Thus Sun and moon become mutually
complementary. Similarly, उिरािणर्् and दनक्षणाििर््
everything will be said later. So therefore, this is the first
नर्थुिर््. Then the next question is of this pair which is the
रहय and which is the प्राणः? That is said in this र्न्त्र. आहदत्यः
ि वै प्राणः – the Sun is the प्राणः. And what is रनि? रहयरे व
िन्द्रर्ाः – so moon is the रनि. You can see justification also.
प्राण stand for vital force, energy etc., and Sun stands for
energy, vital force. रनि stands for water, which is cool, moon
is again cool. शीतांशुः. Moon is called शीतांशुः. Moon is also
cool. Therefore, we can compare, we can see some common
aspect also. So of these two रनि is the moon, प्राण is the Sun.
After this sentence there must be a full stop in the र्न्त्र,
रहयरे व िन्द्रर्ाः अहस्त । And normally after this the उपनिषत्
must have gone through next सनत ष्ट because लोक सनत ष्ट is
over, next it should have gone to काल सनत ष्ट but the उपनिषत्
is taking a small diversion, which seemingly makes further
complications like, but if you understand the diversion then it
will be simple. This will go on in three र्न्त्रs. So the next
topic will be up to the eight र्न्त्र. And काल सनत ष्ट is going to
come only in the ninth र्न्त्र. So between this portion and the
ninth र्न्त्र we are having a small diversion. What is that
diversion? We have to see. What he wants to say is, no doubt
we have made a classification of रनि and प्राण. We divide the
whole creation as mutually complementary pairs. But really
54
speaking if you make a deep analysis you will find that the
fundamental nature of both of them will be the same alone. So
even though there is a superficial division in the form of रहय
and प्राण but if you go into the depth of it you will find that
they are one and the same, रनि is identical with प्राण and प्राण
is identical with रनि. And therefore, really speaking you can
say everything is रनि or you can alternatively say everything
is प्राण also. So this is the topic. So on deep analysis
everything is रनि you can say, you can also say everything is
प्राण. But for some convenience, for superficial division we
call one as रनि and other as प्राण. Just like if I have to give an
example, just like steam and ice. So steam and ice are
different or identical? What will you say? Whatever you say
it can be proved as wrong or whatever you say it can be
proved as right. If I say identical then why do you name them
as steam and ice? So the very fact that you are naming them
by two distinct words you are trying to differentiate. But on
deeper analysis you will find that steam is water, ice is water.
Therefore, steam and ice are one and the same. And therefore,
no doubt superficially steam-ice division have been made, one
is called अर्त ू म र््, steam is अर्त ू म र््. अर्त
ू म र्् means what?
Formless. Ice is र्त ू म र््, solid. Even though this seeming
difference is there, you can say both are one and the same
nothing but water. And therefore you can say everything is
steam. Don't steam! So everything is steam because essence
of steam is water, everything is water you can say or
55
everything is ice you can say. Either way it is ok because both
of them are essentially water. Similarly, रनि’s essential nature
is what? प्रजापनत. Because प्रजापनत alone has become रनि
and प्राण concept. प्रजापनत being the उपादाि कारणर्् for रनि
and प्राण, essentially रनि is प्रजापनत, similarly essentially प्राण
is प्रजापनत. What is the logic? Because प्रजापनत alone has
become रनि and प्राण. In the पुराणs and all you will see that
प्रजापनत divivded his body into two and one portion became
the male principle and another portion became the female
principle and after that from their combination everything was
born. So in the original, during प्रलि the two were not there.
So therefore who made the pair? प्रजापनत alone divides
himself, multiplies by division, have you seen that amoeba it
multiplies by division. Similarly, प्रजापनत multiplies, creates
रनि and प्राण by dividing himself into two. And therefore
what I want to say is रनि is originally प्रजापनत प्राण is
originally प्रजापनत and therefore रनि and प्राण are one and the
same and therefore you can say रनि is everything, you can
also say प्राण is everything. That is the topic from here on up
to the ninth. Now you see, रहयः वा एतत् सवम र््. वा means वै.
वै means really speaking. In संस्कतत, वै means indeed, really
speaking, factually. That is if you go into the depth of
creation, what will you find? रहयः वै एतत् सवम र््. रहयः alone is
everything. How should you give the logic? रहयः
प्रजािहतरूित्वात् प्रजािहतरूिेण रहयः एव सवम र्् भवहत. From
प्रजापनत’s angle रनि alone is everything. So रहयः वै एतत्
56
सवम र््. एतत् सवम र्् means the whole creation, which consists
of यत् र्त ू ां ि अर्तू ां ि – which consists of the र्त ू म प्रपञ्ि. The
र्त ू म प्रपञ्ि means the formed one, the embodied one, the solid
one as well as the अर्त ू म प्रपञ्ि, the formless, the abstract, the
subtle one. So really speaking रनि alone is everything. But
still what do we do? For the sake of convenience we make a
superficial division. And when we make a superficial division
what do we do? Whatever is अर्त ू म र्् that is named प्राण,
everything is रनि only, still for the sake of superficial division
the अर्त ू म is called प्राण. तस्र्ात्. तस्र्ात् means since अर्त ू म is
called प्राण. We have to take it in this way, because of all
peculiar construction here. तस्र्ात् means अर्त ू म स्य
प्राणरूित्वात्, since अर्त ू म is superficially named as प्राण, र्हू तम ः
एव रहयः. र्हू तम ः alone is called रनि. Ok. Even though water
alone is ice, steam everything but for the sake of division,
since we call gaseous part as a steam and the solid part as ice,
we have conventionally decided to call the liquid
manifestation alone we have decided to call water. Really
speaking solid manifestation also is water alone. Similarly,
रनि alone is everything but only the र्त ू म manifestation is
called रनि, the अर्त ू म manifestation is called प्राण. So तस्र्ात्
र्हू तम ः एव रहयः. With this one part of the diversion is over.
What is that one part? रहयः एव सवम र््. रहयः सवाम त्र्कः
प्रजािहतरूित्वात्. Then what should be the next topic? You
can easily imagine, in the same way प्राणः अहि सवाम त्र्कः.
You can also say प्राण is everything. What is the reason? The
57
reason is the same - प्राण being प्रजापनत, प्रजापनत being
everything, प्राण is everything you can say. And that topic is
going to come in the next three र्न्त्रs. So र्न्त्रs number six,
seven and eight, the topic is प्राणः सवाम त्र्कः. रहयः सवाम त्र्कः
इहत एतत् ियम न्तर्् उक्तर््. रहयवाम एतत्सवां यन्र्त ू ां िार्त
ू ां ि
तस्र्ान्र्हू तम रेव रहयः. Now what do we say? प्राणः सवाम त्र्कः.
Ok. Is it not possible to say directly that प्राण is सवाम त्र्कः,
everything? For that the उपनिषत् is using another method.
We have already said, Sun is प्राण we have said, moon is रनि
we said. Therefore, the उपनिषत् says now सय ू म ः सवाम त्र्कः.
And सि ू म is what? प्राणः. And therefore we can say प्राणः
सवाम त्र्कः. Therefore, प्राणस्य सवाम त्र्कत्वर्् सय ू म स्य
सवाम त्र्कत्वद्वारा उक्तर््. That is going to be the next three
र्न्त्रs, how the Sun rises, so sunrise and all those things we
said, those details we will see in the next class.
िण
58
र्न्र. 1.4 - 1.9
तस्र्ै स िोवाि प्रजाकार्ो वै प्रजािहतः स तिोऽतप्यत स
तिस्तप्त्वा स हर्थुनर्ुत्िादयते रहयं ि प्राणं िेत्येतौ र्े बिु धा
प्रजाः कररष्यत इहत ॥ ४ ॥
ू ां िार्त
आहदत्यो ि वै प्राणो रहयरे व िन्द्रर्ा रहयवाम एतत्सवां यन्र्त ू ां
ि तस्र्ान्र्हू तम रेव रहयः ॥ ५ ॥
The first student asked a question regarding the प्रजा
सनत ष्ट. In answer to this question नपप्पलाद is talking about the
सनत ष्ट in various stages. The सनत ष्ट beginning from the प्रजापनत
otherwise known as नहरण्िगभम is being discussed here. And
the सनत ष्ट is in the form of pairs and the first pair happens to be
रहय and प्राण. I said that रहय and प्राण are not exactly two
things but they are two principles representing द्वन्द्वs, pairs of
opposite which are mutually complementary. When I say
mutually complementary I mean both of them together make a
whole. Like day and night making a whole day, like birth and
death making a whole life, like that रहय and प्राण are mutually
complementary pair. That is the first creation, which we
called as नर्थुि सनत ष्ट. And there afterwards we are going to
get सनत ष्ट in stages like लोक सनत ष्ट, काल सनत ष्ट, अन्ि सनत ष्ट
and finally प्रजा सनत ष्ट. So after नर्थुि सनत ष्ट, लोक सनत ष्ट has
been introduced. It is in the form of the िन्द्र and सि ू म . The
moon and the Sun are said to be mutually complementary pair.
Of this pair the moon is supposed to be रहयः and the Sun is
supposed to be प्राणः. Having said this नपप्पलाद is making a
small diversion, that is what we are seeing now. The idea he
59
wants to convey is that this रनि-प्राण division is only from
superficial angle. If you go into the depth of रनि, it will be
none other than प्रजापनत himself, who is the कारणर््. So the
essence of रनि is प्रजापनत. रहयः प्रजाित्यात्र्कः प्रजािहत
कायम त्वात्. यथा घटः र्दृ ात्र्कः. कस्र्ात्? र्दृ ् कायम त्वात्. यथा
आभरणर्् स्वणाम त्र्कर्् स्वणम कायम त्वात् एवर्् रहयः अहि
प्रजाित्यात्र्कः प्रजािहत कायम त्वात्. Since रहय is born out
of प्रजापनत, the essence of रहय must be प्रजापनत. In the same
way, when you go into the depth of प्राण, the essence of प्राण
also is प्रजापनत, because प्राण also is born out of प्रजापनत
alone. And therefore, रनि is essentially प्रजापनत, प्राण is
essentially प्रजापनत. And therefore you can say everything is
रहय or you can say everything is प्राण. Remember the
example, ice also can be called water, steam also can be called
water, but still when water is in gaseous form we have agreed
to call it as steam and when the very same water is in solid
form we have agreed to call it as ice. Thus the ice-steam
division caused by र्त ू म -अर्त
ू म condition, gaseous-solid
condition is only a superficial division, everything is
essentially water alone. And therefore, नपप्पलाद says रनि
alone is the entire creation consisting of र्त ू म प्रपञ्ि as well as
अर्त ू म प्रपञ्ि, the formed creation as well as the formless
creation. So, रहयवाम एतत्सवां यन्र्त ू ां िार्त
ू ां ि. But still what
we have done is whatever is र्त ू म र्् we generally call रनि and
whatever is अर्त ू म र्् we have decided to call as प्राण, really
speaking both are रहय, but we have made a temporary
60
र्विावहाररक division - र्त ू म र्् as रनि. That is what he says,
तस्र्ात्. तस्र्ात् means what? यस्र्ात् अर्त ू म र्् प्राणः इत्युच्यते
तस्र्ात् र्त ू म र्् रहयः इत्युच्यते. But really speaking रनि is
everything. Having said this much here afterwards what
नपप्पलाद is going to say is that the same truth can be seen in
the case of प्राण also. And we can say प्राण is everything. And
what is the logic? प्राण is essentially प्रजापनत, प्रजापनत is
everything and therefore, प्राण is everything. So see the steps -
प्राण is essentially प्रजापनत and प्रजापनत is everything and
therefore, प्राण is everything. This is the topic in the next three
र्न्त्रs, i.e., six, seven and eight. The topic is प्राणस्य
सवाम त्र्कत्वर््. रयेः सवाम त्र्कत्वर्् उक्तर््. कुर उक्तर््? पञ्िर्े
र्न्त्रे, रहयवाम एतत्सवां यन्र्त ू ां िार्त
ू ां ि तस्र्ान्र्हू तम रेव रहयः. In
the fifth र्न्र, has been mentioned, in six, seven and eight
प्राण’s सवाम त्र्कत्वर्् is to be said. But for this the उपनिषत् is
adopting an indirect method again. It doesn't say प्राण is
सवाम त्र्कः directly. It says आहदत्यः the Sun is सवाम त्र्कः, is
in the form of everything. And we have already seen the Sun
is said to be प्राण and therefore when Sun is said to be
everything, indirectly it means प्राण is said to be everything.
So, सय ू म द्वारा प्राणस्य सवाम त्र्कत्वर्् वदहत श्रुहतः. We will read
that.
Verse No. 1.6
अथानदत्ि उदिन्ित्प्रािीं नदशं प्रनवशनत तेि प्राच्िान्प्राणान्रनश्र्षु
संनि्िे । िद्दनक्षणां ित्प्रतीिीं िदुदीिीं िद्ो िदूध्वं िदन्तरा
नदशो ित्सवं प्रकाशिनत तेि सवाम न्प्राणान्रनश्र्षु संनि्िे ॥ ६ ॥
61
So what happens during सय ू ोदय is being said here.
When the Sun rises which is a very casual affair for us,
majority of us won't even notice and majority of people might
not have even got up, but the सि ू ोदि is here intimately
experienced by the author. He says the rays of the Sun
gradually spreads to all directions. प्रािीर्् हदशर्् – eastern
direction, then northern, southern and all directions its spreads
and सि ू म प्रकाश which is full of life and energy pervades
everything and by pervading the Sun is making all जीवरानशs
to be one with itself. The Sun is embracing the जीवरानशs as
it were and it is becoming one with all the जीवरानशs. It
swallows as it were. But even though it is put in such a
superficial language the idea conveyed is the Sun alone is
giving life and energy to all people and therefore the very
existence of people is the Sun's energy alone and therefore
there are no people other than the Sun. Even if you argue that
we are surviving because of food alone, you know the food
also consist energy borrowed from the Sun alone.
गार्ाहवश्य ि भत ू ाहन धारयाम्प्यिर्ोजसा ।
िुष्णाहर् िौषधीः सवाम ः सोर्ो भत्ू वा रसात्र्कः ॥ गीता १५-१३ ॥
So the solar energy alone is ultimately going to be our
solution. The scientists themselves are almost coming to that
alone. They will thank नपप्पलाद at that time perhaps. So
therefore, the उपनिषत् puts in a different language, the Sun
pervades everything, embraces everything, exchanges its
energy with everything. Therefore, everything is essentially
62
the expression of the Sun alone. And therefore, सि ू मः
सवाम त्र्कः, the life in everyone is सि ू म alone. That is the idea
here. अथ आहदत्यः उदयन् – now when the Sun is rising,
प्रािीर्् हदशर्् प्रहवशहत – and when it is spreading, entering the
eastern direction. The Sun entering the eastern direction
means the rays of the Sun spreading that direction. By that
spreading what does the Sun do? तेन. तेन means प्रािी हदक्
प्रवेशनेन by the entry into the eastern direction, प्राणान्
रहश्र्षु संहनधिे – it absorbs all the प्राणs. Here प्राणs means
प्रानणs, all the living beings it absorbs into its rays, it merges
all the जीवरानश into its rays. And by this merger it is giving
life to all जीवरानशs. Therefore, the very life in all living
beings is given by this alone. Not only the life according to
गाित्री र्न्त्र even the बुनद्ध शनक्त is given by
तत्सहवतुवमरेण्यर्् । भगो देवस्य धीर्हि । हधयो यो नः प्रिोदयात् ॥
Whether it is the physical energy that we have or whether it is
the pranic energy that we have or whether it is the intellectual
energy that we have they are all supposed to be a blessing
given by सि ू म भगवाि. The scientists talk about the physical
energy alone but the शास्त्र talks about the प्राणशनक्त as well as
the बुनद्ध शनक्त. Therefore, they are all what? The chunk of the
Sun alone. In fact, according to science the very earth itself is
nothing but a portion of सि ू म alone, then what to talk of the
physical body, what to talk of the life that we have? Therefore,
it absorbs all the प्रानण into its rays. First in the eastern
direction. There afterwards what? It begins to spread to all
63
other directions. यत् दहिणार््. Hear the sentence is
incomplete, we have to fill up the sentence according to the
previous sentence. यत् दहिणार्् हदशर्् प्रहवशहत तेन
दाहिणात्यान् प्राणान् रहश्र्षु संहनधिे – when it is entering the
southern direction it is taking or it is absorbing the प्रानणs of
southern direction unto itself. Similarly, यत् प्रतीिीर्् हदशर््
प्रहवशहत again you have to fill up in the same way, it absorbs
all the प्रानणs which are in the प्रतीिी direction. प्रतीिी means
what? Western. And उदीिीर्् means northern. So in each one
you have to fill up - यत् उदीिीर्् हदशर्् प्रहवशहत again. Then
यत् अधः – when the sun's rays pervades the अधः. अधः means
what? Downwards. So four quarters are over. Now अधः, the
downwards it is said. यत् ऊध्वम र्् – when it is spreading
upwards. So अधः means under the ground also there are so
many, above the ground also there are so many, all of them.
And यत् अन्तरा हदशः – when it is spreading the intermediary
direction. So the four main quarters and the four intermediary
quarters like southwest etc. In general the उपनिषत् concludes,
यत् सवम र्् प्रकाशयहत – in short, when it is illumining all the
जीवरानशs. तेन सवाम न् प्राणान् रहश्र्षु संहनधिे – by that
illumination of all beings what the Sun is doing is absorbing
all the जीवरानशs into itself or exchanging the energy with the
जीवरानशs. In short, there is there is no difference between the
सि ू म and the जीवरानशs. So solar energy alone is the energy in
all the people in different forms. Therefore, सवम र्् प्रकाशयहत
64
तेन सवाम न् प्राणान् रहश्र्षु संहनधिे. So संहनधिे means
absorbs, takes unto itself, embraces, becomes one. Continuing;
Verse No. 1.7
स एष वैश्वािरो नवश्वरूपः प्राणोऽनग्िरुदिते । तदेतदृिाभ्िुक्तर््
॥७॥
So because of this reason the सि ू म भगवाि् gets
different names. As it is said in आनदत्ि हृदिर्् varieties of
names are given, all are based on this alone. What are the
names? वैश्वािरः. So सि ू म भगवाि is the one which is in the
form of all human beings. The सि ू म भगवाि alone is the one
who is in the form of all beings, the very life in every being is
none other than the सि ू म . हवश्वे ि ते नराश्च हवश्वेनराः हवश्वेनराः
एव वैश्वानरः. हवश्वे means all, नरः means human being.
Human beings refers to beings here. So सि ू म is in the form of
all beings. That means minus the सि ू म no beings can be there
at all. When सि ू म is a little bit more powerful itself we are not
able to, we cannot absorb more light. Either you say heatwave
dust otherwise cold wave dust. Remember both are because
of the Sun's presence or absence alone. Therefore, the very life
is because of सि ू म ः. That is why the very word सि ू म ः comes.
What is the derivation of सय ू म ः? सुष्ु ईरयहत प्रेरयहत सवाम न्
इहत सय ू म ः. That which activates everyone, प्रेरणार्् करोहत,
enlivens, activates. That is why night it is very difficult to be
active. So with सि ू ोदि alone energy comes. So therefore,
वैश्वािरः is the one who is नवराट, the essence is नवराट alone.
And नवश्वरूपः – the one who is in the form of everything in
65
the creation. हवश्वाहन रूिाहण यस्य. So the difference between
वैश्वािरः and नवश्वरूपः is वैश्वािरः refers to all beings,
animate and नवश्वरूपः refers to all inanimate things. So the
one who is in the form of all beings and the one who is in the
form of all things. And another name for सि ू म भगवाि् is प्राणः
– so the one who is the very प्राणः, the very life of all beings.
Because of this reason alone आनदत्ि is called प्राणः. And
another name is अनग्िः – the one who is in the form of अनग्ि,
the fire principle. The only difference is when the fire
principle is up above we call it सि ू म ः, when the fire principle is
down on the earth we call it अनग्ि तत्त्वर््. One is हदहवष्
अनग्िः and this is भुहवष् अनग्िः one is down and other is up,
both are fire principles alone. That is why whether the heat is
through fire or through the Sun the experience is the same. So
therefore, अनग्िः उदयते – thus the सि ू म भगवाि who is in the
form of वैश्वािरः, नवश्वरूपः, प्राणः and अनग्िः उदयते he rises
mingling with all people. and what is the essence to be
conveyed through these two र्न्त्रs? Remember सय ू मः
सवाम त्र्कः.
हिरं देवानार्ुदगादनीकं ििुहर्म रस्य वरुणस्याग्नेः । आप्रा
द्यावािहृ थवी अन्तररिं सय ू म आत्र्ा जगतस्तस्थुषश्च ॥
तच्ििुदेवहितं िुरस्ताच्छुक्रर्ुच्िरत् । िश्येर् शरदः शतं जीवेर्
शरदः शतर्् ।
This is सन्ध्िावन्दिर्् र्न्त्र. So in all the three times
ू म
especially in the morning and in the afternoon the glory of सि
भगवाि् is brilliantly described and there in the conclusion
66
सिू म ः आत्र्ा जगतः तस्थुषश्च. सय ू म ः is the very of आत्र्ा, the
very essence, the very content of जगतः तस्थष ु श्च, the mobile
as well as the immobile, the moving as well as the nonmoving,
the िरर्् as well as the अिरर्् creation. And therefore, सि ू म is
there described as सवाम त्र्ा and it is that indicated through this
सि ू ोदि statement. And in support of this here नपप्पलाद or the
उपनिषत् is quoting a ऋग् र्न्त्र. Because often the ब्राह्मण
portion takes the support of र्न्त्र portion. That is why in
तैनिरीिोपनिषत् often we saw,
तदप्येष श्लोको भवहत ॥ … प्राणं देवा अनु प्राणहन्त । and again
तदप्येष श्लोको भवहत ॥
So, वेद itself quotes the वेद but generally it is the ब्राह्मण
portion happens to be a commentary upon the र्न्त्र portion
and therefore often ब्राह्मण portion quote र्न्त्र portion in
support of itself. Similarly, this is a ब्राह्मणोपनिषत् and
therefore in support of this statement he is now quoting the
ऋग् र्न्त्र and that is why it is said तदेतत् ऋिा अभ्युक्तर््.
तदेतत् means this particular idea. Which particular idea?
That सि ू म भगवाि alone is in the form of whole creation,
आहदत्यः सवाम त्र्कः इत्यहस्र्न् अथे आहदत्यः अयर्् अथम ः ऋिा
अभ्युक्तर्् ऋग् र्न्रेण अभ्युक्तर्् is also said by the following
ऋग् र्न्त्र. We will get the quotation of ऋग् र्न्त्र now, for
that the introduction is given by the following ऋग् र्न्त्र also,
सिू म स्ि सवाम त्र्कत्वर्् एव उक्तर््. Ok. What is that ऋग् र्न्त्र?
67
Verse No. 1.8
नवश्वरूपं हररणं जातवेदसं परािणं ज्िोनतरे कं तपन्तर्् ।
ू मः ॥ ८ ॥
सहस्ररनश्र्ः शत्ा वतम र्ािः प्राणः प्रजािार्ुदित्िेष सि
So the सि ू म भगवाि’s description is given. Each name is an
epithet of Sun showing its glory, its सवाम त्र्कत्वर््. So what is
सिू म ः? नवश्वरूपर््, which we saw in the previous र्न्त्र itself
हवश्वाहन रूिाहण यस्य – the one who is in the form of the
whole creation. िररणर््. िररः in this context means रनश्र्ः or
rays. So िररणर्् means रहश्र्वन्तर््.
रहश्र्र्न्तं सर्ुद्यन्तं दे वासुरनर्स्कृतर्् । िज
ू यस्व हववस्वन्तं
भास्करं भुवनेश्वरर्् ।। ६ ।। सवम देवात्र्को ह्येष तेजस्वी
रहश्र्भावनः । ।। आहदत्यहृदयर्् ।।
So िररणर््, रहश्र्र्न्तर््, the one who is full of rays.
जातवेदसर्् – so the one who is omniscient. जातं जातं वेहि
इहत जातवेदः. We had seen before in केिोपनिषत्,
तेऽहग्नर्ब्रुवञ्जातवेद एतहद्वजानीहि इहत ॥ केनोिहनषत् ३-३ ॥
जातवेदः means the omniscient one. And सि ू म भगवाि् can be
called omniscient from two different angles.
One meaning of omniscient is the one who illumines
all, सवम र्् प्रकाशयहत. And therefore it is said to be
omniscient. If you take the Sun as a star, a material, a matter
principle. You can say that Sun is omniscient because it
illumines everything.
68
But really speaking we are looking from a different
angle. Even the Sun is a matter bundle, जड वस्तु we don't
look upon सि ू म ः from merely जड angle but we look up on the
Sun along with िैतन्िर्् pervading it and from that angle सि ू म
becomes a देवता. Just as everyone of us is a matter bundle
from the point of the body that we possess but we get a higher
status of a living being because of the िैतन्िर्् manifest here,
similarly, everything when you look along with the िैतन्िर्् it
gets the status of the living being. And from that angle सि ू म
represents a देवता, नहरण्िगभम ः is represented by that. So
therefore, according to the scriptures सि ू म represents the
नहरण्िगभम देवता. That is why in तैनिरीिोपनिषत्,
स यश्चायं िुरुषे । यश्चासावाहदत्ये । स एकः ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् ३-
१०-६ ॥
There we have said the िैतन्िर्् behind the human being and
the िैतन्िर्् behind the नहरण्िगभम both of them are one and
the same. Thus there we saw आनदत्िः means नहरण्िगभम
alone. The same thing has to be remembered here also. From
that angle आनदत्ि as नहरण्िगभम is जातवेद. And in fact,
whenever we are worshipping सि ू म भगवाि् during
सन्ध्िावन्दिर्् we are not worshipping that material bundle of
energy but we are worshipping
ध्येयः सदा सहवतर्ृ ण्डलर्ध्यवती नारायणः
सरहसजासनसंहनहविः । केयरू वान्र्करकुण्डलवान् हकरीटी
िारी हिरण्र्यविुधम तृ शङ्खिक्रः ।।
69
Therefore, सहवतर् ृ ण्डलर्ध्यवती नारायणः it is from that angle
it is said to be जातवेद.
Then िरायणर््. अयनर्् means abode or आश्रयर््,
support. And िरर्् अयनर्् means the ultimate abode of all
beings. सवम भत ू ािार्् आश्रिर््, in whose presence alone all
beings can survive, in whose absence life itself becomes
unimaginable. Ok. Then ज्िोनतः. You can understand ज्योहतः
means प्रकाश स्वरूपर््, the one who is of the nature of
effulgence. So if you take from material angle it is the
effulgence that we are experiencing but you can look at from
spiritual angle also then ज्िोनतः will mean िैतन्िर्् स्वरूपर््.
Both angles we see. देवतादृि्या िैतन्यरूिर््, सय ू म दृि्या
प्रकाशरूिर््. That is why in गाित्री also तत्सहवतुवमरेण्यर्् ।
भगो. भगम ः also we give these two meanings. भगम ः means light
or means Consciousness also. The light of Consciousness.
Then एकर्् – it is one. So सि ू म ः is एकर््. So don't say stars
are many. The stars do not have the status of सि ू म , stars are
different as far as we are concerned because our life is
governed by this particular star alone. Therefore, it is from
that angle we are saying it is एकर््. Then तिन्तर््. तिन्तर््
means which shines all the time, which burns, which shines all
the time. Now here the sentence is incomplete, we have to
supply – ऋषयः हवदुः. So the ऋनषs know the Sun to be of this
nature. So, ऋषयः आहदत्यर्् हवश्वरूिं हवदुः िररणं हवदुः
जातवेदसं हवदुः िरायणं हवदुः ज्योहतरे कं तिन्तर्् हवदुः. The
ऋहषs know the सि ू म भगवाि् to be of this glory. And some
70
more glories are pointed out here. सिस्ररहश्र्ः – so it is
endowed with thousands of rays and शतधा वतम र्ानः – the
very same सि ू म भगवाि् appears, manifests in hundreds of
forms. शतधा means अनेकधा प्राहणभेदेन, हवहवध प्राहणरूिेण,
in the form of र्िुष्ि पनक्ष पशु all of them are सि ू म भगवाि्’s
manifestation alone. So, शतधा वतम र्ानः. And प्राणः प्रजानार््
– it is the very प्राण of all beings, the very life of all beings.
Who? एषः सय ू म ः – so this सि ू म भगवाि्. And such a सि ू म
भगवाि् उदयहत – he raises and mergers with all beings
energizing them, enlivening them, becoming one with them
and therefore there is no difference between सि ू म and all the
beings here. And therefore सि ू म ः is सवाम त्र्कः and सि ू म is said
to be प्राणः and therefore प्राणः is सवाम त्र्कः. So previously
रहय has been said to be सवाम त्र्कः, now the conclusion of
these three र्न्त्रs, the तात्पिम र्् of these three र्न्त्रs is प्राणः
सवाम त्र्कः. So with this लोक सनत ष्ट is over. Now we have to
enter the काल सनत ष्ट. र्न्र number nine.
Verse No. 1.9
संवत्सरो वै प्रजापनतस्तस्िाििे दनक्षणं िोिरं ि । तद्ये ह वै
तनदष्टापत ू े कततनर्त्िुपासते ते िान्द्रर्सर्ेव लोकर्नभजिन्ते ।
त एव पुिरावतम न्ते तस्र्ादेत ऋषिः प्रजाकार्ा दनक्षणं
प्रनतपद्यन्ते । एष ह वै रनििम ः नपतित ाणः ॥ ९ ॥
Now why do we come to काल सनत ष्ट now? Because
काल is produced by, produced by means it is recognized by
the movement of सि ू म and िन्द्र. सय
ू म िन्द्र हनवम हतम तः कालः.
Because the day and night as we understand is caused by सि ू मः
71
alone. Because of the सि ू म alone we have the concept of day
and night. In the absence of सि ू म the day night is not possible.
That is why the सि ू म is called नदवाकरः. नदवाकरः means what?
नदवा means day करः means करोनत. सि ू म उदिः representing
the day and अस्तर्नर्् representing the night. Therefore, सय ू म
हनवम हतम तः अिोरारः “अिोराराहण हवदधद्”. Ok. And the
concept of नतनथ from प्रथर्ा to आर्ावास्ि to पौणम र्ी and then
प्रथर्ा, नद्वतीिा is another concept of कालः, which is
determined by moon. So, िन्द्र हनवम हतम ता हतहथः. And these
नतनथs joined together alone becomes पक्ष, which joined
together alone becomes र्ास, which joined together alone
becomes ऋतु, which joined together alone becomes अििर््,
which joined together alone becomes संवत्सरर््. Thus नतनथ,
पक्ष, र्ास, ऋतु, अयनर््, संवत्सर सवे अनप because of सि ू म and
िन्द्र alone. सिू म 's contribution is day-night, िन्द्र's contribution
is नतनथ. Nowadays nobody knows what is नतनथ and all, they
know only about dates. Who can tell what नतनथ is today? So
that concept of time is now not very much used but in those
days that was used and therefore that is being pointed out.
Therefore, after सि ू म िन्द्र सनत ष्ट now we are coming to काल
सनत ष्ट because सि ू म िन्द्र हनवम हतम त्वात् कालस्य काल सहृ िः
इदाहनर्् उच्यते. And there also संवत्सरो वै प्रजािहतः – so the
whole संवत्सर, the year is said to be प्रजापनत. How can you
say that is प्रजापनत? प्रजाितेः कायम त्वात्. Because it is born
out of प्रजापनत. How do you say it is प्रजापनत’s कािम र््? Now
only you said it is caused by सि ू म and िन्द्र. You are
72
contradicting yourself. So now tell me संवत्सर is सय ू म िन्द्र
हनवम हतम तः वा or प्रजािहत हनवम हतम तः? What do you say? Both
are right. So immediately seeing we say that the काल is
because of the Sun and moon but the Sun and moon
themselves are the manifestation of प्रजापनत because
आहदत्यो ि वै प्रजािहतः, रहयरे व िन्द्रर्ा ॥ प्रश्नोिहनषत् १-५ ॥
it has been said. And therefore, प्रजापनत alone manifest in the
form of सि ू म िन्द्र and which alone manifest as संवत्सर
therefore ultimately seeing प्रजापनत’s manifestation alone is
कालर्् also. Just like a child is a product of the parents you
can also say it is the product of the grandparents because his
parents are the product of the grandparents and and therefore
ultimately we can say प्रजापनत कािम र्् is the संवत्सर. And
therefore the उपनिषत् says संवत्सरो वै प्रजािहतः. And we had
previous seen प्रजापनत has got नर्थुि आत्र्कत्वर््, प्रजापनत is
a mixture of रनि and प्राण and therefore संवत्सर also must
have this mutually complementary aspects must be there.
Because if प्रजापनत has got mutually complementary aspects,
everything born out of प्रजापनत also will have these two. And
therefore we have to find out what are the रनि प्राण aspects of
संवत्सर. What are they? तस्य अयने – संवत्सरर््, the year has
got two अििर््. अििर्् in English we have to say solstice.
Northern solstice and southern solstice. It is all difficult, we
will use the word अििर्् only. Because अििर्् is more
popular as दनक्षणाििर््, उिरािणर््, at least it comes in
सङ्कल्प उिरायने … ऋतौ … र्ासे … ििे etc. So, अयने is
73
हद्वविनर््. अयनर्् अयने अयनाहन. It is not सिहर्, but प्रथर्ा
हद्वविनर््. And what are they? दहिणं ि उिरं ि. दनक्षणाििर््
six months, consisting of six months and उिरािणर्् consisting
of six months, i.e., from पोङ्गल् onwards उिरािण पुण्िकाल
begins, January middle it comes, उिरािणर्् begins it goes up
to July middle and there afterwards comes दनक्षणाििर््. So
these are the two अििर््s of the संवत्सर of which
दनक्षणाििर्् should represent the रनि aspect and उिरािणर््
represent प्राण aspect. And having said this much नपप्पलाद is
going to take a diversion. So what he does is he mentions
each stage of the creation and goes in for a diversion. So सि ू म
लोक सनत ष्ट was mentioned and afterwards we had a diversion.
What was the diversion? रनिः सवाम त्र्कः प्राणः सवाम त्र्कः that
was the diversion. And now we are going to get another after
the दनक्षणािि उिरािण is the topic. And in fact, the
following diversion is going to be the main topic. Sometimes
PS will be very important. Often to turn the attention, very
important matter should be put in PS. So, like that even
though it is given as an aside topic, in fact, this is going to be
the main. What is that? The कतष्णगनत and शुक्लगनत are
going to be discussed here, which you all know very well, you
are expert in those topics because in र्ाण्डूक्ि we had
discussed it very elaborately, in the eighth chapter of गीता we
have talked about it
शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते र्ते ।
एकया यात्यनावहृ िर्न्ययावतम ते िुनः ॥ गीता ८-२६ ॥
74
The only difference is here we are going to get two different
names as I said in the last class कतष्णगनत will be called as
हितयृ ानः and शुक्लगनत will be called देविािः. And these
two are supposed to be the subtle paths, गनतः means र्ागम ः or
path, these two are supposed to be the two subtle र्ागम s taken
by a जीव after death, not now, to reach the िन्द्रलोक or
सिू म लोक respectively. कतष्णगनत leading to िन्द्रलोक,
शुक्लगनत leading to सि ू म लोक. The exact details we will see
in the next class.
िण
75
र्न्र. 1.9 - 1.11
संवत्सरो वै प्रजािहतस्तस्यायने दहिणं िोिरं ि । तद्ये ि वै
तहदिाित ू े कृतहर्त्युिासते ते िान्द्रर्सर्ेव लोकर्हभजयन्ते ।
त एव िुनरावतम न्ते तस्र्ादेत ऋषयः प्रजाकार्ा दहिणं
प्रहतिद्यन्ते । एष ि वै रहययम ः हितयृ ाणः ॥ ९ ॥
Talking about सनत ष्ट the teacher नपप्पलाद had talked
about the नर्थुि सनत ष्ट in the beginning in the form of रनिः and
प्राणः. And we saw that रनि and प्राण are not exact things but
they are conceptual, the mutually complementary pairs. And
of this the first pair of creation is the लोक - the moon and the
Sun. therefore, from नर्थुि सनत ष्ट नपप्पलाद came to लोक
सनत ष्ट. And the moon stands for रहय and the Sun stands for
प्राण and both of them together make a whole therefore, they
are a complementary pair. And incidentally you should
remember the moon is known as नपतल त ोक or स्वगम लोक in our
scriptures. And the सि ू म , the Sun represents आनदत्िलोक
otherwise ब्रह्मलोक. And after लोक सनत ष्ट now नपप्पलाद has
come down to काल सनत ष्ट. And the highest काल is the
संवत्सरः, which alone is later divided into ऋतु, र्ास, पक्ष,
नदवस. So thus नपप्पलाद says संवत्सर is प्रजापनत. Because
you should remember that प्रजापनत alone is coming in the
form of complementary pairs. Therefore, both of them are
expressions of one and the same प्रजापनत alone. Therefore,
प्रजापनत was in the form of रनि प्राण, प्रजापनत was in the form
of सि ू म िन्द्र and प्रजापनत is in the form of संवत्सर consisting
of दनक्षणाििर्् and उिरािणर््. Of these two अििर््s,
76
अििर्् I told you in the last class अििर्् is the northern
solstice which indicates the moon’s travel in the northern and
the southern direction. So when the moon travels from the
north to the south from northern extreme to southern extreme,
not from center but from northern extreme to southern
extreme it is called दनक्षणाििर््, which comes during July
middle and when Sun moves from the southern extreme to
northern extreme, which is in the middle of January, that is the
पोङ्गल् day, from that day onwards it is उिरािणर््. Because
उिरािणर्् is supposed to be good. So therefore, संवत्सरो वै
प्रजािहतः तस्य अयने दहिणं ि उिरं ि. Of which दनक्षणाििर््
is रनि उिरािणर्् is प्राण. Now with this the काल सनत ष्ट or
संवत्सर सनत ष्ट is over but before going further here also we are
getting a small diversion. After each सनत ष्ट a small diversion is
there. And what is the diversion here? Which I had talked in
the last class but since there has been a gap I would like to
remind that here the कतष्णगनत and शुक्लगनत are talked about.
These two are subtle paths, not roads as we see here, but they
are subtle roads, divine roads through which a जीव travels to
reach िन्द्रलोक or नपतल त ोक and सि ू म लोक or ब्रह्मलोक. So
कतष्णगनत leads to िन्द्रलोक and शुक्लगनत leads to सि ू म लोक.
That is why कतष्णगनत also will come under रनि, िन्द्रलोक
also comes under रनि. शुक्लगनत comes under प्राण, सि ू म लोक
also comes under प्राण. So शुक्लगनत leads to सि ू म लोक and
कतष्णगनत leads to िन्द्रलोक. And कतष्णगनत is otherwise
known as what नपतित ािः. Therefore, नपतित ाि leads to
77
िन्द्रलोक, शुक्लगनत otherwise known as देविािः only very
many names but things are few, so शुक्लगनत or देविाि leads
to सि ू म लोक or ब्रह्मलोक. Ok. Which people will take to
कतष्णगनत? Is it open to all or special entry tickets are there?
Yes, here also tickets are there. Who will get कतष्णगनत?
Those people who perform rituals, good कर्म s. So therefore,
कहर्म णः कृष्णगहत द्वारा िन्द्रलोकर्् प्रप्नुवहन्त. Ok. Then who
will go to शुक्लगनत? They are उपासकs. Therefore, उपासकs
शुक्लगनत द्वारा सि ू म लोकर्् प्रप्नुवहन्त.
Thus,
➢ कनर्म s and उपासकs are two types of people,
➢ कतष्णगनत and शुक्लगनत are two types of र्ागम s,
➢ िन्द्रलोक and सिू म लोक are two types of destinations.
Thus two people, two र्ागम s and two destinations. What
about ज्ञानि’s? Don't forget about that? ज्ञाहन neither goes to
through कतष्णगनत nor does he go through शुक्लगनत, ज्ञाहन
attains oneness with ब्रह्मि् here and now. Therefore, there is
no question of travel for him. therefore, we are still in
अपरानवद्या topic alone. We have not come to परानवद्या.
Because wherever गनत comes wherever कर्म उपासिा topic
comes they are all within the world alone, only when ज्ञानर््
topic comes we are coming to परानवद्या. And that is being
pointed out here in this र्न्त्र. तत् ये ि वै इिाितू े उिासते –
those people who pursue, उिासते here means not उपासिा, in
this context उिासते means करोहत. Because it is ritual. So
78
those people who perform उिासते, करोहत, अनुहतष्हत,
आिरहत, performs. What? इिाित ू े – the types of activities
known as इिं ित ू ां etc. इहत is there which means इत्याहद.
इत्याहद उिासते. The word इिं ित ू ां has already come in
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्.
इिाित ू ां र्न्यर्ाना वररष्ं नान्यच्रे यो वेदयन्ते प्रर्ढ
ू ाः ।
नाकस्य िष् ृ े ते सुकृतेऽनुभत्ू वेर्ं लोकं िीनतरं वा हवशहन्त ॥
र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१० ॥
In the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् it came. So there I had said but I will
remind you. इिंर्् means rituals, religious activities. It is
defined as
अहग्निोरं तिः सत्यं वेदानाञ्िानुिालनर्् ।
आहतर्थयं वैश्वदेवञ्ि इिहर्त्यहभधीयते ॥
अहग्निोरर्् तिः सत्यर्् – following truthfulness, वेदानार्् ि
अनुिालनर््– वेद अध्ययनर््, आहतर्थयर्् – honoring the
अनतनथ's, guests, वैश्वदेव is another ritual. All these things are
called इिर्् इहत अहभधीयते. इिर्् means not that which is
desired. इिर्् is derived from the √यज्. These are all called
इिर्् कर्म , we can say वैनदक कर्म , religious actions, ritualistic
actions. Whereas ित ू म र्् is said to be more of social service
nature, good for the society. It is defined as
वािीकूितडागाहददेवतायतनाहन ि ।
ू म हर्त्यहभधीयते ॥
अन्नप्रदानर्ारार्ाः िि
Digging wells, tanks, lakes etc., for the public benefit,
building temples for their worship, देवता आयतनाहन ि –
79
abodes for the देवताs. What is that? Temple. अन्नप्रदानर्् –
so therefore distribution of अन्िर््, poor feeding. They all
have been prescribed in the शास्त्रs, remember. And आरार्ाः –
building guest houses where the pilgrims can stay, where
pilgrims can stay free of cost and where they will get food
also. And doing all these things come under ित ू म र््. And etc.
आहद is there. And for that we have to supply one more. दिर््
is another type of activity. दिर्् means
शरणागतसंराणं भत ू ानां िाप्यहिंसनर्् ।
बहिवेहद ि यद्दानं दिहर्त्यहभधीयते ।।
शरणागतसंराणर्् – when anybody comes to you for
protection, they don't have enough money, they don't have
shelter and you help him out by giving money or putting in an
orphanage or something that is all शरणागत रिणर््. भत ू ानार््
ि अहि अहिंसनर्् – and leading a life of in which I won’t harm
anyone, observing the values and बहिवेहद ि यद्दानर्् – giving
money to the people outside यज्ञशाल. Because if you give
money within यज्ञशाल it will not be called दानर््, it will come
under दनक्षणा. Only when it is outside the यज्ञशाल you just
give, not for any particular reason you give charity it becomes
दानर््. That is why it is बहिवेहद. वेहद means the यज्ञ ground.
They are all called दिर््. These are all various good activities
prescribed in our शास्त्रs – इिर््, ित ू म र्् and दिर््. And ये
उिासते – whoever follows all these good activities. उिासते is
plural. उिास्ते, उिासाते, उिासते. For them what is the फलर््?
ते िान्द्रर्सर्ेव लोकर्् अहभजयन्ते – as a result of this good
80
कर्म s they go to the िान्द्रर्सर्् लोकर््, the िन्द्रलोक
otherwise known as नपतल त ोक otherwise known as स्वगम लोक.
Ok. One word is there in between कृतर्् उिासते. कृतर््
means कर्म . So they are performing इिाित ू ाम हद कर्म s alone.
So why the उपनिषत् is emphasizing that? कृतर्् एव उिासते.
It is to indicate that they have not attained ज्ञािर्् or र्ोक्ष,
because ज्ञािर्् or र्ोक्ष doesn't come under कर्म . Because in
the र्ुण्डक it has been said नाहस्त अकृतः कृतेन. That कृतर््
we have to take here. Where it comes?
िरीक्ष्य लोकान् कर्म हितान् ब्रह्मणो
हनवेदर्ायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१२ ॥
Therefore इिर््, is a कर्म alone, ित ू म र्् is a कर्म alone, दिर्् is
a कर्म alone, whereas र्ोक्ष is different from all these, therefore
they will get स्वगम लोक but अकृतः र्ोिः तैः न लभ्यते. They
won't get र्ोक्ष that has been mentioned in a small bracket.
Like smoking is injurious to health. And what they write in
big letters? ‘Every puff is a promise’ that is written in a big
letters and quietly they write that ‘smoking is injurious to
health’. Like that ते िान्द्रर्सर्ेव लोकर्हभजयन्ते is written in
bold letters and then quietly he is hinting कृतर्् एव it is after
all done and therefore it will be done away with. How do you
know that? Read the next line. कृतत्वात् एव ते िुनरावतम न्ते
एव – they will definitely necessarily when the visa is expired
िुनरावतम न्ते. That is what is said in the र्ुण्डक,
ृ े ते सुकृतेऽनुभत्ू वेर्ं
नाकस्य िष्
लोकं िीनतरं वा हवशहन्त ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१० ॥
81
Just two र्न्त्रs before िरीक्ष्य लोकान्. 1.2.10 for your
reference. Because this is supposed to be a commentary upon
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् I have told you in the introduction. Ok. And
who are going to attain this लोक that is said here. तस्र्ात्.
तस्र्ात् means therefore, एते ऋषयः प्रजाकार्ाः दहिणं
प्रहतिद्यन्ते. Here the word ऋषयः means गिृ स्थाः, कहर्म णः,
which is a rare usage. So let them be happy, all the time ऋनष
has been used for someone else so therefore let them be happy
at least once in a while. So, ऋषयः means here कहर्म णः and
शङ्करािािम justifies that name. See literally ऋनष means
what? ऋषहत, जानाहत इहत ऋहषः. Those who know is a ऋनष.
And ज्ञाहनs all are called ऋनषs because they know परम्ब्ब्रह्म.
िरम्प्ब्रह्म ऋषहत इहत ऋहषः ज्ञाहन इत्यथम ः. Now शङ्करािािम
says गहत स्थs are also ऋनषs because they also know. But what
they know alone is different. Therefore, शङ्करािािम says
स्वगम र्् ऋषहत, जानाहत इहत ऋहषः. Not परम्ब्ब्रह्म but they know
what is स्वगम लोक and they know what is the path to the
स्वगम लोक and they know what are the necessary rituals to be
performed and therefore they also can be called ऋनष. What is
wrong in it. So स्वगम द्रिारः ऋषयः. And how do you know
they are गहत स्थs only? How do you differentiate? See for that
adjective has been given, प्रजाकार्ाः – those who are
interested in प्रजाs, प्रजा means children. And from this alone
we get the idea that it is गिृ स्थाः ऋषयः. Otherwise how can
प्रजाकार्ाः come in the case of संन्याहस हवषयः? It will not
work, isn't it? Therefore, the word प्रजाकार्ाः helps us in
82
understanding the word ऋनषः. So प्रजाकार्त्वर्् गिृ स्थेषु एव
सम्प्भवहत. So, these people प्रजाकार्ाः ऋषयः दहिणं
प्रहतिद्यन्ते – they go to the कतष्णगनत. Here दनक्षणर््
represents the कतष्णगनत I have already told दनक्षणाििर््
represents कतष्णगनत. Therefore, they go through दहिणर््,
कतष्णगनत and through कतष्णगनत they go to िन्द्रलोक. Thus,
प्रजाकार्ाः कहर्म णः कृष्णगहतर्् प्रहतिद्यन्ते तत् द्वारा
िन्द्रलोकञ्ि प्रहतिद्यन्ते. Another point also we will discuss.
This is based on what we have studied before. I said
दनक्षणाििर्् represents कतष्णगनत. Why दनक्षणाििर््
represents कतष्णगनत? That we didn't ask and answer. We
took for granted - दनक्षणाििर्् represents कतष्णगनत,
उिरािणर्् represents शुक्लगनत. On what basis? It is if you
remember the eighth chapter of गीता,
अहग्नज्योहतरिः शुक्लः षण्र्ासा उिरायणर्् ।
तर प्रयाता गच्छहन्त ब्रह्म ब्रह्महवदो जनाः ॥ गीता ८-२४ ॥
धर्
ू ो राहरस्तथा कृष्णः षण्र्ासा दहिणायनर्् ।
तर िान्द्रर्सं ज्योहतयोगी प्राप्य हनवतम ते ॥ गीता ८-२५ ॥
So the दनक्षणािि र्ागम is presided over by or कतष्णगनत is
presided over by various देवताs and those देवताs are known
as दहिणायन देवता, कृष्ण िि देवता and राहर देवता etc., it
was said in the eighth chapter. Similarly, शुक्लगनत is
presided over by उिरािण देवता, शुक्ल पक्ष देवता and अिः
देवता etc. If you remember only this much that दहिणायनर््
represents कतष्णगनत, that is the main point and उिरािणर््
represents शुक्लगनत. So कहर्म णः दहिणर्् प्रहतिद्यन्ते.
83
दहिणर्् उिलहित कृष्णगहतर्् and तत् द्वारा िन्द्रर्् ि
प्रहतिद्यन्ते. And एष ि वै रहयः यः हितयृ ाणः – so this नपतित ाि
र्ागम , that is this कतष्णगनत also is known as रहयः. So three
things are called रहयः. What are they? दनक्षण अििर्् is called
रनि and the कतष्णगनत which is indicated by दनक्षणाििर््,
दहिणायनोिलहितर्् कृष्णगहतः that is also called रहयः and
through that कतष्णगनत the िन्द्रलोक is reached िन्द्रलोक also
is called रहयः. So िन्द्रलोक, कतष्णगनत and दनक्षणाििर्् all
the three are called रहयः and correspondingly सि ू म लोक,
शुक्लगनत and उिरािणर्् all the three are called प्राणः. एष ि वै
रहयः यः हितयृ ाणः. Ok. Now we have to go to what?
उिरािणर््. दनक्षणाििर्् has been talked about, now
शुक्लगनत has to come. That is coming in the next र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 1.10
अथोिरे ण तपसा ब्रह्मििेण श्रद्धिा
नवद्यिात्र्ािर्नन्वष्िानदत्िर्नभजिन्ते । एतद्वै
प्राणािार्ाितिर्ेतदर्त त र्भिर्ेतत्परािणर्ेतस्र्ान्ि
पुिरावतम न्त इत्िेष निरो्ः । तदेष श्लोकः ॥ १० ॥
So in this श्लोक the शुक्लगनत is pointed out and the
destination is pointed out that is आनदत्िलोक or ब्रह्मलोक or
सत्िलोक all are same, that is the destination and शुक्लगनत
is the path. Another word for शुक्लगनत is what? देविाि is
the path. And who are the travelers? The travelers are
उपासकs. Or we can even say कर्म उपासिा सर्ुच्ििः Those
who do उपासिा along with कर्म , those people will attain this
गनत. So अथ उिरे ण. Here उिर represents what? उिर means
84
उिरािणर््. And उिरािणर्् represents what गनत? शुक्लगनत.
Therefore, उिरे ण means उिरािण उिलहित शुक्लगहत
द्वारे ण. What लोक they attain? आहदत्यर्् अहभजयन्ते – these
उपासकs attain आनदत्िलोक otherwise known as ब्रह्मलोक.
Ok. And for this what all सा्िाs they do? They are
enumerated. तिसा ब्रह्मियेण श्रद्धया हवद्यया. So if you
remember the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् the corresponding र्न्त्र was
1.2.11.
सय
And there afterwards िरीक्ष्य लोकान् comes. So the same
pattern is used here also. You know the meaning of all these
words. तपस् means discipline, austerity. Then ब्रह्मििम र््.
ब्रह्मििम र्् also we have seen before, discipline, control of all
the organs, the व्रतर्् of a student, ब्रह्मिाररणः व्रतर्् ब्रह्मियम र््.
Then श्रद्धया – with श्रद्धा. श्रद्धा means faith in the scriptures.
And हवद्यया. Here नवद्या means what? उपासिा, not
आत्र्ज्ञािर््. Thus by following उपासिा along with all the
disciplines. उपासिा is the main job तपस् ब्रह्मििम र्् etc., are
the supporting disciplines. Both must go together उपासिा
minus discipline is useless, discipline minus उपासिा also will
not give the benefit. Both of them should go together. By this
what do this seek? आत्र्ानर्् अहन्वष्य. Here आत्र्ा represents
the सि ू म ः or the सि
ू म देवता. So here आत्र्ा is not सनच्िदािन्द
85
आत्र्ा, not निगम ुण आत्र्ा because here the topic is उपासिा
topic and गनत topic is there. Therefore, we should not take the
ू म ः. How can you call सय
र्ुख्ि आत्र्ा, here it is सि ू म ः as the
आत्र्ा. Care of सन्ध्िावन्दिर्् र्न्त्रर््.
सयू म आत्र्ा जगतस्तस्थुषश्च ॥ तच्ििुदेवहितं
िुरस्ताच्छुक्रर्ुच्िरत् ।
So सि ू म is glorified as the very आत्र्ा of all the beings. आत्र्ा
means what? The essence because सि ू म energy alone is giving
life to everyone, without सि ू म तत्त्वर्् no living being can be
there and therefore we can say सि ू म is the very essence, the
very प्राण of all beings. And therefore सि ू म is called आत्र्ा.
सि ू म means सि ू म देवता or नहरण्िगभम देवता. Because सि ू म लोक
is ब्रह्मलोक therefore सि ू म देवता means ब्रह्मानज or नहरण्िगभम
all are identical. सि ू म देवता, नहरण्िगभम देवता, ब्रह्मानज all the
three are identical in this context. अहन्वष्य. अहन्वष्य means
seeking that देवता those people who follow all these आहदत्यर््
अहभजयन्ते they attain सि ू म लोक or ब्रह्मलोक or नहरण्िगभम
लोक, because that is what he meditate upon. And this
आनदत्िलोक alone is the highest लोक is being mentioned
here. Because of all the fourteen लोकs the highest लोक is
ब्रह्मलोक and therefore that is glorified here. एतद्वै प्राणानार््
आयतनर्् – this alone is the ultimate abode, आश्रिर्् for all the
प्राणs. Here प्राण means प्रानणs, for all the living beings the
ultimate आश्रयर्् is this सि ू म देवता or सि ू म लोक alone.
86
आप्नोहत स्वाराज्यर्् । आप्नोहत र्नसस्िहतर्् ।
वाक्िहतश्चिुष्िहतः । श्रोरिहतहवम ज्ञानिहतः । एतितो भवहत ।॥
तैिरीयोिहनषत् १-६-२ ॥
So नशक्षावल्ली the very same ब्रह्मलोक is described here. He
becomes वाक्िहतः, ििुष्िहतः, श्रोरिहतः, हवज्ञानिहतः etc., that
means he alone becomes the Lord of all living beings and that
is what is said here प्राणानार्् आयतनर्् and एतत् अर्त ृ र्् –
this is the world of immortality and अभयर्् – this is the world
of fearlessness. Now what do you mean by that? This is the
world of immortality, the world of fearlessness can be
interpreted in two ways. Really speaking ब्रह्मलोक is not the
world of immortality. Why because ब्रह्मलोक is also finite in
nature, ब्रह्मलोक also will be destroyed at the time of प्रलय
and therefore it cannot be literally immortal. Therefore, here
immortality means what? Relative immortality, आिेहिक
अर्तृ त्वर्् न तु र्ुख्यर्् अर्त
ृ त्वर््. So compared to human
life ब्रह्मलोक is eternity. We ourselves say I have been
waiting for eternity, water is not coming at all. So eternity
means not that eternity but it means for a long time.
Similarly, अभयर्् also is not absolute fearlessness, compared
to other लोकs ब्रह्मलोक is आिेहिक अभयत्वर््. This is one
interpretation.
Otherwise we can interpret in a different manner also.
See the one who has gone to ब्रह्मलोक is sooner or later going
to become ज्ञानि. Because we have seen before that there also
classes will be going on. And who will be conducting the
87
classes? ब्रह्मानज himself. So, ब्रह्मणा उिहदिः सन्तः ते सवे अहि
ज्ञानर्् प्राप्नुवहन्त. Because ब्रह्मा is such an efficacious
teacher, in the case of me I might not be able to teach well and
give knowledge to all, but in the case of ब्रह्मनज he will be able
to give. And not only that those who have gone to ब्रह्मलोक
level will have very subtle equipments, therefore they are fitter
than human beings. So students also are fitter students and
teacher also better teacher and therefore, invariably they all
get आत्र्ज्ञािर्् and attain र्ुनक्त, which is known as क्रर्र्ुनक्त.
And therefore, ब्रह्मलोक is said to be immortality because
ब्रह्मलोक will give him the र्ुनक्त, which is real immortality.
Therefore, since it is a means to अर्त त र्् and since it is a means
to अभिर्् and therefore it is said as अभिर्् and अर्त त र््. So,
र्ुख्य अर्त ृ साधनत्वात् अर्त ृ र््, similarly, र्ुख्य अभय
साधनत्वात् अभयर््. That is one interpretation. Or the other
one is आिेहिक अर्त ृ र््, आिेहिक अभयर््. In short, the idea
is in the relative world the greatest achievement possible is
ब्रह्मलोक. So, एतत् िरायणर्् – and therefore this alone is the
ultimate abode or ultimate goal also. शङ्करािािम gives abode
only, आश्रयः only. So previously also प्राणानार्् आयतनर््
was said, there also it was said to be the basis of प्राणs. The
difference is previously we said प्राणानार्् आयतनर्् there it is
आश्रयः for all living beings, here it is पारािणर््, the आश्रयः
for all inert things also. Thus this is an आश्रयर्् for िरािरर््
सवम र््. Thus ब्रह्मलोक is the highest लोक and उिासकs
through शुक्लगनत will attain this ब्रह्मलोक. That is the
88
essence. And incidentally a small note is added here. एषः
हनरोधः – this is prohibited to the कनर्म s. So this लोक, which
is meant for उिासकs alone, this लोक is not available for the
other people. This is a taboo for कनर्म s. Therefore, there will
be ticket examiners if you buy second class ticket and go to
first class they will ask you to shift. In the same way here also,
हवद्वांसः एव शुक्लगहतर्् प्राप्नुवहन्त न अहवद्वांसः. Therefore,
you have to supply अहवदुषां हनरोधः अनुिासकानार्् हनरोधः.
This is prohibited, door will automatically get closed. And
now तत् एषः श्लोकः is an introduction to a quotation from
ऋग्वेद which is going to be the next र्न्र. So here नपप्पलाद
is going to quote a ऋग् र्न्र. In support of what? In support
of the superiority of the सि ू म लोक or आनदत्िः, in support of the
greatness of आनदत्िः, in support of the greatness of the
destination. So, तत् एषः. तत् means what? तहस्र्न्नथे,
एतहस्र्न्नथे, सय ू म स्य र्हिर्ा हवषये एषः श्लोकः. श्लोकः means
ऋग् र्न्र वतम ते. What is the ऋग् र्न्र? We will read.
Verse No. 1.11
पञ्िपादं नपतरं द्वादशाकतनतं नदव आहु ः परे अ्े पुरीनषणर्् ।
अथेर्े अन्ि उ परे नविक्षणं सििक्रे षडर आहु रनपम तनर्नत ॥ ११ ॥
So सि ू म स्तुनत is done in this र्न्त्र, the glorification of the सि ू म,
which is the destination of शुक्लगनत. What is this सि ू म ? All
mysterious words are used. Because of शङ्करािािम we are
able to get something out of it, otherwise this will be just like
Greek and Latin. Because mere knowledge of संस्कतत
language will not help, because every word is with implied
89
meaning alone. So what is सि ू म ः? िञ्ििादर्् – it is endowed
with five feet. How many feet for सि ू म ? Five feet. Now what
do you mean by that five feet? So शङ्करािािम gives the five
seasons are taken as the feet of सि ू म लोक because the सि ू म
moves creating the five seasons, सि ू म moves through the five
seasons, creating the five seasons, therefore सय ू म ः is called
िञ्ििादर््. That is why in आनदत्ि हृदिर्् one of the name of
सयू म ः is
ऋतुकताम प्रभाकरः ॥ आहदत्यहृदयर्् ९ ॥
ऋतन ू ् करोहत इहत ऋतुकताम . And here the five seasons
represents six seasons. Really speaking the seasons are
supposed to be six in number, especially according to Indian
scriptures we talk of six seasons. In English they talk of only
four. What are the six seasons? They are वसन्तः, वसन्त
means spring, ग्रीष्र्र्् – summer वषम ः – rains, शरद् – autumn,
हे र्न्तः – prewinter and नशनशरः – the winter. So, वसन्त,
ग्रीष्र्, वषम , शरद्, िे र्न्त and हशहशरः. Spring, summer, rains,
autumn, prewinter and winter. Here prewinter and winter
have been joined together as one season. That is November,
December, January and February. Therefore, four months of
हे र्न्तनशनशरौ एकीकतत्ि एक ऋतुत्वेि स्वीकारः. Therefore,
taking िे र्न्त and हशहशर as one ऋतु and the other four ऋतुs
put together िञ्ि ऋतवः. िञ्ितम वः. So these five ऋतुs are like
the िादs for the Sun because it was moves through ऋतुs.
द्वादश आकृहतर्् – it has got twelve forms or manifestations.
You can guess. According to the twelve months of the year,
90
because each month the position of the Sun will be changing
because of the उिरािण दनक्षणािि movement, the Sun’s
appearance itself during the peak time you will find that in the
early Sun itself will look like bright one. And at other seasons
the early Sun will look only reddish. Thus you can find the
rising Sun itself will have twelve different appearances
according to its position. And therefore, द्वादश आकृतयः यस्य
सः द्वादश आकृहतः तर््. And it is हितरर््. In fact, it is the
father of all the beings, because the Sun alone gives the
energy the life to all people directly and indirectly also Sun
gives life to plant kingdom and only if plant kingdom is there
we can survive. Thus,
गार्ाहवश्य ि भत
ू ाहन धारयाम्प्यिर्ोजसा । ॥ गीता १५-१३ ॥
I enter the earth and give ओजस् शनक्त.
ओजोऽहस सिोऽहस बलर्हस भ्राजोऽहस ॥ र्िानारायणोिहनषत् ॥
So हितरर््, he is the father of all living beings because he
sustains all. What is the derivation for नपता? पानत इनत नपता.
िाहत means िालयहत. How the word mother came? र्ाहत इहत
र्ाता. The one who measures. So therefore, the one who
gives everything in a measured manner with love and care is
mother. िाहत इहत हिता. Therefore, हितरर््. More we will
see in the next class.
िण
91
र्न्र. 1.10 - 1.16
अथोिरे ण तिसा ब्रह्मियेण श्रद्धया
हवद्ययात्र्ानर्हन्वष्याहदत्यर्हभजयन्ते । एतद्वै
प्राणानार्ायतनर्ेतदर्त ृ र्भयर्ेतत्िरायणर्ेतस्र्ान्न
िुनरावतम न्त इत्येष हनरोधः । तदेष श्लोकः ॥ १० ॥
िञ्ििादं हितरं द्वादशाकृहतं हदव आिु ः िरे अधे िुरीहषणर्् ।
अथेर्े अन्य उ िरे हवििणं सििक्रे षडर आिु रहिम तहर्हत ॥ ११ ॥
Talking about the creation after नर्थुि सनत ष्ट and लोक
सनत ष्ट now we are discussing काल सनत ष्ट. नपप्पलाद said that
संवत्सर, the year itself is a manifestation of प्रजापनत and
therefore, the year also must be हर्थुनात्र्कर््, consisting of
complementary pairs and दनक्षणाििर्् and उिरािणर्् were
mentioned as the नर्थुिर्् and दनक्षणाििर्् stands for रनि and
उिरािणर्् stands for प्राण and incidentally नपप्पलाद is taking
a diversion that दनक्षणािि indicates the कतष्णगनत and
उिरािण indicates शुक्लगनत and those people who do कर्म
they take to कतष्णगनत and attain िन्द्रलोक, those who take to
उपासिा they follow शुक्लगनत and attain आनदत्िलोक or
ब्रह्मलोक. Having mentioned that now नपप्पलाद wants to
glorify आनदत्िः. The destination of शुक्लगनत is praised here.
Previously आनदत्ि was praised as प्राण but now again
आनदत्ि is praised as the destination of शुक्लगनत, a
destination which stands for क्रर्र्ुनक्तः. Because शुक्लगनत
leads to आनदत्िलोक from where क्रर्र्ुनक्त is attained. And
therefore we get now आनदत्ि स्तुनतः in the eleventh र्न्त्र.
There we saw िञ्ििादं हितरं द्वादशाकृहतर््. So the सि ू म
92
भगवाि् is said to be िञ्ििादः, the five footed Lord, each foot
representing one-one season or ऋतु. And द्वादशाकृहतर्् he has
got twelve expressions or manifestations in each of the month
and he is known as the father of the creation because सि ू म
alone gives life to all beings, सिू म alone protects all beings
therefore he is called नपता. Up to this we saw. Now the next
word to be seen is हदवः िरे अधे. Here हदवः means भुवलोक.
िरे and means beyond भुवलोक. And अधे means स्थाने, a
place. So this सि ू म भगवाि is in a place which is beyond
भुवलोक, which means सि ू म भगवाि् is in सुवलोक. Beyond
भुवलोक means what? सुवलोक. So thus, सि ू म भगवाि् is in
सुवलोक or स्वगम लोक which is beyond भुवलोक. Because in
the scriptures the पनत थवी, the earth is called भल ू ोक, the
intermediary space is called भुवलोक, अन्तररक्षर्् and beyond
this intermediary space, the higher space is called सुवलोक.
Since the Sun is in the highest space it is said to be in
सुवलोक.
भरू रहत वा अयं लोकः । भुव इत्यन्तररिर्् । सुवररत्यसौ लोकः ॥
१॥
र्ि इत्याहदत्यः । आहदत्येन वाव सवेलोका र्िीयन्ते । ॥
तैहिरीयोिहनषत् ५-१/२ ॥
So in नशक्षावल्ली we saw आहदत्येन वाव सवेलोका र्िीयन्ते.
And where is that आनदत्ि? In the सुवलोक, which is beyond
the भुवलोक, the अन्तररक्षर््. And िरे अधे. हदवः is िञ्िर्ी
हवभहक्त. (प्रथर्ा) द्यौः, हदवौ, हदवः. (िञ्िर्ी) हदवः, द्युभ्यार््,
द्युभ्यः. So beyond the द्युलोक, that is in this context सुवलोक.
93
In normal context हदवः means सुवलोक only but in this
context we have to take a special meaning as भुवलोक. And
what else is आनदत्ि? िुरीहषणर््. िुरीषर्् here means जलर्् or
water. So, िुरीहषणर्् means the one who has plenty of water. It
looks funny. We say आनदत्ि भगवाि् is full of fire, it is
nothing but energy, heat. How do you say it is full of water?
Because the Sun alone is responsible for rain.
आहदत्यात् जायते वहृ िः ततः अन्नर्् ततः प्रजाः ॥ र्नुस्र्हृ त ३ -
७६ ॥
So since the Sun is responsible for the evaporation of the
oceanic waters and that alone is responsible for the formation
of the clouds and that alone later comes in the form of rain and
therefore the Sun is supposed to be store house of waters. In
short, it means it is the cause of rain, वषम कारणर््, िुरीहषणर््.
इहत आिु ः – thus some sages glorify the Sun in these terms.
Ok. Whereas some other sages glorify in different terms. so
till now it is the glorification of one set of sages, now we get
again glorification done by other set of people. That is why
नपप्पलाद says अथ इर्े अन्ये उ िरे – some other sages also
glorify सि ू म भगवाि.् So अन्ये ऋषयः सय ू म र्् स्तुवहन्त. How do
they glorify? That is also given here. हवििणर्् सििक्रे षडरे
आिु ः अहिम तर्् इहत. They say हवििणर््. हवििणः means
सवम ज्ञः because सि ू म भगवाि् is the light, which illumines
everything, everything falls within the range of सि ू म प्रकाशः
therefore he is the illuminator of all, the knower of all. This is
one reason. The second reason is सि ू म भगवाि् represents
94
नहरण्िगभम in our scriptures. ब्रह्मा or नहरण्िगभम is represented
by सि ू म भगवाि.् And नहरण्िगभम is सर्नष्ट बुनद्धः because he is
सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् includes सर्नष्ट
बुनद्ध and since नहरण्िगभम has got total intellect, he must have
total knowledge also. Therefore, सि ू म भगवाि् represents
omniscience as नहरण्िगभम . And therefore he is called
हवििणर््, the seer of all, हवििे सवम र्् इहत हवििणः – the
one who sees everything, the one who knows everything is
called हवििणः. And not only that सििक्रः. सि ू म भगवाि् is
one who has got seven िक्रs. Previously it was said
िञ्ििादर््, now it is put as सििक्रर््. सििक्रः is otherwise
known as the seven horsed Sun, सिियः.
सिाश्वरथर्ारूढं प्रिण्डं कश्यिात्र्जर्् ।
ू ां प्रणर्ाम्प्यिर्् ॥ सय
श्वेतिद्मधरं देवं तं सय ू ाम िकर्् २ ॥
सि ू म िार्स्कार. So what I want to say is सिाश्वः. That alone
is said here. And what are the seven horses? Various people
interpret, some people say that it is this seven colors of the
sunlight, सिवणाम ः. So सििक्रः. Then षडरः. अरः means the
spoke of a wheel. In a wheel there is an outside rim, there is
a central hub and there is a connecting rod between the central
hub and outside rim, that rod is called spoke and in संस्कतत it
is called अरः. And for the सि ू म भगवाि if there are the
सििक्रर््s, for those िक्रर््s we require spokes. And what are
the spokes? The षड् ऋतवः एव अराः. So each season is like a
spoke because seasons constantly move, when the seasons
move the cycle, the िक्रर्् also moves, when the िक्रर्् moves
95
the संवत्सर also moves. Thus all moments are through
season, seasonal movements. The very life goes in seasons
alone. That is why if a person is sixty years old, they say he
has seen sixty autumns. Means what? Each one is a spoke,
movement is only in that. And when you say the spokes are
the seasons, the सि ू म represents the कालात्र्कः सि ू म ः ऋतु
आत्र्कः अर द्वारा गच्छनत. The सि ू म who represents time he
moves in the form of season. Highly imaginative! So we
should have poetic mind for appreciating that. And not only
that they say अहिम तर्् इहत. We have to supply the entire
world. सर्स्तर्् जगत् अहस्र्न् सय ू े एव अहिम तर्् – the whole
creation is supported by this सय ू म भगवान् alone. Thus some
other sages glorify the Sun as the supporter of all and it is this
आहदत्यलोक which is reached by the उिासकs the path of
which is represented by उिरायणर््. And this is a quotation
from ऋग् र्न्र and with this the संवत्सर सहृ ि is over. But yet
काल सहृ ि is not yet over because here afterwards he wants
to talk about the सहृ ि of र्ासः, then हदवसः. So therefore
काल सहृ ि still continues. It is only one part of काल सहृ ि is
over, now another part is going to come.
Verse No. 1.12
र्ासो वै प्रजापनतस्तस्ि कतष्णपक्ष एव रनिः शुक्लः
प्राणस्तस्र्ादेत ऋषिः शुक्ल इष्टं कुवम न्तीतर इतरनस्र्ि् ॥ १२ ॥
Now र्ास सनत ष्टः. र्ासो वै प्रजािहतः – the very same
original प्रजापनत alone is manifesting in the form of र्ासः.
प्रजापतेः उपादाि कारणत्वात् उपादाि कारणर्् एव कािम रूपेण
96
भानत. प्रजापनत alone appears in the form of र्ास. And in that
case र्ास also must be हर्थुनात्र्कर््, must consist of
complementary pair. And what are they? कृष्णिि एव रहयः –
the dark fortnight is called रनि and शुक्लः, शुक्ल means
what? शुक्लपक्षः, the bright fortnight is known as प्राणः. And
both mixed together become the whole month. So this the
whole month consist of complementary pair of शुक्लपक्ष and
कतष्णपक्ष. This much alone is र्ास सनत ष्ट. And here
afterwards a diversion here also. After every सनत ष्ट a small
diversion is taken. And here what is that? He says तस्र्ात्
एते ऋषयः शुक्ल इिं कुवम हन्त. Now here what he wants to say
is, एते ऋषयः here the ऋहषs means those sages who meditate
upon शुक्लपक्ष as प्राणः. शुक्लििर्् प्राणत्वेन उिासकाः.
Because it has been said that शुक्लः is प्राणः and when they do
such an उपासिा they have an advantage. What is that
advantage? Whatever ritual they do all these rituals will be as
good as done in शुक्लपक्ष. That is even if they do a ritual in
कतष्णपक्ष, that ritual will be as good as done in शुक्लपक्ष.
According to scriptures a ritual done in शुक्लपक्ष is more
efficacious and a ritual done in कतष्णपक्ष is less efficacious.
पुण्ि कालर्् is शुक्लपक्ष, like उिरािणर्् we say. And
therefore suppose you are doing a ritual in कतष्णपक्ष normally
it is less efficacious but suppose I do उपासिा of शुक्लपक्ष as
प्राण then what happens? कतष्णपक्ष कर्म also will become as
efficacious as शुक्लपक्ष कर्म . {Is it too complicated? That is
the र्न्त्र I have to explain it.} So they idea is normally
97
कतष्णपक्ष कर्म is less efficacious but if you do उिासना
सर्ुहच्ित कर्म and the उपासिा being meditation on शुक्लपक्ष
as प्राण then the advantage is कतष्णपक्ष कर्म also will be
converted to शुक्लपक्ष कर्म . Like in the 17th chapter we saw
if you chant ॐ तत्सत् at the end of a ritual even a defective
ritual will become an effective ritual. Similarly, if you do
उपासिा then कतष्णपक्ष कर्म will become शुक्लपक्ष कर्म . That
is said एते ऋषयः शुक्लिि उिासकाः शुक्ले इिं कुवम हन्त.
इिर्् means rituals. They perform rituals always in शुक्लपक्ष
alone. Whatever be the time of ritual it is reckoned as
शुक्लपक्ष alone. Whereas इतरे – if they do not have this
उपासिा, they do not perform this उपासिा of seeing शुक्लपक्ष
as प्राण then what happens? Whatever time they do कर्म it will
be as good as कतष्णपक्ष कर्म alone, even if they do a कर्म in
शुक्लपक्ष it will be as less efficacious as doing in कतष्णपक्ष
alone. So इतरे . इतरे means what? अनुिासकाः, केवल
कनर्म णः they are doing इतरहस्र्न्, इतरहस्र्न् means what?
कतष्णपक्षे. So इतरे कहर्म णः सवम दा कृष्णििे एव कर्म कुवम हन्त,
even if they do in शुक्लपक्ष its value is only कतष्णपक्ष value.
And therefore what? उपासिा increases the efficacy of a कर्म .
यदेव हवद्यया करोहत श्रद्धयोिहनषदा तदेव वीयम विरं भवहत । ॥
छान्दोग्योिहनषत् १-१-१० ॥
That is the श्रुहतवाक्िर््. Any कर्म done with उपासिा will
have better result. So thus if you chant नवष्णुसहस्रिार् after
नवष्णु ध्िािर्् the chanting will have better effect. If you chant
आनदत्िहृदिर्् after आनदत्ि ध्िािर्् it will have a better effect.
98
Similarly, कर्म s done with this उिासना will have a better
effect. Therefore, the essence is only कर्म उपासिा सर्ुच्ििः.
With this र्ास सनत ष्ट diversion is over. Next comes another
सनत ष्ट.
Verse No. 1.13
अहोरात्रो वै प्रजापनतस्तस्िाहरे व प्राणो रानत्ररे व रनिः प्राणं वा एते
प्रस्कन्दनन्त िे नदवा रत्िा संिुज्िन्ते ब्रह्मििम र्ेव तद्यद्रात्रौ रत्िा
संिुज्िन्ते ॥ १३ ॥
Now the creation of a day, a नदवस. नदवस सनत ष्टः or
नदि सनत ष्टः. And that is said here. अिोरारो वै प्रजािहतः.
अिोरारर्् put together makes one day. Therefore, it is said
अिोरारः, a full day consisting of a day and night is the
manifestation of प्रजापनत. So here he uses the word अिोरारर््
because in English also the same problem is there, the word
day has got two meanings, isn't it? The word day has got two
meanings, the day time is also called day and a full day
consisting of 24 hours including day and night that is also
called day. And therefore if he says day is प्रजापनत we might
have confusion and therefore नपप्पलाद says अिोरारो वै
प्रजािहतः that is 24 hours is प्रजापनत, we are not talking about
twelve hours. I don't know why in all languages the same
problem is there. Like उिरािणर्् and दनक्षणाििर्् whole
making संवत्सरर्् like that here also one full day must be
there and it must be divided into two separate things but the
day itself is divided into day and night, there also day comes.
And therefore the confusion can be there but it is there in all
99
languages and therefore प्रजापनत says अिोरारो वै प्रजािहतः.
And this is also हर्थन ु ात्र्कर््, a full day also consist of a
complementary pair. So naturally question comes what is
रनिः and what is प्राणः? So नपप्पलाद answers तस्य. तस्य
अिोरारस्य अिरे व प्राणः – the daytime alone is प्राणः. And
राहररे व रहयः – the night time is रनिः. And the day and night is
complementary pair, together making one whole day.
A small diversion is going to come and the diversion is
regarding householders relationship, an advise to householders
is given regarding the conjugal relationship. स्त्रीसंयोग हनयर्
is given. And what is the नििर्, the rule given? That is the
स्त्रीसंयोगः of a husband should be only in the night and it
should not be in the day. रारौ एव स्त्रीसंयोगः न तु हदवे. That
is the नििर् given. And why is this rule? ये हदवा रत्या
संयुज्यन्ते. Here रहतः means स्त्री. So those people who have
स्त्रीसंयोगः during daytime, what are they doing? प्राणर्् वा
प्रस्कन्दहन्त – they are losing all their प्राणशहक्तs, their
energies. The reason is the daytime is presided over by प्राणः,
so since the daytime is presided over by the प्राण those people
who have स्त्रीसंयोगः during the day they are dissipating,
losing their प्राणः, their शनक्त, their energy. And therefore it
is हनहषद्धर््, prohibited, in the शास्त्र. On the other hand ये
रारौ रत्या संयुज्यन्ते – those householders who have
स्त्रीसंयोगः in the night for them ब्रह्मियम र्ेव तद् – it is as good
as ब्रह्मििम र्् only. They are as good as observing ब्रह्मििम
नििर् and therefore that is superior, that is allowed in the
100
शास्त्र. Thus a नििर् for householders is given in this. So,
with this the diversion of day सनत ष्ट also is over.
Now comes the next level of सनत ष्ट. With this the काल
सनत ष्ट also is over. नर्थुि सनत ष्ट, then लोक सनत ष्ट, now काल
सनत ष्ट also is over. And now next is what according to our
chart? अन्ि सनत ष्टः.
Verse No. 1.14
अन्िं वै प्रजापनतस्ततो ह वै तद्रेतस्तस्र्ानदर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजािन्त
इनत ॥ १४ ॥
So the next is अन्ि सनत ष्ट. अन्नर्् वै प्रजािहतः.
Because the लोकs are created, the time also is created - देश
and काल have been created. Now the beings must come.
र्ायाकहल्ितदेशकालकलनावैहित्र्यहिरीकृतर्् । ॥ श्री
दहिणार्हू तम स्तोरर्् २ ॥
So now space-time are created, now in the देश-काल there
must be प्रजा. Otherwise what is the use of देश and काल?
And therefore the next creation is अन्िर््. And what is
अन्िर््? प्रजापनत alone manifests as अन्िर्् also. So प्रजापनत
is देशः, प्रजापनत is कालः, प्रजापनत is अन्िर्् also. अन्िर््
stands for all types of food, need not be cooked rice alone.
अद्यते इहत अन्नर््. That which is consumed is अन्िर््,
whatever we eat is अन्िर्् alone. Because √अद् to eat. But
here नपप्पलाद does not divide into रनि and प्राण but we can
imagine that अन्िर्् also must consist of रनि प्राण नर्थुिर्् but
101
that is not said here. How do you know it consists of both?
That is indicated in the next portion. ततो ि वै तद् रे तः – from
that अन्िर्् alone, from the modified form of अन्िर्् alone
रे तः. रे तः means र्िुष्ि बीजर््, the seed of all beings are born.
So रे तः means the seed, the sperm of all beings are born out of
अन्िर््. And this seed also consists of two parts. The seed
that forms in the male body and the seed that forms in the
female body. Both of them or what? अन्िर्् modified alone.
As they say the sperm and the ovum both of them are अन्ि
नवकार are alone. Thus रे तः stands for the seed formed in the
female body as well as in the male body. Normally, in
scriptures they call it as शुक्रशोहणतर््. शुक्रर्् is the part of the
seed in the male, शोहणतर्् is in the female. शुक्रशोहणत
संयोगेन एव जीवसहृ िः or any भत ू सनत ष्टः. So therefore रे तः is
an उिलिणर्् for शोहणतर्् also and this हर्थुनर्् can be taken
as the रनिप्राण नर्थुिर्् but नपप्पलाद doesn't divide that, it is
understood. Thus अन्िर्् also consist of हर्थुनात्र्कर््
because that alone gets divided in the two bodies. And there
afterwards तस्र्ात् इर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते इहत. तस्र्ात् – from
that बीजर्् alone, शक्र ु शोहणतरूिबीज संयोगात् – from the
combination of the seed in the male and female bodies alone
इर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते all these beings are born. So what was
the question? So we might have forgotten but नपप्पलाद being
an ideal teacher never loses sight of the question.
अथ कबन्धी कात्यायन उिेत्य िप्रच्छ भगवन्कुतो ि वा इर्ाः
प्रजाः प्रजायन्त इहत ॥ १-१-३ ॥
102
That is how it began. कबन्धी कात्यायनः, that is the name of
नशष्ि and for that alone the सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिा started,
प्रजािहतः स हर्थुनर्ुत्िादयते हयं ि प्राणं िेत्येतौ र्े बिु धा प्रजाः
कररष्यत इहत ॥ १-१-४ ॥
That is how the सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिा came and now having come
down through various stages now at last हिप्िलाद has talked
about प्रजा सनत ष्ट. And the ultimate cause of all living beings
is प्रजापनतः. But प्रजापनत does not directly create all of them,
but हर्थुन, लोक, काल, अन्न, रे तो सहृ ि द्वारा प्रजािहतः एव
प्रजाः उत्िादयहन्त, in various stages प्रजापनत creates. With
this the answer to the question is over. Now the section is
going to be concluded by some फलस्तुनत. फलर्् and the
glorification is going to come.
Verse No. 1.15
तद्ये ह वै तत्प्रजापनतव्रतं िरनन्त ते नर्थुिर्ुत्पादिन्ते । तेषार्ेवषै
ब्रह्मलोको िेषां तपो ब्रह्मििं िेषु सत्िं प्रनतनष्तर्् ॥ १५ ॥
So here for the र्न्दर्ध्यर् अहधकाररs or for other
people who are not interested in Vedantic topic some व्रतर्् has
to be given, because उपनिषत् has to cater to all types of
people. As we had in तैनिरीिोपनिषत्, after the highest
teaching,
अन्नर्् न हनन्द्यात् । तद्व्रतर्् । अन्नर्् न िररििीत । तद्व्रतर््
। अन्नर्् बिु कुवीत । तद्व्रतर्् । न कञ्िन वसतौ प्रत्याििीत ।
तद्व्रतर्् ।॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् ३-७-१/ ३- ८-१/ ३-९-१/३-१०-१ ॥
103
व्रतर्् means some kind of a vow or discipline. And here also
one discipline is given which is the disciplined mentioned
before, the discipline for a गहत स्थ. While the day सनत ष्ट was
mentioned the नििर् regarding स्त्रीसंयोगः was mentioned
which is being called here as प्रजापनत व्रतर््. So प्रजापनत व्रतर््
is ब्रह्मििम व्रतर््, which means developing a self-control in
स्त्रीसंयोगः. So initially practicing restraint, which is as good
as a ब्रह्मििम र्् we call it as गौण ब्रह्मििम र्् and finally coming
to र्ुख्ि ब्रह्मििम र्् where a person completely gives up
स्त्रीसंयोगः. Thus for that discipline this is the first stage. So
that is pointed out here as प्रजापनत व्रतर््, ब्रह्मििम व्रतर््. िे
िरहन्त those people who follow this प्रजापनत व्रतर््, what is
the advantage? ते हर्थन ु ं उत्िादयन्ते – just as प्रजापनत always
created a pair consisting of रनिप्राण, similarly, this couple also
will get नर्थुिर््. हर्थुनर्् means a male and a female,
रहयप्राणवत् they will also get a complementary pair. So one
for this and one for that, they will also get a male and a female
child. And then some more is said. Previously it was said that
that those who do rituals they will attain िन्द्रलोक through
कतष्णगनत and those who do उपासिा they will attain
आनदत्िलोक through शुक्लगनत. Here नपप्पलाद says even to
get those two गनतs a person must follow प्रजापनत व्रतर््. Thus
प्रजापनत व्रतर्् is an important condition to attain कतष्णगनत
also as well as to attain शुक्लगनत. That means all the rituals
will be fruitful only when ब्रह्मििम व्रतर्् is observed. Similarly,
all उपासिाs also will be useful only when ब्रह्मििम व्रतर्् is
104
observed. This व्रतर्् becomes a condition for any ritual or to
any उपासिा to be fruitful. That is what is said here. तेषार्ेव
– only for those people who follow प्रजापनत व्रतर््, ब्रह्मििम
व्रतर््, for them alone एषः ब्रह्मलोकः. Here ब्रह्मलोक stands for
िन्द्रलोक and not real ब्रह्मलोक. That is going to come in the
next र्न्त्र. So here ब्रह्मलोक stands for सोर्लोक or
िन्द्रलोक. And who are those people? That is further
clarified, येषां तिः – those people who follow austerities,
disciplines, येषां ब्रह्मियम र्् – those people who have ब्रह्मििम
व्रतर््, which is mentioned as प्रजापनत व्रतर्् and येषु सत्यं
प्रहतहष्तर्् – those who are truthful, those who do not tell lie,
सत्िर्् means अनतृ वजम नर््, avoiding lies. Thus if people
follow these disciplines along with this प्रजापनत व्रतर्् then
alone all other सा्िाs become fruitful. Thus here is the
emphasis of ब्रह्मििम व्रतर््, that is the essence here. Not only
for कतष्णगनत or शुक्लगनत in fact, for the वेदान्त ज्ञािर्् also
सत्येन लभ्यस्तिसा ह्येष आत्र्ा सम्प्यग्ज्ञानेन ब्रह्मियेण
हनत्यर्् । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् ३-१-५ ॥
so there also ब्रह्मििम व्रतर्् is said. That is highlighted in this
र्न्त्र. It is a very very important discipline. येषु सत्यं
प्रहतहष्तर्् तेषार्् िन्द्रलोकः. Thus कतष्णगनत must be
supported by ब्रह्मििम र््. Now the शुक्लगनत also is to be
supported by ब्रह्मििम व्रतर्् is to be mentioned in the last र्न्त्र.
105
Verse No. 1.16
तेषार्सौ नवरजो ब्रह्मलोको ि िेषु नजह्मर्ितत ं ि र्ािा िेनत ॥ १६
॥
Now तेषार््. Again प्रजापनत व्रतिुक्तािार्् एव only for
those people, who follow ब्रह्मििम व्रतर्् for them alone
शुक्लगनत also is possible or ब्रह्मलोक is possible. So, तेषार्ेव
प्रजािहत व्रतयुक्तानार्् एव असौ हवरजो ब्रह्मलोको. Here
ब्रह्मलोक means ब्रह्मलोक itself. In the previous case ब्रह्मलोक
meant िन्द्रलोक or स्वगम लोक here it stands for ब्रह्मलोक. ,
And what type of ब्रह्मलोक? हवरजः. हवरजः means शुद्धः. शुद्ध
means दुःखरहितः. which is predominantly सुिर््. Because
ब्रह्मलोक आिन्द we have seen in तैनिरीिोपनिषत्.
ते ये शतं प्रजाितेरानन्दाः । ते ये शतं …. ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-
८-४॥
Ultimately, ब्रह्मलोक आिन्द is almost pure आिन्द, it is only
0.0001% दुिर्् is there. What is that दुखर््? ‘This also will
end’ that दुखर्् will be bugging all the time. So therefore, it
is called नवरजः. रजः means dirt or impurity, impurity is
दुखर््. Therefore, नवरजः means दुःखरहितः ब्रह्मलोकः
तेषार्ेव. तेषार्ेव means ब्रह्मििम व्रतयुक्तानार्् but ब्रह्मििम
व्रतर्् alone is not sufficient, other उपासिाs supported by
ब्रह्मििम र्् also. Because शङ्करािािम specially writes in that.
केवल ब्रह्मियम व्रतेन शुक्लगहतः न र्खू ाम नार्हि तत्संभवात्. But
it should be followed by this.
106
And not only that what type of people they should be?
To go to शुक्लगनत also they must have certain qualifications.
What are they? येषु हजह्मर्नतृ ं न र्ाया िेहत – those who are
free from three evils. What are they? First evil is हजह्मर््.
हजह्मर्् means वक्रबुनद्धः. Always perverting things,
misinterpreting things, perversion, कौहटल्यर््, कुहटल बुहद्धः,
etc. Always saying the wrong side of things, always having
negative motives is called हजह्मर््. अनतृ र्् means lying. To
have वक्रबुनद्ध and to say that I have no वक्रबुनद्ध! Two
mistakes. वक्रबुनद्ध one mistake and denying that is second
mistake. And what is the third mistake? र्ािा ि. र्ाया means
वञ्िना, fraud, deceit, cheating. Therefore inside वक्रबुनद्ध is
there but outside there is a facade of, there is a mask off good
intentions. Therefore, he talks as though he has got nobel
motives but behind that inside is only selfish motives is there.
And such a double character Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is called
र्ािा. वञ्िना इत्यथम ः. These three evils must go. If I am
talking with a motive, I must clearly come out with that, there
should not be a split personality. As long as these are there
शुक्लगनत is not possible, र्ोक्ष is never possible. If शुक्लगनत
itself is not possible then what to talk about र्ोक्ष? Therefore,
we should practice as much as possible to be same inside as
well as outside. If there is a machine which can read our mind
we must be able to openly give our mind to that machine. If
that is there that is called pure mind, clean mind, ऋजुबुहद्ध it is
called. This is the qualification necessary for शुक्लगनत.
107
With this प्रजापनत व्रतर्् also was emphasized.
कतष्णगहत and शुक्लगनत were reminded also and the original
question of प्रजासनत ष्ट has been completed also and since no
other topic is necessary, the first section is concluded. So now
we have to imagine कबन्धी or कात्यायनः has gone and sat in
the bench. Now in the next class the second student will
come, that will see in the next class.
िण
108
We will see the important points of the first section and
then we will go to the second section. In the first section the
main topic was सनत ष्ट because the question also was regarding
the सनत ष्ट.
भगवन्कुतो ि वा इर्ाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्त इहत ॥ ३ ॥
And this सनत ष्ट was given in a unique manner in the form of
five सनत ष्टs as नर्थुि सनत ष्ट, लोक सनत ष्ट, काल सनत ष्ट, अन्ि
सनत ष्ट and प्रजा सनत ष्ट. And the unique feature of this creation
is introducing the creation as a set of complementary pairs,
which aspect we don't find in other उपनिषत्s. Normally, we
divide the universe into pairs but in those contexts the pairs
are known as द्वन्द्वर््. द्वन्द्वर्् means a pair consisting of
opposites. But in प्रश्नोपनिषत,् the very same pair is known
as नर्थुिर्् even though they are opposites, they are
complementary. And the difference between these two
attitudes or the two way of interpretation is very much. When
you look at them as opposites we will develop राग and द्वेष
but when we will look at them as a complementary pairs then
we will see them together as a whole. So in a complementary
pair both the members are equally important to make the
whole. Thus life and death will not be seen as opposites but
the life and death becomes integral part of the whole creation.
Similarly, growth and disease or decay are not the pairs of
opposites but they are complementary pairs that means living
should involve growth as well as decay. So you have to
accept as a whole, the greatest advantage is acceptance idea
109
comes. We will accept the death also because that also is
necessary to complete the creation. We accept association as
well as dissociation also because only both of them put
together makes a whole. We will get a holistic vision, which
is very much talked about nowadays. So thus the सनत ष्ट in the
form of नर्थुिर्् was pointed out, which is a very beautiful
approach unique to प्रश्नोपनिषत्. Thus सनत ष्ट is the first point.
And after every सनत ष्ट small diversion was taken.
Among them the most important point was the
शुक्लकतष्णगनत topic, which was talked about after संवत्सर
सनत ष्ट. After talking about the creation of उिरािणर्् and
दनक्षणाििर्् this diversion was taken, which was in the ninth
and tenth र्न्त्र, the शुक्लगनत and कतष्णगनत was talked about.
That is another important point of this section.
And then the third point is a discipline of ब्रह्मििम र्् was
also introduced. These are the three main points of the first
section. सनत ष्ट, शुक्लकतष्णगनत and ब्रह्मििम र्् as discipline.
110
प्रश्न उपनिषत् हद्वतीयः प्रश्नः
नद्वतीिः प्रश्नः
Now we have to go to the second section and we have
to connect it to र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् because this is supposed to be
a commentary on र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. So in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्
अपरानवद्या and परानवद्या were introduced. अपरानवद्या is the
preparatory knowledge and परानवद्या is the ब्रह्मज्ञािर््, the real
knowledge. And this अपरानवद्या we divided into two as कर्म
and उपासिा and this अपरानवद्या consisting of कर्म and
उपासिा was discussed in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् second section of
the first chapter, प्रथर् र्ुण्डके हद्वतीय खण्डः. The
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् is divided into three chapters of two sections
each. And there कर्म was elaborately talked and उपासिा was
not talked about very much. Where? In र्ुण्डक first chapter,
second section. Even though both कर्म and उपासिा together
make अपरानवद्या, the कर्म part of अपरानवद्या was elaborately
discussed but the उपासिा part was not discussed much at all.
If you remember र्ुण्डक various कर्म s,
तदेतत् सत्यं र्न्रेषु कर्ाम हण कवयो
यान्यिश्यंस्ताहन रेतायां बिु धा संतताहन ।
तान्यािरथ ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१ ॥
Do all the कर्म s and again the अनग्िहोत्र ritual was introduced
and if the ritual is not followed by
यस्याहग्निोरर्दशम र्िौणम र्ास-
र्िातुर्ाम स्यर्नाग्रयणर्हतहथवहजम तं ि । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-
३॥
111
etc., the अनग्िहोत्र ritual must be supported by various other
rituals and there only
काली कराली ि र्नोजवा ि
सल
ु ोहिता या ि सध
ु ि
ू वणाम । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-४ ॥
the seven tongues of the flame and how the ritualist after death
will go
एह्येिीहत तर्ािु तयः सुविम सः
सयू म स्य रहश्र्हभयम जर्ानं विहन्त । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-६ ॥
And how the various देवताs welcome him and how he will
enjoy elaborately कर्म was talked and the कर्म निन्दा was also
done there
प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्ञरूिा
अिादशोक्तर्वरं येषु कर्म । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-७ ॥
ू ां र्न्यर्ाना वररष्ं ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१० ॥
इिाित
etc. Thus in nine र्न्त्रs कर्म was elaborately discussed but
उपासिा was discussed only in one र्न्त्र in the eleventh र्न्त्र
it comes.
सय
Thus only one र्न्त्र was devoted to उपासिा. The र्न्त्र
beginning with तिःश्रद्धे ये. And thereafter only िरीक्ष्य
लोकान् comes, which you must be very much remembering.
112
So therefore the balance was not there, कर्म was given
predominance and उपासिा was not discussed. Therefore, in
प्रश्नोपनिषत् the उपासिा is going to be given importance and
therefore the second and third sections are going to be
उपासिा sections, हद्वतीयः ततृ ीयः प्रश्नौ उिासना िरौ. And
here the उपासिा is going to be नहरण्िगभम उपासिा. And
उपासिा you must know the definition, you must remember
the definition. उपासिा is defined as what? सगुण ब्रह्म नवषि
र्ािस र्विापारः उपासिा. Primarily, उपासिा is a mental
activity. पज ू ा cannot be called उपासिा. Somebody asked a
doubt. He says he is a देवी उपासक and he does lot of पज ू ाs
and all because of the पज ू ा he cannot called उपासक at the end
of the पज ू ा or at the beginning of the पज ू ा he should meditate
on the deity, only then he can be called उपासक. Doing
physical worship will be called only कर्म . Therefore, उपासिा
means it is purely mental activity. That is why I said र्ािस
व्यािारः. Then there will be a problem because in वेदान्त also
what do we do? Mental activity only. Therefore, वेदान्त also
will be called as उपासिा. And therefore to differentiate
उपासिा from वेदान्त what do we say? सगुण ब्रह्म नवषि
र्ािस व्यािारः. वेदान्त is what? निगम ुण ब्रह्म नवषि र्ािस
व्यािारः is वेदान्त श्रवणाहदकर््. So therefore when you have
a mental activity which is centered on qualified ब्रह्मि्,
attributed ब्रह्मि,् सगुण ब्रह्मि,् सगुण ब्रह्म हवषयः यस्य र्ानस
व्यािारस्य सः सगुण ब्रह्म हवषयः बिु व्रीहि. And here it is going
to be नहरण्िगभम उपासिा. Ok. Then why two chapters? Is one
113
not sufficient? According to र्ीर्ांसा rule whatever उपासिा is
going to be prescribed that deity has to be extolled, has to be
glorified first. The उपास्ि देवता should be glorified either in
the beginning or at the end. So if it is नहरण्िगभम उपासिा
नहरण्िगभम has to be glorified, if it is नवराट उपासिा नवराट has
to be glorified, if it is ॐकार उपासिा ॐकार has to be
glorified. That is why in तैनिरीिोपनिषत् when ॐकार
उपासिा was prescribed
ओहर्तीदं सवम र्् । ओहर्त्येतदनुकृहतिम स्र् वा अप्यो
श्रावयेत्याश्रावयहन्त । ओहर्हत सार्ाहन गायहन्त । ॐ शोहर्हत
शस्त्राहण शंसहन्त । ओहर्त्यध्वयम ुः प्रहतगरं प्रहतगण
ृ ाहत । ॥
तैहिरीयोिहनषत् १-८-१ ॥
So all these are what ॐकार स्तुनतः. नकर्थम र्् स्तुनतः? ॐकार
उपासिाथम र्् ॐकार स्तुहतः. Ok. For the sake of उपासिा why
should there be स्तुनत? Very simple. If I have to worship a
deity first I should develop a devotion. Isn't it? How can I
meditate or worship a deity unless I find that it is worshipful,
that it deserves worship. So that is why as I often say before I
introduce some person for a talk I have to always glorify that
person even if he doesn't have. He is very busy person, he
travels all over, even though nothing has to do, so we are very
grateful that in spite of his busy activities he has
condescended to come down and give small talk etc. Why
because you are doing उपासिा on him for one hour! उपासिा
means what? You are putting your whole attention do that
lecturer. If you have to do that you should develop some kind
114
of a respect, need not do िार्स्कारर््, we have to sit without
getting up at least. Therefore, यस्याः देवतायाः उिासना
कतम व्या सा देवता स्तुत्या, has to be glorified. And therefore
the second section is going to be नहरण्िगभम स्तुनतः and the
third section is going to be नहरण्िगभम उपासिा. And स्तुनत
plays a very important role in the र्ीर्ांसा also, because in the
र्ीर्ांसा
उिक्रर्ोिसंिारौ अभ्यासोऽिवू म ता फलर्् ।
अथम वादोिििी ि हलङ्गं तात्ियम हनणम ये ॥
So thus स्तुनत is an अथम वादः, which is an important नलङ्ग for
arriving at the topic also. Therefore, स्तुनत is important. It is
one of the षड्हलङ्गs. It is suffice to know that it is
important. If you want to give a technical reason you should
say one of the षड्हलङ्गs it is.
How are we going to glorify नहरण्िगभम ? In this
section नहरण्िगभम is going to be glorified. How are we going
to glorify? We should see the development then the section
will be easy. What is the definition of नहरण्िगभम ? You
should not forget. नहरण्िगभम is सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीर उपनहत
िैतन्िर््. So the Consciousness along with the total subtle
body is equal to नहरण्िगभम . सर्नष्ट means total. So नहरण्िगभम
has got the total subtle body as his equipment just as we have
got individual subtle body as our equipment, नहरण्िगभम has
got total subtle body as his equipment. Therefore, सर्हि
सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््. Don't ask me what is सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््, I will be in
115
trouble. And last Sunday only we have discussed and
therefore you must be remembering.
िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण िञ्िप्राणादयो र्नश्चैकर््
बुहद्धश्चैकैवर्् सिदशकलाहभः सि यहस्तष्हत तत्सक्ष्ू र्शरीरर्् ॥
तत्त्वबोधः - १८ ॥
So thus सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् is नहरण्िगभम . And how does he
help us if you ask, the सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् is alone available
as the र्विनष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् in everyone. So नहरण्िगभम alone
is obtaining as the individual सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् in all the जीवs.
Because सर्नष्ट alone is manifesting in the form of र्विनष्ट.
And therefore how does नहरण्िगभम bless us? In the form of
our सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््. And what is the importance of सर्क्ष्ू र्
शरीरर््? The very स्थल ू शरीरर्् is alive, the very स्थल ू
शरीरर्् is functioning only because of the blessing of सर्क्ष्ू र्
शरीरर््. Minus the सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् the स्थल ू शरीरर्् is a corpse,
it is only a dead body. So in short, the very life in us is
because of सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and the very सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् is because
of नहरण्िगभम . That is the approach. The very life is because
of सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and the very सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् is because of
नहरण्िगभम . Thus without नहरण्िगभम an individual cannot even
survive as an individual. Ok. Even in सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् we have
seen there are seventeen parts are there. िञ्िज्ञानेन्द्रर्् +
िञ्िकर्ेन्द्रर्् + िञ्िप्राणाः + र्नः + बुहद्धः. Of these seventeen
organs also which is the most important one? If you analyse
the scriptures say that प्राणः is the most important of the सर्क्ष्ू र्
शरीरर््. And that is why when a person is alive he is endowed
116
with सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् but generally what do we call a living
person? प्रानण. प्रानण means what? प्राणः अस्य अहस्त इहत प्राहण.
That which has प्राण is प्रानण. Now why don't you say it is
endowed with ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर््? It is endowed with कर्ेनन्द्रिर््?
So even though the सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् consists of ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर््
कर्ेनन्द्रिर्् अन्तःकरणर्् etc., still we say that the जीव is one
which is endowed with प्राण. Why can’t we say अन्तःकरहण,
why only call प्राहण? Because the most important part of the
सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् is प्राणः and therefore we always call a living
person as a प्रानण. And that is why when the life is going also
we say प्राण is going, life is going, he is taking my life. So
why do you say प्राण? Really speaking the इनन्द्रिs are also
going along with सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््, all of them are going and
therefore the सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् is sustaining an individual and even
in the सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््, प्राण particularly is sustaining an
individual.
And there is another reason also that while sleeping all
र्विापारs come to a standstill. ज्ञािेनन्द्रि र्विापारs have stopped,
eyes do not perceive, ears do not listen, nose does not smell,
then कर्ेनन्द्रि र्विापारs hands legs etc., also come to a
standstill. अन्तःकरण र्विापारs you don't remember anything,
you don't know anything, there is no सङ्कल्प-नवकल्प, there
is no हनश्चय, there is no अिुसन््ािर््, therefore र्िोबुनद्धनिि
why even अहङ्कार is resolved during sleep. That is why
nobody says I am sleeping, even ‘I’ is resolved. But still if we
say that the person is alive all र्विापारs have come to a
117
standstill. Even though सवेषु व्यािारे षु उिरतेषु अहि सत्सु
even when all the र्विापारs have subsided still we call him
alive because of one reason, because still the प्राण र्विापार is
going. Imagine the heart also take rest! If it misses one beat
they say all kinds of problems will start coming. Missing a
beat is big problem. Now imagine heart stops during सुषुनि.
So circulation doesn't stop, digestion doesn't stop, that is why
early morning many people get up hungrily. Why because
सर्ाि has been working, व्यान has been working, of course,
उदाि need not work that we've already seen, so anyway we
need not go into the details, the idea is सुषुिौ the person is
alive only because of the प्राण’s functioning. And therefore
प्राण becomes the most important. In fact, one of the names
for कारण शरीरर्् is प्राण, because in कारण शरीरर्् also प्राण
aspect we are experiencing during सुषुनि. Anyway we need
not go to कारण शरीरर््, because it is coming anyway
tomorrow. Therefore, we find that प्राण is the greatest blessing
given by नहरण्िगभम and therefore in this section the नहरण्िगभम
उपासिा is going to be as प्राण. So नहरण्िगभम उपासिा is
going to be as सर्नष्ट प्राण because नहरण्िगभम as प्राण is
blessing everyone the most. So even though बुनद्ध may not be
functioning, many people without बुनद्ध are happily surviving.
Isn't it? Why because प्राण is the blessing of नहरण्िगभम . In
fact, for many of us after college बुनद्ध stops functioning. Then
still we happily survive and therefore here नहरण्िगभम ’s
blessing seems to be better than even the बुनद्ध gift, the प्राण
118
gift seems to be better. Therefore, the उपासिा is going to be
called प्राणोपासिा. प्राण उपासिा which is as good as
नहरण्िगभम उपासिा only because प्राण is नहरण्िगभम अंशत्वात्.
And therefore the second section is प्राण स्तुनत, the third
section is प्राण उपासिा. This is the division of topic. And
accordingly we get the question also from the second member
of the six member team, of students who have come. So the
question also is going to be accordingly asked. Now we will
go into the question.
Verse No. 2.1
अथ हैिं भागम वो वैदनभम ः पप्रच्छ भगवन्कत्िेव देवाः प्रजां
नव्ारिन्ते कतर एतत्प्रकाशिन्ते कः पुिरे षां वररष् इनत ॥ १ ॥
So the first question was asked by अथ कबन्धी
कात्यायन उिेत्य िप्रच्छ is the first question. Now the disciple
is भागम वः वैदहभम ः both together is the name of one student. Two
names, one student. He is called भागम वः because he belongs to
भग त ु गोत्रर्् and he is called वैदहभम ः because he belongs to नवदभम
देशः. So भागम वो वैदहभम ः अथ. अथ means what? आनन्तयम र््,
अिन्तरर््. कस्ि अनन्तरर््? कात्यायनस्य प्रश्न-उिर
अनन्तरर््. After कात्िािि’s प्रश्न and उिरर््. भागम वो वैदहभम ः
िप्रच्छ – he asked. Whom? एनर््. एनर्् means नपप्पलादर््.
नपप्पलाद is the गुरु. So his name is not written because he is
the common गुरु for all the six. Therefore, एनर्् िवू ोक्तर््
हिप्िलादर्् िप्रच्छ. What is the question? िे भगवन् कहत
देवाः प्रजां हवधारयन्ते – so oh lord! हे गुरो! what are the देवता
119
that sustains the people? So what are the देवताs that sustain
the people. And here प्रजार्् literally means people and here
people refers to the शरीरर््. So what are the देवताs that
sustains the शरीरर््. And here देवताs or देवs means various
principles of the body like a कर्ेनन्द्रिर््, ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर्् प्राण etc.
So here देवताs means various factors of the body including
both physical and subtle body or various principles. I call
them principles because these principles include all organs
and they include even पञ्िभत ू s because even भत ू s, the five
elements are contributing for the sustenance of the body. The
space is providing space and the earth is providing food, वािु
is providing breathing air. Therefore, by principles I mean all
factors that are contributing to the survival of the body. It can
be the इनन्द्रिर््, it can be a प्राण, it can be अन्तःकरणर््, it can
be भत ू s. All put together is asked as देवाः. So what are the
देवताs प्रजां हवधारयन्ते that sustains? Why do you call these
principles as देवs? Because of two reasons.
One reason is when you look at the principles alone
they are inert in nature, like पञ्िभत ू s. They are inert in
nature. Oxygen is inert, food is inert but in our scriptures we
never look at anything without taking the Consciousness
principle into account. Because behind every inert matter
there is िैतन्िर्् तत्त्वर््. And therefore when we refer to any
inert matter we are referring to it along with the अन्ष्ाि
िैतन्िर््, along with the intelligence principle. For example if
you take the Sun alone as a matter principle we call it as सि ू मः
120
but we never believe the Sun as mere matter, the Sun is
pervaded by the ईश्वर, the intelligence principle. Therefore,
we call it as सि ू म देवता. Similarly, we look upon िन्द्र also as
िन्द्र देवता. So by using the word देवता what we mean is we
are taking along with Consciousness principle. So therefore
every factor is a देवता. So if सि ू म is blessing you it is सि ू म
देवता, it is ईश्वर in the form of सि ू म that is blessing you. If the
rain is blessing you, we don't call rain is blessing but ईश्वर as
वरुण देवता is blessing us, because blessing can be done by
only a िेति principle, intelligence principle never by an
अिेति तत्त्वर््. That is why each principle is called a देवः.
And there is a second reason also why we call each
principle a देवता. See in the later part of this section the
उपनिषत् or नपप्पलाद wants to show that प्राण is the superior
most देवता, that is going to be the topic because प्राण स्तुनत is
our topic. And therefore in the latter portion प्राण is going to
be said as the superior most principle among the इनन्द्रिs,
among the अन्तःकरणर््s, among the पञ्िभत ू s and all, प्राण is
the superior most. And to establish the superiority there is
going to be an imaginary quarrel. It is all symbolic story. An
imaginary quarrel among all these members and each one is
going to talk. I am superior, you are superior etc., each one of
the factor is going to say ‘I am the greatest’, ‘I am the
greatest’. Everybody says like this only. Isn't it? So one
boxing champion said it seems ‘I am the greatest’ and another
boxing champion said ‘I am the latest’. So thus each one is
121
going to claim superiority and we are going to see the eyes are
going to talk, the nose will talk, each sense organ, each power
is going to talk and therefore each one is going to be
symbolized as a separate individual. Like in पुराणs you will
find कार् will be personified, love will be personified, कालर््,
time will be personified and there will be discussion among
the क्रो्, among diseases, in भागवतर्् very interesting
discussion is there. Diseases are also personified, time also is
personified for the sake of symbolic representation. Similarly,
here also all principles are going to talk among one another
and therefore here itself they are introduced as one-one देव,
each one is going to talk. And therefore also the word देवाः is
used here. So कहत means what? How many. So how many
देवताs are sustaining the शरीरर््, स्थल ू सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््,
कायम करणसङ्घातः. This is the first subsidiary question.
Because second one is the main प्रश्न, which is subdivided
into three.
And the second question is कतरे एतत् प्रकाशयन्ते.
What are the principles who talk about their own glory.
प्रकाशयन्ते means who are all going to claim their glory, ‘I
have done this, I have done that, I am sustaining.’ So
प्रकाशनर्् means publicizing, declaring one's own glory,
blowing one's own trumpet. so कतरे देवाः. देवाः to be
supplied. कतरे देवाः among these principles what are those
principles which are going to declare their own glory. And
invariably those who declare their glory will be second hand
122
only, gloriless only. Because the one of true glory will never
declare. So therefore इनन्द्रिs will declare their glory,
कर्ेनन्द्रिs will declare the glory, ज्ञािेनन्द्रिs will declare their
glory, प्राण will never declare its glory and प्राण alone will be
truly glorious. And therefore he asks what all principles
declare their glory?
Then the third question is कः िुनः एषां वररष्ः. एषार््
देवानार्् र्ध्ये, हनधाम रणे षिी. So among these देवताs कः
वररष्ः, who is the greatest देव? So which all principles
sustain the body, which all principles glorify themselves and
of these principles which is the superior most, वररष्ः, श्रेष्ः.
This is the question and you can imagine answer will be that
प्राण is the greatest. This is the question. Now नपप्पलाद is
going to answer.
Verse No. 2.2
तस्र्ै स होवाि । आकाशो ह वा एष देवो वािुरनग्िरापः पनत थवी
वाङ्मिश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रं ि । ते प्रकाश्िानभवदनन्त विर्ेतद्बाणर्वष्टभ्ि
नव्ारिार्ः ॥ २ ॥
Now here the first and second questions are answered.
What is the first question? Who are the देवs sustaining the
body and who glorify themselves? These two questions are
answered. तस्र्ै स िोवाि. तस्र्ै हशष्याय. What नशष्ि?
भागम वाि. To that नशष्ि भागम व, सः उवाि, सः हिप्िलादः, गुरुः
उवाि, that teacher नपप्पलाद answered. Ok. Who are the देवs?
He begins with आकाश तत्त्वर््. आकाशः ि वै एषः देवः – so the
123
first principle that is sustaining the individual is आकाश
तत्त्वर््. Because, आकाश is providing the space for him to
live. So therefore what is the gift of आकाश? आकाशः
अवकाश प्रदाता. अवकाशर्् means what? Room, place.
अवकाश प्रधानेन आकाशः हवधारयहत. So, a space sustains a
person by providing space for a person to live. Otherwise
there will be accommodation problem. Now why are you
facing accommodation problem? Really accommodation
problem is because we want live in city alone, otherwise if
you got any place, going in train you can find vast and vast
lands are empty. So otherwise really speaking no
accommodation problem is there, infinite space is there. Only
we choose to suffer within a short place. And not only
आकाशः, then all the other भत ू र््s also. And therefore
नपप्पलाद enumerates all the पञ्िभत ू s - वािुः, अनग्िः, आपः,
पनत थवी – air, fire, water, earth. And you have to add एषः देवः
to all of them. Each one is a देवः, a principle sustaining the
individual. So, एषः वायुः देवः हवधारयहत, एषः अहग्नः देवः
हवधारयहत etc., each one is a देव sustaining. And you know
how each element contributes. Water is very important, fire is
very important, earth is very important and of course, air is
also very important. Now we recognize it because each one is
polluted. So therefore, air is important, fire is important,
earth is important and water is important. Therefore, each one
contributes for the sustenance of the body, not the आत्र्ा
remember, we are talking about the individual अिात्र्ा, not
124
the individual आत्र्ा. And not only them वाक् र्नः ििुः
श्रोरर्् ि. वाक् means organ of speech, which represents all
the कर्ेनन्द्रिs. And each one is compared to a देव. The word
देवः must be added to everyone. श्रोत्र देवः, िक्षु देवः etc. Then
र्नः stands for the अन्तःकरणर््, each one contributes.
Without बुनद्ध, without the mind etc., we cannot survive. And
ििुः श्रोरर्् – the eyes and ears represent all the ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर््s.
Thus िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण ित्वारर
अन्तःकरणाहन िञ्िभत ू s. In fact, that is why तत्त्वबो् we will
see अथ ितुहवां शहततत्त्वोत्िहिप्रकारं वक्ष्यार्ः । there we will see
all these alone are called तत्त्व. And here प्राण is not
introduced not because प्राण is not sustaining but प्राण is going
to be later separately introduced as the most important among
them. Therefore, प्राण is omitted here, otherwise प्राण also
must be included in the list. So along with प्राण all of them
sustain. So thus these are the देवताs - िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण
िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण ित्वारर अन्तःकरणाहन िञ्िभत ू s - nineteen
items if you had पञ्िप्राणs also it will be 24 देवताs. Of which
nineteen have been enumerated here. This is answer to the
first question. Then comes the answer to the second question.
ते प्रकाश्य अहभवदहन्त – these nineteen देवs, except the
पञ्िप्राणs, these nineteen देवs glorify their function and talk
like this. प्रकाश्य means glorifying, declaring, announcing.
So, प्रकाश्य publicizing their glories, they talk like this,
अहभवदहन्त. And how they talk is given within quotation,
“वयर्् एतत् बाणर्् अविभ्य हवधारयार्ः”. वयर्् हवधारयार्ः –
125
we alone are sustaining the body. हवधारयार्ः means
sustenance, holding the fort together. So we hold the
individual body together. बाणर्् अविभ्य. बाणर्् means
शरीरर््. Literally the word is वािर््. वबयोः अभेदः. Perhaps he
was a बङ्गाहल, I don’t know. नबश्विाथि् बै अर् िु बाण्डररङ्
इि् नद बेराण्डा. Bishwanathan bhy are you bondering in the
beranda (नवश्विाथि् why are you wandering in the veranda).
वबयोः अभेदः. बाणर्् means वानर््. वानर्् means what? वा
गहतगन्धनयोः इहत धातुः. वाहत means गच्छहत. Body is called
वानर्् because this body will go away. The second meaning is
गन्धन, to smell. And the body is decaying one, smelling one,
कुहत्सत गन्धवत्वात् वानर््. Thus because of this गन्् and
since it is made up of पनत थवी तत्त्वर्् predominantly, it has got a
smell and therefore it is called वाहत इहत वानर््, गच्छहत इहत
वानर््. Either because it goes, disappears or because कुहत्सत
गन्धवत्वात् वानर््. बाणर्् एव वानर््. So, एतत् बाणर््
अविभ्य. अविभ्य means holding together from
disintegration. Just as a string holds a few things together
tight, similarly we alone keep the individual together and
हवधारयार्ः, sustain the individual इहत प्रकाश्य अहभवदहन्त,
they go on declaring their glory. This is the answer to the
second question.
Now we have to get to the the third question because
that alone is the most important one. Therefore, two questions
are answered in one र्न्त्र. The rest of the section is answer to
126
the third question, प्राण स्तुनत is going to come, which will see
next class.
िण
127
र्न्र. 2.1 - 2.6
अथ िैनं भागम वो वैदहभम ः िप्रच्छ भगवन्कत्येव देवाः प्रजां
हवधारयन्ते कतर एतत्प्रकाशयन्ते कः िुनरे षां वररष् इहत ॥ १ ॥
तस्र्ै स िोवाि । आकाशो ि वा एष देवो वायुरहग्नरािः िहृ थवी
वाङ्मनश्चिुः श्रोरं ि । ते प्रकाश्याहभवदहन्त वयर्ेतद्बाणर्विभ्य
हवधारयार्ः ॥ २ ॥
In the second and third chapters of this उपनिषत्,
नहरण्िगभम उपासिा is going to be the topic we saw. And that
too नहरण्िगभम as the total प्राण principle, as the total प्राणशनक्त,
as the total power behind the whole creation. And therefore it
is also known as प्राण उपासिा. And as we saw before if प्राण
उपासिा has to be introduced the glory of प्राण has to be talked
about, प्राण स्तुनत is necessary. And it is to talk about प्राण
र्नहर्ा the प्राण नवभनू त that this second chapter is devoted. And
in the third chapter प्राण उपासिा will come. And the student
asks the question what are the principles that are sustaining
the body, what are the principles that glorify themselves and
what is the principle which is the greatest among them. So
thus the second question has got three sub divisions.
i) One is what are the principles sustaining the body, कहत
देवाः हवधारयन्ते and
ii) The Second question is who all glorify themselves and
iii) The third one is among all the sustainers, among all the
sustaining principles which is the श्रेष्, which is वररष्?
Of these three questions, the first two questions were
answered in the second र्न्त्र itself. What are the sustaining
128
principles? The ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर््s, the कर्ेनन्द्रिर््s, the पञ्िभत
ू s
as well as the अन्तःकरणर्् - mind, intellect. All these sustain
the individual. This is answer to the first question - कहत
देवाः. एषः देवः आकाशः वायुः अहग्नः आिः िहृ थवी वाक् र्नः
ििुः श्रोरर्् ि. वाक् representing कर्ेहन्द्रयर््s, ििुः श्रोरर््
representing ज्ञानेहन्द्रयर््s, र्नस् representing अन्तःकरणर््
and पञ्िभत ू s. nineteen देवs, nineteen principles. In fact,
पञ्िप्राणs also must be included in them and we should have
said24 principles, ितुहवां शहततत्त्वाहन प्रजार्् हवधारयन्ते must
have been the answer but here the प्राणs are excluded because
later प्राणs are going to be introduced as the superior most of
all of them. and therefore they are omitted here.
Now the second question was who glorify themselves.
The answer is all these nineteen तत्त्वs, except पञ्िप्राणs, all
of them glorify themselves. ज्ञािेनन्द्रिs declare we are
responsible for the continuation of the body. Similarly,
कर्ेनन्द्रिs glorify, similarly अन्तःकरणर्् glorify, similarly
पञ्िभत ू र््s also. ते प्रकाश्य अहभवदहन्त, they loudly proclaim.
Here प्रकाशः is not light but here प्रकाश्य means declaration,
publicizing. So they loudly proclaim their glories. How?
वयर्् एतत् बाणर्् अविभ्य हवधारयार्ः. We saw बाणर्् as
शरीरर््, वयर्् शरीरर्् अविभ्य हवधारयार्ः. We alone hold the
body together and sustain the body. With this the second
question also is answered.
Now we have to enter the third sub-question. And
what was the question? कः िुनः एषां वररष्ः, among them who
129
is the वररष्ः? For that a story is going to come. Ok. र्न्त्र
number three.
Verse No. 2.3
तान्वररष्ः प्राण उवाि र्ा र्ोहर्ापद्यथाहर्े वत ै त्पञ्ि्ात्र्ािं
प्रनवभज्िैतद्बाणर्वष्टभ्ि नव्ारिार्ीनत तेऽश्रद्द्ािा बभवू ुः ॥ ३ ॥
You can understand. So what happened? प्राण came
to know that all these nineteen तत्त्वs are unnecessarily
arrogant and therefore one day, you have to imagine, प्राण
called all these nineteen तत्त्वs. So you have to imagine that
they are like people, they are personified in this section. And
having called all of them वररष्ः प्राण उवाि. So the very
adjective shows the status of the प्राण. So वररष्ः means श्रेष्ः,
the most powerful प्राण addressed all these nineteen तत्त्वs –
ज्ञािेनन्द्रिs, कर्ेनन्द्रिs, पञ्िभत ू s ित्वारर अन्तःकरणs - all
these nineteen तत्त्वs he addressed, प्राणः उवाि. What is that?
Some advice – pride goes before a fall. So please listen र्ा
र्ोिर्् आिद्यथ – never get deluded. र्ोिर्् र्ा आिद्यथ – may
you not get deluded regarding the glory or regarding the fact
of who sustains the body may you not get deluded. Why?
Because the fact is, this is the next sentence, this is the प्राण
addressing the other देवताs, देवताs meaning इनन्द्रिs etc. अिर््
एव एतत् आत्र्ानं िञ्िधा प्रहवभज्य – so I, the प्राण alone, am
dividing myself into fivefold तत्त्वर््s. Here आत्र्ा means
myself, reflexive pronoun. Not सनच्िदािन्द आत्र्ा. We are
still in सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््, then beyond that कारण शरीरर््. So here
we are only at सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् level. Because you should
130
remember the purpose of the उपनिषत्, it is to gradually take
us from अन्िर्ि and dwell there for some time, प्राणर्ि dwell
there for some time, so that we will be aware of each layer of
our personality. Then alone if one day, you say this is
अन्नर्य, प्राणर्य, र्नोर्य, हवज्ञानर्य, this is आत्र्ा, nothing
will enter. Therefore, they have various methods so that we
will be aware of our physical personality then we will be
aware of our सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and that is why each उपासिा is to
make us recognize our each layer of personality. प्राण उपासिा
means we have progressed ourselves from अन्िर्ि to
प्राणर्ि. That is the Vedantic significance. And therefore
here आत्र्ा means प्राण आत्र्ा alone and not र्ुख्ि आत्र्ा.
Therefore, I divide myself. In how many ways? िञ्िधा
प्रहवभज्य – into five divisions which are known as प्राण, अपाि,
र्विाि, उदाि, सर्ाि. प्राण meaning the respiratory system,
अपाि meaning the excretory system, र्विाि - the circulatory
system, सर्ाि - the digestive system and उदाि is the
reversing system. So िञ्िधा आत्र्ानर्् प्रहवभज्य एतत् बाणर््
अविभ्य – through the पञ्िप्राणs I sustain or I hold the body
together. See अविभ्य is derived from the √स्थम्प्भ्. स्थम्प्भर््
you would have heard. दीि स्थम्प्भर््. स्थम्प्भ means pillar. And
what is the job of a pillar? In a big construction, pillar is the
one which holds the whole construction together. Therefore,
even though pillars are situated at regular intervals only but
the whole complex is sustained by the pillar only. And that is
the reason that in any organization or institution also if a
131
person is very important, we say he is the pillar of the
organization. Therefore, pillar is that which holds other things
together. And even when we want to hold a tree nearby what
do we keep? We keep a pillar that is called स्थम्प्भः because
स्थम्प्भनर्् करोहत. स्थम्प्भनर्् means keeping it straight.
Otherwise it will become bend. स्थम्प्भः means keeping it
together, holding it together. So अविभ्य means doing the
job of a pillar. That is the literal translation, doing the job of a
pillar, functioning like a pillar, अवस्थम्प्भनर्् कृत्वा. And
from which root alone the word स्तब्ध has also come. When a
person stands like a pillar, when somebody comes he doesn't
even bend in prostration, no humility at all, always walking
too straight like a pillar, we call him स्तब्धः. All derived from
one root that which is straight and that which holds other
things straight. So अविभ्य doing the job of a pillar
हवधारयाहर् – I sustain the whole individual. But what
happens? Even though प्राण openly declared and even though
it was a truth but unfortunately because of the vanity of these
nineteen तत्त्वs they refused to believe that. So what did they
do? ते अश्रद्धधानाः बभवू ुः. Up to हवधारयाहर् is a statement of
प्राणः. So it is within quotation. प्राण said. And ते अश्रद्धधानाः
is the words of उपनिषत्. So the उपनिषत् says in spite of
प्राणs declaration ते means these nineteen तत्त्वs did not believe
it, did not have faith in the statements of प्राण. Then what
happened? प्राण has to prove it. Because when the words did
not bless or did not give him the knowledge, then the प्राण has
132
to teach a lesson and that is what प्राण is going to do. Next
र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 2.4
सोऽनभर्ािादूध्वम र्ुत्क्रार्त इव तनस्र्न्िुत्क्रार्त्िथेतरे सवम
एवोत्क्रार्न्ते तनस्र्ंश्च प्रनतष्र्ािे सवम एव प्रानतष्न्ते । तद्यथा
र्नक्षका र््ुकरराजािर्ुत्क्रार्न्तं सवाम एवोत्क्रार्न्ते तनस्र्ंश्च
प्रनतष्र्ािे सवाम एव प्रानतष्न्त एवं वाङ्मिश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रं ि ते प्रीताः
प्राणं स्तुन्वनन्त ॥ ४ ॥
What did प्राण do? As it happens in the assemblies whenever
there is a problem and they suggest and the leader does not
listen, what do they do? Walkout. So don't think that they are
recent only! In उपनिषत् itself the walkout is there. So प्राणः
अहभर्ानात् ऊध्वम र्् उत्क्रर्ते इव – so because of the अनभर्ाि,
because प्राण was insulted you know, because of the अनभर्ाि,
self-respect, because of the self-respect प्राण went out of the
body. इव, इव is important, as it were. I am just going till the
window sill only, by that time other ministers went and
brought him back. So ऊध्वम र्् उत्क्रर्ते इव. Here they are all
put in present tense, we have to convert into past tense. The
प्राण went out as it were. Because if the प्राण had really gone
out what would have happened you know, this fellow would
have collapsed. And therefore it pretended to go out. Then
what happens? All the other principles they thought they can
happily sit in the hall but they found they were also without
their knowledge going out. And तहस्र्न् उत्क्रार्हत – when the
प्राण was going out अथ इतरे सवे एव उत्क्रार्न्ते – all the other
133
nineteen तत्त्वs also were going out. Because their very
existence and their very function are dependent on the प्राण
alone and therefore उत्क्रार्न्ते. And what did प्राण do? Again
he came back तहस्र्न् प्रहतष्र्ाने – and when प्राण again came
back सवे एव प्राहतष्न्ते – all the nineteen तत्त्वs again came
back. Thus प्राण was moving up and down and along with the
प्राण the other powers were are also moving up and down. Isn't
it true? Whenever we fall sick, when the प्राणशनक्त is getting
worse and worse you find that our speaking power is reduced.
Normally, we can shout at the top of the voice which can be
listened by the 7th neighbor, especially Indians are supposed
to be wonderful shouters, but this fellow diarrhea two days or
anything happens the प्राणशनक्त is gone, you will find that
eyes are not able to see, the tongue is not able to taste, all the
powers weaken. And again when the प्राणशनक्त comes back
all the powers also come back along with that. And that is
why in छान्दोग्ि उपनिषत् also a similar story is given and
when the नशष्ि claims that he can remember the वेदs very
well the teacher says 15 days I will not feed you properly and
after 15 days he asked the नशष्ि chant सार्वेद and that too
सार्वेद. ऋग्वेद or िजुवेद can be managed. He could not even
remember the र्न्त्र properly, then the teacher says even the
intellectual power is dependent on the food, again food
standing for energy, प्राणशनक्त alone. And therefore not only
ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर््, not only कर्ेनन्द्रिर्् even the अन्तःकरणर््
function because of the power given by the प्राणशनक्त alone.
134
And therefore along with the movement of प्राण they were
also moving up and down. So, तहस्र्न् ि प्रहतष्र्ाने सवे एव
प्राहतष्न्ते. And for this the teacher gives an example of
र्हिकाः, the honeybee. Among the honey bees also there is a
leader. As long as that leader is there around all the other
working bees, for them the caste system is very very definite,
this working bee will be there, leader bee will be there, the
producer bee will be there, it will not just do anything –
queen, and when that moves out there is no question of
whether is proper or improper, whether the other place is
better or this place is inferior, no question, when this moves
out all of them in lakhs in lakhs; if you want to drive a whole
bunch of honey bee you need not do anything just that queen,
that leader has to be put somewhere the others will
automatically follow. And that is why they have given this
example. You can imagine what an observation they have.
र्हिकाः र्धुकरराजानर््. र्धुकर means bee, राजा means the
leader. उत्क्रार्न्तर्् – when the leader of the bee goes out,
सवाम ः एव र्हिकाः उत्क्रार्न्ते – all the other working bees also.
There was an article was about the white ant. The white ant
and how they work, how there is a leader, that leader mother
one will be bigger, and all the workers will come and work for
it it seems. It was an interesting article. But of course, here it
is honey bee. र्धुकरराजानर्् सवाम ः र्हिकाः उत्क्रार्न्ते. And
तहस्र्ंश्च प्रहतष्र्ाने – when he stays in one place, they also
stay; he moves, they also move. Like the best example
135
nowadays we can give is when there is a tourist and the
tourist guide will be there and the all others will be walking
behind him. When he stops all the people will stop, when he
moves all the people will move, in the same way, सवाम ः एव
प्रहतष्न्ते एवर््. Up to this is दृष्टान्त. Now he comes back to
दािाम न्त, the original. In the same way वाक् र्नः ििुः श्रोरं
ि. So, वाक् representing कर्ेहन्द्रयs, र्नः representing
अन्तःकरणर््, ििुः श्रोरं representing ज्ञानेहन्द्रयs. You have
to add even the पञ्िभत ू s which constitutes the physical body;
all of them. After श्रोरं ि there must be a full stop. In the
same way they also go and come back along with the प्राण
alone. Then what happened? It was a direct proof. When the
प्राण is, all the other तत्त्वs is are. When the प्राण goes, all the
other तत्त्व go. therefore, all of them are dependent on प्राण
alone. This has been clearly proved by अन्वयव्यहतरे क
method. Just as clay is, pot is. If clay is removed, pot is gone.
And therefore pot is dependent on clay. In the same way all
others are dependent on प्राण. Therefore, प्राण is the leader and
all others are lead. Therefore, प्राण is वररष्ः and all others are
under the वररष् प्राण alone. With this incidence all the
nineteen तत्त्वs understood the glory of the प्राण and therefore
ते प्रीताः. ते means these nineteen तत्त्वs were pleased. Why
they were pleased? That getting angry प्राण did not
permanently go, प्राण only taught a lesson and there afterwards
it came back. There will be two types of leaders. Some
people will punish permanently. Punishment should be in
136
such a way that no permanent damage is done. And therefore
just a little bit teaching of a lesson and there afterwards
everything is normal. And therefore प्रीताः, these nineteen
तत्त्वs were pleased and प्राणं स्तुन्वहन्त – they started
glorifying the प्राण. प्राण स्तुनतः, प्राण स्तवः, प्राण स्तोत्रर्् they
started doing. And the rest of this section, that is from verse
number five onwards up to the end the thirteenth is going to
be प्राण स्तुनत alone. Because I had said the very purpose of
the second chapter is the प्राण स्तुनत only, all these stories are
only for preparing the ground but the topic of this chapter is
from the fifth र्न्त्र alone, the glory of प्राणशनक्त. And that is
why प्राणािार् also becomes very very important for the
maintenance and now प्राणायार् is used for so many therapies,
almost anything and everything is cured by shear change of
breathing. Just we will wonder sometimes because a person
takes treatment from different pathies you know and every
pathy cost minimum 500 nowadays and when somebody says
that just take a few breathings, putting the hands like that or
head like that, what is this, no expenditure at all, because
unfortunately we think that if the doctor charges less the
treatment is poor. That is why people also charge more. So
when there is no expenditure also because that doctor becomes
useless doctor according to people. So when there is no
charge at all thet wonder but they say so many things are all
cured because it is the very प्राण flow in the system that keeps
the whole thing going, by just adjusting the breathing the प्राण
137
flows. What is acupuncture again? It is again handling the
प्राण of the system alone, where the प्राण is locked, where they
pranic centers are there, including िक्रs and all are entirely
handling of the प्राण. For what? The harmony of whole
system. And therefore we should remember प्राणशनक्त is very
much important and प्राणशनक्त is praised in our scriptures also.
There is a श्लोक, for every पज ू ा when the आवािनर्् is done
प्राण is invoked ‘I am invoking that प्राणशनक्त’. And it is that
glory of प्राणशनक्त which is sometimes known as कुण्डनलिी
and all also are known as प्राणशनक्त alone. Only from the
absolute standpoint प्राण also becomes another नर्थ्िा but from
the relative standpoint प्राण is great and since we are only in
the relative plane we have to accept the glory of प्राण. But at
the same time we should not give it absolute reality also. From
Vedantic aspect we will dismiss कुण्डनलिी शहक्त also but here
we are in र्विावहाररक plane and therefore the glory of प्राण has
to be accepted. And that is what is being talked about here.
र्न्त्र number five.
Verse No. 2.5
एषोऽनग्िस्तपत्िेष सि ू म एष पजम न्िो र्घवािेष वािुः ।
एष पनत थवी रनिदेवः सदसच्िार्त
त ं ि ित् ॥ ५ ॥
So the glorification of प्राणशहक्त and प्राणशनक्त
manifesting in two levels.
i) One is at the individual level and
ii) The other is at the cosmic level.
138
At this individual level प्राणशनक्त alone gives the
power to the eyes for perception and the hearing power also
belongs to प्राणशनक्त. Therefore, प्राणशनक्त appears as दशम ि
शनक्त, श्रवण शनक्त, घ्राण शनक्त, स्पशम ि शनक्त all these are one
प्राणशनक्त’s manifestation. Just as one ruler has total power
delegates various powers to each and every minister, finance
minister, education minister and each minister is vested with
some powers, all powers belonging to the king or the main
head. Similarly, प्राणशनक्त is like the main repository of power
which alone is appearing as दशम न शहक्त, श्रवण शहक्त, घ्राण
शहक्त, स्िशम न शहक्त. Similarly, कर्ेनन्द्रिs गर्न शनक्त, वदि
शनक्त and हिन्तन शनक्त. That is called as इच्छा शनक्त, ज्ञाि
शनक्त, नक्रिा शनक्त स्वरूनपणी in लनलतासहस्रिार् also it
comes. These are all at the microcosmic, individual level.
And if you go to the total level it becomes the शनक्त of
every देवता. The सि ू म देवता has got tremendous शनक्त power
that also belongs to प्राणशनक्त, सर्नष्ट प्राण. All solar energy
belongs to सर्नष्ट प्राण known as नहरण्िगभम . All the lunar
energy, whatever energy including nuclear energy remember
all of them according to our शास्त्र belongs to one प्राणशनक्त.
In the atom it is nuclear energy, in the Sun it is solar energy,
in the human being it is life energy. And in this र्न्त्र mainly
the power at the cosmic level is being pointed out. एषः अहग्नः
सन् तिहत – so here we have to take it as सर्नष्ट प्राणः, एषः
सर्हि प्राणः otherwise known as नहरण्िगभम alone is burning
as the अनग्ि तत्त्वर््, as the अनग्ि शनक्त. So अग्नेः दािकशहक्तः
139
अहि प्राण शहक्तः एव. So, अहग्नः सन् means अहग्न रूिेण
तिहत. एषः सर्हि प्राणः अहग्न रूिेण तिहत. That means the
burning power in the अनग्ि belongs to this प्राणशनक्त alone.
Then एषः सय ू म ः – this प्राणशनक्त alone is manifest in the form
of the Sun, सि ू म स्ि तपि शनक्त or प्रकाशि शनक्त also you can
take. अनग्ि can be taken for heat energy, सि ू म can be taken for
light energy. Whether it is heat energy or light energy, any
energy belongs to the प्राणशनक्त alone. एषः िजम न्यः – the rain
is falling down, what a phenomenon! Imagine you have to
take water and pour. How much energy is necessary? You
can see at the cosmic level from the ocean tons and tons of
water is just lifted. How much energy! Our local pump to
take a little bit of water which is not there in the well it takes
so much energy and breaks down on every other day. So how
much what pump is lifting the whole oceanic water into the
clouds and not only that it is taken from country to country,
northeast rain for some time and sometimes southwest and
different countries at different plains water is carried and
poured. िजम न्यः phenomenon you think. It is unimaginable.
How much energy is involved, all that energy again belongs
to the सर्नष्ट प्राणशनक्त alone. Just we have to sit, we only
say rain is not there. At least madras people know some value
of rain. In केवल you wouldn’t understand at all because four
months only rain and rain. So only when we sit and think
what is happening in the phenomenon of rain, something it is
one of the greatest wonders of nature. Scientists will say
140
nature, we say it is प्राणशनक्त. And एषः र्घवान्. र्घवान्
means इन्द्रः. इन्द्रः means the protector, the ruler, िालहयता.
So he is the protector, the maintainer of all देवताs. काले वषम तु
िजम न्यः. So the right time rain should come, everything
should be done properly. Therefore, a leader is necessary and
that also is the प्राणशनक्त alone. एषः वायुः – so प्राणशनक्त
alone is in the form of वािु. वािु means what? That which
moves about. In वािु itself there are many varieties.
आविः प्रविश्चैव संविश्चोद्विस्तथा । हवविाख्यः िररविः िरावि
इहत क्रर्ात् ॥
The वािु which is a gentle breeze, the वािु which is a
powerful cyclone etc. So that power also is प्राणशनक्त alone.
Then एषः िहृ थवी. पनत थवी means the earth also. The earth has
got tremendous power, the gravitational power is there and it
is moving so powerfully. From where does this power come?
Again that शनक्त also is प्राणशनक्त. So there is one word देवः.
एषः and देवः should be connected. एषः देवः. देवः means प्राण.
So एषः देवः this Lord प्राण alone. The purpose of using the
word देवः is that we don't want to see it as as a blind energy
alone, then it becomes a materialistic approach. To say that
this whole world is pervaded by this energy, solar energy,
nuclear energy, gravitational energy, electromagnetic energy,
if you blindly say this it is all lifeless principle. So we want to
see it as not mere materialistic but along with the िैतन्ि
तत्त्वर्् we want to see. So we will not call it as nature, for us
it is a living thing and therefore it is देवः. It is God, it is ईश्वर.
141
When you say nature you are seeing only matter or आत्र्ा,
when you call it as god you are seeing the unseen िैतन्िर््
also behind it. Therefore, what scientist see is correct but not
complete. When he says nature's glory he is right but he is not
complete because nature is not merely functioning, the nature,
the inert principle is pervaded by a िेति तत्त्वर््. It is not mere
अपराप्रकतनत, there is also पराप्रकतनत. And then प्राणशनक्त
becomes देवः नहरण्िगभम ः ईश्वरः. So this प्राणशनक्त alone is
पनत थवी, in the form of पनत थवी तत्त्वर््. रहयः in this context means
िन्द्रः, the moon. Because we have seen in the first section
ू ां िार्त
आहदत्यो ि वै प्राणो रहयरे व िन्द्रर्ा रहयवाम एतत्सवां यन्र्त ू ां
ि॥५॥
In the previous section it came. रहयरे व िन्द्रर्ा. Then सत् ि
असत् ि. सत् means all र्त ू म वस्तुs all things with form, which
have got forms. And असत् means अर्त ू म र्् or formless. र्त
ू म ञ्ि
अर्तू म ञ्ि. Because now science has clearly proved that the
very same energy condensed alone is the matter. Matter
broken alone becomes energy. And therefore, प्राणशनक्त
condensed alone is all the र्त ू म वस्तुs and प्राणशनक्त alone is
अर्त ू म वस्तुs or अर्त
ू म powers also. And अर्त ृ ं ि. Here अर्त ृ
means देवानार्् अन्नर्् अर्त ृ र््. In the mythological sense, not
in Vedantic sense. यत् देवानार्् अन्नर्् that is also प्राणशनक्त
alone. The scientists have not combined all the energies
because they have been able to reduce into four or five शनक्त
but they are not been able to join all these शनक्त together and
see as one. But in our शास्त्रs all these शनक्त have been join
142
together and that is called प्राणशनक्त. Einstein worked for that
and before his death you could not complete it, still they are
all working they say. We know the answer. If we say they
won't hear. So we know the answer that it is प्राणशनक्त.
Continuing;
Verse No. 2.6
अरा इव रथिाभौ प्राणे सवं प्रनतनष्तर्् ।
ऋिो िजंनू ष सार्ानि िज्ञः क्षत्त्रं ब्रह्म ि ॥ ६ ॥
In short, सवम र्् प्राणे प्रहतहष्तर््. In fact, everything is
based on प्राण alone. So if the whole creation is resolved, it
will be resolved into प्राण. Because our topic is up to प्राणर्ि
level. Because remember after sometime we say अन्योऽन्तर
आत्र्ा र्नोर्यः. So beyond energy also we will go to the
thought power. Even thought can lift things, hypnotize,
change things, this kinetic psychokinetic they say, so there
afterwards we will say thought power is more than the energy
outside, then we may say knowledge is more still powerful,
हवज्ञानर्यकोश. But at this we are only from lkg to ukg, then
afterwards BSc, MSc, PhD etc. But in this section we are
looking at the Ultimate as the energy, प्राण. And therefore it is
said in तैनिरीि also we have seen
प्राणं देवा अनु प्राणहन्त । र्नुष्याः िशवश्च ये । प्राणो हि
भत ू ानार्ायुः । तस्र्ात् सवाम युषर्ुच्यते । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषदत् २-
३-१ ॥
143
So प्राण’s glory also we saw. The same thing is said here.
सवम र्् प्राणे प्रहतहष्तर््. What are all? ऋिः यजंहू ष सार्ाहन –
all the वेदs, यज्ञः िरं ब्रह्म ि. यज्ञः means िागs, sacrifices.
िरर्् means all the क्षनत्रिs. ब्रह्म means all the ब्राह्मणs. Here
ब्रह्म does not mean सत्िर्् ज्ञािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. ब्रह्म means
ब्राह्मणs, क्षनत्रिs. Because these are all respected ones that are
enumerated. वेद is highly respected, िज्ञ is highly respected,
ब्राह्मण क्षनत्रिs are highly respected and therefore नपप्पलाद
enumerates them. But we should remember they are only
representatives, through them the whole creation is included.
Therefore, in short, all of them प्राणे प्रहतहष्तर्् they are based
on प्राण. Minus प्राण nothing can survive. And for this an
example is given. What is that? अराः इव रथनाभौ. The
example of a wheel. It is a common example often given. We
have seen in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् also.
अरा इव रथनाभौ संिता यर नाड्यः । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-२-६ ॥
So in the wheel the रथ-नाभी is the hub, the central part of the
wheel. अराः is the spokes of the wheel. The spokes are
connecting to the outer rim and therefore it appears as though
the outer rims are supported by the spokes. The glory seems
to belong to the spokes but really the glory does not belong to
the spokes because the spokes themselves are connected to the
central hub alone. And therefore the one single central hub
alone sustains the whole rim of the wheel through various
spokes. So each spoke can be taken as इच्छाशनक्त, नक्रिाशनक्त
or दशम ि शनक्त, स्िशम न शहक्त, स्र्रण शहक्त, निन्ति शनक्त.
144
Each spoke is like one-one शनक्त coming from the central
प्राणशनक्त. And through various शनक्त's the whole rim of
creation is maintained and that is why the rim is smoothly
moving. If the spokes are removed or if the central hub is
removed the whole wheel will be flat. It cannot survive. In
the same way, imagine the whole creation as the rim each
power behind the creation as the spokes and प्राण as the hub. A
wonderful meditation. So each idea is for meditation, प्राण
उपासिा. Whole creation is rim, each power in the creation is
a spoke and the प्राण is the central hub. From प्राण alone each
one, whether it is gravitational force, solar or nuclear or an
individual, any force comes from the प्राणशनक्त alone. We
will see in the next class.
िण
145
Through the story the greatness of प्राणशनक्त is brought
out in this section. All the ten sense organs ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर््s and
कर्ेनन्द्रिर््s, as well as four अन्तःकरणs all of them are able
to efficiently function only because of प्राणशनक्त. And if we
extend this to the सर्नष्ट level each इनन्द्रिर्् represents one-
one देवता. The total ज्ञािेनन्द्रि शनक्त is represented in the
ज्ञािेनन्द्रि देवताs. Similarly, कर्ेनन्द्रि शनक्त is represented by
कर्ेनन्द्रि देवताs and अन्तःकरण शनक्त is represented by
अन्तःकरण देवताs and प्राणशनक्त is represented by the सर्नष्ट
नहरण्िगभम देवता. Therefore, extending this rule to
microcosmic level we have to say all the देवताs are also
functioning only because of the सर्नष्ट प्राणशनक्त. Just as
individual organs are functioning through र्विनष्ट प्राणशनक्त,
similarly all the देवताs are functioning because of the सर्नष्ट
प्राणशनक्त alone. And if you have to put in scientific language,
we should say all the powers the creation, whether it is the
power of raining or whether it is the power of the planetary
motion or whether it is the power of gravitational pull or
whether it is the power of the atoms, whatever be the power in
the creation all of them are because of one fundamental basic
power known as प्राणशनक्त. Remember this is the नहरण्िगभम
देवता alone is looked here as प्राणशनक्त. And when we are
worshipping प्राणशनक्त we should remember we are not
merely worshipping the material power. If we worship only
the material power we will become materialistic. Then it
cannot come under religion at all. So we appreciate the glory
146
of total force or total power but the power pervaded by
intelligence principle, the िेति तत्त्वर्् also, which is unseen.
If you worship solar energy you are a materialist, if you
worship सि ू म देवता you become a religious devotee. Solar
energy does not include the intelligence behind but when you
worship सि ू म देवता it includes both of them - the intelligence
principle as well as the solar energy, the material aspect also.
And therefore प्राणशनक्त is not mere material, brutal, inert
force it is not but it is नहरण्िगभम देवता. That is what I said in
our पज ू ा also we worship प्राणशनक्त as mother. That is why I
was telling in the last class, that र्न्र is
रक्ताम्प्भोहधस्थ िोतोल्लसदरुण सरोजाहधरूढा कराब्जैः िाशं
कोदण्ड हर्िुद्भवर्हिगुण र्प्यंकुशं िंिबाणान् ।
हबभ्राणासक्ृ किालं हरनयनलहसता िीनविोरुिाढ्या देवी
बालाकमवणाम भवतु सुखकरी प्राणशहक्तः िरा नः ॥
देवीभागवतिुराणर्् ११-०८-१९ ॥
So देवी प्राणशनक्त it is said. That means देवी indicates the
intelligence principle, प्राणशनक्त indicates the power behind it.
If one is अपराप्रकतनत, the other is पराप्रकतनत; if one is र्ािा,
the other is ब्रह्मि.् Therefore, उपासिा is on both of them
together. And there is another reason also why we take both
of them together; why we are not taking mere power alone.
Because we should remember उपासिा must be always on an
उत्कतष्ट वस्तु, worship must be always of an उत्कतष्ट वस्तु,
something superior to us. If you are taking शनक्त as a mere
force alone then it becomes an inert principle and as an inert
147
principle it is never superior to a human being, who is a िेति
principle. Therefore, as a िेति principle I can never worship
any natural force alone because it is after all inert, however
powerful it might be a िेति, an ant is superior to even the
most powerful nuclear energy. Because of a simple plus point
that it is िेतिर्् whereas the other one is inert. Therefore, if
you are taking sheer natural force it is हनकृिर्् अिेतनत्वात्
therefore, we cannot do उपासिा up on it. But if you take the
power along with the intelligence principle it becomes
नहरण्िगभम देवता and as a देवता it is superior therefore, we can
do उपासिा. So therefore what I want to emphasize here is
here it is not mere worship of शनक्त but it is शनक्त along with
नशवर््, i.e., शनक्त along with the िेतिर््. शनक्त includes
नशवर््, नशवर्् includes शनक्त. Ok. Now it is said here in the
sixth र्न्त्र : अरा इव रथनाभौ प्राणे सवां प्रहतहष्तर्् । And here
the world प्राण refers to सर्नष्ट प्राण, सर्हि प्राणे the whole
cosmos with all with its varieties of powers is based upon the
प्राणशनक्त alone. And the example we saw in the last class
अरा इव रथनाभौ, just as the spokes of a wheel is supported by
the central part of the wheel, the hub. The spokes are many
but the hub is one, powers are many प्राणशनक्त is one and the
very strength of the spoke is gathered from the central hub
alone. And therefore अरा इव रथनाभौ. And not only them
and the following things also ऋिः यजंहू ष सार्ाहन, the entire
वेदs. So it represents all the वेदs. The ऋग् िजुस् and सार् are
the names of the types of र्न्त्रs. So it is not a reference to
148
वेदs alone. If it is referring to वेद then fourth वेद is left out. If
it is referring to र्न्त्रs all the four वेदs are included because
four वेदs have got only three types of र्न्त्रs. If you include the
types of र्न्त्रs then it means you have included all the four
वेदs. So ऋग् means ऋग् र्न्त्रः and यजुस् means िजुर् र्न्रः
and सार् means सार् र्न्रः. अथवम णवेद also consist of only
these types of र्न्त्रs. Either it must consist of ऋग् type of
र्न्त्रs or it should consist of यजुस् type of र्न्त्रs. Therefore, if
you take the type of र्न्त्रs the four वेदs are included. And
what are the types of र्न्त्रs? We had seen in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्.
तरािरा ऋग्वेदो यजुवेदः सार्वेदोऽथवम वेदः
हशिा कल्िो व्याकरणं ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-५ ॥
There I had explained. So just I will remind you. ऋग् is the
metrical र्न्त्रs, यजुस् is prose type of र्न्त्रs and सार् is र्न्त्रs
set to music. And all the four वेदs have got only these types
of र्न्त्रs. And ऋग्वेद is called ऋग्वेद because it
predominantly contain ऋग् type of र्न्त्रs, not watertight
compartment, ऋग्वेद also contains is िजुर् र्न्त्रs, िजुवेद also
contains ऋग् type of र्न्त्रs. But it is called ऋग्वेद because
predominantly ऋग् type of र्न्त्रs. Similarly, िजुवेद also. So,
ऋिः यजंहू ष सार्ाहन and not only that यज्ञः – so the rituals
prescribed in these three वेदs. वेदप्रहतिाहदतो यज्ञः न केवलर््
वेदः िरन्तु वेदप्रहतिाहदतो यज्ञः and these िज्ञs have meaning
only when there are some people to perform them otherwise
what is the use. Isn't it? So ब्रह्म ि िरर्् ि. So िर refers to
क्षनत्रि वणम s, all the क्षनत्रि जानत people are together called a
149
िरर््, it is a collective noun like people etc., group of क्षनत्रिs.
Similarly, ब्रह्म refers to the group of ब्राह्मणs. The ब्राह्मणs are
those who perform the िज्ञs and क्षनत्रि are those who protect
the िज्ञs. As we see in रार्ािण also, one performs and
another support the िज्ञ - financial support, security support
because in those days also सुबािु , र्ारीि terrorists were there
remember and therefore there must be paramilitary force. So
that is all the job of क्षनत्रिs and they cannot perform the िाग
they are the ब्राह्मणs. So therefore, those two are enumerated
and what is the तात्पिम here. It is not the enumeration, the
तात्पिम is all of them are supported by प्राणशनक्त. Without
प्राणशनक्त ब्राह्मण cannot perform िाग, without प्राणशनक्त
क्षनत्रि cannot protect the िाग. And therefore प्राण is the
fundamental force of the creation. Continuing;
Verse No. 2.7
प्रजापनतश्चरनस गभे त्वर्ेव प्रनतजािसे ।
तुभ्िं प्राण प्रजानस्त्वर्ा बनलं हरनन्त िः प्राणैः प्रनतनतष्नस ॥ ७ ॥
Remember, all these are प्राण स्तुनत, which has started
from number five onwards up to the end it will be प्राण स्तुनत
alone. त्वर्् एव प्रजािहतः – you alone are प्रजािहतः, the Lord of
creative power. Because remember ब्रह्म is the creator only
because of creative power, नवष्णु is a protector only because he
has the power of protection, similarly नशव is the destroyer
because of the power of destruction. These are all only three
divisions of one प्राणशनक्त. प्राणशनक्त alone becomes as
इच्छाशनक्त, नक्रिाशनक्त, सनत ष्टशनक्त, संहारशनक्त. They say
150
िञ्िकृत्य िरायणा ॥ श्री लहलतासिस्रनार्स्तोरर्् ६४ ॥
So सनत ष्ट नस्थनत संहार आहवभाम व हतरोभाव or हनग्रि अनुग्रि
remember each one is a peculiar faculty. Every faculty is a
power and therefore he says प्रजानार्् िहतः. The creative
power you are. And what you have done? This total creative
power alone is now available in every individual. So
everything has the capacity to reproduce its own species,
which is again peculiar power, शनक्त alone. The power of
reproduction, the power of propagation of one's own species
and not only that this power is again divided into two - one in
the male and another in the female. And therefore here he
says गभे त्वर्् एव िरहस – in the body of male and female,
here गभम should include both of them, हितग ृ भे and र्ातग
ृ भे
and गभम here means within. So within the male also there is a
creative power and within written in the female also there is a
creative power. Only when both these creative powers join
together a child is born. And this creative power is who?
त्वर्ेव गभे िरहस.
प्रजािहतश्चरहत गभे अन्तः । अजायर्ानो बिु धा हवजायते ॥
िुरुषसक्त
ू र्् ॥
So प्रजािहतः सन् त्वर्् गभे िरहस, you alone are born as every
being. But अजायर्ानः there it is a different context. But
here it is purely the creative power that is said. And not only
you are moving within the male and female as the creative
power, त्वर्ेव प्रहतजायसे – you alone are later born in the
form of the parents. Because every child has got a form
151
according to the parents, many characteristics are hereditary.
That is why the word प्रहतजायसे is used. प्रहत means
प्रनतरूपर््; हितुर्ाम तुश्च प्रहतरूिः सन् प्रहतजायसे. Some children
look like mother, some children look like father and if there is
a big family with many members then there will be
alternatives. Even in the color sometimes you can see fair dark
fair dark. So therefore, you alone are born in the form of, in
the mould of the parents. So प्रहतरूिः सन् जायसे, you alone
are. And not only that िे प्राण तुभ्यर्् तु इर्ाः प्रजाः बहलर््
िरहन्त – in fact, all beings are giving oblation to you alone.
How is it? So the offering of the बहल is the activities of each
sense organs. You have to remember
आत्र्ा त्वं हगररजा र्हतः सििराः प्राणाः शरीरं गिृ ं
िज
ू ा ते हवषयोिभोगरिना ॥ हशवर्ानस िज ू ा ४॥
Therefore every perception शब्दस्िशम रूिरसगन्ध they are all
offerings given to whom? the power called प्राणशनक्त alone.
Because even if it is in the form of food it is going to what?
the digestive power only, which is an again another aspect of
प्राणशनक्त. And therefore, every moments activity is an
offering the to प्राणशनक्त alone. And how do you know that?
Because of the offering प्राणशनक्त alone becomes stronger.
And when the offering stops what happens? What is its sign?
प्राणशनक्त declines and even a person perishes if all of them
stops. And therefore प्रजाः here refers to इनन्द्रिानण, इहन्द्रयरूि
प्रजाः. तुभ्यर््, प्राण is सम्ब्भोदि, िे प्राण. Because you should
remember this is prayer by whom? The sense organs. To
152
whom? प्राण. And therefore sense organs are addressing प्राण
here, िे प्राण all the people are only offering oblations to you.
And because of what reason? यः प्राणैः प्रहतहतष्हस – because
you are surrounded by various इनन्द्रिs. Here प्राण means
again इनन्द्रिानण. इनन्द्रिs are called प्राण because every
इनन्द्रिर्् has got one-one power. The eyes have got as I told
the other day दशम ि शनक्त, ears have got god श्रवण शनक्त and
each of this शनक्त is nothing but manifestation of one
प्राणशनक्त. And therefore, essentially दशम ि शनक्त also is प्राण,
स्पशम ि शनक्त also is प्राण. And therefore every इहन्द्रयर्् is
known as प्राण alone. That is why in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्
सि प्राणाः प्रभवहन्त तस्र्ात्
सिाहिम षः सहर्धः सि िोर्ाः । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-१-८ ॥
There also the word प्राण is used in the sense of sense organ.
And that is also very clear because when the food is not given
and the प्राणशनक्त is not strengthened दशम ि शनक्त weakens. So
because of the hunger the eyes do not function. If you are
hungry ears cannot listen. All of them happen and therefore
the प्राण is the उपादाि कारणर्् and all these शनक्त's are
कािम र््. Therefore, उिादान कारणरूि प्राणर्् व्यहतररक्त इहन्द्रय
शक्तयः न सहन्त. प्राणर्् व्यहतररक्त इहन्द्रयाहण न सहन्त.
प्राणस्येव कारणत्वात् इहन्द्रयानार्् कायम त्वात्. Continuing;
Verse No. 2.8
देवािार्नस वनितर्ः नपतणॄ ां प्रथर्ा स्व्ा ।
ऋषीणां िररतं सत्िर्थवाम ङ्नगरसार्नस ॥ ८ ॥
153
देवानार्् वहितर्ः अहस. वहि means the one who carries the
oblation. विहत इहत वहिः. And here तर्ः is the superlative.
You are the greatest carrier of oblation among the देवs, which
is none other than अनग्ि. So here it is referring to अनग्ि
देवता alone. So you are अनग्ि देवता, the greatest carrier of all
oblations. To whom? To the respective देवताs. When you
say इन्द्राय स्वािा you offer it only to अनग्ि. Remember, अनग्ि
is the courier service. Anywhere you offer it will just go there
and give it without committing a single mistake. The wrong
address or return without delivery all are not there. And not
only that हितण ॄ ार्् प्रथर्ा स्वधा – and you are the first oblation
that is given to the forefathers, the हितsृ , ancestors. So this is
based on the ritualistic tradition. That is before performing
any big पज ू ा or worship at house or at home initially they have
to do िान्दी श्राद्धर््. Any function whether it is नववाह,
whether it is उिनयनर्् or any कर्म before that there is a ritual
called िान्दी श्राद्धर््. Generally, they say िान्दी. िान्दी refers
to िान्दी श्राद्धर््. In fact, because of this the word िान्दी has
become an idiom for anything that is done in the beginning. In
र्लिाळर्् and all they very commonly use this is a िान्दी. So
िान्दी means anything that is done in the beginning as a
preparation, it refers to a श्राद्धर््, it is a worship of the
ancestors. Because any good कर्म is done only for the
greatness of the family and for the perpetration of the कुल्र्म .
When son or daughter gets married it is only continuation of
the कुल परम्ब्परा, कुल्र्म , therefore naturally, we want to
154
receive the blessing of those forefathers, because of whom
now we are what we are. And not only that if we remember
them we will try to retain the dignity also. And therefore the
blessing is asked for everything and therefore this offering is
always the first, even before the इन्द्र or अनग्ि any देवता, the
first offering goes to हितsृ in िान्दी श्राद्धर््. And the offerings
to हितsृ is technically known as स्वधा. हितण ॄ ार्् अन्नर्् स्वधा
इत्युच्यते. So the offerings to forefathers is technically known
as स्वधा. हितभ्ृ यो स्वधा. In the case of देवताs what do we
say? इन्द्राि स्वाहा, िर्ाि स्वािा, प्रजाितये स्वािा, अग्नये
स्वािा but when it comes to forefathers we should not say
स्वािा but we have to say स्वधा, हितभ्ृ यो स्वधा. And therefore
स्वधा refers to हितण ॄ ार्् अन्नर्् and here he says that अन्िर््
also is none other than प्राणशनक्त alone. हितण ॄ ार्् प्रथर्ा स्वधा,
you are the first offering given to the forefathers before the
performance of any ritual. And not only that ऋषीणार्् सत्यर््
िररतर्् त्वर्् अहस. So this line is interpreted in two ways.
i) First is the literal meaning itself is taken, वाच्याथम ः. So,
ऋषीणार्् िररतर्् means what? The activities of the ऋनषs, the
way of life of the ऋनषs. And what type of the way of life it
is? सत्यर्् िररतर्् – which is the truthful way of life, which is
the valid way of life, which is a purposeful way of life.
Because their way of life is useful to them as well as others.
Ours is असत्यर्् िररतर््, neither useful to us nor for others.
That is why special adjective सत्यर्् is given. Because when
155
we take the balance sheet on our last days we find that nothing
has been attained. Therefore it is said
इि िेदवेदीदथ सत्यर्हस्त
न िेहदिावेदीन्र्िती हवनहिः । ॥ केनोिहनषत् २-५ ॥
So, ऋषीणार्् िररतर्् is सत्यर््. How do we know? Because
those ऋनषs we still remember. हवश्वाहर्रs contribution, or
अथवाम अङ्हगरसार्् their contribution.
अथवाम ङ्हगरसः िुच्छं प्रहतष्ा । तदप्येष श्लोको भवहत । ॥
तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-३ ॥
They have all contributed. So ऋषीणार्् सत्यर्् िररतर््. And
as a representative two ऋनषs are mentioned here, अथवाम and
अङ्हगरस्. So you are also the purposeful activities of ऋनषs
like अथवाम , अङ्हगरस् etc. This is the first interpretation, which
is not of शङ्करािािम ’s.
ii) So now शङ्करािािम ’s interpretation is he takes ऋनष as
sense organs, इनन्द्रिानण. How can he take like that? He gives
the reason also, he will not just blindly write. ऋषहत जानाहत
because the sense organs are the one which perceive things
and ऋष् means to perceive, to know and sense organs are the
knowers of the colors, smell etc., and therefore they are called
ऋनषs. And अथवाम , अङ्हगरस् is adjective to sense organs.
अथवाम is also another name of sense organ alone, which means
अथवम यहत, िुष्णाहत इहत अथवाम . That which sustains the life of
all beings. Sense organs are very important for the sustenance
of the living beings, because whether it is eating or whether it
156
is seeing, for everything what is the basis? sense organs alone.
So without sense organs a person cannot survive therefore,
अथवम यहत, िुष्णाहत इहत अथवाम , the nourishers, the sustainers.
And अङ्हगरस also means sense organs. How? अङ्हग means
देिः. Why अङ्हग is देिः? Because it has got many अङ्गs,
अङ्गाहन अस्य सहन्त इहत अङ्हग. So अङ्हग means शरीरर््,
देिः. रसः means essence, सारभत ू ः. So, अङ्हगरस means
अङ्हगनार्् देिानार्् रसः सारभत ू ः is अङ्हगरसः. And sense
organs are the सारभत ू of all the people. And therefore, both
अथवाम and अङ्हगरस् refers to the sense organs alone. And
their िररतर्् means all their functions. So the functions of all
the sense organs who nourish the individual and who is the
essence of the individual is also the प्राणशनक्त alone. Ok.
Continuing;
Verse No. 2.9
इन्द्रस्त्वं प्राण तेजसा रुद्रोऽनस परररनक्षता ।
त्वर्न्तररक्षे िरनस सिू म स्त्वं ज्िोनतषां पनतः ॥ ९ ॥
All simple, you can understand. िे प्राण! त्वर्् इन्द्रः
तेजसा अहस – by your power because इन्द्र is the अहधदेवता of
बलर््.
इन्द्रो र्े बले हश्रतः । बलँ हृदये । हृदयं र्हय ।
So िस्तयोररन्द्रः । etc., we have seen in तत्त्वबोध. So तेजसा
here तेजस् means power, by your power you are none other
than इन्द्रः himself. And रुद्रोऽहस िरररहिता. So normally, रुद्र
is given as the destroyer but here रुद्र is described as
157
िरररहिता, as a protector. So from this it is very clear that
ब्रह्म नवष्णु नशव are only divisions that we make, really
speaking ब्रह्म is also doing all the three functions, नवष्णु also is
the three and नशव also is the three. It is one deity which we
are naming as ब्रह्म नवष्णु and नशव. Essentially there is no
difference at all. Otherwise if you read रुद्रर्् in many places
the prayer to the Lord is for the protection alone.
र्ा नो ो॑ र्॒िान्त ो॑र्ुत
॒ र्ा नो ो॑ अभम क ॒ ं र्ा न॒ उि ो॑न्त-र्ुत ॒ र्ा न ो॑ उहि॒तर््
। र्ा नोऽवधीः
ो॑ हित ॒ रं ॒ र्ोत र्ात
॒ रं ो॑ हप्र॒या र्ा न ो॑स्त॒नुवो ो॑ रुद्र रीररषः ॥
१०-५॥ र्ान ो॑स्तोक ॒ े तन ो॑ये॒ र्ा न॒ आयु ो॑हष॒ र्ा नो ॒ गोषु ॒ र्ा नो ॒ अश्वे ो॑षु
रीररषः । वीर॒ ान्र्ा नो ो॑रुद्र भाहर्॒तोऽव ो॑धी-िम ह॒ वष्र्न्ो॑ तो ॒ नर् ो॑सा हवधेर्
ते ॥ १०-६॥
These two are very important र्न्त्रs, prayers because in this
protection for all the things from all dangerous are asked for,
even अर्रिाथ trekkers can chant this. Because not only the
parents should be protected, I should be protected, my wife
and children should be protected, even the child in the womb,
र्ा नो ो॑ अभम ॒कं र्ा न॒ उि ो॑न्त-र्ुत
॒ र्ा न ो॑ उहि॒तर््. उहि॒तर्् means
the chold which is just growing in the womb, it maybe one
month or one week even let that be protected. And not only
that let my vehicles, pets, pets also are included because रुद्रर््
envisages that we will have all kinds of dogs, and other things
after sometime therefore let them also be happy. And of
course the famous र्न्त्र is there
ॐ त्र्यम्प्बकं यजार्िे सुगहन्धं िुहिवधम नर्् ।
158
where Lord is worshipped for what? Immortality, not as a
destroyer Lord but as a protector Lord, the Lord who is
auspicious, सुगहन्धं िुहिवधम नर्् न तु नाशकर्् िरन्तु
िुहिवधम नर््. That is why the very word नशवः means what?
शान्तर्् नशवर्् अद्वैतर्् र्ङ्गलर्् alone. And the very word
रुद्र refers to what? रुः means दुःखर््. रु द्रावयहत इहत रुद्रः. रुः
means दुःखर््. √रु रौहत – to cry. रौहत, रुतः, रुवहन्त. And रुः
means दुःखर््, crying. द्रावयहत. द्रवहत – to go, द्रावयहत
means the cause to go. The one who makes all the sorrows to
run away from you. That is a रुद्र. So here it is the protector
रुद्र. So when the रुद्र is destroyer what do we say? रोदयहत
इहत रुद्रः. The one who causes you to cry. The same word
can be used in two ways. Because at the time of death he
makes you cry. If not you other people. Either you cry or
others cry or both of you cry. So रोदयहत इहत रुद्रः. Here it
is not रोदयहत, न तु रोदकः िरन्तु आनन्दकः. That is why it
is said परररनक्षता, you are the protector.
उवाम रुकहर्व बन्धनान्र्त्ृ योर्म ुिीय र्ाऽर्त
ृ ात् ॥
िरररहिता रुद्रः त्वर्् अहस. त्वर्् अन्तररिे िरहस. So here also
two interpretations. Either you can add त्वर्् अन्तररिे सय ू मः
सन् िरहस you are moving in the अन्तररक्षर््, अन्तररक्षर््
means आकाश, as the Sun god or you can supply वािुः and say
त्वर्् अन्तररिे वायुरूिेण िरहस and सि ू म ः becomes a separate
sentence. The second seems to be better because both will
come. त्वर्् अन्तररिे वायुरूिेण िरहस – you alone are the
वािु, which is moving about in the अन्तररक्ष. And त्वर्् एव
159
सयू म ः ज्योहतषार्् िहतः – you alone are Sun god, who is the Lord
of all luminaries. So the idea is what you know from ब्रह्मि्
onwards we have got so many cause-effect series is there. And
when you take the final effect it is nothing but the
manifestation of its cause and that cause is manifestation of its
cause and that causes is the manifestation of its cause.
Therefore, every cause can be praised as the effect. You can
praise the clay as you alone are the pot, you alone at the plate,
you alone are the mug. So this is the glorification of the clay.
Then suppose you go further. This is for the grossest mind.
You start with clay स्तुनत, र्त त ् स्तुनत, don't think it is a joke.
There is a सक्तू र्् called र्हृ िकासक्तू र््.
र्हृ िके िर र्े िािं यन्र्या दुष्कृतं कृतर्् । र्हृ िके ब्रह्मदिाऽहस
काश्यिेनाहभर्हन्रता । र्हृ िके देहि र्े िुहिं त्वहय सवां
प्रहतहष्तर्् । र्हृ िके प्रहतहष्तं सवां तन्र्े हनणुहद र्हृ िके । तया
ितेन िािेन गच्छाहर् िरर्ां गहतर्् ॥
र्हृ िकासक्त
ू र्् is there. So there the idea is what? You go to
the immediate cause, i.e., पनत थवी. Then there afterwards once
your mind has reached still subtler level, what is the cause of
पनत थवी? जलर््. Therefore, you glorify जलर्् as everything in
the creation. And once you have advanced a little bit more
you say अनग्ि तत्त्वर्् is everything. Thus अहग्नसक्त ू र्् will
come. And a little bit more advanced you go to the वािु. In
fact, we are in the वािु level, प्राणशहक्त. What is प्राणशहक्त?
वािुः. And then we will go to आकाश स्तुनत. Because each one
of the later ones are the cause of the former ones. And from
160
there we go to र्ािा शनक्त and then ultimately if we survive
through all these stages then we go to ब्रह्मि.्
र्हय एव सकलर्् जातर्् र्हय सवम र्् प्रहतहष्तर्् । ॥
कैवल्योिहनषत् १-१९ ॥
So here now we are in the fourth stage वािु स्तुनत we have
come. And therefore, the स्तुनत will be similar. What is that?
You alone are the cause, from you everything else is coming,
because of you everything survives and into you alone
everything resolves. The praise is the same and even the
example like अरा इव रथनाभौ this can be used for the पनत थवी,
this can be used for the जलर््, अनग्ि, वािु, ultimately to
ब्रह्मि्. But the only thing is the स्तुनत of all other things is
only आिेहिक स्तुनत but the स्तुनत will fit cent percent only do
ब्रह्मि्. But to प्राण also it relatively works, to अनग्ि also it
relatively works. So that is why the स्तुनत is similar. So you
are वािु, you are अनग्ि, and in the नवश्वरूप दशम ि िोग we
have gone to still higher stage, there the ईश्वर we have gone
to. Ok. Continuing;
Verse No. 2.10
िदा त्वर्नभवषम नस अथेर्ाः प्राण ते प्रजाः ।
आिन्दरूपानस्तष्नन्त कार्ािान्िं भनवष्ितीनत ॥ १० ॥
So here it is praised as the वषम ः the very rain. So we know the
value of rain very much. So he says िे प्राण! त्वर्् अहभवषम हस
– so you alone raining, pouring in the form of rain, अहभतः
वषम हत. So we are not able to fill up any one of the lakes but
161
one full-fledged rain means the whole Redhills and all will be
filled up, remember how much power must have gone into it.
िे प्राण! you are the power because of which the rain is pouring
down. Here also प्राण is सम्ब्भोदि. िे प्राण! िे प्राणशहक्त! And
when the rain comes what happens to the people? अथ इर्ाः
प्रजाः आनन्दरूिाः हतष्हन्त – so all the people become full of
आिन्द. That is why तहृ िररहत वि ृ ौ । बलहर्हत हबद्युहत । यश
इहत िशुषु । ज्योहतररहत निरेषु । There is a तनत ि in the वनत ष्ट.
Where does it come? It comes in भग त ु वल्ली of
तैहिरीयोपनिषत्. वनत ष्ट has got तनत िः in it. That is said here,
आनन्दरूिाः हतष्हन्त. Why people are happy? Of course,
drinking water will be available and not only that
अन्नाद्वै प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् ॥
From that alone the food has to come. Therefore, कार्ाय
अन्नर्् भहवष्यहत – there will be sufficient food. कार्र्् here
means यथेिर््, as much as a person wants. So, कार्ाय अन्नर््
भहवष्यहत इहत िे तोः आनन्दरूिाः, this is the thinking of the
people. Therefore, it must be within inverted commas. कार्ाय
अन्नर्् भहवष्यहत – we will have plenty of food and therefore
the price of the rice will come down. But normally कार्ाय
अन्नर्् भहवष्यहत इहत हिन्तया with this thought आनन्दरूिाः
हतष्हन्त. This is one interpretation. Here also another
interpretation they give. यदा त्वर्् अहभवषम हस इर्ाः प्रजाः प्राणते.
प्राणते together is taken. All the people survive, so, प्राणते
means they breathe. That means they survive. Because the
very living depends up on the rains. So otherwise this year or
162
previous year there was famine in Africa, every place there
was famine, how there is a global problem if the rain is not
proper. They say that the temperature of the earth is
increasing, lot of problems are there. And if it goes like that
the very survival becomes a very big problem. Therefore, िे
प्राण! यथा त्वर्् अहभवषम हस तथा इर्ाः प्रजाः प्राणते. प्राणते
means प्राणन्ते. प्राणन्ते means प्राणहन्त. प्राणहन्त means
जीवहन्त. So this is also शङ्करािािम ’s alternative
interpretation. More we will see in next class.
िण
163
र्न्र. 2.7 - 2.13
प्रजापनतश्चरनस गभे त्वर्ेव प्रनतजािसे ।
तुभ्िं प्राण प्रजानस्त्वर्ा बनलं हरनन्त िः प्राणैः प्रनतनतष्नस ॥ ७ ॥
देवािार्नस वनितर्ः नपतणॄ ां प्रथर्ा स्व्ा ।
ऋषीणां िररतं सत्िर्थवाम ङ्नगरसार्नस ॥ ८ ॥
इन्द्रस्त्वं प्राण तेजसा रुद्रोऽनस परररनक्षता ।
त्वर्न्तररक्षे िरनस सिू म स्त्वं ज्िोनतषां पनतः ॥ ९ ॥
िदा त्वर्नभवषम नस अथेर्ाः प्राण ते प्रजाः ।
आिन्दरूपानस्तष्नन्त कार्ािान्िं भनवष्ितीनत ॥ १० ॥
From fifth र्न्त्र onwards the glorification of प्राण is
being done both at the आध्िानत्र्क level, i.e., the subjective
level as well as at the आन्दैनवक level, the objective level. At
आध्िानत्र्क level, प्राण is the basic शनक्त which alone is
manifesting as ज्ञािेनन्द्रि शनक्त, कर्ेनन्द्रि शनक्त as well as
अन्तःकरण शनक्त, निन्तिा शनक्त. So thus one basic प्राणशनक्त
alone is manifesting as various इनन्द्रि शनक्तs. This is at
आध्िानत्र्क level. And coming to आन्दैनवक level, one
प्राणशनक्त alone is manifesting as various forces in the nature,
whether it is the force of rain, or thunder or lightning or wind
or gravitation, all the powers, whether it is atomic energy or
solar energy or electromagnetic energy to use scientific
expression, all types of powers, शनक्तs are the manifestation
of one प्राणशनक्त. But at आन्दैनवक level we call the सर्नष्ट
प्राणशनक्त as नहरण्िगभम and various powers of nature as
अन्ष्ाि देवताs. So at the cosmic level you are one
164
नहरण्िगभम manifesting as सि ू म देवता, the िन्द्र देवता, वरुण
देवता, नवद्यत
ु देवता, पनत थवी देवता etc., each देवता representing
a natural power. नहरण्िगभम representing the totality of these
powers. Thus at the microcosmic as well as the microcosmic
level you are one शनक्त. This alone we call as सवाम त्र्कत्वर््,
one appearing as everything. Thus प्राण स्तुनत is being done as
सवाम त्र्कः. So, शङ्करािािम in his commentary will put in a
simple sentence प्रणस्य सवाम त्र्कत्वेन स्तुहतः हक्रयते. (इत्येवं
सवाम त्र्तया वागाहदहभः प्राणैः स्तुत्या गहर्तर्हिर्ा प्राणः
प्रजािहतरे वेत्यवधतृ र्् ॥ प्रश्नोिहनषद्भाष्यर्् २-१३ ॥) And some
more स्तुहत is going to come. Number eleven.
Verse No. 2.11
व्रात्िस्त्वं प्राणैकनषम रिा नवश्वस्ि सत्पनतः ।
विर्ाद्यस्ि दातारः नपता त्वं र्ातररश्व िः ॥ ११ ॥
So here also the स्तुनत continues. िे प्राण! प्राणैकहषम ः is
there, if you split it it will be प्राण एकऋहषः. िे प्राण! oh प्राण!
त्वर्् व्रात्यः अहस. See generally the word व्रात्यः means an
outcast but here it is used in praising प्राण. This is called
निन्दा स्तुनत, where you praise through scolding. This is a
figure of speech.
उहक्तव्याम जस्तुहतहनम न्दास्तुहतभ्यां स्तुहतहनन्दयोः ।
कः स्वधम ुहन हववेकस्ते नयसे िाहिनो हदवर्् ॥
So superficially looking it will appear to be scolding but
really it is स्तुनत alone. So who is exactly a व्रात्यः. The one
who is ब्राह्मणः or नद्वजः by birth but who doesn't undergo the
165
संस्कारs necessary for a नद्वज. Unlike a शद्रू . A शद्रू doesn't
have संस्कारs and therefore he doesn't follow संस्कारs that is
one thing. But here a person is not born a शद्रू , he is born in a
ब्राह्मण family, क्षनत्रि family or वैश्ि family, all the three come
under नद्वजs, they are called हद्वजs I have explained in
भगवद्गीता, they are called हद्वजs because with their उपििि
संस्कारs their second part of life begins. द्वे जन्र्हन यस्य स
हद्वजः. Up to उिनयन संस्कार their life is according to their
रागद्वेष. It is determined by, governed by their रागद्वेष but
once the उिनयन संस्कार is done they are no more free to do
what they want, all their activities must be governed by शास्त्र
नवन् निषे्. They are slaves of शास्त्रs, willing slaves of
शास्त्रs. Otherwise it looks inferior. And that is why we put
the उिनयन thread indicating I am binding myself by the
three वेदs, the ्र्म शास्त्र. And therefore a person once born as
a son of a नद्वज he should go through the उिनयन संस्कारर््
and get purified himself to study the वेदs and according to
structures age is also is said. If he is a ब्राह्मण it must be of the
age of five to seven, if it is क्षनत्रि nine to eleven, if he is वैश्ि
eleven to thirteen the उिनयनर्् must be done. Not just before
wedding at the 33rd year. So age limit also is there that is the
संस्कारs, purification rites. And if a person lose, if a person
doesn't follow the संस्कारs then his नद्वज status is gone. Born
as नद्वज and losing the नद्वज status, becoming a शद्रू by choice
not by birth. When a नद्वज becomes a शद्रू by choice or by
default then he is called व्रात्यः. Therefore, all ब्राह्मणs or
166
क्षनत्रिs or वैश्िs who don't put the sacred thread or don't have
the संस्कारs as prescribed, they are called व्रात्यः. Literally it
means unpurified one. असंस्कृताः संस्कारे ण न संस्कृताः. It is
not physical but it is purely spiritual. They might be regularly
taking bath and wearing clean clothes. We are not talking
from that angle. अन्तःकरणे संस्काराः जायन्ते those संस्कारs
will not be there. He is called व्रात्यः. And here they are
praising प्राण as a व्रात्यः. How can it be a praise? That is why
we call it निन्दा स्तुनत. शङ्करािािम gives two explanations.
प्राण represents नहरण्िगभम . Because सर्नष्ट प्राण is part of
what? सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््
represents नहरण्िगभम . This should be remembered throughout.
प्राण is part of the सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and therefore सर्नष्ट प्राण is
part of the सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् which is none other than
नहरण्िगभम . Therefore, सर्नष्ट प्राण represents नहरण्िगभम you
should remember. नहरण्िगभम is said to be व्रात्यः because of
two reasons.
i) One reason is, he is प्रथर्जः, the first born. And
therefore he doesn't have anybody else to do his संस्कारs.
Who will do संस्कारs for him? Therefore, संस्कतम ुः अभावात्
प्रथर्जत्वात्, from सत्िर्् ज्ञािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म the first
manifestation is नहरण्िगभम himself and there are no other
parents, ब्रह्मि् cannot do nor र्ािा can do, because of ब्रह्मि्
and र्ािा are the parents of नहरण्िगभम , neither ब्रह्मि् can do
संस्कारs nor र्ािा can do संस्कारs, therefore नहरण्िगभम ः
संस्कार रनहतः. Therefore he is called व्रात्यः. प्रथर्जत्वात्
167
संस्कतम ुः अभावात्. Because उिनयनर्् has to be done by
whom? Father. So here they are not there to do उिनयनर््
etc., all the other things.
ii) Then the second reason, more genuine reason is that
संस्कार is necessary to purify. Purification is necessary for
whom? The impure. हिरण्यगभम स्य हनत्य संस्कृतस्वरूप्त्वात्.
नहरण्िगभम being ever pure, शुद्धसत्त्वप्रधानत्वात्, he being a
सानत्त्वक deity, being ever pure no purificatory rite is
necessary at all and therefore also he is called व्रात्यः. So
definition-wise he is व्रात्यः but naturewise he is शुद्ध. When
somebody was glorifying रार्’s rule in अिोध्िा they were
saying it seems in अिोध्िा there was no person no दास was
there. दास means what? Giver, the one who gives charity.
There was no दास at all in अिोध्िा during रार्’s rule. It looks
what? All the people are sindhi people. But really speaking
what the author was meaning was this. No दाता was there
because there was nobody to receive. Everybody was well
off, there was no beggar at all, there was nobody to take
anything. Therefore, superficially it looks like criticism but
indirectly it is praising alone. I am giving as an example for
निन्दा स्तुनत. Similarly, here also व्रात्यः means नित्ि शुद्ध
स्वरूपः. So, त्वर्् व्रात्यः अहस, हनत्य संस्कृतो रूिोऽहस.
Then एकहषम ः. एकहषम ः is the name of the fire used by
the people belonging to अथवम णवेद. You should remember
that in the कर्म काण्ड for varieties of rituals fire is to be
kindled in variety of ways. There is a special prescription
168
how a fire is to be kindled for particular कर्म s. If it is a
त कर्म a कर्म which is confined to family हलके गभाम धानर््,
गह्य
हववािर््, उिनयनर्् etc., it is purely a family कर्म . But there
are certain कर्म s which are social in nature big सोर्यागs,
वाजिेययागs etc., which are done for the well-being of the
whole society. They are श्रौतकर्म s not confined to गिृ र्् alone.
Thus in the संस्कार talk I had talked about some of these. So
in short varieties of rituals are there and for each one of the
kindling of fire also is different. A गहत स्थ himself is
supposed to maintain a नित्ि अनग्ि known as गाहम पत्ि अनग्ि
which is to be kindled during नववाह. Only at that time it can
be kindled. And suppose in between it is put out, due to some
reason it goes off, then the गहत स्थ cannot kindle again by
himself, because it can be kindled only at the time of wedding.
Then what he has to do is he has to go to another गहत स्थ, even
though he has got matchstick including lighter, so all lighters
are there he cannot use any method, it has to be kindled from
another गहत स्थ’s house who has who has been protecting
गाहम पत्ि अनग्ि. And he has to do प्रायहश्चि for negligence.
And this गािम ित्य अनग्ि has to be maintained daily but
गािम ित्य अनग्ि cannot be directly used for his daily rituals.
Suppose he has to do अनग्िहोत्र he has to again prepare
separate fire but taken from गािम ित्य अनग्ि he has to kindle
आिवनीय अनग्ि and do the अनग्िहोत्र ritual and that fire has
to be transferred back into गािम ित्य अनग्ि. He cannot directly
do, he has to take fire from गािम ित्य अनग्ि and he has to
169
kindle a fresh as आिवनीय अनग्ि, then he has to do अनग्िहोत्र.
And since different methods of kindlings are there and not
only that this fire has to be kindled in particular types of
होर्कुण्ड also. For one it might be rectangular, for another it
might be circular, for another it might be semicircular. For
गािम ित्य there is a prescription, आिवनीय there is a
prescription and therefore each of the fire is known by a name
also. They will call as गािम ित्य fire, आिवनीय fire, सभ्य fire,
आवसर्थय fire and एकहषम ः is another name of fire. If I don't
explain you might have a doubt - fire is only one, on what
basis you can give varieties of name? The basis is the type of
ritual, the type of kindling, the type of होर्कुण्ड etc.,
determines the name of the fire. In कठोपनिषत् we learnt
about a fire known as िानिकेत fire. Once upon a time, long
ago.
नाहिकेतर्हग्नं हिन्वानः । कर्हग्नं हिनुते । सहरयर्हग्नं
हिन्वानः । ॥तैहिरीयारण्यकर्् ॥
So many अनग्िs are mentioned and in अथवम णवेद the name of
the fire for a particular ritual is called एकहषम ः. This word we
have already seen if you remember it had come in
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. In the last र्न्त्र,
तदेतदृिाऽभ्युक्तर्् ।
हक्रयावन्तः श्रोहरया ब्रह्महनष्ाः
स्वयं जुह्वत एकहषां श्रद्धयन्तः ।
ै ां ब्रह्महवद्यां वदेत
तेषार्ेवत
हशरोव्रतं हवहधवद्यैस्तु िीणम र्् ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् ३-२-१० ॥
170
So हशरोव्रतं a particular ritual was discussed in
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् and in that context the एकहषम ः was named. In
short, एकहषम ः fire also is none other than, also is a
manifestation of प्राण alone. प्राण is एकहषम ः also. Why should
the teacher take एकहषम ः alone? Why can't he take some other
fire? नाहिकेत अनग्ि or आिवनीय अनग्ि? Why should he
specify एकहषम ः? Because प्रश्नोपनिषत् belongs to अथवम णवेद
and therefore एकहषम ः being related to अथवम णवेद and the
students will be generally अथवम णवेद students, because they
will study this with more enthusiasm because our वेद it is, and
therefore he is talking about the एकहषम ः that is all. Otherwise
all अनग्िs are nothing but प्राणशनक्त alone. So एकहषम ः. Then
अिा. अिा means what? The eater of, we have to supply, all
oblations. सवम िहवषार्् अिा. √अद् – to eat. अिा means eater.
अिा, अिारौ, अिारः. So you are the eater of everything. In
what form? एकहषम ः रूिेण. That we have to understand. In the
form of एकहषम ः fire you consume all the oblation given by the
अथवम ण वेद people. Not only that हवश्वस्य सत्िहतः – you are
the noble Lord of the whole creation. सत् means साधु, noble,
great, virtuous. िहतः means Lord, protector. हवश्वस्य means
the whole universe or as a pronoun we can take सवम स्य also.
So, सवम स्य सत्िहतः or जगतः सत्िहतः both meanings are
equally fine. So you are the Lord of everyone as सर्नष्ट प्राण
नहरण्िगभम , the life giver.
प्राणं देवा अनु प्राणहन्त । र्नुष्याः िशवश्च ये । प्राणो हि
भत ू ानार्ायुः । तस्र्ात्सवाम युषर्ुच्यते । सवम र्ेव त आयुयमहन्त ।
171
तस्र्ात्सवाम युषर्ुच्यते इहत र्नुष्याः िशवः देवाश्च प्राणं अनु
प्राणहन्त. Their very survival is because of सर्नष्ट प्राण and
therefore he is the Lord of all. Ok. And what about us? He
says वयर्् आद्यस्य दातारः. Literally आद्यर्् means eatable,
अदन योग्यर्् आद्यर्् and here eatable means various offerings,
बनल.
सवेऽस्र्ै देवा बहलर्ाविहन्त ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् १-५-३ ॥
So, बहलः or िहवः or oblations we can take, offerings we can
take and what we do is give offerings to you. That is what is
said as सवेऽस्र्ै देवा बहलर्ाविहन्त, सवे देवाः अहि, all the
देवताs are offering worship to नहरण्िगभम , the total. Or if you
take at the र्विनष्ट level all इनन्द्रिs are offering शब्द स्पशम रूप
रस गन्् offerings to the प्राण alone. And thus whether you
take at the आध्िानत्र्क level or आहधदैहवक level it will work.
So वयर्् दातारः भवार्ः, we are. And हिता त्वर्् र्ातररश्व नः.
so िे र्ातररश्व त्वर्् नः हिता अहस. So र्ातररश्व means again
प्राण alone is called. र्ातररश्व word where did it come?
अनेजदेकं र्नसो जवीयो नैनद्दे वा आप्नुवन्िवू म र्षम त् ।
तद्धावतोऽन्यानत्येहत हतष्िहस्र्न्निो र्ातररश्वा दधाहत ॥
ईशोिहनषत् ४ ॥
Therefore, र्ातरर – अन्तरीिे, श्वयहत – गच्छतीहत, the one
who goes in the अन्तररक्ष, in the space is called र्ातररश्व. And
who travels in space? वािुः. Therefore, र्ातररश्व is another
name for वािु and वािु is is another name for प्राण. And
therefore िे र्ातररश्व means िे वायो means िे प्राण. And really
172
speaking it must be िे र्ातररश्वन्. It is a Vedic usage. The
right language is िे र्ातररश्वन् त्वर्् नः अस्र्ाकर्् हिता अहस –
you are the father, the protector of all of us. Ok. Then there is
another interpretation also. र्ातररश्वनः वायोः हिता त्वर्् अहस.
So one is िे र्ातररश्व नः हिता अहस, अस्र्ाकर्् हिता अहस. नः
means ours. Otherwise र्ातररश्वनः वायोः हिता त्वर्् अहस –
you are the father of even वािु. But the first seems to be fine.
That is ok. Continuing;
Verse No. 2.12
िा ते तिवू ाम नि प्रनतनष्ता िा श्रोत्रे िा ि िक्षुनष ।
िा ि र्िनस सन्तता नशवां तां कुरु र्ोत्क्रर्ीः ॥ १२ ॥
So the प्राणs power alone is present in every इनन्द्रिर््.
Therefore, या ते तनःू वाहि प्रहतहष्ता. तनःू means शरीरर्् and
here शरीरर्् means शनक्त. Because प्राणs very शरीरर्् is the
power alone. Therefore, तनःू means body, स्वरूपर्् and in this
context it happens to be शनक्त. So ते तनःू – your power is वाहि
प्रहतहष्ता – is present in the वाग् इनन्द्रिर््. In the form of
what? The power of speaking. So प्राणशनक्त alone in the वाक्
इनन्द्रिर्् is manifesting as the वाक् शनक्त, वदन शनक्त, the
speaking power. That is why in दुगाम सिशती everywhere it
will be said िर्स्तस्िै िर्स्तस्िै िर्स्तस्िै िर्ो िर्ः. In the
first line it will be said you are in this particular form, you are
in this particular form, that is in everything the very power is
you and िर्स्तस्िै िर्स्तस्िै िर्स्तस्िै िर्ो नर्ः, the same
similar pattern. So therefore, वाहि वाक् इहन्द्रये प्रहतहष्ता
अहस. Not only that श्रोरे – your power alone is present in the
173
ears as श्रवण शनक्त. And ििुहष – your power alone is present
in the eyes as the seeing power. And again र्नहस सन्तता.
सन्तता means प्रहतहष्ता again. And your power alone is in
the mind also as the thinking power, as the doubting power,
doubting also is a great power. So some people endlessly they
will ask, they always will have wonder. For some people
doubt will never come, but some people they will always
manage to ask some doubts or other. Even in an
announcement I will always plan very well to make
announcement in such a way that nobody should come with a
question. But I have always failed. Something or the other
they have asked. It is very very interesting. That is why it is a
special power. Therefore संशि शनक्तः, निश्चि शनक्तः,
memory शनक्तः, again remembrance also is a power. They are
all र्नहस. र्नस् stands for र्नोबुहद्ध-अिङ्कारहिि all of
them. सन्तता, these are all your power alone. And now the
इनन्द्रिs say, now िे प्राण you are very angry. Because we
claimed that we are all powerful, remember the story, we are
all powerful. कतरे एतत् प्रकाशयन्ते? ते प्रकाश्य अहभवदहन्त –
“वयर्् एतत् बाणर्् अविभ्य हवधारयार्ः”. We are supporting,
we are supporting each one was claiming. Then प्राण got wild
and then alone प्राण was about to make a walk out and you
should remember प्राण is still in the door sill and is waiting to
go out and it is at that time the praise is being done and
therefore at the end of the praise the इनन्द्रिs are asking “May
you cool down, हशवार्् कुरु, may you make your nature
174
calm.” So here हशवा means शान्ता. हशवार्् कुरु, शान्तार््
कुरु. What? तनःू . तनःू is स्त्रीहलङ्गः and therefore तार््
स्त्रीहलङ्गः. So, तव तनःू , your स्वरूपर्् शान्तार्् कुरु may
you make your nature calmed down, quietened down,
subsided down and having come down may you come inside,
र्ा उत्क्रर्ीः – may you not go out. Because if you go out we
will also have to follow suits. We have got things more to see,
so we have to see a lot more things therefore, wait till we see.
So र्ा उत्क्रर्ीः, may you not go out. continuing;
Verse No. 2.13
प्राणस्िेदं वशे सवं नत्रनदवे ित्प्रनतनष्तर्् ।
र्ातेव पुत्रान्रक्षस्व श्रीश्च प्रज्ञां ि नव्ेनह ि इनत ॥ १३ ॥
So this is the उिसंिार, the conclusion of the प्राण
स्तुनत which started from the fifth र्न्त्र onwards. At the end
of the fourth र्न्त्र it was said ते प्रीताः प्राणं स्तुन्वहन्त.
स्तुन्वहन्त is an interesting usage. A little bit grammar.
According to संस्कतत grammar स्तुन्वहन्त form is not there.
स्तुवहन्त alone is there. स्तौहत / स्तवीहत, स्तुतः, स्तुवहन्त. In
गीता, र््ुसदू ि सरस्वती writes
यं ब्रह्मा वरुणेन्द्ररुद्रर्रुतः स्तुन्वहन्त हदव्यै स्तवैः
So I was wondering how can a great grammarian, he is a
great grammarian also, र््ुसदू ि सरस्वती, how can he
commit grammatical mistake, it should be स्तुवहन्त हदव्यै
स्तवैः but he writes स्तुन्वहन्त. So, now we know he has
copied from this उपनिषत्. If anybody questions that usage
175
you can say care of प्रश्नोपनिषत्. So when उपनिषत् itself
says why can't I use, I am only quoting the उपनिषत् he can
say. Here also स्तुन्वहन्त is a छान्दास प्रयोगः, really speaking
it should be स्तुवहन्त. And that स्तुनत begins from the fifth
र्न्त्र and that is why at the end of this र्न्त्र there is one इहत,
इहत indicating इहत स्तुवहन्त. इहत indicates completion of the
inverted commas. इहत इहन्द्रयाहण प्राणर्् स्तुवहन्त. Ok. What is
the last स्तुनत? इदर्् सवम र्् प्राणस्य वशे you have to supply
प्रहतहष्तर््. So इदर्् सवम र्् – all these things that are in front
of us, भल ू ोकर््, इहलोकर््. So everything in this world is
under the control of प्राण. वशर्् means control. प्राणस्य वशे,
प्राणस्य अहधने. Ok. Then is it all? No, यत् हरहदवे. हरहदवे
means स्वगम , the other world. Therefore, whatever is there in
the other world तदहि प्राणे प्रहतहष्तर््. You have to repeat
again. That also is under the control of प्राण. So the first part
indicates इदर्् सवम र््. इदर्् सवम र्् indicates this world, हरहदवर््
representing the other world. इिलोकः िरलोकश्च सवम र्् अहि
प्राणस्य वशे एव प्रहतहष्तर््. And therefore indirectly इनन्द्रिs
are telling we are also under your control alone and therefore
only by your grace we ourselves can survive. And therefore it
is your duty to protect us. Therefore, र्ाता इव िुरान् रिस्व –
so may you protect us like the mother. When protection comes
suddenly he is shifting from father to mother, because they
have committed a mistake. Now an extra compassion is
necessary, isn't it? So in the case of father sometimes he will
have a general compassion but when the mistake comes he
176
might not show that much compassion, he may be rigid but
mother is of that nature that even if the son commits a
mistake.
कुिुरो जायेत क्वहिदहि कुर्ाता न भवहत
As शङ्करािािम says there can be a कुिुर, there cannot be a
कुर्ाता. And therefore, he says with respect to pardoning us
you may be like a mother to us because we have already
committed a mistake by being arrogant. And therefore, र्ाता
इव िुरान् रिस्व. र्ाता िुरान् इव रिस्व. र्ाता िुरान् is the
दृिान्त and in the द्रािान्त you have to say त्वर्् अस्र्ान्
रिस्व िालयस्व. र्ाता िुरान् इव त्वर्् अस्र्ान् रिस्व. Ok.
Now you may pardon us but we can commit to the mistake
again. The pardoning will only save for the time being but we
can do the same mistake especially, we are experts, and
therefore he says not only you should protect us now may you
give wisdom so that we will not repeat the mistake again, we
will know that प्राण alone is the greatest one, we are all only
under his control. Therefore, he says श्रीश्च प्रज्ञां ि नः हवधेहि –
so may you bless us with, may you confer upon us, हवधेहि
means bless, give श्रीः. श्रीः means prosperity or growth. Let
us grow more and more powerful by your grace and not only
that प्रज्ञार्् – may you give us discrimination or wisdom also.
हववेकशहक्तञ्ि हवधेहि. So very careful. न हवधेहि should not
be read. So नः means अस्र्ाकर््. र्र्/र्े, आवयोः/नौ,
अस्र्ाकर््/नः. Or अस्र्भ्यर्् also is Ok. ितुथी बिु विन also
we can take. अस्र्भ्यर्् हवधेहि, for our sake may you give. इहत
177
प्रीताः प्राणं स्तुन्वहन्त. With this प्राण स्तुनत also is over. Thus
all the three questions have been answered.
So I will just summarize the three questions and
answers and we will stop.
The first question was कहत देवाः प्रजां हवधारयन्ते, कतर
एतत्प्रकाशयन्ते, कः िुनरे षां वररष्. What are the powers
that sustain the individual? What are the powers that glorify
themselves? And what is the greatest one or the most powerful
one? These were the three questions by the second student.
And what is the answer to the first question? All the nineteen
organs पञ्िभत ू ानि िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण ित्वारर
अन्तःकरणाहन all of them प्रजां हवधारयन्ते they all
contribute. प्राणs were not mentioned but understood. If you
include प्राणs also it will become 24 तत्त्वर््s. Therefore, these
24 तत्त्वर््s including प्राणs प्रजां हवधारयन्ते they sustain the
individual - answer to the first question.
Answer to the second question who glorify themselves?
The nineteen तत्त्वs except the पञ्िप्राणs, i.e., िञ्िभतू ाहन
िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण ित्वारर अन्तःकरणाहन
3*5+4 = nineteen of them glorify themselves. How? वयर््
एतत् बाणर्् अविभ्य हवधारयार्ः. वयर्् एतत् शरीरर्् अविभ्य
हवधारयार्ः इहत प्रकाश्य अहभवदहन्त they glorify. Each
question one-one line answer alone.
178
And the third question is what? कः िुनः एषां वररष्ः.
The answer is प्राण एषां वररष्ः, प्राण alone is the greatest
among them.
With this all the three questions were answered. Then
the next topic was proving the superiority of प्राण. How was it
proved? अन्वय व्यहतरे काभ्यार््. When प्राण is present all the
nineteen organs can function, when the प्राण is about to walk
out, need not go away, about to walk out, just before death
what will be the condition of the organs?
प्राण प्रयाण सर्ये कफवातहििै: कंठ अवरोधन हवधौ स्र्रणर््
कुतः ते ॥ िाण्डवगीता/ प्रिन्नगीता - ५२ ॥
So, प्राण प्रयाण सर्ये न तु प्रयान अनन्तरर््. प्रयान अनन्तरर््
न प्रिव्यर्् एव अहस्त. प्रयाण सर्ये एव हकहञ्िदहि इहन्द्रयर्हि
प्रवतम ते, nothing functions. Eyes cannot see, who has come,
who are you, and this fellow will shout in 90 decibels and this
fellows ears also are not functioning, things are poured inside,
nasal feeding etc., all types of feeding, why, प्राण has not yet
gone, it is about to go. Therefore, प्राणे सहत सवम र्् प्रवतम ते प्राणे
असहत हकहञ्िदहि न प्रवतम ते तस्र्ात् प्राणः वररष्ः. That was
the next topic through the example of र्हिकाः र्धुकरराजानर््
that honey bee, the queen honey bee how it is very important.
This was the second topic. The first topic is answer to the
three questions in a nutshell. And then why प्राण is superior
was said next. And there afterwards from the fifth र्न्त्र
onwards up to the end is प्राण स्तुनत. And thus the ground has
been prepared for प्राण उपासिा. The purpose is प्राण उपासिा,
179
which will be introduced in the next chapter but the topic of
this section is प्राण र्नहर्ा or प्राण स्तुनत and प्राण उपासिा will
come in the next chapter, which we will see later.
िण
180
प्रश्न उपनिषत् ततृ ीयः प्रश्नः
ततत ीिः प्रश्नः
In the first chapter सनत ष्ट was discussed and incidentally
along with सनत ष्ट the two गनतs - the कतष्णगनत and शुक्लगनत
were are also emphasized, which two गनतs happen to be
फलर्् of कर्म and उपासिा. And having discussed this
generally in the first chapter, the second and third chapters are
going to be devoted to प्राण उपासिा. प्राण meaning नहरण्िगभम .
At the र्विनष्ट level we call it प्राण but at the सर्नष्ट level
सर्नष्ट प्राण is सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््
represents नहरण्िगभम . And for the sake of प्राण उपासिा the
glory of प्राण was pointed out in the second chapter, because
as I had said before whatever deity it is to be meditated that
deity has to be glorified, which is an important अङ्ग of
र्ीर्ांसा. We call it as अथम वादः. अथम वादः means glorification
of the topic under discussion. So if ॐकार उपासिा is to be
done ॐकार will be glorified, if अनग्िहोत्र ritual is to be done
that ritual will be glorified, similarly since प्राण उपासिा is
going to be talked about the प्राण स्तुनत was done in the second
chapter which we saw till now. And प्राण स्तुनत was done
both at र्विनष्ट level as well as सर्नष्ट level. At the र्विनष्ट
level, र्विनष्ट means individual, सर्नष्ट means total, at the
individual level the glorification was done by an imaginary
story, you remember how every organ said I am superior and
प्राण wanted to teach them a lesson and प्राण was about walk
out of the assembly, कािम करण assembly and then all the
organs could not function and there afterwards they praised
181
प्राण. At the र्विनष्ट level प्राण is the one which gives power to
all nineteen करणर्् neon िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण, िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण,
ित्वारर अन्तःकरणाहन and even िञ्िभत ू ात्र्क शरीरर््. All
these nineteen parts of the body are sustained by the प्राण at
the microcosmic level. And when you go to the macrocosmic
level all the देवताs are sustained by one नहरण्िगभम , the सर्नष्ट
प्राण. So what you have to do is every करणर्् at the
individual level becomes a देवता at the total level. And प्राण
becomes नहरण्िगभम at the total level. So at the individual
level organs are sustained by प्राण, at the total level देवताs are
sustained by नहरण्िगभम . At the individual level organs are
sustained by प्राण, at the total level देवताs - श्रोरस्य हदग्देवता ।
त्विो वायुः । ििुषः सय ू म ः । रसनायाः वरुणः । - every organ has
got a देवता and all the देवताs are sustained by सर्नष्ट प्राण,
नहरण्िगभम . And that is why it was said अहस्र्न् सवम र््
प्रहतहष्तर््, प्राणे सवम र्् प्रहतहष्तर््. Everything is born of
सर्नष्ट प्राण, नहरण्िगभम ; everything is sustained by सर्नष्ट
प्राण and everything resolves into सर्नष्ट प्राण. Whether it is
the power of lightning or thunder or it is the power of
earthquake, whatever be the natural force all of them belong to
the नहरण्िगभम , the total power. And since प्राण is such a
powerful deity प्राण उिासना कतम व्यर््. That is the essence. So
with this स्तुनत of प्राण the second chapter was concluded.
Now in the forthcoming third chapter we are going to get प्राण
उपासिा and the third student is coming and raising a question
here in the beginning. Two students have asked, very difficult
182
to remember the names. कबन्धी कात्यायनः we saw and
भागम वः वैदहभम ः. Now the third student is going to come,
कौसल्यश्चाश्वलायनः. Now we will read the question.
Verse No. 3.1
अथ हैिं कौसल्िश्चाश्वलाििः पप्रच्छ भगवन्कुत एष प्राणो
जािते कथर्ािात्िनस्र्ञ्छरीर आत्र्ािं वा प्रनवभज्ि कथं
प्रानतष्ते केिोत्क्रर्ते कथं बाह्यर्नभ्िे कथर्ध्िात्र्नर्नत ॥ १
॥
So now the third student namely कौसल्िः आश्वलायनः
both are names of one and the same student. So in this
उपनिषत् each student is given two-two names, कबन्धी
कात्यायनः, कौसल्यः आश्वलायनः both together is here one
name, one person. So अथ. अथ means what? प्रश्नद्वय
अनन्तरर्् after answering the two questions put forth by the
first two students. That means there is no clash. Because
often in conversation or discussion you can find all the people
simultaneously talk. Any conversation you can see there is
nobody has the patience to listen to the other person
completely. Either in between they interject or another person
before completion raises the question. We have to learn from
the प्रश्नोपनिषत्. Till one person finishes, you can observe
yourself, you will always find we will not have patience to
listen to the other person completely. So here the third student
was just sitting quite till the first two questions were
completely answered. Now it is quite and there must be some
silence also, because in between another doubt may come. So
183
after complete silence for such a long time, now comes having
made sure that the first two students will no more raise
questions, now अथ, अनन्तरर्् प्रश्नद्वय and प्रश्न उिरस्याहि
अनन्तरर््. एनर््, एनर्् हिप्िलादर्् that is the name of the
teacher. Ok. Students even if you forget don't forget the name
of the teacher नपप्पलादः. हिप्िलादर्् आश्वलायनः िप्रच्छ – the
third student asked. This is the statement of the उपनिषत्.
उपनिषत् introduces this and भगवि् onwards is within
inverted commas, the question of the student. The whole of
the rest of the र्न्त्र is question and that is why it is ending
with इहत. इहत indicates the inverted commas closed. इहत
आश्वलायनः िप्रच्छ – thus आश्वलायनः asked हिप्िलादर््.
What is the question? भगवन्. So भगवाि is important which
indicates his attitude. So every time सम्ब्बो्ि indicates how
much reverence is there. Therefore, with reverence he
addresses िे भगवि् नपप्पलाद! कुतः एषः प्राणः जायते. You
can understand. From where does this प्राण, and here the word
प्राण indicates both र्विनष्ट as well as सर्नष्ट, and एषः indicates
िवू म अध्याये उक्तः the प्राण which has been glorified in the
previous chapter, such a प्राण is born out of which source? So
what is the origin of this प्राण or at the सर्नष्ट level, what is
the origin of नहरण्िगभम ? हिरण्यगभम स्य कारणर्् हकर््. That
alone in the पुराणs is known as ब्रह्मा, ब्रह्मानज. So ब्रह्मणः
कारणर्् हकर््. Here by ब्रह्मणः is not meant सहच्िदानन्दः but
हिरण्यगभम स्य कारणर्् हकर््, ितुर्म ुख ब्रह्मणः कारणर्् हकर््.
184
This is the first subquestion. The third question consists of
four or five. This is the first subdivision.
The second question is कथर्् अहस्र्न् शरीरे आयाहत?
How does this प्राण, especially the र्विनष्ट, how does this
र्विनष्ट प्राण enter the physical body? शरीरर्् refers to
स्थल ू शरीरर््, because प्राण belongs to सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर््. How does
this प्राण enter अहस्र्न् शरीरे , because he must be reffering to
his own body, this body. आयाहत means आगच्छहत, arise,
enters. This is the second subquestion.
And the third one is आत्र्ानर्् वा कथर्् प्रहवभज्य
प्राहतष्ते? Here आत्र्ानर्् means itself, reflexive pronoun,
स्वयर््. How does that one प्राण divide itself? Because you
know प्राण divides into fivefold functions – प्राण, अपाि, र्विाि,
उदाि, सर्ाि. That is the intention of the student here. How
does this one प्राण divide itself into fivefold functions and
प्राहतष्ते – supports this body, becomes the basis of the body.
Because through these fivefold functions alone the body is
surviving. Therefore how does it divide and becomes the
support of this स्थल
ू शरीरर््. This is the third question.
The fourth question is केन उत्क्रर्ते? Through which
path केन र्ागेन does this go out of the body, that is र्रणर््.
प्राण उत्क्रर्णर्् is only a nice word for र्रणर््, euphemistic
term. Therefore, कथर्् उत्क्रर्ते? How does it go up, how
does it get separated from the physical body? This is the
fourth question.
185
Then the fifth one is कथर्् बाह्यर्् अहभधिे? How
does this सर्नष्ट प्राण sustains this external universe? So,
सर्हि हिरण्यगभम रूिेण बाह्यर्् प्रिञ्िर्् कथर्् अहभधिे? How
does it support this whole cosmos full of powers? Then he
comes to the individual level also. कथर्् अध्यात्र्र्् you have
to supply अहभधिे. कथर्् अध्यात्र्र्् अहभधिे? How does this
प्राण, in the form of र्विनष्ट प्राण, the individual प्राणशनक्त
sustains the individual? That is ज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण कर्ेहन्द्रयाहण
अन्तःकरणाहन िञ्िभत ू ाहन, the nineteen organs. So how does
the प्राण sustains all the nineteen organs at the subjective
level? How does the प्राण sustain the cosmic forces in the
objective level? Because we should remember प्राण stands for
शनक्त, power. What you call as energy or power is प्राण
alone. Many people confuse आत्र्ा with energy. Can you say
आत्र्ा is some kind of energy, they ask. Remember आत्र्ा
can never be called energy because energy means शनक्त, शनक्त
means power, power always belongs to र्ािा. Always any
power whether it is इच्छाशनक्त or ज्ञानशनक्त or नक्रिाशनक्त or
any amount of natural powers you take, none of them can be
attributed to आत्र्ा, it has to be always connected to प्राणशनक्त
or the substratum of प्राण is र्ािा. र्ाया alone later becomes
प्राण. Why do we say like that? It is an incidental point
anyway. Why do we not attribute power to ब्रह्मि्? Because
remember any power is subject to fluctuation - power can
increase, power can decrease, power can modify as they say
sound energy can be converted into light energy, that can be
186
converted to mechanical energy, all powers are
interconvertible which means they are all सहवकार रूिर््.
Whereas ब्रह्मि् is निनवम कारर््. Therefore, ब्रह्मि् or truth can
never be translate as a power. Power can always be the
translation of र्ािा alone. And this power here is in the form
of प्राण and this प्राण alone sustains the total power as well as
the individual power. These are the two questions asked. So
thus प्राणs origin, how does it come to the body, how does it
divide itself, how does it go out, how does it sustains the
external world and how does it sustains the internal world -
these are the six questions asked the by third student. And the
entire chapter is going to be an answer to all these six
questions and at the end of the chapter उपासिा will be
mentioned. Even though the main topic is उपासिा, उपासिा
is going to come only in the end of this chapter. In one line it
will be said, यः एवं प्राणं वेद – the one who meditates on such
a प्राण he will get lot of benefits etc. And the rest of the
portion is going to be answer to these six questions. Ok. Now
the question is why should this topic be inserted here. After all
प्राण स्तुनत has been done and next we should go to प्राण
उपासिा topics and why should in between there be what is
this जातकर््, the जातकर्् of प्राण, how does it come, how
does it divide, all these things why do we discuss. There is an
important significance for this discussion. See in the previous
section when we have glorified the प्राण we have said that प्राण
is the substratum of everything and from प्राण alone
187
everything comes अरा इव रथनाभौ etc., examples were given
and when you look into those descriptions it will closely
resemble the glorification of ब्रह्मि्. Because ब्रह्मि् also is said
to be the substratum of all. ब्रह्महण सवम र्् प्रहतहष्तर््. In the
previous section it has been said प्राणे सवां प्रहतहष्तर्् and प्राण
alone is in the form of Sun, प्राण alone is ऋग्वेद िजुवेद, प्राण
alone is all organs. So if you look at the description of प्राण it
looks as though it is identical with ब्रह्मि्. So now the teacher
has to make it clear that प्राण is glorified only in relation to
other things, it is only a relative support of everything but it is
not the absolute support. Just like when relatively observe
earth can be said to be the substratum of all beings, all trees
are born out of earth, all trees and human beings and animals
are sustained by earth and all of them resolve unto earth and
therefore the earth is the substratum of all you can say. But
that statement is only a conditional statement. Earth is the
substratum of all only in a आिेहिक दृि्या. But when you
make an absolute analysis, the earth itself is born out of जलर््,
जलर्् itself is born out of अहग्न, अनग्ि itself is born out of
वािु, वायु itself is born out of आकाश, आकाश itself is born
out of ब्रह्मि्. And therefore, the पञ्िभत ू s are only आिेहिक
अहधष्ानर््, ब्रह्मि् alone is आत्यहन्तक अहधष्ानर््. This
difference must be clearly understood. Therefore, प्राण is
great, compared to other things प्राण is great. The प्राण’s
greatness is only relative. This the teacher wants to show.
How प्राण is not the absolute अन्ष्ािर््, not the absolute
188
कारणर्् of the everything he wants to show. And how can he
show? Only by one method - by pointing out that प्राण itself
has got an origin from something else. Or at the सर्नष्ट level
ब्रह्मा himself has got an origin in something else. No doubt
ब्रह्मानज is the creator of all, therefore ब्रह्मानज is great alright
but when you go into the depth the very ितुर्म ुि ब्रह्मा himself
is born out of someone else. That is what in the पुराणs they
will symbolically give. All the देवs and असुरs will go and
praise ब्रह्मा and they will say you are the cause of everyone,
you have created the fourteen प्रजािहतs and out of them all of
us are born and therefore you are the creator, sustainer and all
those things. Then after all the praise is over ब्रह्मानज will
quietly say, we won’t say after hearing all the praise we will
keep quite without talking about our limitation, but ब्रह्मानज
being honest he says even though I am great compared to you
but do you know one thing there is one who is superior to me
also, because
ब्रह्मा देवानार्् प्रथर्ः संबभवू ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-१ ॥
So ब्रह्मा himself is born out of something else. And what is
the cause, that cause must be the absolute अन्ष्ािर््. And
therefore by answering these six questions the idea conveyed
is नहरण्िगभम is only a relative substratum, still not the
absolute substratum. And why do we talk about relative
substratum here? Because it is उपासिा उिासनाकाण्ड in
the उपासिाकाण्ड we deal with the relative substratum in the
ज्ञानकाण्ड, in the वेदान्त we deal with the absolute
189
substratum. Therefore, we are still in the उपासिाकाण्ड alone
therefore, the discussion is of नहरण्िगभम who is the relative
substratum of the universe. Now the six questions are going
to be answered by नपप्पलाद in the following र्न्त्रs which we
will see now.
Verse No. 3.2
तस्र्ै स िोवािाहतप्रश्नान्िच्ृ छहस ब्रहह्मष्ोऽसीहत तस्र्ािेऽिं
ब्रवीहर् ॥ २ ॥
तस्र्ै सः उवाि तस्र्ै कौसल्याय हशष्याय उवाि to that disciple
सः हिप्िलादः, that teacher नपप्पलाद उवाि answered thus.
त्वर्् अहतप्रश्नान् िच्ृ छहस – your question is going beyond the
limit, which normally the parents tell when the children ask
the inconvenient questions. But the parents say because they
do not know the answer, नपप्पलाद is not like that. He will
give the answer later. He says you are going beyond the limit.
Because up to प्राण things are decipherable, you can
understand, but when you go to deeper things you will find
that things will become more and more mysterious. As the
scientist themselves find now. When you look at the universe
it is definable, when you go to the molecules it is definable, go
to atom it is definable, go to subatomic particles slightly
difficulties will come and still you go further there afterwards
they themselves will form uncertainty principle. That will be
the definition. So as you go deeper it becomes beyond the
reach of the intellect because it is all र्ािा. र्ािा also cannot
be intellectually understood or र्यायाः अहधष्ानर्् ब्रह्म अहि,
190
even ब्रह्मि् cannot be what you call intellectually conceived,
therefore as you go beyond energy or as you go beyond प्राण
things become very very mysterious. Whether you look from
र्ािा angle or whether you look from ब्रह्मि् angle, र्ािा also
is अनिवम ििीिर्् ब्रह्मि् also is अहनवम िनीयर््. Therefore, the
teacher says you are asking too much and you be ready if I
answer my answer also will be equally subtle. ब्रहह्मष्ः अहस
means ब्रह्महनष्ः अहस. You are a great ब्रह्मज्ञानि. Here the
word ब्रह्मज्ञानि can be interpreted in two ways. One is सगुण
ब्रह्मज्ञानि. You have been a सगुण ब्रह्म उपासक and therefore
you are sharp in your intellect, therefore I can answer you, you
can understand. Or ब्रह्मज्ञानि can be taken in the true sense of
the term, in which case it will become a simple स्तुनत.
शङ्करािािम takes in that meaning. He is just praising the
नशष्ि as you are a ब्रह्मज्ञानि because sooner or later ब्रह्मज्ञािर््
is going to be given. Therefore keeping the future ब्रह्मज्ञानर््
now itself, I have often said the moment he gets admission in
the college he begins to put BSc or MBBS and how many
times he has to write examination god alone knows. But the
moment he gets admission he puts that title. Similarly, you
have become my student sooner or later you are going to
become ब्रह्मज्ञाहन and therefore now itself he addresses
ब्रह्महनष्ः अहस. ब्रह्महविर्ः अहस इहत स्तुहतः इयर््. Not fact
but it is a glorification, praising, patting the student so that he
will listen alertly. तस्र्ात् – therefore, since you are a qualified
student अिर्् ते ब्रवीहर् – I shall answer this question, this
191
very very subtle question, about which all the other sciences
are still fumbling that question I am going to deal with. This
is introduction to the answer. And now the answer proper is
going to come from the next र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 3.3
आत्र्न एष प्राणो जायते । यथैषा िुरुषे छायैतहस्र्न्नेतदाततर्् ।
र्नोकृतेनायात्यहस्र्ञ्शरीरे ॥ ३ ॥
So here the first two questions are answered. what is the first
question? कुत एष प्राणो जायते? प्राण, remember, both at the
र्विनष्ट and सर्नष्ट, नहरण्िगभम inclusive. The first question is
answered. आत्र्नः एषः प्राणः जायते. आत्र्ा. Here आत्र्ा
means the real आत्र्ा, सनच्िदािन्द आत्र्ा, सत्िर्् ज्ञािर््
अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म.
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ात् आत्र्नः आकाशः सम्प्भत
ू ः । ॥
तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-१-२ ॥
What is that corresponding र्न्त्र in the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्,
because प्रश्नोपनिषत् is a commentary on र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. The
corresponding र्न्त्र is
एतस्र्ाज्जायते प्राणो र्नः सवेहन्द्रयाहण ि ।
खं वायुज्योहतरािः िहृ थवी हवश्वस्य धाररणी ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-
१-३ ॥
In र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् second र्ुण्डक first section the सनत ष्ट
प्रकरणर्् comes. The example of sparks.
तदेतत्सत्यं यथा सद
ु ीिात्िावकाहद्वस्फुहलङ्गाः
192
सिस्रशः प्रभवन्ते सरूिाः । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-१-१ ॥
So in the third section the whole सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिा comes, there
the र्न्त्र comes एतस्र्ाज्जायते प्राणः. And the corresponding
portion is here. ब्रह्मात्र्नः एषः प्राणः जायते. So if प्राण is gone
out of आत्र्ि् then there will be a lot of problems? What is
that? आत्र्ा becomes कारणर्् and you know that every
कारणर्् has got its कारणर्् because everything is born out of
प्राण and we find that प्राण itself is born out of आत्र्ा and
naturally our mind will think what? आत्र्ा itself is born out!
And therefore we have to say आत्र्ा is कारणर्् at the same
time it is not a real कारणर््. It is only and apparent cause.
िरर्ात्र्ा दृि्या
हनरोधो न िोत्िहिनम बद्धो न ि साधकः ।
न र्ुर्ुिुनम वै र्ुक्त इत्येषा िरर्ाथम ता ॥ र्ाण्डूक्यकाररका २-३२ ॥
which we saw in र्ाण्डूक्िकाररका.
न जायते हियते वा हविहश्चन्
नायं कुतहश्चन्न बभवू कहश्चत् । ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-२-१८ ॥
So really nothing is born out of आत्र्ा and therefore really
आत्र्ा is not a कारणर््. If आत्र्ा is a real कारणर्् there will
be another कारणर्् for आत्र्ा also. Therefore, we have to say
that आत्र्ा is not real कारणर््. That is why we call it as हववतम
उिादान कारणर्् न तु िररणाहर् उिादान कारणर््. Ok. If
आत्र्ा is not a real कारणर््, what about the कािम र््? Will it be
real or unreal? If आत्र्ा is really not a कारणर्् then the कािम र््
also must be equally unreal. So the सनत ष्ट must be नर्थ्िा सनत ष्ट
193
and that is beautifully indicated here. How the प्राण is born. It
is born like the छाया. It is a very very important line to point
out the सनत ष्ट नर्थ्िात्वर््. The सनत ष्ट is compared to a shadow,
छाया. Because in all other उपनिषत्s the creation is not
clearly said to be false and therefore there is always a
controversy between हवहशिाद्वैहतन् and अद्वैहतन्. Because in
तैनिरीिोपनिषत् we find that आत्र्नः आकाशः सम्प्भत ू ः.
अद्वैहतन् says आकाश is not really born it is only apparently
born. For this always हवहशिाद्वैहतन् question how do you say
apparently born? It has not been said in the श्रुनत. श्रुहत only
says आकाशः सम्प्भत ू ः and अद्वैहतन् is unnecessarily adding it
is apparently born, therefore unreality is all अद्वैहतन्’s
perception alone. The creation is real. Thus हवहशिाद्वैहतन्
argues but in प्रश्नोपनिषत् we get a clean answer because श्रुनत
itself says सनत ष्ट is as good as a shadow. Just as shadow does
not have any reality of its own, similarly सनत ष्ट is वैतर्थयर््,
सनत ष्ट is हवतथर््, सनत ष्ट is र्ाहयकर््. For that the श्रुनत प्रर्ाण is
in प्रश्नोपनिषत्. We don't find it in तैनिरीि, in कैवल्ि, in
र्ुण्डक nowhere this comparison is made but here it is clearly
made. Therefore, it should be remembered, a very important
line. यथा िुरुषे छाया – just as in a person, so here in a person
means because of a person, शङ्करािािम takes हनहर्ि सिर्ी,
िुरुषे is हनहर्ि सिर्ी, because of the पुरुष there is a shadow
nearby. िुरुष हनहर्िर्् छाया भवहत. And from this example
so many things are clarified. For creating the छािा, the
shadow what effort do you put forth? The छािा even without
194
your will, even without you being aware of it, because of your
mere सिा, केवल सहन्नहध र्ारेण छाया अर वतम ते, this is not
that you request ‘छािा, छािा may you come in front of me’.
No, shadow is just automatic. You don't plan, you don't will,
you don't desire, you are the shadow comes. Similarly, ब्रह्मि्
does not plan or will or anything. ब्रह्मणः सिा र्ारेण अर
सहृ िः भवहत. So thus ब्रह्मि्’s असङ्गत्वर्् etc., is indicated
and the second main point is that the shadow does not have a
reality independent of the person. Similarly, the सनत ष्ट does not
have a reality independent of ब्रह्मि्. So, एषा. एषा should be
connected with छािा. एषा should not be connected with िुरुषे.
एषा छाया. And here he is referring to एषा because there
must be छािा nearby. Therefore, just as the shadow is here
due to me because of my presence here तथा, you have to
supply तथा, तथा एतहस्र्न् आत्र्हन because of the presence
of the आत्र्ा. एतहस्र्न् also हनहर्ि सिर्ी, due to the presence
of the आत्र्ा, एतत् आततर््. एतत् refers to प्राण, i.e.,
नहरण्िगभम . नहरण्िगभम is a representative of whole creation. In
the same way due to the presence of ब्रह्मि्, the entire प्राण and
all its products are आततर््. आततर्् means are born, are
thrown out. So therefore the first question is answered. प्राण is
born out of आत्र्ा and an additional point is given प्राण is
apparently born out of आत्र्ि्. छािा example is given to show
this apparentness. जायते इव. It is born as it were, it is existing
as it were. अजायर्ानो बिु धा हवजायते.
अजोऽहि सन्नव्ययात्र्ा … सम्प्भवाम्प्यात्र्र्ायया ॥ गीता ४-६ ॥
195
Without being born I am born as it were. Ok. Incidentally, I
remember one more. So because of this example another point
also becomes clear. Because of the number of shadows my
weight is not going to be decreased also. See when you have
got a pound of clay and you go on creating pots. What
naturally happens? The amount of clay becomes lesser and
lesser as you are creating more and more pots. But suppose
there are many lamps and many shadows come out of you, do
you feel at the end of the whole process many shadows have
come therefore now I have become less in weight. For
reducing the weight you need not do anything, many shadows
are born out of you, you find slim. But here the beauty is
what? Let any number of shadows come I am िण ू म र्दः
िणू म हर्दर्् िण ू म र्ुदच्यते
ू ाम त्िण िणू म स्य ू म र्ादाय
िण
िण ू म र्ेवावहशष्यते. Similarly, everything comes out of ब्रह्मि्
but ब्रह्मि् continues to be the same full पण ू म म्ब्ब्रह्म. You can
extend this छािा example to any amount. After आततर्् there
must be a full stop really. Because with this the first question
is answered. र्नोकृतेन should be a separate sentence. That is
answer to the second question.
What is the second question? कथर्् अहस्र्न् शरीरे
आयाहत? How does the प्राण come to this body? Because
there are so many varieties of bodies. How does a प्राण
determine to enter a particular body? The answer is given,
र्नोकृतेन – it is because of the कर्म . र्िः here indicates कर्म .
How does र्नः indicates कर्म . र्नः means सङ्कल्प. Mind
196
represents the सङ्कल्प वनत िs of mind. What is mind after all?
सङ्कल्ि हवकल्िात्र्कं र्नः. Therefore, mind indicates
सङ्कल्प, सङ्कल्प indicates कार्, because
सङ्कल्ि-प्रभवान् कार्ान् ॥ गीता ६-२४ ॥
कार् indicates कर्म . See from mind we have to go to
सङ्कल्प, सङ्कल्प indicates कार्, कार् indicates कर्म . This
is लहितलिण, having the marks of anything perceived or
made evident through the former. Finally the meaning of र्नः
means कर्म . Isn't it true? After all all कर्म s are born out of
what? Some कार्ः. And this कार् itself comes out of what? ‘I
have a plan to go to states!’ ‘I have a plan to build a house.’ ‘I
have a plan to study this.’ Initially, सङ्कल्िरूिेण, if this
सङ्कल्प is repeated it becomes a powerful desire, desire
crystallizes into action. Therefore, र्नोकृतेन means
र्नोजन्य, सङ्कल्पजन्य, कार्जन्य, कर्म कृतेन इत्यथम ः.
Because of the cause of कर्म अहस्र्न् शरीरे आयाहत – it enters
this body. And as long as the force of कर्म is there it
continues in the body. That is a corollary we get. Since कर्म
is the condition for entry कर्म will be the condition for exit
also. Once the प्रारब्् कर्म is gone प्राण again हनयाम हत. आयाहत
कर्म णः हनयाम हत कर्म णः. So with this the second question is
answered. The answer is कर्म . How does it come to the body,
because of कर्म . And कर्म here means प्रारब्् कर्म , because
सनञ्ित कर्म is inoperative at this moment; because of प्रारब््
कर्म .
197
Now the third question is to be answered. We will
read the र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 3.4
यथा सिाडे वाहधकृताहन्वहनयुङ्क्त
एतान्ग्रार्ानेतान्ग्रार्ानहधहतष्स्वेत्येवर्ेवषै प्राण
इतरान्प्राणान्िथ
ृ क्िथ ृ गेव संहनधिे ॥ ४ ॥
So what is the third question? आत्र्ानर्् वा कथर््

प्रहवभज्य प्राहतष्ते? How does प्राण divide itself and sustains
the body? For this the उपनिषत् gives the example of a साम्राट,
a king or an emperor. What does an emperor do? Emperor has
got infinite powers. He gives his powers, he divides his
powers and gives it to various ministers. And the power in
every minister belongs to whom? The emperor alone. How do
you know? In reshuffling time you will come to know. So the
fellow who was very important स्थानभ्रिा न शोभन्ते दन्ताः
केशा नखा नराः । Therefore, some of them have got glory
only when in स्थानर््, tooth. How much importance? So
brushing three times, four times, filling with gold. All those
things how long? As long as it is in its position. The moment
fallen, value goes. नशिा, my god! how much importance to
hair. Hair doing, undoing and all those things spending lot of
money and time dyeing and miserable failing, neither black
nor brown, all how much importance to the hair. How long?
As long as it is on the head. Similarly, here पुरुष also. So just
198
as the ministers have the power coming from the main
emperor similarly here also प्राण has got the total power. And
what does he do? He gives that power to various members
like अिान some power is given, व्यान is another minister,
उदान, सर्ान all of them. And not only that the emperor gives
various posts to various ministers and he also keeps one
portfolio. Isn't it? Even prime minister, he gives various
portfolios to people and he also keeps one portfolio. Similarly,
प्राण gives various powers to अिान, व्यान, उदान, सर्ान and
for itself it keeps another department, the department of
respiration. It is like an emperor delegating the powers. This
is the essence. यथा सिाट् अहधकृतान् हवहनयुङ्क्ते – just as an
emperor engages or appoints various अन्काररs, अहधकृतान्
means अहधकाररs, various ministers or various officers. And
how does he do that? That is given within inverted commas.
The emperor's statement, एतान् ग्रार्ान् एतान् ग्रार्ान्
अहधहतष्स्व – you become the governor of the आन्र you
become the governor of केरल. So, like एतान् ग्रार्ान्, may
you rule over, may you preside over this village, may you
preside over this village. अहधहतष्स्व means rule over, preside
over. Up to अहधहतष्स्व is within inverted commas, the
emperor address. In the same fashion, एवर्् एव प्राणः, the
र्ुख्ि प्राणः, इतरान् प्राणान्, इतरान् refers to अिान, व्यान,
उदान, सर्ानाखान् इतरान् प्राणान् all of them, िथ ृ क् िथृ क्
एव सहन्नधिे – appoints distinctly. You take care of digestion,
you take care of excretion, you take care of circulation, and I
199
will take care of respiration, प्राणः. So that is the main thing.
Because defence is in his hand. More is going to come. Thus
the third question is going to be elaborately answered, those
details we will see in the next class.
िण
200
र्न्र. 3.1 - 3.8
अथ िैनं कौसल्यश्चाश्वलायनः िप्रच्छ भगवन्कुत एष प्राणो
जायते कथर्ायात्यहस्र्ञ्छरीर आत्र्ानं वा प्रहवभज्य कथं
प्राहतष्ते केनोत्क्रर्ते कथं बाह्यर्हभधिे कथर्ध्यात्र्हर्हत ॥ १
॥
तस्र्ै स िोवािाहतप्रश्नान्िच्ृ छहस ब्रहह्मष्ोऽसीहत तस्र्ािेऽिं
ब्रवीहर् ॥ २ ॥
आत्र्न एष प्राणो जायते । यथैषा िुरुषे च्छायैतहस्र्न्नेतदाततं
र्नोकृतेनायात्यहस्र्ञ्छरीरे ॥ ३ ॥
यथा सिाडे वाहधकृताहन्वहनयुङ्क्त
एतान्ग्रार्ानेतान्ग्रार्ानहधहतष्स्वेत्येवर्ेवषै प्राण
इतरान्प्राणान्िथ
ृ क्िथ ृ गेव संहनधिे ॥ ४ ॥
The third student asks for some more details regarding
प्राण and the third question has five subdivisions.
i) How does प्राण originate?
ii) How does it enter the body?
iii) How does it divide into fivefold function?
iv) How does it get out of the body?
v) And how does it sustains the individuals as well as the
total creation?
Of which the two questions have been answered - the
origin of प्राण is said to be ब्रह्मि् or आत्र्ि् itself. आत्र्नः
एषः प्राणः जायते । And incidentally the teacher makes it clear
that the सनत ष्ट is नर्थ्िा by comparing प्राण into छािा. That
201
छािा comparison is important because it is the प्रर्ाणर्् for
showing the apparent creation, रज्जुसिम वत् सहृ िः न तु सत्यर््.
And how does the प्राण enter the body? That is the second
subquestion for which the answer was given र्नोकृतेन
आयाहत अहस्र्न् शरीरे . Mind representing the कर्म s especially
the प्रारब्् कर्म . The प्रारब्् कर्म is indicated by the word mind
because कर्म is born out of सङ्कल्प or कार्, both are same.
सङ्कल्प and कार् are they same, only the intensity varies.
There is only a difference of degree, no difference of content.
सङ्कल्प is mild and कार् is intense. सङ्कल्प is sprout, कार्
is plant. So thus कर्म is born out of सङ्कल्प or कार् which in
its turn is born out of र्िः, the mind and therefore mind’s
grandson is कर्म ; to put in our language. Mind’s child is
सङ्कल्प or कार् and its child is कर्म and therefore here mind
refers to its grandchild, कर्म . And therefore र्नोकृतेन
आयाहत अहस्र्न् शरीरे means कर्म कृतेन िुण्यिािरूि
कर्म कृतेन िुण्यिािरूि प्रारब्ध कर्म कृतेन अहस्र्न् शरीरे
आयाहत प्राणः. इहत हद्वतीयस्याहि उिरर्् दिर््. Then the third
question is how does the प्राण divide itself into fivefold
function. And for that the answer was given in fourth र्न्त्र,
where the प्राण was compared to the साम्राट, an emperor who
delegates its power into various ministers, and each minister
takes one-one portfolio. In the same way प्राण also delegates
its power into four ministers – अपाि, र्विाि, उदाि and सर्ाि.
And each one is given a particular role also. एतान् ग्रार्ान्
एतान् अहधहतष्स्व. The emperor will command these
202
ministers - you supervisor or you govern, you preside over
such and such ग्रार्. In the same way प्राण also commands
these four अिानव्यानाहद functions to govern or function in
particular places. And having delegated the powers to these
four प्राण’s, the प्राण takes function for itself. Thus four
ministers as well as the prime minister or chief minister, that
itself takes a function that was what we saw in the last class.
इतरान् प्राणान.् अिानोव्यानोदानसर्ानाख्यान् इतरान् प्राणान्
िथृ क् िथ ृ क् एव distinctly, without overlapping, without
confusion, without too much reshuffling in between, that some
ministers forgot what portfolios they were in it seems. So
without any such problem distinctly, doubtlessly, clearly
सहन्नधिे. सहन्नधिे means it allots, it appoints we can take.
Ok. In the case of the example the ministers take up the
villages, in the take अिानोव्यान etc., what part of the body
they maintain? That will be the next question. So what are the
villages of the body which are supervised by the पञ्िप्राणs?
That is going to be said in fifth र्न्त्र, which you will read
now.
Verse No. 3.5
िायिू स्थेऽिानं ििुःश्रोरे र्ुखनाहसकाभ्यां प्राणः स्वयं प्राहतष्ते
र्ध्ये तु सर्ानः । एष ह्येतद्धुतर्न्नं सर्ं नयहत तस्र्ादेताः
सिाहिम षो भवहन्त ॥ ५ ॥
This is all extension of answer to the third question.
What is the third question? कथर्् आत्र्ानं प्रहवभज्य प्राहतष्ते?
So that is been continued here also. In the previous र्न्त्र
203
example has been given दृिान्तः, in this र्न्त्र it is दािाम न्तः,
the original. So the position of the constituency of each one of
the प्राण is been pointed out. िायिू स्थे अिानर्् – so the place
that is taken care of by the अिानर्् is िायु and उिस्थ – the
organ of excretion and reproduction. िायिू स्थे. It should have
been िायिू स्थयोः but it is सर्ािार द्वन्द्वः. िायुश्च उिस्थश्च तयोः
सर्ािारः िायिू स्थं तहस्र्न्, that is in the place of िायु and
उिस्थर्् अिानर्् प्राहतष्ते we have to supply the verb
अिानर्् प्राहतष्ते the अपािवािु takes care of, presides over
that particular part of the body because the function of the
अपाि is removing the waste, excretion and therefore it
occupies that position. Now what about प्राणः? ििुःश्रोरे प्राणः
– the position of the प्राण is ििुः and श्रोरर््, the eyes and ears
or in general the face, the र्ुिर््. Because प्राण is the prime
minister. So therefore all well planned only. Therefore,
ििुःश्रोरे प्राणः. And what is it doing? र्ुखनाहसकाभ्यार््
हनगम च्छन् we have to supply हनगम च्छन् – coming out, in and
out through र्ुिर्् and िानसका. That is breathing process is
mentioned here. So in the form of inhalation and exhalation
the प्राण comes out through the mouth and nostril and similarly
प्राण goes inside through mouth and nostrils. Thus going in
and out through the mouth and nostril the प्राण occupies the
face. This is the स्वयं प्राहतष्ते. Therefore, the word स्वयर्् is
used because प्राण is an emperor, the emperor itself takes up a
portfolio. So with this the second division is over.
204
Now comes the third र्ध्ये तु सर्ानः. So the सर्ाि
प्राण which is the digestive function सर्ीकरणकरः सर्ानः we
have seen in तत्त्वबो्. So, सर्ाि र्ध्ये प्राहतष्ते. Everywhere
we have to add प्राहतष्ते. प्राहतष्ते means what? Presides
over, rules over, governs. र्ध्ये means the stomach, र्ध्िप्रदेश
is ruled over by the सर्ािः because that is the digestion
portion. And a little bit more details about सर्ाि is given.
Because very important, central portion you know. So एषः
एतत् िु तर्् अन्नर्् सर्र्् नयहत. Why it is called सर्ािः? एषः
सर्ािः, this सर्ान प्राण सर्र्् नयहत. सर्र्् नयहत means
divides equally. What? िु तर्् अन्नर्् – so the food that has
been offered into. So the word िु तर्् is used to indicate that it
is something like a िोर्ाहग्नः and after all the digestive power
is compared to वैश्वािर अनग्िः alone and therefore into the
सर्ानाहद वैश्वानर अनग्ि the अन्िर्् is िु तर्् and this िु तर््
अन्िर्् is divides into various nutrients and without any
partiality, it distributes the food to all states equally whether it
is ruled over by the same party or the opposition party without
any problem it is equally distributed. Whenever problem extra
food extra nutritions all those things are to be done therefore
सर्र्् नयहत. Ok. And when oblations are put into the fire
what happens? The flames come out and here also the flames
come out in the form of seven tongues तस्र्ात् सिाहिम षः
भवहन्त – because of the activation of the सर्ाि प्राण. And
how it is activated? By offering food the seven flames in the
form of the seven sense organs become well-kindled. So here
205
seven flames refer to the seven sense organs, seven sense
organs you may be shocked but we have seen it in the र्ुण्डक
सि प्राणाः प्रभवहन्त तस्र्ात्
सिाहिम षः सहर्धः सि िोर्ाः ।
सि इर्े लोका येषु िरहन्त प्राणा
गुिाशया हनहिताः सि सि ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-१-८ ॥
In र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् it came. So seven sense organs means the
two eyes, the two nostrils, the two ears and the tongue i.e., the
mouth there are 3x2+1 these are the seven mentioned here.
And they are called flames because there the ज्ञानाहग्नः, the
flame of knowledge, the flame of awareness is manifest and
these sense organs will function well only when food is there.
Otherwise the eyes also become dull, ears also become dull,
everything becomes dull. As in छान्दोग्ि उपनिषत् the
example is given. The student is asked to fast to show that
अन्िर्् alone is catering to all of the sense organs. And he is
not able to chant why he even forgets the र्न्त्रs that he had
learnt. And therefore it is a very beautiful concept. Here is
the अनग्ि and food is kindling the अनग्ि and as a result of this
all sense organs become aglow which is nothing but the सि
अहिम षः, the seven tongues of that अनग्ि.
काली कराली ि र्नोजवा ि
सुलोहिता या ि सुधि ू वणाम ।
स्फुहलङ्हगनी हवश्वरुिी ि देवी
लेलायर्ाना इहत सि हजह्वाः ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-४ ॥
206
There are also seven has been mentioned again in
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत.् Anyway तस्र्ात्. तस्र्ात् means what?
अन्िहोर्ात् because of the offering of the अन्िर्् एताः सि
अहिम षः, these seven flames of the perceptual powers भवहन्त
become active. So thus सर्ाि प्राण’s village is in the middle.
Then what about र्विाि etc., व्यान and उदान have to be
mentioned. प्राण, अिान and सर्ान are over, two more are left
out, which will be said in sixth र्न्त्र. We will read.
Verse No. 3.6
हृहद ह्येष आत्र्ा । अरैतदेकशतं नाडीनां तासां शतं
शतर्ेकैकस्या द्वासिहतद्वाम सिहतः प्रहतशाखानाडीसिस्राहण
भवन्त्यासु व्यानश्चरहत ॥ ६ ॥
So the position of र्विाि is going to be the whole body,
whatever be the minister who constantly keeps touring. Now
everybody tours, anyway. So whatever be. So र्विाि is all
over the body and it moves through the नाडीs and these नाडीs
are pervading all over the body. So व्यान is all-pervading,
flowing through the नाडीs which are pervading all over the
body. And all these नाडीs are connected to हृदिर््. And
therefore the teacher wants to begin from the हृदिर्् onwards.
So he will say there is a हृदिर्् and from हृदिर्् नाडीs travel
all over the body and through these नाडीs र्विाि is moving
about. This is the essence of the र्न्त्र. For that the हृदि has
to be introduced first. And हृदि is going to be defined as the
place of the आत्र्ि्. Even though here there is no relevance
for आत्र्न् at all, we have no discussion of आत्र्न् at all, we
207
should not wonder how suddenly comes आत्र्न् without any
relevance. Here आत्र्न् is to indicate the हृदि and from हृदि
the नाडीs and in the नाडीs र्विाि flows. Therefore, the teacher
says एषः आत्र्ा हृहद वसहत. So this अपरोक्ष आत्र्ा, अहंप्रत्िि
नवषि आत्र्ा, एकात्र्प्रत्ििसारभत ू आत्र्ा, I, the Self एषः
आत्र्ा हृहद वतम ते. हृहद means अन्तःकरणे. And according to
the scriptures the position of the अन्तःकरण is हृदिर्् only.
हृदिर्् means the actual heart alone because some people say
there is a left hand heart, there is a right hand side imaginary
heart etc., but according to शङ्करािािम he takes हृदिर्् as the
physical heart alone. In the तैनिरीि भाष्िर््, in two three
भाष्िर््s it comes, in the तैनिरीिोपनिषत्
स य एषोऽन्तहृम दय आकाशः । तहस्र्न्नयं िुरुषो र्नोर्यः । ॥
तैहिरीयोिहनषत् १-६ ॥
There in the भाष्िर्् शङ्करािािम defines the हृदिर््. He says
that which is seen when the animal is cut inside the chest that
र्ांसहिण्डर्् is seen. Thus according to शङ्करािािम हृदिर््
means the physical heart alone, in which alone the subtle
अन्तःकरणर्् is located. Therefore, हृदये अन्तःकरणर्् वतम ते.
हृदिर्् is the physical part, the अन्तःकरण is the subtle part.
Just as we have got the गोलकर्् and the इहन्द्रयर््, the
गोलकर्् is the physical part and the इहन्द्रयर्् is located in the
गोलकर््. Similarly, the गोलकर्् of the mind is हृदिर््. Thus
हृदिर्् becomes गोलकर््, र्िः becomes the इनन्द्रिर््,
अन्तररनन्द्रिर््. So then why does the teacher say हृहद आत्र्ा?
He must be saying हृहद अन्तःकरणर््. हृहद अन्तःकरणर्् वतम ते
208
in the physical heart the subtle mind is supposed to be located
and in the subtle mind िैतन्िर्् is manifest and therefore it is
said the आत्र्ा is in the हृदिर््. So therefore, in the हृदिर्् the
अन्तःकरणर््, in the अन्तःकरण the हिदाभास and therefore it
is said हृहद अन्तःकरणे हिदाभास रूिेण आत्र्ा उिलभ्यते.
From this हृदिर्् there are many िाडीs emerging. Therefore,
I said आत्र्ा has no relevance here. From आत्र्ा your
attention must be turned to हृदिर््. And from this हृदिर्् what
is there? अर. अर means हृदये. नाडीनार्् एतत् एकशतर््
भवहत. भवहत to be understood. There are hundred नाडीs. So
नाडीs it is very difficult translate, the नाडीs itself. Ok,
hundred नाडीs are there and in other उपनिषत्s generally
hundred and one are mentioned if you remember कठोपनिषत्
शतं िैका ि हृदयस्य नाड्यस्तासां र्ध ै ा।
ू ाम नर्हभहनःसतृ क
तयोध्वम र्ायन्नर्त
ृ त्वर्ेहत हवष्वङ्ङन्या उत्क्रर्णे भवहन्त ॥
कठोिहनषत् २-३-१६ ॥
शतं िैका ि. Therefore generally, hundred and one are
mentioned, here hundred is mentioned. So शङ्करािािम writes
you add one more. Perhaps for the sake of round figure the
उपनिषत् has said hundred. एकशतर्् वतम ते hundred नाडीs
are there. They are all supposed to be प्रधान नाड्यः, the main
ones. And there afterwards तासार्् that should be next
sentence. Here there is no full stop and all, but we should
know where the full stop comes. The next sentence comes,
तासार्् एकैकस्यां शतं शतं भवहत. तासार्् – of those hundred
नाडीs, एकैकस्यार्् – each one of them will have शतर्् शतर््
209
– will have hundred-hundred sub-नाडीs, subdivision. That
means the main one will branch into hundred subdivisions. So
शतर्् शतर्् भवहत. Therefore, hundred x hundred is equal to
ten thousand. Some people have calculated also, in some
books you will find seventy-two crore seventy-two lakh ten
thousand and two-hundred and ten. It is enough that if you
know that it is plenty. Ok. This is the second subdivision.
And there afterwards next sentence you have to supply again
तासार्् एकैकस्यां second time we have to take it. तासार््
एकैकस्यां – of those ten thousand नाडीs एकैकस्यां – each one
of them becomes द्वासिहतः द्वासिहतः प्रहतशाखानाडी सिस्राहण
भवहन्त. That सिस्राहण should be joined with द्वासिहतः.
द्वासिहतः द्वासिहतः सिस्राहण – each one of them is divided
into seventy-two thousand. सिस्राहण means thousand,
द्वासिहतः means seventy-two. Each one of them is subdivided
into, each one of the ten thousand is subdivided into seventy-
two thousand, seventy-two thousand known as
प्रहतशाखानाडी. So thus first hundred, then each one of them
is divided into hundred and each one of the divided portion is
divided into seventy-two thousand and all this things
capillaries, arteries, aorta, veins and there afterwards
subdivision and all even according to medical science the
blood vessels that are running in our system if you take the
total distance it will be one lakh kilometers. Can you
imagine! And the blood is, the heart is pumping the blood into
all of them daily 7200 liters in 24 hours, like that they say. So
210
therefore if it is one lakh kilometers then the नाडीs with the
subdivisions must be so many and therefore it is said भवहन्त
आसु व्यानः िरहत – into all these नाडीs, र्ुख्ि नाडीs,
अर्ुख्य नाडीs, प्रहतशाखानाडीs, in all these नाडीs, व्यानः
िरहत, that is what is relevant for us. That number and all
other things are not that much relevant. So thus what is the
position of र्विाि? The whole body. So thus the fourth प्राण
has been mentioned, now one more left out, that is उदािः.
र्न्त्र number seven.
Verse No. 3.7
अथैकयोध्वम उदानः िुण्येन िुण्यं लोकं नयहत िािेन
िािर्ुभाभ्यार्ेव र्नुष्यलोकर्् ॥ ७ ॥
In some books उिाभ्यार्् is there. It should be
उभाभ्यार््. So what is the position of उदाि? The position of
उदाि is not directly mentioned in this र्न्त्र but from this र्न्त्र
we have to understand the position of उदाि is ऊध्वम ः the upper
portion of the body, the neck and above because it is said
उदाि is the one which takes the प्राण above and since it has to
disappear from the body at the time of death it is waiting
readily here. Thus the position of उदाि is supposed to be the
neck and above portion, ऊध्वम ः. So supplying this the third
question is answered. So we have to see the order of
questions also. What is the third question? आत्र्ानर्् वा
कथर्् प्रहवभज्य प्राहतष्ते? And for that the position of each
प्राण has been mentioned. Finally, the position of उदाि is the
ऊध्वम देशः. And the function of उदाि is what? We have seen it
211
is the reversing system like vomiting etc., and that is during
the normal life and at the time of death the उदाि’s function is
to uproot the प्राण from the physical body and उदाि is the
power behind the travel after death. So thus the उदाि’s
function and position is not mentioned directly, we have to
supply and close the third part of the question.
And now the fourth question is answered in this र्न्त्र,
seventh र्न्त्र. What is the fourth question? केन उत्क्रर्ते?
Through which र्ागम the प्राण escapes from the body?
Through which र्ागम the प्राण escape from the body? That
question is answered in this र्न्त्र. अथ एकया नाड्या – so the
प्राण escapes through one important नाडी known as सुषुम्ब्णा
नाडी and this is mentioned from the standpoint of उपासक
because the topic is उपासिा but this cannot be a generalized
statement because in the case of other people it will not be
सुषुम्ब्णा नाडी because in the कठोपनिषत् it has been said
हवष्वङ्ङन्या उत्क्रर्णे भवहन्त ॥ कठोिहनषत् २-३-१६ ॥
The उत्क्रर्णर्् will be through the सुषुम्ब्णा नाडी only when
the लोक is higher लोक. If it is अधोलोक what can सुषुम्ब्णा
िाडी do? And therefore if it is अधोलोक or र्िुष्िलोक itself
सुषुम्ब्णा िाडी cannot be useful. Here the topic being उपासिा,
the उपासक’s प्राण escapes through the सष ु ुम्ब्णा and therefore
it is said एकया, एका referring to सुषुम्ब्णा. And who takes
this प्राण? Who is the driver? It is said ऊध्वम ः उदानः एकया
नाड्या नयहत – so ऊध्वम ः उदानः means ऊध्वम ः देशत्व उदानः. So
the उदाि occupying the upper part of the body नयहत – leads
212
the entire प्राण to various लोकs. So the उदाि occupying the
upper part of the body leads the entire प्राण to higher लोकs
and प्राण means along with other सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर्् organs that will
come next later. प्राण being the main part it is said प्राण is
taken and along with प्राण all the अन्तःकरणर््, इनन्द्रिर्् etc.,
will go away. And that is the idea is it will be clarified again
later that at the time of death the other functions of the body,
the other expressions of प्राण like अिान, व्यन, सर्ान will be
absorbed into उदाि प्राण. That is why digestion becomes
weaker, it will be slowly merging into उदाि. And excretion
becomes weaker again it merges into उदाि. Thus breathing
becomes difficult it merges into उदाि. Thus उदाि absorbs all
the other four प्राणs into itself and therefore the reversing
system becomes powerful.
प्राण प्रयाण सर्ये कफवातहििै: कंठ अवरोधन हवधौ स्र्रणर््
कुतः ते ॥ िाण्डवगीता/ प्रिन्नगीता - ५२ ॥
Everything is stopped. And thus all other प्राणs are merged
into उदाि and then उदाि takes the whole of them through the
सुषुम्ब्णा िाडी. Therefore, ऊध्वम ः उदानः एकया सुषुम्प्णा नाड्या
नयहत leads to which लोकर््? It all depends. Therefore,
िुण्येन पुण्िर्् लोकर्् नयहत – through िुण्यर्् it leads to पुण्ि
लोक. पुण्ि लोक means what? स्वगम लोक if the fuel happens to
be पुण्िर्् or if visa happens to be पुण्िर््, then पुण्ि लोकर््.
िािेन िािर््. So िािेन िािर्् नयहत to be supplied.
Through the पापर्् it leads to पाप लोक. पाप लोक means
what? िरकर््, lower birth. So पुण्ि लोकर्् refers to स्वगम ,
213
पाप लोकर्् refers to िरक. And उभाभ्यार््, if both are there
means how? उभाभ्यार्् र्नुष्यलोकर्् – so through a mixture of
पुण्ि and पाप it leads to र्िुष्िलोक. That is why if somebody
asks how is our life, we say mixture. Sometimes it becomes
hellish also and sometimes it is like heavenly life when
everything goes well. So र्िुष्िलोकर्् नयहत. And this is
the answer to केन उत्क्रर्ते. And what is the precise answer?
सुषुम्प्णया नाड्या उत्क्रर्ते. It goes through सुषुम्ब्णा िाडी. Ok.
With this that question also is answered.
Then comes the last part of the question. What is that
question? कथर्् बाह्यर्् अध्यात्र्र्् अहभधिे? So how is the
प्राण sustaining the cosmos at the सर्नष्ट level and how does
the same प्राण sustain the individual at the र्विनष्ट level? Two
manifestations of the प्राण. The व्यहि manifestation and
सर्नष्ट manifestation supporting the व्यहि creation and
सर्नष्ट creation, which is going to be said in the eight र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 3.8
आहदत्यो ि वै बाह्यः प्राण उदयत्येष ह्येनं िािुषं प्राणर्नुगह्णृ ानः।
िहृ थव्यां या देवता सैषा िुरुषस्यािानर्विभ्यान्तरा यदाकाशः
स सर्ानो वायुव्याम नः ॥ ८ ॥
So the external and the internal manifestation or

expressions of प्राण are mentioned. The internal expressions
of प्राण are already known. They are प्राण, अिान, व्यान, उदान
and सर्ान alone. So one part of the question is already
214
known what is that? How does प्राण support the subjective
creation in the form of fivefold functions it sustains the
subjective or र्विनष्ट. कथर्् अध्यात्र्र्् अहभधिे? How does the
प्राण sustain the अध्यात्र्र््, the र्विनष्ट. For that the answer is
already known and that is प्राण, अिान, व्यान, उदान, सर्ान
रूिेण in the form of the fivefold physiological functions the
प्राण sustains. But here the new idea mentioned is
corresponding to each subjective manifestation there is an
objective manifestation also that is going to be mentioned.
What are they? I will just mention them then we can see the
र्न्त्र. Corresponding to the प्राण subjectively at the objective
level it is आनदत्ि देवता. Corresponding to the प्राण the
subjective manifestation the objective, the macrocosmic
manifestation is आहदत्यः. So, प्राण रूिेण अध्यात्र्र्् अहभधिे
आहदत्यः रूिेण अहधदैवर्् or बाह्यर्् अहभधिे. अहभधिे means
support. Similarly, corresponding to the अिान, which is
internal the external manifestation is पनत थवी and therefore
अिान रूिेण अध्यात्र्र्् अहभधिे िहृ थवी रूिेण बाह्यर्् अहभधिे.
It sustains the external. And then the third one is सर्ाि and
corresponding to that it is the intermediary आकाश is the
objective or the external expression we call it as अन्तराकशः.
अन्तराकशः means the intermediary space, otherwise known
as अन्तररक्षर्् also. So this is corresponding to सर्ाि.
Therefore प्राण – आनदत्ि, अपाि – पनत थवी, सर्ाि –
अन्तराकशः. Then fourthly the व्यानः is the subjective power
and corresponding to that in the external universe it is वािु,
215
सवम गत वािुः, which is flowing everywhere and internally
व्यान also is flowing everywhere. And fifthly the subjective
expression is उदािः, which sustains at the individual level and
correspondingly at the microcosmic level it is the अनग्ि or
here it will be called तेजः. He is going to say it in the next
र्न्त्र but it is better that we remember the five subjective
expressions and five objective expressions. So the five
objective ones are the new information we get आनदत्िः,
पनत थवी, अन्तररक्षर््, वािुः and अनग्िः these are the fivefold
expressions of प्राण sustaining the external world. Now you
see this र्न्त्र.
आहदत्यः ि वै बाह्यः प्राणः – so the आनदत्िः, the Sun
god is the external expression of प्राण. One sentence is
complete. So he is referring to एषः प्राणः subjectively it is
expressing as respiration but in the objective world it is called
आहदत्यः. And incidentally he is making another reference
also that between the subjective and objective, the र्विनष्ट and
सर्नष्ट, र्विनष्ट is blessed by the सर्नष्ट. So three statements.
The र्विनष्ट प्राण blesses the र्विनष्ट individual, the सर्नष्ट प्राण
blesses the सर्नष्ट creation. This we have said. But in
between another statement is given, the र्विनष्ट प्राण itself gets
its power from where? सर्नष्ट. So the third statement is the
व्यहि प्राण itself is blessed by the सर्हि. So he says एषः
आहदत्यः उदयहत – this आनदत्ि देवता is rising. And it is not
only blessing the सर्नष्ट प्रपञ्ि but it is also blessing the
व्यहि प्राण. Therefore, it is said िािुषं प्राणर्् अनुगह्णृ ानः –
216
blessing the िािुषः प्राणः, the प्राण located in face, blessing
the individual प्राण. And here िािुषर्् is specially mentioned
because the eyes can perceive only in the presence of the light.
Even though आनदत्ि is blessing all our functions, it is giving
energy to all our functions, this special function of आनदत्ि is
िािुषः सय ू म ः, being the presiding deity of the eye not only it
generally blesses the पञ्िप्राणs it is particularly blessing the
िािुषः प्राण, िािुषः इहन्द्रयर््, that is the sense organ of
perception. It is particularly blessing. Otherwise without the
light you cannot see. Don't say electric light and all, electricity
also is supposed to be that energy’s manifestation alone. Then
िहृ थव्यार्् या देवता – so whatever देवता is in the पनत थवी that is
the cosmic manifestation. And what does it bless? िुरुषस्य
अिानर्् अविभ्य you have to supply हतष्हत. That पनत थवी
देवता supports the र्विनष्ट अपाि. आनदत्ि देवता supports the
र्विनष्ट प्राण, the पनत थवी देवता supports the र्विनष्ट अपाि. So
अविभ्य means holding, supporting. That is why अपाि is at
the lower level, otherwise what will happen? Because the
उदाि is constantly pulling things upwards, अपाि will go
upwards. So शङ्करािािम writes there will be lot of problems
therefore if we are stationary down it is only because of
पनत थवी देवता, you may call scientifically gravitational force
but this has been expressed in another form. The िहृ थवी alone
by holding onto अपाि, keeping the person on the ground
otherwise the उदाि would have taken like the hydrogen filled
balloon we all would have been flying. Then comes सर्ान
217
and व्यान. I have given the general definition, the exact
meaning I will give you in the next class.
िण
218
र्न्र. 3.7 - 3.12
अथैकयोध्वम उदानः िुण्येन िुण्यं लोकं नयहत िािेन
िािर्ुभाभ्यार्ेव र्नुष्यलोकर्् ॥ ७ ॥
आहदत्यो ि वै बाह्यः प्राण उदयत्येष ह्येनं िािुषं प्राणर्नुगह्णृ ानः ।
िहृ थव्यां या देवता सैषा िुरुषस्यािानर्विभ्यान्तरा यदाकाशः
स सर्ानो वायुव्याम नः ॥ ८ ॥
The last part of the third question was कथं बाह्यर्हभधिे
कथर्ध्यात्र्हर्हत. How does the प्राणतत्त्वर्् sustains the
individual, अध्यात्र्र्् and how does the प्राणर्् sustain the
बाह्यर््, बाह्यर्् means the external which refers to अहधभत ू र््
and when we say अध्यात्र्र्् we should not take the individual
Self. प्राण does not sustain the individual Self, the आत्र्ि्, but
here the individual indicates the individual शरीरर््. प्राण
sustains the अिात्र्ा, प्राण does not sustain the आत्र्ा. On the
other hand आत्र्ा sustains प्राण. That is a different story. So
here अध्यात्र्र्् does not refer to the िैतन्िरूप आत्र्ा but
अध्यात्र्र्् refers to जडरूप स्थल ू सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर््, the कलेवरर््.
So here आत्र्ा means शरीरर््, अन् आत्र्र््, आत्र्ा refers to
शरीरर्् and not the Self. And बाह्यर्् refers to the external
world which is generally referred to as the अन्भत ू र््. So thus
one प्राण alone sustains both the र्विनष्ट and the सर्नष्ट. In
what form does it sustain was the question? So the first part is
very clear. प्राण sustains the अध्िात्र्र्् in the form of the
पञ्िप्राणs, प्राण, अिान, व्यान, उदान, सर्ानरूिेण, in the form
of the respiratory power, excretory power etc., it sustains the
individual body. Then the question is how does it is sustained
219
the total, for which alone the answer we are seeing in the eight
र्न्त्र. So these पञ्िप्राणs express in five different forms at the
cosmic level. What are they? The प्राण expresses as आनदत्िः
- the Sun god, the अपाि expresses as पनत थवी - the earth
goddess and then सर्ाि expresses as अन्तराकाशः, the
intermediary space known as अन्तररक्षर्् and र्विाि represents
as the वािुः, the सवम गत वािु. They all have got some link
also. सर्ाि occupies the intermediary space in your system
because the locus of the सर्ाि is the stomach and therefore in
the external field the सर्ाि’s expression is अन्तररक्षर्् which
is also the intermediaries space between भल ू ोक and सुवलोक.
अन्तररक्ष means भुवलोक. So भःू is पनत थवी
भरू रहत वा अयं लोकः । भुव इत्यन्तररिर्् ।
सुवररत्यसौ लोकः ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् ५-१ ॥
Therefore, अन्तररक्षर्् means the intermediary space, which is
the stomach of the cosmic person, cosmic stomach is
अन्तररक्षर््. And the र्विाि is the प्राण principle which goes all
round the body because र्विािः िरनत, सवम त्र िरनत because
there are so many िाडीs remember, 72 crore 72 lakh 10
thousand and 210 nerves are there in our body. र्विाि moves
through all of them and similarly at the external level it is the
सवम गत वायु because वायु also travels all over. So thus
आनदत्ि पनत थवी अन्तररक्ष वायु and finally the उदान’s external
expression is said to be तेजः or अनग्ि तत्त्वर््. That is what is
said in this र्न्त्र, आहदत्यः ि वै बाह्यः प्राणः उदयहत and एषः
एनं िािुषं प्राणर्् अनुगह्णृ ानः उदयहत. What is the job of
220
सर्नष्ट? So the सर्नष्ट प्राण not only sustains the सर्नष्ट
प्रपञ्ि but also sustains the र्विनष्ट प्राण. Similarly, सर्नष्ट
अपाि also sustains the सर्नष्ट प्रपञ्ि and it has to also bless
the र्विनष्ट. Similarly, व्यान, उदान etc., and that is why िािुषं
प्राणर्् अनुगह्णृ ानः. Not only the प्राण sustains the external
universe but it also sustains our respiratory system, our
perception etc. Then िहृ थव्यां या देवता – so that देवता which
is in पनत थवी, the िहृ थवी देवता अिानर्् अविभ्य is sustaining
the अिानतत्त्वर्् at the individual level. पनत थवी देवता is the
अिानर्् at the cosmic level and it sustains the अिानर्् at the
individual level keeping it well balanced. I told you in the last
class without the pull of पनत थवी देवता the उदान would have
lifted a person up. We all will be going up like Seoul
balloons, you know, therefore in the Olympic games they
leave the balloon up like that each one of us will be one-one
balloon flying up. Now we are all kept pulled downwards
because of the पनत थवी देवता. Ok. अविभ्य the verb is missing
there, we have to supply, अविभ्य हतष्हत. So after
अविभ्य a comma must be put to indicate the अपाि topic is
over. And then अन्तरा यत् आकाशाः सः सर्ानः. Again after
सर्ािः a comma must be there, because that is the third, that
part of the space which is in between the earth and heaven सः
सर्ानः भवहत. That is the external expression of the सर्ाि
प्राण. Therefore, we should understand it as बाह्यः. बाह्यः has to
be added to all these. आनदत्ि is बाह्यः प्राणः, पनत थवी is बाह्यः
अपािः and अन्तररक्ष is बाह्यः सर्ािः. So, सः बाह्यः सर्ानः
221
भवहत. There we have to supply the verb. Then the next topic
is वािुः व्यानः भवहत. वायुः refers to the all-pervading air,
बाह्यः वायुः is व्यानः is the external expression of the internal
र्विाि principle. And therefore, we should understand the
external वािु blesses our internal र्विाि, external अन्तररक्ष
blesses the internal सर्ाि also. Now four of them have been
mentioned. Now the fifth one has not yet been mentioned.
What is that? उदािः. That is going to come in the next र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 3.9
तेजो ह वाव उदािस्तस्र्ादुपशान्ततेजाः पुिभम वनर्नन्द्रिैर्मिनस
सम्ब्पद्यर्ािैः ॥ ९ ॥
So, तेजो ि वाव उदानः. वाव is just an expletive or is an
emphasis. Indeed तेजः, the अनग्ि तत्त्वर््, the fire principle
which pervades the whole universe is उदािः, is the external
expression of उदािः that is the उदािः of the नवराट. That is if
you take cosmos as a person as the नवराट ईश्वरः and that नवराट
ईश्वर must have पञ्िप्राण and नवराट ईश्वर’s प्राण will be
आनदत्िः, नवराट ईश्वर अपाि will be पनत थवी, नवराट ईश्वर सर्ाि
will be अन्तररक्षर्् and व्यान will be सवम गत वािुः. That is
why
ू ौ ि नेरे
भःू िादौ यस्य नाहभर्-हवयदसु-रहनलः िन्द्रसय
असःु अहनलः. Therefore, take the cosmos as a person then
what will be the उदाि? the अनग्ि तत्त्वर्् will be the उदाि
aspect of the universal person. So that is the बाह्य उदािः.
And in the form of उदाि it sustains two things. One is it is
222
sustains the whole cosmos and secondly it sustains the
individual उदाि also. And with that the answer to that
question is over. कथं बाह्यर्हभधिे. How does the प्राण
sustains the external universe, the answer is आनदत्ि पनत थवी
अन्तररक्ष वािु अनग्ि रूपेण प्राण बाह्यर्् प्रिञ्िर्् अहभधिे, in the
form of the fivefold natural forces the प्राण sustains the
cosmos. So therefore with that the full stop understood
because that topic is over now. Because in the उपनिषत् full
stop, comma, semicolon will not be there. Even the change of
topic, next para also won't be there. So we should be able to
distinguish. And this topic started from where? It started
from आहदत्यो ि वै onwards is कथं बाह्यर्हभधिे. Anyway
that we will see in the end.
Now up to this is the answer to कथं बाह्यर्हभधिे. In
the rest of the portion the र्रणर्् is going to be talked about a
little bit more. The student had asked the question केन
उत्क्रर्ते, how does the प्राण gets out of the body that was one
of the question. And that question was already answered also.
Where was it answered? It was answered in the seventh र्न्त्र
ऊध्वम ः एकया नाड्या ऊध्वम र्् उत्क्रर्ते. प्राण goes out through
the ऊध्वम नाडी known as सुषुम्ब्णा िाडी it was answered. But
now that very same answer is elaborated a little bit more.
Therefore, उत्क्रर्णभाग is continued here a little bit more.
And at the time of death what happens? We had said that all
other प्राणs are withdrawn that is प्राण अपाि र्विाि and सर्ाि
become weaker and weaker and they are all going to be
223
absorbed into उदानः. And that is why respiratory system
becomes weaker, breathing trouble starts and अपाि also is in
trouble excretion doesn't properly takes place, व्यान
circulation is affected, सर्ाि digestion doesn't work because
all of them are withdrawn by उदानः. It is packing for प्रयाणर््.
If we have to vacate a place hours before packing begins. And
how long before depends upon so much things we have got.
And it will be all reduced into four packs or five packs.
Similarly, उदाि gets ready for therefore one knapsack
therefore all प्राण अपाि र्विाि सर्ाि they are all packed into
उदाि and this उदाि is along with the जीवात्र्ा, the निदाभास
िैतन्िर्् it is going to leave. And now the उदाि has been
pointed out as the अनग्ि तत्त्वर्् and therefore as the उदाि goes
away the अनग्ि तत्त्वर्् also goes away, therefore the heat of
the body leaves the body. And that is why this person
becomes, no more person, this body becomes cold. ठण्डा िो
गया. Therefore, it has become cold. That is what is said here.
उिशान्ततेजाः. That is next sentence. It is र्रण काल, प्रिाण
काल नविार. Like our eight chapter of the गीता.
उिशान्ततेजाः means that person from whose body the अनग्ि
तत्त्वर्् has gone away. उिशान्तं तेजो यस्य सः उिशान्त तेजः.
And it refers to a person who is about to depart. शङ्करािािम
says र्ुर्ष ू म ुः. र्ुर्ष
ू म ुः means a person about to die, a dying
person. So a dying person becomes उिशान्ततेजाः colder and
colder. And the reason is what? उिशान्त उदानत्वात् because
the उदाि तत्त्वर्् is leaving this body. िुनभम वर््. िुनभम वर््
224
means पुिजम न्र्. Here भव means जन्र् or it refers to another
शरीरर््. So, िुनभम वर्् शरीरान्तरर्् another body and we have
to supply the verb, it is not here, प्रहतिद्यते he enters or he goes
towards. So a person whose body has become cold is now
leaving along with उदाि to another body, िुनभम वर््
शरीरान्तरर््. Along with what? इहन्द्रयैः – along with the sense
organs.
र्नःषष्ानीहन्द्रयाहण प्रकृहतस्थाहन कषम हत ॥ गीता १५-७ ॥
शरीरं यदवाप्नोहत यच्िाप्युत्क्रार्तीश्वरः ।
गिृ ीत्वैताहन संयाहत वायुगमन्धाहनवाशयात् ॥ गीता १५-८ ॥
Just as वािु takes the smell from आशय, the flowers similarly,
the उदाि वािु takes the fragrance of life because now we are
all fragrant people. fragrant people means what? I mean
fragrance means fragrance of life, the touch of life is there,
that fragrance is taken away by उदाि वािु. So, इहन्द्रयैः सि.
And how do the इनन्द्रिs travel. They are also packed off.
Because while travelling they cannot be used. So therefore,
the इनन्द्रिs are also packed in a special trunk. What is that?
र्नहस सम्प्िद्यर्ानैः – which are resolved into the mind. So
the mind is the suitcase in which all the इनन्द्रिs are packed
and after entering another body, we immediately open and
start unpacking. Similarly, enter another body from the mind
all the sense organs are thrown and everything has got a place
almirah is there, they are all गोलकर््. And at the time of
travel they all go to suitcase. How Lord has beautifully
created! Therefore, he says र्नहस सम्प्िद्यर्ानैः. सम्प्िद्यर्ानैः
225
means resolved. So along with the sense organs which are
resolved into the mind, the उिशान्ततेजाः िुरुषः, the dying
person िुनभम वर्् another शरीरर्् प्रहतिद्यते he goes to.
Through which र्ागम ? उध्वम िाड्िा, i.e., सुषुम्ब्णा नाड्या. Is that
alone or something more is there? Something more is also
there because the question will come ‘In which direction the
उदाि will take a person?’ So when you get out of the house
no doubt the प्राण is helping you to go out but which bus you
enter into or which train you enter into depends upon what? In
your mind there is a सङ्कल्प. I am going to अर्रिाथ, I am
going to अन्िानगर, I am going to this place. Thus the उदाि
along with the sense organs resolved into the mind plus the
सङ्कल्प of a person has to be introduced, that is going to be
said in the next र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 3.10
यहच्ििस्तेनषै प्राणर्ायाहत प्राणस्तेजसा युक्तः । सिात्र्ना
यथासङ्कहल्ितं लोकं नयहत ॥ १० ॥
You can understand. यहच्ितः िुरुषः. So here नििः
literally means literally नििः is mind, but in this context
नििर्् means the सङ्कल्प in the mind. सङ्कल्प means what?
our likes, our innate cravings.
यं यं वाहि स्र्रन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरर्् ।
तं तर्ेवहै त कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभाहवतः ॥ गीता ८-६ ॥
That सङ्कल्प alone is called भाविा. Everybody has got one-
one deep ambition in life. There are so many many ambitions
226
but there is one very deep ambition in life and that is called
here भाविा. And how did they develop this deep ambition?
सदा तद् भाव-भाहवतः, constantly day in and day out thinking
of that, that सङ्कल्प comes. And यहच्ितः िुरुषः तेन
सङ्कल्िेन एषः प्राणर्् आयाहत – so प्राणर्् means here all
these four प्राणs, all the four प्राणs go out. प्राणर्् आयाहत. एषः
refers to जीवात्र्ा. So, एषः हिदाभासरूि जीवात्र्ा यहच्ितः
भवहत whatever सङ्कल्पs he entertains with that सङ्कल्प he
comes out. So how beautiful it is said. T he idea is निदाभास
comes to the प्राणs and the प्राणs is going to come to उदाि.
Thus उदाि will have all the other four प्राणs as well as the
जीवात्र्ा. Thus a bundle is there consisting of four प्राणs
resolved into उदाि as well as the जीवात्र्ा. जीवात्र्ा referring
to the निदाभास also resolved into उदाि because जीवात्र्ा also
has to travel. Thus जीवात्र्ा is packed into उदाि, four प्राणs
are packed into उदाि and one more important packing is there
that is the सङ्कल्प, which is the main fuel like water bottle in
the hand. So, thus that सङ्कल्प is one which has to determine
the direction. So एषः जीवात्र्ा प्राणर्् आयाहत resolves into
प्राण and प्राण goes to उदाि. That is what is said here.
प्राणस्तेजसा युक्तः भवहत. So प्राणः refers to all other four
प्राणs. This प्राण enters where? तेजसा युक्तः. Here तेजस्
refers to उदाि because we have already told that तेजस् and
उदाि are one and the same. आत्र्ना लोकर्् नयहत – so here
you have to supply the subject उदाि. This उदाि into which
the प्राण and जीवात्र्ा has resolved, this उदाि लोकर्् नयहत –
227
takes the जीवात्र्ा to various लोकs. And how does it take?
सि आत्र्ना – travelling along with the जीवात्र्ा, taking the
जीवात्र्ा along with itself the उदाि leads the जीवात्र्ा to other
लोकs. सि आत्र्ना. Here आत्र्ा refers to जीवात्र्ा alone.
जीवात्र्ना सि गच्छन् उदानः जीवात्र्ानर्् लोकर्् नयहत. Ok.
What लोक? यथा सङ्कहल्ितर्् – according to the सङ्कल्पर््
that a person entertains.
कार्ान्यः कार्यते र्न्यर्ानः
स कार्हभजाम यते तर तर ।
ियाम िकार्स्य कृतात्र्नस्तु
इिैव सवे प्रहवलीयहन्त कार्ाः ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् ३-२-२ ॥
So therefore according to the type of कार् or सङ्कल्प the
उदाि takes into the लोक. That is why in the case of
जीवन्र्ुक्त उदाि gets confused, because it ask the question to
which लोक I should take you. What type of सङ्कल्प you
have got? So then the जीवन्र्ुक्त says where should I go, अिर््
सवम गतः हनत्यः स्थाणुः and when he says nothing, the उदाि
doesn't have employment and when he doesn't have work it
completely resolves and that is why there is no travel in the
case of जीवन्र्ुक्त. ियाम िकार्स्य कृतात्र्नस्तु इिैव सवे
प्रहवलीयहन्त कार्ाः. I am going to give you a free ticket but
here even if उदाि takes us free I have no intention to go
anywhere, that is why for a जीवन्र्ुक्त no travel. In the case of
others यथा सङ्कहल्ितर्् लोकर्् नयहत. Ok. This is the
extension of केन उत्क्रर्ते. With this all the questions of the
student has been answered. So how does प्राण come, how
228
does प्राण stay in the body, how does it divide into various
factors, how does it go out of the of the body, how does it
sustain individual, how does it sustain the total. All the
subquestions have been answered.
Now the teacher comes to the main purpose and the
main purpose is उपासिा. So all these discussions on प्राण is
for what purpose? Since प्राण is such an important principle,
प्राण is an exalted principle प्राण उपासिा is going to bless a
person. So thus the previous chapter as well as this chapter is
only a preparation for प्राण उपासिा. Why this much
preparation? Because the उपासिा has to be done only on the
उत्कतष्ट वस्तु. Nobody does उपासिा on हनकृि वस्तु. उत्कृि
means what? A superior object. Therefore first प्राणs
superiority is established. Now that we know प्राणः उत्कृिः,
now we can do उपासिा on the प्राण. Because प्राण is equal to
the सर्नष्ट शनक्त known as the नहरण्िगभम principle, who
contains the total power of the universe. And therefore as a
र्विनष्ट I can certainly do the सर्नष्ट प्राण उपासिा. Ok. That
is going to be said in the eleventh र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 3.11
ि एवंनवद्वान्प्राणं वेद ि हास्ि प्रजा हीितेऽर्त
त ो भवनत तदेष
श्लोकः ॥ ११ ॥
So the उपासिा is said in this र्न्त्र and merely if
उपासिा alone is said then nobody will practice that उपासिा.
Therefore you should always hold a carrot in front. So if you
229
do this उपासिा what will be the फलर््? Therefore, फलर्् also
is being mentioned here. So एवर्् हवद्वान नवद्वाि means not
ब्रह्म नवद्वाि. एवर्् प्राण हवद्वान. So that person who knows the
प्राण in this manner. In this manner means what? अध्यायद्वय
उक्तप्रकारे ण in the manner as described in the second chapter
and third chapter. How the प्राण is important for the
individual, how the प्राण is important for the total and even in
the second chapter you should rememebr प्राण was said to be
अरा इव रथनाभौ प्राणे सवां प्रहतहष्तर्् and how प्राण is the सि ू म
तत्त्व and how प्राण is all the four वेदs, all those descriptions
given in the second and third chapter, यः हवद्वान् – the one
who knows. And is the knowledge enough? No, no, no. And
वेद. वेद means what? उिास्ते. उिासनर्् करोहत. So the one
who knows and meditates upon that सर्नष्ट प्राण who is none
other than नहरण्िगभम . तस्ि नकर्् फलर््? The फलर्् is अस्य
प्रजाः न ि िीयते – his children will not have अिर्त्ृ यु.
Because प्राण will bless. Isn't it. Because whatever देवता is
worshipped that देवता will bless according to its power. What
can a minister do? Whatever portfolio he has got, if he is an
industry minister he may give a license, if he is an education
minister he will be useful for school admission. So thus
according to the portfolio only देवता can bless. And if it is
लर्क्ष्र्ी देवी what can she do? Wealth. सरस्वती देवी - some
knowledge. If it is प्राण what blessing the प्राण can do? That it
can give a longer life or it can avoid the अिर्त्ृ यु. Therefore, it
is said अस्य. अस्य refers to उपासकस्ि, प्राण उपासकस्ि,
230
नहरण्िगभम उिासकस्य प्रजाः, प्रजाः means progeny, the
children न िीयते – they do not depart. So thus their family
will have a long life. This is इिलोकफलर््. And after the
र्रणर्् what will the उिासक get? अर्त ृ ः भवहत. And after the
र्रणर्् the उिासक goes to ब्रह्मलोक. शुक्लगत्िा
सुषुम्ब्णािाड्िा
व्यिोह्य शीषम किाले । भरू रत्यग्नौ प्रहतहतष्हत । भुव इहत वायौ ॥
१॥ सुवररत्याहदत्ये । र्ि इहत ब्रह्महण । आप्नोहत स्वाराज्यर्् ।
etc., we saw in तैनिरीि like that he goes to ब्रह्मलोक and not
only he goes to ब्रह्मलोक the one who goes to ब्रह्मलोक attains
knowledge there and there afterwards and gets कर्म र्ुनक्त also.
And thus in ब्रह्मलोक he gets आपेनक्षकर्् अर्त त त्वर्् and
through कर्म र्ुनक्त he gets र्ुख्िर्् अर्त ृ त्वर्् also. In
ब्रह्मलोक he gets relative immortality. Relative immortality
means what? Long life. And there afterwards when he gets
क्रर्र्ुनक्त, the immortality becomes र्ुख्यर्् अर्त ृ त्वर्् , the
real immortality also. Therefore, it is said अर्त ृ ः भवहत. Ok.
This is the फलर््. And there afterwards तत् एषः श्लोकः and
this being a ब्राह्मणोपनिषत् in support of this statement it is
quoting a र्न्त्र that is a र्न्त्र from the र्न्त्रभाग of the वेदs. I
had told in the introduction that वेद is divided into various
portions. The beginning portion is called र्न्त्रभाग, the next
portion is called ब्राह्मणभाग, the next portion is called
आरण्िकर्् and the last portion is called उपनिषत.् र्न्त्र,
ब्राह्मण, आरण्िक, उपनिषत्. And of this the ब्राह्मण portion is
generally a commentary upon the र्न्त्र portion. ब्राह्मण is an
231
elaboration, ब्राह्मण does not mean ब्राह्मण, क्षनत्रि, वैश्ि, the
ब्राह्मणभाग of the वेद is generally a commentary of र्न्त्रभाग.
And therefore often in the ब्राह्मणभाग the र्न्त्रभाग is quoted
for support. That is why in तैनिरीि and all you will often get
तदप्येष श्लोको भवहत. So श्लोकः means र्न्त्रः. And that is
what is done because प्रश्नोपनिषत् is what उपनिषत्? र्न्त्र or
ब्राह्मण? प्रश्नोपनिषत् is a ब्राह्मणोपनिषत्. Therefore, it is
quoting a र्न्त्र. So तत् एषः श्लोकः. तत् means what? तहस्र्न्
अथे. तहस्र्न् अथे means कहस्र्न् अथे? अर्त ृ ः भवहत इत्यहस्र्न्
अथे. That you will get a big result. So, in फल अथे एषः
वक्ष्यर्ानः श्लोकः there is a following र्न्त्र also. And what is
that र्न्त्र? We will read.
Verse No. 3.12
उत्पनिर्ािनतं स्थािं नवभुत्वं िैव पञ्ि्ा ।
त र्श्नुते नवज्ञािार्त
अध्िात्र्ं िैव प्राणस्ि नवज्ञािार्त त र्श्नुत इनत ॥
१२ ॥
So the one who knows the following details of प्राण

becomes immortal. This is the essence of the र्न्त्र. The one
who knows the following details of प्राण attains immortality.
And the following details means what? The five questions
asked by the student here. And what are they? उत्िहिर्् – How
does the प्राण come into existence. And what is the answer to
the question? It was given in this section only. आत्र्नः एषः
प्राणो जायते. छायेव िुरुषः do you remember? Therefore out of
232
आत्र्ा the प्राणs उत्िहि takes place. Just as a shadow is born
out of a person. So thus this प्राणस्य उत्िहि the one who
knows. Then आयहतर््. How the प्राण arrives in the body?
कथर्् एषः प्राणः आयहत? The student asked the question.
And what was the answer given? र्नोकृतेनायात्यहस्र्ञ्छरीरे ,
because of our पवू म कर्म s, the िवू म पुण्िपाप, the प्रारब््फलात्
अनस्र्ि् शरीरे आिानत, this particular information one who
has. So आयाहत means arrival in the body or entry to the body.
Then स्थानर्् – its positions in the body. It was said that as
प्राण principle it is in the ििुः, नाहसका etc., as अपाि
principle its स्थानर्् is िायिू स्थर्् and as सर्ाि principle it
is in the र्ध्िदेश, as उदाि it is situated in the neck उध्वम ः etc.
Thus the fivefold positions of the प्राण the one who knows.
Then हबभुत्वर््. हबभुत्वर्् शङ्करािािम takes as प्रभुत्वर््.
प्रभुत्वर्् means its overlordship, its power, its status. Because
it was said in the उपनिषत् सिाहडव एतान् ग्रार्ान् एतान्
ग्रार्ान् अहधहतष्स्व just as an emperor allots duties to various
ministers and others similarly, प्राण allots duties to सर्ाि
उदाि etc. Therefore, प्राण is like a साम्राट. That is called
हबभुत्वर््, the overlordship of प्राण. Then िञ्िधा. Here we have
to supply the word स्थािनर््. िञ्िधा स्थािनर्् which means
dividing itself into fivefold systems or fivefold faculties प्राण,
अिान, व्यान, उदान सर्ान. Then अध्यात्र्र्् िैव. So its
subjective nature, its nature within the individual. This is
answer to the question कथर्् बाह्यर्् अध्यात्र्र्् अहभधिे? How
does it sustain the individual and how does it sustain the total.
233
And that is indicated by अध्यात्र्र््, िैव indicates बाह्यर््.
And how does it sustain in the individual? प्राण, अिान, व्यान,
उदान सर्ान रूिेण. And how does it sustain the external
world? आनदत्ि पनत थवी अन्तररक्ष वािु तेजो रूपेण अहभधानर््
िैव प्राणस्य – so of this प्राण principle all these information
हवज्ञाय – having known and also उिास्य. That is to be
understood. हवज्ञानर्् means knowing and meditating. Only in
the case of the ब्रह्मज्ञानर्् knowledge is enough. But in the
case of all other things knowledge will not give any benefit, it
will be only a step for doing either in the form of a physical
ritual or in the form of a mental meditation. Therefore हवज्ञाय
means उिास्य. अर्त ृ र्श्नुते. अर्त
ृ र्श्नुते means क्रर्र्ुनक्त
अश्नुते or ब्रह्मलोकर्् अश्नुते. And it is repeated once again
हवज्ञायार्तृ र्श्नुत to indicate two things. One is that the result
is definite, do not doubt it. And the second is to conclude this
chapter. So हद्वरुहक्तः अवधारणाथम र््, उिसंिाराथम र्् ि. Thus in
this section all about प्राण was indicated and the प्राण उपासिा
was indicated. In fact, प्राण उपासिा is the main topic. The
previous chapter and in this chapter the first portion also they
are all only preparations. उपासिा is the नवन्. They are all
only अथम वाद. And the फलर्् also has been mentioned as the
ब्रह्मलोक प्रानि. And last one more point.
So this फलर्् is for whom? सकार् उिासकs, those
who are interested in ब्रह्मलोक trip they all can do उपासिा but
suppose a person says I don't want क्रर्र्ुनक्त I want only
अक्रर्र्ुहक्त, i.e., जीवन्र्ुनक्त. So those people who are
234
interested in जीवन्र्ुनक्त what can they do with the उपासिा?
They can also practice this उपासिा, निष्कार्तिा. And then
what will be the फलर््? Then the फलर्् will be नििशुनद्ध,
हििनैश्चल्यर््, and proper गुरु प्राहि. So all those things are
indicated. Therefore, the फलर्् is he will be able to come to
वेदान्त in this life. So it will lead to वेदान्त which will lead to
सद्योर्ुहक्तः or जीवन्र्ुनक्तः here and now. And here the उपासिा
is prescribed as a preparation to जीवन्र्ुनक्त not as a
preparation for कर्म र्ुनक्त, because this is an उपनिषत् you
should remember.
िण
235
First we will see the gist of the third chapter and then
we will go to the fourth chapter. In the third chapter the
student asked five questions in the first र्न्त्र.
i) कुतः एषः प्राणः जायते
ii) कथर्् अहस्र्न् शरीरे आयाहत
iii) आत्र्ानं प्रहवभज्य कथर्् प्रहतष्थते
iv) केन उत्क्रर्ते
v) कथर्् बाह्यर्् अध्यात्र्र्् अहभधिे
These were the five questions. In the second र्न्त्र the
answers were introduced and then the answers begin from the
third र्न्त्र. The first two questions were answered in third
र्न्त्र. All small answers. आत्र्नः प्राणः जायते. From where
does प्राण come was the first question. The answer is from
आत्र्ा the प्राण comes. Then the second question was कथर््
अहस्र्न् शरीरे आयाहत. How does प्राण comes to this body?
That also was answered in the same र्न्त्र, number three.
र्नोकृतेन अहस्र्न् शरीरे आयाहत. Because of our सङ्कल्प or
कर्म , र्िः we saw means कर्म , because of कर्म the प्राण comes
to the body. Thus the first two questions with answered. Then
the third question was how does it divide itself and function.
That was answered in the fourth, fifth and sixth र्न्त्र. Three
र्न्त्रs were the answers to the third question - How does the
प्राण divide itself and maintain the body? And the division is
in the fivefold form अिानोव्यानोदानसर्ान and each one
was given a place also र्ुखनाहसकाभ्यां प्राणः, िायिू स्थे
अिानं, etc., the positions also were mentioned in these three
236
र्न्त्रs. And in that context alone it was said व्यान travels all
over the body and for that purpose alone so many नाडीs were
mentioned. It is in the context of व्यान’s position. 72 crore
72 lakh 10 thousand and 210 or something like that. And an
example also was given that just as a साम्राट, an empire allots
various functions to various ministers, similarly the प्राण, the
emperor allots various functions to अिानोव्यानोदानसर्ान
and itself takes some functions also. Thus four, five, six is
answer to the third question. In the seventh र्न्त्र, fourth
question was answered. केन उत्क्रर्ते - How does the प्राण go
out? That was the fourth question which was answered in the
seventh र्न्त्र. And it will be again repeated in the ninth and
tenth र्न्त्र also. Therefore, seven, nine and ten answer the
प्राण उत्क्रर्णर््, which was the fourth question. So in the
seventh र्न्त्र it was said that the प्राण goes out through the
ऊध्वम ः नाडी known as the सुषुम्ब्णा िाडी especially in the case
of the उपासकs, not in the case of all the people. In the case
of उपासकs it goes like that. It is not so in the case of ज्ञाहनs
also. Ok. In the case of ज्ञाहनs also there is no question of
सष ु ुम्ब्णा िाडी, in the case of other people also there is no
question of सुषुम्ब्णा िाडी. Only in the case of उपासक. Then
the topic was elaborated in the ninth and tenth र्न्त्र also. That
how the other प्राणs get absorbed in the उदाि and not only
that all the sense organs along with the mind also get resolved
into उदाि. Only two things are active now i.e., the उदान
itself and the सङ्कल्पs of the mind, अन्तःकाल स्र्रणर्् or
237
प्रयान काल सङ्कल्ि are active and these two together will
lead the जीवात्र्ा to various लोकs. िुण्येन िुण्यं लोकं िािेन
िािं लोकं उभाभ्यार्् एव र्नुष्यलोकर्् was mentioned. Thus
seven, nine and ten र्न्त्रs are answer to the fourth question.
Then the fifth the question was how does the प्राण sustain the
external world and the internal world बाह्यर्् अध्यात्र्र्् ि
अहभधिे. And that was answered in the eight र्न्त्र. And here
the teacher answers how the प्राण sustains the external world
in the form of आनदत्िः, in the form of पनत थवी, in the form of
अन्तररक्षर््, in the form of सवम तग वायुः, and in the form of
अनग्ि तत्त्वर्् in the fivefold natural forces, in the form of the
fivefold natural forces the प्राण sustains the external world.
And how the प्राण sustains the internal world was not
answered, we have to understand the answer. And what is the
answer? In the form of the fivefold physiological functions
known as प्राण, अिान, व्यान, उदान, सर्ान – the respiratory,
the excretory, the circulatory etc., it sustains the internal
world. That is to be understood. Thus all the five questions
were answered, the last question was answered in the eight
र्न्त्र. And then the whole section was concluded in the
eleventh and twelfth र्न्त्र by introducing the main theme of
प्राण उपासिा. So the five questions and their answers do not
have direct relevance, they are all for the sake of प्राण स्तुनत
alone, ‘by merely knowing the greatness of प्राण I am not
going to get any benefit’ based on these understanding I
should do उपासिा of the प्राण, how it sustains me, how it is
238
born, how great it is etc. And the one who does उपासिा यः
हवद्वान् एवं प्राणं वेद सः अर्त ृ ः भवहत. वेद means उिास्ते. The
one who does उपासिा gets a benefit in this world and a
benefit in the other world also. इिलोकफलर्् िरलोकफलञ्ि.
What is the इिलोकफलर््? His family will not have any
अपर्त्त िु, accidents and other deaths will not occur. The प्राण
will bless the family member with a life as allotted by प्रारब््.
Ok. प्रारब्् cannot be changed. As allotted by the प्रारब््, the
full life will be there. That is इिलोकफलर््. And
िरलोकफलर्् is ब्रह्मलोक प्रानिः तदिन्तरर्् कर्म र्ुनक्तः ि.
With this the प्राण उपासिा is over and you should remember
the second chapter also is to be connected with this प्राण
उपासिा alone. That is according to शास्त्र whatever be the
main commandment that is supposed to be the main teaching,
हवहध. And all the stories and glorifications do not have direct
value at all they are all supposed to be अथम वादाः. For
example if इन्द्र is glorified in a big text book the study of that
will not give me any benefit because by knowing इन्द्र’s glory
I am not going to get any benefit. By knowing you can get
benefit only in one field. And what is that? ब्रह्मज्ञािर््. In the
entire कर्म काण्ड ज्ञािर्् itself does not have any प्रिोजिर्् at
all, therefore wherever we gather knowledge that is all
अथम वादवाक्यर््, they are all secondary statements. In the
कर्म काण्ड wherever we get descriptions of things and we
learn a lot of about स्वगम लोक or rituals or देवताs etc., all that
knowledge does not have any benefit directly, therefore they
239
are all called अथम वादवाक्यs. Then after the अथम वादवाक्यs the
वेद will say ‘using this knowledge you should do some कर्म or
उपासिा’ that statement of commandment is supposed to be
र्ुख्िवाक्िर्् we call it as हवहधवाक्यर््. So in the कर्म काण्ड
always importance is given to doing either a physical action in
the form of कर्म or a mental action in the form of उपासिा.
Wherever such a commandment comes that alone is र्ुख्िर््.
Now if you come to the second and third chapter in the second
chapter only प्राण’s glory was talked about, therefore the
whole second chapter is only अथम वादर््, it doesn't have any
benefit directly. अथम वादवाक्यानार्् स्वतः फलर्् नाहस्त स्वतः
तात्ित्यम र्् नाहस्त स्वतः प्रार्ाण्यञ्ि नाहस्त, they don't have
प्रार्ाण्यर्् also. So the entire second chapter does not contain
any doing or commandment therefore no benefit. In the third
chapter also up to the tenth र्न्त्र it is only the glory of प्राण
talked about. Therefore, that portion also is अथम वादवाक्य
alone. It doesn't have any direct benefit. Then when will the
benefit come? The benefit will come when you apply the
knowledge of the second chapter and the knowledge of the
third chapter in the प्राण उपासिा. Only in that application of
that knowledge you will get the फलर््. That is a person
should sit and meditate the glory of the प्राण as described in
the second chapter अरा इव रथनाभौ and ऋग्वेद िजुवेद etc., are
born out of प्राण all this information must be repeatedly
meditated upon and when meditation is practiced, as result of
that meditation this will come. Thus the second chapter is
240
totally अथम वाद and the third chapter up to the tenth र्न्त्र is
अथम वाद, only the eleventh and twelfth र्न्त्र is हवहधवाक्यर््
and that हवहधवाक्यर्् is प्राण उपासिा हवहधवाक्यर््. Therefore,
that alone is the most important part of the second and third
chapter. And that is why we say second and third chapter put
together is talking of प्राण उपासिा alone. Ok. With this the
उपासिा topic also is over. What was the topic of the first
chapter? The topic was सनत ष्ट प्रकरणर्् and the main topic was
the शुक्लगनत and कतष्णगनत. That is the one who goes
through ritualistic portion will go to स्वगम लोक and the one
who performs उपासिा will go to ब्रह्मलोक. Thus
शुक्लकतष्णगनत was emphasized in the context of सनत ष्ट
प्रकरणर््. That was the topic of the first chapter. And the
second and third talked about प्राण उपासिा. Thus in the first
three chapters we have got the essence of कर्म काण्ड and
उपासिाकाण्ड of the वेदs. Or to put in a nutshell the entire
पवू म भाग of the वेद had been summarized in the first three
chapters. Now in the following three chapters naturally the
topic is going to be ज्ञानकाण्ड or वेदान्तभाग. Therefore, the
teaching of ब्रह्मनवद्या is going to come from the fourth chapter
onwards. So 1, 2, 3 is कर्म काण्ड; 4, 5, 6 is ज्ञानकाण्ड. Thus
प्रश्नोपनिषत् contains the entire Vedic essence. Now we will
go to the fourth chapter which is going to start with question
put by the fourth student out of six students.
241
प्रश्न उपनिषत् ितुथमः प्रश्नः
ितुथमः प्रश्नः
Verse No. 4.1

अथ िैनं सौयाम यणी गाग्यम ः िप्रच्छ भगवन्नेतहस्र्न्िुरुषे काहन
स्विहन्त कान्यहस्र्ञ्जाग्रहत कतर एष देवः स्वप्नान्िश्यहत
कस्यैतत्सुखं भवहत कहस्र्न्नु सवे सम्प्प्रहतहष्ता भवन्तीहत ॥ १
॥
Now the name of the fourth student is सौयाम यणी गाग्यम ः.
So both the names indicate only one person because each
student is given two-two names remember. Therefore,
सौयाम यणी and गाग्यम ः are not two people but one person. अथ.
अथ means what? ततृ ीय प्रश्न अनन्तरर्् after the question and
answer by the third student, the fourth student सौयाम यणी
गाग्यम ः िप्रच्छ asked. Whom? एनर्् एनर्् means हिप्िलादर््
एव because गुरु happens to be the same. And here also the
student is putting five questions, just as in the previous chapter
we had, five questions the student is putting. What are they?
भगवन् एतहस्र्न् िुरुषे काहन स्विहन्त? Now this is a question
regarding the स्वप्िावस्था. So we have to supply
स्वप्नावस्थायार््. At the time of dream काहन स्विहन्त? What
are the organs that are sleeping? Sleeping means not
functioning. So during the time of dream which are the
organs that are not functioning? So, व्यािारात् उिरर्न्ते.
हनवि ृ व्यािाराः भवहन्त. तष्ू णी आसते. कुर? एतहस्र्न् िुरुषे –
in this human being. पुरुष representing the शरीरर््. Not
242
आत्र्ा. So, एतहस्र्न् िुरुषे शरीर लिणे in this body what are
the organs that are not functioning during dream? This is the
first question.
The second question is also related to स्वप्िावस्था.
काहन अहस्र्न् जाग्रहत? What are the organs, करणाहन
understood, काहन करणाहन स्विहन्त? and काहन करणाहन
जाग्रहत? What are the organs that are awake, functioning.
जाग्रहत is plural जागहतम , जागतृ ः, जाग्रहत. This is the second
question related to स्वप्िावस्था only.
Then the third also is related to स्वप्िावस्था. कतरः
एषः देवः स्वप्नान् िश्यहत? Which देव, which करणर््, which
effulgent being is seeing the dream? The perception of the
dream is possible only for a िेति तत्त्वर््, a conscious
principle alone can experience. To indicate that the उपनिषत्
is using the word देवः. Because a जड वस्तु cannot see
anything, so it might be some shining principle alone, a
conscious principle alone, a living principle alone. Therefore,
the word used देवः, द्योतिवाि्, प्रकाशरूपः सः देव स्वप्नान्
िश्यहत. स्वप्नान् means स्वप्न िदाथाम न.् स्वप्नान् plural is
used to indicate स्वप्ि िदाथाम न् which are many. This is the
third question. And all the three questions are centered
on स्वप्िावस्था.
Now the student is going to the सुषुहि. कस्य तत्
सुखर्् भवहत? To which person or to which individual this
सुिर्् belongs, एतत् सुखर्् which referes to सुषुहि सुखर््.
243
सष
ु ुहिकाले सकले हवलीने तर्ोऽहभभत
ू ः सुखरूिर्ेहत ॥
कैवल्योिहनषत् १३ ॥
in कैवल्ि उपनिषत्. Ok. This question belongs to सुषुहि
अवस्था.
Then the fourth question is centered on तुरीिर््.
कहस्र्न्नु सवे संप्रहतहष्ताः भवहन्त? What is that अन्ष्ािर््
on which all these organs are supported, based? So, कहस्र्न्नु
indicates अन्ष्ािर््, कहस्र्न् अहधष्ाने तुरीयरूिे सवे
संप्रहतहष्ताः भवहन्त? are all of them supported?
Therefore, we have got questions centered on स्वप्ि,
सष ु ुनि and तुरीिर््. Only जाग्रदवस्था has not been asked. If
you include the जाग्रदवस्था we can call it as अवस्थात्रिनववेक.
So this question is nothing but अवस्थात्रिनववेक put in a
peculiar language. Because स्वप्नावस्थः कः िश्यहत. If you
ask, the answer will be what? तैजसः. सुषुहि सुखर्् कस्य
भवहत? What will be the answer? प्राज्ञः. Therefore the
question is about तैजस, प्राज्ञ and तुरीि. नवश्व has not been
directly asked about. If you include that also it amounts to
नवश्व तैजस प्राज्ञ तुरीिः who are they is the question. If you
remember र्ाण्डूक्ि then you will know it, if you are attending
प्रश्नोपनिषत् afresh it will be a प्रश्नर््. प्रश्नर्् means a little bit
peculiar. So these are the five questions. इहत. इहत indicates
the quotation mark. इहत गाग्यम ः िप्रच्छ. This was the question
asked by गाग्यम to नपप्पलाद. And in this the fifth question
alone is making this chapter as a Vedantic chapter because in
the fifth question alone तुरीिर्् is asked about and because of
244
that topic alone this comes under Vedantic discussion and it is
this small portion which makes the whole प्रश्नोपनिषत्
relevant. Ok. Now the teacher is going to answer.
Verse No. 4.2
तस्र्ै स िोवाि यथा गाग्यम र्रीियोऽकमस्यास्तं गच्छतः सवाम
एतहस्र्ंस्तेजोर्ण्डल एकीभवहन्त ताः िुनः िुनरुदयतः
प्रिरन्त्येवं ि वै तत्सवां िरे देवे र्नस्येकीभवहत । तेन तह्येष
िुरुषो न शण ृ ोहत न िश्यहत न हजघ्रहत न रसयते न स्िश ृ ते
नाहभवदते नादिे नानन्दयते न हवसज ृ ते नेयायते
स्वहितीत्याििते ॥ २ ॥
So the answer is beginning here. तस्र्ै सः उवाि. तस्र्ै
गाग्याम य सः हिप्िलादः उवाि. हकर््? उिरर््. What else?
उिरर्् उवाि. नपप्पलाद gave out the answer to गाग्यम . And in
this र्न्त्र the first question is answered. What is the first
question? काहन स्विहन्त. What are the organs that are
sleeping, which means what are the organs which are not
functioning, which means what are the organs which are in
resolved condition. Not functioning means what? They are all
in resolved condition, dormant condition. And what is the
answer that the teacher wants to give? He wants to say that the
दश इनन्द्रिानण - िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण and पञ्िकर्ेनन्द्रिानण the
ten organs are the one which are resolved and therefore do not
function. हनवि ृ व्यािाराहण भवहन्त दश इहन्द्रयाहण. Ok. Where
do they resolve? That also the teacher wants to say. The locus
of resolution is र्िः, the mind. So all the sense organs are
resolved into the mind during स्वप्िावस्था. And not only that
245
he wants to give an additional information also. And what is
that? It is not a permanent resolution. If it were permanent
resolution what will happen? Next day you cannot wake up
and see things. Thank god, they go during स्वप्िावस्था and
again next day during जाग्रदवस्था the very same दश
इनन्द्रिानण, the sense organs again come forth and begins to
function. And this is not done once in lifetime but this is a
daily affair. Daily during night the sense organs are withdrawn
into the mind and daily during morning the sense organs are
thrown out. Ok. And to clarify this, even though it is clear
only, but नपप्पलाद wants to make sure that is well clarified
therefore he gives an example. And a beautiful example of the
Sun and its rays. The Sun is to be compared to the र्नः, the
mind and the rays of the Sun are to be compared to the दश
इनन्द्रिानण. And what do we see? When the early morning the
Sun is rising at the time the rays are just coming out of the
Sun and even when it has risen you don't find the rays are not
fully come, that is why you are able to see the Sun also, you
are able to see the orb of the Sun, we call it as तेजो र्ण्डलर््
you are able to see clearly and as it rises from the तेजो
र्ण्डलर्् the rays come forth in all directions during daytime.
And as the Sun is setting what happens to those rays? The
very same rays which were pervading the earth they are
gradually withdrawn and at the time of sunset you can see
again the तेजो र्ण्डलर््, it is reddish तेजो र्ण्डलर्् in which
all the rays have been absorbed. How do you know the rays
246
being absorbed? How do you know? Because the earth
becomes dimmer and dimmer. That is the sign of absorption.
And when they are completely absorbed then there is total
darkness. And there is in between state also the light is there
but it is not clear - dawn and dusk. Similarly, from our mind
also in the early morning the sense organs are coming out and
they begin to function, pervade the creation and the creation
becomes brighter and brighter शब्द, स्िशम , रूि, रस, गन्ध are
recognized and as the Sun sets when we are going to dream or
sleep the sense organs are gradually withdrawn, we are not
able to use our sense organs powerfully, so we want to read
the books during the night, many people get sleep by reading
books, if book is there in the hand then only they get sleep. So
then what do you find? Initially you are very bright and you
are able to see everything clearly and there afterwards two-
two lines will join together or you read one half of the first
line and second half the second line. What is that? Sun is
setting and the sense organs are gradually withdrawn to the
mind, it is the dusk period. र्न्द अन्ध काले एव रज्जुसिाम दय
भवहन्त, in the same way it is like a semidarkness because
sense organs do not illumine things powerfully. You cannot
say they have been completely withdrawn, you cannot say
they are completely active, they are partially active like the
setting Sun. And then afterwards they are completely
withdrawn. So this is the example. Now let us see. गाग्यम .
गाग्यम is सम्प्बोधन. िे गाग्यम ! are you listening. Because
247
immediately after asking the question, getting the attention is
very difficult. Often the student begins to think whether my
question was an intelligent question or an idiotic question.
Sometimes he feels almost, everyone feels guilty of the
question. So I am fooling myself or am I creating problem to
the teacher and if there are other people then won’t raise the
question at all. So therefore I will always look around
whether other people are admiring my question or they are
laughing at me. So therefore always you observe immediately
after you asking the question the students attention is not
there. That is why an intelligent teacher will always wait for
some time or he will spend that time by congratulating -
wonderful question, bravo, beautiful, all this question is a
normal question, so saying he has to bring the mind.
Otherwise another method is addressing by name गाग्यम ! are
you listening. Therefore िे गाग्यम ! अस्तर्् गच्छतः अकमस्य
सवाम ः र्रीियः एतहस्र्न् तेजोर्ण्डले एकीभवहन्त. अस्तर््
गच्छतः अकमस्य सवाम ः र्रीियः. र्रीिीः means what? रहश्र्, the
rays. Of whom? अस्तर्् गच्छतः अकमस्य – the Sun which is
setting. The setting Sun’s rays. What do they do? एतहस्र्न्
तेजोर्ण्डले एकीभवहन्त – they merge. एकीभवहन्त means they
merge, dissolve into एतहस्र्न् तेजोर्ण्डले – into one orb of
sunlight, one orb of light which refers to the सि ू म र्ण्डलर््,
तेजो र्ण्डलर्् here refers to the orb of the Sun. एकीभवहन्त at
the time of sitting. Then what do they do at the time of उदय.
ताः उदयतः प्रिरहन्त. अकमस्य we we have to supply. And
248
उदयतः अकमस्य ताः र्रीियः प्रिरहन्त – those very same rays
of the rising Sun, previously it was अस्तर्् गच्छतः अकमस्य,
now it is उदयतः अकमस्य and ताः indicates ताः र्रीियः –
those very same rays, not fresh ones, those very same rays
which had been absorbed in the last evening, they again
emerge the next morning. प्रिरहन्त. प्रिरहन्त means what?
उद्भवहन्त, प्रसरहन्त, उद्गच्छहन्त. This is the example. That is
why the teacher start with यथा. यथा means just as. Just as
this phenomenon happens एवर्् – in the same manner. तत्
सवां िरे देवे र्नहस एकीभवहत. तत् सवम र्् means all the organs.
करण सर्हू ः. And what do they indicate? The दश करणाहन -
िञ्िज्ञानकरणाहन and िञ्िकर्म करणाहन. The करणर्् for the
sake of ज्ञानर््, which is known as ज्ञानेहन्द्रयर््. करणर््
means इहन्द्रयर््. So, करणाहन means इहन्द्रयाहण, all the ten
sense organs र्नहस एकीभवहत – resolve into the mind,
तेजोर्ण्डल सर्ान र्नहस. And what type of र्िस् it is? िरे
देवे – which is the great effulgent one. देवः refers to effulgent
one, िरः means the great. So here िरे देवे should not be taken
as परर्ात्र्ा and all. िरे देवे is adjective to the mind alone. So
how do you call the mind as the effulgent one? Isn't it a mind
जड वस्तु? Isn't it created out of
एतेषां िञ्ितत्त्वानां सर्हिसाहत्वकांशात् र्नोबुद्ध्यिङ्कार
हििान्तःकरणाहन सम्प्भत ू ाहन ॥ तत्त्वबोधः ॥
aren't they born out of पञ्िभत
ू s? And therefore the mind must
be a जड वस्तु. How can you call such a mind as देवः, िेतिर््?
If you ask, you are right. Mind is certainly जडर्् by itself but
249
the mind is pervaded by the िेति आत्र्ा, the निदाभास is
there very much in mind. So therefore आभासयुक्तर्् र्नः,
endowed with the reflected Consciousness is an effulgent
principle alone. That is why now the mind is a live mind, it is
capable of thinking, knowing etc., even though by itself is
matter alone. So thus to indicate that the देव word is used.
And not only that in the third question we are going to get कः
देवः स्वप्नन् िश्यहत. Which effulgent principle is seeing the
dream, for that we are going to answer र्नः एव स्वप्नन्
िश्यहत and therefore for the sake of answering that question
here itself the teacher is putting the clue र्िस् is an effulgent
principle therefore, it is capable of seeing the dream,
illuminating the dream experiences. So thus it is preparation
for the third question that mind being effulgent principle it can
illumine all the objects without the help of the sunlight,
remember dream object cannot be illumined by the sunlight
because Sun itself is not available in dream. Then what is
illumining? The mind. From where does the mind gets the
light? हिदाभास. Thus that हिदाभासयुक्तर्् र्नः is referred
here as देवः. And why it is called िरः.? Because it is the
अन्ष्ािर्् for the sense organs to resolve and since it is the
अन्ष्ािर्् into which sense organs resolve and from which
the sense organs arrive therefore it must be िरः, supreme. So
therefore, blessed by the mind alone the sense organs come
during जाग्रदवस्था and the sense organs are functioning
during जाग्रदवस्था because of the grace of the mind alone.
250
र्नः प्रगिर्ेव ि ॥ इहन्द्रयाहण ियानािु ः ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-३-३ ॥
If the horses are riding it is only with help of the rains.
Similarly, the sense organs are functioning blessed by the
mind alone. Therefore, mind is परः, देवः. And not only that the
very effulgence of the sense organs are lent by the mind alone.
Just as the moon gets light from the Sun similarly, sense
organs do not have light of their own they borrow from their
mind only. How do you know that? How do you prove that?
When the mind is not behind a sense organ that sense organs
cannot function, just as however powerful your ears maybe if
your mind is not in the class, the ears cannot listen. Therefore,
what is lending power, the hearing power to the ears is the
mind alone. Therefore mind is िरः, देवः. Sense organs are
अिरः, देवः. Therefore, िरे देवे र्नहस एकीभवहत. When
स्वप्नावस्थायार््, understood. And how do you know this ten
sense organs are resolved? Very simple all the ten functions
completely stops. ज्ञानेहन्द्रय व्यािारः, कर्ेहन्द्रय व्यािारः ि
लुिाः भवहन्त. लुिाः means they are cut off during स्वप्न. Now
that is mentioned here. तेन तहिम एषः िुरुषः. तेन – because of
that reason. Which reason? एकीभाव कारणात् करणानार््
र्नहस एकीभत ू त्वात्. तहिम . तहिम means स्वप्ि काले, at the time
of, then, here then means स्वप्ि काल. िुरुषः न श्रुणोहत – so
whether it is nightdreaming or daydreaming तहिम स्वप्न काले
िुरुषः न श्रुणोहत – he does not hear, न िश्यहत – does not see,
न हजघ्रहत – does not smell, न रसयते – does not taste, न
स्िशृ ते – does not touch, that means does not feel. With this
251
पञ्ि ज्ञानेहन्द्रय कर्ाम हण उक्ताहन. Up to स्िश ृ ते is ज्ञानेहन्द्रय
कर्ाम हण. Then here afterwards कर्ेनन्द्रि कर्म s are mentioned.
न अहभवदते – he does not speak referring to वाक् इनन्द्रिर््, न
आदिे – he does not hold, grasp anything. िाणीहन्द्रयर््, न
आनन्दयते – referring to उपस्थेनन्द्रिर््, वाक्, पानण, पािु,
उपस्थ. उिस्थस्य हवषयि् आनन्दः इहत it was said. And
therefore, न आनन्दयते refers to उिस्थ इहन्द्रयर््. न हवसज ृ ते
– so does not evacuate. That refers to िायु इहन्द्रयर््. And न
इयायते – he does not move about. However active he may be
न इयायते he does not move about, referring to िादेहन्द्रयर््.
Thus वाक्, िाहण, िाद, िायु, उिस्थ इहन्द्रयाहण स्वस्वव्यािारान्
न कुवम हन्त. And therefore we give that person a special name,
स्वहिहत इहत आििते. जनाः understood. जनाः आििते. The
other waking people say that this person is sleeping. Sleeping
is a common word for dream and sleep. Because other people
will not know whether he is dreaming or or whether he is in
सुषुनि अवस्था. Therefore we commonly say he is sleeping.
With this the first question is answered. काहन एतहस्र्न् िुरुषे
स्विहन्त. दश इहन्द्रयाहण र्नहस एकीभवहन्त. Then the next
question is, काहन एतहस्र्न् िुरुषे जाग्रहत, what are the ones
which are awake? And the answer will be what? प्राणs. Thank
god. The प्राणs are awake when we dream of sleep, imagine
the प्राणs also, the circulation stops, finished! Breathing
stopped means finished, therefore, whether we want it or think
of it or not प्राणs are awake. That is going to be said in the
next र्न्त्र, which will see in the next class.
252
िण
253
र्न्र. 4.1 - 4.4
अथ िैनं सौयाम यणी गाग्यम ः िप्रच्छ भगवन्नेतहस्र्न्िुरुषे काहन
स्विहन्त कान्यहस्र्ञ्जाग्रहत कतर एष देवः स्वप्नान्िश्यहत
कस्यैतत्सुखं भवहत कहस्र्न्नु सवे सम्प्प्रहतहष्ता भवन्तीहत ॥ १
॥
तस्र्ै स िोवाि यथा गाग्यम र्रीियोऽकमस्यास्तं गच्छतः सवाम
एतहस्र्ंस्तेजोर्ण्डल एकीभवहन्त ताः िुनः िुनरुदयतः
प्रिरन्त्येवं ि वै तत्सवां िरे देवे र्नस्येकीभवहत । तेन तह्येष
िुरुषो न शण ृ ोहत न िश्यहत न हजघ्रहत न रसयते न स्िश ृ ते
नाहभवदते नादिे नानन्दयते न हवसज ृ ते नेयायते
स्वहितीत्याििते ॥ २ ॥
The fourth student सौयाम यणी is asking five questions
centered on the dream and sleep of an individual. First he
asked during dream what are the things that are asleep, what
are the things that are awake. स्वप्ि काले काहन करणाहन
स्विहन्त and काहन ि करणाहन जाग्रहत. Who is experiencing
the स्वप्ि? कः देवः स्वप्िाि् अिुभवनत. And who is
experiencing the स्वप्ि? These three questions are centered
on स्वप्िावस्था. The fourth question is centered on सुषुनि.
कस्य एतत् सुखं भवहत. We have to supply when the स्वप्ि
has ended, when everything is resolved, there is a सुषुनि
सिु र््, एतत् सखु ं कस्य भवहत. Thus three questions deal
with स्वप्ि, one question deals with सुषुनि, then the last fifth
question is dealing with the तुरीिर््. In which अन्ष्ािर््
everything is resolved in the end. कहस्र्न् सवे संप्रहतहष्ताः
भवहन्त. Thus five questions are asked dealing with स्वप्ि
254
सष ु ुनि and तुरीिर््. And because of the तुरीिर्् question alone
this chapter is put in Vedantic section. And in the second
र्न्त्र we saw the first question was answered. What was the
first question? What are the organs that are sleeping at the
time of dream? The sleeping of the organs is nothing but they
remaining without any function. हनव्याम िारः एव स्वािः. So
what are the organs which become nonfunctional at the time
of dream? And the answer was the िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण
िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण ि – the five sense organs of knowledge and
action go to sleep, which means these ten sense organs
become nonfunctional. How do you know that they are not
functioning? Very simple if they were functioning, whatever
experience would have come those experiences are not
coming, therefore we know that they are not functioning. If
eyes were functioning I would have experienced रूपर््.
रूपदशम ि अभावात् िक्षुः ि पश्िनत. That was what was said in
the end. िुरुषो न शण ृ ोहत न िश्यहत न हजघ्रहत न रसयते. No
function is taking place and therefore we conclude that these
organs are sleeping. Thus the first question has been answered
in the second र्न्त्र. Now we have to find the answer for the
second question. What is the second question. What are the
organs that are awake during dream? काहन करणाहन अहस्र्न्
जाग्रहत, अहस्र्न् referring to िुरुषे. काहन करणाहन अहस्र्न्
िुरुषे जाग्रहत, when? स्वप्नकाले, that is understood. Now we
will see the answer in the third and fourth र्न्त्र. The third and
fourth र्न्त्र are answer to the second question. We will read.
255
Verse No. 4.3

प्राणाग्नय एवैतहस्र्न्िुरे जाग्रहत । गािम ित्यो ि वा एषोऽिानो
व्यानोऽन्वािायम ििनो यद्गािम ित्यात्प्रणीयते प्रणयनादािवनीयः
प्राणः ॥ ३ ॥
So what are the organs that are awake during dream is
the question and the answer is going to be the पञ्िप्राणs along
with the mind. िञ्िप्रणाः र्नः ि जाग्रहत. And जाग्रहत means
what? What was the meaning of going to sleep? We said
going to sleep means becoming non-functional, keeping
awake therefore means continuing their function. जाग्रहत
means therefore they do their function. सव्यािाराः हतष्हन्त,
there हनव्याम िाराः भवहन्त. They remain functional. The
उपनिषत् could have simply made the statement that all these
six करणर््s पञ्िप्राणs and mind are continuing to function.
But the उपनिषत् is going to use highly imaginative
description. In this imagination the उपनिषत् sees that all the
six organs are doing अनग्िहोत्र िज्ञ. They are all functioning
that much is sufficient for us but the उपनिषत् is looking at the
whole function as an अनग्िहोत्र िज्ञ. अहग्निोर is a simple िज्ञ
in which oblations are poured into fire. It is to be done by a
गहत स्थ daily twice and two आहु नतs are to be offered, two
oblations, it is supposed to be the simplest यज्ञ taking five to
ten minutes only. And two आहु नतs are given in the morning
and in the evening. And here we have six factors. Because
whenever we talk about one thing that is involved is the fire.
256
And the fire according to our ritualistic language is threefold. I
have talked about it before also different types of rituals
require different types of fire. And different types of fire
means the method of kindling is different or the type of
होर्कुण्ड is different and even the type of र्न्त्र to be chanted
at the time of kindling is different. For example, the moment
a person gets married he is supposed to kindle a fire for the
sake of doing varieties of ritual later he has to start kindling
the fire and this fire will have to be maintained throughout is
life. And this can be removed only in two occasions.
➢ If he takes सन्न्िास this अनग्ि can be sacrificed and
he becomes हनरहग्नः. The word हनरहग्नः do you remember?
It came in the sixth chapter of गीता
अनाहश्रतः कर्म फलं कायां कर्म करोहत यः ।
स संन्यासी ि योगी ि न हनरहग्ननम िाहक्रयः ॥ गीता ६-१ ॥
Thus when the गहत स्थ takes सन्न्िास he can renounce that
too ritualistically renounce because he has taken the fire
ritualistically and therefore he has to renounce it and become
हनरहग्नः.
➢ Or if he doesn't take सन्न्िास the fire is used to burn
his body when he dies. Because for a सन्न्िानस burning is
prohibited. सन्न्िानस’s शरीरर्् should not be burnt according
to शास्त्र. Either bury or put in the river or do something,
throw in the forest but it should not be burnt. Why सन्न्िानस’s
is body is not burnt? The reason is this. The burning has to be
257
done by his household fire, since he doesn't have a household
fire at all he is not supposed to be burnt. Thus this अनग्ि
which is kindled at the time of wedding can be disposed off
along with his body and that is why burning also becomes a
संस्कार for the गहत स्थ. Because it is not disposal of the body
but it is another ritual known as अन्तेनष् संस्कार. And a
सन्न्िानस cannot be burnt because fire is not there and
सन्न्िानस need not be burnt because he doesn't require
संस्कार, he is नित्ि संस्कतत आत्र्स्वरूपः, why should he
have these kinds of rituals. Anyway that is incidental. What I
want to emphasize here is there is one type of fire which is
kindle during wedding through a ritual called अहग्न आधानर््.
अग्न्याधानर्् they call it. And from that day of wedding the
ritual starts in which he has to do all the संस्कारs - िहवयम ज्ञ,
िाकयज्ञ, सोर्यज्ञ. Twenty-one types of िागs he has to do.
Then only a गहत स्थ’s status is complete. Now we do not know
the name of twenty-one types of यागs.( िहवयम ज्ञ − अहग्निोर,
दशम िण ू म र्ास, आग्रयणेहि, िातुर्ाम स्य, हनरूढ, सौरार्हण,
हिण्डहित ृ । सोर्यज्ञ − अहग्निोर्, अहत अहग्निोर्, उक्र्थय,
षोडशी, वाजिेय, अहतरार, आिोयाम र् । स्र्ातम यज्ञ – औिासन,
वैश्यदेव, िाषम ण, अिका, श्राद्ध, श्रवणा, शल ू गव । ) And since
this fire continues in the गहत र््, in the house it is called
गहत पनतः and therefore it is called गाहम पत्िानग्िः. So
गािम ित्याहग्नः is the permanent fire which is maintained in the
गहत र्् by a गहत स्थ throughout his life. That fire should not be
put out in any condition but it if it gets put out it is a दोष for
258
which प्रािनश्चिर्् has to be done. And after doing प्रािनश्चि he
has to kindle the fire again from another गहत स्थ. Again he has
to go to another गहत स्थ. This is गािम ित्याहग्नः. And in this
गािम ित्याहग्नः rituals are not directly done. From this
गािम ित्याहग्नः fresh fire is kindled for doing daily अनग्िहोत्र
etc., therefore he has to light up from that गािम ित्याहग्नः which
has been put in a pot or a mud pot or something, from that he
has to kindle the fire and create a fresh होर्कुण्ड and do his
daily अनग्िहोत्रानद ritual. And that new fire which is kindled
daily for the sake of his अहग्निोराहद कर्म or any other िाग
etc., that is called आिवनीयाहग्नः in which the daily rituals
plus other rituals are done especially the श्रौतकर्म s are done
and what they should do is they have to take the fire from
गािम ित्याहग्नः do the ritual and that remaining fire has to be
again added back to गािम ित्याहग्नः. Next day again same
thing and put back. And there is another type of fire also
kindled for certain other type of rituals which is known as
दहिणानग्िः and it is known as दहिणाहग्नः because during the
performance of ritual this fire is always kept on the दहिण
side, on the southern side, that is right hand side of the
िजर्ाि. If he is facing the east his right hand side is south,
i.e., दनक्षण, on his right hand side, that is southern side that
अनग्ि has to be kept. Normally, आिवनीयाहग्नः is kept right
in front but दहिणाहग्नः must be kept on the right hand side.
Thus in the ritualistic section we talk about three –
गािम ित्याहग्नः, आिवनीयाहग्नः, दहिणाहग्नः. And other two
259
are also there but here only three. Five fires came in
कठोपनिषत.्
िञ्िाग्नयो ये ि हरणाहिकेताः ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-३-१ ॥
There I said two more fires but here three alone are
mentioned. गािम ित्याहग्नः, आिवनीयाहग्नः, दहिणाहग्नः. Ok.
And this दहिणाहग्नः is known by another name also and that
is unpronounceable long name अन्वािायम ििनः. In the
textbook it is there. It is called अन्वािायम ििनः because during
ritual some of the oblations have to be cooked in that fire
itself. And the oblation is called अन्वािायम ििनः oblation.
अन्वािायम र्् िच्यते अहस्र्न् इहत अन्वािायम ििनः. The oblation
called अन्वािायम र्् is cooked in that दनक्षणानग्िः and therefore
it is called अन्वािायम ििनः. So these three fires are involved.
Then the next factor involved is the होता because any ritual
requires a priest who does the offering. He is called िोता.
जुिोहत इहत िोता. The one who offers oblation is called होता.
So the fourth factor. Remember we have got a six factors to
be equated. Three अनग्िs, the fourth one is होता. The fifth
one is िजर्ािः. यजर्ानः means what? So that गहत स्थ for
whose sake the priest is doing the ritual, the one who is
sponsoring that ritual, who is going to spend the money for the
ritual and the one who is going to reap result of that ritual, that
person is called यजर्ानः, the fifth factor. And the sixth factor
is the पुण्िर््, the immediate फलर्् of the ritual is पुण्ि फलर््
and lastly the seventh factor is as a result of this पुण्ि फलर््
the destination that a person reaches, that is स्वगम , the goal that
260
is attained. With the help of the पुण्िर्् स्वगम फलर्् or स्वगम
destination, स्वगम लोक. These are the seven factors involved
in अनग्िहोत्र ritual. In dream also we have to find seven
factors to connect with the अनग्िहोत्र ritual. This is going to
be done in this र्न्त्र. What belongs to what. Ok. Let us take
one by one. The पञ्िप्राणs and mind are there. Of these
पञ्िप्राणs, the अपाि is connected to गािम ित्याहग्नः. अपाि is
what? The air that goes down. So when you inhale, the
inhaled air is called अपाि. The inhalation is called अपाि.
And that air alone goes down and later becomes the excretory
प्राण also. Thus अपाि has two meanings - one is the air that is
inhaled and later it goes and becomes the excretory air also
because of which excretion takes place. Thus from nostril
onwards up to downwards. So this अपाि is called
गािम ित्याहग्नः. And then what is आिवनीयाहग्नः? प्राण is
compared to आिवनीयाहग्नः. And for this a also logic is
given. That is the beauty. See when you try to see
गािम ित्याहग्नः and आिवनीयाहग्नः you find that
गािम ित्याहग्नः is the first fire that is kindled and placed in the
अनग्िकुण्ड or a pot. So that is गािम ित्याहग्नः is put inside.
And there afterwards from inside the आिवनीयाहग्नः is
kindled and taken up. So गािम ित्याहग्नः is put inside and then
the fire is again taken but when you take out it gets a new
name आिवनीयाहग्नः. Similarly, अपाि air goes inside as
गािम ित्याहग्नः and later when the very same air comes out
through nostril that exhaled air will become आिवनीयाहग्नः
261
because it is coming from गािम ित्याहग्नः. Therefore,
गािम ित्याहग्नः has entered in and it comes out as
आिवनीयाहग्नः. So thus अपाि and प्राण we have seen. Then
the र्विाि is compared to दनक्षणानग्िः, अन्वािायम ििनः. Why
for this also a logic is given by शङ्करािािम . It is said
according to शास्त्र the center of र्विाि is हृदिर््. हृदिर्् is the
location of र्विाि. Because you know र्विाि stands for
circulatory system and circulation of blood starts from heart,
that might be the reason and then the र्विाि comes out from
the हृदिर्् through a special hole in the right hand side दहिण
भागे. Don't ask how do you know. The scriptures say in some
other उपनिषत् it is said हृदि has got पञ्ि द्वारर््. Of these पञ्ि
द्वारर्् through the right hand side द्वारर््, िञ्िसहु षः वतम ते,
दहिणसुहषः through the right side द्वारर्् र्विाि is coming out
and pervading the system it is said. Therefore, र्विाि in is on
the दनक्षण side and दनक्षणानग्िः also is on the दनक्षण side,
therefore र्विाि is compared to दनक्षणानग्िः. Ok. Three over.
Then what about सर्ािः. सर्ानः is compared to the होता.
होता means the priest who offers, especially अनग्िहोत्र priest
is kept in mind. So what does the अनग्िहोत्र priest do? He has
got two oblations and he properly takes care of these two
आहु नतs by putting it in the right place.
यदा लेलायते ह्यहिम ः सहर्द्धे िव्यवािने ।
तदाऽऽज्यभागावन्तरे णाऽऽिु तीः प्रहतिादयेत् ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत्
१-१-२ ॥
262
It came in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. When the fire is well kindled the
priest has to offer two oblations and that too in the proper
place between the northern and southern side he should offer
the oblation we saw there. In short the idea is the priest has to
take care of two oblations. Similarly we also have two आहु नतs
it seems. Inhalation and exhalation. The उच््वासहनःश्वासौ
are two आहु नतs which are to be constantly operated properly
just as these two आहु नतs are नित्िकर्म s inhalation and
exhalation, it is a नित्िकर्म and these उच््वासहनःश्वासौ are
very well maintained by सर्ािप्राण. So सर्ाि is that वािु,
that digestive system, so the digestive system maintains a
person in a healthy condition because only through digestion
we get very life and by way of maintaining the digestive
system it keeps the inhalation and exhalation going properly.
If we fast what will happen? This सर्ाि is affected and if the
सर्ान is not maintained before long प्राण will go away. Thus
सर्ाि is the one which keeps a person healthy and by way of
that maintains उच््वासहनःश्वास and the very word सर्ाि is
because उच््वासहनःश्वासौ सर्र्् नयहत इहत सर्ानः. Like
whom? The priest who is maintaining the two offerings of the
अनग्िहोत्र rituals properly similarly, सर्ाि like a priest
maintains the अनग्िहोत्र ritual. We are all doing अनग्िहोत्र
ritual two oblations are constantly maintained by breakfast,
lunch, dinner. Sometimes big िागs come, that is festival
feast. Usually in अनग्िहोत्र two oblations, sometimes five
oblations, sometimes endless oblations. Ok. The fourth factor
263
has been equated. Then the fifth one we will come to र्िः.
What is left out उदािः. That we will see later. र्नः is
compared to the िजर्ािः. The mind is compared to the
यजर्ानः. And why it is compared to यजर्ानः we will see
later. Then उदानः is the next one. It is compared to the पुण्ि
फलर््. So mind is िजर्ाि, उदाि is पुण्ि फलर्् and then
स्वगम लोक सुिर्् is there फलर््, the destination and here the
destination is सुषुनि in which केवलर्् ब्रह्म is there, where are
all कोशs are resolved. So सष ु ुनि is compared to the फलर्् in
which we are one with ब्रह्मि्. ब्रह्म प्राहि. सुषुनि means ब्रह्मि् or
सुषुनि आिन्दः. So now you have to connect this three. When
this र्िस् िजर्ाि performs the अनग्िहोत्र ritual then what
happens is the उदाि takes in mind away from सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््
because it is the job of the उदाि to take the जीव from one
शरीरर्् to another. Similarly, here उदाि, the पुण्िर्् takes the
mind out of the सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््. And it takes to what? सुषुनि,
the कारण शरीरर््. So उदाि पुण्िर्् र्िः सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरात् उद्धत्ृ य
just as the अनग्िहोत्र पुण्िर्् takes the जीव from this शरीरर््
and not only it takes away the जीव from the शरीरर्् it takes to
स्वगम लोक also, उध्वम र्् नयहत in the last section we saw,
similarly उदािप्राण takes the mind, who is the mind, िजर्ािः
away from सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and then it takes to सुषुनि. And in
सुषुनि what happens to the mind? ब्रह्मणः एकीभवहत. Because
it is resolved into ब्रह्मि.् And how do you know it has mingled
with ब्रह्मि्? ब्रह्म आनन्दर्् अिुभवनत.
सख
ु र्स्वाप्सर्रािं नैव हकंहिदवेहदषर्् । ॥ िञ्िदशी ११-५९ ॥
264
Because सुषुनि आनन्द does not come from हवषयs because in
the सष ु ुहि नवषिs are not there. Therefore, the आिन्द is
coming from what? आत्र्ािन्द or ब्रह्मािन्द alone. So thus
the mind िजर्ाि is doing the अनग्िहोत्र ritual during dream
and as a result of that the mind िजर्ाि is taken to सुषुनि and
ब्रह्मणः एकीभवहत सि् सुषुनि सुिर्् अिुभवनत. This is the
essence of this two र्न्त्रs. Now we will see the meaning of
the words.
एतहस्र्न् िुरे प्राणाग्नयः जाग्रहत. Here पुरर्् means what?
शरीरर््. एतहस्र्न् शरीरे प्राणाग्नयः the fires in the form of
प्राण, so literally what we should say is प्राणाः जाग्रहत but
since प्राणs are going to be compared to गािम ित्याहग्नः,
आिवनीयाहग्नः etc., the उपनिषत् uses the world प्राण अग्नयः.
प्राणाः एव अग्नयः प्राणाग्नयः. जाग्रहत they keep functioning,
they keep awake during dream. Ok. Then what are the
अनग्िs? गािम ित्यो ि वा एषोऽिानः – so is the अपािप्राण, that
is the air which is inhaled and which goes down. and व्यानः
अन्वािायम ििनः – व्यान which is coming out through the
southern side or the right hand side of the हृदिर््, दनक्षण द्वारा
ित् आगच्छनत that one is दनक्षणानग्िः. Then यत् गािम ित्यात्
प्रणीयते तत् आिवनीयः प्राणः – so आिवनीयाहग्नः which is
गािम ित्यात् प्रणीयते, which is born out of the गािम ित्य. So
that आिवनीयाहग्नः which is taken out of गािम ित्याहग्नः that is
nothing but प्राणः, that आिवनीयः is nothing but प्राणः, the
exhaling air. So just as the आिवनीयः comes out of the pot,
the exhalation air also comes out of the शरीरर््. Just as
265
गािम ित्य goes inside the pot similarly inhalation air goes
inside. Thus inhalation is गािम ित्य, exhalation is आिवनीयः.
Then in between there is a word प्रणयनात्. प्रणयनात् is
adjective to गािम ित्य. The word प्रणयनर्् means the source.
गािम ित्य is called a source because it is the source of
आिवनीयः. So with this three of them have been mentioned.
Now in the next र्न्त्र the other factors will be connected, that
we will read.
Verse No. 4.4
यदुच््वासहनःश्वासावेतावािु ती सर्ं नयतीहत स सर्ानः । र्नो
ि वाव यजर्ान इिफलर्ेवोदानः स एनं यजर्ानर्िरिब्रम ह्म
गर्यहत ॥ ४ ॥
सर्ानः सः. So सर्ाि is that, the definition of सर्ाि is
given, यत् उच््वासहनःश्वासौ सर्ं नयहत – सर्ान is that प्राण,
which is the digestive system, it is that digestive प्राण which
equally maintains उच््वासर्् and हनःश्वासर््. उच््वासर््
means breathing in, inhalation and हनःश्वासर्् means breathing
out, exhalation. So, यत्. यत् means यस्र्ात्. यस्र्ात्
उच््वासहनःश्वासौ सर्र्् नयहत. इहत means तस्र्ात्. तस्र्ात्
सः सर्ानः. So, यस्र्ात् सर्र्् नयहत तस्र्ात् सर्ानः. Ok.
And here उच््वासहनःश्वासौ are compared to what? एतौ
आिु ती – so these two उच््वासहनःश्वासौ are like the आहु नत,
the oblation. एतौ आिु ती भवतः, these are compared oblations
and because of this comparison सर्ानः is compared to िोता.
Therefore, you have to supply a sentence here. सर्ानः होता.
266
So what is the logic? Because उच््वासहनःश्वासौ are oblations
and therefore सर्ाि is compared to होता. Because
उच््वासहनःश्वासौ are taken care of by सर्ाि, आहु नतs are
taken care of by होता therefore if उच््वासहनःश्वासौ are
compared to आहु नतs सर्ाि, the controller must be compared
to the होता. And therefore सर्ानः िोता. So two sentences -
एतौ आिु ती सर्ानः िोता. एतौ means what? उच््वासहनःश्वासौ
आहु नत सर्ानः होता. So with this सर्ािप्राण has been
defined. Then what is the next one. र्नः वाव ि यजर्ानः. In
the previous र्न्त्र also after अपाि there should be a full stop,
after अन्वािायम ििनः there should be full stop. Because it is
the description of each one of them. र्नः वाव ि यजर्ानः. The
mind is the िजर्ाि. And शङ्करािािम gives the reason.
िजर्ाि alone handles all the equipments similarly, mind
alone handles all करणर््s. So whether it is ज्ञािेनन्द्रिर््s or
whether it is कर्ेनन्द्रिर््s all are handled by what? The mind
alone. Just as the िजर्ाि handles all types of करणर््s, the
mind also handles all types of करणर््s. Therefore, र्नः वाव ि
यजर्ानः. Then इिफलर्् एव उदानः. So here इिर्् means
िज्ञ. √यज् हनष्िण्णं प्रत्ययान्तरूिः इिर््.
ू ां र्न्यर्ाना वररष्र्् ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१० ॥
इिाित
So, इिस्य यागस्य फलर्् इिफलर््. And what is that?
पुण्िर््. So that इिफलर्् पुण्िर्् is nothing but उदािः. Why
they are compared? Because पुण्िर्् is the one which carries
the िजर्ाि from one place to another place, from one लोक
to another लोक, from ordinary सुि to better सुि. It is the
267
पुण्िर्् which is leading a person similarly, it is the उदाि
which takes the िजर्ाि from one place to another, that is
from सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् to कारण शरीरर््, from स्वप्िलोक to
सुषुनिलोक, from the field of स्वप्िावस्था to the field सुषुहि
अवस्था, the उदाि takes therefore it is compared to पुण्िर््.
And that is said here. Next sentence. सः एनर्् यजर्ानर््. सः
means what? सः उदािः. एनर्् यजर्ानर््. यजर्ानर्् हकदृशर््?
र्नोरूि यजर्ानर््. यजर्ान in the form of mind. अिरिः ब्रह्म
गर्यहत – takes to ब्रह्मि.् Here ब्रह्मि् means means सष ु ुहि.
गर्यहत means leads, to takes to. And here you should
remember that during सुषुहि we are supposed to be one with
ब्रह्मि्. Why we are supposed to be one with ब्रह्मि्? Because
during सष ु ुहि we have not identified with any one of the
अनात्र्ा like सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् or कारण शरीरर््. It is the
identification with the अनात्र्ा that takes away from ब्रह्मि्.
Therefore I say अिर्् देिोऽहस्र्, thereafter प्राणोऽहस्र् etc.
Therefore, due to identification we are away from ब्रह्मि् and
during सुषुहि all the identifications are dropped and therefore
we are one with ब्रह्मि् but the only problem is we don't know
that we are one with ब्रह्मि.् And therefore the only thing
along with ब्रह्मि् is अज्ञानर्् also. So, अज्ञान सहिते ब्रह्महण we
are. Therefore, in सुषुहि we are in अज्ञान उिाहधकर्् ब्रह्म.
Otherwise in सुषुहि we are one with ब्रह्मि् without knowing
it. And therefore, that additional सि ु र्् is there. Sometimes
we enjoy something nice but we don't know it is it is not this
that we wanted to enjoy and there afterwards they say this is
268
what it is then you want eat again. We eat it with knowledge,
before without knowing I enjoyed it. But this is that this after
knowing that knowingly you want to enjoy. Similarly, in
सुषुहि
सता सोम्प्य तदा सम्प्िन्नो भवहत ॥ छान्दोग्योिहनषत् ६-८-१॥
In छान्दोग्ि it is clearly said we are one with ब्रह्मि् in सुषुहि.
Only thing is we don't know it. And since we are one with
ब्रह्मि्, we are enjoying the आिन्दर्् of ब्रह्मि्. So, सुषुिौ what
we are experiencing is ब्रह्मािन्दर्् only. Ok. And this is not
once or twice अिरिः ब्रह्म गर्यहत. अिरिः means what? Daily
this उदाि takes a person to सुषुहि because daily अनग्िहोत्र
ritual is done when we are dreaming. And as a result of ritual
immediately we get the फलर्् सुषुहि. And thereafterwards
after enjoying that we come to जाग्रदवस्था then again we do
अनग्िहोत्र ritual and go to. Thus we are doing daily. Ok. Last
one more point शङ्करािािम mentions here. And here will be a
problem? And what is that? All people are dreaming and
going to sleep. Therefore it will mean that all the people are
doing अनग्िहोत्र ritual it will mean and all the people are
getting ब्रह्म प्राहि it will mean. But शङ्करािािम says we
should not take that way. This is to be applied only for the
उिासकs because only for the उिासकs this attitude is there.
In the case of अनुिासकs we won't say they are doing
अनग्िहोत्र ritual because in their vision this attitude is not
there. It is just like two people visiting the temple one person
has got ईश्वर बुनद्ध and therefore he gets आिन्द, an extra
269
pleasure he gets but another person takes it as archaeologist
and he tries to find out how old the temple is, he want to take
a photograph his आिन्द is only worldly आिन्द, but because
of the additional attitude will get a spiritual pleasure also.
similarly, here also for उपासक alone the अनग्िहोत्र attitude is
there, therefore we will say he alone does the अनग्िहोत्र ritual
in dream, the other people even though they dream, for them
we cannot say they are doing अनग्िहोत्र ritual. Why? Because
they don't have the attitude. Therefore for an उपासक his
entire life becomes an अनग्िहोत्र ritual. Daily he does
अनग्िहोत्र ritual. With this second question is answered. what
is that? काहन अहस्र्न् जाग्रहत.Then we have to go to the third
question, who is experiencing the स्वप्िः, whose answer will
be coming in the next र्न्त्र, which will see next class.
िण
270
र्न्र. 4.3 - 4.8
प्राणाग्नय एवैतहस्र्न्िुरे जाग्रहत । गािम ित्यो ि वा एषोऽिानो
व्यानोऽन्वािायम ििनो यद्गािम ित्यात्प्रणीयते प्रणयनादािवनीयः
प्राणः ॥ ३ ॥
यदुच््वासहनःश्वासावेतावािु ती सर्ं नयतीहत स सर्ानः । र्नो
ि वाव यजर्ान इिफलर्ेवोदानः स एनं यजर्ानर्िरिब्रम ह्म
गर्यहत ॥ ४ ॥
The student asked five questions,
i) In dream what all organs sleep,
ii) In dream what all organs keep awake,
iii) In dream who enjoys,
iv) To whom does the sleep belong and
v) Finally where is everything supported.
Of these five questions, two questions have been
answered. What are the organs that sleep in dream. All the
ज्ञािेनन्द्रिs and कर्ेनन्द्रिs are resolved into the mind and they
sleep. Sleeping means they do not do their function. And
here the example given was the Sun and the rays of the Sun.
Just as the rays come out of the Sun during day and the rays
go back to the Sun during the sunset, similarly during waking
time all organs come out of the mind to function and at the
time of dream they all are resolved. This is the answer to the
first question.
The second question was, what all organs keep away
in dream and the answer given was प्राणाग्नयः, the पञ्िप्राणs
271
and the mind. And this was indicated in the form of a
symbolic ritual where the प्राण अपाि and र्विाि where
compared to three अनग्िs – गािम ित्यः, आिवनीयः and
दहिणाहग्नः. And the सर्ाि was compared to होता, the priest;
र्िः was compared to िजर्ािः. Thus mind, the िजर्ाि with
the help of सर्ाि priest is doing अनग्िहोत्र ritual making use
of गािम ित्यः, आिवनीयः and दहिणाहग्नः which are प्राण,
अपाि, and र्विाि. And as a result the पुण्िर्् comes which is
compared to उदािः इिफलर््. इिफलर्् means िागफलर््.
इिफलर्् यागफलर्ेव उदानः वायुः. And just as िागफलर््
takes िजर्ाि to higher लोकs here also उदाि प्राण takes the
mind िजर्ाि to deep sleep state where the mind is one with
ब्रह्मि.् ब्रह्मािन्दसि
ु र््. Because in सष
ु ुहि the आिन्दर्् is
what? ब्रह्मानन्दर्् only. Because no हवषयs are available and
still we are happy.
यत्सष ु ुिौ हनहवम षय आत्र्ानन्दोऽनुभय ू ते ।
श्रुहतः प्रत्यिर्ैहतह्यर्नुर्ानं ि जाग्रहत ॥ हववेकिड
ू ार्हणः १०९ ॥
It was said in नववेकिड ू ार्नण. सुषुिौ यः आनन्दः अनुभयू ते
हनहवम षयः आनन्दः अनुभय ू ते सः आत्र्ानन्दः एव. And how
does it happen? Because mind merges into ब्रह्मि.् And who
takes the mind to ब्रह्मि्? The उदािः. And therefore उदाि is
compared to पुण्िफलर््. And just as
ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वगम लोकं हवशालं ॥ गीता ९-२१ ॥
During सुषुहि there is आिन्द and again
िुनश्च जन्र्ान्तरकर्म योगात् ॥ कैवल्योिहनषत् -१३ ॥
272
he comes back and during dream again अनग्िहोत्र ritual is
taking place and again सष ु ुिौ आनन्दः अनुभहू तः तस्र्ात्
अिरिर् ब्रह्म गर्यहत. अिरिः means what? Every day it is
done. And here शङ्करािािम adds a point. We can say the
dream is अनग्िहोत्र ritual only in the case of those people who
practice प्राण उपासिा. In the other case they go to sleep but
we don't consider them as ब्रह्म गर्नर्् etc. Otherwise all the
people are doing अनग्िहोत्र ritual, it will be mistaken.
Therefore, only the प्राण उपासक’s dream in compared to
अनग्िहोत्र ritual only प्राण उपासक dream is compared to
अनग्िहोत्र ritual because only in his case the दहिणाहग्नः etc.,
are there. So with this the second question is answer. Now
what is the third question? कतरः एष देवः स्वप्नर्् अनुभवहत,
स्वप्नान्िश्यहत. That was a third question for which the
answer is coming in the following portion. Number five.
Verse No. 4.5
अरैष देवः स्वप्ने र्हिर्ानर्नुभवहत । यद्दि ृ ं दृिर्नुिश्यहत श्रुतं
श्रुतर्ेवाथम र्नुशण
ृ ोहत देशहदगन्तरै श्च प्रत्यनुभत ू ं िुनः िुनः
प्रत्यनुभवहत दृिं िादृिं ि श्रुतं िाश्रुतं िानुभत ू ं िाननुभत
ू ंि
सच्िासच्ि सवां िश्यहत सवम ः िश्यहत ॥ ५ ॥
So the third question is answered in the fifth र्न्त्र,
only one र्न्त्र. अर स्वप्ने एषः देवः र्हिर्ानं अनुभवहत. Here
the word देवः indicates र्िः, the mind. And by using the word
देवः, which means effulgent, the उपनिषत् is indicating that it
is not the mere mind but the mind pervaded by निदाभास
because mere mind is जडर््, material in nature, it cannot
273
experience anything. Therefore, र्नः आख्यः देवः हिदाभास
हवहशिः िैतन्येन इद्धः सन् अनुभवहत. The उपनिषत् itself
comments upon it, अत्र is equal to स्वप्िे. I thought I have to
supply, in the उपनिषत् itself it is there. अर स्वप्ने. Here in
dream this mind enjoys र्हिर्ानं, र्हिर्ानं means its own
glory. And what do you mean by its own glory? शङ्करािािम
writes in his commentary the glory is that the mind can
become everything in dream. So everything that we
experience in dream is nothing but the manifestation of the
mind alone. You don't require any external object, you have
closed all the five sense organs and you can see every blessed
thing within the mind itself, who has projected all of them.
The mind alone becomes हवषयः, the mind alone becomes the
करणाहन, the mind alone becomes the भोक्ता. Thus the mind
alone is कताम , the mind alone is करणर्् and the mind alone is
the कर्म , the mind alone is श्रोता, श्रार्विर््, श्रुनत. In fact, all
हरिुहटs one mind alone becomes. How? Because of the
thought pattern, when the mind enjoys the tiger thought I see a
tiger, when dream when your mind entertains the river thought
I see a river in dream. Thus a river in dream is nothing but a
thought which is an अंशर्् of the mind. similarly, everything.
And we have seen before that even the sense organs that we
have is not this sense organs given by the Lord but the sense
organs in dream are again created by the mind alone. And
therefore र्हिर्ानं अनुभवहत. And what all things the mind
sees? That is said here. यत् दृिं तत् दृिं अनुिश्यहत –
274
whatever is seen, you have to supply जाग्रदवस्थायार््,
whatever is seen in the waking state तत् दृिं that object
अनुिश्यहत is seen again in dream. Here the idea conveyed is
that during जाग्रदवस्था we are gathering the वासिाs of
शब्दस्िशम रूिरसगन्ध and all these वासिाs are recorded in the
नििर्् and during the dream all these cassettes, video cassettes
are played again and we see रार्ािणर्् or र्हाभारतर्् or
whatever it is. There all things have been recorded and kept.
And that is why it is said यत् दृिं जाग्रदवस्थायार्् तत् दृिं
िश्यहत it is not a fresh perception and therefore श्रुनत adds
अनुिश्यहत. It sees exactly as in waking it re-sees, re-hears, re-
smells. अिु means re. This has to be extended to all others.
And therefore, श्रुतं श्रुतर्् एव अथम र्् अनुशण ृ ोहत. यत्
जाग्रदवस्थायार्् श्रुतर्् तत् श्रुतर्् अथम र्् स्वप्नावस्थायार््
अनुशण ृ ोहत. So first श्रुतर्् goes with जाग्रदवस्था, second श्रुतर््
goes with स्वप्िावस्था. अनुशण ृ ोहत means he hears for the
second time or third time, many times. Ok. And देशाहदगन्तरै ः
ि प्रत्यनुभत ू ं िुनः िुनः प्रत्यनुभवहत – whatever is experienced,
प्रत्यनुभत ू ं means experienced. So by the word experienced
the श्रुनत indicates even emotions etc., not only इनन्द्रि अिुभव
but even र्िोिुभव like anger. So if in जाग्रदवस्थािा I had a
fear, the fear is repeated in स्वप्िावस्था also. Therefore,
अनुभत ू र्् means र्नसा सािात् इहन्द्रय सिायर्् हवना
अनुभत ू र््. Where? देशाहदगन्तरै ः ि. देशान्तरै ः हदगन्तरै ः ि.
देशान्तरर्् means in different different देश. Because his going
for world tour and all. Therefore, in all these tours whatever
275
have been experienced they are all recorded and हदगन्तरै ः.
हदगन्तर refers to various quarters. नदक् means quarter. So
whatever is experienced in different quarters in different
countries all of them िुनः िुनः प्रत्यनुभवहत – he experiences
again and again. Then दृिर्् अदृिर्् ि – he experiences what
is seen before. दृिर्् means what is seen before. And अदृिर््
ि – he experiences what is not seen before. So for this
शङ्करािािम writes a commentary. When you say अदृिर््
िश्यहत in dream we see something which we have not
experienced before. शङ्करािािम doesn't accept this and
therefore he comments अदृष्टर्् is equal to जन्र्ान्तर दृष्टर््.
अदृिर्् does not mean not seen, अदृष्टर्् means अहस्र्न्
जन्र्हन अदृिर््. You have to qualify it. Not experienced in
this जन्र् but जन्र्ान्तरे . जन्र्ान्तर means what? Previous
जन्र्. And for this शङ्करािािम gives a logic also. Because
अत्यन्तादृिे वासनानुिििेः. If we have never experienced
something it would not have formed the वासिा. Your
cassette will never play which has not been recorded. If you
put the cassette and you hear something, suppose western
music is played which you won't like it at all, you get wild.
How can it come? Then you know that your teenager son or
daughter in your absence has recorded it. So therefore it has
been recorded without your knowledge or when you are not
there. But one thing is definite unless it is recorded in the
cassette it cannot play, even the most advanced cassette
cannot play what is not recorded. Similarly, even the most
276
advanced mind cannot replay what is not done. And therefore
शङ्करािािम says अत्यन्तादृिे वस्तुहन वासनानुिििेः.
Therefore, it is to be interpreted as जन्र्ान्तर दृिर््. And if
you ask what about future perception in dream? I have already
told you future perception is not defined as dream at all. If at
all you see something belonging to future, if at all, we do not
club it, we do not connected in dream, dream is वासिाजन्िः
स्वप्िः. Remember this definition वासनाजन्यः स्वप्नः. If you
see something belonging to future it is not a dream, it is ESP
or something like that. And such powers are accepted. Either
freak, some people get it or by िोग a person can gain it. In
the िोग we call it as through िोगज प्रत्िक्षर््. Through योग a
person can know the future but that is not called dream. And
therefore here we are talking about dream. In dream if you
see you have experienced अहस्र्न् जन्र्हन which is called
दृिर्् or िरहस्र्न् जन्र्हन which is called अदृष्टर््. Then श्रुतर््
ि अश्रुतर्् ि – same what is heard in this जन्र् and अश्रुतर््
means what is not heard in this जन्र्, which means what has
been heard in the previous जन्र्, जन्र्ान्तरे षु श्रुतर््. Because
you should remember between two जन्र्s physical body alone
differs, the subtle body does not differ between two जन्र्s.
Therefore, we can happily have the impressions of last जन्र्.
Then अनुभत ू र्् ि अननुभत ू र्् ि – what is experienced in this
जन्र् and what is not experienced in this जन्र्. Then सत् ि
असत् ि. सत् means reality, असत् means unreality. Because
in स्वप्ि also रज्जु सपम can be seen. Because if you can see
277
रज्जु सिम in जाग्रदवस्था the same recording is done and in
स्वप्ि also we may see रज्जु सिम and स्वप्ि गुरु may come
and tell you नायर्् सिम ः हकन्तु रज्जुः. And therefore
स्वप्नदृि्या व्याविाररकर्् and प्रहतभाहसकर्् is possible.
Therefore, here सत् refers to व्याविाररकर्् and असत् refers to
प्रहतभाहसकर््. We are not discussing पारर्ानथम कर्् here, that
is going to come in the fifth question. So सत् व्याविाररकर््
सत्िर्् and असत् प्रहतभाहसकर्् सत्िर््. सवम र्् िश्यहत. That
सवम र्् should be connected with all this, दृिं ि अदृिं ि श्रुतर््
ि अश्रुतं ि अनुभत ू ं ि अननुभतू ं ि and should िश्यहत should
be connected with all of them दृिं ि अदृिं ि िश्यहत श्रुतर्् ि
अश्रुतं ि िश्यहत because all of them are in नद्वतीिा नवभनक्त
therefore you have to connect it with the verb. In short, the
उपनिषत् is tired of enumeration. Therefore the उपनिषत् say
सवम र्् िश्यहत everything the mind sees. And it is all the glory
of what? The mind itself. Because who has created all of
them? The mind alone has created all of them. And who is
experiencing all of them? The very mind itself because the
mind becomes experienced and the mind becomes the
experiencer. Both ग्राह्य ग्रािक भेदेन उभयर्् अहि र्नः एव
भावहत. Because you should remember at the cosmic level
whatever glory is there for र्ािा all those glories are there for
mind at individual level. If र्ािा can create subject-object
duality in non-dual ब्रह्मि,् mind can create subject-object
duality in the non-dual waker. And that is why in वैतर्थय
प्रकरणर्् स्वप्ि was taken as an example. So सवम र्् िश्यहत.
278
And how? सवम ः िश्यहत. सवम ः िश्यहत means सवम ः सन् िश्यहत.
सवम ः सन् means what? Becoming everything mind sees
everything. So mind does two jobs - mind becomes
everything and mind sees everything. And this alone is called
र्नहर्ा of the Lord. Just as in the cosmic level it becomes
र्ािा र्नहर्ा of the Lord, here it becomes र्िो र्नहर्ा of the
waker or the dreamer. With this the third questions answered
which देव experiences the dream, the answer is र्नः आख्यः
देवः.
Now we are going to answer to the fourth question.
Remember the fourth question, it is the fourth question of the
fourth student, the sub-question.
Verse No. 4.6
स यदा तेजसाहभभत ू ो भवहत । अरैष देवः स्वप्नान्न
िश्यत्यथैतदहस्र्ञ्शरीरे एतत्सख
ु ं भवहत ॥ ६ ॥
What was the fourth question? कस्य एतत् सुखर््
भवहत? And I had told you that एतत् सुखर्् refers to सुषुहि
आिन्द. So to whom does the सुषुहि आिन्द belong? And the
answer is what? The प्राज्ञः. Technically speaking he is called
प्राज्ञः. But that is going to be said in a different language here.
सः यदा तेजसा अहभभत ू ः भवहत. Now here we have to
understand the concept of dream according to शास्त्र. It is said
that in the नाडीs of the अन्तःकरण all the वासिा are recorded
and it is through these नाडीs the वासिा recordings are
thrown out, then स्वप्ि comes. But when this नाडी get
279
obstructed or blocked, when the functioning of the mind is
stopped then naturally स्वप्ि also, like the power cut suddenly
TV is off. Anyway how does this get नाडी gets obstructed if
you ask it is said, तेजसा अहभभत ू ः भवहत. This तेजस् word is
interpreted in two ways.
i) One is तेजस् they call as हििर्् just as वातर््, हििर््,
कफर्् we have heard. It is हििर्् according to शास्त्र that is
obstructing the functioning of the mind. What type of mind?
हििर््. Here what particular mind is responsible for dream?
The नििर्् because in नििर्् all recordings are kept,
अनुसन्धानाहत्र्का अन्तःकरण वहृ िः. Memory is in नििर््.
And that part of the mind is obstructed because of the तेजस्,
the हििाख्यर्् and therefore all the स्वप्िर््s are stopped.
This is one interpretation.
ii) And another is तेजस् means ब्रह्मिैतन्िर्् itself
because in सुषुहि the ब्रह्मिैतन्िर्् is maximum manifest
because ब्रह्मािन्दर्् is what is experienced there and therefore
तेजसा means ब्रह्मिैतन्िेि. The individual िैतन्िर्् is
overpowered by ब्रह्मिैतन्िर्् सनवशेषिैतन्िर्् is over powered
by हनहवम शेषिैतन्िर््, particular knowledge is overpowered by
non-particular experience.
That is what is said here. यदा तेजसा अहभभत ू ः भवहत,
you have to supply र्िः. र्नः has not been said here. When
the mind is overpowered by the तेजस् तत्त्वर्् which is known
as हििर्् अर एषः देवः – then this mind itself स्वप्नान् न
िश्यहत – does not perceive any dream. And at that time the
280
mind is no more mind because the सङ्कल्प वनत िs are not
functioning हनश्चयाहत्र्क वनत िs are not functioning. सङ्कल्प
वनत िs are not functioning means mind is resolved, हनश्चय वनत िs
are not functioning means बुनद्ध is resolved. अहर्् वनत ि not
functioning means अहङ्कार is resolved. And even
अनुसन्धान वनत िs, that is the memories are not functioning
means the नििर्् is resolved. Then when all these functions
are resolved we call it as कारण शरीरर््. करणर्् becomes
कारणावस्था. It is like the melting of a wax doll. When the
wax doll has got a specific shape you can call it by various
names, it is an elephant-doll, man-doll etc., but the moment it
is melted the specific nature is gone it becomes unspecific
wax and as that you cannot call it an elephant or a tiger or a
man similarly, now the mind has got specifications and now in
सुषुहि the mind has gone to unspecific one, which is called
कारण शरीरर्् or कारणावस्था. So it is the name of what?
Mind alone. When? When it is nonfunctioning. And when
जाग्रत्, स्वप्िावस्था comes the very same mind develops the
वहृ िs, अहङ्कार comes, then I have got so many
specifications, I am so and so etc. And therefore एषः देवः
refers to र्न आख्य देवः only. But कारणावस्थार्् प्रािन्नः
र्न आख्य देवः स्वप्नान् न िश्यहत. Ok. Then what happens?
Naturally the दुह्खर््, the pains, the limitations etc., caused by
duality vanishes. Because where there is द्वैतर्् there is
limitation, there is individuality, there is a struggle to get of
the individuality, all problems are there. And since such
281
problems are not there सुषुहि becomes आिन्द, my individual
problems are resolved because the individuality itself is
resolved. And therefore what happens? अथ तदा – at that
time. At what time? And what it is called? सुषुिौ. So when
one does not see dreams which means when one is in deep
sleep state, एतहस्र्न् शरीरे एतत्सुखर्् भवहत – in this body
there is the एतत्सख ु र््, the सषु ुहि सखु र्् is experienced;
again by the mind alone but the resolved mind or you have to
say by the कारण शरीरर््. And that is why कारण शरीरर्् is
known by the name आिन्दर्ि कोशः. The र्िोर्ि कोशः has
resolved into आिन्दर्ि कोशः अवस्था and therefore
एतत्सुखर्् भवहत. And again when I say कारण शरीरर्् enjoy
this pleasure you should remember it is not केवल कारण
शरीरर्् because केवल कारण शरीरर्् is जडर्् exactly as केवल
अन्तःकरणर््. And therefore here कारण शरीरर्् indicates the
िैतन्ि र्विाि कारण शरीरर््, which is otherwise known as
प्राज्ञः. So एतत्सुखर्् भवहत. With this the fourth question
also is answered.
Now what is left out fifth and last question. And what
was that question? कहस्र्न्नु सवे संप्रहतहष्ताः भवहन्त? Isn't
it? What is that substratum into which everything is resolved.
So it is a question dealing with अन्ष्ािर््, which means
ब्रह्मन् and that is going to be answered in the following
portion, we will read.
282
Verse No. 4.7
स यथा सोम्प्य वयांहस वासोवि ृ ं सम्प्प्रहतष्न्त एवं ि वै तत्सवां िर
आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते ॥ ७ ॥
Now fifth question is answered in the following three
र्न्त्रs - seven eight and nine. And the answer is that it is the
िरआत्र्ा or परम्ब्ब्रह्म, i.e., the substratum into which
everything is resolved. And for this an example is given of
the birds at the time of the sunset. So the birds come out of
their tree during the morning and when the night comes you
can see that all the birds they have got the gun time they know
the sunset and all, they have got the biological time it seems.
So they all have got the time. And they all go to where?
वासोवक्ष्ृ र्् – the tree in which they all rest, they all reside, their
residence. वासोवक्ष्ृ र्् means the tree residence. That is said
here as the example. वयांहस वासोवक्ष्ृ र्् सम्प्प्रहतष्न्ते. वयः
means पनक्ष. वयांहस is the plural. वयः, वयसी, वयांहस.
निुंसकहलङ्गः सकारान्तः. सौम्ब्ि. सौम्प्य is addressing the
student. Are you awake? I am talking for a long time, are you
awake? So िे सौम्ब्ि! oh dear student! just as all the birds go
back to their वासोवि ृ ्, the tree of their residence, their
residential tree, सम्प्प्रहतष्न्ते and get resolved, rest there, एवर््
ि वै तत् सवम र्् – in the same way everything, िरे आत्र्हन
सम्प्प्रहतष्ते – will get resolved, will rest upon the िर आत्र्ा,
i.e., the तुरीिर््. Because when we discussed the स्वप्ि, तैजस
topic came, when we discussed the सुषुहि it was प्राज्ञः topic
and when we are discussing now this it is the तुरीयर््. िरे
283
आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते. And this is going to be explained. सवम र््
means what? Because in the case of tree, in a tree a set of
birds alone will rest, not the whole set of birds. Is it like that
if you ask, no, with respect to with respect to ब्रह्मि् everything
means everything. That means without exception all birds, all
trees, all animals, all देवताs, ब्रह्मानज and then even देशः and
कालः are resolved into that ब्रह्मि्.
यस्य ब्रह्म ि िरर्् ि उभे भवत ओदनः । र्त्ृ युः यस्य उिसेिनर््
क इत्था वेद यर सः ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-२-२५ ॥
बीजस्यान्तररवाङ्कुरो जगहददं प्राङ्हनहवम कल्िं िुनः
र्ायाकहल्ितदेशकालकलनावैहित्र्यहिरीकृतर्् । ॥ श्री
दहिणार्हू तम स्तोरर्् २ ॥
So what I mean is that space, time and the whole creation
they get resolved into that ब्रह्मि्. And for that the उपनिषत्
wants to put in a different language. The whole creation can
be reduced the into three, that is the नत्रपुनट in the form of the
object of experience, the instrument of experience and the
subject of experience. And all the three - the object,
instrument and the subject, प्रर्ातप्रृ र्ाणप्रर्ेयहवकल्िाः
कतम कृ र्म करणहवकल्िाः, दिमृदशम नदृश्यहवकल्िाः
श्रोतश्र
ृ वणश्राव्यहवकल्िाः etc., all of them. That is said in the
next two र्न्त्र, we will read that.
Verse No. 4.8
पनत थवी ि पनत थवीर्ात्रा िापश्चापोर्ात्रा ि तेजश्च तेजोर्ात्रा ि
वािुश्च वािुर्ात्रा िाकाशश्चाकाशर्ात्रा ि िक्षुश्च द्रष्टर्विं ि श्रोत्रं
284
ि श्रोतर्विं ि घ्राणं ि घ्रातर्विं ि रसश्च रसनितर्विं ि त्वक्ि
स्पशम नितर्विं ि वाक्ि वक्तर्विं ि हस्तौ िादातर्विं
िोपस्थश्चािन्दनितर्विं ि पािुश्च नवसजम नितर्विं ि पादौ ि
गन्तर्विं ि र्िश्च र्न्तर्विं ि बुनद्धश्च बोद्धर्विं
िाहङ्कारश्चाहङ्कतम र्विं ि नििं ि िेतनितर्विं ि तेजश्च
नवद्योतनितर्विं ि प्राणश्च नव्ारनितर्विं ि ॥ ८ ॥
So everything, that is the style of उपनिषत्, it likes to

repeat everything so that impact is there. िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण
तहद्वषयाः and िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण तहद्वषयाः and ित्वारर
अन्तःकरणाहन तहद्वषयाः would have been sufficient to tell but
the उपनिषत् is enjoying repeating each ज्ञानेहन्द्रयर्् and their
हवषयाs etc. First we get पञ्िभत ू s and their तन्र्ात्राs. You
know what is भत ू s and तन्र्ात्राs. भत ू s refer to स्थलू भतू s and
तन्र्ात्राs refer to सर्क्ष्ू र्भतू s. You know why तन्र्ात्राs are
called so. I have explained before. The स्थल ू भतू s are formed
after पञ्िीकरणर्् and therefore in every स्थल ू भतू it is a
mixture of all the पञ्िभत ू s, we have seen in तत्त्वबो्, which
means पनत थवी स्थल ू भतू contains only one half of पनत थवी the
other half contains one eighth of all the other four elements.
And therefore in the case of स्थल ू भतू everything is an alloy,
there is no single भत ू र्् existing singly, it is a mixture,
proportion may differ that is a different thing, but it is a
mixture. But only in सर्क्ष्ू र् अवस्था पनत थवी means पनत थवी र्ात्रर््
and अनग्ि means अनग्ि र्ात्रर्् therefore every सर्क्ष्ू र् भत ू is
called तन्र्ात्रर््. So five of them are enumerated पनत थवी ि
285
पनत थवी र्ात्रा – earth and then आिः ि आिोर्ारा ि – water,
स्थल ू र्् and सक्ष्ू र्र््; तेजः ि तेजोर्ारा ि – fire gross and
subtle; वायुः ि वायुर्ारा ि – air, gross and subtle; and
आकाशः ि आकाशर्ारा ि – the space, gross and subtle. Ok.
What we are supposed to do? You have to add िरे आत्र्हन
सम्प्प्रहतष्ते. That we have to take from the previous र्न्त्र.
Therefore all these rest upon, are based upon the िर आत्र्ा,
the तुरीयर््. Thus generally the पञ्िभत ू s mentioned and now
here afterwards each इनन्द्रिर्् and its नवषिर्् is enumerated.
That alone I said नत्रपुनट of the नत्रपुनट two of them are the
instruments and the objects of contact and those pairs are
mentioned here. Eye as the instrument and रूपर्् as the object
of perception. Ear has the instrument and शब्द as the object of
perception and that is said here. ििुः ि द्रिव्यर्् – so the eyes
and that which has to be seen, so the श्रुनत does not say it is
रूपर्् but we have to understand द्रिव्यर्् means सवाम हण
रूिाहण ििुषः हवषयाः ििुगोिराः हवषयाः. Similarly. श्रोत्रर्् –
ears, घ्राणर्् – smell, रसः – the taste, त्वक् – the skin,
पञ्िज्ञािेनन्द्रिानण. And श्रोतव्यर्् means sound, घ्रातव्यर्् is
smell, रसहयतव्यर्् is taste, स्िशम हयतव्यर्् is touch. Thus शब्द
स्िशम रूि रस गन्ध हवषयाः, श्रोरर्् त्वक् ििुः रसना घ्राणर््
इहन्द्रयाहण - both the इनन्द्रिर््s and their हवषयाs are based
upon ब्रह्मि्. This is ज्ञानेहन्द्रयs and similarly for कर्ेनन्द्रिs
also it is going to be said and there afterwards अन्तःकरणर््
also will be said. Those details we will see in the next class.
286
िण
287
र्न्र. 4.7 - 4.11
स यथा सोम्प्य वयांहस वासोवि ृ ं सम्प्प्रहतष्न्त एवं ि वै तत्सवां िर
आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते ॥ ७ ॥
िहृ थवी ि िहृ थवीर्ारा िािश्चािोर्ारा ि तेजश्च तेजोर्ारा ि
वायुश्च वायुर्ारा िाकाशश्चाकाशर्ारा ि ििुश्च द्रिव्यं ि श्रोरं
ि श्रोतव्यं ि घ्राणं ि घ्रातव्यं ि रसश्च रसहयतव्यं ि त्वक्ि
स्िशम हयतव्यं ि वाक्ि वक्तव्यं ि िस्तौ िादातव्यं
िोिस्थश्चानन्दहयतव्यं ि िायुश्च हवसजम हयतव्यं ि िादौ ि
गन्तव्यं ि र्नश्च र्न्तव्यं ि बुहद्धश्च बोद्धव्यं
िािङ्कारश्चािङ्कतम व्यं ि हििं ि िेतहयतव्यं ि तेजश्च
हवद्योतहयतव्यं ि प्राणश्च हवधारहयतव्यं ि ॥ ८ ॥
The teacher नपप्पलाद is answering the questions of the
fourth student, whose name is सौयाम यणी and the student
सौयाम यणी had asked five questions of which the fifth question
is being answered now. The fifth question was where does
everything remain supported सम्प्प्रहतहष्ते, where is everything
supported. Or what is the substratum of everything. And the
answer is going to be the आत्र्ा, the र्ुख्ि आत्र्ा, the तुरीिर््.
From the तुरीिर्् alone everything comes to existence,
because of तुरीिर्् alone everything exists and back to तुरीिर््
alone everything goes back. This is the answer and the
teacher gave an example of bird. The birds are comparable to
the creation and the tree is comparable to तुरीिर््. In the early
morning all the birds come out of the tree, they spread all
over, conduct their र्विवहार, reap सुिर्् and दुःिर्् and at the
time of the sunset again all the birds go back to that tree,
288
which नपप्पलाद calls वासोवि ृ र््. In the same way the whole
creation is is born out of and the whole creation ultimately
rests in तुरीिर्् alone. But the whole creation is here put in a
particular form. First the teacher mentions all the भत ू ानि and
there afterwards he refers to नत्रपुनट – the भोक्ता, the
भोगकरणर्् and the भोग्िनवषि. So these five items the
सर्क्ष्ू र्भत
ू ानि, the स्थल ू भतू ानि, the भोग्यर््, the भोगकरणाहन
and the भोक्ता, all the five rests in the supreme ब्रह्मि् or
अक्षरः. In this र्न्त्र that is the eight र्न्त्र, four of them are
mentioned. The पञ्िस्थल ू भत ू ाहन and पञ्िसक्ष्ू र्भतू ाहन were
mentioned, which we saw in the last class. िहृ थवी ि
िहृ थवीर्ारा ि. पनत थवी referring to the स्थल ू भतू र््, िहृ थवीर्ारा
referring to the सर्क्ष्ू र्भत ू र््. Similarly, वायुः ि वायुर्ारा ि,
आिः आिोर्ारा ि, then आकाशः ि आकाशर्ारा ि, which
means पञ्िस्थल ू भतू ानि पञ्िसर्क्ष्ू र्भत
ू ानि ि. And the verb is
not given that should be supplied from previous र्न्त्र. In the
previous र्न्त्र it was said सवां िरे आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते that we
have to bring to this र्न्त्र also and we should say िहृ थवी ि
िहृ थवीर्ारा ि all of them िरे आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते that we
have to supply. Ok. And there afterwards the भोगकरणर्् and
भोग्यहवषयर््s are mentioned. What is the भोगकरणर््?
पञ्िज्ञािेनन्द्रिानण and पञ्िकर्ेनन्द्रिानण and ित्वारर
अन्तःकरणाहन, i.e., सक्ष्ू र्शरीर अवयवाः. And for each one of
them there is a भोग्यहवषय also all of them are enumerated.
ििुः ि द्रिव्यं ि श्रोरं ि श्रोतव्यं ि घ्राणं ि घ्रातव्यं ि रसः ि
रसहयतव्यं ि त्वक् ि स्िशम हयतव्यं ि – this refer to five
289
ज्ञानेहन्द्रयर््s and their हवषयर््s. I don't want to go for the
meaning of each one; you know. Ok. In तत्त्वबो् also we have
seen,
श्रोरस्य हवषयः शब्दग्रिणर्् । त्विो हवषयः स्िशम ग्रिणर्् । ििुशो
हवषयः रूिग्रिणर्् । रसनाया हवषयः रसग्रिणर्् । घ्राणस्य हवषयः
गन्धग्रिणर्् इहत ।।
Similarly, कर्ेनन्द्रिs also are said here. That begins from
वाक् ि वक्तव्यं ि, वाक् is the organ of speech िस्तौ – the
hands, then उिस्थः – the organ of procreation, िायुः – the
organ of excretion, िादौ – the feet. The only difference here
is the order is not maintained. Normally, the ज्ञानेहन्द्रयs have
got a particular order. श्रोरं त्वक् ििुः रसना घ्राणर््. Similarly,
वाक्िाहणिादिायिू स्थाः that order is not there. But all the five
करणर््s have been mentioned and their respective हवषयs
objects also.
Then coming to अन्तःकरण the teacher says र्नः ि
र्न्तव्यं ि – the mind and the object of mind, the सङ्कल्िs
and हवकल्िs, बुहद्धः ि बोधव्यं ि – when बुहद्ध is the instrument
its object is what? हनश्चयः, then अिंकारः ि अिंकतम व्यर्् ि –
अिङ्कार is the instrument, the वहृ ि and अिंकतम व्यर्् means
the object of अिङ्कार. And what is the object of अिङ्कार?
The अनात्र्ा alone, either अिङ्कार refers to स्थल ू शरीरर््
when you say I am a man or it is referring to सक्ष्ू र्शरीरर््
when you are referring to your emotions etc. Thus
अिंकतम व्यर्् means अिङ्कारस्य हवषयः अनात्र्ा.
स्थलू सक्ष्ू र्शरीरर््. then हििर्् ि िेतहयतव्यं ि – हििर्् is
290
अनुसंधानाहत्र्का, so the faculty of memory and िेतहयतव्यर््
– that which is to be remembered. So literally िेतहयतव्यर््
means that which is to be enlivened and here in this context
we should take it as to be remembered. Then in addition to
that a mysterious thing is mentioned तेजश्च हवद्योतहयतव्यं ि –
so शङ्करािािम says in addition to the general त्वहगहन्द्रयर््
some people, extraordinary people have got a देहकानन्त it
seems. So therefore, the brilliance of the personality त्वक्
व्यहतररक्तर्् तेजः. And that is here referred as तेजः, the
brilliance of a person. It is not तेजः as the fire principle, it is
already over. Here तेजः means that personality perhaps ESP
something like that, it is not very clear, he says that it is the
कानन्त of a person in addition to the mere त्वक् and the object
of that. हवद्योतहयतव्यर्् ि – that which is to be illumined by
that extra power. So the additional sixth sense perhaps and
that which is to be illumined by that तेजस्. Then finally
प्राणश्च हवधारहयतव्यर्् ि. Because िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण over,
िञ्िकर्ेहन्द्रयाहण over and ित्वारर अन्तःकरणाहन over. And
what is left out in सर्क्ष्ू र् शरीरर््? only पञ्िप्राणs are left out
and therefore that is also mentioned here. प्राणश्च. प्राण
representing all the पञ्िप्राणs and हवधारहयतव्यर्् that which is
sustained by that प्राण. Because the very job of the प्राण is
sustaining thing. So thus all these pairs indicate the
instrument and the object. भोग्िर्् and भोग्यकरणर्् all of
them िरे आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते. Then what is left out? Only
291
one is left out now. भोक्ता has not been talked about which
will be mentioned in the next र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 4.9
एष हि द्रिा स्प्रिा श्रोता घ्राता रसहयता र्न्ता बोद्धा कताम
हवज्ञानात्र्ा िुरुषः । स िरे ऽिर आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते ॥ ९ ॥
So first the teacher is defining the भोक्ता known as the
जीवः. Previously what was talked was the जगत् and the
instruments for experiencing जगत्. Now the जीवः, the
experiencer is first defined and there afterwards he will
mention the जीवः also is based on that ब्रह्मि् alone. Who is
जीवः? एषः िुरुषः. एषः means the following one, which is
being defined is िुरुषः. So here the word िुरुषः means
जीवात्र्ा. Because in the उपनिषत् the word िुरुषः will be used
sometimes in the sense of परर्ात्र्ा also.
िुरुष एवेदं सवां यद्भत
ू ं यच्ि भव्यर्् । ॥ िुरुषसक्त
ू र्् ॥
In the पुरुषसक्तू र्् पुरुष refers to the परर्ात्र्ा alone. But in
this context पुरुष refers to the जीवात्र्ा. How do we know? Is
it just a chance that we will take any meaning we like? No. If
you look at the context we can understand because in the next
sentence नपप्पलाद is going to say that पुरुष also will be
resolved into परर्ात्र्ि्. So if पुरुष is taken as परर्ात्र्ा it
will mean what? परर्ात्र्ा himself is resolving into परर्ात्र्ा -
which will be contradiction. And therefore if you take पुरुष
as जीवात्र्ा the next sentence will be fitting properly - the
जीवात्र्ा is also resolved into परर्ात्र्ा. And thus the context
292
indicates that पुरुष is जीवात्र्ा alone. Who is he? द्रिा स्प्रिा
र्न्ता बोद्धा कताम हवज्ञानात्र्ा. In some books it is written as
स्ििा. It is not स्ििा, it should be स्प्रिा. It is derived from
the √स्िश ृ ्, स्िश
ृ हत – to touch. स्प्रिा means the toucher. The
seer, the hearer, that er that only. Seer, hearer, smelller, taster
and toucher. So द्रिा स्प्रिा श्रोता घ्राता रसहयता. So the one
who identifies with the िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयs and the one who
functions through िञ्िज्ञानेहन्द्रयs is called the जीवः. And who
is that जीवः. Remember the हिदाभास अन्तःकरण प्रनतनबम्ब्बत
िैतन्िर््, हिदाभास is the one which is indicated by the
अहङ्कार, I. So how do we know that? Because when I say
‘I’, I know I am a conscious being. Therefore, the word ‘I’ is
referring to what? A conscious being. And what type of
conscious being? Is it a limitless conscious being or a limited
one? I always refer to myself as a limited conscious being.
And what is that limited conscious being? The हिदाभास
alone. Therefore the जीव is none other than the all-pervading
Consciousness which is reflected in the अन्तःकरणर््. In fact,
this is called the primary ‘I’. This is the अहङ्कार which is
born first to everyone. And later this अहङ्कार, ‘I’, हिदाभास
identifies with every instrument and gets further qualification.
When it identifies with स्थल ू शरीरर्् it gets the qualification
of I am fat, I am lean, I am young I am old etc. All these are
done by what? हिदाभास alone. And thus the हिदाभास is
the पुरुषः who is identifying with every instrument and
identified with each instrument he gets the qualification like
293
seer identified with eyes, hearer identified with ears etc. So
therefore, द्रिा स्प्रिा श्रोता घ्राता रसहयता refers to
identification with five ज्ञानेहन्द्रयर््s. And then र्न्ता
identified with the mind. The very same हिदाभास gets the
name र्न्ता – the thinker. र्नुते इहत र्न्ता. Similarly, बोद्धा
identified with the बुनद्ध, the same हिदाभास gets the name
बोद्धा– the knower. And identified with all the very same
हिदाभास gets the name कताम – the doer. And this one is
called िुरुषः. What type of िुरुषः? हवज्ञानात्र्ा िुरुषः.
हवज्ञानात्र्ा means जीवात्र्ा. In fact, in the scriptures, in the
original ones we don't find the word जीवात्र्ा in this form,
जीवात्र्ा is generally referred by the word हवज्ञानात्र्ा. So this
is the जीवात्र्ा because of whom alone there is भोक्ता,
भोगकरणर्् and भोग्यहवषयs all the three come together and
all the three resolves together also. That is why in सुषुहि there
is neither भोक्ता nor the भोग्यर््s nor the भोगs all the three are
not there and during जाग्रत् and स्वप्ि all the three come
together and if all the three are coming and resolving there
must be some substratum for all the three and the substratum
must be different from भोक्ता, भोग्यर्् and भोगः.
भोक्तृभोग्यभोगहवलिणः there must be an अन्ष्ािर््. And the
question of the student is what is that अन्ष्ािर््, in which it
is. And the answer is given here. सः िरे अिरे आत्र्हन
सम्प्प्रहतष्ते. सः means this जीवात्र्ा also, this नवज्ञाि आत्र्ा
also सम्प्प्रहतष्ते rests upon, is supported by, is resolved into
िरे आत्र्हन, the िर आत्र्ा, that is ब्रह्मि्. And what is that
294
ब्रह्मि् known as? अिरे . अक्षरर्् means the imperishable one.
Why does the teacher use the word अक्षरर््? He could have
used any word for ब्रह्मि् – सत्िर्् or ज्ञािर्् or अिन्तर््? But
the teacher uses the word अक्षरर्् because this is supposed to
be an उपनिषत् commenting upon र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् as we have
said earlier. This is a ब्राह्मणोपनिषत् र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् is a
र्न्त्रोपनिषत् and this is a commentary upon र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्.
And in र्ुण्डक the परम्ब्ब्रह्म is named as अक्षरर््.
यया तदिरर्हधगम्प्यते ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-५ ॥
यिदद्रेश्यर्ग्राह्यर्गोरर्वणम -
र्ििुः श्रोरं तदिाहणिादर्् ।
हनत्यं हवभुं सवम गतं सुसक्ष्ू र्ं
तदव्ययं यद्भत ू योहनं िररिश्यहन्त धीराः ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-
६॥
And अक्षरनवद्या is said to be ब्रह्मनवद्या. Therefore to remind
that this is talking about that अक्षरर्् alone the teacher is
indicating by the word अिरे . And in his commentary
शङ्करािािम also uses words like स बाह्याभ्यन्तरो ह्यजः
अप्राणो ह्यर्नाः शुभ्रः. He is reminding us all the definitions of
ब्रह्मि् given in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् because both of them should be
studied side by side, then it will be good. For that only िरे
अिरे आत्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते िरर्ात्र्हन सम्प्प्रहतष्ते. Ok. And
now he is going to talk about the फलश्रुनत because the fifth
question is answered with the ninth र्न्त्र. That is seven, eight
and nine is an answer to fifth question - where does all of
them get resolved? And remember this knowledge has to be
295
revealed by श्रुनत alone because you can never find out where
the भोक्ता, र्न्ता, हवज्ञाता etc., gets resolved. I am not going to
those details because we had seen in र्ाण्डूक्ि उपनिषत्.
Because if you want to know what is the अन्ष्ािर्् of all
these three what should you do? You have to resolve all the
three. Resolve all the three means what? The known, the
knowing instrument and the knower. And once you resolve all
the three what is the अहधष्ानर्् who will know? You cannot
know because you have resolved yourself as the knower
himself and therefore you cannot know what is the
अन्ष्ािर््. Suppose you again quickly becomes the knower
what happens? What is available is only again नत्रपुनट. It is like
seeing your face in the mirror. If you want to look at your face
with closed eyes what will you do? When you close the eyes
you cannot be the seer, when you see you are missing the face
with closed eyes. Similarly, here also the अन्ष्ािर्् of नत्रपुनट
- the knower, known and knowledge - the नत्रपुनट अन्ष्ािर््
no human being can know because as long as he is attempting
to know he is continuing as the knower. As long as he is the
knower he will be in the field of नत्रपुनट alone. Therefore,
हनहवम कल्िर्् ब्रह्म is never knowable by me. And therefore
what is that if I have to know somebody else has to come and
tell. So how I look with my closed eyes somebody else alone
has to tell. I can never see it in anyway. And therefore श्रुनत
comes and reveals that when you resolve your knowership you
remain in the form of pure Consciousness alone. But how it
296
will be that you should not ask because if I answer how you
will be then again you will attempt to do what you will
attempt to know it and the moment you attempt to know it you
become a knower and whatever is known by you becomes
known again within सनवकल्प alone and therefore ब्रह्मि् is not
a matter to be known by you, ब्रह्मि् is to be understood as I
myself which is not an object of knowledge. Knowing that it
cannot be known is the knowledge of ब्रह्मि्. Knowing that it
cannot be known is the knowledge of ब्रह्मि् myself. I myself
my knowerhood is ब्रह्मि्. So therefore िरे आत्र्हन
सम्प्प्रहतष्ते. So this is ब्रह्मज्ञािर््. And here afterwards
फलश्रुनत is going to come.
Verse No. 4.10
िरर्ेवािरं प्रहतिद्यते स यो ि वै तदच्छायर्शरीरर्लोहितं
शुभ्रर्िरं वेदयते यस्तु सोम्प्य । स सवम ज्ञः सवो भवहत तदेष
श्लोकः ॥ १० ॥
So the one who knows this will attain this particular
result. And what is that result? ब्रह्महवत् ब्रह्मैव भवहत. The
knower of ब्रह्मि् becomes ब्रह्मि् himself. Becomes being with
an inverted commas. Becomes means what? Owns up the fact
that I am ब्रह्मि्. So यः तु सोम्प्य वेदयते सः िरर्् अिरर्् एव
प्रहतिद्यते. You can understand. सौम्ब्ि is सम्प्बोधन, addressing
the student. So oh student! यः वेदयते – the one who knows
ब्रह्म. How? As himself and never as an object to be known. So
आत्र्त्वेन यः ब्रह्म जानाहत. सः एव िरर्् अिरर्् प्रहतिद्यते – he
attains that अक्षरर्् परम्ब्ब्रह्म alone, येन अिरर्् िुरुषर्् ब्रह्म
297
सत्यर्् तत् अिरर्् प्रहतिद्यते. So he uses the word परर््
अक्षरर्् because sometimes the word अक्षरर्् refers to ॐकार
also. ॐकार also is called अक्षरर््. How to know whether it is
talking about ॐकार or ब्रह्मि्? When you get the adjective
परर्् then the अक्षरर्् can refer to only ब्रह्मि्. ॐकार is only
अपरर्् अक्षरर््, ब्रह्मि् alone is परर्् अक्षरर््. And therefore it is
to exclude ॐकार the word परर्् is used. Ok. What type of
अक्षरर्् it is? He gives further definition. यः ि वै तत् अच्िायर््
अशरीरर्् अलोहितर््. अच्िायर्् means that which is free from
र्ािा or अज्ञािर्् or कारणशरीरर््, all the three are the same.
र्ािा which is the कारणशरीरर्् at the total level. What is the
difference between र्ािा and कारणशरीरर््? कारणशरीरर्् is
at the र्विनष्ट level, र्ािा is at the सर्नष्ट level. And it is free
from र्ािा or अनवद्या, अज्ञानर्् or कारणशरीरर्् it is free from.
Because we are talking about तुरीिर््. If it is associated with
र्ािा it will not be called तुरीिर््, it will be called प्राज्ञः.
Remember नवश्व is associated with स्थल ू शरीरर््, तैजस is
associated with सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर््, प्राज्ञः is associated with
कारणशरीरर््. तुरीिर्् is associated with none of them. And
therefore तुरीयर्् has to be अच्िायर््, कारणशरीररनहतर््
र्ािारहितर््, अहवद्यारहितर््, अग्रिण अन्यथा ग्रिणरहितर््.
कायम कारणबद्धौ ताहवष्येते हवश्वतैजसौ ।
प्राज्ञः कारणबद्धस्तु द्वौ तौ तुये न हसध्यतः ॥ १-११ ॥
So, कायम कारणबद्धौ तौ, नवश्व and तेजस are associated with
कािम र्् and कारणर््, प्राज्ञः is associated with कारणर्् alone,
तुरीिर्् is not associated with कािम र्् or कारणर्् it is beyond
298
both कािम र्् and कारणर््, beyond both अग्रिणर्् and अन्यथा
ग्रिणर््, beyond both र्ािा and जगत.् जगत् र्ाया रहितर््
अच्िायर््. The word has already come before. आत्र्न एष
प्राणो जायते । In प्रश्नोपनिषत् itself the word छाया has been
used in the sense of र्ािा or अज्ञािर््. Why र्ािा is called
छाया? I have given you the reason. छायावत् हर्र्थयास्वरूिर््
इत्यथम ः. Just as छाया, छाया literally means what? छाया
means of shadow. And what is the nature of shadow? सत्
असद्भ्यार्् अहनवम िनीयर््. You cannot say shadow is
existence, you cannot say shadow is non-existence. You
cannot say shadow is non-existence because you are seeing it
and you cannot say shadow is existence because it doesn't
have any substance or independent existence. In fact it is
absence of light. Isn't it? In the shadow what is there? Light
is not there. So therefore shadow seems to be a positive entity
because of your experience but on enquiry it is no more a
positive entity. Therefore, on enquiry it becomes असत्, for
experience it is सत्. And such a thing which is experientially
existent but logically nonexistent is called अहनवम िनीयर््,
undefinable. Shadow comes under अहनवम िनीयर््, स्वप्ि
comes under अहनवम िनीयर््, रज्जु सिम comes under
अहनवम िनीयर््, र्ािा also comes under अहनवम िनीयर््. And
therefore अच्िायर्् means अर्ायर््, न हवद्यते यहस्र्न् र्ाया तत्.
Ok. कारणशरीरर्् has been negated. Then अशरीरर््. So why
the world शरीरर्् सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर्् is indicated and therefore
अशरीरर्् means free from सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर््. अच्िायर्् means free
299
from कारणशरीरर््, now it is free from सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर््. Then
अलोहितर््. लोहितर्् literally means red. अलोहितर्् means not
red, which is free from all colors, अवणम र््, which indicates
स्थलू शरीररहितर््. Because all black, fair all these are वणम
र्विवस्था alone. Apartheid it's only वणम problem only. All these
problems belongs to what? स्थल ू शरीरर््. And therefore
अलोहितर्् refers to स्थल ू शरीरवहजम तर््. And therefore शुभ्रर््.
शुभ्रर्् means शुद्धर््.
अप्राणो ह्यर्नाः शुभ्रो ह्यिरात्िरतः िरः ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-१-
२॥
So why it is शुद्धर््? Because all अशुहद्ध belongs to one of the
three शरीरर््s. Either physically I am impure or mentally I am
impure, similarly intellectually I can be impure. intellectually
impure what? Wrong knowledge. Intellectual impurity is
संशय, हवियम य, अज्ञानर्् etc. So I am free from all types of
impurities and therefore शुभ्रर््. And which is अक्षरर््. So up to
शुभ्रर्् it is at the र्विनष्ट level तुरीिर््. अक्षरर्् connects it to the
सर्नष्ट that is ब्रह्मि्. So this प्रत्िगात्र्ा alone is the परर्ात्र्ा.
That is from the जीवात्र्ा when you negate the three शरीरर््s
the adjective जीव will go away, जीवात्र्ा will become the
आत्र्ा, which is called परर्ात्र्ा. That is the adjectived
जीवात्र्ा, the qualified आत्र्ा is called जीवात्र्ा, जीवात्र्ा
minus qualification is called आत्र्ा, that is called परर्ात्र्ा.
And these qualifications are caused by three शरीरर््s.
Therefore when I remove all the three शरीरर्् all my
adjectives are removed, when adjectives are removed I
300
become unqualified ‘I’, unqualified ‘Conscious being’ and
unqualified Conscious being is called परर्ात्र्ा. And
therefore अक्षरर्् यः वेदयते. So this अक्षर the one who knows
as myself by negating स्थल ू सर्क्ष्ू र् कारणशरीरर््. Ok. And
then we should remember we have said that to become
परर्ात्र्ा, I should become the ‘unqualified I’, to become the
‘unqualified I’ I have to remove qualification, to remove the
qualifications I have to remove the three शरीरर््s, then we will
have a problem. What is that? So if I have to become ब्रह्मि्
then I have to remove this शरीरर््. Otherwise we will think
that we have to sit in सर्ान्. We will think that र्ोक्ष is
possible only after death because to become ‘unqualified I’ I
have to remove all the शरीरर््. Or some people will say I have
to ever sit in निनवम कल्प सर्ान् because the moment I wake up
the body comes, therefore to dismiss the body I have to sit in
सर्ान्. This also must be carefully understood. Remember
removal of qualification is understanding that the
qualifications are हर्र्थया. केवलर्् ज्ञाि र्ात्रेण. It's a matter of
understanding. Removal of shadow is understanding that the
shadow is as good as not there. I need not destroy shadow, I
have to only understand shadow is substanceless therefore it is
harmless. So thus all the qualifications belong to three
शरीरर््s and all of them are हर्र्थया and therefore even now I
am the ‘unqualified I’ alone, even when I am experiencing the
qualifications, even when I am experiencing the body I am
bodiless, even when I am experiencing the limitations I am
301
limitationless, this understanding alone is called being the
‘unqualified I’, there is nothing to be done for that that must
be remembered. So सः िरर्् एव अिरर्् प्रहतिद्यते. And not
only that यः तु सोम्प्य वेदयते, the फलर्् is put into separate
forms. Second time यः तु सोम्प्य is there. There are also you
have to supply वेदयते. यः तु सोम्प्य वेदयते सः सवम ज्ञः सवम ः
भवहत. सः सवम ज्ञः भवहत – he becomes the knower of all. You
have to connect it to again र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्.
कहस्र्न्नु भगवो हवज्ञाते सवम हर्दं हवज्ञातं भवतीहत ॥
Then एतहस्र्न् िरर्ात्र्हन हवज्ञाते सवम हर्दं हवज्ञातं भवहत,
सवम ज्ञः भवहत. So since I have explained in the
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत,् you are सवम ज्ञs, I don't want to tell that again.
Then सवम ः भवहत – he becomes everything.
ते सवम गं सवम तः प्राप्य धीरा युक्तात्र्ानः सवम र्ेवाहवशहन्त ॥
र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् ३-२-५ ॥
They become one with everything. Ok. सवम ः भवहत. Why?
Because I am ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्मि् is everything and therefore I am
everything. Only the meaning of a ‘I’ we have to remember.
सः सवम ज्ञः सवम ः भवहत. This is the फलश्रुनत. And तत् एषः
श्लोकः भवहत. Being a ब्राह्मणोपनिषत् it wants to quote a
supporting र्न्त्र and that is given in the next.
So this is a quotation from a र्न्त्रोपनिषत्. So the
उपनिषत् itself is quoting in support of the फलश्रुनत.
302
Verse No. 4.11
ै सवव ः प्राणा भत
हवज्ञानात्र्ा सि देवश्च ू ाहन सम्प्प्रहतष्हन्त यर ।
तदिरं वेदयते यस्तु सोम्प्य स सवम ज्ञः सवम र्ेवाहववेशेहत ॥ ११ ॥
So this is almost paraphrasing the previous र्न्त्र only
but the only thing is that it is quoted from some other
उपनिषत्, which is from र्न्त्र portion the ब्राह्मण is quoting.
So, तत् अिरर्् यः तु वेदयते – that person who knows that
अक्षरर्् ब्रह्म, सः सवम ज्ञः भवहत – so that person who knows that
अक्षरर््. How does he know? अिरर्् आत्र्त्वेन वेद. That is
very important. Because if you say ब्रह्मि् is the अन्ष्ािर््,
ब्रह्मि् is all-pervading, ब्रह्मि् is नित्िशुद्धबुद्धर्ुक्तः then you
will say that ब्रह्मि् is everything and I am संसारर only.
Therefore knowledge of अक्षरर्् should be as तत् अिरर््
अिर्् अहस्र्.
र्हय एव सकलर्् जातर्् र्हय सवम र्् प्रहतहष्तर्् । ॥
कैवल्योिहनषत् १-१९ ॥
Therefore, यः वेदयते सौम्ब्ि, oh pleasing one! addressing the
student, सः सवम ज्ञः भवहत and not only that सः सवम र्् एव
आहववेश. Literally it means he enters everything, which means
he becomes as all-pervading as ब्रह्मि्. He becomes as all-
pervading as ब्रह्मि्. So previously as स्थलू शरीरर्् he was less
pervading, as सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीरर्् also he was less pervading, as
कारणशरीरर्् also he was less pervading but as
स्थल
ू सक्ष्ू र्कारणशरीर व्यहतररक्त िैतन्यर्् I can say I am
हवद्याहवनयसम्प्िन्ने ब्राह्मणे गहव िहस्तहन । ॥ गीता ५-१८ ॥
303
िेरज्ञं िाहि र्ां हवहद्ध सवम िेरेषु भारत । ॥ गीता १३-२ ॥
I am the Consciousness in in everyone. And this
understanding is called pervading everything. सः सवम र्् एव
आहववेश. Who? The one who knows the अक्षरर््. And what
type of अक्षरर््? The first two lines is the definition of that
अक्षरर््. यर हवज्ञानात्र्ा प्राणाः भत ू ाहन सम्प्प्रहतष्हन्त – the one
who knows that अक्षरर्् in which all these things resolved or
based. What all things? नवज्ञािात्र्ा. नवज्ञािात्र्ा means
जीवात्र्ा. सवव ः देवःै सि – along with all his organs. Here देवः
means not देव असरु s but देवः means ज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण,
कर्ेहन्द्रयाहण, etc., करणाहन इत्यथम ः. So along with all his
instruments, प्राणाः – all the पञ्िप्राणs as well as भत ू ानि – so
all the five elements in their gross and subtle form. So which
we have to understand as नवश्व and स्थल ू प्रिञ्ि, तेजस and
सर्क्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि, प्राज्ञ and कारण प्रपञ्ि all of them सम्प्प्रहतष्हन्त
यर – are supported by whom or resolved into which अक्षरर््
the knower of that अक्षरर्् becomes सवम ज्ञः and सवम र्् एव
आहववेश. Again remember आहववेश don't imagine slowly you
will enter one by one, if you take them literally you will
always be expecting something to happen so that I will slowly
enter. Remember there is no question of becoming because it
is not a physical body or subtle body entering, सवम र्् आहववेश
means understanding that I don't have the limitations the
limitations belong to स्थल ू शरीरर््. This understanding alone
is all-pervading. The all-pervadingness. That means
disowning the limitation is entering all. Let me put in that
304
way. Disowning the limitation is entering everything. It is a
wisdom. All these things are a question of understanding
alone. So with this the फलश्रुनत also is over in the tenth and
eleventh र्न्त्र. With this all five questions have been
answered, फलर्् also has been said and therefore सौयाम यणी,
the student went back and sat in his place and soon the fifth
student will come that will be the next chapter which you will
see in the next class.
िण
305
Before going to the fifth chapter I will give you the
outline of the fourth chapter. So we should remember the
topics of the previous chapters. In the first chapter the topic
was सनत ष्ट प्रकरणर्् through which कतष्णगनत and शुक्लगनत
where highlighted. In the second and third chapters we got
the topic of प्राण. In the second chapter the superiority of प्राण
to all other organs were pointed out through a story, if you
remember the story you can remember the topic, how प्राण
tried to go out of the body and all the sense organs could not
function when the प्राण are made a walk out. It did not even
make a walk out, it was about to make a walk out. Then all
the sense organs together glorified प्राण. This was in the
second chapter. In the third chapter also the glory of प्राण was
pointed out. How प्राण sustains the whole individual and how
the very same प्राण sustains the सर्नष्ट outside also.
अध्यात्र्र्् ि बाह्यर्् अहभधिे. Thus both in the second and
third chapters we got the प्राण र्नहर्ा or प्राण स्तुनत and at the
end प्राण उपासिा was hinted, it was not elaborately discussed.
That was done in the third chapter, in the end प्राण उपासिा
was mentioned. And for this purpose alone प्राण र्नहर्ा was
talked about in the second and third. Then in the fourth
chapter we get the topic of स्वप्ि and सुषुहि and even there is
a question about the अन्ष्ाि आत्र्ा and therefore we can say
the fourth chapter has got परानवद्या in it. So if the first three
chapters are अपरानवद्या, in the fourth chapter we do have
परानवद्या. And here the student asked five questions.
306
The first question was what all organs sleep during the
dream. And the answer was given in the second र्न्त्र. Except
प्राण all organs sleep. प्राण and र्िः. Here all organs refer to
ज्ञािेनन्द्रिानण कर्ेनन्द्रिानण ि. Because the question is
regarding dream, so we should remember in dream
अन्तःकरण is awake and therefore ज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण and
कर्ेहन्द्रयाहण sleep whereas प्राण and अन्तःकरण, i.e., the
mind keep awake. That was in the second.
The second question was who wakes during the dream.
And for that the answer was given in the third and fourth
र्न्त्र and the answer is that the प्राण and the mind keep awake
and in this context alone अनग्िहोत्र कल्पिा was given, very
very complicated कल्पिा. One is िजर्ािः and one is
गािम ित्य अहग्न, आिवनीय अनग्ि etc., if you can remember the
details, it's fine, otherwise not at all necessary. What is the
important point to remember is प्राण and mind keep awake
during dream. Thus the second question was answered in the
third and fourth र्न्त्र.
Then the third question was who enjoys स्वप्ि, who
enjoys the dream was the third question. The answer was
given in fifth र्न्त्र. And what is the answer? र्िः. The mind
enjoys the dream. Of course, when I say mind you should
remember not केवलर्् र्नः because mind in its pure form is
जडर््, therefore you should understand as अभासर्् र्नः,
हिदाभास व्यािर्् र्नः स्वप्न अनुभवहत. The mind which is
307
enlivened by, pervaded by the िैतन्िर्् enjoys the स्वप्ि. Thus
the third question was answered in fifth र्न्त्र.
Then the fourth question was who enjoys sleep. That
is from स्वप्ि we come to सुषुनि. And for this the answer was
given in sixth र्न्त्र and this also the सुषुनि also is enjoyed by
the mind alone but in dormant form not an active mind but a
लीिर्् र्िः. That was not clearly mentioned but we should
remember that. And when the mind is लीनर्् that alone we
call as कारण शरीरर््. Therefore, सुषुनि is enjoyed by कारण
शरीरर्् and here also you should remember केवल कारण
शरीरर्् cannot enjoy सष ु ुनि but कारण शरीरर्् which is
pervaded by िैतन्िर््. साभास कारणशरीरर््, िैतन्ययुक्त
कारणशरीरर््, िैतन्यव्याि कारणशरीरर््. In fact, that alone
we call as प्राज्ञः.
आनन्दभुक् िेतोर्ुखः प्राज्ञस्ततृ ीयः िादः ॥ र्ाण्डूक्योिहनषत् ५
॥
We saw in on र्ाण्डूक्ि. So that alone is आनन्दभुक्,
सुषुहिभुक्. Thus सुषुनि belongs to प्राज्ञः or कारण शरीरर््.
Then came fifth that is the last and the most important
question which alone is ब्रह्मनवद्या or आत्र्नवद्या. And what is
that question? Where do all of them resolve? What is the
substratum into which all these things - ज्ञानेहन्द्रयाहण
कर्ेहन्द्रयाहण - all of them? And for this question the answer
was given in three र्न्त्रs, seven to nine. And the answer is
that the आत्र्ा, the तुरीयर्् alone into which everything
308
resolves, for which the नत्रपुनट was explained. Everything that
is to be seen and the seer, heard and the hearer, smelt and the
smeller, in fact, all the नत्रपुनटs and not only the नत्रपुनट even
पञ्िभत ू ानि स्थल
ू as well as सक्ष्ू र्. िहृ थवी ि िहृ थवीर्ारा ि
आिः ि आिोर्ारा ि. Thus र्ात्रा referring to सर्क्ष्ू र्भत ू ानि as
well as स्थल ू भतू ानि as well as the नत्रपुनट all of them are
resolved into that आत्र्ा. Thus the fifth question also has
answered.
And then the फलर्् is given in the last tenth and
eleventh र्न्त्र. The one who knows this आत्र्ा, this आत्र्ा
means तुरीि आत्र्ा, अन्ष्ाि रूप आत्र्ा, the one who knows
स सवम ज्ञः भवहत he becomes omniscient. In short, he becomes
liberated. And it is because of the last question that this
chapter is put under वेदान्त प्रकरण. All the other questions
do not deal with परानवद्या but they are like stepping stones.
Just as in र्ाण्डूक्ि when the उपनिषत् talked about नवश्व,
तैजस and प्राज्ञ certainly it is not िराहवद्या because नवश्व तैजस
and प्राज्ञ are all अपरर्् ब्रह्म but still we put them under
परानवद्या because they become the stepping stone for परानवद्या
just like अन्िर्ि कोश also comes under परानवद्या because it
is a stepping stone to go to आत्र्ा. Similarly, प्राणर्ि कोश,
similarly, here also. The other four questions do not directly
deal with परानवद्या but they are stepping stones to परानवद्या
which is the answer to the fifth question. So with this
फलस्तुहत, the fourth question also is over and now you have
to imagine the fourth student also has gone back. Who is that?
309
सौयाम यणी. Now comes the fifth chapter, that is the fifth
question asked by fifth student; not the fifth teacher but the
एकः एव नपप्पलादः. So it is the first teacher only who is
नपप्पलादः. So that we will read now.
310
प्रश्न उपनिषत् िञ्िर्ः प्रश्नः
पञ्िर्ः प्रश्नः
Verse No. 5.1
अथ िैनं शैब्यः सत्यकार्ः िप्रच्छ । स यो ि वै तद्भगवन्र्नुष्येषु
प्रायणान्तर्ोङ्कारर्हभध्यायीत कतर्ं वाव स तेन लोकं
जयतीहत ॥ १ ॥
Verse No. 5.2
तस्र्ै स िोवाि ।
So अथ ि. अथ शब्द आनन्तयाम थे, अनन्तरर््,
thereafter. Whereafter? After the fourth question and after the
student has been satisfied and has gone back and taken his
seat. Because the student must be totally satisfied. Therefore
after satisfactorily answering the student एनर्् हिप्िलादर््.
एनर्् refers to this same गुरु नपप्पलाद, शैब्यः सत्यकार्ः
िप्रच्छ – the name of the fourth student is शैब्यः and he has got
another name also सत्यकार्ः. Because we should remember
every student in this प्रश्नोपनिषत् has got two-two names. So
सुकेशा भारद्वाजः, शैब्यः सत्यकार्ः, सौयाम यणी गाग्यम ः,
कौसल्यः आश्वलायनः, भगम वः or वैदहभम ः, कबन्धी कात्यायनः
each one has got two-two names. So these two together refer
to one नशष्ि only you should remember. And शैब्यः means he
comes under हशहब, so हशहब परम्ब्परा and he is called
सत्यकार्ः as the very word shows सत्यर्् एव कार्ः यस्य the
one who always desires for the knowledge of truth, the one
who is ever the truth seeker, िप्रच्छ. So this seems to be
another सत्िकार् because there is another सत्िकार् जाबालः.
311
Here it is सत्िकार् शैब्यः. And he is asking the question,
िप्रच्छ. And what is the question? The question is regarding
ॐकार उपासिर््. So the fifth chapter is going to be the topic
of ॐकार उपासिर्् or ॐकार ध्िािर््. Then the question will
come how can ॐकार उपासिा come under परानवद्या
प्रकरणर््? See the first three chapters have talked about
अपरानवद्या. From the fourth chapter परानवद्या topic has started
and the sixth chapter also is going to be परानवद्या only. So in
between fifth also should be what? परानवद्या only. Then how is
it that the teacher is unnecessarily interpolating the ॐकार
ध्िािर्् उिासनर्् topic here. उिासनर्् comes under by
परानवद्या or अपरानवद्या? That we have to know first otherwise
the question itself will not be understood, else we take it that
everything is alright. So उपासिा comes under अपरानवद्या you
should remember. Therefore, fourth chapter deals with
परानवद्या, sixth chapter deals with परानवद्या, why is it that the
fifth chapter suddenly dealing with अपरानवद्या, उिासनर्् you
may ask. The answer is this. So here ॐकार उिासनर्् is
introduced as a means for क्रर्र्ुनक्तः. ॐकार उिासनर्् is
taught here as a means for क्रर्र्ुनक्तः. So here also the फलर््
is what? र्ुनक्तः alone. So परानवद्या also here gives र्ुनक्त,
ॐकार उिासनर्् also gives र्ुनक्त. र्ुनक्त maybe क्रर्तः, the
other one is अक्रर्तः. अक्रर्तः means here itself, not in the
negative sense! सद्योर्ुनक्त. So since both have got a common
फलर्् of र्ुनक्त the ॐकार उिासनर्् is put here. That is the
only idea. Ok. Now the student asks सः यः ि वै तत् भगवन्.
312
भगवन् is addressing the teacher, oh Lord नपप्पलाद! Because
for a student गुरु is as good as Lord himself गुरुब्रम ह्मा
गुरुहवम ष्णुः गुरुदेवो र्िे श्वरः and therefore he happily addresses
the गुरु also has िे भगवन्, oh Lord! यः र्नुष्येषु ओङ्कारर््
अहभध्यायीत – suppose a person, among the people, र्नुष्येषु
र्ध्ये, हनधाम रणे सिर्ी, among the people suppose there is a
person ओङ्कारर्् अहभध्यायीत – who meditates upon ॐकार,
who practices ॐकार ध्िािर््. Ok. And that too how long? He
puts a condition here. प्रायण अन्तर््. प्रायणर्् means र्रणर््.
अन्तर्् means up to, ियम न्तर््. So प्रायण ियम न्तर्् means र्रण
पिम न्तर्् – till he dies he practices उिासनर््. So indirectly the
student is hinting at a point here that any उपासिा can give
फलर्् only if it is practiced up to death. So
तस्र्ात्सवेषु कालेषु र्ार्नुस्र्र युध्य ि ।
र्य्यहिम तर्नोबुहद्धर्ाम र्ेवष्ै यस्यसंशयर्् ॥ गीता ८-७ ॥
अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन िेतसा नान्यगाहर्ना ।
िरर्ं िुरुषं हदव्यं याहत िाथाम नुहिन्तयन् ॥ गीता ८-८ ॥
In fact in the eighth chapter we saw a person must practice
the उपासिा throughout the life and not only throughout the
life the most important thing is अन्तकाले अहि.
ओहर्त्येकािरं ब्रह्म व्यािरन्र्ार्नुस्र्रन् ।
यः प्रयाहत त्यजन्देिं स याहत िरर्ां गहतर्् ॥ गीता ८-१३ ॥
So he has to remember the ॐकार, the ध्िािनवषिर्् and not
only that so many other details are said. He has to withdraw
all sense organs, not only at the time of उपासिा but at the
313
time of र्रणकालर्् also he is supposed to withdraw all his
sense organs, which means he should not supposed to allow
any relatives to be around. So therefore remember generally
what do we do? र्रणकाले एव we call all the relatives and we
want to give the final messages, which means we continue our
attachment to the people and other things, which means we are
more interested in people than the Lord. Therefore भगवाि्
said
यं यं वाहि स्र्रन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरर्् ।
तं तर्ेवहै त कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभाहवतः ॥ गीता ८-६ ॥
Reaching Lord is not easy, if I have to reach the Lord at the
end moment I should think of ईश्वर alone, which means
whatever I have to tell friends and relatives I have tell
beforehand itself and there afterwards I should dismiss all of
them. That is what in भागवत always shown that he dismisses
all of them. Even after dismissing memory will not go.
Imagine if people are there how can we forget them. So we are
supposed to forget all of them, withdraw all sense organs.
सवम द्वाराहण संयम्प्य र्नो हृहद हनरुध्य ि ।
र्ध्ू न्याम धायात्र्नः प्राणर्ाहस्थतो योगधारणार्् ॥ गीता ८-१२ ॥
If you say I cannot do that कतष्ण will say you cannot get Lord.
full stop. Then you may say I don't want Lord. Ok. That you
tell. If you don't want Lord you can do that. Therefore one
important condition is at the time of र्रणर्् we are not
supposed to think of any one of these things. And he has to do
314
ॐकार ध्िािर्् that is called प्रायण अन्तर्् ॐकार ध्िािर््. So
here also another beautiful point is hinted. प्रायण काले ॐकार
ध्यानर्् he didn't say. Because if I say र्रणकाले ईश्वर
ध्िािर्् then what will people say? We shall see that time. It
means not now. र्रणकाले means what इदाहनर्् न कतम व्यर््.
So कतष्ण said if you can remember the Lord at the time of
death it is wonderful but if you have to remember at that time
तस्र्ात् सवेषु कालेषु it has to be started right now and that is
why he says प्रायण अन्तर््, it is a beautiful term, प्रायण
ियम न्तर््, which means beginning from now up to death even
at the time of death. So therefore we have to do rehearsal.
This is called र्रण उपासिा. Imagine our own death and how
I am going to miss all the people; don't get angry with me,
remember we are all fine now however fine we are one day
that terrible day has to come for which we have to prepare. So
र्रण उपासिा is supposed to be very important. Don't we
prepare for the birth of a child. Isn't it right from the marriage
there are waiting for the child only and there afterwards even
before the child is born. So therefore so he doesn't have even
a wife but he has started thinking what name should be given
to the child. So if we prepare that much for naming the
grandson even when the son is not yet married shouldn't we
prepared for the death. If not somebody else's our own death.
Thus र्रण उपासिा is a every important thing that everyone
has to practice. Imagine our own death and tell that I am
ready to separate from all these people. I have lived with them
315
for such a long time and we have to get separated which is a
fact, no doubt they have been very good to me, very dear to
me but the time has come when I have to quit all of them.
Thus death rehearsal is a very important thing and at that time
I should also say
अहतभीषण कटुभाषण यर्हकङ्करिटली कृतताडन
िररिीडनर्रणागर्सर्ये । उर्या सि र्र् िेतहस यर्शासन
हनवसन् हशवशङ्कर हशवशङ्कर िर र्े िर दुररतर्् ॥
श्रीहशवशङ्कर अथवा यर्भय हनवारणस्तोरर्् १ ॥
शङ्करािािम writes eight श्लोकs like this beautifully. So
when the time of death comes and when choking happens,
blood pleasure and all all kinds of things come, I should not
think of people from whom I am going to be separated,
िरशङ्कर हशवशङ्कर I should remember my इष्टदेवता at the
time. Therefore, प्रायण अन्तर्् if I have to do उपासिा I
should do rehearsal of the death otherwise there is no way at
all. So if a person does that ॐकार ध्िािर््. Ok. And here
शङ्करािािम also hints at another point. When the
concentration or ध्िािर्् comes automatically िोगशास्त्र also
comes into picture. Because ध्िािर्् happens to be one of the
limbs of अष्टाङ्गिोग – िर्, नििर्, आसन, प्राणािार्,
प्रत्िाहार, ्ारण, ध्िाि and सर्ान्. So ध्िािर्् happens to be
the seventh limb of the eight limbed अष्टाङ्गिोग. So which
means if I have to concentrate the mind on one thing I should
have discipline in my external action which is called िर्
नििर्, िर् नििर् stands for external disciplines, following the
316
do's and don'ts; आसन is physical discipline; प्राणायार् is
breathing discipline; प्रत्िाहार is sense-discipline; ्ारण is
mind discipline. Thus discipline at action level - िर् and
नििर्, discipline at body level - आसन, discipline at breathing
level - प्राणायार्, discipline at sense level - प्रत्िाहार, discipline
at mind level - ्ारण, concentration. So शङ्करािािम says if a
person has to do ॐकार ध्िािर्् or for that matter any ध्िािर््
he must go through all disciplines otherwise when I try to sit
and meditate you know what happens either the physical body
is restless or the mind is restless. Why physical body becomes
restless? Because it is indisciplined, it cannot sit for half an
hour without changing the position. Physical discipline is not
there or if mental discipline is not there the mind wanders. By
practice of all these disciplines if a person practices the
अहभध्यानर््, intense meditation. ध्िािर्् means meditation.
अहभ means what? Intense that is sincere, committed, not a
casual one but it is a sincere one. अहभतः ध्यानर््. And there is
another meaning also for that. ध्िािर्् itself they divide into
two. A type of ध्िािर्् in which I see the deity as separate
from me and another type of ध्िािर्् in which I see the deity
as identical with me.
अरुणां करुणा तरङ्हगतािीं धतृ िाशाङ्कुश िुष्ि बाणिािार्् ।
ू रै िहर्त्येव हवभावये भवानीर्् ॥
अहणर्ाहदहभरावतृ ां र्यख
अिर्् इत्येव न तु सा इहत अिर्् इत्येव हवभावये भवानीर््. यो
असावाहदत्यो ब्रह्मा । ब्रह्मैवािर्हस्र् ॥ In सन्ध्िावन्दिर्् also
there is a उपासिा alone. But what type of उपासिा? अभेद
317
उपासिा. सन्ध्िावन्दिर्् is अभेद उपासिर््. So in अभेद
उिासनर्् I don't see the deity as different from me but I see
the deity as identical with me. I imagine the deity as identical
with me. This is called अभेद ध्िािर््. But here also we should
remember a point. I imagine the Lord as identical with me
then alone it is called उिासनर््. But suppose I know the Lord
is identical with me it is not called उिासनर््. It is what?
ज्ञानर््. Once it is a ज्ञानर्् there is no question of repetition, it
is understood. There afterwards daily you need not say अहर््
ब्रह्मानस्र्, अहर्् ब्रह्मानस्र् because it is a fact for me. Just as you
need not tell someone ‘you please come here I will give you
an important news, I am a human being.’ If I say what will
people doubt? Oh this fellow has got doubt. Therefore just as I
don't have a doubt regarding my र्नुष्यत्वर्् if I know अहर््
ईश्वरोऽनस्र् it is called अभेद ज्ञानर्् but if I imagine I am ईश्वरः
it is called उिासनर््. उिासनर्् doesn't require नविार, ज्ञानर््
requires नविार. So here we are talking about what? Not अभेद
ज्ञानर्् but अभेद उिासनर््. अभेद उिासनस्य फलर्् क्रर्र्ुहक्तः
अभेद ज्ञानस्य फलर्् सद्योर्ुहक्तः, जीवन्र्ुहक्तः. Thus we should
always distinguish the अभेद उपासिा and अभेद ज्ञािर््. Here
अभेद उपासिा is pointed out and for that purpose alone the
अहभ word is used. This अहभध्यानर्् means अहभतः अभेदेन
ध्यानर्् करोहत. Ok. What will be the फलर््? कतर्र्् वाव सः
लोकर्् जयहत – which particular लोक such an उपासक
attains. Because many लोकs are there भल ू ोक, भुवलोक,
सुवलोक up to ब्रह्मलोक पिम न्तर््. Which लोक does that
318
person attain? तेन. तेन means what? तेन उिासनेन, तेन
ध्यानेन, तेन ॐकार ध्यानेन, through that ॐकार ध्िािर््
which particular लोक does he attains? So from this itself it is
very clear that he doesn't attain र्ोक्ष, because which particular
लोक he attains is the question that means उपासक will go to
one लोक or the other, he may go to the highest लोक but
उपासिा itself does not give र्ोक्ष फलर््. Then you may ask a
question, how do you contradict yourself? So you say
उपासिा gives only लोक, it cannot give र्ोक्ष you say. A few
minutes before only you said उपासिा gives क्रर्र्ुनक्त. In one
place you say it will not give र्ुनक्त, in another place you say it
will give क्रर्र्ुनक्त. How do you reconcile both statements?
Remember उपासिा does not give र्ुनक्त. And even when I say
क्रर्र्ुनक्त, उपासिा takes a person only up to ब्रह्मलोक and
from ब्रह्मलोक also he has to gain आत्र्ज्ञािर्् for getting
र्ोक्ष. There also र्ोक्ष comes through what? ज्ञानर्् द्वारा only.
Therefore, उपासिा takes ब्रह्मलोक, in ब्रह्मलोक he will get
ज्ञानर्् and ज्ञान द्वारा he will attain र्ुनक्त and therefore we will
say figuratively that उपासिा gives क्रर्र्ुनक्त. We should
remember न तु सािात् िरन्तु ज्ञान द्वारा क्रर्र्ुहक्तर्् दास्यहत
न तु सािात.् It is not सािात् सा्िर््, it is only परम्ब्परा
सा्िा for क्रर्र्ुनक्त. So therefore he asks question, सः
कतर्र्् लोकर्् जयहत attains. इहत. इहत should be end of the
inverted commas. You have to connect with इहत िप्रच्छ. Thus
the fifth student सत्िकार् asked नपप्पलाद. तस्र्ै सः ि उवाि.
So तस्र्ै हशष्याय सत्यकार्ाय – to that disciple सत्िकार्,
319
सः हिप्िलादः उवाि – so that teacher नपप्पलाद answered in
the following way. What is the answer? We will read the
second र्न्त्र.
एतद्वै सत्यकार् िरं िािरं ि ब्रह्म यदोङ्कारः ।
तस्र्ाहद्वद्वानेतेनवै ायतनेनक
ै तरर्न्वेहत ॥ २ ॥
First he talks about ॐकार’s glory. He says that
ॐकार has got unique glory that it can represent the अपरर््
ब्रह्म or सगुणर्् ब्रह्म and it can also represent परम्ब्ब्रह्म or
निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म, which is the unique glory. Because if you take
any other name of the Lord each name represent only the
अपरर्् ब्रह्म, रार्, when you take that particular word it is
referring to one सगुण ईश्वर alone, कतष्ण refers to one सगुण
ईश्वर alone, नशव represents another सगुण ईश्वर alone, thus all
these words can represent सगुण ईश्वर alone whereas ॐकार is
a beautiful symbol for both अिरर्् ब्रह्म as well as िरम्प्ब्रह्म.
एतद्ध्येवािरं ब्रह्म एतद्ध्येवािरं िरर्् । ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-२-१६
॥
In the कठोपनिषत् also it was mentioned. One ॐकार
symbolizes both अपरर्् and परर््. And if you ask how can one
ॐकार symbolize both? We have already seen the answer in
which उपनिषत्? र्ाण्डूक्ि उपनिषत् that ॐकार has got four
र्ात्राs – अकार, उकार, र्कार this three र्ात्राs represent
सगुणर्् but अर्ारः ितुथमः represent निगम ुणर्् we have seen and
therefore I am not going to those details, we have already
seen. Therefore the teacher says यत् एतत् वै िरर्् ि अिरर्् ि
320
ब्रह्म – that which is known as अपरर्् ब्रह्म and परम्ब्ब्रह्म, अपरर््
representing सगुणर््, सोपान्कर््, सनवशेषर््, सनवकारर्् etc.,
and परर्् representing निगम ुणर््, निरुपान्कर््, निनवम शेषर््,
निराकारर््, निनवम कारर्् everything. And literally the word
अपरर्् means what? Inferior. परर्् means what? Superior.
Therefore सगुणर्् ब्रह्म is supposed to be inferior ब्रह्मि्
because सगुण ब्रह्म cannot give liberation, सगुण ब्रह्म has the
maximum power to take two ब्रह्मलोक alone. Only निगम ुण
ब्रह्म has got the र्ोक्ष, It alone is the र्ोक्ष सा्िर्् and
therefore निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म is supposed to be superior. Because we
always feel सगुणर्् ब्रह्म is superior because हनगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म
doesn't have गुण. सगुण ब्रह्म has got गुण. Therefore what
हनगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म doesn't have that सगुण ब्रह्म has. Therefore that
which has got must be superior to that which doesn't have.
Isn't it? I am having money and you are not, suppose. So who
will be naturally richer? The one who has is always plus and
the one who doesn't have is minus. Plus is superior or minus
is superior? Plus alone is superior. Therefore सगुण has got
गुणर्् and निगम ुण doesn't have the गुणर््, therefore सगुण is
supposed to be good. It is not like that. In वेदान्त everything
is उल्टा. Because to have गुण is to have limitation. Therefore
any attribute is supposed to be limiting property. If you say it
is red, it automatically means it is not blue, it is not orange, it
is not white, it is not anything. You say if it is male it means
it is not a female, if it is a man it means it is not an animal or
plant. Thus every property you give is the negation of infinite
321
other properties. Therefore you think it is a positive thing but
really speaking every हवशेषणर्् gives limitation alone.
therefore, सगुण ब्रह्म has to be the अपरर््, inferior alone. That
has been discussed in the twelfth chapter also.
ये त्विरर्हनदेश्यर्व्यक्तं ियम ुिासते । ॥ गीता १२-३ ॥
Those who meditate upon अक्षरर्् ब्रह्म they get liberation. यत्
स ॐकारः. We have to supply स. So, यत् एतत् िरर्् ि
अिरर्् ि ब्रह्म, that which is परम्ब्ब्रह्म and अपरर्् ब्रह्म, that one
is ॐकारः. That one is ॐकारः means that one is represented
by ॐकारः. Ok. What is the essence of this statement? It
means ॐकार is a symbol for both सगुणर्् and निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म.
In संस्कतत symbol is called what? आलम्प्बनर््. And
आलम्प्बनर्् symbol is divided into two, do you remember?
प्रनतर्ा आलम्प्बनर्् and प्रतीक आलम्प्बनर््. Any symbol which
is got a clear shape, form like a कतष्ण, रार् etc., that is called
प्रनतर्ा आलम्प्बनर््. That which does not have limbs like
नशवनलङ्ग, शालग्रार् etc., they are all said to be प्रतीक
आलम्प्बनर््. And ॐकार comes under प्रतीक आलम्प्बनर््
because it doesn't have limbs like hands, legs etc. So
therefore, ॐकार is a प्रतीक आलम्प्बनर्् for both अपरर्् and
परम्ब्ब्रह्म. And therefore what? तस्र्ात्. So, यस्र्ात् ॐकारः
िर-अिर ब्रह्मणोः उभयस्याहि आलम्प्बनर्् तस्र्ात्. हवद्वान.्
हवद्वान् here refers to उपासक. So any उपासक एकतरर््
अन्वेहत – can attain oneness. एकतरर्् means what? ऐक्यर््,
merger, oneness. Oneness with what? That is not said here,
you have to supply. Oneness with अपरर्् ब्रह्म as well as
322
परम्ब्ब्रह्म. Therefore any उपासक can attain either परम्ब्ब्रह्म
ऐक्यर्् or अपरर्् ब्रह्म ऐक्यर्् either way you can get. Through
what? एतेन आयतनेन – by resorting to ॐकार उपासिा. So
by resorting to the ॐकार उपासिा a person can attain either
परम्ब्ब्रह्म or अपरर्् ब्रह्म. It all depends upon what type of
उपासिा he does. Those details will come later. Otherwise we
will wonder how can the same ॐकार give two types of
different results? Therefore the teacher will point out even
though the उपासक may do ॐकार उपासिा, within that
ॐकार उपासिा itself we are going to see divisions like अकार
प्रधान ॐकार उिासना, उकार प्रधान ॐकार उिासना, र्कार
प्रधान ॐकार उिासना thus we will divide into three
divisions and each type of उपासिा will give each type of
result. That is going to be said later, therefore according to the
type of उपासिा a नवद्वाि् practices he can attain the relevant
result. Therefore, नवद्वाि् उपासकः एतेन एव आयतनेन here
आयतनर्् means what? आलम्प्बनर््, प्रतीकर््. And एतेन
refers to what? ॐकारे ण. Therefore, एतेन एव आयतनेन that
means ॐकार प्रतीकेन एव – by resorting to ॐकार symbol
itself एकतरर्् अन्वेहत – he attains oneness. With what? You
have to supply, अिरर्् ब्रह्मण िरम्प्ब्रह्मण सि एकतरर्् अन्वेहत.
And here you should understand when we say he attains
oneness अपरर्् ब्रह्म that is through उपासिा he goes to those
and those लोकs, those and those देवताs but when I say by
another type of उपासिा he attains ऐक्यर्् with परम्ब्ब्रह्म it is
referring to क्रर्र्ुनक्त. Because in the ॐकार उपासिा topic
323
सद्योर्ुनक्त topic will not come at all. So through one type of
उपासिा he will attain various लोकs through another type of
उपासिा he will attain क्रर्र्ुनक्त. Through no type of उपासिा
he can attain सद्योर्ुहक्त. So therefore, one gives ऐक्यर्् with
अपरर्् ब्रह्म another gives ऐक्यर्् with परम्ब्ब्रह्म. कथर््?
क्रर्र्ुहक्तद्वारा it gives with परम्ब्ब्रह्म. That is to be understood.
Ok. Here afterwards the teacher will divide into three अकार,
उकार and र्कार and certain comparison are going to come.
Those comparisons I will just introduce later the र्न्त्रs will
be easier. अकार indicates र्नुष्यलोकर््, which is भल ू ोक;
उकार indicates सोर्लोकर्् otherwise called अन्तररक्षलोकर््
or भुवलोक; भल ू ोकर्् represented by अकार. भुवलोक
represented by उकार. भुवलोक otherwise alone is called
सोर्लोक or अन्तररक्षलोक all the three are synonyms. And
र्कार represents सुवलोक otherwise called ब्रह्मलोक. Thus
अकार उिासना will take him to भल ू ोक, उकार उिासना will
take him to भुवलोक, र्कार उिासना will take him to सुवलोक
or ब्रह्मलोक, which will lead him to क्रर्र्ुनक्त because once he
goes to ब्रह्मलोक he will get क्रर्र्ुनक्त. And अकार represents
ऋग्वेद, उकार represents िजुवेद and र्कार represents सार्वेद.
And therefore we will see ऋग्वेद will take this person to
भलू ोक, िजुवेद will take this person to भुवलोक, सार्वेद will
take this person to सवु लोक. And some commentators later
also compare that when the अकार उिासना is done it should
be identified with नवश्व or नवराट and when उकार उिासना is
done it is identified with तैजसा or नहरण्िगभम and in र्कार
324
उिासना it should be identified with प्राज्ञः or ईश्वर. Thus if a
person practices अकार प्र्ाि ॐकार उपासिा -
र्नुष्यलोकर््, उकार प्र्ाि ॐकार उपासिा – सोर्लोकर््,
र्कार प्र्ाि ॐकार उपासिा - ब्रह्मलोकर्् and तद्द्वार
क्रर्र्ुनक्त. This is going to be the topic in the following
र्न्त्रs, which we will see in the next class.
िण
325
र्न्र 5.1 - 5.5
अथ िैनं शैब्यः सत्यकार्ः िप्रच्छ । स यो ि वै तद्भगवन्र्नुष्येषु
प्रायणान्तर्ोङ्कारर्हभध्यायीत कतर्ं वाव स तेन लोकं
जयतीहत ॥ १ ॥
तस्र्ै स िोवाि । एतद्वै सत्यकार् िरं िािरं ि ब्रह्म यदोङ्कारः ।
तस्र्ाहद्वद्वानेतेनवै ायतनेनक
ै तरर्न्वेहत ॥ २ ॥
In this section the student सत्िकार् asks नपप्पलाद
about ॐकार उपासिा and thus the whole section is going to
deal with ॐकार उपासिा which will lead to क्रर्र्ुनक्तः. And
since ॐकार उपासिा leads to क्रर्र्ुनक्त this also comes under
वेदान्त topic alone because वेदान्त is dealing with र्ुनक्त,
ॐकार उपासिा also, at least indirectly, is going to give र्ुनक्त,
therefore र्ुहक्तरूिफलसार्ान्यात् both comes under the same
वेदान्त section. Whereas other types of उपासिा cannot come
under वेदान्त section because other types of उपासिा leads to
only अर्ुहक्त, i.e., संसार फलर््. They give स्वगम लोक or any
other worldly benefit. therefore, other उपासिाs come under
the अपरानवद्या whereas ॐकार उपासिा also discussed under
परानवद्या because it gives क्रर्र्ुनक्तः. And the teacher
introduces the ॐकार and its glory in the second र्न्त्र. The
glory of ॐकार is that it stands for both अपरम्ब्ब्रह्म and
परम्ब्ब्रह्म. So एतद्वै सत्यकार् िरं िािरं ि ब्रह्म. So it is a
symbol for both परर्् and अपरर्् ब्रह्म. And since it is a
symbol for both a seeker can make use of ॐकार for the
attainment of both. So if a person wants अपरर्् ब्रह्म then also
he can use ॐकार, if he wants परम्ब्ब्रह्म then also he can use
326
ॐकार. It is useful for both. That is what he said हवद्वान्
एतेन आयतनेन so through this very आयतनर््, आयतनर््
means प्रतीकर््, प्रतीकर्् means symbol, through this one
symbol एकतरर्् अन्वेहत a person can get ऐक्यर्् either with
अपरर्् ब्रह्म or with परम्ब्ब्रह्म. So this is प्रहतज्ञारूिर्् वाक्यर््.
So, प्रहतज्ञारूिर्् means what? A statement which has to be
explained. So how ॐकार can take a person to अपरर्् ब्रह्म
and how ॐकार can take the परम्ब्ब्रह्म, the details have not
been given. He has only said अपरर्् and िरम्प्ब्रह्म can be
reached through ॐकार. How, it is going to be explained in
the following र्न्त्रs. Therefore, from the third र्न्त्र onwards
the actual discussion, ॐकार उपासिा begins. we will read.
Verse No. 5.3
स यद्येकर्ारर्हभध्यायीत स तेनवै संवेहदतस्तण
ू म र्ेव
जगत्यार्हभसम्प्िद्यते । तर्ि ृ ो र्नुष्यलोकर्ुिनयन्ते स तर
तिसा ब्रह्मियेण श्रद्धया सम्प्िन्नो र्हिर्ानर्नुभवहत ॥ ३ ॥
Now here begins the ॐकार उपासिा. Three types of
ॐकार उपासिा are going to be mentioned here. One is
एकर्ार नवनशष्ट ॐकार उपासिर्् that is an ॐकार उिासनर््
when a person concentrates on अकार alone. So a ॐकार
उपासिा in which a person concentrates upon, meditates upon
एकर्ार only that is अकार only. And in the next र्न्त्र he will
talk about हद्वर्ार नवनशष्ट ॐकार उिासनर््, so in which a
person does उपासिा concentrating on two र्ारs only अकार-
उकारौ and then finally he will talk about third type of उपासिा
when a person does a पररपण ू म ॐकार उिासनर््. That is हरर्ार
327
नवनशष्ट ॐकार उिासनर््. That is अकार उकार र्कार all the
three are employed. And then फलर्् also vary. For the first
उपासिा र्िुष्िलोकर््, for the second उपासिा नपतल त ोकर््, for
the third उपासिा ब्रह्मलोकर््. Otherwise known as first
उपासिा gives भल ू ोकर््, second उपासिा gives भुवलोक, third
उपासिा gives सुवलोकर््, सुवलोकर्् standing for ब्रह्मलोक
itself. So भःू भुवः सुवः. And in the first उपासिा the फलर्् is
given by ऋग्वेद, for the second उपासिा the फलर्् is given by
िजुवेद, for the third उपासिा the फलर्् is given by सार्वेद.
Thus all three-three will have to come. So the three वेदs take
to three different लोकs according to three different र्ात्राs. Ok.
And then further explanation also is given that is अकार
represents नवश्व or नवराट, उकार represents तैजस or नहरण्िगभम
and र्कार represents प्राज्ञः or ईश्वर and therefore when
अकार उपासिा is done then he concentrates on नवश्व, when
उकार उपासिा is done he concentrates on नहरण्िगभम and
when र्कार उपासिा is done he concentrates on ईश्वर. Thus
these three उपासिाs must be comparatively studied then
alone it becomes clearer. Now we will go one after the
another. सः यहद एकर्ारर्् अहभध्यायीत. You have to supply
the word ॐकारर््. एकर्ारर्् ॐकारर्् अहभध्यायीत. If a
person meditates upon ॐकार consisting of एकर्ात्र only,
बिु व्रीहि, एक र्ार यहस्र्न् सः ॐकारः एकर्ारः ॐकारः.
Then not only he does that उपासिा and he wants to say to
what extent the उपासिा has to be done. See it is said in the
उपासिा शास्त्रर्् that the culmination of उपासिा is when the
328
उपासक completely gets absorbed in the उपास्िर््. Then alone
the उपासिा is supposed to be completed, then alone फलप्राहि
will come. So if रार् उपासिा should reach its culmination I
should do the उपासिा where रार् is उपास्ि देवता and the
उपासिा must reach a stage where I have forgotten everything
else the रार् देवता alone is there, this alone in िोगशास्त्र is
called सनवकल्प सर्ान्ः and even that is not enough because
when he reaches सनवकल्प सर्ान् अवस्था also he has
forgotten all other things, he is absorbed in रार् देवता but still
he is standing separate as उपासक and this सनवकल्प सर्ान्
should progress into निनवम कल्पक सर्ान् in which
ै गोिरर्् । ॥ िञ्िदशी १-५५
ध्यातध्ृ याने िररत्यज्य क्रर्ाद्ध्येयक
॥
Where he should become absorbed in the ध्येय नवषि which
they call as निनवम कल्पक सर्ान्. And this is called the उपास्ि
देवता साक्षात्कार. The word साक्षात्कार is used in
उपासिाकाण्ड also, not only in ज्ञािर््, अहर्् ब्रह्मानस्र् is called
साक्षात्कार. But in the उपासिा section also there is something
called साक्षात्कार. साक्षात्कार means निनवम कल्पक सर्ान् in
which the उपासक is totally absorbed in the उपास्ि where
उपास्ि उपासक भेद doesn't exist. And only then उपासिा is
supposed to be culminated and only then उपासिा फलर्् will
be got. What is that? A person will go to रार् or will get
whatever be the देवता he is meditating. And here also the
अकार उिासना is pointed out. In this अकार उपासिा a
person must get completely absorbed साक्षात्कार पिम न्तर््
329
उपासिा कतम र्वि that I said here. सः संवेहदतः तेन will be taken
out later and when the उपासक gets enlightened in the
उपासिा, gets absorbed in the उपास्ि नवषि because remember
उपासिा means the entire िोगशास्त्र will come. सनवकल्प
सर्ान्, निनवम कल्पक सर्ान् all topics will come when
उपासिा topic comes. Whereas in the वेदान्त we don't give
importance to सनवकल्प or निनवम कल्पक सर्ान् in वेदान्त
wisdom plays the important role, understanding plays the
important role. Here we are talking about उपासिा and
therefore सर्ान् सनवकल्प निनवम कल्पक etc., comes. Some
people connect सर्ान् to वेदान्त ज्ञािर्् which is not at all
correct. In वेदान्त ज्ञािर्् the सनवकल्प निनवम कल्पक सर्ान्
do not play the role there the शास्त्र प्रर्ाणर्् plays the
important role. In उपासिा section alone the सर्ान् etc.,
plays an important role. So therefore सः संवेहदतः भवहत. And
when he gets absorbed in the अकार नवनशष्ट ॐकारर्् then
what is the फलर््? तेन एव means तेन उिासनेन, तेन
सािात्कार ियम न्त उिासनेन – by that उपासिा which had
culminated in the absorption सर्ान्. What फलर्् he gets?
जगत्यार्् अहभसम्प्िद्यते – the फलर्् is that he will be getting
again जन्र् in this लोक. So the फलर्् is पुिजम न्र् as र्िुष्ि
himself. Or पुिजम न्र् in the भलू ोक itself. So that means you
can avoid lower जन्र्s. So the फलर्् of अकार नवनशष्ट
ॐकार उपासिा is he will not be reborn as animals, he will not
be reborn as plants, he will not be reborn in अतल हवतल सुतल
रसातल र्िातल तलातल िातालाख्याः, so he will not be born
330
in the Netherlands, ok, lower worlds, ok he will not be born in
the lower worlds, he will be again born in जगती. जगत्यार््
means of भल ू ोके, िहृ थव्यार््. जगत्यार्् word came in
ईशावस्योिहनषत् यहत्कञ्ि जगत्यां जगत् । Ok. When will he
born a र्िुष्ि again? तण ू म र्् एव. तण
ू म र्् एव means what?
Immediately, without hanging here and there, you will be
again born as a र्िुष्ि, he will be born again in भल ू ोक. Now
this itself is explained clearly in the next line. तर्् ऋिः
र्नुष्यलोकर्् उिनयन्ते – so the ऋग्वेद which is the presiding
deity of अकार because he has done अकार नवनशष्ट उपासिा
and therefore अकार देवता ऋग्वेद is there and that ऋग्वेद
देवता र्िुष्िलोकर्् उिनयन्ते takes into the र्िुष्िलोक. So
previously it was said भल ू ोक because in भल ू ोक also any other
type of जन्र् is possible and therefore the उपनिषत्, the
teacher specifies in the भल ू ोकर्् also he will be born as
र्िुष्िः. So ऋग्वेद takes him to र्िुष्िलोकर््. Ok. But even
after being born as a र्िुष्ि a person can lead a dirty, useless,
अ्ानर्म क life can be led. Then what is the use of र्िुष्ि
जन्र्? So here he says, no, he will be born as a noble वैनदक
र्नुष्यः. सः तर तिसा ब्रह्मियेण श्रद्धया सम्प्िन्नः भवहत – so
there also being born as a र्िुष्ि he will be full of, he will be
rich with all these things. What are they? तपस्. तपस् means
discipline. So he will be following all the वैनदक ्र्म and
ब्रह्मियेण and he will also have ब्रह्मििम र््, again discipline,
इनन्द्रि निग्रह, and also श्रद्धया, श्रद्धा means faith in the
scriptures. In short he will be a noble, ्ानर्म क, religious
331
human being and being such an human being सः र्हिर्ानर््
अनुभवहत – he enjoys the glory of र्िुष्ि जन्र्. र्िुष्ि जन्र्
becomes enjoyable when श्रद्धा तपस् ब्रह्मििम र्् if they are there
र्िुष्िलोक is enjoyable, if these three things are not there the
same र्िुष्ि जन्र् becomes दुःखात्र्कर्् only. Ok. Then you
may ask if श्रद्धा तपस् etc., are not there problem will not
come, you may ask. Problems do come to such a person also
because he is also a human being but these problems will not
be problems for him because of the श्रद्धा etc., he has got a
proper attitude, therefore he is insulated by this proper श्रद्धा
etc. And therefore he enjoys र्िुष्ि जन्र्. That is the
advantage of a religious person. Religious person also suffers,
irreligious person also suffers. But for an irreligious person
suffering causes mental agony whereas for a religious person
he has got the shock absorber. That is why it is said र्हिर्ानर््
अनुभवहत he enjoys the glory of र्िुष्ि जन्र्. This is the first
उपासिा. So अकार नवनशष्ट ॐकार उपासिा is the सा्िर्् and
the फलर्् is र्िुष्ि जन्र् प्रानिः and the means is ऋग्वेद. ऋग्वेद
takes him to र्िुष्ि जन्र्. Ok. Now come to the second
ॐकार उपासिा.
Verse No. 5.4
अथ यहद हद्वर्ारेण र्नहस सम्प्िद्यते सोऽन्तररिं यजुहभम रुन्नीयते
सोर्लोकर्् । स सोर्लोके हवभहू तर्नुभय ू िुनरावतम ते ॥ ४ ॥
On the other hand यहद हद्वर्ारेण. यहद हद्वर्ारेण we
have to read it as यहद हद्वर्ारर््. Because in the previous र्न्त्र
it is एकर्ारर््. So in keeping with that here also it must be
332
हद्वर्ारर््. ततृ ीया हवभहक्त must be converted into हद्वतीया
हवभहक्त इत्यथम ः. And then you have to supply ॐकारर््
अहभध्यायीत. So which means the full sentence will read यहद
हद्वर्ारर्् ॐकारर्् अहभध्यायीत – if a person meditates on
ॐकार consisting of हद्वर्ारर्् that is अकार and उकार. Then
what is the फलर््? र्नहस सम्प्िद्यते. Here र्िस् represents the
intermediary world. So previously जगत्यार्् it was said which
indicated भल ू ोक, now here र्नहस represents the भुवलोक or
सोर्लोक or intermediary world. Ok. But how if you ask I will
have to give a complicated explanation. In which dictionary is
the mind said to be as intermediary world, you may ask. What
is र्िस्? र्िस्. So how do you say intermediary world? So
शङ्करािािम gives र्िस् is स्वप्ि प्र्ाि. Isn't it? जाग्रदवस्था
is स्थल ू शरीर प्र्ाि. In र्िस् you get स्वप्ि because स्वप्ि is
purely experienced by the mind alone and स्वप्ि is supposed
to be the intermediary world between जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि and सुनषनि
प्रपञ्ि and therefore र्िस् indicates स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि, स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि
indicates intermediary world. Or you can give an alternative
explanation. र्िस् has got the देवता of िन्द्रः, र्नसो देवः
िन्द्रर्ाः. And िन्द्र represents intermediary world, सोर्लोकर््
represents intermediary world. And therefore in short र्नहस
सम्प्िद्यते means he attains the intermediary world. Ok. Now
that itself is explained farther. सः यजुहभम ः अन्तररिर््
सोर्लोकर्् उन्नीयते. अन्तररक्षर्् must be connected with
सोर्लोकर््. सः यजुहभम ः अन्तररिर्् सोर्लोकर्् उन्नीयते. So
that उपासक is taken to the सोर्लोक otherwise called
333
भुवलोक. And where is the सोर्लोक? अन्तररक्षर््, which is
the intermediary world because भुवलोक is between भल ू ोक
and सुवलोक and therefore अन्तररक्षर्् means अन्तररक्षिर््
सोर्लोकर््. So he is taken to the intermediary world of
सोर्लोक. Through what? यजुहभम ः – through the िजुवेद देवता,
which presides over उकार. Previously it was ऋग्वेद देवता
which was presiding over अकार, now िजुवेद देवता presiding
over उकार. Then what happens to him thereafter. सः
सोर्लोके हवभहू तर्् अनुभुय – so in that सोर्लोक, which is
known as अन्तररक्षलोक, which is known as भुवलोक, which
is known as नपतल त ोक these are all synonyms only. So in that
नपतल त ोक or सोर्लोक, हवभहू तर्् अनुभुय – he enjoys the
glories and powers. Because remember going to सोर्लोक is
becoming a देवता and as a देवता lot of powers are there and
that is why श्राद्धर्् etc., are done because the नपता maybe a
ordinary human being while living, the moment he becomes a
departed soul, a नपत त देवता he bless us. And therefore we say
हवभहू तः. And that is why in तैनिरीि also ते ये शतर्ाजानजानां
देवानार्ानन्दाः । etc., नपतsत are put in a higher लोक with
higher आिन्द also, we saw in ब्रह्मािन्द वल्ली. There
afterwards what happens? िुनः आवतम ते.
ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वगम लोकं हवशालं
िीणे िुण्ये र्त्यम लोकं हवशहन्त । ॥ गीता ९-२१ ॥
they will have to come back. And incidentally you should
remember the र्ागम also. What is the र्ागम ? कतष्णगनत. For
उकार प्र्ाि or उकार हद्वर्ार नवनशष्ट ॐकार उपासिा the
334
फलर्् is कतष्णगनत. कृष्णगहत द्वारा सोर्लोकर्् प्राप्िोनत
तदिन्तरर्् िुनरावतम ते. Ok. Now the second type of ॐकार
उपासिा is over. Now the third type is going to come. Now
you can easily guess the third type. It must be हरर्ार. And
what वेद is left out? सार्वेद. And what गनत is left out?
शुक्लगनत. And he will go to ब्रह्मलोक otherwise known as
सिू म लोक, otherwise known as सुवलोक, all these are
synonyms. Ok. Now we will read.
Verse No. 5.5
यः िुनरे तं हरर्ारेणोहर्त्येतेनवै ािरे ण िरं िुरुषर्हभध्यायीत स
तेजहस सय ू े सम्प्िन्नः । यथा िादोदरस्त्विा हवहनर्म ुच्यत एवं ि वै
स िाप्र्ना हवहनर्म ुक्तः स सार्हभरुन्नीयते ब्रह्मलोकं स
एतस्र्ाज्जीवघनात्िरात्िरं िुररशयं िुरुषर्ीिते । तदेतौ श्लोकौ
भवतः ॥ ५ ॥
So यः िुनः एतर्् हरर्ारेण. So here also हरर्ारेण is

there in ततत ीिा नवभनक्त. We have to convert to नद्वतीिा
हरर्ारर्् ॐकारर््, you have to supply ॐकारर्् अहभध्यायीत.
So यः िुनः एतर्् हरर्ारर्् ॐकारर्् अहभध्यायीत. So on the
other hand that person who meditates upon हरर्ार नवनशष्ट
ॐकारः, that means full ॐकार इत्िथम ः. And that is what the
teacher himself says, एतेनवै अिरे ण – with the whole ॐकार
अक्षर. एतेनवै means with the full ॐकार. So thus the one
who meditates upon the पण ू म ॐकार. So here what is the
प्र्ािर््? अकार उकार र्कार is also included. In the अकार it
335
is identified with नवराट, in the उकार it is identified with
नहरण्िगभम and in the र्कार it is identified with ईश्वरः. That is
said here िरर्् िुरुषर्् अहभध्यायीत – as identical with the परर््
पुरुषः. So परर्् िुरुषः does not here means निगम ुणर््. परर््
िुरुषः means of these three this is ईश्वरः, i.e., र्ािा नवनशष्ट
ब्रह्म, सर्नष्ट कारणशरीर नवनशष्टर्् ब्रह्म. So in the first one it
was सर्नष्ट स्थल ू शरीर नवनशष्टर्् ब्रह्म, the second सर्नष्ट
सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीर नवनशष्टर्् ब्रह्म. here it is सर्हि कारणशरीर
हवहशिर्् ब्रह्म. I am not explaining because I am taking for
granted you are all old students, any new students are there I
am sorry. Ok. परर्् पुरुषर्् अहभध्यायीत –those who
meditates upon the highest सगुण ईश्वर. What is the फलर््?
सः तेजहस सय ू े सम्प्िन्नः – he attains the सि ू म लोकर््, which is
तेजस्, effulgent. So for the first one जगत्यार्् सम्प्िन्नः, for
the second one र्नहस सम्प्िन्नः, र्िस् representing
intermediary world and here सय ू े सम्प्िन्नः means the highest
world. That itself is explained. So next sentence will see later,
dropping the next sentence will take the later portions. सः
सार्हभः ब्रह्मलोकर्् उन्नीयते. सः – that उपासक, ब्रह्मलोकर््
उन्नीयते – is taken to ब्रह्मलोक, otherwise known as सव ु लोक,
otherwise known as सि ू म लोक, which is the highest लोक. By
which वेद? सार्हभः – through the सार्वेद देवता he is taken to
ब्रह्मलोकर््. And what is the greatness of ब्रह्मलोकर््? In
ब्रह्मलोक the पापs are supposed to be minimum, it is free from
all the पापर््s, all the पापर््s means except the लेश all the
िािर््s are gone in ब्रह्मलोक because higher the लोक lesser the
336
िािर््s. Therefore, the least पापर्् is in what? ब्रह्मलोक. Total
freedom from पापर्् when? आत्र्ज्ञानेन. So here we are
talking about उपासिर्् and therefore remember by going to
ब्रह्मलोक a person gets almost purity like gold and all they say,
so therefore chemically pure gold is supposed to be 99.9999
percent that is ब्रह्मलोक. That is said here, सः िाप्र्ना
हवहनर्म ुक्तः भवहत – that person who goes to ब्रह्मलोक becomes
free from all the पापs. So,
सय
came in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् just before िरीक्ष्य लोकान्. ते हवरजाः
प्रयाहन्त. हवरजाः means the same idea, free from all the
पापर््s. सः िाप्र्ना हवहनर्म ुक्तः भवहत. ि वै is only अवधारणर््,
emphasis. So definitely he becomes free from पाप. How? For
that an example is given. What is that? Just as a snake gets
completely freed from its skin, the skin belongs to the snake
but once the snake grows out, once it has become sufficiently
grown up, after sometime what happens, that skin which was
closely connected with the snake gets completely detached
from the snake, it is so totally detached that the snake can
smoothly remove the skin without getting any wound or blood
or anything like a dress it can remove. Similarly, now पापs are
closely sticking to us, like a skin it is all over, all over it is
there. But once we do उपासिा and go to ब्रह्मलोक in fact,
337
while going to ब्रह्मलोक what are we doing, all these things
are sloughed off, so it drops there down, similarly िादोदरः.
िादोदरः means what? Snake. Because for snake what is the
leg? उदरः एव िादः यस्य सः िादोदरः. So that for which the
chest itself, the front portion of the body itself serves as feet is
called िादोदरः. That's why it is called by other name उरगः.
उरगात् गच्छहत इहत उरगः. So this snake त्विा हवहनर्म ुच्यते –
so just as it gets freed from its skin smoothly, effortlessly,
without any strain or difficulty how the snake gets freed from
its skin in the same manner the उपासक gets freed from the
skin of पापर््, the पाप layers go away from him. ok. So
therefore अकार नवनशष्ट ॐकारे ण उपासिा र्िुष्ि प्रानिः,
उकार हवहशि ॐकारे ण or नद्वर्ात्र हवहशि ॐकारे ण स्वगम लोक
or सोर्लोक प्राहिः, and हरर्ार हवहशि ॐकारे ण ब्रह्मलोक
प्राहिः. Ok. All these three लोकs come under अपरर्् ब्रह्म or
परम्ब्ब्रह्म? All the three लोकs come under अपरर्् ब्रह्म only,
therefore through the three types of उपासिा the highest you
can reach is ब्रह्मलोक. Ok. What to do to get र्ुनक्त? Then we
have to use the very same ॐकार but not ॐकार उपासिा but
ॐकार र्ीर्ांसा नविार has to be done. Care of which
उपनिषत्? Care of र्ाण्डूक्ि उपनिषत्. And once a person does
ॐकार नविार and knows the
अर्ारश्चतुथोऽव्यविायम ः प्रिञ्िोिशर्ः हशवोऽद्वैत एवर्ोङ्कार
आत्र्ैव ॥ र्ाण्डूक्योिहनषत् १२ ॥
Thus the one who does ॐकार analysis ॐकार श्रवण र्िि
निनदध्िासिेि then he will attain र्ोक्ष. That is said here. Up
338
to ब्रह्मलोक is one sentence, there afterwards completely
different topic. It is ॐकार नविार topic. सः – so that very
same उपासक, who has reached ब्रह्मलोक practices what?
ॐकार नविारे ण, that is to be understood, ॐकार हविारे ण – by
the analysis of ॐकार, िरात्िरर्् िुररशयर्् िुरुषर्् ईिते – he
comes to know the पुरुष, the परम्ब्ब्रह्म, which is not अपरर्् but
which is the परर््, निगम ुणर््, निरुपान्कर्् ब्रह्म. And where is
it available? िुररशयर्् – which is in the body itself as स्थल ू
सक्ष्ू र् कारण शरीरात् व्यहतररक्त: िञ्िकोशातीत:
अवस्थारयसािी: etc. So िुररशयर््. And िरात्िरर्् – which is
beyond everything, which is beyond the beyond, िरात्िरर््. So
first िर means the कारणर्् that is र्ािा or ईश्वर, even ईश्वर we
can take and िरात्िरर्् means ईश्वरात् अहि िरर््, सगुण ईश्वरात्
अहि परर्् निगम ुण ईश्वरर््. And who is सगुण ईश्वरः?
जीवघनात्. जीवघनात् means what? Who is सर्नष्ट जीवः. So
घनर्् means dense, thickness, सर्हि. So who is beyond
even the Lord, who is सर्नष्ट जीवः. In short, निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म
ईिते. So he comes to know the निगम ुण ब्रह्म. From where?
From ब्रह्मलोक. And when he knows हनगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म in
ब्रह्मलोक he will attain र्ुनक्त there, which we call as क्रर्र्ुनक्त.
If you know the हनगम ण ु र्् ब्रह्म here itself then we will call it
सद्योर्ुनक्त. So therefore now what are the possibilities? Now
two possibilities are there. That is in this लोक you have to do
ॐकार नविार and get र्ुनक्त here itself. This is one option. And
what is the second option? You have to do ॐकार उपासिा. I
don't have the brain to enquire therefore, I will do only
339
उपासिा because you just require chanting ॐ, ॐ, ॐ. I will
do ॐकार उपासिा then I will go to ब्रह्मलोक. And in
ब्रह्मलोक what should I do? ॐकार नविार I have to do and
from ॐकार नविार I can get र्ुनक्त from ब्रह्मलोक, which we
call as what? क्रर्र्ुनक्त. Therefore, either ॐकार उपासिा plus
ॐकार नविार or directly ॐकार नविार itself. Which is better?
So therefore, िुरुषर्् ईिते. With this the ॐकार उपासिा
topic is over and the teacher now wants to quote a supporting
र्न्त्र because this is a ब्राह्मणोपनिषत.् I have told you before
this is a ब्राह्मणोपनिषत् therefore always ब्राह्मणोपनिषत् will
take support from र्न्त्र portion. So, तत् एतौ श्लोकौ भवतः.
तत् means तहस्र्न् अथे. So in this meaning. In which
meaning? That ॐकार उपासिा can lead to ब्रह्मलोक and from
there to क्रर्र्ुनक्त through ॐकार नविार in this regard there is
the following pair of र्न्त्रs, following two र्न्त्रs are there.
Ok. We will see those two र्न्त्रs in the next class.
िण
340
र्न्र. 5.3 – 6.1
यः िुनरे तं हरर्ारेणोहर्त्येतेनवै ािरे ण िरं िुरुषर्हभध्यायीत स
तेजहस सय ू े सम्प्िन्नः । यथा िादोदरस्त्विा हवहनर्म ुच्यत एवं ि वै
स िाप्र्ना हवहनर्म ुक्तः स सार्हभरुन्नीयते ब्रह्मलोकं स
एतस्र्ाज्जीवनात्िरात्िरं िुररशयं िुरुषर्ीिते । तदेतौ श्लोकौ
भवतः ॥ ५ ॥
Three Types of ॐकार उपासिा have been mentioned.
So एकर्ारा उपासिा हद्वर्ात्रा उपासिा and हरर्ात्रा उपासिा
and for each one of them the फलर्् also has been mentioned.
For एकर्ात्रा उपासिा the फलर्् is ऋहग्भः र्नुष्यलोकर््
उहन्नयते, he is taken to र्िुष्ि जन्र् once again by the ऋग्
देवताs which are represented by the एकर्ात्रा that is अकारः.
For the second हद्वर्ारा उपासिा the फलर्् is यजुहभम ः
सोर्लोकर्् उन्नीयते. So through the िजुर् देवताs the उपासक
is taken to सोर्लोक otherwise called नपतल त ोक through
कतष्णगनत that is understood. And for हरर्ात्रा उपासिा which
is nothing but पण ू म ॐकार उपासिा because ितुथम र्ात्रा will
not come in उपासिा context. ितुथम र्ारा will come only in the
case of ज्ञानर््, वेदान्त context alone the तुरीयर्् will come. In
the उपासिा context the highest उपासिा possible is हरर्ारा
नवनशष्ट ॐकार उपासिा and for this उपासिा the फलर्् was
said to be सार्हभः ब्रह्मलोकर्् उन्नीयते through सार्वेद देवताs
he is taken to the ब्रह्मलोकर््. And in ब्रह्मलोक because of his
extreme purity almost all sins are gone from the उपासक and
in ब्रह्मलोक he enjoys आिन्द. And the example was given.
यथा िादोदरः त्विा हवहनर्म ुच्यते एवं सः उिासकः सवव ः िाप्र्हभः
341
हवहनर्म ुच्यते. So he becomes free from िािाs just as the snake
becomes free of the skin effortlessly. That snake example is to
show the effortlessness and totality because you don't see the
sign of the previous skin at all. The new skin is as good as
fresh one, there is no taint of the old skin. Thus effortless and
total freedom from sins is indicated by this. The same
example is given in बहत दारण्िक उपनिषत् also. But there it is
for a ज्ञानि it is given,
तद्यथाहिहनल्वम यनी वल्र्ीके र्त
ृ ा प्रत्यस्ता ॥
बिृ दारण्यकोिहनषत् ४-४-७ ॥
So often they give the example of the snake skin for from
freedom from the िािाs. So thus through the उपासिा he gets
the highest benefit of ब्रह्मलोक. Through which गनत? Here
understood शुक्लगनत द्वारा which is not mentioned here, it has
been already discussed in first chapter. कतष्णगनत and
शुक्लगनत. Ok. Not only he gets to ब्रह्मलोकर्् there in
ब्रह्मलोक he gets an opportunity for ॐकार नविारः where he
comes to the तुरीयर्् part of ॐकार which we saw in
र्ाण्डूक्िोपनिषत् and he comes to निनवम शेष ब्रह्म साक्षात्कारः.
And that is said in the last portion. सः एतस्र्ात्
जीवधनात्िरात्िरं िुररशयर्् िुरुषर्् ईिते. So he comes to
recognize the pure ब्रह्मि् through वेदान्त नविारः, ॐकार
नविारः. And how does he do? You have to understand
ब्रह्मानज will be the teacher there. ब्रह्मणः उिहदिः सन् and in
ब्रह्मलोक conditions also will be ideal. Therefore, ideal
conditions, ideal teacher, your mind, everything is conducive
342
only problem is how to go to ब्रह्मलोक. Once you go it is
ideal but reaching alone is difficult. Ok. And िुरुषर्् ईिते
तेन र्ुक्तो भवहत. He becomes liberated from ब्रह्मलोक which
we call as क्रर्र्ुनक्त and therefore, पण ू म ॐकार उपासिािाः
फलर्् क्रर्र्ुनक्तः. That is नत्रर्ात्रा नवनशष्ट ॐकार उिासनायाः
फलर्् क्रर्र्ुहक्तः, for एकर्ात्रा and नद्वर्ात्रा उपासिा क्रर्र्ुनक्त
will not come only संसार फलर्् will come. This point the
teacher wants to highlight by quoting two ऋग् र्न्त्रs. Which
point? That पण ू म ॐकार उपासिा gives क्रर्र्ुनक्त whereas the
other two उपासिा cannot give र्ुनक्त and therefore the most
important उपासिा is the third उपासिा, the first two उपासिाs
are unimportant. So for that he says तदेतौ तहस्र्न् एतहस्र्न्
अथे क्रर्र्ुहक्तफलक ॐकार उिासना अथे एतौ श्लोकौ the
following 2 र्न्रs are there, which the teacher is going to
quote and conclude the fifth question, the answer to the fifth
question. We will read र्न्र number six.
Verse No. 5.6
हतस्रो र्ारा र्त्ृ युर्त्यः प्रयुक्ता अन्योन्यसक्ता अनहवप्रयुक्ताः ।
हक्रयासु बाह्याभ्यन्तरर्ध्यर्ासु सम्प्यक्प्रयुक्तासु न कम्प्िते ज्ञः ॥
६॥
So this is the ऋग् र्न्त्र quotation given by the
अथवम णवेद उपनिषत्. उिहनषत् belongs to अथवम णवेद, the ऋग्
र्न्त्र quotation is given. So here he says if the ॐकार
उपासिा is used as the first or second variety that is where
each र्ात्रा is separately meditated upon so एकैकशः अकार
343
र्ारा उिासनर्् or अकार उकार र्ारा उिासनर्् thus when
incomplete ॐकार उिासनर्् is done the फलर्् is going to be
ephemeral. That is being said. Ephemeral means what?
पुिरनप र्िुष्ि लोकर्् he gets, which is definitely perishable
only or he may go to सोर्लोक, which also comes under
perishable result, because
ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वगम लोकं हवशालं
िीणे िुण्ये र्त्यम लोकं हवशहन्त । ॥ गीता ९-२१ ॥
Therefore, for अपण ू म ॐकार उपासिा the फलर्् is ephemeral,
finite, अनित्िर््. That is said here. हतस्रः र्ाराः – so these
three र्ात्राs. What are they? अकार उकार र्कार, प्रयुक्ताः –
when used separately, you have to supply एकैकशः. So when
they are used not totally but independently, i.e., अकार र्ारर््
or अकार उकार or उकार र्ारर्् etc., so when they are
employed incompletely, partially, one by one etc. Then what
they will give? र्त्ृ युर्त्यः – they are all of finite results, they
are all of final results alone. So र्त्ृ यु literally means mortality,
mortality means finitude. So when we say human beings are
mortal, what does it mean? They are all finite in nature. So
here र्त्ृ युः अस्य अहस्त इहत अत्याि अहस्त इहत र्त्ृ युर्हत. So
र्ाराः is स्त्रीहलङ्गर््. Therefore, र्ाराः र्त्ृ युर्त्यः. These
र्ात्राs can give only ephemeral results when they are used one
by one independently. Whereas अन्योन्यसक्ताः अनहवप्रयुक्ताः
– so they become properly employed when they are mutually
connected, अन्योन्यसक्ताः so when the three र्ात्राs are
mutually connected as one whole ॐकार they become
344
अनहवप्रयुक्ताः – they will be properly employed. So all the
three र्ात्राs must be used together, they should not be
separately used. So when they are wholly used they become
Holy. Ok. अनहवप्रयुक्ताः is a interesting word. See हवप्रयुक्ताः
means properly used, अहवप्रयुक्ताः means improperly used,
हवप्रयुक्ता’s opposite is अहवप्रयुक्ताः, improperly used.
अनहवप्रयुक्ताः means not improperly used. What does it
mean? Ok. Therefore, हवप्रयुक्ताः means हवशेषेण प्रयुक्ताः.
हवशेषेण means िण ू म तः प्रयुक्ताः, is proper employment of
ॐकार. And अनहवप्रयुक्ताः means not improper employment
that means proper employment. Ok. Why do they use double
negative? Remember whenever we use double negative
emphasis is there. So when I say tomorrow you come it is one
thing. Tomorrow don't absent yourself means definitely come.
So when I want to emphasize your coming I use double
negative. Don't be absent means come definitely. Similarly,
not improperly used means definitely properly used. So,
अनहवप्रयुक्ताः हतस्रः र्ाराः. It goes with र्ात्रा only. So these
three र्ात्राs they are properly employed when mutually joined
together. Ok. Why do you say they are properly employed?
Because only when they are together employed the फलर्् will
be क्रर्र्ुनक्त, which is permanent result. So therefore it is
called proper employment of ॐकार because in this alone a
person gets the िण ू म फलर््, नित्िफलर््.
एकया याहत अनावहृ िर्् अन्यया आवतम ते िुनः ॥ गीता ८-२६ ॥
345
अनावहृ िफलर््, हनत्यफलर्् is attained only when they are used
like that. That is said in the next line. What is proper
employment the teacher himself explains. सम्प्यक् प्रयुक्तासु –
when the three र्ात्राs are are properly employed. In what?
हक्रयासु. Here नक्रिा stands for meditation. ध्यानहक्रयासु – in
the meditation exercise. So in meditation when the three
र्ात्राs are properly employed. What do you mean by proper
employment? बाह्य आभ्यन्तर र्ध्यर्ासु – in all the three fields
of जाग्रत् स्वप्ि and सष ु ुहि. बाह्यर्् means जाग्रत,् आभ्यन्तरर््
means not स्वप्िर्् but सुषुहि, र्ध्िर् means that which is in
between जाग्रत् and सुषुनि. What is that? स्वप्ि. So, बाह्यर्् –
जाग्रत्, आभ्यन्तरर्् – सुषुहि, र्ध्यर् – स्वप्न in the three
fields. Ok. When he says these three fields he indicates the
अहभर्ाहन देवताs of all these things. जाग्रत् अनभर्ानि देवता is
called नवराट्, the सर्नष्ट; स्वप्ि अनभर्ानि देवता, the सर्हि is
called नहरण्िगभम and सुषुनि अनभर्ानि देवता, the सर्हि is
called ईश्वर. That means when the ॐकार represents नवराट्
नहरण्िगभम and ईश्वर, the total. We have seen all these things
in र्ाण्डूक्ि. अकार stands for वैश्वािर प्रथर्पादः, उकार stands
for नहरण्िगभम and र्कार stands for ईश्वर. One is सर्नष्ट
स्थल ू शरीर उपनहत िैतन्िर्् another is सर्नष्ट सर्क्ष्ू र्शरीर
उिहित or नवनशष्ट िैतन्िर्् and the third is सर्नष्ट
कारणशरीर नवनशष्ट िैतन्िर््. Thus the one who makes use of
ॐकार to meditate upon total ईश्वर, बाह्य आभ्यन्तर र्ध्यर्ास,ु
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुहि अहभर्ाहन देवतासु प्रयुक्तासु सत्सु – when
they are used. What is the benefit he will get? ज्ञः न कम्प्िते.
346
ज्ञः means that उपासक. Here ज्ञः stands for उपासक. That
उपासक will there afterwards न कम्प्िते will not at tremble at
all. Trembling stands for fear. So there afterwards he does not
know what is fear in life. Because सः र्ुक्तो भवनत. क्रर्र्ुनक्त
is indicated here.
अभयं प्रहतष्ां हवन्दते । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-७-१ ॥
न हबभेहत कुतश्चनेहत । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् १-९-१॥
गुरुणाहि हविाल्यते ॥ गीता ६-२२ ॥
etc., we have seen. That means he becomes free from fear.
Fear represents संसार and therefore he becomes a free from
संसार. So thus liberation is the result of this proper
employment of ॐकार. ॐकार उपासिा फलर््. This is one
ऋग् र्न्त्र. And now comes another ऋग् र्न्त्रs which also
talks about the same idea.
Verse No. 5.7
ऋहग्भरे तं यजुहभम रन्तररिं सार्हभयम ित्कवयो वेदयन्ते ।
तर्ोङ्कारे णैवायतनेनान्वेहत हवद्वान्यिच्छान्तर्जरर्र्त
ृ र्भयं
िरं िेहत ॥ ७ ॥
So once again the two results are mentioned, that if it
is incompletely used finite result, completely used infinite
result. That is pointed out. ऋहग्भः एतर्् अन्वेहत. अन्वेहत
comes in the second line, that should be added here. ऋहग्भः
एतर्् अन्वेहत so through ऋग् देवताs a person attains एतर््
लोकर्् that is र्िुष्ि लोकर््. When? When अकार उपासिा is
347
done. So when ॐकारस्य अकार र्ारा उपासिा is done, that
is एकर्ारेण ॐकारर्् ध्यायीत. So therefore, अकार र्ारा
उिासना is done, then the फलर्् is ऋग्देवताहभः एतर्् र्नुष्य
लोकर्् अन्वेहत गच्छहत प्राप्नोहत. Then यजुहभम ः अन्तररिर्् – so
if he does हद्वर्ारा उपासिा then he gets अन्तरीक्ष लोकर््
known as सोर्लोक, भुवलोक etc. So first it is भल ू ोक, the
second it is भुवलोक otherwise called सोर्लोक otherwise
called अन्तरीक्ष लोक that he अन्वेहत. So, यजुहभम ः अन्तरीि
लोकर्् प्राप्नोहत. Then सार्हभः यत् तत.् So, यत् तत् means
that लोक. Which लोक? ब्रह्मलोक. So it is the farthest लोक,
therefore तत् is used. So, यत् तत् ब्रह्मलोक रूि फलर्् तत्
सार्हभः प्राप्नोहत. When? When the हरर्ारा ॐकार is
meditated upon. इहत कवयः वेदयन्ते – thus the great ऋनषs
know or recognize. इहत is understood. इहत कवयः वेदयन्ते.
Here कहव means not poet, कहव means ज्ञाहननः, र्िहषम णः,
ऋषयः. So thus the ऋनषs recognize. And all these three results
can be attained with with one ॐकार itself and therefore the
teacher says तर्् ॐकारे ण एव आयतनेन अन्वेहत – so with one
ॐकार itself all these three types results can be acquired. It is
three-in-one. So it is three-in-one, it can be employed for
र्िुष्िलोक, सोर्लोक or ब्रह्मलोक. Therefore, तर््. तर्् means
what? हरहवधर्् लोकर््. So, हरहवधर्् अहि लोकर्् – र्िुष्ि सोर्
ब्रह्म रूप हरहवधर्् लोकर््, ॐकारे ण एव आयतनेन – with the
one ॐकार symbol, आयतनर्् means प्रतीकर््, आयतनर््
means symbol. So taking the ॐकार symbol, अन्वेहत हवद्वान्.
हवद्वान् means उिासक. So उपासकः अन्वेहत प्राप्नोहत. And
348
not only that after attaining ब्रह्मलोक the very same ॐकार
can be again employed, four- in-one, so again the ॐकार can
be employed but here not as उपासिा but as enquiry, नविारः
and then the very same ॐकार will give निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म also
र्ुनक्तफलर्् also. That is said here. यत् तत् शान्तर्् अजरर््
अर्त ृ र्् अभयर्् िरर्् ि इहत. अन्वेहत we have to supply. So,
िरम्प्ब्रह्म ि अन्वेहत – he attains the परम्ब्ब्रह्म, the निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म
also, which is beyond ब्रह्मलोक, beyond ब्रह्मलोक means the
Infinite result. Therefore िरर्् ि अन्वेहत. What? You should
add ॐकारे ण एव with the help of ॐकार itself a person can
attain परम्ब्ब्रह्म also. And what type of परम्ब्ब्रह्म? That is
described. यत् तत् शान्तर््. शान्तर्् नशवर्् अद्वैतर्् ितुथमर््
र्न्यन्ते स आत्र्ा स हवज्ञेयः इत्युक्त प्रकारे ण शान्तर्् – that is
ever tranquil, अजरर्् – free from जरा, old age etc., अर्त ृ र्् –
free from mortality and finally अभयर्् – free from fear. So,
िरर्िुरुषाथम भत ू र््. Because if I say you will attain ब्रह्मि् you
may say, so what? Ok. ब्रह्मप्राहिः फलर््, what is a great thing?
So when we talk about some other thing a car will come we
can immediately connect it there is आिन्द हे तुः and when I
say video will come अन्क आिन्द िे तुः. So when we are
telling the worldly things आनन्द िे तुत्वर्् is immediately
connected but if I say you will attain ब्रह्मि् you will ask what
is the benefit. Not only that it is अशब्दर्् अस्िशम र््. Neither
video nor audio, अशब्दर्् अस्िशम र्् अरूिर््. Nothing is there
in that you may say. Don't say that. शाहन्त, ok, शाहन्त is
there, अजरर्् is there, अर्रर्् is there, therefore in fact that
349
alone is िरर्िुरुषाथम भत ू र््. To show that पुरुषाथम this
adjective has been given. Therefore, िरर्िुरुषाथम भत ू र््
परम्ब्ब्रह्म अन्वेहत प्राप्नोहत. So with this the ऋग्वेद quotation
is over and ॐकार उपासिा topic also is over.
So this is a simple chapter in the sense that many
questions are not there. In previous chapters and all four
questions, five questions; all together only five questions are
there, in that itself each student is asking four five etc.,
सत्िकार् was nice student, he did not give too many
problems, he only asked one question if a person does ॐकार
उपासिा throughout the life and at the time of the death also
what is the फलर्् that he will attain. This was the straight and
simple question and the teacher also did not complicate much,
even though a little bit elaboration he did. His answer
involved three points अकार र्ारा उिासना –
र्नुष्यलोकफलर््, उकार र्ारा उिासना - अन्तरीि लोकफलर््,
र्कार र्ारा उिासना - ब्रह्मलोकफलर््. Therefore, I have
nothing to give as special summary. So simple it is. So now
we will go to the sixth and last question of the प्रश्न उपनिषत्.
Ok. Only one point I wanted to mention. So since in the end
the teacher is praising the हरर्ात्रा उपासिा specially some
commentators say that एकर्ात्रा उपासिा and नद्वर्ात्रा उपासिा
are really not taught at all. There is no तात्पिम र्् in that. This
is only to glorify हरर्ारा उपासिा, the एकर्ात्रा and नद्वर्ात्रा
उपासिा are mentioned, it is only स्तुत्यथम र्् but the श्रुनत does
not expect any person to practice this two उपासिाs. But then
350
why it is said? To glorify the superiority of the other one
these two are mentioned, really speaking there is no तात्ियम र््
therefore first two उपासिा are स्तुहतभत ू र्् the third उपासिा
alone is the main teaching. Therefore, the first two उपासिा
are not included as the primary teaching. Ok. We will read the
first र्न्र of the next chapter.
351
प्रश्न उपनिषत् षष्ः प्रश्नः
षष्ः प्रश्नः
Verse No. 6.1
अथ िैनं सुकेशा भारद्वाजः िप्रच्छ । भगवहन्िरण्यनाभः कौसल्यो
राजिुरो र्ार्ुिेत्यैतं प्रश्नर्िच्ृ छत षोडशकलं भारद्वाज िुरुषं
वेत्थ । तर्िं कुर्ारर्ब्रवं नािहर्र्ं वेद यद्यिहर्र्र्वेहदषं कथं ते
नावक्ष्यहर्हत, सर्ल ू ो वा एष िररशुष्यहत योऽनतृ र्हभवदहत
तस्र्ान्नािाम म्प्यनतृ ं वक्तुर्् । स तष्ू णीं रथर्ारुह्य प्रवव्राज । तं त्वा
िच्ृ छाहर् क्वासौ िुरुष इहत ॥ १ ॥
So अथ. अथ means what? Thereafter. Whereafter?
After answering the question of सत्िकार् and now comes the
sixth and last student. There were only six students and he
happens to be the final interview. And who is he? भारद्वाजः
सुकेशा. In fact, in the first chapter when the six students were
enumerated his name came first. So the question order is
reversal of the first. सुकेशा भारद्वाजः in that order it came. So
the first student asked the last question, the second student
asked the fifth question, now comes the first student who is
called सुकेशा otherwise भारद्वाजः, two names one student
remember. एनर््. To the same person. Therefore, एनर्् means
नपप्पलादर्् गुरुर््. िप्रच्छ – he asked the question. He does not
directly ask the question but he is quoting incident that
happened to him. And what is that incident? Once upon a
time, it seems this सुकेशा himself was approached by a
prince. So सुकेशा the student himself was approached by a
prince. What prince? The name is given here. नहरण्ििाभः
कौसल्िः राजपुत्रः, so हिरण्यनाभः कौसल्यः. हिरण्यनाभः is the
352
name, कौसल्यः means कोसला देशवानस. कौसल्िः. कौसल्िा
also is रार्’s mother from कोसला देश. The only thing is
कौसल्या स्त्रीहलङ्गर््, here कौसल्िः पुनल्लङ्गर्् that is only
difference. And who was he? राजपुत्रः, who was the son of a
king, a prince, क्षनत्रि वंश. र्ार्् उिेत्य – approached me and
एतर्् प्रश्नर्् अिच्ृ छत – asked the question which I am going to
ask you now. एतर्् means what I am going to ask that questin
he asked me. So एतर्् प्रश्नर्् अिच्ृ छत. And भगवि्. भगवि्
is what? He is addressing, सक ु े शा is addressing नपप्पलाद, िे
भगवि्. All these indicate the attitude. Whenever that भगवि्
etc., comes it indicates how the गुरु is kept in respect. Ok.
What did he ask? Now we are going to get quotation within
quotation. Already सक ु े शा is talking and now सक ु े शा is
putting within quotation what the prince asked. Now the
prince is asking सुकेशा what? षोडशकलर्् भारद्वाज िुरुषर््
वेत्थ – so िे भारद्वाज! भारद्वाज is the student of नपप्पलाद here.
So िे भारद्वाज! षोडशकलर्् िुरुषर्् – so the पुरुष known as
षोडशकलः, the sixteen parted पुरुष, िुरुष with sixteen कलाs.
कला means part, अवयव etc. षोडश अवयवर्् पुरुषर््, षोडश
भागर्् पुरुषर््. वेत्थ – do you know? So thus the prince asked
सुकेशा. So which means सुकेशा himself was a ब्रह्मिारर, who
was in the forest or some place, who was already learning the
scriptures, who was very well informed person and that is why
the prince chose to ask him. But to his dismay he found that
even though he had studied a lot of scriptures षोडशकल topic
happens to be unknown to him. Because remember
353
अनन्तशास्त्रं बिु वेहदतव्यं अल्िश्च कालो बिवश्च हवघनाः ।
यत्सारभतू ं तदुिाहसतव्यं िंसो यथा िीरहर्वाम्प्बुहर्श्रर्् ॥
र्िासुभाहषतसंग्रि ॥
That too especially in our tradition पुराणs, श्रुनत, स्र्नत त,
उपनिषत्, so much struggle is there. अनन्तशास्त्रं बिु वेहदतव्यं
अल्िश्च कालः so all these duties all of them having left all of
them, the time itself is limit अल्िश्च कालः and in that also
बिवश्च हवघनाः headache will come, stomach pain, something
or the other. Therefore, what can we do? यत्सारभत ू ं
तदुिाहसतव्यं. Thus the शास्त्र is great and therefore, सुकेशा
himself did not know what this षोडशकल is. Ok. Then what
we are doing? So after all he doesn't know he is very clear,
that is why he is asking and not only that I have already learnt
something and very fact that some people are asking questions
means I am in a higher pedestal that means my ego is bigger
than the other person. So when I have already studied
something and when already people have recognized me as a
knower then they general tendency will be what very difficult
to say I don't know it requires a tremendous humility. See a
man who doesn't know anything so he will say I don't know
but the one who knows a little it becomes a very difficult thing
to say I don't know and the second thing is it requires a
tremendous intellectual honesty also. Because, if I am a
sincere person I should know with how much sincerity the
other person is asking therefore I have no right to mislead him
at all. And therefore this सुकेशा was in a fix now but he says
354
I didn't have any problem. I said I don't know िुरुषः.
Therefore, he says तर्् अिर्् कुर्ारर्् अब्रुवर््. तर्् कुर्ारर््
means that prince, that is नहरण्ििाभ. So तर्् हिरण्यनाभर््
कुर्ारर्् अिर्् अब्रुवर््. What did I say? न अिर्् इर्र्् वेद – I
do not know this षोडशकल पुरुषः. And the worst thing is the
other person doesn't accept it. So you are not telling, you are
avoiding, you think that I am not fit to learn, so therefore the
other person doesn't accept because the other person has got
so much respect to सक ु े शा that he cannot imagine that सक ु े शा
can be ignorant. This is what we think. Any person who
knows a little bit more and we definitely put him in such a
higher pedestal that we think that our गुरु is सवम ज्ञः, need not
be our गुरु knows more than us, he need not be सवम ज्ञ at all
and therefore the prince is not ready to accept. Therefore, he
says no, no, no, you know and you are still telling, you are
trying to avoid some secret, there is something you should tell.
So then he says यहद अिर्् इर्र्् अवेहदषर्् – if I had known
this षोडशकल िुरुषः, कथर्् ते न अवक्ष्यर्् – why I would not
have told you, I would have certainly told you willingly, there
is no reason for me to hide. It is not a royal secret. So it is not
a secret thing, there is nobody going to suffer out of it,
therefore I can happily reveal this there is no reason for me to
hide. And therefore न अवक्ष्यर््. And not only that he says
there is another reason. And what is that? Telling a lie is a
very very very very big thing. He says सर्ल ू ः वा एषः
िररशुष्यहत यः अनतृ र्् अहभवदहत – so the one who tells a lie -
355
there is no small or big lie, lie is lie. Therefore यः अनतृ र््
अहभवदहत सः सर्ल ू ः िररशुष्यहत – he is completely destroyed
along with his roots. So शङ्करािायम writes
‘इिलोकिरलोकाभ्यां हवहच्छद्यते हवनश्यहत’
इिलोकिरलोकसुखर्् तस्य हवनश्यहत. He cannot get
इिलोकपुरुषाथम s or he cannot get िरलोकपुरुषाथम s. And
therefore सत्िर्् should be told, असत्िर्् should not be told at
all. So यः अनतृ र्् अहभवदहत सः सर्ल ू ः िररशुष्यहत. So, from
this story नपप्पलाद gets an important hint from सक ु े शा. And
what is that hint? So since सुकेशा said that I told नहरण्ििाभ.
So नपप्पलाद is the main teacher now knows about सुकेशा
very well because सुकेशा tells that I did not tell a lie to him,
that means नपप्पलाद knows सक ु े शा had right values of life,
अर्ाहनत्वर्दहम्प्भत्वर्हिंसा िाहन्तराजम वर्् ।
आिायोिासनं शौिं स्थैयमर्ात्र्हवहनग्रिः ॥ गीता १३-७ ॥
That means the student is a qualified student, वेदान्त will
bless only when these values are there. And that is why in the
thirteenth chapter values were themselves called ज्ञािर््.
Because study of scriptures minus values is as good as
अज्ञािर््. Study of scriptures with values alone can be called
ज्ञानर््. And therefore सत्िर््, असत्िर्् plus ब्रह्मज्ञािर्् cannot
go. Similarly, all others also. Thus here सत्िर्् is highlighted
very much. And the reason I have talked about before also, in
the केिोपनिषत् the word came सत्िर््
तसै तिो दर्ः कर्ेहत प्रहतष्ा वेदाः सवाम ङ्गाहन सत्यर्ायतनर््
॥ केनोिहनषत् ४-८ ॥
356
सत्िर्् was said to be the abode of ब्रह्मज्ञािर््. And in the
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् we saw
सत्यर्ेव जयते नानतृ ं
सत्येन िन्था हवततो दे वयानः । ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् ३-१-६ ॥
Etc. So in that context I have already discussed. The idea is
this. सत्िर्् as value means what? Speaking the truth. It is a
value at the speech level and there is another सत्िर््. And
what is that सत्िर््? सत्िर्् ज्ञािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म, that is also
सत्िर््. So सत्िर्् as ब्रह्मि् and सत्िर्् as the truthful
speaking, यथाथम कथनर््, यथाथम भाषणर््. In that सत्िर्् ब्रह्म
is called पारर्ानथम क सत्िर््, truthful speech is called
र्विावहाररक सत्िर््. Where does this truth speaking come? In
the र्विावहार. In पारर्ानथम क there is no speech at all.
यतो वािो हनवतम न्ते । अप्राप्य र्नसा सि । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत्
२-४-१ ॥
Therefore, speaking truth is called र्विावहाररक सत्िर््. ब्रह्मि्
is called पारर्ानथम क सत्िर््. Now what we want to say is if
पारर्ानथम क सत्िर्् has to be attained, we should first start with
र्विावहाररक सत्िर््. When not having र्विावहाररक सत्िर््
itself from where does the पारर्ानथम क सत्िर्् come. And
therefore without र्विावहाररक सत्िर्् पारर्ानथम क सत्िर््
cannot be attained at all. Therefore, र्विावहाररक सत्िर््
becomes an important value to attain पारर्ानथम क सत्िर््. So,
therefore here a very strong world is used even in the other
उपनिषत्s like this it has not been used. What is being said is
सर्ल ू र््, so therefore, with roots this person will perish if he
357
tells a lie. So you can imagine how much importance is given
to सत्िर््. That means we can sacrifice anything for the sake
of सत्िर््. So therefore there is no question of for the sake of
money can I tell a lie or for the sake of family can I tell a lie,
for the sake of country can I tell a lie, there is no such question
even र्रणर्् is going to come सत्िर्् should not be given up.
That is the idea here. सर्ल ू ः वा एषः िररशुष्यहत. तस्र्ात् न
अिाम हर् अनतृ र्् वक्तुर््. Who is saying all these things? सुकेशा
is telling. So therefore I cannot tell you a lie and just explain
some षोडशकल, taking some कल and explaining I cannot do
that, therefore I openly accept my ignorance. Then what
happens? नहरण्ििाभ was disappointed, all the way he has
come. Therefore, सः. सः means सः नहरण्ििाभः, क्षनत्रिः
राजकुर्ारः तष्ू णीर्् – he could not comment. So therefore
silently. So one side he feels like appreciating because the
other person told the truth, at the same time he is disappointed
because he did not get the answer. Therefore, he didn't know
whether to be happy or unhappy. Therefore best thing is what?
र्ौिर््. Therefore, तष्ू णीर्् – quietly, silently, रथर्् आरुह्य –
since being a prince he got into that Mercedes Benz, so
therefore रथर्् आरुह्य प्रवव्राज – he went away. प्रवव्राज here it
means he went away. प्रवव्राज has got another meaning also,
which means सन्न्िास. Because that is also going away from
home, leaving home. Here also it is used as a simple sense of
leaving the place. Ok. Then नपप्पलाद will be wondering why
are you telling all these stories. So now सुकेशा comes to the
358
topic. Now I want to ask you what that षोडशकल is which he
asked me. Therefore तर्् षोडशकल पुरुषर्् िर्् नहरण्ििाभः
र्ह्यर्् पष्ट
त वाि् तर्् षोडशकल िुरुषर्् त्वा िच्ृ छाहर् – I am
asking you. Ok. What do I ask? क्व असौ िुरुषः इहत – where
is that षोडशकल िुरुषः? I have seen so many िुरुषs but
where is this षोडशकल िुरुषः? ब्राह्मण िुरुष I have heard,
िहरय पुरुष I have heard, वैश्य पुरुष I have heard but
षोडशकल िुरुषः I have not seen at all, where is that person
available? क्व असौ िुरुषः इहत, इहत must be connected with
first line सुकेशा भारद्वाजः िप्रच्छ. Thus after narrating this
incident सुकेशा asked the question. And now he is going to
answer, नपप्पलाद is going to answer the षोडशकल. Those
details we will see in the next class.
िण
359
र्न्र. 6.1 - 6.2
अथ िैनं सुकेशा भारद्वाजः िप्रच्छ । भगवहन्िरण्यनाभः कौसल्यो
राजिुरो र्ार्ुिेत्यैतं प्रश्नर्िच्ृ छत षोडशकलं भारद्वाज िुरुषं
वेत्थ । तर्िं कुर्ारर्ब्रवं नािहर्र्ं वेद यद्यिहर्र्र्वेहदषं कथं ते
नावक्ष्यहर्हत, सर्ल ू ो वा एष िररशुष्यहत योऽनतृ र्हभवदहत
तस्र्ान्नािाम म्प्यनतृ ं वक्तुर्् । स तष्ू णीं रथर्ारुह्य प्रवव्राज । तं त्वा
िच्ृ छाहर् क्वासौ िुरुष इहत ॥ १ ॥
The sixth and last question is being asked by सुकेशा
otherwise known as भारद्वाजः. Before asking the question
narrate an incident in which a prince known as नहरण्ििाभ is
approaching सुकेशा, the student and he is asking for the
knowledge of षोडशकल पुरुष and सुकेशा informs him that ‘I
do not know about this पुरुष’ and the prince is turned back
and now सुकेशा has approached the teacher नपप्पलाद and he
is asking for the same question, i.e., the षोडशकल पुरुष.
What is the purpose of this narration we should know. The
student could have directly asked ‘I want to learn about the
षोडशकल पुरुष’, why should he talk about the previous
incident, ‘somebody came and asked me, I could not give the
answer, I turned him back and now I want to know,’ why all
this excesses if you ask, we give two तात्पिम र््, two ideas for
this story.
And one is to teach the value of सत्िर््. So when a
person doesn't know the answer he must be honest enough to
accept his ignorance instead of giving a doubtful answer or a
360
wrong answer. So thus the value of सत्िर्् is highlighted in
this story.
And the second thing is the सुकेशा भारद्वाजः, who is a
very learned person, who was approached by a prince, such a
भारद्वाज himself doesn't know about षोडशकल पुरुषः which
indicates that this is a rare knowledge, it is not that widely
known because सुकेशा, the student who was very popular at
that time, who was approached by the prince, even he did not
know the answer. Therefore, the rareness of the wisdom is
indicated
आश्चयम वत् िश्यहत कहश्चत् एनर्् ॥ गीता २-२९ ॥
श्रवणायाहि बिु हभयो न लभ्यः शण्ृ वन्तोऽहि बिवो यं न हवद्युः ।।
कठोिहनषद् १-२-७ ।।
राजहवद्या राजगुह्यर्् ॥ गीता ९-२ ॥
तं दुदमशां गढ
ू र्नुप्रहविं ॥ कठोिहनषत् १-२-१२ ॥
that rareness is indicated here. Finally, the student asks the
question क्व असौ िुरुषः इहत. असौ िुरुषः means षोडशकल
िुरुषः क्व वतम ते. क्व means what? कुत्र. कुत्र means what?
Where. So he is asking this question as though he already
knows what this पुरुष is. In fact, really the question must be
कः असौ िुरुषः. Who is that षोडशकल िुरुषः must be the first
question. And thereafter alone क्व असौ वतम ते question can
come. So where is your son, suppose I have to ask, first I
should know that you have a son. And then only I can ask
where he is. अहस्तत्वज्ञानान्तरर्् एव आधारज्ञान प्रश्न
361
सम्प्भवहत. So, therefore we have to supply two questions. That
is कः असौ िुरुषः? Who is that षोडशकल िुरुषः? And where
is that षोडशकल िुरुषः? That is the question. Now नपप्पलाद
the teacher is going to answer. र्न्रs number two.
Verse No. 6.2
तस्र्ै स िोवािेिवै ान्तःशरीरे सोम्प्य स िुरुषो यहस्र्न्नेताः षोडश
कलाः प्रभवन्तीहत ॥ २ ॥
तस्र्ै. So तस्र्ै भारद्वाजाय हशष्याय हवहधवत् उिसन्नाय
सत्यसन्धाय ज्ञान अिाम य हशष्याय इत्यथम ः. So to that student
who has approached the गुरु properly and who is सत्यसन्धः,
very truthful and who deserves the knowledge of ब्रह्मनवद्या to
such a qualified student तस्र्ै भारद्वाजाय हशष्याय. Remember
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्
तस्र्ै स हवद्वानुिसन्नाय सम्प्यक्
प्रशान्तहििाय शर्ाहन्वताय ।
येनािरं िुरुषं वेद सत्यं प्रोवाि
तां तत्त्वतो ब्रह्महवद्यार्् ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-२-१३ ॥
So there शङ्करािायम comments that when a student is a
deserving student no teacher can deny the knowledge,
whatever be the difficulty the teacher has to impart the
wisdom to a deserving student. “आिायम स्याप्ययर्ेव हनयर्ो
यन्न्यायप्रािसहच्छष्यहनस्तारणर्हवद्यार्िोदधेः” –
र्ुण्डकोिहनषद्भाष्यर््. आिायम स्योऽहि अयर्् हनयर्ः न्यायप्राि
हशष्यर्् न िररिरे त्. A हशष्य who has approached properly
should not be refused, denied of that knowledge. And
362
therefore सः नपप्पलादः गुरुः तस्र्ै भारद्वाजाय उवाि. हकर््
उवाि? इिैव एषः िुरुषः सौम्ब्ि. सौम्ब्ि is oh pleasing one. Just
patting the student. Because नपप्पलाद is a very great sage
and when you approach a very great person because of the
awe, because of the extraordinary respect there will be fear
involved in him and when there is fear you cannot listen to
properly, therefore the teacher always makes the student
relaxed by such nice addresses. िे सौम्ब्ि! be relaxed, don't be
tensed, don't be afraid of me, I won’t swallow you, even if you
ask a wrong question doesn't matter, everybody has the same
problem. In front of a big audience if I ask a wrong question
and cut a sorry figure, so many people are afraid. So teacher
says don't be afraid. So therefore, सौम्ब्ि. सोर्वत,् सोर्तुल्िः,
सोर् is the moon. The moon is supposed to be very pleasing.
Therefore the one who has got a charming form like that of a
moon. िे सौम्ब्ि इिैव सः िुरुषः वतम ते. So, इिैव means अहस्र्न्
शरीरे एव, so हृदयगुिायार््,
यो वेद हनहितर्् गुिायार्् िरर्े व्योर्न् ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषदत् २-
१-१ ॥
In the हृदि गुिा as the very ‘I’ the awareness, as the very
अपरोक्ष अहर््, अिरोित्वेन यः हनत्य्र्् उिलभ्यते
प्रनतबो्नवन्तत्वेि यः उिलभ्यते सः एव िुरुषः यः त्वया िि ृ ः.
So therefore the first job that he does is that the िुरुषः, the
परम्ब्ब्रह्म is not an object at all, the परम्ब्ब्रह्म happens to be the
very subject. Therefore, it is as good as a र्हावाक्िर््. So,
सवम गर्् ह्येतत् ब्रह्म, अिर्ात्र्ा ब्रह्म as it was said in र्ाण्डूक्ि
363
similarly इिैव शरीरे means in the body, अन्तः indicates in the
हृदिर््. But this should not create a confusion. If you say
ब्रह्मि् is within the body, within the हृदिर्् then the idea of
limitation may come. So, we should remember when the
teacher says ब्रह्मि् is in the अन्तःकरण, it does not mean
ब्रह्मि् is present in the अन्तःकरण, it means ब्रह्मि् is manifest
in the अन्तःकरण जीव रूपेण.उपलनब््स्थािर्् इत्िथम ः. ि तु
“कुण्डबदरवत्” शङ्करािािम writes, it is not like there are
fruits within a pot or a jug I say it means fruit is only within it
is not outside, it is not like that, it is like telling आकाशः
घटस्य अन्तः वतम ते इहतवत्, it is available within the pot,
outside also it is available. But to recognize the परम्ब्ब्रह्म we
have to take recourse to our अन्तःकरण. तत्रैव.
सदा सवम गतोऽप्यात्र्ा न सवम रावभासते ।
बुद्धावेवावभासेत स्वच्छे षु प्रहतहबम्प्बवत् ॥ आत्र्बोधः १७ ॥
यद्यहि आत्र्ा सदा सवम गतः अहस्त तथा अहि सवम र न अवभासते,
it is not manifest everywhere, बुद्धौ एव अवभासेत. Like what?
स्वच्छे षु प्रहतहबम्प्बवत् just as a reflection comes in a clean
surface. Similarly, हित् manifests in अन्तःकरणर््. Therefore
it is said अन्तः िुरुषे. So with this the first question is
answered. The first question means here क्व असौ िुरुषः. I
said we have to supply another question also. कः असौ िुरुषः.
Earlier क्व असौ. क्व means where. Now the second implied
question is कः असौ िुरुषः – who is this षोडशकल पुरुषः?
And that पुरुष has to be revealed, which is the topic of
364
following portion. For क्व असौ िुरुषः has small answer. इिैव
अन्तःशरीरे . कः असौ िुरुषः is the rest of the sixth chapter.
Now the student has made a statement षोडशकलः पुरुषः. In
this very statement there is a problem. Here the word िुरुषः
means ब्रह्मि्. िुरुषः does not mean a male. Here िुरुषः means
िरू यहत सवम र्् इहत िुरुषः िरम्प्ब्रह्म. And षोडशकलः means
what? षोडश means sixteen, कलः means part or limb,
अवयवर्् इत्यथम ः. And षोडशकलः means षोडश कलाः
यहस्र्न् सः षोडशकलः – the one who is endowed with
sixteen limbs. The sixteen parted ब्रह्मि्, the sixteen limbed
ब्रह्मि.् Ok. What is the problem in this? षोडशकल पुरुषः is
good only? Just as our local पुरुषs have got limbs,
िस्तिाहणिादाहदवत् िुरुषस्याहि अवयवाः सन्तु इहत िेत. न, it
cannot be so because the उपनिषत् reveals ब्रह्मि् as
हनरवयवर््.
ू म ः िुरुषः स बाह्याभ्यन्तरो ह्यजः ।
हदव्यो ह्यर्त
अप्राणो ह्यर्नाः शुभ्रो ह्यिरात्िरतः िरः ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् २-१-
२॥
So in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् it was said that परम्ब्ब्रह्म is हनरवयवर्् or
हनष्कलर््. What is हनष्कलर््? हनगम ताः कलाः यस्र्ात् सः
हनष्कलः and if you say षोडशकलः it will be what? सकलः.
So the student is asking about सकल पुरुषः whereas the fact
is the पुरुष is हनष्कलः. Therefore, the teacher will have to
take care of this misconception. And therefore, the teacher
wants to talk about हनष्कलः पुरुषः here afterwards first. And
he will justify the षोडशकल somehow. And how that name
365
comes he will tell later. And he is going to reveal हनष्कलः
िुरुषः. So I am going to use the word हनष्कलर्् here
afterwards often, remember the meaning. हनष्कलर्् means
what? That which is free from all limbs, हनरवयवर््,
रूपरनहतर््, अर्त ू म र्् etc. How to reveal हनष्कलर्् ब्रह्म is the
question. How can the teacher reveal हनष्कलर्् ब्रह्म because
it is not available for objectification.
न तर ििुगमच्छहत न वाग्गच्छहत नो र्नः । न हवद्मो न
हवजानीर्ो । ॥ केनोिहनषत् १-३ ॥
So the eyes do not go there, the words do not go there, the
intellect cannot go there, when सवम प्रर्ाण अगोिरर्् तत् then
that ब्रह्मि् is beyond the scope of all प्रर्ाणर््s, the teacher
cannot use ordinary methods to reveal that ब्रह्मि.् So then
what he has to? Use extraordinary method. Some other
method he should use and that method alone is popularly
known as अध्यारोि अिवाद न्यायः. In the र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् I
have elaborately discussed, this is only a revision session.
अध्यारोि-अिवादाभ्यार्् हनष्प्रिञ्िर्् प्रिञ्च्यते ।
हशष्याणार्् सुख बोधाथां तत्त्वज्ञैः कहल्ित क्रर्ः ॥
So अध्यारोि अिवाद method is used so that the teacher can
also teach, the student can also understand. So this
methodology is called सम्ब्प्रदाि, which has been there from
अिानद परम्ब्परा. And what is the method? Four steps I have
talked about in र्ुण्डकोपनिषत.् What is that?
366
i) The first step is introduce the world itself as a कािम र््,
a product, an effect. Introduce the world itself as an effect, a
कािम र््. So this itself is a very difficult thing because you can
never talk about the world as an effect because the material
world, according to our experience, is eternal. Isn't it? Even
according to scientists matter cannot be produced or destroyed
and therefore the material world must have been always there,
in one form or the other. They may say it was in an energy
form or dot form. There was a big bang came into the world,
whatever it might be everybody thinks that the world of matter
is always there. Therefore the first job of the scriptures is to
say that the material universe, the matter is a कािम र््. The
जडप्रपञ्िः is कािम र््. This is the first step.
ii) Then what is the next step? Once you say the world is
a कािम र्् then what will be next automatic question? यहद इदर््
जगत् कायम र्् स्यात् तहिम यहत्कहञ्ित् कारणर्् तस्य वक्तव्यर््
वतम ते. For this कािम प्रपञ्िः there must be a कारणर््.
Therefore, the second step is introduction of the कारणर््,
which people do not know at all. Because all people are
involved in what कािम प्रपञ्ि only. Whether it is biology or
zoology or botany or medicine or astrology or astronomy all
the sciences are dealing with the material universe, therefore
the scripture have to introduce something which is other than
the material universe and which happens to be the cause of the
material universe and that is the कारणर््. And the scriptures
introduces the कारणर्् as सत्िर्् ज्ञािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. So
367
what is relevant is the word ज्ञािर््. The Consciousness, the
िैतन्िर्् is introduced as the cause of matter. So this is also a
shocking revelation because according to the scientists it is
the matter which is fundamentally there and the matter
because of certain reactions and configuration by mistake
formed into a cell or something and then came unicellular
organism, Consciousness and all. Therefore, what they think
is Consciousness is a product of matter. So what was there
originally? Matter. There afterwards life or Consciousness
came out of it. So that is what they think but the scriptures
reverse the whole process and say that िैतन्िर््, ज्ञानर्् is the
cause िैतन्िर्् रूपर्् ब्रह्म जड प्रिञ्िस्य कारणर्् अनस्त. This
is the second step introduction of कारणर््. And the first and
second step put together is called अध्यारोिः or सनत ष्ट. To tell it
in short it is सनत ष्ट. So सनत ष्ट or अध्यारोिः is introducing the
effect and the cause, in whatever order it maybe. I have put in
a particular order, the उपनिषत् may put in a different order.
Because in तनिरीि the order is different. First कािम र्् and
then कारणर्् has been said. But in भग ृ ुवल्ली the order is
different
यतो वा इर्ाहन भत ू ाहन जायन्ते । येन जाताहन जीवहन्त । यत्
प्रयन्त्यहभसंहवशहन्त । तहद्वहजज्ञासस्व । तद् ब्रह्मेहत । ॥
तैहिरीयोिहनषत् ३-१-१ ॥
There from कािम र्् to कारणर््. The order may be different in
different उपनिषत्s. Ok.
368
iii) Now what is the third step? The third step is this. So I
should show that कािम र्् does not have an existence separate
from the कारणर््. कारणर्् व्यहतररक्तेन कायम र्् नाहस्त. So
therefore once I say that the कािम र्् doesn't have an existence
of its own what am I doing, I am negating the very कािम र््
itself as non-existent different from the कारणर््. Therefore
कािम निषे्ः is the third step. कािम हनषेधः, matter is negated,
there is no matter different from Consciousness.
Consciousness व्यहतररक्त िैतन्िर्् व्यहतररक्त जड प्रिञ्िो नार्
कहश्चत् नास्त्येव. कािम हनषेधः is the third step.
iv) Then what is the fourth step, do you remember? So
once कािम र्् is negated, the कारणर्् cannot enjoy the status of
कारणर्् itself. Because कारण, the name is relative name, it is
there only as long as the कािम बुनद्ध is there. यावत् कायम बुहद्धः
हतष्हत तावत् कालर्् एव कारण बुहद्धः स्यात् कायम बुद्धौ
हनहषद्धायार्् तस्यार्् कारण बुहद्धः अवश्यर्् हनहषद्धा स्यात.् So
once कािम बुनद्ध is negated, here we need to be careful, we
should not say कारणर्् has been negated because if you
negate कािम र्् and कारणर्् what will happen? शन्ू यवाद
प्रसङ्गः. Remember it will end up in शन्ू िवाद. If you negate
कािम र्् but you don't negate कारणर्् but if you negate the
कारण status of िैतन्िर्् and therefore what is left out is कािम
कारण नवलक्षणर्् शुद्धर्् िैतन्िर्् एव अवहतष्ते. So the fourth
step is what? कारणस्य कारणत्व हनषेधः. The कारणत्व status
is negated from कारणर््. Then what is left out? अकारणर््
िैतन्िर्् is left out. What about कािम र््? That has gone
369
already. Therefore, अकारणर्् िैतन्िर््, कािम कारण
व्यहतररक्त िैतन्िर््, तुरीिर्् िैतन्िर््, do you remember
र्ाण्डूक्ि, नवश्व तैजस प्राज्ञः all of them are gone. That alone is
left out. Now the third and fourth step together is known as
अिवाद.
So do you remember the four steps?
So first introduce the कािम र््,
From there go to कारणर््
Then negate the कािम र्् as non-existence different from
कारणर््. So I introduce the pot as कािम र््. First step. And
there afterwards I say
यतो वा अयर्् घटः जायते । येन अयर्् घटः हतष्हत । यहस्र्न्
अयर्् घटः प्रहवशहत । तहद्वहजज्ञासस्व । सा र्हृ िकेहत ।
So from घटः I enter into र्त त ् बुनद्ध. So therefore I have
shifted the घट बुनद्ध to र्त
ृ ् बुनद्ध. From pot thought we have
come to clay thought. pot बुहद्ध to clay बुहद्ध. So first step and
second step.
Once you have come to the clay thought I say keeping your
vision in the clay tell me where is the pot? Then you will find
that as long as my vision is in clay மரத்தை மதைத்ைது
மாமை யாதை மரத்ைின் மதைந்ைது மாமை யாதை.
பரத்தை மதைத்ைது பார்முைல் பூைம் பரத்தை
மதைந்ைது பார்முைல் பூைமம. (र्रिै र्ऱै िदु र्ार्द यानै
र्रहिल् र्ऱै न्ददु र्ार्द यानै. िरिै र्ऱै िदु िार्म ुदल् भत
ू र्् िरिै
370
र्ऱै न्ददु िार्म ुदल् भत
ू र्े. ‘The gigantic elephant hides the wood,
the gigantic elephant is (also) subsumed in the wood. The
universe masks the reality of the Self, the universe disappears
in the reality of the Self.’) The moment I have got clay vision
pot is dismissed because it doesn't have a substantiality of its
own. And therefore keeping your eyes in the clay I negate the
pot कािम हनषेधः and once I have negated the कािम र्् then I ask
you to relook the clay. Clay can be called cause only as long
as you look from the pot standpoint, once the pot is negated
clay cannot be called even a cause therefore I negate the
causal status of the clay. Therefore कारणत्वर्् of the र्त ृ ् is
also negated. Then what is left out? अकारण कायम र्् clay एव
अवहतष्ते. Clay was, clay is and clay ever will be. In
between what happened? Some confusion. That's all.
वािारम्प्भणर्् हवकारो नार्धेयर्् र्हृ िकेत्येव सत्यर्् ॥
छान्दोग्योिहनषत् ६-१-४ ॥
You introduced a word called pot and got bound by the very
word. So the word which is your creation became a
Frankenstein for you, you created a word and you limited it
and there afterwards got caught up amidst this words. So this
idea is brilliantly brought out by शङ्करािािम in अपरोक्षाभनू त.
काये हि कारणं िश्येत्िश्चात्कायां हवसजम येत् ।
कारणत्वं ततो नश्येदवहशिं भवेन्र्ुहनः ॥ अिरोिानुभहू तः १३९
॥
371
After doing all these things what will be left out? You alone
will be left out. So अवहशिं भवेन्र्ुहनः, what will be left out
will be जड रहित िैतन्यर््, I, the pure Consciousness alone
will be left out. This is called अध्यारोि अिवाद न्यायः.
➢ So first introduced matter,
➢ From there go to Consciousness,
➢ Then say there is no matter other than Consciousness,
➢ Then negate Consciousness as even the cause of matter.
There is only one Consciousness. Consciousness was,
Consciousness is and Consciousness alone will be.
Then what is matter? Confusion. Ok. So therefore we
are going to get now सनत ष्ट. अध्यारोि प्रनक्रिा is coming in this
line यहस्र्न् एताः षोडशकलाः प्रभवहन्त is the beginning of
अध्यारोि प्रनक्रिा. Ok. Now the creation of सनत ष्ट can be
explained in different ways. So in different उपनिषत्s सनत ष्ट is
given in different different ways. If you take तनिरीि
उपनिषत् it gives clean सनत ष्ट
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्न आकाशः संभत ू ः । आकाशद्वयुः ।
वायोरहग्न: । अग्नेरािः । अद्भ्य: िहृ थवी । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-
१-१ ॥
There is a beautiful क्रर् that is given. And if you take
छान्दोग्ि उपनिषत् आकाश and वािु are not at all said
तिेजोऽसज
ृ त, तदिोऽसज
ृ त ॥ छान्दोग्योिहनषत् ६-२-३॥
372
Etc. Only three elements are mentioned fire, water and earth.
And if you take र्ुण्डकोपनिषत् or कैवल्िोपनिषत्
एतस्र्ाज्जायते प्राणो र्नः सवेहन्द्रयाहण ि ।
खं वायुज्योहतरािः िहृ थवी हवश्वस्य धाररणी ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-
२-३ ॥
There it is totally different order. Thus that you find the order
of the सनत ष्ट is not the same. In some places you get क्रर्
सनत ष्ट, in some places you get अक्रर् सनत ष्ट, some places we get
नवक्रर् सनत ष्ट. Order, wrong order, reverse order. Like this so
many सनत ष्ट प्रनकिाs are there. And why the उपनिषत् is not
consistent? If उपनिषत् is a प्रर्ाणर्् it should talk everywhere
the same thing? So if you ask the answer we give is
हभन्नप्रकाराः सि ृ यः उच्यन्ते तस्र्ात् इहत िेत् सि ृ ौ तात्ियम
अभावात्. It is only a temporary introduction later we are
going to dismiss it. So what does it matter whether it is three
भतू s or पञ्िभत ू s? So you are going to negate it, it is only
उिायः सोऽवताराय नाहस्त भेदः कथञ्िन ॥ र्ाण्डूक्य काररका
३-१५ ॥
It is only a temporary probe introduced, sooner or later we are
going to knock it off, like having a bamboo structure for a
building. You are not particular about the color of the bamboo
or how much beautiful it might be, you are not bothered. It
must temporarily support, once the building is completed it is
going to be knocked off. Therefore, सि ृ ौ तात्ियम र्् नाहस्त
अद्वैते ब्रह्महण एव तात्ियम र्् अहस्त तस्र्ात् सिृ ौ क्रर्ः न दृश्यते.
373
And here in this प्रश्नोपनिषत्, the सनत ष्ट is going to be
introduced as the sixteenfold creation. Creation consisting of
sixteen factors known as षोडशकला. So षोडशकला is the
name of सनत ष्ट in fact. And using this षोडशकल the teacher is
going to teach about ब्रह्मि्. As what ब्रह्मि्? निष्कलर्् ब्रह्म.
So the षोडशकला रूप प्रपञ्ि is going to be used to reveal the
हनष्कल पुरुषः. And how does the teacher reveal it? He says
षोडशकल is born out of हनष्कलर्् ब्रह्म. First अध्यारोिर्् and
later he will resolve the षोडशकला back into परम्ब्ब्रह्म. So
therefore the world is going to be introduced as षोडशकला
born out of परम्ब्ब्रह्म and later the षोडशकल पुरुषः will be
resolved into परम्ब्ब्रह्म. िरम्प्ब्रह्म व्यहतररक्तः षोडशकला प्रिञ्िः
नाहस्त. Therefore, परम्ब्ब्रह्म gets a new title now षोडशकला
जिकः परम्ब्ब्रह्म or षोडशकला अन्ष्ािर्् परम्ब्ब्रह्म.
Remember षोडशकला means प्रपञ्ि. Since षोडशकला, the
प्रपञ्ि has the ब्रह्मि् as the अन्ष्ािर्् ब्रह्मि् itself is given a
temporary name षोडशकल पुरुषः. So, षोडशकला
अहधष्ानत्वात् षोडशकलः इहत नार्. But here you should
note when we are using the word षोडशकला for the world we
should say षोडशकलाः. But when we use the same word for
the पुरुषः we should say षोडशकलः. There is a difference.
षोडशकलाः it means the name for प्रपञ्ि and when you want
to name the परम्ब्ब्रह्म षोडशकला रूि प्रिञ्ि अहधष्ान िुरुषः
then we should not say षोडशकला िुरुषः, it is wrong
षोडशकला िुरुषः is wrong, it is षोडशकलः िुरुषः. So,
षोडशकलाः उिाहध यस्य सः. There it is taken as उपान्, here it
374
is taken as लक्षणर््. This is called as तटस्थ लिणर््. If
remember the भग ृ ुवल्ली, with the help of the प्रपञ्ि we are
defining ब्रह्मि्, with the help of षोडशकला we are defining
हनष्कल. Therefore, षोडशकला becomes the लक्षणर्् for
हनष्कलर्् ब्रह्म. लक्षणर्् means indicator. And therefore,
षोडशकला लिणत्वात् षोडशकलः िुरुषः इहत उच्यते.
Now one more question can come. What is that? The
teacher introduces प्रपञ्ि as the कािम र्् and ब्रह्मि् as the
कारणर्् and there afterwards श्रुनत negates the कािम र्् and
thereafter it negates कारणत्वर््. So in this we will face a
problem. When we say ब्रह्मि् is कारणर्् then a student will
have a question. How can you say ब्रह्मि् is a कारणर््?
Because if you say ब्रह्मि् is a कारणर््, the problem will be
what? यत् कारणर्् तत् सहवकारर्् कारणत्वात् र्द्व ृ त्. That
which is a कारणर्् always undergoes a change. The clay
cannot remain always a lump of clay, it will have to undergo a
shape change, which is सहवकारर््. Gold if it remains always
in the lump form it will not become an ornament. It also has
to undergo at least some spatial change or form change it has
to undergo. So then how do you say ब्रह्मि् is a कारणर््? I can
understand in the case of pot and clay. You can say pot is the
कािम र््, clay is the कारणर््, there afterwards negate the pot
and negate the कारणत्वर्् also but in the case of ब्रह्मि् how
can the उपनिषत् say ब्रह्मन् is the कारणर््? So शङ्करािािम
says when the उपनिषत् says ब्रह्मि् is कारणर्् really speaking
the उपनिषत् is not very much interested in saying ब्रह्मि् is a
375
कारणर््. Because really speaking ब्रह्मि् cannot be कारणर््
also. Then why do you say so and confuse me? Can you not
keep quiet? But कारणत्वर्् is only a temporary status given, in
that कारणत्वर्् there is no तात्पिम र््. So we should not go on
inquiring how is ब्रह्मि् the कारणर््, how is ब्रह्मि् the कारणर््,
in that there is no तात्पिम र्् at all. As in mathematics we put
X. X is only something status given temporarily, sooner or
later we are going to remove that X. Similarly, here also
ब्रह्मणः कारणत्वर्् also is temporary status given. So we
should not have आग्रि in it. We should not go into the depth
of it. For the time being you keep and once you have
understood the निगम ुणर्् ब्रह्म then that कारणत्वर्् can be
negated. And therefore what do we do is for giving a
temporary status of कारणत्वर्् alone we introduce र्ाया and
we say that कारणत्वर्् र्ाहयकर््. र्ाहयकर्् means what?
तत्कालर््. र्ाहयकर्् means don't ask questions. It is out of
syllabus remember. So, र्ाहयकर्् means don't dwell deep into
the कारणत्वर्् status of ब्रह्मि्, उपनिषत् introduces that in
teaching the कारणत्वर्् because later the उपनिषत् itself will
deny the कारणत्वर्् also. And therefore र्ाहयकर्् कारणत्वर््
which also is negated later. So now the षोडशकलः पुरुषः is
also justified. Why he is षोडशकल पुरुषः? षोडशकला
अन्ष्ाित्वात् षोडशकलः इत्युच्यते. But िरर्ाथम तः what type
of पुरुषः he is? हनष्कल िुरुषः सः. Therefore, यहस्र्न.्
यहस्र्न् ब्रह्महण एताः षोडशकलाः. एताः means प्रत्यिेण
अनुभय ू र्ानाः. So this sixteen कलाs in the form of this
376
material universe प्रभवन्तीहत – from which the षोडशकलाs
are born. Here you should remember it is षोडशकलाः, that is
the प्रपञ्ि प्रभवहन्त. Now what will be your next question?
What are the sixteen कलाs? And they are going to be
explained in the next र्न्रs, which we will see in the next
class.
िण
377
र्न्र. 6.2 - 6.8
तस्र्ै स िोवािेिवै ान्तःशरीरे सोम्प्य स िुरुषो यहस्र्न्नेताः षोडश
कलाः प्रभवन्तीहत ॥ २ ॥
The sixth and the last student has approached नपप्पलाद
ऋनष and asked for षोडशकल पुरुषः and in fact षोडशकल
पुरुषः is none other than परम्ब्ब्रह्म only. Why this पुरुष got the
name षोडशकल पुरुषः we have to see later. Here the teacher
is going to reveal this पुरुष, ब्रह्मि् through सनत ष्ट प्रकरणर््.
Here ब्रह्मि् is going to be revealed as जगत् कारणर््. So
what is the definition of ब्रह्मि्? ब्रह्मि् is that from which the
universe comes out because of which the universe exists and
into which the universe goes back that material cause, cause
means the material cause, उपादाि कारणर्् is ब्रह्मि.् And this
idea we had already seen in भग त ुवनल्ल of तनिरीि.
यतो वा इर्ाहन भत ू ाहन जायन्ते । येन जाताहन जीवहन्त । यत्
प्रयन्त्यहभसंहवशहन्त । तहद्वहजज्ञासस्व । तद् ब्रह्मेहत ॥
तैहिरीयोिहनषत् ३-१-१ ॥
So in this लक्षणर्् ब्रह्मि्, the unknown is revealed through the
world, that is known. So in this लक्षणर््, definition ब्रह्मि् the
unknown is revealed through the world, the known because
unknown has to be revealed through known only. How can
you reveal unknown through another unknown? Then that
unknown has to be revealed by another unknown it will be
अनवस्था दोष and therefore unknown has to be revealed
through known. And therefore ज्ञातप्रिञ्िद्वारा अज्ञातम्प्ब्रह्म
378
प्रहतिाद्यते श्रुत्या. Ok. How does श्रुनत manage do that? By
pointing out that the world is कािम र्् and if the world is कािम र््
it presupposes a कारणर्् and that कारणर्् that उपादाि
कारणर्् is ब्रह्मि्. Therefore, कायम प्रिञ्िद्वारा कारणर्् ब्रह्म
बोधयहत श्रुहतः. Through कािम प्रपञ्ि the कारणर्् ब्रह्म is
revealed. And is this world an integral part of ब्रह्मि् or
different, if you ask, the world is not an integral part of ब्रह्मि्
because world is सहवकारर््, world is नर्थ्िा, world is
सनवकल्पर्् and ब्रह्मि् is निनवम कारर््, सत्िर्् etc. And therefore
this लक्षणर्् is called तटस्थ लक्षणर्् because you reveal
something through another thing which is not an integral part
of it. I will give an example, it looks abstract now. Because
we talk of two types of revelation or लक्षणर््. When I want to
know a particular person, if I reveal directly describing his
features that he has got such and such hands, that he has got a
bald head or he has got grey hair, that has got long nose etc. I
am revealing him through features which are integral part of
him. So I am revealing a person through features which are
his integral part therefore this revelation is called what?
स्वरूप लक्षणर््. Whereas when I reveal a person through his
son, son is not the integral part of the person like hands or
legs, if son were his internal part wherever he goes he will go
also, so through the son I reveal. Or I say that person who is
sitting near the wall, wall is not an integral part, that person
who is sitting under the fan, in all these things I am revealing
a person through such things which are not integral part of the
379
person and this way of revelation is called तटस्थ लक्षणर््. So
in वेदान्त when ब्रह्मि् is revealed through its own intrinsic
nature like सत्िर््, सत्िर्् is the very integral nature of ब्रह्मि्;
ज्ञािर््, the िैतन्िर्् is the very स्वरूपर्् of ब्रह्मि्. Therefore,
when I say सत्िर्् ज्ञािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म it is called स्वरूप
लक्षणर्् whereas when I reveal ब्रह्मि् with the help of the
world, which is not the integral part of ब्रह्मि्, कािम द्वारा िदा
कारणर्् ब्रह्म बोध्िते then that लक्षणर्् is called तटस्थ
लक्षणर््. So wherever सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिा comes what is श्रुनत
doing? श्रुनत is revealing ब्रह्मि् through तटस्थ लक्षणर््. In
fact, तटस्थ लक्षणर्् is more popular than स्वरूप लक्षणर््
because through the known ब्रह्मि् is revealed, in स्वरूप
लक्षणर्् lot of problems are there. And that is why almost in
all the उपनिषतs् the सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिा comes so that it can reveal
ब्रह्मि् through तटस्थ लक्षणर््. In ब्रह्मसत्र
ू also the second सर ू
which defines ब्रह्मि् says
जन्र्ाद्यस्य यतः ॥ ब्रह्मसर
ू १-१-२ ॥
There also सत्िर्् ज्ञािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म, र्विासाििम did not
mention. In ब्रह्मसत्र ू also व्यासाियम chooses only तटस्थ
लक्षणर्् for ब्रह्मि्’s definition indicating the importance of
तटस्थ लक्षणर््. And in this section also of the प्रश्नोपनिषत्
the teacher wants to reveal ब्रह्मि् through the जगत् कािम
प्रपञ्ि. And here the कािम प्रपञ्ि is divided into sixteen parts.
What is meant by कािम र््? Effect. कायम र्् means हवकारः,
effect. So this कािम प्रपञ्ि is divided into sixteen parts,
षोडशकल. and ब्रह्मि् is revealed through the sixteen parted
380
world. ब्रह्मि् doesn't have sixteen parts. ब्रह्मि् is revealed
through the world, which has got sixteen parts. So षोडशकल
उपान्कत्वात् उपलनक्षतत्वात्, since ब्रह्मि् is a revealed
through षोडशकल, ब्रह्मि् is called षोडशकल पुरुषः. Ok.
Very very subtle point. Normally, षोडशकल पुरुषः means
what we take for? पुरुष who has got sixteen parts. But in this
context पुरुष doesn't have sixteen parts because उपनिषत्
itself will say later अकलः सः, िुरुषः अकलः. अकलः means
what? हनष्कलः. हनष्कलः you know very well. So therefore
पुरुष cannot be षोडशकलः, He doesn't have any parts, He is
निनवम कल्पः, निरविवः, निष्कलः,
हनष्कलं हनहष्क्रयं शान्तं हनरवद्यं हनरञ्जनर्् ॥
श्वेताश्वतरोिहनषत् ६-१९ ॥
etc. Therefore, since it is revealed through षोडशकलs the
पुरुषः is called षोडशकलः िुरुषः. Therefore, सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिाs
first benefit is what? Revelation of ब्रह्मि् through तटस्थ
लक्षणर््. Ok. And this सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिा will give another
important teaching also. What is the first point? It reveals
ब्रह्मि् through तटस्थ लक्षणर््. Then what is the second
purpose of सनत ष्ट प्रनक्रिा? अद्वैत नसनद्धः. Because in सनत ष्ट
प्रनक्रिा the world is revealed as कािम र्् and ब्रह्मि् is revealed
as उपादाि कारणर््, कारणर्् means remember it is उपादाि
कारणर््, the material cause just like gold is the material cause
of ornaments, clay is the material cause of pots, etc. So once I
say जगत् is कािम र्् and ब्रह्मि् is उपादाि कारणर्् we can
easily come to the conclusion that कारणर्् व्यहतररक्तर्् कायम र््
381
नाहस्त, स्वणम र्् व्यहतररक्तर्् आभरणर्् नाहस्त, र्त
ृ ् व्यहतररक्तः
घटः नाहस्त, जल व्यहतररक्तर्् तरङ्गर्् नाहस्त, दारु
व्यहतररक्तर्् हिटाहदकर्् नाहस्त. Similarly, since ब्रह्मि् is
कारणर्् and the entire जगत् is कािम र््, world is a िार्रूप
alone – अनस्त, भानत, नप्रिर््. Ok.
अहस्त भाहत हप्रयं रूिं नार् िेत्यंशिञ्िकर्् ।
आद्यरयं ब्रह्मरूिं जगद्रूिं ततो द्वयर्् ॥ दृग्दृश्यहववेकः २०॥
नार्रूि द्वयर््. Therefore, अद्वैत नसनद्धः is the second benefit
we get.
Ok. And incidentally you should remember when we
say ब्रह्मि् is the उपादाि कारणर्् and the world is the कािम र््.
What type of उपादाि कारणर््? Two are there. One is called
िररणाहर् उिादान कारणर्् where the कारणर्् changes to
become कािम र््. Like what? Milk changes to become curd,
earth changes to become tree. And there is a second type of
उपादाि कारणर्् called नववतम उपादाि कारणर्् where the
कारणर्् produces an effect, कािम र्् without undergoing a
change. So changing material cause and changeless material
cause. And what is the example for the second one? Just as
the rope apparently produces the snake because of ignorance,
or a dream we produce a dream world without undergoing a
change. So these are the two उपादाि कारणर््s possible, of
which ब्रह्मि् belongs to which variety? ब्रह्मि् belongs to the
second variety, the changeless material cause. Ok. Why can't
you take the first variety? Why can’t take it for a change?
Everybody wants change, so for a change all the time हववतम
382
उिादान कारणर्् why can't we vote for पररणानर् उपादाि
कारणर््. No it is not an efficient one. So पररणानर् उपादाि
कारणर्् will not serve the purpose because of two reasons. If
you say ब्रह्मि् is पररणानर् उपादाि कारणर्् it will mean ब्रह्मि्
is subject to change. If ब्रह्मि् is subject to change then अहस्त
जायते वधम ते हविररणर्ते अििीयते and finally हवनश्यहत.
ब्रह्मि् also will be subject to change which means ब्रह्मि् will
die one day, poor ब्रह्मि्! That is the first problem. The
second problem is what? If you take ब्रह्मि् as पररणानर्
उपादाि कारणर््, the world which is the modification of the
ब्रह्मि् will become as real as the कारणर््. सर्ािसिा comes.
In the case of पररणानर् उपादाि कारणर्् cause and effect will
have same degree of reality. What is the example? Earth and
the tree. So tree is born out of what? The modification of
earth. And tree and earth have got equal degree of reality.
And if ब्रह्मि् is the पररणानर् उपादाि कारणर्् then world also
will be as real as ब्रह्मि्. Then there will be द्वैतर्् and ब्रह्मि्
will be िररहछन्नर््, all kinds of problems will come. Thus if
you take पररणानर् उपादाि कारणर्् two दोषs will come.
First दोष is that ब्रह्मि् will be subject to change and death,
Another will be ब्रह्मि् will be subject to duality.
Whereas in हववतम उिादान कारणर्् both problems are not
there. ब्रह्मि् continues to be same शुद्धर्् बुद्धर्् र्ुक्तर््, free
from birth and death etc. And not only that when it is हववतम
उिादान कारणर्् कािम र्् does not enjoy same degree of reality
as कारणर््. नवषर्सिाकर्् भवनत. Just as our snake is not as
383
real as rope, dream is not as real as waker, mirage water is not
as real as the sand and therefore ब्रह्मि् is हववतम उिादान
कारणर्् and through this कािम र्् that is through सनत ष्ट we are
revealing ब्रह्मि् the हववतम उिादान कारणर््. That is the topic
here. We saw in the second र्न्र, यहस्र्न्नेताः षोडश कलाः
प्रभवन्तीहत. यहस्र्न ब्रह्महण हववतम उिादान कारणे or अहधष्ान
कारणे the another name for हववतम उिादान कारणर्् is
अन्ष्ाि कारणे षोडशकलः, षोडशकलः is another name for
the world remember, so the world consisting of sixteen parts
are born out of, really born or falsely born? When it is said as
हववतम उपादाि कारणर्् how should we take it? The sixteen
parted world is falsely born out of this ब्रह्मि्. Ok. Now some
more details about the सनत ष्ट is given.
Verse No. 6.3
स ईिाञ्िक्रे कहस्र्न्निर्ुत्क्रान्त उत्क्रान्तो भहवष्याहर्
कहस्र्न्वा प्रहतहष्ते प्रहतष्ास्यार्ीहत ॥ ३ ॥
Before सनत ष्ट it seems the ब्रह्मि् visualized the whole
universe to be created. This is also another important aspect
said in all उपनिषत्s. सः ऐित. In some उपनिषत्s सः ऐित is
said, in some उपनिषत्
सोऽकार्यत । बिु स्यां प्रजायेयेहत । स तिोऽतप्यत । स
तिस्तप्त्वा । ॥ तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-६-४ ॥
So in all उपनिषत्s it is uniformly said that ब्रह्मि् visualized
the whole universe before सनत ष्ट, just as any creator will
mentally visualize the product before starting, an artist must
384
conceive the picture otherwise he will not get anything, it will
end up in modern art. Without any plan if you draw it is
called modern art. Similarly, a builder should conceive a
house before. So, here also सः ईिाञ्िक्रे. So that ब्रह्मि्, सः
िुरुषः ईिाञ्िक्रे. Literally ईिाञ्िक्रे means saw. Here seeing
is mental, mentally saw. What is the purpose of this
statement? These are all very important statements, very
elaborately analyzed in ब्रह्मसत्रू and all. Because when we say
ब्रह्मि् is the material cause we will have a confusion. Because
generally we find the material causes happened to be inert in
nature. Isn't it? स्वणम र्् is the material cause of ornaments.
स्वणम र्् is िेतिर्् or जडर््? Any doubt is there? जडर््. र्त त ् is
the उपादाि कारणर्् of घटानदकर््. र्त त ् is िेतिर्् or जडर््?
जडर््. Thus our experience is that material causes are always
जड स्वरूपर््. And we said ब्रह्मि् is उपादाि कारणर्् of the
universe and therefore तव ब्रह्माहि जडर्् स्यत्. So this
problem should not come, therefore उपनिषत् says सः
ईिाञ्िक्रे to indicate that ब्रह्मि् is िेति स्वरूपर््, it is not जड
उपादाि कारणर्् but it is िेतिर््. This is one implication.
And there is a second implication also. And what is
that? When you say र्त त ् is the उपादाि कारणर्् for pot, i.e.,
clay is the कारणर्् for pot. You know that even though the
clay is the कारणर्् for pot, clay can become pot only if there
is another intelligent cause to produce the effect. उपादाि
कारणर्् is not alone sufficient. Even though स्वणम र्् is the
cause for आभरणर््s, स्वणम र्् by itself cannot slowly get shaped
385
into ornament, by keeping in the cupboard try and see! स्वयर््
उिादान कारणर्् कायम र्् न भवहत. कारणान्तार सिायेन एव
निनर्ि कारण सिायेन एव उपादाि कारणर्् कािम र्् भवहत. So
here ब्रह्मि् is उपादाि कारणर्् to become the world when said
then the question will come there must be a निनर्ि कारणर््,
intelligent cause. And therefore again ब्रह्मि् is उपादाि
कारणर्् and there is an intelligent cause minimum two are
required. So, by using the word सः ईिाञ्िक्रे by saying the
ब्रह्मि् itself saw, we get the second implication that ब्रह्मि् is ि
केवलर्् उपादाि कारणर्् ब्रह्मि् is निनर्ि कारणर्् ि, अनभन्ि
निनर्ि उपादाि कारणर्् ब्रह्म. So, सः ईिाञ्िक्रे indicates that
it is निनर्ि कारणर्् also. Is it possible to be like that? Can
there be one and the same thing be material and intelligent
cause?
यथोणम नाहभः सज
ृ ते गह्णृ ते ि ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् १-१-७ ॥
Where र्ुण्डक. This is र्ुण्डक र्विाख्िािर्् remember.
Therefore, just as the spider is the material and intelligent
cause of the web, similarly, ब्रह्मि् also. सः ईिाञ्िक्रे. And
what did that ब्रह्मि् think? So ब्रह्मि्’s thought is put in here
in quotation. So first ब्रह्मि् wanted to create प्राण it seems. So
here the creation is given in a particular order. So first ब्रह्मि्
wanted to create प्राण. And for that ब्रह्मि् was visualizing,
conceiving. What did It thought? ‘I want to create’, ब्रह्मि्
thinks, ok, ‘I want to create such a thing in whose presence a
person will have life, Consciousness, in whose absence the
person will become dead’. That is I, the िैतन्िर्् will be
386
present in the body and in whose absence I, the िैतन्िर्् will
not be present in the body. That is said here. कहस्र्न्
उत्क्रान्ते अिर्् अहि उत्क्रान्तः भहवष्याहर् – in whose departure
I, the िैतन्िर्् will be in the body that means what the person
will be alive, अिर्् means ब्रह्मन् here. Who is that ब्रह्मि्? The
िैतन्िर््. Therefore, I want to create such a प्राण in whose
presence I, the िैतन्िर्् will be available, कहस्र्न् वा
प्रहतहष्ते – in whose existence, presence अिर्् प्रहतष्ास्यार्ी –
I will be present in the body as िैतन्िर््, as the life. Such a
thing I am going to create. प्राण is the answer but ब्रह्मि् is
thinking. So I want to create such a thing in whose presence a
physical body will be िेतिर््. And what is that? प्राण alone.
And therefore he created प्राण etc. That is going to be said
now in the next र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 6.4
स प्राणर्सजृ त प्राणाच्रद्धा खं वायुज्योहतरािः िहृ थवीहन्द्रयं र्नः
। अन्नर्न्नाद्वीयां तिो र्न्राः कर्म लोका लोकेषु ि नार् ि ॥ ४
॥
So first he created प्राण. सः िुरुषः प्राणर्् असज ृ त. And
here you should remember प्राण is not र्विनष्ट प्राण but प्राण at
the total level, सर्नष्ट प्राणः, otherwise known as नहरण्िगभम ः,
otherwise he is called सर ू ात्र्ा प्राणर्् itself because that is the
one in whose presence a person enjoys manifest
Consciousness, life, in his absence one does not enjoy
manifest Consciousness, i.e., life. And there afterwards he
387
created the other fifteen कलाs. So now here we get sixteen
कलाs. What are they?
The first one is प्राणः, the second one is श्रद्धा, then next five
are the five elements, खं वायुः ज्योहतः आिः िहृ थवी, then
इहन्द्रयर्् eight, र्नः nine, अन्िर्् ten, वीिम र्् eleven, तिः
twelve, र्न्राः thirteen, कर्म fourteen, लोकाः fifteen and िार्
sixteen.
So प्राणाहद नार्ान्तर््, beginning from प्राण up to िार्
sixteen कलाs. And the meanings most of them you know.
श्रद्धा. श्रद्धा means faith, the concept of faith. So that was the
second creation it seems. Because when the people are to be
created later भगवाि् is going to provided वेद prescribing the
right way of living.
सियज्ञाः प्रजाः सि
ृ ् वा िुरोवाि प्रजािहतः । ॥ गीता ३-१० ॥
It was said. If the world should run properly not only people
must be created but the right way of living also must be
created. And the right way of living is prescribed in what?
Vedas. And therefore later वेदs and human beings are going
to come. But human beings and वेदs are not sufficient.
Because a human being will be there, वेद also will be there,
benefit will come when? Only when it is followed. Now also
वेद is there but what is the use? And therefore it will be
beneficial only if the human beings have श्रद्धा in the वेदs.
तस्य वेदS हशरः ।। तैहिरीयोिहनषत् २-४-१।।
388
श्रद्धा is the हशरः of the हवज्ञानर्यकोश, we saw in तनिरीि.
Therefore, श्रद्धा is very important otherwise people will not
follow the scriptures, they will begin to live as they like,
रागद्वेष will be ruling and there afterwards there will be utter
confusion, wars, terrorism, ecological imbalance, all kinds of
things and the earth cannot survive for long. And therefore
श्रद्धा is very important and therefore the second item is श्रद्धा.
And there afterwards खं वायुः ज्योहतः आिः िहृ थवी. This has
come in the र्ुण्डक itself. खर्् is space, वायःु – air, ज्योहतः –
fire, आिः – water, िहृ थवी – earth. These five elements which
are meant for the creation of स्थल ू प्रपञ्ि and स्थल
ू शरीरर््.
Then इनन्द्रिर्् – the ten sense organs. ज्ञािेनन्द्रिानण
कर्ेनन्द्रिानण ि जातौ एकवििर््. It is in singular. Collective
singular it is. Then र्िः – the अन्तःकरणर््, the mind without
which people cannot express in the world. And it is not
enough that body and कर्म s are there. When he expresses
himself he requires more and more energy. And for that what
should we have? अन्िर्् – food. Then अन्नात् वीयम र््. वीिम र््
means what? Power, energy, शनक्त. Then तपः. So
शङ्करािािम says तपस् is prescribed because when a person
has the capacity to act and since a person has got a free will
also he is bound to commit mistakes and therefore तपस् is
prescribed as a प्रायहश्चिर््, as a rectification for wrong actions.
So कर्म is right action, तपस् is a corrective measure. Then
र्न्राः. र्न्त्र means for spiritual progress. So by doing यज्ञs
नििशुद्ध्िथम र्् तदिन्तरर्् निििैश्चल्िाथम र्् तदनन्तरर््
389
आत्र्ज्ञानाथम र््, so all have been placed step by step. Then
कर्म . कर्म means all types of कर्म s including उपासिा. कर्म and
उपासिा. Then लोकाः. कर्म फलभत ू र्् and उपासिाफलभत ू र््.
The लोकs attained through the कर्म फल and the लोकs
attained through the उिासनाफल. And for wrong कर्म
अ्ोलोकाश्च. So all the लोकs. And if all of them are there
then how to transact? Transaction requires िार्करणर््. When
a child is born you have to do िार्करणर्् otherwise how will
you call? New baby, new baby there are so many new babies
are there. So you have to put some name. Whether it is a good
or bad that is a different thing. Therefore नार् ि. These are
the sixteen कलाs. In short, सर्स्तः प्रिञ्िः अजायत िुरुषः
असज ृ त. With this the सनत ष्ट प्रकरणर्् is over. Only one र्न्त्र.
Because we are all advanced students you know, we don't
require elaboration. So with this अध्यारोि प्रकरणर्् is over.
Now what should come? अिवाद is going to come in
next र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 6.5
स यथेर्ा नद्यः स्यन्दर्ानाः सर्ुद्रायणाः सर्ुद्रं प्राप्यास्तं
गच्छहन्त हभद्येते तासां नार्रूिे सर्ुद्र इत्येवं प्रोच्यते । एवर्ेवास्य
िररद्रिु ररर्ाः षोडश कलाः िुरुषायणाः िुरुषं प्राप्यास्तं गच्छहन्त
हभद्येते िासां नार्रूिे िुरुष इत्येवं प्रोच्यते स एषोऽकलोऽर्त ृ ो
भवहत तदेष श्लोकः ॥ ५ ॥
390
So सनत ष्ट is over, हस्थहत is understood, now लयर्् is
said. Or to put it technically अध्यारोि प्रकरणर्् is over, now
अिवाद प्रकरणर््. Previous section is
र्त्स्थाहन सवम भत
ू ाहन ॥ गीता ९-४ ॥
This र्न्त्र is
न ि र्त्स्थाहन ॥ गीता ९-५ ॥
So यथा an example is given which is familiar to us from
र्ुण्डकोपनिषत्. What is that? The rivers which are born out
of ocean are merging into ocean. In between river is what? A
िार्रूप alone. Previously water was, now also water is, later
also water alone will be, in between a new िार् and रूप
appeared and later this िार्रूप disappeared. So this example
is taken. यथा – just as, इर्ाः नद्यः स्यन्दर्ानाः – so all these
rivers which are flowing down सर्ुद्रायणाः – towards the
ocean, that is literally it means keeping the ocean as the
destination, सर्ुद्रर्् एव अयनर्् प्राप्यस्थानर्् यासार्् ताः
सर्ुद्रायणाः. So flowing keeping the destination as the ocean,
in between they may go here and there but ultimately they are
all converging there only. Ultimately what happens? सर्ुद्रर््
प्राप्य अस्तर्् गछहन्त – they reach the ocean and disappear.
Ok. Disappears means what happens? Does the water, river
disappear? No. Because river is water, water cannot be
destroyed, it has joined the ocean. Then what has disappeared?
Really speaking the water has not disappeared because matter
cannot be created or destroyed. Then what do you mean by
391
disappearance of river? हभद्येते तासार्् नार्रूिे – river has not
disappeared, the water is there very much. Only the िार्रूपs
are destroyed. The name Ganges is gone, the form Ganges is
gone, the water continues to be in the ocean. And if the river
has lost its name and form, then what happens? Is it शन्ू िर््?
No, the very same river now gets a new name. What is that?
सर्ुद्रः इहत एवर्् प्रोच्यते – now it is called as ocean. What was
previously called as river, the same river having lost its
िार्रूप gets a new nomenclature that it is सर्ुद्रः. In between
only name has been changed. Previously it was what? सर्ुद्र
only. But now we give a new name and now we remove that
name. We alone give the नार् and we alone take off the िार्.
While giving the िार् we are so happy, so we celebrate and
again when you remove the िार्, thirteen days function,
crying and all. What is happening? We gave name and took
off the name that is what is happening. What is human life?
Adding a िार् and removing a िार्, that’s all, which is a very
big biography for us. एवर्् एव – in the same way. अस्य
िररद्रिु ः – so from this पुरुषः, who is the seer. See the
उिहनषत् gives a new name, िररद्रिु ः. Earlier it said िुरुषः,
now it has been made into िररद्रष्रा, the very seer, उिद्रष्रा the
seer. That ब्रह्मि् is none other than आत्र्ा. So, िररद्रिु ः from
that पुरुष, the seer इर्ाः षोडशकलाः – so these sixteen कलाs
of this पुरुष, which rose from पुरुष, which belongs to this
पुरुष. What do they do? िुरुषायणाः – they all will go towards
पुरुष and िुरुषर्् प्राप्य अस्तर्् गछहन्त – they reach the same
392
पुरुष and disappear. Ok. हभद्येते तासार्् नार्रूिे – and there
िार्s and रूपs will be completely destroyed. Here हभद्येते
should be understood as destroyed. Sometime हभद्येते means
differs, भेदः. Here हभद्येते means नश्यहत. Then what will be
the name? So the very same प्रपञ्ि which was known by the
name प्रपञ्ि till now, now it gets the name पुरुषः itself. The
only difference is when this world dissolves into ब्रह्मि् during
प्रलिर्् it is only temporary dissolution whereas when through
ज्ञािर्् or through र्ोि the world is resolved it is permanent
dissolution.
िरे ऽव्यये सवम एकीभवहन्त ॥ र्ुण्डकोिहनषत् ३-२-७ ॥
That is the only difference. प्रलि काले temporary लयर््,
dissolution and र्ोक्ष काले permanent लिर््. So thus अिवाद
प्रकरणर्् also is over. And it is to show that the world does
not have an independent existence and therefore ब्रह्म सत्यर््
जगहन्र्र्थया. Ok. Then we will have a very big doubt that if the
कलाs, you know the meaning, part, are born out of ब्रह्मि् and
goes back unto ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्मि् must have कलाs. That is why it
is born out of ब्रह्मि् and goes back unto ब्रह्मि्. Therefore
ब्रह्मि् must be potentially having these कलाs and only
because of that ब्रह्मि् is able to produce the कलाs and resolve
these कलाs and therefore ब्रह्मि् is सकलाः. Somebody may
argue, therefore the उपनिषत् says सः एषः अकलः – ब्रह्मि्
doesn't have any कला even potentially. ब्रह्मि् is free from all
393
the कलाs because कलाs are नर्थ्िा. कलािार्् ब्रह्मनण
अध्िस्तत्वात् and therefore कलाs neither really belong to
ब्रह्मि् nor does it belong potentially to ब्रह्मि्, कलाs are
नर्थ्िा. And when it is in potential form we call it र्ाया. कलाs
in potential form is called र्ाया, कलाs in dynamic form is
called जगत्. Both are नर्थ्िा. ब्रह्मि् is free from कलाs either
in potential or in dynamic form. Ok. तत् एषः श्लोकः भवहत –
so regarding this there is the following र्न्त्र, because this is a
ब्राह्मणोपनिषत् therefore for support it is taking a र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 6.6
अरा इव रथनाभौ कला यहस्र्न्प्रहतहष्ताः ।
तं वेद्यं िुरुषं वेद यथा र्ा वो र्त्ृ युः िररव्यथा इहत ॥ ६ ॥
So here it gives the quotation of a र्न्त्र in support of this
statement. And what is that? The whole प्रपञ्ि is born out of
ब्रह्मि् and resolved unto ब्रह्मि् and it is supported by ब्रह्मि्.
And the example is popular one. And what is that? अराः इव
रथनाभौ – so in a wheel there are अराः. अराः means what? A
spoke of a wheel. रथनाहभः means the central part of the wheel
known as the hub. The hub of the wheel. And all these sports
are sustained by the central part of the wheel alone. What
actually causes the motion is the outer rim and spokes. The
नाहभ doesn't undergo any change. If you have got any doubt
in a moving wheel put your hand on the िानभ, nothing will
happen. Therefore, actual dynamism of the wheel is because
394
of the spokes and the rim, but still it cannot be so without the
support of the hub. Similarly, the whole प्रपञ्ि is moving but
all these are possible because of the central hub, the
motionless ब्रह्मि् alone. So therefore seemingly it doesn't
play any role but really that alone plays all the role. Similarly,
here alsoरथनाभौ अराः इव – like a spoke in a wheel कलाः
यहस्र्न् प्रहतहष्ताः – all these sixteen spokes sixteen कलाs are
based upon यहस्र्न् means refers to पुरुषे ब्रह्मनण, in that पुरुष
ब्रह्मि.् तर्् वेद्यर्् िुरुषर्् वेद – so if a person knows that पुरुष.
What type of पुरुष? वेद्यर्् – who is the only worth knowing
thing.
ै सवव रिर्ेव वेद्यः ॥ गीता १५-१५ ॥
वेदश्च
ृ र्् अश्नुते । ॥ गीता
ज्ञेयर्् यत् तत् प्रवक्ष्याहर् यत् ज्ञात्वा अर्त
१३-१२ ॥
This is the only वेद्यर््, ज्ञेयर््, the one who knows. तर्् वेद्यर््
िुरुषर्् वेद. So here वेद should be taken as commandment. So
one should know that this पुरुष which is worth knowing. वेद
जािीिात्. Ok. Why does उपनिषत् commands everyone to
know this. It says यथा – so that र्त्ृ युः र्ा वः िररव्यथाः – so
that mortality will not torment you, afflict you. िररव्यथाः
means afflict, र्त्ृ युः means mortality. And वः means युष्र्ान्,
you. So one should know that ब्रह्मि् so that mortality will not
affect you. Therefore, the फलर्् is what? Immortality,
अर्त त त्वर्् is the फलर््. अर्त
ृ त्व हसद्धये one should know this
ब्रह्मि्. So thus this is the Upanishadic support and फलश्रुनत
also is given. With this the sixth question also is answered.
395
And now the उपनिषत् concludes the entire section, not only
the entire section but the उपनिषत् itself. So इहत is there.
िररव्यथाः इहत. इहत is to give quotation because this is a ऋग्
र्न्त्र.
Verse No. 6.7
तान्िोवािैतावदेवािर्ेतत्िरं ब्रह्म वेद नातः िरर्स्तीहत ॥ ७ ॥
Verse No. 6.8
ते तर्िम यन्तस्त्वं हि नः हिता योऽस्र्ाकर्हवद्यायाः िरं िारं
तारयसीहत । नर्ः िरर्ऋहषभ्यो नर्ः िरर्ऋहषभ्यः ॥ ८ ॥
So after answering the sixth question नपप्पलाद tells the
students. Students all of them, तान् ि उवाि – नपप्पलादः तान्
हशष्यान् भारद्वाजाहदन् उवाि. What did he say? एतावदेव
अिर्् एतत् िरं ब्रह्म वेद – about the परम्ब्ब्रह्म I know only this
much. Don't ask me more, I have exhausted all my knowledge.
Then students got confused. So that means you say I know
only this much, does it mean some more is to be known? What
is the next उपनिषत्? So does it mean that some more else to
be known. So the teacher says no. न अतः िरर्् अहस्त – in
fact there is nothing else to be known, no more is to be known,
I have told what I know and what everyone should know,
nothing more is there to be known. So then the students were
happy. We have got now complete knowledge of ब्रह्मि.् And
therefore they arranged a िादपज ू ा. ते तर्् अिम यन्तः – so they
worshipped नपप्पलाद and there afterwards they praised the
teacher the praise is given within quotation. त्वर्् हि नः हिता.
396
त्वर्् हि onwards is the words of the हशष्यs addressed to
हिप्िलाद, the teacher. So you are our father. And
शङ्करािािम gives meaning father gives a physical body. The
local father gives a local physical body, you are the father who
are given me ब्रह्म शरीरर्् therefore, because of you alone I, the
mortal have been converted to I, the Immortal one. The local
father gives birth to the mortal I, the spiritual father gives birth
to the Immortal I. And therefore the Immortal I is born. So I
was a हद्वजः, now I have become अजः. Because of whom?
Because of you alone. Therefore, you are our father. Why?
अस्र्ाकर्् अहवद्ययाः िरर्् िारर्् तारयहस – you have taken us
to the supreme shore, the greatest shore. Of what? अहवद्ययाः –
of the ocean of ignorance. अहवद्या सागरस्य िरर्् िारर््
तारयहस – you have taken as to the other shore of the अहवद्या
सागरर््, otherwise संसार सागरर््. And therefore we want to
prostrate to you. But when we want to prostrate you we
discover that you yourself have got your wisdom because of
your गुरु, therefore I feel like prostrating your गुरु also, by the
time I remember his गुरु, therefore instead of prostrating each
one and having knee pain so नर्ः िरर्ऋहषभ्यः – my
prostrations to the entire परम्ब्परा, सदाहशव सर्ारम्प्भार््
शङ्करािायम र्ध्यर्ार्् अस्र्दािायम ियम न्तार्् वन्दे गुरु
िरम्प्िरार््. Prostrations to the great sages and it is repeated
twice, आदराथम र््, उिसंिाराथम र्् ि for respect it is repeated, for
conclusion it is repeated. With this the sixth प्रश्न is also
397
answered. There are no more students, no more time also and
therefore it is concluded.
िण
398

Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

प्रश्नोपनिषत्

Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

So what is the third question? आत्र्ानर्् वा कथर््

So the external and the internal manifestation or

So the one who knows the following details of प्राण

Verse No. 4.1

Verse No. 4.3

So everything, that is the style of उपनिषत्, it likes to

So यः िुनः एतर्् हरर्ारेण. So here also हरर्ारेण is

You might also like