BHUMA-VIDYA 3

July 16, 2006

Om Namah Sivaya

The Chhandogya Upanishad

SANATKUMARA'S INSTRUCTIONS ON BHUMA-VIDYA

Section 1

Name

Nama va rg-vedo yajur-vedah pitryo-rasir-daivo, nidhir vakovakyam, ekayanam, deva-vidya, brahma-vidya, bhuta-vidya, ksatra-vidya, naksatra-vidya, sarpa-deva-jana-vidya, namaivaitat, namopassveti.

Sanatkumara continues: "Now, well, I will tell you once again that this is only theory, and therefore, it is not of much consequence in your life, but it has an importance in that it is the beginning of knowledge. Therefore, meditate on 'name'."

Though mere information is not of any ultimate utility in one's practical life, it is not without some utility, because learning begins with gathering of information. The idea of an object precedes the real knowledge of the object. Unless we have some concept of the object, how can we approach the object at all? The concept by itself is not the substance, no doubt, but we have to approach the substance through the concept, through the idea. Practice comes after theory. If we have not theoretical knowledge of a thing, we will have no scientific background of any particular art or science. Then we cannot master that thing, the art or science. The technological application of the knowledge is subsequent to the mastery of the theory of it, as is the case with every science, every art, every branch of learning. So, when Sanatkumara says that it is all 'name' only in one way, what he means is that it is not of ultimate value, which is the reason why Narada is not really

happy. But yet it has a meaning, because it is the initial step in the process of the ascent of the soul to the Supreme Reality.

From the lowest degree of manifestation, one has to gradually ascend step by step, from the first to the second and then to the third, the fourth, and so on. What appears to us at the very outset in this physical life of ours is that objects are outside us, that the world is external to us. And we have therefore only information by way of nomenclature about these things. This is the first stage towards the knowledge of the things. When we wish to gain knowledge of any object, the first thing that we do is to gain information about that object. We get a descriptive knowledge of that object. This is what is meant here when Sanatkumara says that all Narada has learnt is only 'name'. The name of an object includes every kind of information about the object. Thus, says Sanatkumara to Narada: "You, first of all, assure yourself that you have a complete knowledge of objects in so far as their name goes. Though beyond that you cannot go, at least within that realm, be a

master. You must have a correct descriptive knowledge of these things."

Now, the whole principle of the ascent of the soul to higher stages of realisation is that unless that law operating in the lower realm is fully fulfilled, the higher cannot be reached. When we say that the lower is inadequate, we do not mean that it is bereft of all reality. It has an element of truth in it. And, every degree of reality is meaningful to the extent of the law operating within it. We have to master it, not by excluding it or disregarding it, but by having a thorough knowledge of it, to the extent it goes, by obeying the laws of that particular realm in which we find ourselves at any given moment of time. We cannot close our eyes to the action and reaction produced by the operation of the laws in a particular realm or degree of reality. We should not invoke the laws of a higher realm when we are involved in a lower realm of existence.

This is the mistake that many people make even in the practice of spiritual life. They suddenly think that they are God-men or that they are about to jump into the ocean of God-consciousness and drink the nectar of ambrosia. They are caught hold of by their very legs through the laws that operate in the physical world. Knowledge does not mean ignorance of any particular aspect of experience. It is a total comprehension of fact as such. Even bondage has to be known in its true structure. When we are bound, we must know why we are bound. That is real knowledge. You cannot say, "Well, I am not concerned with the stages of bondage, I am concerned with freedom." What is freedom? It is knowledge of the causative factors behind bondage. The cure of an illness begins with the knowledge of the causative factors of illness behind it, knowledge of the aetiology, pathology, diagnosis, etc., of the whole suffering of the patient, and then only the medicine comes. So, it is

necessary to know where we are placed. We should not have any kind of misgivings about where we are actually situated. Are we in the physical world, or are we in the social atmosphere of people? Where are we caught up? We are caught up in an intricate network of life which reveals itself in various degrees of experience.

Now, each degree has to be paid its due. As they say, we must pay the devil its due. Though it is a devil, it does not matter; the due has to be paid. Then only we can be free from its clutches. The devil here is nothing but the law that operates in a particular realm. The world of externality, objectivity, is the realm in which we live, and therefore, we can go only to the extent of the law that operates in this world. The lowest degree of knowledge, as has been pointed out, is informative knowledge of objects. If there is a mountain in front of you, a mile away from you, you cannot have any knowledge about it except that it is of such-and-such dimension and is located at such a distance, etc. So, Sanatkumara points out that to the extent name goes, to the extent theoretical learning goes, to that extent we should be masters. Whatever be the degree of reality in which we are, we should be masters of that. "When you go to Rome, be a Roman" - this is a very good

adage which means to say that we must be friendly with the atmosphere in which we are, whatever the atmosphere be, and we must be in harmony with the law operating there. Then we become a master of that atmosphere; otherwise, we will come to loggerheads with the external environment.

So, namopassva - the first stage of meditation - is mentioned here, which is ideological. It is conceptual. We may call it theoretical. It is the operation of the mind in respect of an object. The object is not under one's control. It is far away. We have only a thought of the object. But, that is enough for the time being, because we are in that level only.

So, we should meditate on the name. Every stage of meditation or transcendence mentioned here is a stage of the identification of the self with that particular degree of reality. This is very important to remember. We will be taken gradually from stage to stage. When we are taken to a higher stage, what is implied is that the lower stage has already become a part of our own self in deep meditation and experience. It does not remain any more an object outside. When we have become that in self-absorption, then only we can be given access to the realm of a higher degree of reality. "So, now as the first step, namopassva, this is what you can do, Narada," says Sanatkumara. We should complete the process of absorbing the contents of our knowledge, to the extent they can go in this world, by deep meditation. This is conceptual meditation.

---Sri Swami Krishnananda

Sivaya Namah

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