Atmaj~jAna - from BRahadAraNayaka -1

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Namaste Sreenivasamurtyji,

"manOnAsha,elimination of dRshya etc etc....'

Thanks for this query. It helped me do svAdhyAya.

I am posting only the English translation of a passage as it is verbatim from BRhadAraNayak upanishad 2.4.11 dialogue between Sgae Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi:

< As the sea is the one merging place of all sorts of water,

as the skin is the one merging place of all kinds of touch,

as the nostrils are the one merging place of all odours,

as the tongue is the mone merging place of all savours,

as the eye is the one merging place of all colours,

as the ear is the one merging place of all sounds,

as the mind is the one merging place of all deliberations,

as the intellect is one merging place of all kinds of knowledge,

as the hands are one merging place of all actions,

as the organ of generation is one merging place of all pleasures,

as the anus is the one merging place of all excretions,

as the feet are the one merging place of all kinds of walking,

as the organ of speech is one merging place of all Vedas.>

The explanation given is:

The examples given are illustrative of unification or dissolution. they are meant to show that not only before and at the time of its origin and during its continuance but also at the time of dissolution and after, the Universe is nothing but Brahman.

Varieties of touch, smell, taste, colour and souynd merge in their respective general forms. These in their turn merge in the general deliberation by the mind. the latter again merges in the general determination by the intellect. And this last merges in the Supreme Self, which is absolute Intellegigence.

Similarly the organs of Action together with their objects also merge in the self through the Vital force - prANa.

Thus in the abscence of all objects and organs, only the self, the one without a second remains.

So this indicates manoonAsha is a possibility if the mind along with the senses merge in the intellect? Though the word manonAshah as such is not used. elimination of dRshya is also included in this.

The next section makes it more clearer.

section 2.4.13

< As a lump of salt is thrown into water only dissolves into the water, and none can at all pick it up, but from which ever part one takes the water, it has only a saline taste, even so, this great endless, limitless infinite reality is one homogeneous( i.e. free from all adjuncts) Intellegence.

On account of these elements(i.e. constituting the human body and organs)(the self) stands out (i.e. appears as an individualsied entity seperately) and as soon as these are destroyed ( i.e by the realisation of Brahman) its separate existance) is also destroyed ( i.e. As the reflection of the sun is destroyed when the refelecting medium is destroyed). After attaining (isolation) it has no particular consciousness.

It is Knowledge Itself. It has particular consciousness only when It joins Itself to limiting adjuncts- the body- mind -sense complex -

This " joins itself " creates a doubt as this will give rise to duality. For this Yajnavalkya talks about duality and I shall post the same in the next.

Kathopanishad 2.3.10 gives the means to attain that state of intellect:

yadA pancAvatiShTanta jnAnani manasA saha

buddhisca na viceShTati tAmahuh paramam gatim

At the time when the five senses of knowledge, withdrawn from their respective objects come to rest in the mind that is the antahkarana which is didengaged itself from its natural traits of imagination etc and the intellect which is characterised by determination is not active i.e not engaged in its own activities, that state is called the highest.

2.3.11

tam yogam iti manayante sthirAm indriya dhAraNam

apramattastadA bhavati yogo hi prabhavApyayau

That state of steady of restraint over the senses is regarded as yoga( union/merging) Then one becomes vigilant, for yoga can indeed originate in one and can be lost as well.

May be its is a meditative state.

But there is some sense of comfort from Katha that the dawn of AtmajnAna grief disaapears - signs of emotional maturity!

1-2-22

The intelligent one having known this Self to be bodiless in the bodies of Gods, manes, human beings etc, known to be seated firmly seated in things that are perishable, not susceptible to modification in those that have no permanency, known to be great and all pervading.

Having known the Atma is none other than Brahman and 'I am This" the intellegent one does not grieve. grief does not belong to such a person.

Inspite of studying 'N' number of times, still there is a continuous non- understanding. Such is the power of this Atma jnAna. Does not allow to think about anything else.

om namo narayanaya

Lakshmi Muthuswamy

 

 

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