sanatsujatheeyam chapter2

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pramaadhath vaa asuraaH paraabhavan

na pramaadhaath brahmabhoothaaH

suraaH cha

na vai mrthuH vyaaghra iva atthi janthoon

naapyasya roopam upalabhyathe hi

 

The

asuras became defeated due to pramadha and the devas stood in the path of Brahman by the absence of it. The death is

not like tiger and does not eat beings because

it has no form.

 

The

term pramadha is rather used in its state of effect rather than the causal

state. Pramadha is the slipping from the real state of immortality and the

effect of pramadha is ignorance which results in the identification with the

body.

 

The

asuras followed the path of destruction due to their body -consciousness forgetting

the Self.

 

This

refers to the episode of Virochana and Indra in the Chandhogya Upanishad (8.7)

in which both devas and asuras approached Brahma to know the truth about Athman

and Brhama told them to look at their

reflection in the water and find the Athman. Virochana looked at his reflection

and saw his body reflected in the water and went away satisfied that the body

is the Athman and his followers started

living a life of sensual pleasures due to their ignorance about the real Self.

That led them to death and disaster.

 

But

Indra was not satisfied and came back to question Brahma and learnt the truth

by living there thirty two years when he successively received instruction

from Brahma and finally learnt about the

real nature of the Self. Then the devas became the followers of the path of realization.

 

In

Gita Krishna says, `thath vidDhi

praNipaathena paripraSnena sevayaa , upadhekshyanthi the jnaanam jnaaninaH

thathvadharSinaH' and the above episode is the illustration of the

statement which means, one has to approach the realized master with humility

and service and should persist in learning the truth and they will instruct him

about it.

 

The

terms asura and sura have another connotation. asushu praaNeshu indhriyeshu eva ramanthe ithi asuraaH, asura is

the one who revels in the pleasures of

indhriyas, that is, the worldly, and svasmin

aathmanyeva ramanthe ithi suraaH, sura is the one who revels in the joy of the Self. The former get into the

cycle of life and death and take several births, from animal to human and the

latter attain Brahmanhood.

 

There

is no being known as death since he has no form like the tiger and seen to eat

other beings. Sanatkumara goes on to say that the death personified as Yama is

due to ignorance.

 

yamam thu eke mrthyum athaH anyam

aahuH

aathmaavaasam amrtham brahmacharyam

pthrloke raajyam anuSasthi dhevaH

SivaH Sivaanaam aSivaH aSivaanaam

 

Some

through ignorance imagine Yama , the son of the Sun god as the personification

of death. He dwells in all, because everyone is aware of his presence, and is

established in Brahman. He is immortal and stays in Pitrloka and he is good to

the virtuous and bad to the evil-minded.

 

In

brahadharnyaka Upanishad, we have the text, mrthyurvai thamaH ( Brhd.1.3.28) meaning, the darkness of ignorance

is death.

 

What

is meant here by Sanathkumara is that Yama who is the si on of Soorya and the

Lord of pitrloka, who is also known as Dharamraja, as he is the one who

apportions the result of karma to all by giving them punishment and causing

their birth into different wombs, is not death as he could not be equated with

ignorance as per the above sruthi text. Hence death is only ignorance, because it

leads one towards death.

 

IN

Katopanishad Yama is the instructor of Brhamavidhya to Nachikethas and hence he

is a deva without ignorance.