mahAvAkyaratnAvaliH- Translation No. 15

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*Translation of mahAvAkyas- No.15- Sentences censuring the unenlightened. *

 

28. atha yo anyAm devatAm upAste anyo asau anyo ahamasmi iti na sa veda

yathA paSuH evam sa devAnAm—br. up. 1.4.10—He who worships another god,

thinking, " He is different and I am different " , does not know. He is like an

animal to the gods.

 

This sentence taken in isolation and out of context cannot be

properly understood unless the whole paragraph, 1.4.10, which forms a

composite whole, is read. This paragraph is reproduced below:

 

" This (self) was indeed brahman in the beginning. It knew only Itself as, " I

am brahman'. Therefore It became all. And whoever among the gods knew It

also became That; and the same with sages and men. The sage VAmadeva, while

realizing this (self) as That knew, 'I was manu, and the sun'. And to this

day whoever in like manner knows It as, 'I am brahman', becomes all this.

Even the gods cannot prevail against him, for he becomes their self. While

he who worships another god thinking, 'He is different and I am different',

does not know. He is like an animal to the gods. As many animals serve a

man, so does each man serve the gods. Even if one animal is taken away, it

causes anguish, what to say of many animals! Therefore it is not liked by

the gods that men should know this (brahman).

 

The central point of this paragraph is the mahAvAkya 'aham brahma asmi' –

'I am brahman'. The central idea is that one should meditate on the identity

of the individual self and brahman and thus realize that he is brahman and

not the body-mind complex. brahman is the self of all beings, including the

gods. And so when a person realizes that he is brahman, he becomes the self

of all, including the gods themselves. As long as a person considers himself

to be different from the gods and worships them with the idea of this

difference, he is in bondage. He therefore serves the gods just as animals

such as cows, horses, etc., owned by a person serve him. This is the idea

brought out here. One should therefore strive for realization of the self so

that he becomes independent. This does not mean that worship of gods is not

necessary. Sri Sankara's says in his commentary on this paragraph:-- " Hence,

as men try to save their animals from being seized by tigers, etc., so also

the gods seek to prevent men from attaining knowledge of brahman, as they

would then cease to be their objects of enjoyment. Those, however, whom they

wish to set free, they endow with faith and the like. Therefore a seeker of

devotion should be devoted to worshipping the gods, have faith and devotion,

be obedient to the gods and be alert about attainment of knowledge of the

self. The mention of the dislike of the gods is an indirect hint at all

this " .

 

29. atra bhidAm iva manyamAnaH SatadhA sahasradhA bhinno mRtyoH sa mRtyum

Apnoti—He who perceives things as different, as hundreds and thousands of

different things, goes from death to death.

 

One who sees things and beings in this world as different from one another,

i.e., one who has not realized that everything is brahman alone, continues

in the cycle of repeated births and deaths.

 

30. kartRtvAdyahamkArabhAvanArUDhaH mUDhaH—

 

kartRtva-adi- doership, etc. ahamkAra- ego. bhAvanArUDhaH- rooted in the

notion.

 

One who is rooted in the notion of being a doer, etc., is a deluded person.

 

mUDhah- does not mean 'fool' or 'a person deficient in intelligence' as is

generally thought. It is derived from the verbal root 'muh' which means 'to

be deluded'. Therefore it means 'one who is deluded'. Every one who has not

attained brahma-jnAna looks upon the world as real, however learned or

intelligent he may be, and is therefore deluded by avidyA.

 

S.N.Sastri

 

(To be contd)