Finding the Lord: The teachings of Yājñavalkya before leaving family life (part 2)
The second part of the profound teachings of Yājñavalkya, from the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad.
This is the second part of the profound teachings of Yājñavalkya, where he explains the nature of the material world, how to control our senses, and how to find the Lord behind everything. This is a fresh translation and commentary on a mysterious passage from the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad.
Yājñavalkya continued:
brahma taṁ parādād yo ’nyatrātmano brahma veda, kṣatraṁ taṁ parādād yo ’nyatrātmanaḥ kṣatraṁ veda, lokās taṁ parādur yo ’nyatrātmano lokān veda, devās taṁ parādur yo ’nyatrātmano devān veda, bhūtāni taṁ parādur yo ’nyatrātmano bhūtāni veda, sarvaṁ taṁ parādād yo ’nyatrātmanaḥ sarvaṁ veda, idaṁ brahmedaṁ kṣatram ime lokā ime devā imāni bhūtānīdaṁ sarvaṁ yad ayam ātmā
"Whoever sees the brāhmaṇa as something other than the Self is abandoned by the brāhmana. Whoever sees the kṣatriya as something other than the Self is abandoned by the kṣatriya. Whoever sees the words, the demigods, or other beings as something other than the Self, is abandoned by them. Whoever sees anything as something other than the Self is abandoned by this thing. For this brāhmana, this kṣatriya, these planets and worlds, these demigods and other beings, all of this is the Supreme Self alone." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 2.4.6)
Due to the influence of Maya and our own covering by lust, we look at attractive people and objects and see them as separate from Krsna, and thus as objects of our enjoyment. We think then that the husband, wife, etc., are dear to us for their own sake, but in reality, they are attractive to us because of the presence of Krsna, who manifests both externally (in the form of His illusory energy, which manifests as different material bodies and objects) and inside, as Paramātmā. In other words, we love people and things because they carry a spark of His presence. Ultimately, we are all looking for Krsna, but due to the covering of Maya, this longing manifests in the form of material lust.
It is only due to this connection with Krsna that things appear to be attractive to us. When we fully realize this connection, we see beyond the material illusion and become attracted to Krsna, the source of all attractiveness. We then awaken our eternal nature of love and service to Krsna. When we fail to do that, however, we just live the material experience of attraction, loss, and grief.
The words ātmanas tu kāmāya, thus, mean that what is dear is not the persons or material objects themselves, but the potency and presence of the Lord in them. Another word for "dear" is priya, and this is also used later in the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (part four) in relation to the Lord: "priyam iti enat upāsīta" (One should worship the Supreme Lord as priya, the dearest). All these points reinforce the idea of cultivating our eternal relationship with the Lord as the most important aspect of our existence and indeed, the very purpose of human life.
No one can attain happiness by chasing people or material objects. Only when we connect ourselves with the Supreme Lord can all desirable things be attained.
When one is young, one can try to fix one's mind on the Lord by performing one's duties in family life and offering such activities to Him, as Krsna explains in the Gītā. However, in old age, we are recommended to enter into vānaprastha life and directly control our senses, freeing ourselves from the calamity of a new birth.
Maitreyī is in this stage, therefore Yājñavalkya proceeds in explaining the process of sense control in order to facilitate her fixing her mind on the Lord:
sa yathā dundubher hanyamānasya na bāhyāñ chabdāñ chaknuyād grahaṇāya, dundubhes tu grahaṇena dundubhyāghātasya vā śabdo gṛhītaḥ
sa yathā śaṅkhasya dhmāyamānasya na bāhyāñ chabdāñ chaknuyād grahaṇāya, śaṅkhasya tu grahaṇena śaṅkhadhmasya vā śabdo gṛhītaḥ
sa yathā vīṇāyai vādyamānāyai na bāhyāñ chabdāñ chaknuyād grahaṇāya, vīṇāyai tu grahaṇena vīṇāvādasya vā śabdo gṛhītaḥ
"Once a drum is beaten, one cannot stop or capture the sound once it leaves the drum. However, by seizing the drum or stopping the beating of the drum, the sound can be stopped. Similarly, once a conch or a flute is played, it's impossible to stop the sound from propagating. However, by seizing the conch or the flute, or stopping the person who is playing, the sound can be stopped." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 2.4.7-9)
To fix our minds on the Lord, we have to learn to control our senses. Once the senses come into contact with the sense objects, it is very difficult to stop, and it is even more difficult to eliminate the impressions registered in the mind, both of which are obstacles for fixing our mind on the Lord. However, by taking away the sense objects (by living in a retired place), or by directly controlling the senses, the mental agitation can be avoided.
sa yathārdraidhāgner abhyāhitāt pṛthag dhūmā viniścaranty eva vā are ’sya mahato bhūtasya niḥśvasitam etad yad ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo ’tharvāṅgirasa itihāsaḥ purāṇaṁ vidyā upaniṣadaḥ ślokāḥ sūtrāṇy anuvyākhyānāni vyākhyānāni, asyaivaitāni niḥśvasitāni
"Just as clouds of smoke appear when we lit a fire using damp firewood, in the same way, O dear one, the Rg Veda, Sāma Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda, Purāṇas, Itihāsas, Vidyās, Upaniṣads, ślokas, sūtras, vyākhyās (commentaries) and anuvyākhyās (further expositions), as well as everything that exists, all come from the breath of the Supreme Person." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 2.4.10)
This verse makes reference to Lord Mahā-Vishnu creating all the universes and everything that exists through his exhalation. During the interval between his exhalation and his inhalation, all the universes become manifest, and the one hundred years of the life of Brahma go on. When He inhales, all the universes are destroyed, and all the souls merge into his body for a long period of rest until the next creation.
While everything is created by the Lord, Yājñavalkya emphasized the creation of the Vedas because they are the most valuable component of material creation. Most of what exists in the material world exists simply to allow the living entities to enjoy their senses, so they may eventually become frustrated and seek self-realization. Their usefulness is thus secondary at best. The Vedas, however, are the part of the creation that directly helps one on the transcendental path. They are thus orders of magnitude more valuable than everything else.
Having explained the Vedas and the purpose of life, Yājñavalkya speaks more about sense control:
sa yathā sarvāsām apāṁ samudra ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ sparśānāṁ tvag ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ gandhānāṁ nāsike ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ rasānāṁ jihvaikāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ rūpāṇāṁ cakṣur ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣaṁ śabdānāṁ śrotram ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ saṅkalpānāṁ mana ekāyanam, evaṁ sarvāsāṁ vidyānāṁ hṛdayam ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ karmaṇāṁ hastāv ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣām ānandānām upastha ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ visargāṇāṁ pāyur ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣām adhvanāṁ pādāv ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ vedānāṁ vāg ekāyanam
"The ocean is the receptacle of all waters. Skin is the receptacle of all touch sensations. The nose is the receptacle of all smells. The tongue is the receptacle of all tastes. The eye is the receptacle of all forms. The ear is the receptacle of all sounds. The mind is the receptacle of all decisions. The heart is the receptacle of all knowledge. The hands are the receptacle of all actions. The genital is the receptacle of all sexual bliss. The anus is the receptacle of all excretion. The feet are the receptacle of all movement. The voice is the receptacle of all the Vedas (knowledge)." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 2.4.11)
The key word in this verse is "ekāyanam" (receptacle), which is repeated at each sentence. The vast ocean is the receptacle of all waters, being continuously filled by numerous rivers, but still it is never filled. Similarly, each sense is the receptacle of a certain type of sense object, and they are constantly being filled with more and more sense enjoyment, but still, they are never satisfied. The process of controlling the senses passes thus by restricting them, and not in increasing sense gratification in the hope that the senses may some day become satisfied. They will never.
This verse serves thus as a graphic representation to help us to remain in the path of sense control, understanding that sense enjoyment just makes us further bound to this material world.
To further emphasize this point, Yājñavalkya speaks another verse:
sa yathā saindhava-khilya udake prāsta udakam evānuvilīyeta na hāsyodgrahaṇāyeva syāt, yato-yatas tv ādadīta lavaṇam, evaṁ vā ara idaṁ mahad bhūtam anantam apāraṁ vijñāna-ghana eva, etebhyo bhūtebhyaḥ samutthāya tāny evānuvinaśyati, na pretya saṁjñāstīty are bravīmi, iti hovāca yājñavalkyaḥ
"When a piece of salt is dissolved in water, it appears to be lost in it, but its presence can still be noted by the salty taste of the water. In the same way, O dear one, is Brahman; this great, infinite, boundless, condensed knowledge makes himself present in the material creation. Arising from the material elements (at birth), a person dissolves back into them (at death). Having died, one has no knowledge of the body, or identity with it." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 2.4.12)
Both the Lord and the jīva are spiritual, and thus full of eternity, bliss, and knowledge. The jīva is also a possessor of unbroken knowledge, just like the Lord, but because the jīva is infinitesimal, we can fall into illusion and have our knowledge covered.
Just as the salt dissolved in water, the Lord becomes present in the material creation through the diffusion of His energy, but He is not seen. In the same way, the jīva, covered by the material body, can't be seen, even though its presence can be identified by the presence of consciousness.
Because we identify with matter, we receive new material bodies, one after the other. These bodies are created from material elements, and thus it is said that we "arise" from these material elements. "We" in this case means our current conditioned identity, connected with the body. This same material identity is later dissolved back into the original material elements at death, with the destruction of the body. This is another strong image of the temporarily of material existence and the futility of the process of material sense gratification. Just as a man compulsively cleaning and maintaining his car and forgetting to eat, we spend our efforts trying to satisfy our body and senses, and forget our real interests.
Once we leave a particular body, we lose our knowledge of it. The previous identity is destroyed, and we accept another temporary material identity. This process continues until we come to the platform of self-realization and restore our original spiritual identity.
When these concepts are explained, they become clear, but when we just hear the verse itself, these concepts are hard to grasp. Maitreyī thus raises a question, leading Yājñavalkya to further clarify the conditioned state of the jīva:
sā hovāca maitreyī, atraiva mā bhagavān amūmuhan na pretya saṁjñāstīti
sa hovāca, na vā are ’haṁ mohaṁ bravīmi, alaṁ vā ara idaṁ vijñānāya"Maitreyī said: O revered one, please don't confuse me with such a statement such as na pretya saṁjñā asti (after death there is no consciousness). Yājñavalkya answered: No, dear one, I do not speak anything confusing. This is sufficient to understand." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 2.4.13)
Yājñavalkya used the sentence "na pretya saṁjñā asti" in the sense of the soul losing knowledge of the body and the material identity connected with it at death, but Maitreyī understood it in the sense of the consciousness or individuality of the soul being extinguished at death. This sounds contradictory, and thus she requests clarification.
Yājñavalkya signals that Maitreyī should try to go deeper into the meaning of the teaching and not insist on the superficial meaning of the words. He reassures that he is not about nihilism, but the end of worldly cognition tied to the body. What remains is the Self, pure consciousness, and this must be realized.
yatra hi dvaitam iva bhavati tad itara itaraṁ jighrati tad itara itaraṁ paśyati tad itara itaraṁ śṛṇoti tad itara itaram abhivadati tad itara itaraṁ manute tad itara itaraṁ vijānāti, yatra vāsya sarvam ātmaivābhūt tat kena kaṁ jighret tat kena kaṁ paśyet tat kena kaṁ śṛṇuyāt tat kena kam abhivadet tat kena kaṁ manvīta tat kena kaṁ vijānīyāt, yenedaṁ sarvaṁ vijānāti taṁ kena vijānīyāt, vijñātāram are kena vijānīyād iti
"When one is absorbed in duality, seeing an existence separated from the Lord, then one smells another, sees another, hears another, speaks to another, thinks of another, and knows another. But when one becomes aware of the Supreme Self and understands that nothing is separate from him, then who smells what? who sees what? who hears what? who speaks what, who thinks of what, and who knows what? How could that Supreme Person, by whom all this is known, be known by another? O dear one, the ultimate knower is beyond the grasp of material knowledge." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 2.4.14)
It's not really possible to be independent from the Lord. Everything that exists is nothing but a combination of different potencies of the Lord (including the individual souls, who are part of His marginal energy); therefore, in fact, there is nothing apart from the Lord. However, under material duality, we think there is a world separated from the Lord, or that we are separated from Him. Under this false concept, we live the material experience, interacting with different manifestations we see as separated from the Lord. However, when we become Krsna-conscious, we understand that everything is connected with Krsna and should be used in His service. We see then that everything and everyone is eternally connected with Him. At this stage, our whole experience becomes centered around our relationship with Him.
Yājñavalkya explains that the Lord can't be known by experimental knowledge, which hints that He can be known only by the process of devotional service. This is a constant in the Upaniṣads: the ultimate conclusions of the text are just hinted at, instead of being directly stated, since the idea is to keep the real meaning hidden from unauthorized persons. The full meaning of the text can thus be understood only when the text is studied under the proper conclusions, received from the spiritual master.
This dialogue is repeated later in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, in part four, where extra details about the characteristics of the Lord are added:
sa eṣa neti nety ātmā, agṛhyo na hi gṛhyate, aśīryo na hi śīryate, asaṅgo na hi sajyate, asito na vyathate na riṣyati, vijñātāram are kena vijānīyād ity uktānuśāsanāsi maitreyi, etāvad are khalv amṛtatvam iti hoktvā yājñavalkyo vijahāra
"The Lord is indeed the Supreme Self. He is neti nety — not this, not this — free from material, limiting attributes, and beyond all material description. He is ungraspable, for He cannot be apprehended by the senses or mundane intellect. He is undecaying, for He never perishes. He is unattached, untouched by matter, beyond all suffering or harm. Therefore, O dear one, how can one know this Supreme Knower, except by His own grace? Thus have I instructed you. Indeed, this is immortality. Having spoken thus, Yājñavalkya departed." (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upanisad 4.5.15)
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l tusm. Hare Krsna & Hare Rama Prabhu,