How the soul meets the Lord at the end of every day (Taittiriya Upaniṣad #5)

The soul meets the Lord in His form as Paramātmā at the end of each day, during deep sleep. Being the eternal part and parcel of the Lord, the soul can't remain separated from Him.

Nov 27, 2024

Just like the souls merge into the body of Lord Viṣṇu at the end of each day of Brahma, and also after the final dissolution of the universe, the soul goes to the small space inside the heart to meet the Lord in His form as Paramātmā at the end of each day, during deep sleep. Being the eternal part and parcel of the Lord, the soul can't remain separated from Him. Thus, at the end of each cycle of material activity (at the end of each day, at the end of each day of Brahma, and at the end of the life of Brahma, when the universes are destroyed), the soul merges into the body of the Lord.

What makes this merging different from liberation is that during this encounter with the Lord in the conditioned state, the soul is forgetful of his eternal relationship with Him, and still contaminated by the false ego and material desires. The soul thus doesn't associate with the Lord during these encounters, but just remains in an unconscious state, in a kind of deep slumber. When the soul wakes up at the beginning of the next cycle, the soul remembers his material desires and thus becomes again busy performing different material activities to try to satisfy them.

Going back to Godhead, on the other hand, means that the soul not only becomes free from all material desires as well as the false ego but is able to awaken his real spiritual nature, including his spiritual body and senses, with which he can enter the spiritual planets and personally associate with the Lord.

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Invocation

śam no bhavatv aryamā śam na indro bṛhaspatiḥ śam no viṣṇur urukramaḥ
namo brahmaṇe namaste vāyo tvam eva pratyakṣam brahmāsi
tvām eva pratyakṣam brahma vadiṣyāmi ṛtam vadiṣyāmi satyam vadiṣyāmi
tan mām avatu tad-vaktāram avatu avatu mām avatu vaktāram
om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ saha nāv avatu/ saha nau bhunaktu
saha vīryam karavāvahai tejasvi nāv adhītam astu mā vidviṣāvahai
om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

May the sun give us auspiciousness! May Varuṇa give us auspiciousness! May Aryamā give us auspiciousness! May Indra and Bṛhaspati give us auspiciousness! May Lord Viṣṇu, who as Vamanadeva covered the universe with His great steps give us auspiciousness! I offer my respects to the Vedas. O Vāyu, I offer my respects to you. You are directly Brahman. I shall speak proper words and the truth. Protect me and protect the speaker. Protect me and protect the speaker. Peace, peace, peace.

May the mantra protect both of us. May we enjoy studying together. May we be able to study with vigor. May the knowledge we study bless us with understanding and realization, and may it not give rise to enmity due to misunderstanding. Peace, peace, peace.

Commentary: This mantra is a sankalpa (resolution) meant to be chanted at the beginning of a study session. A sankalpa denotes an affirming resolve to do something or achieve something. The idea is to evoke the proper mood in both the teacher and the student, so the study may be successful.

Text 2.1.1

brahmavid āpnoti param

One who knows Brahman attains the Supreme.

Commentary: This is a famous passage that gives us the idea that liberation can be achieved through the cultivation of knowledge about the Supreme. The Vedas are divided into three main sections: karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa. The karma-kāṇḍa section deals with fruitive activities for achieving material prosperity and elevation to celestial planets. The jñāna-kāṇḍa offers spiritual knowledge about Brahman, while the upāsanā-kāṇḍa teaches devotional worship to demigods, progressing up to the worship of Lord Viṣṇu. When one comes to this stage, it is also called bhakti-kāṇḍa. Hidden in these three sections is the idea of devotional service to the Lord, which is the final goal. By following karma-kāṇḍa one may come to the understanding that Lord Viṣṇu is the ultimate giver of benedictions and come to worship Him, by following jñāna-kāṇḍa one may come to the understanding that the Lord is a person and agree to surrender to Him, while one following upāsanā-kāṇḍa may come to the path of pure bhakti, worshiping the Lord instead of different demigods.

As Srila Prabhupada explains:

"The word vipra mentioned herein is significant. There is a little difference between the vipras and the brāhmaṇas. The vipras are those who are expert in karma-kāṇḍa, or fruitive activities, guiding the society towards fulfilling the material necessities of life, whereas the brāhmaṇas are expert in spiritual knowledge of transcendence. This department of knowledge is called jñāna-kāṇḍa, and above this there is the upāsanā-kāṇḍa. The culmination of upāsanā-kāṇḍa is the devotional service of the Lord Viṣṇu, and when the brāhmaṇas achieve perfection, they are called Vaiṣṇavas. Viṣṇu worship is the highest of the modes of worship. Elevated brāhmaṇas are Vaiṣṇavas engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the science of devotional service, is very dear to the Vaiṣṇavas. And as explained in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is the mature fruit of Vedic knowledge and is superior subject matter, above the three kāṇḍas, namely karma, jñāna and upāsanā." (SB 1.12.29, Purport)
"Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, has said that persons who are very much attached to the fruitive activities of the Vedas, namely karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kanda, are certainly doomed. In the Vedas there are three categories of activities, known as karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities), jñāna-kāṇḍa (philosophical research) and upāsanā-kāṇḍa (worship of different demigods for receiving material benefits). Those who are engaged in karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa are doomed in the sense that everyone is doomed who is entrapped by this material body, whether it is a body of a demigod, a king, a lower animal or whatever. The sufferings of the threefold miseries of material nature are the same for all. Cultivation of knowledge to understand one's spiritual position is also, to a certain extent, a waste of time. Because the living entity is an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, his immediate business is to engage himself in devotional service. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore says that the allurement of material benedictions is another trap to entangle one in this material world. He therefore frankly tells the Lord that the Lord's offerings of benedictions in the form of material facilities are certainly causes for bewilderment. A pure devotee is not at all interested in bhukti or mukti." (SB 4.20.30, Purport)
"In the beginning, the Vedic purpose is pursued in three ways (trayī)—by karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa. When one reaches the complete, perfect stage of upāsanā-kāṇḍa, one comes to worship Nārāyaṇa, or Lord Viṣṇu. When Pārvatī asked Lord Mahādeva, Lord Śiva, what is the best method of upāsanā, or worship, Lord Śiva answered, ārādhanānām sarveṣām viṣṇor ārādhanam param. Viṣṇūpāsanā, or viṣṇv-ārādhana, worship of Lord Viṣṇu, is the highest stage of perfection, as realized by Devakī. But here mother Yaśodā performs no upāsanā, for she has developed transcendental ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. Therefore her position is better than that of Devakī. In order to show this, Śrīla Vyāsadeva enunciates this verse, trayyā copaniṣadbhiḥ etc." (SB 10.8.45, Purport)

Most of the verses of the original Vedas deal with karma-kāṇḍa, in which common people are usually interested, while the Upaniṣads are a selection of passages that directly describe the Supreme Lord. The Vedanta-sutra brings the correct conclusions of the Upaniṣads, allowing one to properly understand the texts, while the Srimad Bhagavatam is the Summum Bonum, containing direct and exclusive glorification of the Lord. One who is interested in still further details about the Lord find a post-graduation in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta.

Many translations of the Upaniṣads obscure the real meaning of the texts, just like many commentaries on the Vedanta sutras hide the self-effulgent nature of the texts, giving the idea that Brahman is formless and qualityless. However, when the texts are explained in the proper light, becomes evident that they describe nothing more than devotional service.

The word brahmavid is a combination of brahman (the ultimate reality) and vid (one who knows). At a lower level, brahmavid means an impersonalist who realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes qualified for impersonal liberation, while at a higher level, brahmavid means a pure devotee who comes to realize Krsna's form, qualities, and pastimes, and thus becomes eligible to join His pastimes in the spiritual world.

Normally, such pure devotees are extremely rare, because most become entangled in their practice of karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa or worship of demigods and miss the real purpose of the Vedas. As Krsna declares in the Bhagavad-Gita: "Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth."

However, we live in a very fortunate era, because Prabhupada made direct knowledge about Krsna, His form, qualities, pastimes, and the secret of devotional service unto Him easily available in His books. By studying these books, we achieve pure and perfect knowledge about the Lord and get the necessary tools to adopt the process of devotional service and eventually reach Him. Armed with the conclusions Prabhupada gives in His books, we may also study other books from Vedic literature he didn't have the opportunity to comment on, like different Upaniṣads and the Vedanta-sutra, and have the possibility of understanding them.

Text 2.1.2

tad eṣā ’bhyuktā
satyam jñānam anantam brahma
yo veda nihitam guhāyām parame vyoman
so ’śnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā vipaściteti

The Supreme Brahman has no limits. He is eternal and full of knowledge. The liberated soul, who knows this Brahman, Who is hidden inside the cave of the heart, enjoys the fulfillment of all his desires in the company of the Supreme Lord.

Commentary: The previous verse declared that "brahmavid āpnoti param" (one who knows Brahman attains the Supreme), which highlights the central topic of the Upaniṣads: the pursuit of spiritual knowledge, culminating with the realization of the Supreme Absolute truth. When we read Prabhupada's books we are given the direct conclusions of the Vedas, starting with the conclusion that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we often fail to realize the arduous philosophical process transcendentalists would traditionally have to go through to reach these conclusions, first going through the karma-kanda section of the Vedas, then studying the Upaniṣads and the Vedanta sutras, to only then, maybe, come to the understanding that Brahman is a person and that devotional service is the ultimate goal of life.

This second verse starts with "tad eṣā ’bhyuktā", emphasizes the previous statement, and offers another mantra that reinforces it: satyam jñānam anantam brahma, The Supreme Brahman has no limits. He is eternal and full of knowledge.

Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana mentions this mantra in his commentary on the Vedanta sutras, using it to reinforce the idea that the Supreme Lord is the reservoir of eternal, unlimited spiritual bliss, and this Supreme Lord is the one who saves one from the cycle of birth and death in this material world. Even the rituals prescribed in the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas have no power to free one from this cycle.

The mention of the Brahman situated inside the cave of the heart refers to Paramātmā. This is a metaphor that is discussed in the Vedanta sutras. The heart is compared to a cave where the Lord resides in a form measuring the distance from the thumb to the index finger. Every night the soul enters this cave to meet the Lord after spending the day performing material activities. When one comes to realize the Supreme Lord, He gains His association, which fulfills all desires, bringing us to the platform of spiritual bliss we are always looking for.

The Chāndogya Upaniṣad (8.3.2) mentions:

yathā hiraṇya-nidhim nihitam akṣetrajñā upari

sañcaranto ‘pi na vidus tathemāḥ sarvāḥ prajā ahar ahar

gacchantya enam brahmalokam na vidanty anṛtena hi pratyūḍhāḥ

“As people, unaware of what the ground actually holds, walk again and again over buried golden treasure, so do the people of this world day after day go to the spiritual world of Brahman without knowing it.”

Other passages of the scriptures also describe this daily journey of the soul:

satā saumya tadā sampanno bhavati

“O gentle one, the living entities are again and again in contact with the Supreme.”

ya eṣo ‘ntar hṛdaya ākāśas tasmin śete

“Entering the sky of the heart, the soul sleeps.”

The word "brahmalokam" in the verse from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad does not refer to the planet of Brahma, but to the spiritual sky. The passages thus should not be interpreted in the sense that the soul goes daily to Satyaloka, the planet of Brahma, but that the soul daily comes in contact with the Lord by entering this small space inside the heart.

How can we understand that the soul goes to the Lord at the end of each day? How can we regularly go to the Lord and return to this material world after that? And how do we not remember these encounters?

This is connected with the souls merging into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu which happens at the end of each universal cycle. In his purport to SB 1.10.21, Srila Prabhupada mentions:

"There are two types of dissolution of the manifested cosmos. At the end of every 4,320,000,000 solar years, when Brahmā, the lord of one particular universe, goes to sleep, there is one annihilation. And at the end of Lord Brahmā’s life, which takes place at the end of Brahmā’s one hundred years of age, in our calculation at the end of 8,640,000,000 × 30 × 12 × 100 solar years, there is complete annihilation of the entire universe, and in both the periods both the material energy called the mahat-tattva and the marginal energy called jīva-tattva merge in the person of the Supreme Lord. The living beings remain asleep within the body of the Lord until there is another creation of the material world, and that is the way of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material manifestation."
"The merging of the living beings into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu takes place automatically at the end of Brahmā’s one hundred years. But that does not mean that the individual living being loses his identity. The identity is there, and as soon as there is another creation by the supreme will of the Lord, all the sleeping, inactive living beings are again let loose to begin their activities in the continuation of past different spheres of life. It is called suptotthita-nyāya, or awakening from sleep and again engaging in one’s respective continuous duty. When a man is asleep at night, he forgets himself, what he is, what his duty is and everything of his waking state. But as soon as he awakens from slumber, he remembers all that he has to do and thus engages himself again in his prescribed activities. The living beings also remain merged in the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu during the period of annihilation, but as soon as there is another creation they arise to take up their unfinished work. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.18-19)."

Text 2.1.3

tasmād vā etasmād ātmana ākāśaḥ sambhūtaḥ
ākāśād vāyum vāyor agnim agner āpam adbhyam pṛthivī
pṛthivyā oṣadhayaḥ oṣadhībhyo ’nnam
annāt puruṣam sa vā eṣa puruṣo ’nna-rasa-mayaḥ
tasyedam eva śiraḥ ayam dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ ayam uttaram pakṣaḥ ayam ātmā
idam puccham pratiṣṭhā tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati

From that Self (Brahman) sprang ākāśa (ether); from ākāśa sprang air; from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth. From earth sprang plants; from plants came food; from food arose man.

The material body is thus a transformation of food. This food is his head, his right side, his left side, his torso, and his support. This explanation is connected with the next verse.

Commentary: This verse starts a discussion about the different stages of existence: annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya, and vijñānamaya. First, Brahman is established as the creator of everything. From Brahman comes the element ether and from ether the other material elements are manifested, culminating with earth. The element earth in turn leads to a sequence of manifestations, culminating with food, which is the source of subsistence. This description is similar to the description of creation connected with the Virat-rupa we find in the 2nd canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.

According to the Vedas, there are five material elements: earth, water, air, fire, and ether. The "ether" mentioned in the Vedas is not connected with the disproven theory of the luminiferous ether from past centuries, nor is it just a vacuum, like in space. The Vedic conception of ether is a subtle element that serves as a fabric for all the other gross manifestations by the interaction with the mind, intelligence, and false ego.

Ether is thus a representation of the Lord, and many verses of the Upaniṣads refer to the Lord as "ākāśa" or ether. This connection is explained by Srila Vyasadeva in the Vedanta Sutras.

The subtle elements (the mind, intelligence, and false ego, as well as all desires, ideas, and so on) are created from the ether, and from the further interaction of these subtle elements with the ether, gross elements (earth, water, air, and fire), as well as all physical manifestations are created. This concept is further explained in the description of the primary and secondary creations offered in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

The primary creation is done by Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu, who creates everything that will exist in the numerous universes in a subtle form (like as an idea), as well as the primordial material elements. Then Brahma is inspired from the heart to give physical forms to this creation, performing the secondary creation. This happens much like most contemporary constructions and products, that exist first in a subtle form (a project) and later are manifested in a gross form when finally built. Similarly, the ideas and desires stored in our minds are the basis for the gross forms and experiences we will encounter in our future lives.

When Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu performs the primary creation, he creates all possible forms and experiences that exist in the material universes. During the secondary creation, Brahma creates a number of different levels of existence that correspond to the different levels of consciousness of the different living entities. There are thus 14 levels of planetary systems, subdivided into millions of planets and stars, and a total of 8,400,000 species of life, offering a great variety of forms and experiences. According to our consciousness, we take birth into one of these places, according to our level of consciousness, and there we perform our small role in the creation, manipulating matter, and interacting with other living entities.

This corroborates what Krsna says in the Bhagavad-Gita when He explains that one's mental situation at death is the basis for his next birth. Srila Prabhupada explains that mental existence transforms into tangible form as soon as there is an opportunity. In other words, all the desires stored in the mind serve as the basis for the different material experiences we enjoy or suffer in this life, and ultimately for the development of a new body, which will lead to a new birth in a situation that will allow the soul to continue acting upon such desires.

This process is explained by Lord Kapila as part of his teachings: "The activities and characteristics of the ethereal element can be observed as the accommodation of room for the external and internal existences of all living entities, namely the field of activities of the vital air, the senses and the mind." (SB 3.26.34)

Srila Prabhupada explains this in detail in his purport. Here he brings up quite advanced philosophical ideas that we may take time to understand:

"The mind, the senses and the vital force, or living entity, have forms, although they are not visible to the naked eye. Form rests in subtle existence in the sky, and internally it is perceived as the veins within the body and the circulation of the vital air. Externally there are invisible forms of sense objects. The production of the invisible sense objects is the external activity of the ethereal element, and the circulation of vital air and blood is its internal activity. That subtle forms exist in the ether has been proven by modern science by transmission of television, by which forms or photographs of one place are transmitted to another place by the action of the ethereal element. That is very nicely explained here. This verse is the potential basis of great scientific research work, for it explains how subtle forms are generated from the ethereal element, what their characteristics and actions are, and how the tangible elements, namely air, fire, water and earth, are manifested from the subtle form. Mental activities, or psychological actions of thinking, feeling and willing, are also activities on the platform of ethereal existence. The statement in Bhagavad-gītā that the mental situation at the time of death is the basis of the next birth is also corroborated in this verse. Mental existence transforms into tangible form as soon as there is an opportunity due to contamination or development of the gross elements from subtle form."

By carefully studying these teachings we can understand the ephemeral (although not false) nature of this world, and how our reality is created from our consciousness, through the interactions of the mind, intelligence, and ego with the element ether, resulting in gross manifestations of ideas and experiences materialized through the gross elements that we enjoy and suffer in this world.

Just as a material consciousness creates a material body and numerous material objects and experiences, a spiritual consciousness fixed in service to Krsna leads us to the spiritual, eternal reality in the spiritual world. This passage from the Taittiriya Upanisad describes the different layers of our self, starting with the body and culminating with the soul, and the different levels of consciousness that start with the basic propensity of maintaining the body by ingesting food, all the way to self-realization.

The second part of the verse speaks about the appearance of food which leads to the creation of the physical body. From earth sprang plants; from plants came food; from food arose man. The material body is nothing more than a transformation of food. From food, all human beings are created, since the body grows in the womb by consuming the nutrients from the food consumed by the mother, and outside of the womb by eating different types of food. Food is thus the support for the human being.

The expression "tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati" indicates that the explanation continues in the next verse. This sentence is frequently used in the Upaniṣads to connect different verses, giving the idea they are parts of the same explanation, instead of disconnected passages. This line appears at the end of all passages up to 2.8.5, indicating that the whole second chapter, from 2.1.1 to 2.9.1 forms a single explanation. I'm not repeating this line in the translation of every verse because it is already clear from the context, but you can note it in the Sanskrit.

Text 2.2.1

annād vai prajāḥ prajāyante/ yāḥ kāś ca pṛthivīm śritāḥ
atho annenaiva jīvanti/ athainad apiyanty antataḥ
annam hi bhūtānām jyeṣṭham/ tasmāt sarvauṣadham ucyate
sarvam vai te’nnam āpnuvanti/ ye’nnam brahmopāsate
annam hi bhūtānām jyeṣṭham/ tasmāt sarvauṣadham ucyate
annād bhūtāni jāyante/ jātāny annena vardhante
adyate’tti ca bhūtāni/ tasmād annam tad ucyata iti
tasmād vā etasmād anna-rasa-mayāt/ anyo’ntara ātmā prāṇamayaḥ
tenaiṣa pūrṇaḥ/ sa vā eṣa puruṣa-vidha eva
tasya puruṣa-vidhatām anv ayam puruṣa-vidhaḥ
tasya prāṇa eva śiraḥ/ vyāno dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ
apāna uttaraḥ pakṣaḥ/ ākāśa ātmā/ pṛthivī puccham pratiṣṭhā
tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati

All creatures that dwell on earth are produced from food (anna). By food they live, and at death they merge into food. Food indeed is the most important for all beings. From food comes sustenance, and thus food is universal medicine (sarvauṣadham). Those who worship Brahman as food attain all food. From food all beings arise, and the populations increase by food. Food is eaten by living beings and also devours all beings.

Inside this anna-maya person, which consists of the essence of food, is the other inner Self, consisting of prāṇa. This is the prāṇa-maya person, which pervades the body. It also has a human shape, imitating the gross form of the anna-maya. Prāṇa (the vital air) is its head. Vyāna (the upward breath) is its right side. Apāna (the downward breath) is its left side. Ākāśa (Brahman) is its Self. Earth is the foundation.

Commentary: Everyone has to eat to sustain his body. Because food is the source of sustenance, it is called sarvauṣadham, the essence of all medicine. Different medicines can help to treat specific diseases, but without proper food, no medicine will be effective. On the other hand, if one can eat the proper food and in sufficient quantity, one can prevent disease.

The word anna means food and maya means a permutation of the energy of the Lord. Like everything else, food comes from the energy of the Lord, therefore one who properly understands the nature of Brahman will see food as Brahman, since food is nothing more than the energy of the Lord. Because food is the energy of the Lord, it should be offered to the Lord, and when one does that it becomes Prasadam, the direct mercy of God. By this process, food becomes not just the source of maintenance of the body, but also the source of purification and spiritual realization.

The verse recommends not only seeing food as the energy of the Lord but worshiping the Lord in the form of food. The way to do that is to see prasadam as non-different from the Lord and serve the Lord by humbly accepting His prasadam. As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to SB 6.4.26:

"Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ: (CC Madhya 17.136) as long as one is situated in duality, on the sensual platform, gross or subtle, realization of the original Personality of Godhead is impossible. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ: but when one engages his senses in the service of the Lord—specifically, when one engages the tongue in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and tasting only Kṛṣṇa prasāda with a spirit of service—the Supreme Personality of Godhead is revealed. This is indicated in this verse by the word śuci-sadmane. Śuci means purified. By the spirit of rendering service with one's senses, one's entire existence becomes śuci-sadma, the platform of uncontaminated purity."

The verse promises that one who worships the Lord in the form of food will be maintained by the Lord with sufficient food. As Prabhupada explains, the Lord maintains all living beings, from the ant to the elephant, but He takes special care of His devotees. This is not partiality, it's just natural, just like even the most charitable man will take special care of his own children due to the loving relationship he has with them.

Another attribute of food is that it also can be the source of death. This happens when food becomes unavailable, or also when the body becomes incapable of using the nutrients of the food. Often death comes by some form of starvation, when the body becomes incapable of digesting or utilizing the nutrients of the food. One who has diabetes, for example, may eat, but not be able to use the glucose from the food, which will gradually poison his body. Food in this case becomes the cause of declining health. At least, when the body finally dies, it merges into food, becoming food for other beings.

In this way, we can see that food is the source of our existence in the material world, and all of this should be seen in connection with the Supreme Lord.

In a lower stage of existence, the consciousness of a living entity is centered on just getting enough food and growing his body. This is the consciousness of a very small child or lower beings, like lower animals, plants, etc. At this stage, the soul is completely covered by ignorance and there is no higher aspiration; one feels satisfied by just eating. This is the anna-maya stage of consciousness, based on just anna, food.

However, the anna-maya person, the gross body, is not our real self. The second part of the verse describes a higher self that exists inside the gross body composed of food. This is the prāṇa-maya person, composed of the vital air. It's described that this prāṇa-maya person also has a human form and permeates the gross body. However, this body is not composed of gross material elements, but of the different types of vital air. Prāṇa is its head, vyāna is its right side, and apāna is its left side.

While the anna-maya consciousness is centered on the body's most basic need, eating, the prāṇa-maya consciousness is higher, centered on other aspects of material life. It consists of becoming conscious of the idea of maintaining one's life, finding shelter, defending against others, and so on. At this stage, the consciousness is focused on collecting different resources one needs to remain alive and expand his dominions. One can observe this stage in higher animals like birds and mammals, who build nests, accumulate food for the winter, defend themselves, and so on. This animalistic stage of existence is of course also found in human beings who are absorbed in material consciousness.

The verse also offers a higher understanding of the Supreme Brahman. In the previous verse, 2.12, Brahman was defined as eternal and full of knowledge. Brahman is also called ātmā, the Supreme Self. It's obvious that this Supreme Self is not the gross material body, but what is it? Where can it be found? Verse 2.1.2 already mentioned that Brahman can be found inside the heart. Brahman is thus not the body, but something inside the body, and we, as the soul, share the same nature of this Supreme Brahman.

The word "ākāśa" is ordinarily translated as ether or sky, but it is frequently used in the Upaniṣads as a name for the Supreme Brahman, just like the words "atma", "prana", and so on. In this way, the verse says that Brahman is the Self of this prāṇa-maya person. How can it be so, considering that Brahman is supposed to be transcendental, while the vital air is material?

This follows a type of logic called Arundhati-Nyaya, in which we indicate something to give a general idea, and then proceed in guiding one to the real object near it. For example, to point out the small star called Arundhati, one usually points to a big star nearby, and from there indicates the location of the star Arundhati near it. From the anna-maya consciousness, it's practically impossible for one to understand the soul, and much less the Supreme Lord. To gradually help one to understand, the Taittiriya Upanisad first points to Brahman as being the subtle vital air inside the body, and from this point of reference proceeds into describing progressively higher levels of understanding.

Text 2.3.1

prāṇam devā anu prāṇanti/ manuṣyāḥ paśavaś ca ye
prāṇo hi bhūtānām āyuḥ/ tasmāt sarvāyuṣam ucyate
sarvam eva ta āyur yanti/ ye prāṇam brahmopāsate
prāṇo hi bhūtānām āyuḥ/ tasmāt sarvāyuṣam ucyata iti
tasyaiṣa eva śārīra ātmā/ yaḥ pūrvasya
tasmād vā etasmāt prāṇamayāt/ anyo’ntara ātmā manomayaḥ
tenaiṣa pūrṇaḥ/ sa vā eṣa puruṣa-vidha eva
tasya puruṣa-vidhatām/ anv ayam puruṣavidhaḥ
tasya yajur eva śiraḥ/ ṛg dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ. sāmottaraḥ pakṣaḥ
ādeśa ātmā/ atharvāṅgirasaḥ puccham pratiṣṭhā
tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati

The demigods depend on prāṇa to maintain their lives, just as human beings and animals. Prāṇa is the life of all beings, therefore it is called sarvāyuṣa (the life of all). Those who worship prāṇa as Brahman obtain the full energy of life (sarvam āyur yānti), for prāṇa is the life of all beings. Prāṇa (Brahman) is the Self of the prāṇa-maya person, just like of the anna-maya person.

Different from this prāṇamaya, which consists of prāṇa, is the other, the inner Self that consists of the mind. The prāṇa-maya is filled by the mano-maya person. This mano-maya purusha has a human form, just like the prāṇa-maya. The Yajurveda is His head, the Ṛg-veda is His right arm, the Sāma-veda is His left arm, the instructions of the Vedas are His Self, and the atharvāngirasaḥ mantras revealed by the sages are his foundation.

Commentary: All living beings are dependent on the vital air, or prana, to live. As long as the vital air remains inside the body, one can remain alive. As soon as it leaves, the body dies and the soul moves to another body. For ordinary persons, of course, the death of the physical body and the vital air leaving the body happen simultaneously, but there are exceptions. Hiranyakashipu was able to maintain his life even after his body had been eaten by ants by keeping the vital air circulating around his bones. This proves that the vital air is more essential to life than even the physical body itself. Without the proper working of the vital air, one would not be able to live, even if the body were in perfect condition.

Although ordinarily the word prāṇa is translated as "vital air", Vyasadeva explains in the Vedanta sutras that prāṇa is also a name for the Supreme Brahman. In this way, the Supreme Lord is the maintainer of both the prāṇa-maya and the anna-maya. Everything is composed of His energy. As explained in the descriptions of the universal form in the Srimad Bhagavatam, all the aspects of the cosmic manifestation are, in fact, different aspects of the universal form of the Lord.

The second part of the verse brings us to the next stage, which is the understanding of the mano-maya, the subtle body composed of mind, intelligence, and ego. The subtle body is more refined than the vital air and is much more intimately connected with the soul. The vital air moves the body and forms a bed where the subtle body (containing the soul) is accommodated inside the heart, as explained in the Mundaka Upanisad (3.1.9):

eso ’nur atma cetasa veditavyo/ yasmin pranah pañcadha samvivesa

pranais cittam sarvam otamm prajanam/ yasmin visuddhe vibhavaty esa atma

“The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air [prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana]. The soul is situated within the heart, and it spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited.”

When one studies the human being, the first layer that can be observed is the gross body. Next, one may find the vital air that permeates and animates the body, and if one becomes still more advanced, he may be able to find the subtle body situated inside the heart, from where the consciousness of the soul permeates the body.

In modern medical science, it is believed that consciousness is in the brain and is thus centered in the head. From the Vedic perspective, however, the consciousness is centered around the heart, because this is the seat for the soul, surrounded by the mind, intelligence, and false ego. The consciousness comes from the combination of the soul and the subtle body, and this subtle body simply interfaces with the gross body through the vital air and the brain.

When we examine this point from the perspective of the different stages of consciousness of the soul, the stage of mano-maya is still materialistic but superior to the other two. While in the prāṇa-maya stage, one is concerned about just maintaining his material existence and increasing his domains, in the mano-maya stage one becomes concerned about the activities of the mind and intelligence.

In this stage, obtaining knowledge and reasoning about different topics becomes the center of one's activities. At this point, one becomes a philosopher or someone interested in finer knowledge. In a higher stage, one starts to study the Vedas, starting with the Atharva-Veda and other passages that deal with material subjects, and gradually progressing to the Yajurveda, Ṛg-veda, and Sāma-Veda, heard from the spiritual master. At this stage, one worships the Lord through the instructions from the Vedas. These instructions discipline the workings of the mind and intelligence, making them function in a way that is favorable for our spiritual advancement.

In the Bhagavad-Gita (3.40) Krsna explains that the senses, the mind, and the intelligence are the sitting places for lust, and through them, lust covers real knowledge and bewilders the soul. We can see that in this passage both the mind and material intelligence are put in the same category. Krsna tells us to control the mind using intelligence, but at the same time tells us that material intelligence can't be trusted. This may sound like an apparent contradiction, but in reality, it's not. It just hints at the point that our intelligence can work properly only when purified by the instructions of the Vedas and operating inside the purview of transcendental knowledge.

If one carefully studies the Upaniṣads and the Vedanta-sutra, one will see that the real goal of these texts is to bring one to a personal conception of the Lord and to the conclusion that devotional service is the ultimate goal of life. One who is not inclined to study Vedanta philosophy, however, may attain the same qualification by just studying the Bhagavad-Gita, which brings the conclusions of the Upaniṣads and the Vedanta-sutra, and from there proceed to the Srimad Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritāmṛta. We can see that Prabhupada centered his efforts on translating and commenting on these three books, making this knowledge accessible to all.