Opening the bottle of honey: The key to understand the verses of the scriptures

Most passages of the Upanisads sound very mysterious, or sometimes even nonsensical, until we get the proper conclusions, which are the keys to understanding the text.

Most passages of the Upanisads sound very mysterious, or sometimes even nonsensical, until we get the proper conclusions, which are the keys to understanding the text. These conclusions are given by Srila Vyasadeva on the Vedanta-sutra, but it's not really possible to understand it without receiving it from the previous acaryas through the system of paramparā. We start thus by receiving the conclusions Prabhupada gives in his books, and armed with these, we may also understand the other ācāryas behind him.

This shows how the process we often use to try to understand vedic texts (just translate the verse, or get a translation done by someone) is fundamentally flawed. It is not possible to access the spirit of the Upaniṣads and other Vedic texts by this process.

Take, for example, the teachings about gāyatri from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad. A scholarly translation of the verse sounds like this:

"Whatever there is, this entire creation—clearly, all that is the Gayatri. And the Gayatri is speech, for speech sings (gayati) and protects (trayati) this entire creation.

Now, take this Gayatri—clearly, it is just the same as this earth here, for this entire creation rests upon the earth and never extends beyond its limits. And take this earth—clearly, it is just the same as this body of a person here, for these vital functions (prana) rest within the body and never extend beyond its limits.

And take this body of a person here—clearly, it is just the same as this heart here within a person, for these vital functions rest within the heart and never extend beyond its limits.

This is the Gayatri that consists of four quarters and six types. This is declared in a Rg verse: Such is his greatness— Even greater than that is that person. One quarter of him are all creatures, Three quarters the immortal in heaven.

And take what people call "brahman"—clearly, it is nothing but this space here outside a person. And this space here outside a person—clearly, it is the same as this space here within a person. And this space here within a person—clearly, it is the same as this space here within the heart; it is full and nondepleting. Anyone who knows this obtains full and nondepleting prosperity." (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.12.1-7)

This is the translation by Patrick Olivelle, a respected scholar. He just translates the text following the syntax and grammar rules, without trying to interpret it. Most scholarly translations will be similar. It follows the Sanskrit rules, but doesn't give access to the meaning of the text. It's like licking the bottle of honey.

Srila Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa offers a quite formidable philosophical discussion of this passage, which is found in his Govinda-bhasya, revealing that this passage is much deeper than it may appear on the surface. In short, the key to understanding this passage is given by Vyasadeva in the sutra 1.1.26 of the Vedanta-sutra:

bhūtādi-pāda-vyapadeśopapatteś caivam

"Because the passage beginning with "bhūta" defines Gāyatrī as divided into four parts (all living beings, the universe, body, and heart) that only Brahman can have, Gāyatrī in that passage must refer to Brahman."

In other words, bhūtādi-pāda-vyapadeśopapatteś caivam means that the passage starting with the word bhūta (verse 3.12.1 of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad onwards) should be interpreted according to the conclusion that Gāyatrī is Brahman.

Verse 3.12.1 starts with the word "gāyatrī". The full text is:

gāyatrī vā idaṁ sarvaṁ bhūtaṁ yad idaṁ kiñca vāg vai gāyatrī

vāg vā idaṁsarvaṁ bhūtaṁ gāyati ca trāyate ca

Ordinarily, gāyatrī is a metric of 24 syllables. In the Ṛg-veda, the metric gāyatrī is used as a pattern of three lines of 8 syllables each. Each line is called a pāda. Gāyatrī is defined in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad as catuṣpāda, with four pādas, or lines of 6 syllables each. In both cases, gāyatrī is a pattern, or metric. This would be the definition that most Vedic students would have in reading the word "gāyatrī" at the start of the verse.

However, the passage immediately takes a turn, stating that the four feet of gāyatrī are not lines or syllables, but all living beings (sarva bhūta), the Earth (the whole Universe), the body, and the heart (the seat of consciousness). Gāyatrī is also defined as vak, the transcendental sound behind everything that exists. A metric can't have such attributes, and therefore, Gāyatrī has to be accepted not as a metric, but as the Supreme Brahman Himself.

When this conclusion is understood, the deep meaning of the passage can be unlocked. Just as in other passages of the Upaniṣads, only when the proper conclusion is known can a certain passage be properly understood. Studying the Upaniṣads without these conclusions is therefore more or less useless. That's why the Upaniṣads should be studied together with the Vedanta-sutra, and the Govinda-bhāṣya, which contains the proper explanations for the aphorisms, following the conclusions of Vyāsadeva in the Srimad Bhagavatam. These conclusions are the keys to unlocking the text of the Upaniṣads.

The verse can be translated as:

"Gāyatrī is indeed all beings and everything that exists. Gāyatrī is vak, the transcendental sound behind everything. Gāyatrī vibrates and delivers the living beings." (3.12.1)

The text mentions gāyatrī vā idaṁ sarvaṁ (Gāyatrī is everything) and vāg vai gāyatrī (Gāyatrī is vak, transcendental sound). This shows how Brahman manifests as śabda-brahman, the transcendental sound vibration that creates the whole universe.

From this sound vibration, the whole universe, the foundation for all beings (pṛthivī), is created, together with all beings. Brahman, is thus the supporter of everything (sā yeyaṁ prṭhivy āsyāṁ hīdaṁ sarvaṁ bhūtaṁ pratiṣṭhitam).

This is follwed by the next verses:

yā vai sā gāyatrīyaṁ vāva sā yeyaṁ prṭhivy āsyāṁ hīdaṁ sarvaṁ bhūtaṁ pratiṣṭhitam etām eva nātiśīyate

"That Brahman, or Gāyatrī, which is all beings, is also the Universe. All beings are supported by the Earth, and they can't go beyond the Earth [they can't leave the universe]." (3.12.2)

yā vai sā pṛthivīyaṁ vāva sā yad idam asmin puruṣe śarīram asmin hīme prāṇāḥ pratiṣṭhitā etad eva nātiśīyante

"That Earth is also the body of the jīva. Just as the jīva is restricted to the Earth, prāṇa, the vital air, is established in the body and does not go beyond the body." (3.12.3)

yad vai tat puruṣe śarīram idaṁ vāva yad tad idam asminn antaḥ puruṣe hṛdayam asmin hīme prāṇāḥ pratiṣṭhitā etad eva nātiśīyante

"That Supreme Lord, who is Gāyatrī, the Earth and the body, is also the heart. In the heart, all the prānas and the senses are established, and they don't go beyond it." (3.12.4)

Apart from this macrocosm, Brahman also manifests in the microcosm, inside the body of each living being, and also as the heart, the seat of consciousness, where both the soul, and the Supreme Brahman Himself (as Paramātmā) are situated, together with the vital airs, as explained on verses 3.12.3 and 3.12.4.

Then, text 3.12.5 describes that gāyatrī has four parts and six functions:

saiṣā catuṣ-padā ṣaḍ-vidhā gāyatrī tad etad ṛcābhyanūktam.

"The gāyatrī meter, of which there are four parts and six functions, is described in the mantras of the Vedas." (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.12.5)

The four parts are all living beings and the universe (macrocosm), as well as the body (microcosm) and heart (as the seat of consciousness). The list of the six functions describes the process of creation, starting from vak, transcendental sound. From vak come sarva-bhūta (all creatures), pṛthivī (the physical manifestation), śarīra (body), hṛdaya (heart), and prāṇa (the vital air). This connection between the gāyatrī metric and the whole creation is established as a stairway for meditation, helping one to realize the Supreme Lord starting from something familiar, the gāyatrī metric.

Having connected the whole creation with Gāyatrī, the Upaniṣad shakes the perspective by stating that everything that was described up to that point (the whole creation) is just one quarter of Brahman. The other three quarters form the unmanifest spiritual world.

tāvān asya mahimā tato jyāyāṁś ca pūruṣaḥ

pādo ’sya sarvā bhūtāni tri-pād asyāmṛtaṁ divīti

"Such is His greatness, but the Lord (Puruṣa) is greater still. He is greater than everything that has been described. All material universes and all living beings are just His one foot. The other three feet form the immortal and eternal spiritual world." (3.12.6)

This points the listener to something still higher than what has been described, describing an eternal world that exists beyond everything that exists in the material creation. This spiritual sky is not only much more extensive than our limited material reality, forming three-quarters of the potency of the Lord, but it is also eternal and immortal. As in other Upaniṣads, the text of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad doesn't proceed in directly describing this transcendental reality (this is done only in the Srimad Bhagavatam), but it is effective in pointing the reader to the path to freedom from material entanglement.

This is confirmed then in verse 3.13.7, which confirms the previous statements:

atha yad ataḥ paro divo jyotir dīpyate viśvataḥ pṛṣṭheṣu sarvataḥ pṛṣṭheṣv

anuttameṣūttameṣu lokeṣu

idaṁ vāva tad yad idam asminn antaḥ puruṣe jyotiḥ

"That light (jyoti) which shines above heaven, higher than everything in the highest worlds, beyond which there are no other worlds. That light that forms the background on which all universes and all planets—from the highest to the lowest—rest, is the same light which is within the heart of all living beings." (3.13.7)

Brahman is then described as jyoti. The transcendental light that permeates all universes and planets, including the whole spiritual sky, is the same light present in the heart of all living beings. The Supreme Lord is thus present everywhere, both inside and outside.

The construction of the verses makes it clear that the Gāyatrī that vibrates both in heaven and in the heart of everyone is the same light that extends beyond the material cosmos, up into the spiritual world. These two are not separated; they are both aspects of the Supreme Lord described on 3.12.6. This again reinstates that the Supreme Lord is everything, and assures that the meditation on Gāyatrī that was described in the first verses is effective in elevating one's consciousness all the way to the spiritual world.

Verse 3.12.6 ends with tri-pād asyāmṛtaṁ divīti (the quarters are in the transcendental sky), and 3.13.7 begins with atha yad ataḥ paro divo jyotir dīpyate (That light which shines over this transcendental sky). This textual echo makes clear that the subject of both sentences has not changed. 3.12.6 speaks about the Supreme Lord, who is present in the spiritual world, and 3.13.7 continues to speak about this same Supreme Lord, whose potency shines over this transcendental sky.

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