by Roopa Pai
Here’s what’s interesting, though. Each day, every single day, we each of us get to enjoy a brief and blissful few hours in the Anandamaya Kosha! No, seriously. Except, the sages say, it happens when we are in deep, dreamless, untroubled sleep, when we are no longer thinking of ourselves as separate or different from anyone or anything else, when ego, the sense of I, disappears, when body and mind and intellect subside into nothingness.
The only way to peel back the outer sheaths and get to the Bliss Sheath in the conscious state is to stop identifying yourself with your body, your mind, your desires, your feelings, your thoughts and your emotions.
Ha! Good luck with that!
Anuvaka 8 – The Ladder Of Bliss
How does one describe the great, grand joy that comes of realizing the Self, especially when so few have been there, done that? The Taittiriya comes up with a cool ‘device’ – a bliss ladder!
Take a young man, a good young man who is well-read and well-built and strong. Imagine that the wealth of the whole world is his.
That is a single measure of human bliss.
A hundred measures of human bliss is as one measure of bliss for the gandharvas,
A hundred measures of gandharva bliss is as one measure of bliss for the pitris,
A hundred measures of pitr bliss is as one measure of bliss for the devas,
A hundred measures of deva bliss is as one measure of bliss for Indra,
A hundred measures of Indra bliss is as one measure of bliss for Brihaspati,
A hundred measures of Brihaspati bliss is as one measure of bliss for Prajapati,
A hundred measures of Prajapati bliss is as one measure of bliss for Brahman –
Which is also the measure of bliss enjoyed by one who has realized the Self and is free of desire.*
*So how many times a measure of human bliss is a measure of Brahman-bliss? You do the math.
Wowzer! Sure, we are all a gazillion light-years away from attaining Brahma-bliss, but hey, a luscious carrot like this at least inspires one to try. No? What would you rather have then, the stick? ‘If you do not work towards realizing the Self, the slavering Hounds of Hell will come after you, and when they find you – and they will – they will rip you limb from limb!’? No, thanks!
BHRIGUVALLI – THE CREEPER OF BHRIGU
The Bhriguvalli tells the story of how the great sage Bhrigu, son of Varuna, discovered, through severe penances, the true nature of the self and the true nature of Brahman and the true nature of bliss. It contains ideas similar to those in the Brahmanandavalli, but also tells us, over and over, how important single-minded determination is to any great quest.
Anuvaka 1-6: How Bhrigu came to discover Brahman
Bhrigu went to his father, Varuna, and said to him, ‘Sir, teach me about Brahman.’
But Varuna, who was clearly not the kind of teacher who believed in spoon-feeding his students and certainly not the kind of parent who mollycoddled his children, sent him away with a flea in his ear.
‘Food, lifebreath, sight, hearing, mind, speech – first spend some time meditating on these things, learning about them,’ he said. ‘Think about where they come from, what they are sustained by, where they go when a man dies. That is Brahman. Come back to me when you have some answers.’
And Bhrigu, never one to cross his father, went away and did his penances, and discovered that food was indeed Brahman. From food all creatures are born, on food are they sustained, and into food they pass when they die.
But he wasn’t fully satisfied. So he went back to his father and said: ‘Sir, teach me about Brahman.’
‘Go and do your penances again,’ said Varuna, ‘and you will discover Him for yourself.’
So Bhrigu went away and did more penances, and discovered that Brahman was the lifebreath. From the lifebreath indeed were all creatures born, by lifebreath they were sustained, and to the lifebreath they returned upon death.
But he wasn’t entirely satisfied. So he went back to his father and said: ‘Sir, teach me about Brahman.’
‘Go and do your penances again,’ said Varuna, ‘and you will discover Him for yourself.’
And so it went on, over and over, until Bhrigu, through intense meditation and reflection, discovered that Brahman was not only food and lifebreath, but also mind, perception and bliss.
This is how Bhrigu realized the Self, and thus realized Brahman. Those who, like him, discover the Self for themselves,* will never lack for food. They will have offspring, fame, wealth, and the radiance that comes from sacred knowledge. So concludes the Taittiriya.
Aum Shantih Shantih Shantih ||
*Here, once again, is the Upanishadic insistence on self-study and self-discovery. You may have the greatest teacher in the world on your side – and make no mistake about it, you will need a good teacher to guide you in any pursuit you choose – but unless you put in the blood, sweat, toil and tears required, you will never get anywhere. The teacher is only a guide, the journey is entirely yours to make.
THE AFTERSTORY
Remember we talked about the five sheaths that conceal our true nature? There’s a fun addendum to that story – according to the Taittiriya, even the Anandamaya Kosha is not our ultimate destination. After all, a sheath, by its very definition, covers or conceals something, which in this case is the truth. So what lies behind, beyond the final sheath?
The Anandamaya, in a manner of speaking, is the tiniest Matryoshka. And what do you find when you prise her two halves apart? Precisely! Nothing. Or, if you look at it another way, Everything, for the game is now over, and the secret has been revealed – there is no need to seek any more.
It’s exactly the same with the Anandamaya Kosha. When it has been peeled back, say the sages of the Upanishads, what you are left with is Atman, or Pure Consciousness, your true Self, which does not judge, which is untainted by thoughts and actions, past and present, right and wrong, fear and pain, joy and peace. And that pure consciousness is both nothing and everything, which is why it is referred to both as Shoonya (nothingness) and Poorna (completeness).
Pretty cool, hanh?
१६
AITAREYA
The Upanishad of the Glory of Being Human
In which we get to enjoy yet another story of how the universe was created
Aum!
I pray
That my words make their home in my mind,
That my mind makes its home in my words,
That the knowledge of my true self reveals itself to me,
That my mind and my speech work in harmony to help me understand,
That I do not just hear the lesson, but understand it,
That what I learn and practise night and day is never lost to me.
May this Divine Truth that I speak today
Protect my teacher
And protect me.
Aum Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
THE BACKSTORY
Ever stood at the edge of a cliff after an exhausting climb uphill and, gazing at the panorama of sky and land sprawling before you, thought to yourself, ‘How insignificant we humans are in this vastness, and yet, what airs we give ourselves!’? Ever sat on the seashore and, fixing your eyes on the faraway horizon where a shining sun is rising out of the water, painting the world a million shades of gold, whispered, ‘I am as a grain of sand on this beach, completely inconsequential to the business of the universe!’ Ever lay down beneath the upturned bowl of a night sky studded with stars, and exclaimed, overwhelmed and diminished by the size of the cosmos, ‘Who am I, after all? Just a small creature living “on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of the universe in which there are far more galaxies than people”.* Sighhh.’?
Of course you have! And whoever was around you in each of those situations – friends, family, the random stranger you just befriended – probably nodded and sighhhhed along with you, shaking their heads at the incontestable truth of your words.
/> Well, you can thank your lucky stars none of the sages of the Upanishads were around you at that point. Had they been, they would have smacked you smartly on the head, shaken you hard, and ordered you to Stop.That.Sighhhh-ing.Right.Now!
For the Upanishads take entirely the opposite view of man’s place in the cosmos. In a hundred ways, in scores of different Upanishads, they proclaim the joyful truth that you are not insignificant, or irrelevant, or inconsequential to the cosmos. How can you be, they ask, when you contain the cosmos? How can you be, when you are the cosmos? You are Vaishvanara, the Universal Being, insist the Upanishads – embrace your bigness! You are Brahman, the Supreme Consciousness – acknowledge your greatness! When you look up at the night sky, don’t think of the stars as bigger or brighter, or different from you – breeeeathe them in, make them yours!
Did you think it was by diminishing yourself, or thinking of yourself as infinitesimal against the enormity of the universe – by being ‘humble’, in other words – that you became a better person? Perish the thought! For it is only when your sense of ‘I’ becomes big enough to include the whole universe, say the Upanishads, that you will truly respect every other creature and thing in it; only when you are able to see yourself in everything around you, will you realize that there isn’t, there can never be, anything vaster than you.
While other Upanishads bring home this truth in ways mystical and metaphorical, as part of a bunch of other things they are talking about, the Aitareya Upanishad makes the joyous celebration of being human its central theme, through yet another lovely story of creation. Packed to the gills with fantastic imagery and non-stop action, this story describes how the gods that animate, populate and hold up the cosmos came to be the exact same ones that animate, populate and hold up the human body – in other words, you.
The Aitareya is part of the oldest Veda, the Rig, and is therefore probably also part of the oldest group of Upanishads. The name Aitareya literally means ‘descendant of Itara’ – the sage Mahidasa, who is sometimes credited with composing this Upanishad, is also referred to as Aitareya, ‘descended from sage Itara’.
Enough with the backstory! Now let’s go find out how the universe was created!
*This is part of a quote by the brilliant and wise American scientist and astronomer Carl Sagan, his answer to the question ‘Who are we?’ But Sagan was far from dismissive about the significance of human life. Elsewhere, he has also said, ‘Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.’
THE STORY
In the beginning, there was only the one, the Self, Atman. Nothing else, whatsoever, was. Nothing so much as blinked. And He thought to Himself, ‘Let me create the worlds.’
So He brought the worlds out of Himself – high-up Ambhas, realm of rain and floodwaters, supported by the sky; Marichi, realm of the glittering specks, stretching across the intermediate regions, brought to life each day by the rays of the sun; Mara, the earth, kingdom of the mortal; and beneath it, Apa, world of the waters.
Then he thought to himself, ‘Here are the worlds. Now I must create guardians for each.’ And from the waters, he drew out Purusha, the Person, gave him a shape and brooded him, like a hen broods her eggs to hatch them.
And from that man who had been brooded –
-A mouth opened. And from the mouth sprang speech, and from speech, fire.
-A pair of nostrils bloomed. And from the nostrils gushed breath, and from breath, air.
-Two eyes fluttered open. And from the eyes leapt sight, and from the light of sight, the sun.
-A pair of ears uncurled. And from the ears came hearing, and from hearing came the four directions of space, for sound to travel through.
-A swathe of skin unfurled. And out of the skin grew hair, and from hair, trees and plants.
-A heart blossomed. And from the heart came the mind, and from the mind, the moon.
-A navel popped. And from the navel proceeded the downward breath, Apana, and from that breath, death.
-A male part emerged. And from the male part came life-giving waters.
***
Once these gods – fire, air, sun, moon, space, water – were created, they all fell into the ocean here, the vast ocean of samsara. And the Self thought to himself, ‘I must infect them with hunger and thirst, for hunger and thirst are desire. Without desire, nothing will be created, no work will be done.’ And so he did.
Then those gods said to the Self, ‘Find us a body in which to live, so that we may eat and drink and work and play and satisfy our hunger and thirst. So the Self brought the body of a cow to them, but they shook their heads. ‘That will not do at all.’ Then the Self brought them the body of a horse, but they shook their heads. ‘That will not do at all.’ Then the Self brought them the body of a man and they exclaimed with joy, ‘Now that is what we call well made!’ For a man is indeed well made.
‘Go on, now,’ said the Self, ‘enter and establish yourselves in your respective dwellings.’ So –
-Fire became speech and entered the mouth.
-And air became breath and entered the nostrils.
-And the sun became sight and entered the eyes.
-And space became hearing and entered the ears.
-And the plants and trees became body hairs and entered the skin.
-And the moon became the mind and entered the heart.
-And death became the out-breath and entered the navel.
-And water became life-giving water and entered the male part.
Then hunger and thirst, who had been left behind, began to clamour, ‘Find us also a dwelling!’ And the Self said, ‘Oh, all right! You can live in the same dwelling as the deities and share in whatever they are offered.’ And that is why, to whichever deity man makes an offering – whether the deity is wealth or power or the spiritual life – hunger and thirst gobble it up, and always want more.
***
Then the Self thought to himself, ‘Now here are the worlds, and here are the guardians of those worlds. Now I’d better create some food for them.’ So he brooded the waters like a hen broods her eggs, until something firm and solid emerged from it. And that something was food.
But no sooner was it created than it tried to run away, fearful of being eaten. And man, the first being with a body, tried to seize it, except he did not know how.
First he tried to seize it with speech. But that didn’t work. If it had, we would have been able to satisfy our hunger simply by talking about food. Oh well.
Then he tried to seize it with his breath. But that didn’t work. If it had, we would have been able to satisfy our hunger simply by smelling food. Oh well.
Then he tried to seize it with sight. But that didn’t work. If it had, we would have been able to satisfy our hunger simply by looking at food. Oh well.
Then he tried to seize it with hearing. But that didn’t work. If it had, we would have been able to satisfy our hunger simply by hearing about food. Oh well.
Then he tried to seize it with the skin. But that didn’t work. If it had, we would have been able to satisfy our hunger simply by touching food. Oh well.
Then he tried to seize it with his mind. But that didn’t work. If it had, we would have been able to satisfy our hunger simply by thinking about food. Oh well.
Then he tried to seize it with Apana, the downward breath of digestion. And he succeeded! For it is truly the digestive breath that seizes food for the body, and it is the digestive breath that is nourished by food.
***
Then the Self thought to himself, ‘How will all this carry on without me? The city of the body needs a lord to enjoy the doings of the body. I must stick around!’ And he thought to himself, ‘How shall I enter this man? Which shall be my dwelling?’ And he thought to himself, ‘If speaking is done through speech and breathing through breath, if seeing is done through sight and hearing through hearing, if feeling is done through
skin and thinking is done using the mind, then who am I? What is my function?’
The Self split the man’s head along its birth fissure, closed since babyhood, and entered, finding three abodes for himself, which are the three states of consciousness – the waking state, the dreaming state, and the deep-sleep state.
When he came to life inside the body, the Self looked around to see if there was anyone else there. But he only saw the One, Brahman, and no one else, and cried, ‘Idam aadarsham iti – I have seen this!’
Therefore He is called Idandra, he who sees. But the gods call him Indra, he who lies beyond the senses. Because the gods like being cryptic like that.
***
Don’t you love those little snarky asides the sages throw in, like the very last line above? The only thing missing at the end of it is an eye-roll emoji. The line is completely unnecessary to the story, but the storyteller was probably annoyed with the inscrutable ways of the gods that day, so he decided to get his own back. These little side jokes are also a great way for the sage to connect with his audience – suddenly, he loses that intimidating halo and becomes one of them.
Also, did you notice that the storyteller does not reveal what the Self decided its function would be? He tells us how the Self entered the body and where it chose to live and what it saw when it first became conscious inside the body, but he doesn’t reveal the most important part – the Self’s function. He saves that for the end of the Upanishad. But before that, he inserts a little instructional note on the ‘three births’ of the Self. Read on to find out what they are.