Index…

Kathopanisad

Chapter 1 Valli 3 Mantra 12

Lecture

Mantra

e̱ṣa sa̱rveṣu̍ bhūte̱ṣu̱ gū̱ḍho̍’tmā na̱ prakā̍śate |
dṛ̱śyate̱ tvagrya̍yā bu̱ddhyā̱ sū̱kṣmayā̍ sūkṣma̱-darśi̍bhih ||

eṣa = this; ātmā = Self; gūḍhaḥ = is hidden; sarveṣu bhūteṣu = in all beings; na  = it does not; prakāśate = does not shine forth, it is not the content of conventional thinking; tu = but; dṛśyate = it can be seen,  realized; sūkṣma-darśibhih = by those who can conceive of subtle, abstract concepts; buddhyā = by the intellect; agryayā = which is sharp, pointed; sūkṣmayā = and subtle.

This Atman is hidden in all beings and does not shine forth, but is seen by subtle Seers through sharp and cable intellect.

by Swami Chinmayananda:

Self-realization according to Vedanta is not a mere experiencing of the true nature of our divinity alone. To rediscover ourselves to be none other than the God, is not in itself a full realization accepted by the Sastras. No Mahatma’s work is ended unless he could teel a perfect oneness with all in his own Self. If he were to realize himself to be God and all others as worm-men his realization is faulty and absurd. The pot-space in getting rid of its false ideas of identity with the pot, shall realize at once its oneness with the entire universal space. Similarly, when a seeker, through patient and constant practices, rids himself of his ego and the ego-bound identification with his body, mind and intellect, he will realize that the sum total whole is Truth alone “which I am, which I am”.

In short “Prathyagatma-Brahmaikkya-Gyanam (the knowledge of the Oneness of the innermost Self with the Total Self) is the process of the Path of Knowledge. This is amply made self-evident in this Mantra. In the previous Mantra we had 2 discussions of the world of the sense organs, the world of the sense objects, the world of the mind, the intellect, the Total Mind, and of the Unmanifest; and before the mantra concluded its declarations, it also indicated the supreme-most Factor, the Purusha. In this Mantra, which immediately follows the previous one, we have the discussion of the “secret Self” that lies concealed in “all beings”. The idea implied therein is obviously the oneness of the “inner” individual Self and the “outer Total Self.

Hidden in all beings – Atman, the very Self of the individual, can never be hidden from us, yet, under the veil of Ignorance and the thick walls of negativities and delusions, the Self seems to be hidden from our egocentric instruments of cognitions, feelings and understandings, such as the sense organs, the mind and the intellect, The Self is only as much hidden from us, because of our delusions and the delusion-created ego, as the rope is hidden from us because of our mental delusions and the delusion-created serpent!!

Just as only those who can approach the “serpent in the dark” with a peaceful mind, in a spirit of enquiry and self-discovery, can rediscover the rope, so too only a seeker of Truth, whose mind has calmed down from its agitations for sense indulgences and who, therefore, can approach the great Mission of Life in a spirit of enquiry and self-discovery, can come to discover the Atma tattva, the Source of all life, as himself!

by Swami Gurubhaktananda:

LINK: Explanation on “GOING” & “MOVING”

The Link passage between 3.11/3.12 gives in detail the view that “Knowing is Going.” The going is not physical but in the realm of knowledge. When we move in understanding, we are still in the Self at all times. This going or moving should never be confused with ideas such as going to heaven or hell, which are common among ignorant men. When it is said that “the Self is reached” it is a figure of speech only, to enable people to understand the idea from their own level. Words such as ‘going’, ‘moving’ and ‘reaching’ should not be taken literally. They refer to movements in knowledge.

In the Vedas there is a verse which says: “Those who want to get beyond the ways (of the world) do not walk on roads!” Śaṅkaracharya ji explains the apparent contradiction of the Self being hidden in all beings, yet appearing to some. The explanation is summarized here.

“Self Does Not Appear”

1-2 One does not see the Self due to Maya. The compassion of Śaṅkaracharyaji overflows at the suffering of man due to his negligence to take the trouble of knowing the Self. He expresses his sadness in the Bhashya as: “How unfathomable, inscrutable and variegated is Maya, that every creature, although identical with the Self and taught it from a young age, does not grasp it in practice. On the contrary, without being told, it accepts as its Self the non-selves of body and senses. How illogical! Indeed, Maya’s deluding power has a firm hold on man in general.”

“Self Appears”

3-4 To behold the subtle Self requires purity of the highest type, a subtlety of the intellect. Not all possess this, even among sincere seekers. The Self can be easily seen by the pure. Two qualities are essential for seeing the Self:

1. Agryayaa: “sharpness”; this requires Chitta-Ekagrata or one-pointedness.
2. Sookshmayaa: “subtlety”; this requires Chitta-Shuddhi.

Sookshma Darshibhih: “seers of the subtle”. A pure and one-pointed mind ensures that the intellect is subtle and sharp enough to be able to discern the Self, not as a physical Presence but as the Reality of one’s being, which is also the Reality of all beings. Only a very subtle intellect can grasp the procedure outlined in verses 3.10 and 3.11 of going from the grosser to the subtler all the way up to the Self.

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