Index…

Kathopanisad

Chapter 2 Valli 1 Mantra 3

Lecture

Mantra

yena̍ rū̱paṁ ra̍saṁ ga̱ndha̱ṁ śa̱bdān spa̍rśāṁś ca̱ maithu̍nān
ete̍nai̱va vi̍jānā̱ti̱ ki̱m atra̍ pari̱śiṣya̍te
e̱tad vai tat !

yena = that by which; vijānāti = know clearly; rūpaṁ = colour; rasaṁ = taste; gandhaṁ = smell; śabdām = sound; sparśāṁ = touch; ca = and; maithunān = pleasure derived from sex; etena eva = through this [Self] only; kim = what; atra = in this world; pariśiṣyate = remains; etat vai tat = this is indeed that.

That Atman by which man cognizes form, taste, smell, sounds and the sexual joys. what is there unknowable to that Aman in this world? This is verily that (Atman thou hast wanted to know).

by Swami Chinmayananda:

This Mantra must be quite clear to those of you who would read and ponder over the Kenopanishad. In fact this Mantra is a summary of the entire line of arguments raised in Kenopanishad and the conclusions reached therein.

We found in Kenopanishad that the instrument eye, in itself, is not competent to cognize the external objects. If the eyes were to see of their own accord, then if [ were to pluck out my eyes and place them on the table they should be able to continue seeing things by themselves; this we know is absurd. Again, a dead man whose eye balls are intact, even though he is staring on with open eyes, we, from our practical knowledge of life, know for certain that the open eyes of the dead see nothing. From the above it is amply clear that the human eye is only an instrument to see and that it is to be used by a Seer within.

For a close analogy we shall take the case of a telescope in use. A telescope by itself can observe no movement of the planets! Iris the observer behind the eye-piece of the telescope who watches the heavens through the instrument. Similarly, the human organs-of-knowledge are only instruments through which smell, sound, taste, form and touch impulses can be received by an intelligent entity that rules the within and makes use of these five instruments.

That power within each one of us, that is the seer behind our eyes, the listener behind our ears, the smeller behind the nose, the taster in the tongue, and the feeler in the skin, is the Soul of man, the Atman, the Self.

This conclusion, already arrived at in Kenopanishad, is now inimitably summarized in this Mantra by Lord Death, when he says that is Atman by which man cognizes form, taste, smell, sounds and sexual joy, Maithunan (sense enjoyments) – The use of the word in its plural must necessarily give us the hint that it is not the sexual pleasure alone that is meant but it covers up all enjoyments that we receive from the external world through our instruments of sense-knowledge.

Atman being thus the vital intelligence that presides over all the sense instruments, since all our knowledge regarding the world of objects is only through the reports of these five great agents, it is quite appropriate to state that there is nothing un-knowable for that Atman in this world. Again, we shall find, later on in the same Upanishad that the Supreme Reality is by nature Knowledge Absolute.

We may here conveniently remember that the eager seeker in Nachiketa reached the doors of his preceptor, Lord Death, raising a question or doubt as to “what is that which is beyond Dharma and Adharma, beyond the cause and effect and beyond the past and the future”. That question is being now directly answered. The Life Centre in us that controls and directs all our physical, mental and intellectual activities is the Divine Spark of Truth, the Self. Tt being Eternal and Infinite in Its nature, It must necessarily be beyond the comprehension of language to definite It as such. So then, conforming Himself to the method-of-the Upanishads, Lord Death through the activities of the dead inert matter envelopments around us is pointing out to a vital and dynamic Presence of Divinity which is in us. There-after He explains to Nachiketa that “this is verily that”.

In our ordinary life we indicate objects with the pronouns “this” and “that”, when one is nearer to us than the other; the nearer one is always indicated by the pronoun “this”. When we say “that” chair and “this” pen, it clearly shows that the chair is far away and the pen is nearer to us. Again, the pen becomes farther removed from us when it is compared with our own shirt; Thus, we say “that” pen and “this” shirt, similarly, we may use expressions as “that” body and “this” mind; “that” mind and “this” intellect, etc., within ourselves, when we compare our own body with our own mind, and our own mind with our own intellect. Naturally, it becomes evident that the Self, which is the core of ourselves being the most intimate part in us, is righty indicated by the term “is”.

Kimatra-parisisyate – “What else remains here ?” Comparing the various available renderings of this line and the interpretations upon it, we must conclude that Sankara’s is the best and the most appropriate. “What, is that there in this world, remains unknowable by the Self,” meaning, nothing remains as unknown, where the pure knowledge is realized in Gyan there are no objects to be known.

Here the Upanishad says, “this is that”: meaning the individual-Self is the Supreme Self. Besides this Vedantic interpretation of the oneness of the individual-Self and the Total Self, we may here, accepting the dramatic background of the Upanishad, explain the passage as “that is the Atman thou hast wanted to know ” about which even Gods are puzzled.

Previous…                                                                                                                                                     Next…