Introduction
Śvetāśvataropaniṣad, part of the Krishna Yajur Veda gives a clear understanding about Jiva and the beautiful connection with the Universal Soul. Śvetaśva ( white horse) means the one endowed with pure senses . According to the Upanishad, there is an ultimate reality called Brahman, which is the source and essence of all existence. The key to spiritual liberation is understanding the essence of Brahman.The objective of this study is to know more about this Jiva, the Individual being and the interconnectedness with God.The paper gives a clear understanding about the Jiva‘s ignorance and misconceptions and the journey of transformation where by the grace , the individual realises the creative power behind all the creation (Devātmaśakti) and the knowledge of the infinite Truth.
शृण्वन्तु विश्वे अमृतस्य पुत्रा - śṛṇvantu viśve amṛtasya putrā -‘Listen, O Children of Immortality’,
- I am not born of sin but indeed from the Immortal Truth, so I am addressed as amṛtasya putrā. This was even addressed by Swami Vivekananda.
- I am that Individual soul equipped with body and mind and also one of īśvara’s creations. Within His creations there are countless Jivas associated only at the microcosmic level, and functioning in this world seeking permanence and happiness.
- This Jivatma is bound to the world by unlimited desires and wishful thinking. This limited being consists of three instruments—a gross (physical) body, a subtle body (comprising the mind, intellect and ego) and the causal body (unconscious)—all of which are enlivened by īśvara , the core essence which I am totally unaware of.
सर्वाजीवे सर्वसंस्थे बृहन्ते अस्मिन् हंसो भ्राम्यते ब्रह्मचक्रे ।
पृथगात्मानं प्रेरितारं च मत्वा जुष्टस्ततस्तेनामृतत्वमेति ॥1.6॥
- Oblivious of the actual Truth that all beings are existing , sustaining and merging into the Brahman only, there is a misconception in me that “ I am separate from Brahman “ and this makes me a “finite” individual. I am constantly identifying with body, mind and intellect feeling powerless, helpless, conditioned, compelled to think, speak and act. Due to this false identification, the Lord appears as a small needle tip to me (ārāgramātra). Misled by my ego ( Ahankara), I start to believe that this world and all the attractions present in it are created by me. Infact how can such a finite, powerless entity be the ultimate cause of this infinite world ? This ignorance makes me revolve in the wheel of samsara identifying with different bodies. I am a hamsa. This wandering hamsa has limited understanding about the Lord and till the realization dawns that “I am One with that Infinite Self, I will be roaming helplessly.
How Do I function in this world ?
गुणान्वयो यः फलकर्मकर्ता कृतस्य तस्यैव स चोपभोक्ता ।
स विश्वरूपस्त्रिगुणस्त्रिवर्त्मा प्राणाधिपः सञ्चरति स्वकर्मभिः ॥5.7॥
- I am endowed with guna - vāsanās( guṇānvayaḥ) formed through my past actions. Vāsanās fuel the desires clouding the mind to differentiate what is right or wrong.These vāsanās drive me to do actions in this world like a drunk car driver leading me to a destination of his choice. Even the actions performed by me are with a purpose of satisfying the desires and the end result of the actions matter more than anything else (phala Karma Karta). This makes me, the doer, to either enjoy the desired results or bear the undesired. I alone become the bhoktā.
- I am tied by the mercy of the triguṇas ( the trio) which determine my course of actions and moods. The dominance of this trio is like the farmer guiding the Ox to plough the field according to his wishes. Triguṇas maneuver my life skillfully.
- My actions lead to different paths ( Bhakti, Raja, Jnana ) chosen by me to either elevate or take me to the lower realm. Being the master of the vital energy (Prana), I choose to move from one womb to the other determined by my own actions .
Do I have a form or a gender?
I am also not limited by any gender as it depends on the body costume which is taken up in that life.
नैव स्त्री न पुमानेष न चैवायं नपुंसकः । यद्यच्छरीरमादत्ते तेने तेने स युज्यते ॥ 5.10॥
- Jiva is formless itself and only when it takes up a body, it assumes that form and identifies with that completely. In one life, umpteen roles are played by me (viśva rūpa).
- If the tip of the hair is imagined to be split into hundred parts, one hundredth of its size is my size . It is ironic that I am so tiny in comparison to the Infinite like the wave being part of the vast ocean.
What is the Highest Knowledge to be known ?
एतज्ज्ञेयं नित्यमेवात्मसंस्थं नातः परं वेदितव्यं हि किञ्चित् ।
भोक्ता भोग्यं प्रेरितारं च मत्वा सर्वं प्रोक्तं त्रिविधं ब्रह्ममेतत् ॥ 1.12॥
The one and only ( etat eva) thing to be known is that the Truth/ Self/ God exists in one’s own heart. One will attain immortality knowing Him alone as everything in this world is everchanging. So there is nothing greater to be Known- नातः परं वेदितव्यं हि किञ्चित् .
स नो दधातु ब्रह्माप्ययम् - O Lord, grant us absorption in the Truth ! O Lord may we become one with You !
Who is God / īśvara ? What is so extraordinary about Him.
Here are some mantras :
संयुक्तमेतत् क्षरमक्षरं च व्यक्ताव्यक्तं भरते विश्वमीशः ।1.8 |
- The Lord is indeed nourishing the universe which is in the manifest, unmanifest, perishable and unperishable forms. He is the protector of the world ( bhuvanasya goptā).
एको हि रुद्रो न द्वितीयाय तस्थुह् य इमाँल्लोकानीशत ईशनीभिः ।3.2
- There is only one Rudra and none other ( Eko deva) and He rules the world with his divine powers. He is incomparable (na tasya pratimā asti) and is beyond all forms.
He is the Lord who casts the māya on us ( jālavān) where He appears invisible to our clouded eye . He is beyond the gross and the subtle worlds ( na sat na asat).
एष देवो विश्वकर्मा महात्मा सदा जनानां हृदये सन्निविष्टः ।4.17|
अणोरणीयान् महतो महीयानात्मा गुहायां निहितोऽस्य जन्तोः ।3.20 |
- He is the Vishwakarma, the creator of the universe and the Mahatma, the Great largehearted being who resides in the heart of all beings. He is all-pervading and the substratum of everything .
विश्वतश्चक्षुरुत विश्वतोमुखो विश्वतोबाहुरुत विश्वतस्पात् ।
सं बाहुभ्यां धमति सम्पतत्रैर्द्यावाभूमी जनयन् देव एकः ॥ 3.3॥
- The Lords ‘s eyes, mouth, hands, feet are everywhere . Eye represents perceptions, the mouth represents enjoyment , hands and feet represents actions , movement, and the capacity to think. He alone perceives, knows, enjoys, thinks and acts .Having created heaven and earth, He is manifested in all forms. He is the master puppeteer who guides and unites all beings.
- The Supreme Lord , the master of the entire world resides in the body with nine gates and yet is unaffected like the swan who does not get wet in water. The Lord is called a Hamsa as He destroys ignorance and bestows knowledge to one and all.
- He is the saṃsāra mokṣa sthiti bandha hetuḥ , the cause of liberating us in the bondage of Samsara (cycle of life and death). He is also the pradhāna kṣetrajña patir guṇeśa, the controller of matter and the individuals as well as the Lord of the Gunas.
वेदाहमेतं पुरुषं महान्तमादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ।
तमेव विदित्वातिमृत्युमेतिनान्यः पन्था विद्यतेऽयनाय ॥ 3.8॥
- This is the mantra declared by the Rishi Svetashvatara that he knows that this Purusha is the greatest, dazzling like the sun , illuminating even the darkness of ignorance . Only by knowing Him , one can transcend death and there is no other alternative to this. This is the only One path to Truth and liberation.
न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।
तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥ 6.14 ॥
- The sun, moon, stars , lightning and the fire cannot illuminate God as the effect cannot illuminate the cause. Sun represents the sense organs of perception, moon as the mind-stuff , fire as the sense organs of action and all are powered by His light . He illuminates the individual’s intellect too ( ātma buddhi prakāśaṃ) just as He enlightened all the Gurus . He is the self effulgent light.
अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषोऽन्तरात्मा सदा जनानां हृदये सन्निविष्टः ।3.13
तमक्रतुः पश्यति वीतशोको धातुः प्रसादान्महिमानमीशम् ॥3.20
- The Infinite Lord resides in the hearts of all in the size of a thumb (aṅguṣṭhamātra) which means that the thumb being the most important part of a hand without which the hand is non-functional. Thumb represents strength, willpower, authority, and personal power and that is the role of the Self. *Jiva too is the size of a thumb. This means that the Jivātmaśakti and Devātmaśakti are essentially one and one is superimposed on the other and Jiva can see the Lord seated in his heart only with a pure mind.
What is the relationship between Jiva and God ?
- द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया - like two beautiful birds sitting together as friends in the same tree, Individual and God are closely connected (sakhāyā). In the quest for pleasure, the individual forgets the friend and God continues to remain as the Witness Consciousness, the non-doer and non-enjoyer. I turn away from God and suffer. Jiva owns and disowns one body after the other and the world too manifests and unmanifests and exists in either state. Everything is ever changing except the eternal , changeless God / Truth.
ज्ञाज्ञौ द्वावजावीशनीशावजा ह्येका भोक्तृभोग्यार्थयुक्ता ।
अनन्तश्चात्मा विश्वरूपो ह्यकर्ता त्रयं यदा विन्दते ब्रह्ममेतत् ॥ 1.9॥
क्षरं प्रधानममृताक्षरं हरः क्षरात्मानावीशते देव एकः ।
तस्याभिध्यानाद्योजनात्तत्त्वभावात् भूयश्चान्ते विश्वमायानिवृत्तिः ॥ 1.10॥
- Jiva , īśvara and the relation with māya- The individual Jiva is an unconscious object, finite, ignorant, powerless and identified with one’s own body. God (īśvara) is the conscious subject, infinite, all - knowing, imperishable, immortal, almighty and identified and united with all bodies. Prakruti / māya who is also powered by the Divine is perishable and everchanging . It brings the individual in contact with all the sources of enjoyment resulting in total misery. Although this māya resides in the supreme Self, He is not affected as he has indeed created me and this world. When this ultimate Truth is finally understood , then the three of us will merge into One. As long as this Jiva does not know the Truth, he is bound by being the enjoyer.
What is the process of realising īśvara ?
तिलेषु तैलं दधिनीव सर्पिरापः स्रोतःस्वरणीषु चाग्निः ।
एवमात्माऽत्मनि गृह्यतेऽसौ सत्येनैनं तपसायोऽनुपश्यति ॥ 1.15॥
- Sesame seeds, curds, underground water, firewood cannot benefit as such unless they are ground, churned, drilled or kindled . A specific process is required for each to extract the sesame oil , churned to butter , to pump out the water or to kindle the fire. Fire cannot be perceived in a firestick but ignited only when there is friction. Similarly Self can be realized by the process of churning our mind negating all the outwardly identifications and only asserting in an one pointed affirmation that the Truth resides in me and He is the Sat-Chit- Ananda. Truth is gained through Self-Knowledge when the body- mind is well tuned by truthfulness , Self control and austerity. Till the Truth is realised by us through these methods it will remain hidden.
नित्यो नित्यानां चेतनश्चेतनानामेको बहूनां यो विदधाति कामान् ।
तत्कारणं साङ्ख्ययोगाधिगम्यं ज्ञात्वा देवं मुच्यते सर्वपाशैः ॥ 6.13॥
- Developing a close relationship with Him who is nityo nityānāṃ (forever), cetanaś cetanānām ( the One enlivening the body, senses and the mind ) will liberate me from all bondages.This God can be known and realised through the path of knowledge (Sānkhya yoga) , therefore I must absorb the mind unto Him and start an inquiry to know more about the Self as this knowledge is the bridge to free me from ignorance (amṛtasya param setum). Truth can be known only when the heart is filled with love, faith and devotion to Him (bhāvagrāhyam).
What happens when I realise the Truth ?
Only by realizing this Oneness, all the identifications will be dropped and Jiva will be liberated from all the bondages (sarvapāśaiḥ mucyate).
līnā brahmaṇi tatparā yonimuktāḥ - By Considering the Truth as the Supreme Goal and taking the effort in focussing the mind on Him will liberate me from the cycle of birth and death.
Finally
यथैव बिम्बं मृदयोपलिप्तं तेजोमयं भ्राजते तत् सुधान्तम् ।
तद्वाऽऽत्मतत्त्वं प्रसमीक्ष्य देही एकः कृतार्थो भवते वीतशोकः ॥ 2.14॥
Just as a metal disc covered with earth shines as full of light when cleaned well, so too the embodied being, realising the truth of the Self ( atma tattvam), becomes non-dual, fulfilled and free from sorrow. By Knowing and seeking refuge under Him, the darkness within will be dispelled to finally see the shining Self in one’s heart. Only then Jiva becomes a true mumukshu where he surrenders completely to the all- compassionate Lord to go beyond the Maya and be free from all finitude. When Jivatma realises the Infinite nature of Truth there will be only Bliss.
Prepared by
Prabha Krishna
Yogabharati