THE BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD : 1.3.1.16 - SWAMI KRISHNANANDA

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THE BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD - 1.3.1SWAMI KRISHNANANDA 

DISCOURSE-8 (8 FEBRUARY 1977) 

CHAPTER I 

Third Brahmana

1.THE SUPERIORITY OF THE VITAL FORCE AMONG ALL FUNCTIONS -16

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26.tasya haitasya samno yah suvarnam veda, bhavati hasya suvarnam, tasya vai svara eva suvarnam, bhavati hasya suvarnam, ya evam etat samnah suvarnam veda. 


27.tasya haitasya samno yah pratistham veda, prati ha tisthati, tasya vai vag eva pratistha vaci hi khalv esa etat pranah pratisthito giyate, anna ity u haika ahuh. 


 In connection with the meditation on the Sama, and the harmony between the Prana and speech, it was said that the intonation in the chant of the Veda, which is Sama, is very important, because the way in which it is chanted or sung has direct connection with the meaning that is conveyed or the objective that is intended by means of the recitation. It is said further, in the following passages, that the correct pronunciation also is important, in addition to the intonation. The letters, the words, the phrases, have to be pronounced in a proper manner, with the correct accent at the proper places, in addition to, or together with the method of chant. This is the resting place or establishment of the Prana. By this, one gets established in the power that is Sama, which is, again, the unity between the Prana and the power of speech, or to carry the meaning further to its broader or more general sense, the harmony between the Prana and all the senses, so that one gets totally integrated in personality by the meditation on the Sama. One who knows this, obtains a resting place.

 

Now, a very important chant is explained, which is called the Pavamana Abhyaroha. The Abhyaroha, here, means the ‘elevated holy chant’. It is allpurifying, and that is why it is called Pavamana. 




28.athatah pavamananam evabhyarohah, sa vai khalu prastota sama prastauti, sa yatra prastuyat, tad etani japet: ‘asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrtyor mamrtam gamaya’ iti, sa yad aha, asato ma sad gamaya iti, mrtyur va asat, sad amrtam, mrtyor mamrtam gamaya, amrtam ma kurv ity evaitad aha; tamaso ma jyotir gamaya iti, mrtyur vai tamah, jyotir amrtam, mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya, amrtam kurv ity evaitad aha; mrtyor mamrtam gamaya iti, natra tirohitam ivasti. atha yanitarani stotrani, tesv atmane’nnadyam agayet; tasmad u tesu varam vrnita, yam kamam kamayeta, tam, sa esa evam-vid udgatatmane va yajamanaya va yam kamam kamayate, tam agayati; taddhaital loka-jid eva; na haivalokyataya asasti, ya evam etat sama veda. 


 



The Udgatr, known as the presiding intelligence over the chant of the Sama, sings the Abhyaroha, the holy and edifying recitations of the Sama, and recites the Mantra repeatedly in order to produce the required effect. “Asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”: These are the three Pavamana-Mantras, the purifying chants, and their recitation is given in the concluding portion of this Brahmans. These three recitations are supposed to be equivalent to meditation, and they bring about the intended result, namely, the rise of the mortal to the immortal, and everything that is connected with this process. We are familiar with this chant, but the Upanishad takes up its discussion in the context of the Sama and the Prana Vidya of this Brahmans, and tells us that these are highly purifying recitations. They are PavamanaAbhyaroha. 


 


What is the meaning of this chant which is recited in this manner? It is a prayer, a Japa, as well as an invocation. “Asato ma sad gamaya: From the nonexistent, from the unreal, from the apparent, lead me to the other side of it, the Existent, the Real, the Noumenon.” Here, the Upanishad tells, also, what the meaning is. What we call death is itself the unreal; and what is other than death, the immortal, is the Real. So, to be led from the unreal to the Real is the same as to move from death to immortality. These words have special meanings with highly philosophical connotations. The world in which we are living is the world of death. It is called Mrtyuloka, the realm of dying, and therefore it is equated  with the world of unreality. It is a world of appearances, and the prayer is: “May we be led from this phenomenal world of appearances to the realm of Reality.” 




That which appears to be real, and yet, is not real – that is the Asat. 


To be continued ....




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