The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - 10 & 11. continued. Swami Krishnananda.
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Wednesday, July 20, 2022. 21:00.
Chapter- II :
FOURTH BRAHMANA :
THE CONVERSATION OF YAJNAVALKYA AND MAITREYI ON THE ABSOLUTE SELF : 10 & 11.
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Mantram-10. Continued .....
Evaṁ vā are'sya mahato bhūtasya niḥsvasitaṁ:
From the aspiration, as it were, of this eternal, infinite Reality, all the knowledge of this world has come. Just as when you breathe out there is a breath coming from your nostrils, the Absolute breathes, as it were, this wisdom of all His creation. And, all this wisdom of the world put together cannot be equated with a fraction of It. It will be another aspect of this mystery which is mentioned in the following passages.
The wisdom of the Veda, which is regarded as eternal knowledge, can be compared to the aspiration of the Absolute.
Etad yad ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo'tharvāṅgirasa itihāsaḥ purāṇam vidyā upaniṣadaḥ, etc:
All the four Vedas and all that is contained in them; anything that is implied in the Vedas, the eternity that is embosomed in the Vedas – all these things are emanations from the Absolute. And what else? Everything that is of that nature and everything that is capable of being connected with Vedic knowledge, such as the Itihāsās, Purāṇas, Vidyā, all arts and all branches of learning, secret teachings, verses and poetic compositions, aphorisms, commentaries, anything that you can call knowledge, in whatever way, whatever manner, whatever form – all that is contained there. Everything has come from there.
Asyaivaitāni sarvāṇi niḥśvasitāni:
The substantiality of all that can be regarded as of highest value in the world is the substantiality of that magnificent Being – Mahato bhūtasya niḥsvasitam. The breath, as it were, of this eternal, breathless Reality is this vast manifestation. As everything that can be considered as an effect is located in the cause in some way or the other, so are all things located in the Absolute in some way or the other. This is interestingly stated in a longish passage that follows.
Mantram-11.
sa yathā sarvāsām apām samudra ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ sparśānām tvag ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣām
sarveṣāṁ gandhānāṁ nāsike ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ rasānāṁ jihvā ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ
rūpāṇāṁ cakṣur ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣām sarveṣāṁ śabdānāṁ śrotram ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ
saṁkalpānāṁ mana ekāyanam, evaṁ sarvāṣāṁ vidyānāṁ hṛdayam ekāyanam, evaṁ sarvāṣāṁ
karmaṇāṁ hastāv ekāyanam, evaṁ sarvāṣāṁ ānandānām upastha ekāyanam, evaṁ
sarveṣām sarveṣāṁ visargāṇām pāyur ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ adhvanām pādav ekāyanam, evaṁ sarveṣāṁ
vedānāṁ vāg ekāyanam.
Sa yathā sarveṣām apām samudra ekāyanam:
The ocean is the repository of all waters. Every water can be found in the ocean.
Evaṁ sarveṣāṁ sparśānām tvag ekāyanam: The touch-sense and everything that we regard as meaningful from the point of view of tangibility is located in the skin.
Evaṁ sarvāsāṁ rasānāṁ jihvā ekāyanam: Every kind of taste can be located ultimately in the structural pattern of the tongue, or the palate.
Evaṁ sarvāsāṁ gandhānāṁ nāsike ekāyanam: Every smell, every odour, every type of fragrance is located in the structure of the nostrils.
Evaṁ sarvāsāṁ rūpāṇāṁ cakṣur ekāyanam: Every colour, every form, everything that is visible, is located in the structure of the eyes.
Evaṁ sarvāsāṁ śabdānāṁ śrotram ekāyanam: Every sound, whatever it be, is located in the structure of the ears.
Evaṁ sarvāsāṁ saṁkalpānāṁ mana ekāyanam: Every thought, every feeling, anything that is cogitated is ultimately located in the mind.
Evaṁ sarvāsāṁ vidyānāṁ hṛdayam ekāyanam: Every feeling, every kind of intimation connected with the knowledge of things, is in the heart of a person.
Evaṁ sarvāsāṁ karmaṇāṁ hastāv ekāyanam: Every action, the capacity to grasp things, is located in the energy of the hands of a person.
Other organs also are mentioned in this manner, making out that all activities of the senses are capable of being traced back to the structure of the senses, so that if you know the nature of the sense-organs concerned in any particular action, whether it is the action of knowledge or merely of locomotion, etc., you can know everything connected with that particular organ. Likewise, you can know all things if you can locate their origin, from where they proceed.
Again, we have to recapitulate what we have said previously, that it is not an easy affair to go back to the final cause of things, because you may be able to perceive the immediate cause of any particular phenomenon, but the ultimate cause cannot be easily discovered, as we are limited by the capacity of the mind and the sense-organs. Whatever the mind can think and the senses can cognise or perceive – these only are the realities to us as human beings. So, even the minutest investigation into the nature of the cause of any phenomenon, or event, or object, cannot be regarded as ultimate, because the ultimate cannot be comprehended by the mind or the senses due to their own limitations in space and time. But, if it could be possible in some mysterious manner, if the ultimate cause could be discovered, then we would be at once in the presence of a flash of illumination wherein everything is presented before the mind's eyes instantaneously, at one stroke, as it were.
Next-Mantram-12,
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