The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - 9&10. continued. Swami Krishnananda.

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Monday, July 04, 2022. 04:50.

Chapter- II :

FOURTH BRAHMANA : 

THE CONVERSATION OF YAJNAVALKYA AND MAITREYI ON THE ABSOLUTE SELF : 9&10.

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The sage Yājñavalkya says that the nature of effects cannot be known unless their cause is known. It is futile on our part to investigate into the nature of any finite object without correlating its form and context with the causes which gave rise to its present form, in a series which cannot be comprehended by the mind. Every link in a chain is connected with every other link. The pull or force exerted by the topmost link is felt by the lowermost link even if the chain be millions of miles in length, irrespective of the fact that the lowest link might not have even seen the very existence of the topmost link. The presence of that topmost link will be felt by the pressure it exerts through the age-long length of the chain, of which the lowermost link is a finite part. Even so is the nature of all finite things in the world, and we cannot understand the nature of anything, unless we are in a position to understand everything at the same time. Either you know everything, or you know nothing; that is the truth of all experience. There is no such thing as knowing something, because that something is a false aspect of the organic connection with which it is related. Minus its relation, its very existence is not worth cognition at all.


The nature of finite objects is very peculiar. They are constituted of the circumstances in which they are placed, so that you cannot separate the circumstances and the nature of the thing itself. It is not true that the circumstances are 'outside' and the thing is 'inside'. It is a false conclusion, again, which the mind makes in its untutored attitude towards things. The circumstances are a part of the existence of a thing. And these circumstances are not mere conceptual notions in the mind; they are vital energies, powers. Even space is not an emptiness, as you know very well. It is as 'solid' as a rock, for example, because under conditions which can be experimented upon, even the most 'solid' of things can be converted into an ethereal substance. So, the circumstance of space around an object is not an unimportant aspect that can be separated from the existence of an object. But, the incapacity of the senses to perceive non-physical objects and non-physical conditions creates a false impression in the mind that the circumstances are completely isolated from the existence of an object. This is why we make independent notional judgments about things, distancing them from the conditions in which they are involved, which are ultimately cosmic conditions. The point made out in the Upaniṣhad, in this passage, is that without the knowledge of the Absolute, not even the smallest of things can be understood.


Mantram-10.


"sa yathārdra-edhāgner abhyāhitāt pṛthag dhūmā viniścaranti, evaṁ vā are'sya mahato bhūtasya niḥsvasitam, etad yad ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo'tharvāṅgirasa itihāsaḥ purāṇam vidyā upaniṣadaḥ ślokāḥ sūtrāny anuvyākhyānāni vyākhyānāni: asyaivaitāni sarvāṇi niḥśvasitāni."


Now, the next passage tells us everything proceeds from the Absolute, proceeds in a very peculiar manner, not easily understandable by individual minds. So, the manner in which things are supposed to proceed from the Supreme Being can be explained only through certain analogies, by comparisons, by visible examples. All knowledge is a partial aspect of the Supreme Absolute, which is Knowledge Itself. It is not knowledge in the sense of an information about things, but the very existence of all things which is inseparable from the knowledge of things. And so, any knowledge or wisdom that is worth mentioning is a fraction, a spark, a ray, of the Supreme Absolute. Even the highest geniuses of the world cannot be compared with a ray of that eternal profundity of knowledge. Everything comes from that. How does it come? We cannot understand how anything can come from the Absolute. We can only give some analogical comparative illustrations, and the Upaniṣhad employs here the comparison of smoke arising from fire. Sa yathārdra-edhāgner abhyāhitāt pṛithag dhūmā viniścaranti: Just as when you burn wet fuel, smoke may arise from its burning process, everything may be said to proceed in this manner, as it were, from the Supreme Being – a continuous emanation. It has to be called a curious emanation, as that which emanates has the potential character of that from which it emanates. We are always to remember what we have studied earlier, that the nature of the cause is always present in the existence of the effect. So, the effect, which is knowledge, is a fraction of the appearance of the plenum of wisdom which is the Para-Brahman, the Absolute. Everything comes from That.


To be continued ....

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