The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - 16. Swami Krishnananda.
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Hanta Bhagyam Bhaktanaam Thiruvananthapuram - Ambalamukku - Perurkkada Sri Krishna Swami Temple Bhagavatha Sapthaham Dhanyam.
The presence of Bhagavata lovers.
The blessing power in this period of Bhagavatam is amazing.
Crores of salutations to all the devotees of Thiruvananthapuram who made Bhagavata Saptaham a grand festival of knowledge.
Humble obeisance even in front of the sincere dedication of the Temple Advisory Committee.
Bhagavatam Village.
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Monday, October 17, 2022. 09:00.
Chapter- II :
FIFTH BRAHMANA:
MADHU-VIDYA – THE HONEY DOCTRINE :
Post-16.
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Chapter II - FIFTH BRAHMANA: MADHU-VIDYA – THE HONEY DOCTRINE
There is an interesting story behind this knowledge.
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Mantram-1. Commentary Continued
Ayaṁ eva sa yo'yam ātmā: That is this; this is that; there is no distinction between the two. The individual is not constitutionally separate from the substance of the whole, and the whole is not in any way different from the structure of the part. They are essentially the same. That which connects the part with the whole and the whole with the part is what is called Pimā āpaḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām madhu, āsām apāṁ sarvāṇi bhūtāni madhu, yaś cāyam āsv apsu tejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, yaś cāyam adhyātmaṁ raitasas tejomayo' mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥa; ayam eva sa yo'yam ātmā; idam amṛtam, idam brahma, idaṁ sarvam.
uruṣha. The Being that is between the two as a need, as it were, is the immortal essence of the cosmos as well as the individual – sa yo'yam ātmā. This is the ātman that we speak of. This is the Self of the Universal Being; this is the Self of the individual being; this is the Self of what is outside; this is the Self of what is inside. This is all – idaṁ sarvam. This is called Brahman, the Absolute. It is filling all space, existing everywhere, filling all things. It is a plenum; it is fullness; and therefore it is called Brahma. The word Brahma comes from the root Brahm, to fill everything, complete everything, and to be self-sufficient in every respect. That which is overwhelming and complete in itself is Brahma, and that is the ātman or the Self of all beings – idam brahma, idaṁ sarvam.
This earth element is of this nature. So are all other elements capable of being correlated in this manner. The objective principles are present in the individual bodies in some form. The physical body is an individual projection of the cosmic physical substance. The physical solidity that we feel in the body of ours, actually and substantially, is the earth element. It is the earth that appears solid, and there is nothing in this body of ours which is not of the earth. Likewise, the water principle is present in us; fire principle is present in us; the air principle and all other principles are present which are mentioned one by one, gradually.
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Mantram-2.
"imā āpaḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām madhu, āsām apāṁ sarvāṇi bhūtāni madhu, yaś cāyam āsv apsu tejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, yaś cāyam adhyātmaṁ raitasas tejomayo' mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥa; ayam eva sa yo'yam ātmā; idam amṛtam, idam brahma, idaṁ sarvam."
Commentary :
Imā āpaḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām madhu, āsām apāṁ sarvāṇi bhūtāni madhu:
The water principle is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of the water principle as the cause thereof, and the cause which is the water principle is not independent of the part which proceeds from the whole.
āsām apāṁ sarvāṇi bhūtāni madhu, yaś cāyam:
Up to that which is animating the water principle and that which is animating the parts thereof, that is the immortal Being.
The seed in the individual, the vital force in the individual is the representation of the water principle in the cosmos. Both these are correlated to each other, and they are animated by a single Being, the Immortal ātman, the Self of all which is, veritably, everything, the Absolute Brahman.
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Mantram - 3.
"ayaṁ agniḥ, sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām madhu; asyāgneḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni madhu; yaś cāyam asminn agnau tejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, yaś cāyam adhyātmaṁ vāṅ-mayas tejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, ayam eva sa yo'yam ātmā, idam amṛtam, idam brahma, idaṁ sarvam."
Commentary :
Ayaṁ agniḥ, sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām madhu:
This fire principle is the honey of all beings, and everything that is a part thereof is naturally included in the whole. I need not mention it once again.
Asyāgneḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni madhu; yaś cāyam asminn agnau tejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, yaś cāyam adhyātmaṁ vāṅ-mayas tejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, ayam eva sa yo'yam ātmā, idam amṛtam, idam brahma, idaṁ sarvam:
This fire principle is manifest in the speech of the individual. The speech is an action, an activity which is superintended by the fire principle. If there is no fire in the system, you cannot speak. So, these are correlated with each other as part and whole, cause and effect.
But this causal relationship between fire and the speech principle is made possible by the presence of the immanence of the Cosmic Being who is the Puruṣha Supreme –ejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ.
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Mantram - 4.
"ayaṁ vāyuḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānām madhu; asya vāyoḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni madhu; yaś cāyam asmin vāyau tejomayao'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, yaś āyam adhyātmam prāṇas tejomayo'mṛtamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, ayaṁ eva sa yo'yam ātmā, idam amṛtam, idaṁ brahma, idaṁ sarvam.
Commentary :
This air is of the same nature. The breath that you breathe, the vital energy in us, that is the correlate in the individual aspects of the cosmic Hiraṇyagarbha, Prāṇa and Vāyu, and they are correlated, so that when the part is conceived, the whole is automatically conceived. The Upaniṣhad will take pains to make clear the point that this co-relationship is not mechanical or artificial, but vital, living and organic. To bring out this point it is that the Puruṣha is brought in as the connecting principle. Consciousness is equally present in the cause as well as the effect. It is in the outside world and also in the inner individual. So, when any particular function of the individual is taken into consideration for the purpose of effecting or producing anything, the cause has to be taken into consideration at the same time. If the cause is forgotten and the individual alone is emphasised in a particular action, it would be the source of bondage. The bondage of the individual is due to the emphasis of the individual independently of the cause which is organically connected by the very same ātman that is present in both. So, the essence of the Madhu-Vidyā is the cosmic contemplation of Reality. Prāṇa within and Vāyu outside, they are both correlated and connected by a single immortal essence.
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To be continued
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