The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - 24. Swami Krishnananda.

Chinmaya Mission :

Swami Swaroopananda, the Global head of Chinmaya Mission, recently visited Chinmaya Mission Delhi for a week-long event called "Soar to Success." 

Swamiji elucidated the Hanuman Chalisa and emphasized that while chanting the Hanuman Chalisa is very beneficial, its teaching and guidance must be followed and imbibed. 

Through Hanuman Chalisa one can learn about the qualities and virtues we must develop within ourselves which is the true secret to soar to success.

During this week additional sessions conducted by Swamiji were Corporate Seminar on Exceeding Excellence and inspired youth with a talk on the secret to soaring from being a Human to Hanuman.  

Swamiji left the Bala Vihar children mesmerized with his sweet story telling session. 

All in all Swamiji left the members, devotees and Yagna attendees of Chinmaya Mission Delhi rejuvenated.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2023. 07:00.

Chapter- III :

FIRST BRAHMANA: SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP AND ITS REWARDS

Post-24.

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Mantram-4.

yājñavalkyeti hovāca, 

yadidam sarvamahorātrābhyāmāptam, 

sarvamahorātrābhyāmabhipannam, 

kena yajamāno'horātrayorāptimatimucyata iti | 

adhvaryuartvijā cakśurādityena; 

cakśurvai yajñasyādhvaryuh, 

tadyadidam cakśuh so'sāvādityah, 

so'dhvaryuh, sā muktih, sātimuktih || 4 ||

"You have answered one question; I ask you another question. Everything is conditioned by the revolution of days and nights. Time appears as day and night. Sarvam ahoratrabhyam abhipannam: No one can escape this limitation imposed upon one by the movement of time in the form of day and night. Kena yajamāno'horātrayor āptim atimucyata iti:  How can the conductor of the sacrifice free himself from this condition imposed upon him by the movement of time in the form of day and night? What is the way?"

Then, Yājñavalkya gives the reply. "This can be done by the Adhvaryu, the other priest. or the priest of the rg Veda can free himself from death by identifying himself with the Mantras of the rg Veda as again identified with the principle of Fire, the Adhvaryu or the second priest can overcome this limitation imposed upon him and others by finding the process of days and nights. How? By another kind of meditation which has to be performed. What is that meditation? He has to identify himself with the ultimate principle of perception which is the Sun – Sūrya; and it is the Sun – Sūrya who is the divine principle superintending over the eye. Then comes the great connection between the actual visible performance of the Yajña by means of the Yajur Veda Mantras and the eye that sees the performance. This eye cannot function unless the Sun functions. This performance, the visible sacrifice, the Yajña in front of you is nothing but an operation through the eye, and it is nothing if it is not properly superintended or presided over by the Sun. If the Sun principle withdraws itself from the eye, there is no perception, no Yajña, no sacrifice. So, let the Adhvaryu identify himself with the eye, not the physical eye but the very element of perception, and that again is to be identified with the Sūrya-Tattva – the ultimate presiding deity over the eyes – Caksur vai yājñasya. After all, what is sacrifice? It is a process of visualisation, and this visualisation itself is to be regarded as a sacrifice. All perceptions are Yajñas that you perform through the senses, in the mystical Yajña. Cakṣur vai yājñasya adhvaryuḥ, tad yad idaṁ cakṣuḥ, so'sāv ādityaḥ: This is the Adhvaryu, ultimately. The performer of the sacrifice is Adhvaryu and he is the Caksu or the seeing principle, which in turn is ultimately the Sun. So, the Sun is the performer of the sacrifice. Then you become one with him. The moment you become one with him, you are freed from death. And the time factor in the process of days and nights will not work there. In the sun, there is no day or night. This is how freedom from the operation of days and nights and the time element is achieved. This is freedom from the trammels of death."

4. ‘Yājñavalkya,’ said he, ‘since all this is overtaken by day and night, and swayed by them, by what means does the sacrificer go beyond the clutches of day and night?’ ‘Through the eye—through the sun, which is the (real) priest called Adhvaryu. The eye of the sacrificer is the Adhvaryu. This eye is the sun; this sun is the Adhvaryu; this (sun) is liberation; this (liberation) is emancipation.’

‘Yājñavalkya,’ said he. The emancipation from death,, which is another name for ritualistic work directed by our natural attachment due to ignorance, has been explained. Time is the cause of changes in the accessories of rites such as the new and full moon sacrifices, on which death, that is to say, ritualistic work with attachment, rests. This paragraph is introduced, as emancipation from that time should be separately indicated; because even without the performance of rites, we notice before and after it the action of time as the cause of changes in the accessories of the rites. So the text goes on: Since all this is overtaken by day and night. That time has two forms: one consisting of day, night, etc., and the other consisting of lunar days etc. The emancipation from the former type of time is being first indicated, since everything is born, grows and dies because of the day and night; so also with the means of a sacrifice. The eye of the sacrificer is the Adhvaryu; here too ‘sacrifice’ means the sacrificer. The rest of the paragraph is to be explained as before. When the two accessories viz. the sacrificer’s eye and the Adhvaryu, are stripped of their limitations relating to the body and the elements, and are looked upon in their divine aspect, this is liberation. In other words, the viewing of the Adhvaryu as the sun is liberation. This liberation is emancipation, as in the preceding paragraph; because there can be no day and night for one who has identified himself with the sun.

 "Well; it is so. Then I ask you a third question."

*****
Next - Mantram-5.
To be continued

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