Atma Bodha - Post 65

Verse 55

यद्दृष्ट्वा नापरं दृश्यं यद्भूत्वा न पुनर्भवः ।

यज्ज्ञात्वा नापरं ज्ञेयं तद्ब्रह्मेत्यवधारयेत् ॥ ५५॥

YAD DRISHTVAA NA APARAM DRISHYAM

YAT BHOOTVAA NA PUNAR-BHAVAH

YAJ JNAATVAA NA APARAM JNEYAM

TAT BRAHMA ITI AVA-DHAARAYET

(Having seen which nothing more remains to be seen; having become which, one is not born again in this world; and having known which nothing remains to be known. Realize That to be Brahman)

The essence of this verse is the beginning as well as the essence of Mundaka Upanishad.

In this Upanishad, Saunaka, the great sacrificer, approaches Angiras duly and with respect and asks: “What is that, O Bhagavan, through the knowledge of which everything becomes known?”

The knowledge of everything through the knowledge of one thing means that everything is made up of that same thing.

Ordinarily the knowledge of one thing does not imply the knowledge of another thing.

But Brahma-Vidya is not a knowledge which excludes other kinds of knowledge, but that which transmutes into itself all kinds of knowledge.

Spiritual knowledge means the direct experience arrived at through the fusion of the essence of the object of knowledge into the essence of the subject of knowledge. Hence spiritual knowledge is indivisible experience, not divisible like intellectual knowledge.

The first three points listed below addresses the purpose; the second three points addresses the object or the means.

i)   Attainment: achievement and success are the prime motivations or purposes for most people in this world. Addressing such people, Sri Shankaracharya makes the first point: his aim is to make them think of higher purposes than the usual worldly ones.

ii)   Blessedness: However, there are those who may not be interested in attaining some gain, but who are drawn by their nature towards feelings of happiness. For these people, the second point is made to indicate to them there is something much higher than worldly happiness and joy.

iii)    Knowledge: And thirdly, there is a small minority that is driven by the quest for knowledge. They may have no desire for fame and glory and possession, but have an intense desire to possess knowledge. For them the third point is made to tell them that even in the field of knowledge there is nothing greater to be known than the Self.

The above were covered in the previous verse 54.

Now, for the Objects, which are covered in the present verse:

iv)   Seeing: This is the ego’s yardstick to measure itself by possessing that which it beholds and make them extensions of itself.

v)    Becoming: This is the ego’s yardstick by which it wants to become something because it is not content with what it already is.

vi) Knowing: This is the ego’s yardstick by which it measures itself by the amount of knowledge it possesses, because it is not content with what it already knows.

In this verse, these yardsticks are called into question. 

There is no yardstick to gauge the state of the Jnani. He has crossed all yardsticks that can measure only limited objects. He is now in the realm of the Infinite. Infinity alone answers these needs satisfactorily, and Infinity is only experienced by the sage of Realization and none else. Only to a man of Realization do the six statements become an actual fact.

The Man of Realization: We may well understand Sat Chit Ananda but it is very difficult to understand the man of Realization.

It is not that the Jnani becomes Brahman; the Jnani at the moment of realization comes to understand that he always IS Brahman.

Why is there no further desire for one who becomes one with Brahman? The key to understanding the Jnani lies in the fact that he has transcended the mind. The entire human pursuit is brought into the spotlight by these two verses.

Our experience of the world is entirely a mental one. We see the world through our mind. Because the mind is an instrument bound to the realm of “Ignorance”, its conception of the world is always like that of one craving to have and want more. It can never be contented.

In every worldly pursuit, when we gain anything, we are never satisfied because we always want more. These two verses ridicule such narrow vision as possessed by one’s mind. They contrast it with the majesty of the Self. They are the perfect answer to a Sadhaka’s search.

They bring stability to his mind by arresting its tendency to reach outwards for fulfillment. All fulfillments are obtained by realizing the Self. 

Hence, for a sincere sadhaka, these two verses need to be memorized, contemplated and experienced subjectively. They are his anchor in spiritual life.

Love.