Fifth Adhavaya (Chapter 5)
Fifth Adhavaya (Chapter 5) is devoted to the discussion of the nature of THAT which is found in the great utterance, That Thou Art. That great utterance is stated literally in the Chandogya Upanishad but it is also discussed here in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad is a paean of ecstasy to the Self, the reality behind the gunas but seen by sages in the depths of their meditation.
That is Brahman – the Infinite supreme Brahman, the real self. The established proposition of this Upanishad is that final release from bondage results from knowledge; knowledge that one is not a limited embodiment but is Self luminous Existence, Consciousness and Bliss. This Supreme Brahman pervades the entire universe outwardly and inwardly shines of Itself. Brahman can be attained and experienced through the removal of ignorance regarding one’s own real nature.
Throughout the translation, the words God, Deva, Paramatman, Shiva, Lord of lords, are used to indicate the Saguna or Nirguna Brahman. The power of creation, preservation and destruction are seen as emanating from Brahman viewed from the theistic, and non-dual perspectives.
Sloka 1 There are two, knowledge and ignorance, which are lodged In the imperishable supreme Brahman where they Lie hidden. Ignorance is perishable, knowledge is immortal. Yet he who rules over knowledge and ignorance is another.
~Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
(note: Brahman is non-dual. It transcends all duality including mental knowledge and ignorance, which are on another plane of existence. At the plane of Pure Consciousness, there are no qualities and no dualities).
The sage explains the levels in various slokas to ensure that all sadhakas at all levels and all paths understand the way to Brahman.
Sloka 3 Spreading out net after net in countless ways, This God withdraws them into that field. Creating again and again by virtue of his powers The Lord, the great soul, rules over all.
~Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 5 He is the womb of all, who matures his inherent nature (into creation), who brings to full growth all that can grow, Who alone presides over this whole universe and is able To apportion (to all things) their respective qualities.
~Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 7 The person who, according to his tendencies, performs action That bears fruit, surely experiences (the fruit of) that action. Displaying various forms according to the three qualities, He, the king of life, wanders along the three paths according to his own actions.
~Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 9 Know this living Self to be A hundredth of a hundredth part Of the tip of a hair, Yet it partakes of infinity.
~Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
That individual soul is as subtle as a hair point, divided and subdivided hundreds of times; yet he is potentially infinite.
Sloka 12 The dweller in the body assumes many forms, Coarse and fine, based on his own tendencies,
~Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
………………………………………….
The jivatma (the individual soul, bound by its gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas) in their various permutations, performs actions in this world and reaps the consequences of such actions. In order to experience the fruits of that action and standpoints of understanding, it takes different forms. The jivatma experiences cycles of birth and death which are in effect a soul school for the jivatma. This cycle goes on and on until the jivatma is liberated from the false understanding that he is a phenomenal being only. So the individual manifests in different forms with different names until it realizes “That Thou Art” through the inner eye of wisdom, beholding the Self as entirely different in nature and make from the body, senses, and mind. In a nutshell, the implication is that the Self (the Brahman, Pure Consciousness) is the substratum of the universe, permeating the entire universe. It appears separate from its real higher nature when jivas see themselves as just physical and mental bodies, rather than manifestations and expressions of Brahman.
Sloka 14 Those who know him who is attained by being him, Who is said to be bodiless, the cause of existence and Non-existence, who is benign, the author of creation And its divisions, they are liberated from their bodies.
~Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 14 – Alternate Translation Him who is to be apprehended in existence, who is called ‘incorporeal, The maker of existence (bhava) and non-existence, the kindly one (Siva), God (deva), the maker of creation and its parts– They who know Him, have left the body behind.
~ Robert Ernest Hume translation
Thus the knower of the Self is not born again in the world of ignorance.
Sixth Adhayaya (6th Chapter)
The concluding chapter of this Upanishad is both moving and immediate in its appeal. We have the feeling as we read it that we are sitting close by listening to the words of the sage and his companions. The passages here deal with paths of devotion and of knowledge in a way that are complementary with each other and which are pathways which merge into the highest Being.
The Upanishad is also a celebration of the presence of an enlightened and compassionate sage who shares his wisdom and comes alive in front of us through the power and humility of his words.
The sage realizes, as we see in these evocative slokas, that he is bliss and awareness and declares “I am Shiva, I am Shiva”. In our real nature we are free from all impurity,, undecaying and immortal – we are Brahman. We are not limited to the body and mind which are manifestations of a human experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience in a soul school on the great wheel of Brahman.
Read slokas – 2-23 which are self luminous, sacred poetry, hymns to one’s own real nature – the Supreme Brahman.
It is also clear that the sage and his companions are not looking for worldly fulfillment but are seeking full spiritual transcendence and hence liberation from the world of names, forms and desires. They are seeking the supreme wisdom of Self knowledge and paying homage to the Lord (Brahman).
Sloka 5 The beginning, the efficient cause of combinations, He is to be seen as beyond the three times (Kala), without Parts (a-kala) too: Worship Him as the manifold, the origin of all being, The adorable God who abides in one’s thoughts, the Primeval.
~ Robert Ernest Hume translation
Sloka 6 This world evolves from him, but he is other than the world Tree*, beyond the play of time. Know him as dwelling in your Own Self, immortal, the home of all that is, the bestower Of dharma, the remover of evil, the Lord of prosperity.
* Katha Upanishad 3.3.1; Bhagavad Gita 15.1-3
~ Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 11 The one God hidden in all beings, All- pervading, the inmost Self of all beings, Who oversees all actions, who dwells in all beings, The witness, the one who is awake, alone, without qualities.
~ Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 16 He is the maker of all, the knower of all, the self-born, The perceiver, the maker of time, endowed with all attributes, Omniscient, the ruler of matter and spirit, the Lord Of nature’s qualities, the cause of the cycle of existence____ Of bondage, preservation and liberation.
~ Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 21 Through the power of meditation and through the grace Of God the wise Shevetashvatara realized Brahman and then Truthfully proclaimed that knowledge as the highest means of Purification, easy of access, to the advanced assembly of seers.
~ Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Sloka 21 – Alternate Translation By the power of his austerities and by the grace of God, the wise Shetashvatara first came to know Brahman and then proclaimed it To those who had passed beyond their order of life as the highest Means of purification that bring delight to the company of seers.
~ Patrick Olivelle translation
Sloka 23 To one who has the highest devotion for God, And for the teacher as he has for God, To that great soul the truths taught here are clearly revealed, Yes, they are clearly revealed to that great soul.
~ Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes translation
Peace Chants:
That is full; this is full. From fullness, fullness comes out. Taking fullness from fullness, What remains is fullness.
Let us be together Let us eat together. Let us be vital together. Let us be radiating truth, Radiating the light of life. Never shall we denounce anyone, Never entertain negativity.
Om Shantih shantih shantih…..
Please note: excerpts, commentary and references from the following teachers of Vedanta.
Vedanta Society lectures and literature Swami Sarvapriyananda Swami Nikhilananda Swami Gambhirananda Swami Tyagisananda
Excerpts from the following commentaries and translations of the Upanishads: Patrick Olivelle T.N. Sethumadhavan Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes Robert Ernest Hume Eknath Easwaran and (Michael Nagler’s introductions to each Upanishad)
Wikipedia: Shvetashvatara Upanishad
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