Consciousness, our physical existence, and the related Vedic-Sanskrit words. (The knowledge behind an idol.)
(Debkumar Lahiri. debkumar.lahiri@gmail.com)
Index.
1. Preface
2. Face.
3. mukha--the mouth.
4. Some quotes from Upanishad on mukha (mouth). Our body.
5. Void, vaak, and sound.
6. The face of a maid; the maid who milks the cows. The divine particles.
7. The word aasya for the mouth, and mukhya-praaNa---Consciousness who carries us beyond the death.
8. as (to exist) and praaNa.
9. The face as the main (mukhya) acquaintance and aanana.
10. The face or mouth as vadana. Funeral in agni (fire).
11. Eye.
12. The objective and subjective world.
13. Corresponding vision and corresponding existence.
14. Ears and the eye-brows. The divine mind.
15. Ear and the directions.
16. Consciousness and the five senses (tanmaatraa) and five fundamental elements (tattva).
17. Sound, Void, Directions, and Air. Sound, oM and praNava.
18. Listening and orientation.
19. om, vyoma, and the directions.
20. shrotra and sampada ----the imprints of sound. shrotra and shrotriya.
21. The luminous hearing; antarikSha and chandra (moon).
22. Veda and Shruti.
23. The listening entity and correspondingly listening entity----shrotra and praatishrutka puruSha.
24. The southward Consciousness (dakShiNa-agni).Water and direction-----fluids in the ear canal and sense of balance. soma.
25. Significance of the word dakShiNa.
26. Touch (sparsha) and Air.
27. Touch and the vision.
28. Touch and the flow (air). Primary flaccidity.
29. Proliferation and branching.
30. Body hair (loma,loman). Marriage.
31. kesha----hair on the head.
32. hRiShii-kesha
33. Etymologies of the words tvach and tvak.
34. Hands and the flanks.
35. Hand (hasta, baahu).
36. Hand as paaNi.
37. The paNi community of Veda, the divine dog named saramaa, and indra the king of heaven.
38. Joining the hands, yoking the cattle, yajur veda.
39.Horses yoked to the chariot.
40. indra, gautama, and ahalyaa.
41. Body or a~Nga.
42. Fingers.
43. Identifying five senses with five fingers.
44. Fingers and the heart.
45. The middle finger and the door at the front of the heart; praaNa.
46. The index finger and the door at the south of the heart; vyaana.
47. tarjanii the index finger and the act of differentiation.
48. Index finger and vyaana.
49. The alpahbets articulated by touch-----sparsha varNa.
50. The last two nasal consonants (na and ma). maa (mother).
51 The ring finger and rasa (the sap).
52. svaada meaning taste; rasa and aa~Ngirasa.
53. pratiruupa (corresponding form) and reta (sperm).
54. Semantic fluid and conception.
55. Some explanation of the above verse 2.1.1 of Aitareya Upanishad; svadhaa and svaadhiShThaana.
56. anaamikaa-----the nameless damsel; the demons madhu and kaiTabha.
57. Marriage ring.
58. The little finger---kaniShThaa.
59. Earth, gandha and apaana form of Consciousness.
60. praaNa meaning gandha (smell).
61. graha (planet) and atigraha (surpassing the planet/super-planet).
62. Significance of graha (planets) and atigraha (super planets); earth the lonely planet.
63. The navel and umbilical cord.
64.The silver cord during the process of death.
65. The significance of the word naabhi (navel).
66. The thumb----a~NguShTha; The unattached soul and the regulator of the universe.
67. The fist and the heart.
68. The Soul in the heart.
69. The streams (naaDii) of the heart.
70. indra and viraaT----the couple who roams in the lanes and by-lanes of the heart.
71. jihva / jihvaa----the tongue, and the saliva (laalla); kissing (chumbana) and magnet (chumbaka).
72. The sound of joy from the tongue-----uluulava; uvula--the inner tongue and Algebra.
73. The tongues and the flicker of agni the fiery Consciousness.
74. Goddess kaalii and Jehovah the god of the Jews.
75. The lips.
76. Cupid bow on the upper lip.
77. Rik veda verse on tongue, upper lip, teeth , and goddess of speech.
78. The words pavi and danta (a tooth).
79. The divine dents ; three da.
80. Meaning of the word danta, eka-danta, daMsha.
81. The corners of the lips----sRikva (also sRikka).
82. Jaw---hanu.
83. siitaa and hanumaan.
84. Jaws as mentioned in Taittiriya Upanishad (taittiriiya upaniShad). siitaa and the furrow line.
85. naasaa---Nose.
86. naasaa (nose) and naasatya--the twin divine doctors.
87. Breathing and speaking. Vedic deity dasra, a~Ngira and the significance of nasal sounds.
88. The nasal sounds.
89. Adam's apple, adolescent, cupid, kumaara, and kuntii (pRithaa).
90. The deity kaartikeya and the number six and sex. Six seasons and the goddess ShaShThii . paa~nchaalii.
91. Peacock (mayuura) the bird of kaartikeya and the goddess sarasvatii.
92. Adam's apple, and Indian fruit green Jubjube (badarii fruit).
93. Brain----masta, mastaka.
94. Brain---shira, shiras.
95. shriiphala (Cerebrum) and shriiniketana (Cerebellum) and the spine (brainstem). (Pair of Bel /Apple-wood fruits attached to the same stem.)
96. sahasraara----the seat of the soul in the brain.
97. The mountainous region in the brain. paarvatii and girijaa. kailaasa mountain.
98. The skull and the brain. Quotes from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
99. The seven sages (Rishi) or the seven truth seers sitting on the edge or on the brim of the skull/universe.
100. The brain stem and wood-apple tree.
101. akShiti——the endless vision.
1. Preface.
(At first there were the fundamental words, then the words radiated the qualities, and then from the qualities the matters were generated.)
Consciousness.
Consciousness is the one in whose knowledge we are created. Consciousness is the knowledge within our senses, the One who is knowing within our senses. To know means to become. Consciousness who has created us is self-expressing and omniscient. Consciousness is the faculty of Consciousness. Faculty of Consciousness is called vaak. Consciousness is called 'j~naana'. This word j~naana has two parts, j~na and ana. ana means praaNa, i.e. by whom everything is animated, dynamic, and because of this we experience time or the sequential actions consisting of 'beginning, existence and termination' acting everywhere. The other part of the word j~naana is j~na. j~na is the 'knower' and the action of this knowing is ana. j~na is immutable, without change. This means Consciousness is unending or eternal. Though everything is created from Consciousness as ana, but Consciousness as j~na remains unchanged. j~na is also called svayam or soul. "Self' is the assertion of svayam as a separate being or identity. Thus self is 'I am' and j~na or svayam is assertion-less self. It is the same svayam everywhere, and this is the Oneness of Consciousness.
Though it is same Consciousness everywhere, sometime I have used the term 'Universal Consciousness' for clarity of the context.
Physicality
Physicality is the ultimate stage or state of realization. The defined perceptible universe is the physical expression of Consciousness. The word 'earth' has originated from the Sanskrit word 'artha'. artha means, 'meaning' or 'realization'. Earth is called pRithivii in Sanskrit language and it means the place where the entities are pRithak or isolated, each with a different entity, and thus every entity is specifically defined or realized. In Vedic literature, the earth means the 'physical world' and also the body (shariira) of an individual or an entity. What is the physical world or the earth outside, is the physical body of an individual. Everyone with a body, lives in the one's inner-space or inner-sky and body is the interface between the inner and outer space or sky. (In all these discussions, we need to remember that the inner space, body and the outer-space are all forms of Consciousness and are held in the knowledge of Consciousness.)
Objective of this article.
In this article I have tried to narrate the significance that a body part or a limb is conveying with respect to its origin that is Consciousness. This is based on the wisdom stated in Upanishads or Vedas. The related Vedic Sanskrit words have been explained with meanings and etymologies. Wherever relevant, the knowledge hidden in the mythologies have been mentioned; and in this context divinity of some mythological characters and the expressions of such divinities in our body have been explained; such characters are Sita, Hanuman, Ashvin, Damayanti and others. Similarly certain significant features of some birds, animals and fruits have been discussed.
As appropriate, in this article, I have used the pronouns 'it, he, she, ' to address Consciousness.
To the extent possible, I have provided the name of the text and the verse number, wherever any verse has been quoted. Also, word-word meanings of the Sanskrit quotations have been provided. The intention is to assist any reader willing to access the original text, as well as to provide the unadulterated meanings of the Sanskrit words, so that any reader can make his or her own interpretation of the quoted text.
Wherever possible, I have referred to an English word which has either a direct link with the Sanskrit word in the narration, or which has connection with that particular knowledge described in the narration. This is to notify how much widespread was this Vedic knowledge in the ancient time and how intricate was the pattern of distribution of this knowledge. As I do not have knowledge of non-Indian languages other than English, so I have to restrict myself referring to mainly English words.
Acknowledgement.
This article is written following the teaching of the great seer Shri. BijoyKrishna Chattopadhyaya (1875-1945) and his principal disciple Shri. Tridibnath Bandyopadhaya (1923-1994) and by the realizations achieved from their blessings.
Note.
Sanskrit words are written in italic fonts using English alphabets in Itrans version. The original Sanskrit words with meanings (i.e. the words without derivatives) can be found in the Online Sanskrit English Lexicon composed by Sir Monier Williams, available in the link <https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2020/web/webtc/indexcaller.php>
2. Face.
The face is our countenance, the primary feature of us to make acquaintance. All our sensory organs, i.e. the eyes, ears, nose, lips, tongue, and also the mouth are located in the face. The face in the Sanskrit language is called ' aanana ', ' mukha ', ' vadana', ' aasya ' . Each such word has its own significance and represents a particular aspect or feature of Consciousness or praaNa.
(When we say face, it is the face of Consciousness which includes the sense of face in all possible ways, and also everyone's face. Each entity created from Consciousness is a face of Consciousness.
The form of Consciousness that is external, stationary, specific, and limited is known as physical.)
3. mukha--the mouth.
mukha means ' mouth ' and also ' aperture '. This word also implies the hollow, void, or space inside the mouth. The word mukha has two parts, i.e. mukha = mu + kha. The Sanskrit alphabet ' kha ' means the void or the sky. The word mu implies the verb ' much' meaning ' to let go ', 'to liberate' etc. Thus, mukha means the space or void ( kha ) from where the sounds or words are released. Every word is a formation of Consciousness. When we speak or articulate, we throw ourselves as words in the external space. Like light consists of packets of energy called photons, similarly, each word that we utter contains our mind, feelings, and our personality wrapped in that word; this word is a conscious personality. The mouth as well as the other sensory organs act like a doorway or an aperture.
4. Some quotes from Upanishad on mukha (mouth). Our body.
Here is an extract from verse 1.1.1 of Aitareya Upanishad regarding the manifestation of the face during creation (everything is first created in the mental sphere):
tam (him) abhyatapat (irradiated)----Consciousness irradiated himself/Consciousness
abhitaptasya (of the irradiated one)----of the irradiated one
mukham (mukha/mouth) nirabhidyata (disunited and manifested) -----the face disunited and manifested
yatha (like) andam (an egg) ---like (hatching of an) egg
mukhat (from the mouth) vaak (vaak, faculty of speech) -----from the mouth (of Consciousness) vaak (faculty of speech) was manifested
vaachoH (from vaak) agniH (the divine personality of fire/ Self-illuminating Consciousness, who initiates (ignites) everything/every event manifested ----- from vaak was manifested the divine personality of fire, (or Self-illuminating Consciousness who initiates (ignites) everything/every event)
Consolidated meaning
Consciousness irradiated Consciousness, and the mouth of it (mouth of the irradiated one) disunited (and manifested), from the mouth, vaak (the divine personality of speech) manifested; from vaak, agni (the divine personality of fire who initiates everything, every event, who animates everything) manifested. (Extracted from Verse 1.1.1 of Aitareya Upanishad.)
We remain animated by the speech or illuminated by the divine fire. As long as we are conscious, we keep speaking, our mind keeps emitting the words.
This is how the 'face' of all the faces was created.
The self-illuminating Consciousness is called agni (the divine personality of fire) and also praaNaagni / praaNa-agni. agni means ag (agra --in front) ni (leads). All changes, every new moment is brought in by agni. Thus agni is the first (prime/principal) ' ana ' (animation) or praaNa (pra--prathama--first; ana --animation).
Consciousness splits toward the creation. Every splitting happens with the manifestation of two forms; one is the personality that holds, that contains or that acts as the container; the other is the personality who is held, or who is contained in the container. So, Consciousness as vaak splits Consciousness or the Oneness of Consciousness (called Soul) into a separate identity. This separating Consciousness is also called praaNa and the separated entities are called *praaNi or *prajaa. Consciousness thus split as a separate entity is held by vaak. So we are praaNa, and the earth or our body is vaak. The divinity is praaNa, the physical world or the earth is vaak. The endless divinity exhibiting infinite features of Consciousness is held by the earth or the physical world as defined, measurable entities. This is the famous couple celebrated as dyaavaa (divinity)----pRithivii (earth, mortality, physicality) in the Vedas.
(* praaNii---praaNa +i (to arise from, to flow)---living by praaNa or living being; *prajaa----pra (praaNa) +jaa (generated; offspring)---generated from praaNa.)
So, in Brihadaramyaka Upanishad (Verse 1.5.11), it is said:
tasyai (that) vaachaH (Vaak's) pRithivii (earth) shariiram (is the body) jyotirupam (illuminated form) ayam (is this) agni ----Earth is the body of that vaak, and agni is her illuminated form
tad (that) yavatii eva (as much as is) vaak taavatii (that much is) pRithivii (the earth, physicality) tavaan (that much) ayam (is this) agniH (agni)------ that as much as is vaak, that much is the earth (the physical universe),and that much is that agni
Consolidated meaning.
Earth is the body of that vaak, and agni is her illuminated form; that as much as is vaak, that much is the earth (the physical universe), and that much is that agni. (Quoted from Verse 1.5.11 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
This agni is known as vaishvaanara meaning the 'universal person'. (vaishvaanara---vaishvaa--universal; nara-----person.)
Also conversely it is said, agniH (fire) vaak (the faculty of speech) bhuutvaa (by becoming) mukham (in the mouth) praaviShat (entered)-----agni (fire/praaNa/Consciousness) by becoming vaak (the faculty of speech), entered the mouth. Thus when every individual soul is created, the Consciousness who is the faculty of speech becomes the mouth of the creature, or the mouth is created as the seat of the speech. (Quoted from Verse 1.2.4 of Aitareya Upanishad.)
Consciousness splits Consciousness into fragments of Consciousness which are the words in us and is coming out of us, getting articulated from the mouth to the external space or air. Everything in the external world is a word of Consciousness, materialized as that thing. Our words are also forms of Consciousness.
As in our mind, our ideas, perceptions, emotions, desires exist in well defined forms, so we are also created in a specific defined form or we are materialized in the mind of Universal Consciousness.
5. Void, vaak, and sound.
Consciousness while manifesting, first creates the space or the gap. This is void and is necessary for differentiation or for creating the difference between the creator and the creature; this void is also conscious, and not at all inane. This is how duality originates from Oneness. When this first creation of space happens, Consciousness or vaak is in the form of elemental sound. We can best describe the elemental sounds by the word ' alphabet ' (varNa). To us, an alphabet may not convey any definite meaning, but alphabets together convey a specific meaning or a meaningful sound when they are arranged in a particular order. There is a saying by the sage yaaj~navalkya in Verse 1.5.3 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ---- yaH kashcha shavada vaageva saiShaa hyantamaayattaa eShaaH hi na --- yaH kascha (whatever may be) shavada (the sound) vaak eva saa (she is indeed vaak ); eShaa (by her) hi (indeed) antam (end/ materialization/ formation/meaning) ayattaa (is realized), eShaaH hi na ( by her is not---- by her is also not realized / she herself is never realized------ whatever may be the sound, it is indeed vaak; the sound is realized (or gets interpreted/realized/materialized) by Her, and if not realized, that is also by Her! ( Quoted from Verse 1.5.3 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
6. The face of a maid; the maid who milks the cows. The divine particles.
Consciousness splits into words or fragments and thus Consciousness or vaak is called kanyaa (a little girl). The word kanyaa is from the root word kanaa meaning a girl or a maid and also is related to the word kaNaa meaning 'a particle'. The root verb ' kan ' means ' to shine ' and also 'to move'. This is the significance of the word kanyaa, meaning minute or fragmented, shining (self-expressing), and moving. However, the word kanyaa is usually used for a small girl, or for an unmarried maid. There are similar words called ' duhitRi / duhitaa ', and ' dogdhrii'. duhitaa, dogdhrii means a maid who milks a cow, the maid who draws the milk. These words are from the root verb doh meaning ' to draw ' and the word dyu meaning divinity. The self-expressing Consciousness is drawing out the entire universe from Her divinity or milking the heaven to manifest Herself as the universe. Goddess vaak, who is otherwise not audible, is becoming the feelings in our hearts, meanings, and interpretations in our minds, and words in our tongues. It is this vaak, whom the sages in Vedas or Upanishads have meant when they used the words duhitaa or kanyaa, as well as when they mentioned about the face or the mouth of a maid.
For example in Chapter 4 of Chandogya Upanishad, the great sage Raikva (raikva) agreed to deliver the knowledge to the learned king Jaanashruti (jaanashruti) only when the king offered his duhitaa/ duhitRi (daughter) to the sage Raikva. When the king with his daughter met the sage, the sage Raikva mentioned that he would talk to the king (i.e. would deliver the knowledge to the king) by dint of her face (mouth)! We are quoting an extract from verse 4.2.5 of Chandogya Upanishad:
tasya ha (her) mukham (mouth/face) upa ud gRiNhat (taking up / lifting up) uvaacha (told) aajahara immaH (all these you have brought) shuudra (Shudra---stricken by shock or grief) anenaiva (by this) mukhena (face) aalaapayiShyathaa (you will make me talk)------ (Sage Raikka) told (king Jaanashruti) by lifting up her (princess's ) face, " you grief-stricken have brought all these, (however only) by this face you will make me talk". (Quoted from Verse 4.2.5 of Chandogya Upanishad.)
It is vaak who is the word in every tongue. It is vaak whose words are materialized in every form and entity.
7. The word aasya for the mouth, and mukhya-praaNa---Consciousness who carries us beyond the death.
The meaning of Sanskrit word ' aasya ' is also the mouth. The word ' aasya ' is from the root verb ' as ' which means ' to throw or to cast', and it also means ' to exist '. Where Consciousness is in Oneness, there is no activity, and then we call Consciousness soul or ' aatman'. When Consciousness becomes active we call Consciousness praaNa. praaNa = pra (principle, prime, prior) + ana (animation)----by whose animation or by whom everything is active; praaNa is the one who is before all activities and is the source of all initiation and activities. Each of us is created from Consciousness as a separate entity and at the same time, we are returning to the origin, and that return is perceived as evolution. Consciousness is thus taking us to eternity, and in Upanishad, this aspect of Consciousness is called mukhya-praaNa. mukhya-praaNa is described as praaNa or the Consciousness who is beyond death and is carrying everyone to eternity. (Refer Chapter 1, Part 2 of Chandogya Upanishad, and Chapter 1, Brahmin 3/Part 3 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad .)
mukhya-praaNa is also addressed as aayaasya in Upanishad. In Chandogya Upanishad it is said that as mukhya-praaNa is darting itself as words out of the the mouth (aassya), so mukhya-praaNa is known as aayaasya; aasyaat (from the mouth) yat (as) ayate (moves)-----as it moves out of the mouth! (Refer Chandogya Upanishad, verse 1.2.12.)
8. as (to exist) and praaNa.
So, as explained above, the word ' aayaasya ' is from the root verb ' as ' meaning 'to throw or to cast', as well as ' to exist '. We have explained the significance of the word ' aayaasya ' based on the meaning ' to throw or cast'. The significance of the word 'as' (to exist) lies in the word 'ana' of ' praaNa'. The word praaNa, means, pra (principal, first) +ana. The word ana means a + na. The alphabet ' a ' is sometimes applied to create the opposite sense, like ' sukha ' means ' pleasure ' and ' asukha ' means 'sorrow'. So, ' ana ' means, a (no) + na (negativity), no negativity, i.e. everything in ' ana ' or in ' praaNa ' is positive, in praaNa everything is existing (' as ' ). In praaNa everything exists perpetually. This is why Consciousness is also called mahaa-kaala or the personality of eternal time.
9. The face as the main (mukhya) acquaintance and aanana.
The word mukhya means what is related to mukh or mouth. mukhya also means ' principal ' or ' main '. The word ' mukha ' , or the mouth also means the origin from where everything has been created. The face or ' mukha ' is also the main part of our body or it is the countenance by which we are represented. The location of praaNa on the face is cited in a verse of Prashnopanishad as quoted below:
Word -word meaning (Verse 5.3 of Prashnopanishad)
paayuupashthe'paanaM----paayu (in the anus) upastheH (in the genital) apaanam ----apaana is (located) in the anus and genitals
chakShuH shrote mukha naasikaabhyaanM praaNaH svyaM-------chakShuH (in the eyes) shrote (in the ears) mukha (in the mouth) naasikaabhyaanM (in the nose) praaNaH (praaNa) svyaM (himself) praatiShThate (is stationed)
madhye tu (in the middle is) samaanaH (samaana)------ samaana is in the middle
esHaH hi hutam annaM samaM nayati---it is he (samaana) hutam (offered) annam (food) samaM (in the sameness) nayati (leads into)---it is he (samaana) who leads the offered food into the sameness (state of assimilation /integration)
tasmaat etaaH sapta archiSho bhavanti---tasmaat (from that) etaaH (these) sapta (seven) archiSho (flames) bhavanti (are formed)----from that these seven flames are formed.
Consolidated meaning (Verse 5.3 of Prashnopanishad)
" ( praaNa as ) apaana is (located) in the anus and genitals; praaNa himself is stationed in the eyes, in the ears, in the mouth, in the nose. ( praaNa as ) samaana exists in the middle; it is samaana who leads the offered food into the sameness (state of assimilation/integration) and from that, these seven flames are formed (in the inner sky). "
This act of carrying food (anna) in the subtle state or the subtle body of any being is done by the aspect of praaNa called samaana. The physical nourishment by food happens to the physical body. The subtle parts of the food merge with our mind, with our non-physical faculties, with our selves. By this action, food or anna is conveyed from the universe or from the external form of Consciousness or divinity (adhi-daiva) to an individual soul or to Consciousness as an individual (adhyaatma). Leading or carrying anna to the inner space or inner sky or inside an individual is happening through the mouth.
aanana----ana nayati annaM----ana or praaNa carries (nayati) the food (anna). Food or anna means multiple forms of ana or praaNa, the countless forms by which praaNa nourishes us. (anna= ana+ ana+ ana.....).
10. The face or mouth as vadana. Funeral in agni (fire).
Another word for the face or the countenance is vadana. vadana means vad (to speak) + ana (praaNa). So, countenance or the face means ' the speaking form of praaNa or Consciousness' or 'Consciousness speaking'. Words are the sparks of fire or praaNa-agni, emitting from the mouth. It is for this reason, sometimes the words mukha or the mouth and agni / prraNa-agni (radiant Consciousness) have been used synonymously in Vedas or in Upanishads.
It is for this reason, in Hindu community, the funeral of a deceased person is done in fire or praaNa-agni, because we are born from praaNa-agni and we end in praaNa-agni (Consciousness). The body is placed on the pyre and before putting the fire on the flame, the mouth of the deceased person is first touched with an ignited jute-stick (fire wood).
11. Eye
The eye is the leading sensory organ and leads the 'one who is sensing'. Eyes are characterized by the act of Consciousness that forms vision and brings in the sense of reality. Further, vision is always associated with motion. Thus, the eye is called ' nayana ' which is from the root verb ' nii ' meaning ' to lead ', ' to carry ' etc. ( The derivative of the root verb ' nii ' in its first-person, singular form and present tense is ' nayati '. ) If you look at an object, in your Consciousness, you actually reach the object you are viewing.
The sun, who is acting as the source of vision or light in the external sky, is also the source of time and motion. Time cycles like day & night ( aho-raato----day-night cycle), seasons, etc., and the planetary motions are due to the actions of the sun. Modern science is also exploring the mysteries behind the biological clock and Circadian rhythms; it says that the retina and the ocular tissues are involved in the creation of these rhythms. (< https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18316227/ > ).
Rik veda describes the ' feet (motion/time) and the eyes (vision)' of all-pervading Consciousness named viShNu. viShNu means the one who has entered (' vish ' ) into everything, every being, and has made everyone warm ('uShNa ).
Another word for the eye is 'akShi'. 'akShi' is connected to the word ' akSha ' meaning ' axis, axel'. As mentioned, from the vision of Consciousness the cycles of time are being generated. These motions, time cycles, originate from the eye of Consciousness. The word 'akShi' is from the root verb 'akSh' meaning ' to reach, to pervade, to penetrate' and this describes the action of the vision. akShati iti akShi---- it is called akShi because of the action ' akSh ', or the action that pervades all. The eye of the Consciousness is the eye of the storm or the whirlpool created in Consciousness. The churning, the rotation, or the agitation in Consciousness has a pivotal point or axis or axel (hub or the centre), from there the cycles of time and curving space are coming out. Thus, in the Vedas the core or the innermost part of the eye is described as ' kShovate iva dRishayte' ------it looks, as if agitated. Consciousness is knowing Consciousness spontaneously as many, and this creates the time, events, and different entities from Oneness. Though One becomes many, still One remains One. So, it is said 'as if agitated (kShovate iva)'.
From the vision of Consciousness, time and space are curving out; the reality or the dimensional universe is being created. Thus in various verses of the Upanishad, it is mentioned that the eye or the vision of Consciousness is the sap of the truth, the sap of the physicality, sap of all that have forms (dimensions). It has also been mentioned that the being in the sun is the same being who is in our eyes or in our vision.
As our physical movements are accomplished by the legs and feet, the legs and feet are considered the 'functional/working organs' (karmendriya) corresponding to the eye which is the sensory organ ( j~naanendriya ). The vision (a form or a defined space) and motion (time) are inseparable.
Related to what we have discussed above, we are quoting below a few verses from Upanishad.
Verse 2.3.2 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
tat etat muurtam yat anyat vaayoH cha antariikShaat cha
etat martyam etat sthitam etat sat
tasya etasya muurtasya etasya martasya etasya sthitasya etasya sata eSha raso ya eSha tapati
sato hi eSha rasaH.
Word-word.
tat (that) etat (this) muurtam (what is materialized; what is with dimensions) yat (what) anyat (different from) vaayoH (the air) cha (and) antariikShaat (from inner-space or the sky) cha (also)----that is materialized, what is different from vaayu (the divine air) and from the inner-sky
etat (this is) martyam (mortal; material) etat (this is) sthitam (stationary) etat (this is) sat (true; realized)---this is mortal (material), this is stationary, this is realized (materialized form)
tasya (that) etasya (of this) muurtasya (materialized form's) etasya (this) martasya (mortal one's) etasya (this) sthitasya (of stationary one's) etasya (of this) sata (realization) eSha (this is) rasaH (the sap) ya (who) eShaH (is this) tapati (is warming/shining)----that this materialized form's, this mortal one's, this stationary one's, of this realization, this is the sap who is this warming (the sun, praaNa)
Consolidated meaning.
That is materialized, what is different from vaayu (the divine air) and from the inner-sky. This is mortal (material), this is stationary, this is realized (materialized form).
That this materialized form's, this mortal one's, this stationary one's, this realization's, this is the sap who is this (the sun, praaNa) warming . (Verse 2.3.2 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
Verse 2.3.4 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
atha adhyaatam---idameva muurta yad anyat praaNat cha, yaH cha ayam anataraatmani aakaashaH
etat martyam etat sthitam etat sat
tasya etasya muurtasya etasya martasya etasya sthitasya etasya sata eSha raso yat chakShu
sato hi eSha rasaH.
Word-word meaning.
atha (And now) adhyaatam (as in an individual)---And now, as in an individual
idam(it) eva (indeed is) muurta (materialized; formed) yad (that) anyat (different) praaNat (from praaNa; from Consciousness beyond physicality) cha (and), yaH (who) cha (also) ayam (this) anatara (inside) aatmani (in the soul) aakaashaH (sky)-----it indeed is the materialized (formed) entity that is different from praaNa (consciousness beyond physicality) and also (different from) this sky (located) inside the soul (>self> body)
etat (this is) martyam (the mortal one) etat (this is) sthitam (the stationary one) etat (this is) sat (what is realized)-----this is the mortal one, this is the stationary one, this is what is realized
tasya (that) etasya (of this/of this one) muurtasya (one who is materialized, or provided with a form) etasya (of this) martasya (mortal one) etasya (of this) sthitasya (stationary one) etasya (of this) sata (realized one) eSha (this is) raso (the sap) yat (what is) chakShu (the eye/the vision)-----that of this who is a materialized one, who is a mortal one, who is a stationary one, who is a realized one, this is the sap (and that is) what is the eye (vision)
sataH (the truth, reality) hi (indeed) eshaH (its) rasa (sap/essence)----the truth (reality) is indeed its essence.
Consolidated meaning.
And now, as in an individual.
It indeed is the materialized (formed) entity that is different from praaNa (Consciousness beyond physicality) and also (different from) this sky (located) inside the body. This is the mortal one, this is the stationary one, this is what is realized. That, of this one who is materialized, who is mortal, who is stationary, who is realized, this is the sap, and that is what is the eye (vision). The truth (reality) is indeed its essence. (Verse 2.3.4 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
There are several verses and passages in Upanishads, that mention the being in the sun and the entity in the vision (eye) are the same. We are quoting below a verse from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 3.9.12), and this is a conversation between the sage Shaaklya (shaakalya) and the great sage Yajnavalkya (yaaj~navalkya)
(Shaakalya asking a question to Yajnavalkya )
ruupaaNi (the visions) eva (indeed) yasya (whose) aayatanam (form or the body), chakShuH (the eye) lokaH (is the world) manaH (mind is) jyotiH (the light) yaH (who) vai (indeed) taM (that) puruShaM (being) vidyaat (knows) sarvasya (all) aatmanaH (souls') paraayaNaM (final destination) sa (he) vai (indeed) is) veditaa (the knower) syat (is) yaaj~navalkya! ---
The visions indeed are whose form (the body), the eye is whose world (who lives in the eye), the mind is whose light (who expresses by the mind), who knows that being, is indeed the knower. Hey yaaj~navalkya!````
(Yajnavalkya replying to Shaakalya)
veda (know) vaa (certainly) aham (I) taM (that) puruShaM (the being) sarvasya (all) aatmanaH (souls) praayaNaM (final destination) yam (about whom) aattha---I certainly know that being who is the final destination of all souls, about whom you are talking
ya (the one who) eva (indeed) asou (that) aaditye (in the sun) puruShaH (the being) sa (he is) eShaH (this)---the one who indeed is in that sun, he is this being
vada (speak) eva (further) shaakalya (Shaakalya)----speak further Shaakalya
(Shaakalya asking a question to Yajnavalkya )
tasya (his) kaa (who) devata (deity) iti (is)----who is his deity (what is his divine form)?
(Yajnavalkya replying to Shaakalya)
satyam (the truth/reality)---the truth (reality)
iti ha (thus indeed) uvaacha (said)-----Thus indeed is said.
Consolidated meaning.
(Shaakalya asking a question to Yaajnavalkya)
" The visions indeed are whose form (body), the eye is whose world (who lives in the eye), the mind is whose light (who expresses by the mind), (the one) who knows that being, is indeed the knower. Hey yaaj~navalkya! "
(Yaajnavalkya replying to Shaakalya)
"I certainly know that being who is the final destination of all souls, about whom you are talking. The one who indeed is in that sun, he is this being.
Speak further Shaakalya. (Go on Shaakalya.) "
(Shaakalya asking a question to Yaajnavalkya)
" Who is his deity (what is his divine form)? "
(Yaajnavalkya replying to Shaakalya)
" The truth (reality) "
Thus indeed is said. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 3.9.12.)
(Also refer to the verse 5.5.2 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad regardinng the sun, eye and the reality.)
12. The objective and subjective world.
As everything has originated from Consciousness and made of Consciousness we call the creator ' Universal Consciousness '. Consciousness has materialized as the universe. What all is created from Consciousness is also Consciousness. Every created entity is held in Universal Consciousness and lives in its own world made of Consciousness. Everything is first created in Consciousness, and this creation is called called sambhuuti---sam (duly or perfectly) + bhuuti (materialized, created). As per this creation or sambhuuti, or according to sambhuuti , we perceive the universe within us and in a unique manner as per our specific instincts. As we sense or feel as per sambhuuti so this sensing or feeling , or our perception is called anubhuuti. The word ' anu ' means ' accordingly, correspondingly, following'. Thus what we call a tree in the external, is the tree in sambhuuti, and from this tree, every individual gets the sense or the feeling of a tree, and this is anubhuuti. The word 'anu' also implies ' aNu ' meaning 'micro' or 'atomic'. In Ishopanishad, anubhuuti is mentioned as vinaasha, or 'destruction' as our feelings or perception is fleeting and mortal. Thus the external or the objective world is in fact the divinity or the divine world also called ' adhidaiva ' . adhidaiva = adhi (over, regulating over) daiva (the divinity) --the divinity which is over the mortal world, or the divinity which regulates the world. We are the subjects of those who live in the divine realm. The divinity or dyu is inhabited by the personalities of the Consciousness who know themselves as unending or infinite or beyond death. They are self-expressing. What we feel as external is actually this divinity or sambhuuti and is called 'objective world'. We as the subjects of divinity live in our respective subjective worlds.
13. Corresponding vision and corresponding existence.
The dimensional perceptions or visionary senses are called ' ruupa '. Anything that can be defined, that has a defined dimension or a form is called ' ruupa '. There is the word ' prati-ruupa ' corresponding to the word ' ruupa '. Whatever is there as ' ruupa ' in the objective world or external world (adhidaiva/sambhuuti), each and every such ' ruupa ' or the formation, or the object exists in the subjective world (anubhuti) or in the world of every individual.
The sun is ruupa and the eye is pratiruupa, the air is ruupa, and the skin, the lips (touch) are pratiruupa; the earth is ruupa and the physical body is prati-ruupa; the moon is ruupa and the mind (or our reflections) are prati-ruupa; water is ruupa and the sense of taste, satisfaction and sexuality are prati-ruupa; the directions are ruupa and the ears are prati-ruupa; the plants and vegetations are ruupa and the hairs are prati-ruupa. The earth sustains our existence (stability) and soma (lunar field) as the sap within the earth regulates the process of stability and nourishment by remaining inside the earth and this sap creates the scent of the soil, flowers, and herbs; this earth and soma are ruupa. The sense of smell that exists in our olfactory system is intimately related to the process of inhalation and exhalation i.e. to the circulation of air through the nostrils; this circulation provides the stability of us in the body like the diurnal rotation of the earth providing us the daily life. Thus earth and soma are ruupa and the sense of smell and secretions of glands, menstrual cycles, feelings of physical existence etc. are prati-ruupa. The words erupting from the tongue are the sparks of fire from within ( Consciousness or praaNa-agni ) and the flicker of the fire is the tongue. Thus everything in the macro has a corresponding form (prati-ruupa) in the micro. (These are not mere allegories; no one will be able to override this truth.)
Similar to the word prati-ruupa, there is another word which is ' pratiShThaa ' . Like ' prati-ruupa', which means ' the corresponding form ', ' pratiShThaa ' means ' prati-ShThiti ' or the 'corresponding existence'. We have already mentioned that the sense of vision is the source of the sense of reality and thus is the sap of the realized universe; it supports the firmness of existence and ensures that there is ground under the feet. Thus, in Upanishads, it is said that the eye is prati-ShThaa, or the sense that ensures we are firmly secured. So, eyes are related to the legs and feet by the act of motion and by the sense of secured status. Thus ' pratiShThaa ' also means 'foundation'. Thus in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, it is said, chakShurvai pratiShThaa-----the eye (vision) leads to the foundation (secured situation). (From Verse 6.1.3 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
In another verse, the deity of the eye or the personality of vision told the followings to the Eternal Consciousness or mukhya-praaNa, after realizing that 'vision' is a part of Eternal Consciousness or mukhya-praaNa:
yad vaa aham pratiShThaasmi tvaM tatpratiShTho'siiti chakShu. (Extract from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 6.1.14)
Word-word meaning
yad vaa (that what) aham asmi (I am) pratiShThaa (the security (in everyone))
tvaM (you) tat (that) pratiShThaH (security) asi (is) iti (thus/thus said) chakShu (eye).
iti -----(end of the statement).
Consolidated meaning
The sense of security (stability) that I am (in everyone), (it is) you (who) is (that) sense of security, thus said the eye. (Chandogya verse 5.1.3.)
The eye is also called chakShu meaning what is shining. The root verb ' chak ' means 'to shine', and the composite alphabet kSha means 'emission and decay' (like decaying and emission of a radioactive substance). So, chakShu also means the vision or the eye of the Consciousness that has shone the space ( kha ) and has been radiating time and space. Though Consciousness emits Consciousness, still Consciousness remains as it is, so Consciousness is infinite or un-ending (ananta). This unending, beyond decay and manifesting aspect of Consciousness or the eye of Consciousness is also called akShiti. akShi means eye and akShiti means the eye or the vision that radiates forever, or the one whose vision never decays. kShiti means the earth, the mortal, which decays. We will mention about akShiti later in this article, in the Section 101.
14. Ears and the eye-brows. The divine mind.
The ear is the seat of listening. As the vision works with motion i.e. as the eyes work with the feet, similarly, the ears work with the tongue, i.e., the act of speaking and the act of listening are a pair and they always coexist. Speaking and listening are the fundamental actions of Consciousness or praaNa. We always listen to whatever we speak. Speaking, expressing, or creating is always accompanied by the act of feeling, or knowing what is being created or expressed. This act of feeling or knowing what is being expressed or created is the act of listening '. The expression (vision, speaking) and listening are simultaneous. A word or any defined entity is like a body that contains the mind and feelings. Any expression is a rupa or a vision. rupa is the body or the shape and listening or shruti is the animated personality within.
Every event or every element of Consciousness is inherently a sound (shavda) and it is self-expressing, radiating the light or creating the vision. Thus, in this context, the light follows the sound. The curving eyebrows (bhruu) which extend towards the ears depict the motion of the light or vision following the sound. ( It is interesting to note that ' bruu ' means ' to speak' and ' bhruu ' means the ' eyebrows '. ) The junction of the eyebrows is the physical location of the mind. The mind has been described as the divine eye in Upanishad (Chandogya Upanishad verse.8.12.5)-----manaH (the mind is) asya (its/ soul's) daivaM (the divine) chakShuH (eye)-----the mind is the soul's divine eye. Mind is called manas or mana. The word maana means 'measure'. Mind or mana is the origin of anything that is measurable or that has a maana. Thus, the divine mind or the divine eye is existing behind the physical or perceptible universe. The consort of the personality of the divine mind called bramhaa is sarasvatii, and sarasvatii is called vishaala (vast) - akShi (eyed). vishaala - akShi means the one whose eye or the vision is vast, or in whose vision everything of the universe across time and space is visible. The sight of the divine mind cannot be blocked by time and space.
15. Ear and the directions.
Ears, as per modern science are the organs that detect the direction from which a sound is coming. The ear is also responsible to maintain our balance and static position. The liquid inside the ear and the associated mechanism maintain the balance. (Refer to <https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24340-inner-ear> , <https://www.school-for-champions.com/senses/hearing_direction.htm> , <https://www.vedantu.com/biology/role-of-the-ear-in-maintaining-the-body-balance> ).
The secured situation, stability, pratiShThaa, that we have described during the discussion on the eye and vision, has a bearing on directions. No one can be stable in a confined space or within a defined boundary unless there are directions acting on it. It is the directions that combine to make a shape or a defined space. The inclinations or the tendencies of the Consciousness are the directions and a space is created from directions. Every orientation of Consciousness or praaNa is a direction. Thus is Upanishad it is said, sarve dishaaH sarve praaNaH-----all directions are praaNa in all orientations (Extract from Verse 4.2.4 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
Thus, ear is called karNa. karNa= kRiH (work/doing) + aNa (ana)----the work or the change done, so praaNa or Consciousness becomes the directions or the corners. So, karNa means the seat of the corners or the directions. (Both the words karNa and corner imply 'direction'.)
16. Consciousness and the five senses (tanmaatraa) and five fundamental elements (tattva).
Any manifestation of Consciousness first happens in the form of sound. Any creation of sound in Consciousness is always associated with a direction or a gesture of Consciousness. In any manifestation of Consciousness, all the senses (i.e. hearing, touch, vision, taste, and smell) are involved. The stage next to the sound is touch or connectivity. Whenever a sound is created, it is a form of Consciousness, that gets disintegrated from the Oneness of Consciousness (also called aatman or the soul). Though disintegrated as a separate entity, it remains attached to the source and this attachment is the 'touch'. From where all the sound is generated is called vyoma or void, and also called aakaasha or sky (space). Touch (sparsha) is the air or vaayu. So, this voyam is felt as shavda or sound, and the air is felt as touch or sparsha. These two domains of Consciousness voyam (void) /shavda(sound) and vaayu(air) /sparsha (touch) are mentioned as the states beyond shape or dimensions. (Refer Verse 8.12.2 of Chandogya Upanishad, and Verse 2.3.3 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.). Upanishad has used the word ashariirii meaning without a body (shariira) with reference to vaayu (air) as well as its origin which is the void or aakaash (sky). Without a body means, not confined to or not limited by a specific boundary. Thus vaayu or air is also called marut meaning mRi (mortality) +ut (up/above) or 'above mortality'. So, obviously, these are the states of Consciousness before the formation of shape (ruupa) or vision, and this is why, while mentioning the five fundamental states of Consciousness toward the creation, the following sequence is maintained:
(i) shavda (sound) --voyam (void),
(ii) sparsha (touch)---marut (air/vaayu),
(iii) ruupa (vision) --- teja (radiance),
(iv) rasa (taste/sap) --- ap (water/acquirement/satisfaction),
(v) gandha (smell) --- kShiti (earth / a nourished and stationary state/ state of physicality).
17. Sound, Void, Directions, and Air. oM and praNava.
As Consciousness manifests from its Oneness as a separate entity, at first it becomes the word or the sound (shavda). Consciousness remains as it is, as the One, and still becomes a separate or second one. (Second means the unit of time as well as the duality. As the duality is created, the time or the regulation of Consciousness acts on it.) Thus there is now One and a second one, and so there is a difference, and this difference or separation is the void or vyoma. vyoma is the source of all the sounds. This One who becomes vyoma is called om (oM). Whoever has talked whatsoever and whenever it exists in vyoma. In which direction Consciousness will flow, and what Consciousness will become i.e. what will be created depends on the directions or the directive borne in Consciousness. So, directions become active along with the sound or manifestation of duality.
Consciousness as om (oM) mentioned above is also called praNava, as every manifestation of Consciousness is new or nava.
As the entities are created, they remain attached to the source and also to each other. This attachment is the divine air vaayu or the touch of Consciousness. vaayu is also called suutra (thread)-aatman (soul)---the soul or the Consciousness, by which everything is connected to each other.
vaayu the divine air, is also called pavana. pavana = puu + ana. The root verb puu means to 'flow' and also 'to purify'. As praaNa or air flows, it purifies. The regulation of Consciousness does not allow anything to be stagnant. The word vaayu, which also means air or the aspect of Consciousness as air, is from the root word vaay meaning to go and vaa meaning 'weaving'. This flow of praaNa or Consciousness has woven the universal network by which we are all connected.
18. Listening and orientation.
The directions are the sides or the wings of Consciousness. Our ears are placed on the two sides of our face while all other sensory organs are on the front of the face. The locations of the ears on the sides are strategic and this enables the determination of the direction of the sound. This is known as binaural hearing and you may read the content in the link < https://ehomerecordingstudio.com/binaural-hearing>. Most of the time, sound from an external source does not arrive at the two ears exactly at the same moment; there will be a difference in time in fractions of seconds. This enables the brain to recognize the direction of the source. However, if a situation arises, when the sound arrives at both ears at the same time, the brain sends the signal to orient our head slightly. This orientation is very fast and subtle and not noticeable to us, however, it is enough for the brain to determine the direction of the sound. Again, within ourselves, when we hear a sound or a word we immediately orient ourselves in our Consciousness and accordingly react to what we hear.
19. om, vyoma, and the directions.
Where all the words and their elements (alphabets) end in Oneness, then that One Consciousness is called om. When Consciousness steps out to become many, many sounds, many words, many entities, the first stage is vyoma. vyoma = vi +om +a. The word vi means difference, variety, manifold, etc., and is also connected to the word dvi meaning division, separation, etc. Thus when om becomes vyoma, directions (dish/dik) become active, i.e. the many inclinations of praaNa acting manifold appear.
Thus beyond every event, there is om, and so om is called anuj~naa akShara. anuj~naa means 'to permit'. akShara means 'who decays but still remains un-decayed'. kShara means 'to decay'. akShara also means ' alphabet'. Alphabets are the conscious expressions of the eternal soul akShara who unite to create a meaningful word or the perceptible universe. So, om or anuj~naa akShara is the primary word of Consciousness that permits or grants every event and every occurrence to happen. (Refer to Chandogya Upanishad Verse 1.1.8.) This granting permission creates the directions or directives.
20. shrotra and sampada ----the imprints of sound. shrotra and shrotriya.
Whenever we listen, we are imbued with whatever we listen to and this is absorbed by us and becomes our part. It becomes a mark, a print, like a footprint or a vestige. Thus it is said shrota vai sampat (sampad)---the faculty of hearing (shrotra) is accomplishment (sampat/sampad). (Refer verse 5.1.4 of Chandogya Upanishad.)
pada means foot or footstep, status, a mark, a vestige. sam means samyak or 'proper'. sampada means sam (proper) pada (status, accomplishment). The prints or impressions, status, is identified and remains as impressed or recorded, when listened. The identity of an entity or an event is known perfectly or completely if it's 'word form' is seen i.e. if it is duly listened. This listening happens in our inner sky or inner space, and as more and more we learn to perceive every object or an event as a formation of Consciousness in Consciousness, this inner sky gets revealed. So, this is veda (knowing) or shruti (listening). Every knowledge of the entity or its events start revealing including its past, future, associations, and its place in the divinity, as this true listening or shruti starts happening. So, this act of listening is acquiring wealth or rather the divine wealth. sampada also means wealth.
Thus, the seat of the wealth or sampada is the ear. Ear is called shrotra. shrotra = shru (to listen) +a+tra (to relieve, to rescue). Hence shrotra, the ear or the seat of listening rescues us from the 'ignorance' or the 'obscurity' of everything, and reveals the divinity of anything that is listened. A person capable of such listening is known as shrotriya.
It is said that, sraveshaaM (of all) shavdaanaM (the sounds) shrotam (the ear) eva ( indeed) eka (one/same/common)) ayana (way)----all the sounds indeed find their way in the (faculty of Consciousness) called the ear (shrotra). (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, extract from verse 4.5.12).
21. The luminous hearing; antarikSha and chandra (moon).
As the sun or aaditya is the eye of Consciousness, the luminous personality of vision, similarly the luminous personality of hearing or listening is the moon (chandra/chandramaa) or soma.
From the mind or the third eye (divine eye) in us, all defined senses or expressions are coming out. This tangible, perceptible, well-defined, physical universe is created in the state of Consciousness called the mind i.e. this physical universe is made of the words of Consciousness. (We have discussed the eye and the mind earlier in the previous sections of this article.) This (domain of vision) is the field of radiation, where the source radiates itself away from the source. This radiation is outward, toward creating duality, disintegrating into different entities. This has resulted in inflating, expanding universe. This radiation of the mind is described in the following verse (1.5.12 ) of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad :
atha (now) etasya (this) manaso (mind's) douH (divinity/heaven) shariiram (is the body) jyotii (luminous) ruupam (form) asou (that) aaditya (aaditya/ the sun); tad (that) yavad (as much) eva (as) manaH (the mind; the domain of the mind) taavatii (that much is) douH (the divinity; the domain of divinity) taavan (that much is) asou (that) aaditya (aaditya/the sun; the domain of aaditya/the sun) -----
Now this mind's body is the divinity (the self -expressing domain of Consciousness, creating duality), and the luminous form is that aaditya (sun); that as much as is the domain of the mind, that much is the domain of the divinity, and that much is the domain of aaditya (the sun). (Quoted from Verse 1.5.12 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
So, this mind of Consciousness is the divinity, the origin of the perceptible universe, and the sun or aaditya is its luminous form.
Next is said,
atha (now) etasya (this) praanasya (praaNa's) aapaH (aapa/water) shariiram (body), jyotii (luminous) ruupam (form) asou (that) chandraH (moon); tad (that) yavat (as much) eva (as) praNaH (praaNa/ domain of praaNa) taavatya (that much/that much is the domain of) aapaH (aapa/water), taavan (that much/ that much is the domain of) asou (that) chandraH------
Now this praaNa's aapa (water) is the body, luminous form is that chandra (moon); that as much is the domain of praaNa, that much is the domain of aapa (water), and that much is the domain of that chandra (moon). (Quoted from Verse 1.5.13 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
Here, in this verse, by praaNa is meant Consciousness who is in the 'middle domain', who is the 'inner world' of everyone, who is inside every entity.
aapa or water means the aspect of Consciousness that quenches the thirst, i.e. the Consciousness who is the satisfaction in everyone. The word aapti means 'acquirement, achievement, and the word aapa conveys this sense. This aapa is the personality of Consciousness as water and is the sense of accomplishment, the sense of satisfaction in everyone.
The illumined form of praaNa is the moon (chandra), who is the light of the inner plane or antariikSha. We are always bathed by our own feelings of love, joy, sorrow etc., or we are always wetted by whatever we listen. When we see a flower, we take it inside, we may like the flower, and express our feelings as 'how lovely is the colour or how sweet is the fragrance', we get wetted by these feelings. This is the illumination by the inner light. This light does not go out, it remains within.
Moonlight is called jyotsnaa (jyot+ snaa). snaa means 'to bathe'. snaana means 'bathing'. snaayu means 'nerve'. jyot means jyotii or light. In our inside, we are being bathed by the shower of praaNa, the shower of senses, the illuminated shower of conscious light that has kept us alive, and always flowing down on us.
The sun has originated from the vision or the eye of Consciousness. The moon has originated from the ear or the listening of Consciousness. The sun and moon in our planetary or terrestrial system are parts of the Sun and the Moon in Universal Consciousness. The moon takes the sunlight, absorbs a part, and reflects a part. Similarly whatever impulses come from outside or external, by that that we are illuminated in specific ways, the way the listening happens; we are illuminated by the listening, it imparts us the colour or it pigments us and also it imparts us the shine.
Whatever is coming from external, we sense it, feel it or get into it, when it lands in the inner plane. If the sight of a tree stimulates my sense of vision, it is stimulation or a sense that is coming from outside to inside. Outside or external space means whatever is beyond my reach. Similarly, if a thought occurs in me, it comes from an external space or it comes to me from a domain that is beyond my reach. So, this is the meaning of outside or external space and we have earlier described this as adhidaiva i.e. the divinity or the plane of the deities.
22. Veda and Shruti.
From Consciousness, both the action and the corresponding perception happen; this is the same as the creation of two fundamental directions, outward and inward, during any manifestation of Consciousness. Action is outward. The moment an action is created or Consciousness creates Consciousness in the form of an 'action', Consciousness moves outwardly or outward direction is generated; at the same time, the action starts returning to the origin, and this return is the perception and thus inward. This inward perception is listening or shruti. This is why veda is also called shruti. (Also see Section 20 above for veda and shruti.)
23. The listening entity and correspondingly listening entity----shrotra and praatishrutka puruSha
As the Universal Consciousness becomes many, Consciousness also knows or feels what Consciousness is becoming as a different entity by splitting from the state of absolute Oneness. This is why Consciousness is called jaata-vedaa. jaata-vedaa means the one who knows (veda) while the one generates (jaata).
So, as we are being created by the words of Consciousness, we are simultaneously being held in the listening of Consciousness. Thus this listening or the perception of sound is fundamentally the sky or void, whose feature is 'to hold'. This is also called vidhRiti shakti. dhRiti means 'holding'. shakti means faculty. 'vi' implies 'different or individual'. vidhRiti shakti means the faculty by which everyone is held in Consciousness with one's identity. The impression or vestige that we mentioned above (in Section 20) is due to this. This void is not inane, and this is Consciousness as void. We being created from Universal Consciousness, are also Consciousness or individual forms of Consciousness. Thus we are also listening to what we are at every moment of our existence. In our inside, in the inner -sky, at every moment, at every manifestation of senses like sound, touch, vision, etc., we are being created as a new soul or individual. Each listening of ours follow what Universal Consciousness is listening. We are prati-shrutka (correspondingly listening) puruSha (entity) and Universal Consciousness is shrotra (listening) puruSha (entity). Here is a quote from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Verse 3.9.13):
aakaasha (the sky/ether) eva (indeed) yasyaa (whose) aayatanam (body) -----the sky indeed is whose body
shrotram (the ear/ the act of listening) lokaH (abode; world)-----whose world is that of listening
manaH (mind) jyotiH (light of formation)-----mind is whose light (eye)
yaH vai (the one who) tam (that) purushaM (entity/ being) vidyaat (knows) sarvasya (of everyone's) aatmanaH (the soul) paraayanam (the ultimate destination)-----the one who knows that being who is the ultimate destination of everyone's soul
sa (the one) vai (indeed) veditaa (knower) syaad (is)----the one indeed is the knower
yaaj~navalkya -----hey Yaajnavalkya !
veda (know) vaa (certainly) ahaM (I) taM (that) puruShaM (being)----I certainly know the being
sarvasya (of all) aatmaanaH (souls) para (ultimate/final) ayaaNaM (destination) ----- (who) is the final destination of all the souls
yam (about whom) aattha (you are talking)------about whom you are talking
ya eva (who is) ayaM (this) shautraH (listening) praatishutkaH (correspondingly listening) puruShaH (being) ----who is this 'listening and correspondingly listening' being
sa (it/that being) eSha (this)----that being is this
vada (ask) iva (further) shaakalya (Shaakalya)----ask further Shaakalya
tasya (its/ that being's) kaa (who) devata iti (is the deity/the divine form)----who is the deity of that being (what is the divine form of that being)
disha ------(the direction)
iti ha (thus it is) uvaacha (said)-----Thus it is said
Consolidated meaning
(The sage Shaakalya is speaking:) (The being) whose domain indeed is the sky, whose world is that of listening, whose mind is light (eye), and the one who knows this being who is the ultimate destination of everyone's soul, the one (who knows this being) indeed is the knower; hey Yajnavalkya !
(The sage Yajnavalkya responding:)
I certainly know the being who is the final destination of all the souls, about whom you are talking, it is this 'listening and correspondingly listening being'; that is this being. Ask further Shaakalya.
(Sage Shakaalya is asking:)
Who is the deity (the divine form) of that being)?
(The sage Yajnavalkya answering:) The direction. (The personality of Consciousness that is 'direction'.)
Thus it is said (by Yajnavalkya). (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 3.9.13.)
24. The southward Consciousness (dakShiNa-agni).Water and direction-----fluids in the ear canal and sense of balance. soma.
Now, the personality of Consciousness called chandra/chandramaa or the moon is mentioned as the being in the lunar sphere or dakShiNa-agni. The word dakShiNa means 'south' and is thus related to the divine regulator or the deity whose domain is the south. This deity is yama who is the god of death and yama means 'regulation'. The regulation of our evolution is controlled in this southern domain or by the act of Consciousness or praaNa who is southernly or southward, toward the south (dakShina). So, this aspect of praaNa-agni or Consciousness is also called dakShiNa-agni. We have earlier described how we get our own pigments, colours, and shine from the internal light or moonlight (jyotsnaa). This moonlight that we have described is the light from dakShina-agni, and by this aspect of Consciousness, we assimilate. When we eat food it nourishes us along with our physical system or the body. The subtle parts of the foods go (i) to our mind (manas/ where we either resolve or withdraw to be active or not to be), (ii) to our plane of feelings (praaNa), and (iii) to our plane of instincts/ radiant plane (vaak). (Refer Chandogya Upanishad Verse 6.5.1, 6.5.2 and 6.5.3). This happens to the food we eat, and this happens to whatever we feel, whatever we sense. This happens all the time in our conscious activities. Thus this activity of dakShina-agni builds us, and also is known as anva-aharya-pachana-agni ------anva (alongside)-aharya (food)-pachana (digestion)-agni (fire/Consciousness/praaNa). We have mentioned later in this text about the seven hues or seven flames that are formed in our inner sky when we eat, and when the food is assimilated. It is mentioned that praaNa or Consciousness as samaana leads the offered (eaten) foods into sameness (samam) or to the state of assimilation, which means the integration of foods in our subtle parts, and then the seven flames/hues (sapta archiSho) are formed. (Refer to Verse 5.3 of Prashnopanishad.)
This assimilation or integration happens by the lunar plane. It is for this reason, even now also, many Hindus will not eat certain foods during certain phases of the moon.
So, this domain of anva-aharya-pachana-agni or dakShiNa-agni is the same as that of the domain of 'listening'. We have explained in the earlier section that, by the process of listening we are getting transformed and evolving.
In the inner ears of our bodies, there are canals and organs filled with liquid which enables our sense of balance/direction, and also passes the signals of sounds to the brain. There is an intimate relation between the ap/apa or the water-form of Consciousness to the sense of direction. If you note, in the earlier days, the sailors were navigating using the location of stars. Whatever may be an instinct in a man, a custom in a society, or a practice in a community, is intimately related to the laws of Consciousness. In Upanishad, it is stated that ap/aapa (water-form of Consciousness), directions (disha), stars/constellations (nakShtra) and moon (chandrama ,chandra) are the four forms or spread (bodies) of dakShiNa-agni /anva-aharya-pachana-agni or dakShiNa-agni. (Refer Chandogya Upanishad, Verse 4.12.1.)
The overflowing silver light pouring down from the moon on the earth is the same as the illumination in our inner sky and in antariikSha. The absolutely unrestricted fountain of consciousness that is coming out of the mirth of Consciousness in its spontaneity, keeping all animated and conscious, flowing everywhere as the sap of life, is soma. This soma is the sap of life in every being and the source of joy in every entity and at every level of life and creation. soma means saha om ---along with om. soma also means saha umaa----with ' umaa '. ' umaa ' means the Consciousness who is the ' maatraa ' or the measure of ' ut ' or the measure of the domain above (ut) the mortality. So, this ' soma ' is the joy or the sap of Consciousness not tainted by limitations and mortality. This ' soma ' is apportioned by the regulation of ' dakShiNa-agni ', by ' ap ' (water), ' nakShatra ' (constellations), ' disha ' (directions), and ' chandramaa ' (moon). The moon in our sky is the physical centre of ' soma ' with respect to us or with respect to the earth. This is why the joy of life is scaled among the creatures and among the beings in the different domains of Consciousness. (Refer Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.33 describing the scales of joy.)
The flow of Consciousness which is being directed to us from the moon or the lunar domain, and which has kept us animated and conscious all the time, has illumined our inside and this is the 'domain of listening' also.
In Upanishad, the term used for the star is in plural form, i.e. nakShatraani which is the plural form of nakShatra or star. The 'stars' or ' nakShatraani ' imply the constellations. nakShatra means the beings who are na (without) kShata (wounds/decay), i.e. the divine personalities; or who are relieved from all wounds or decay----na (no) +kSha (decay/wounds---kShata)+ tra (relief-----traaNa). The Sanskrit word ' nak ' means the night and is related to 'noc' in the English word 'nocturnal' and also related to 'nox' in the word 'equinox'. Also the Sanskrit root verb 'nax' as well as ' nakSh ' means ' to come near, to approach. The stars are called ' nakShatra ' as they appear (or become visible) in the sky when the night (nak/ nakta) approaches. Thus, nakShatra also means, nakSh +tra, i.e. as the night approaches (nakSh) the stars (nakShatra) are revealed (tra----relieved). As the sun sets, i.e. as the glare of Consciousness by which we remain awake and oriented outward disappears, the night approaches and the stars or nakShatra appear. (Night is the time or type of 'time' that leads us to the 'inner world' or 'inner-space'.)
These stars, these divine personalities, or the members of the regulators of divinity or soma, arrange themselves in configurations to infuse us with divinity or with consciousness in measured manner. This regulation makes our destiny, this decides how will be the joys and sorrows, life events, and achievements of every individual, of every entity in the universe.
Thus from the constellations or nakShatra, the dish/dik or our directions are formed. According to the formation of directions, the water or the drink of life, the sap of life that is immediately behind our physical or external forms is created. The water/sap is ap / aapa in Sanskrit and is the form of Consciousness who is aapti or acquirement or achievement in everyone, in every being, and is the sense of satisfaction in everyone. Our physical formation is based on how or what we have acquired or are acquiring in our Consciousness. (It is noteworthy that we as embryos grow in the water bag.)
So, the way soma the streams of Consciousness or the streams of nectar, which is flowing out of Consciousness as the lunar centre or the moon (chandramaa), is regulated for distribution by the constellations (nakSahtra; plural---nakSahtraani), and then channeled through the directions (dik/dik), and finally landing in the water or ap/ aapa, and this decides our destiny. This is the world of regulations by Consciousness, the world of the inner plane, and dominated by dakShiNa-agni who is seen in the moon or chandramaa. This is also the domain that executes our evolution, our integration (assimilation) in Oneness of Universal Consciousness, and thus this is the domain of listening or shruti. If you plug the ear holes, you hear the rumbling sound of the burning fire, and this is the sound of dakshiNa-agni whose warmth you feel when you touch your body. (Refer toVerse 3.13.8 of Chandogya Upanishad.)
25. Significance of the word dakShiNa.
The word dakShiNa is from the word 'dakSh' meaning ' to grow, to prosper' and the related word 'dakSha' means 'dexterous, adroit etc.' Consciousness is working adroitly to change us and keep us evolving. 'dakShiNa-agni' is the domain of karma and associated regulations and consequent growth of us toward realization of our eternal entity. This is why 'dakSh' means to grow and 'daakShiNya' means the virtue of being bountiful. Whatever we eat, we drink, we sense or feel, whatever we do, through us they go to our Consciousness as offerings and we are also nourished or processed simultaneously. This is why the offering or donation to the priest is called 'dakShiNaa'.
We are being regulated by the act of 'dakShiNa-agni' through our karma, and this is the act of the divine personality named yama or the lord of death. yama or the deity of death is the covering-deity of eternity. We crave to be for ever with the for-ever joy because we die, and this keeps us alert that we have to attain eternity. yama is the celebrated preacher of 'Eternal Soul' and his sayings are captured in ' Kathopanishad----kaThopaniShad'. Thus the world of 'justice' is the domain of yama. So, the English word 'right' means 'a right or correct thing, what is justified' and also it means 'right or control on the things'; 'right' also means the 'south side' or dakShiNa (south) dik (direction).
26. Touch (sparsha) and Air
The Sanskrit word for the feeling of touch is sparsha. vaayu is the divine form of 'air' and is the divine personality of 'touch'. Physical air and gases are physical parts of vaayu. vaayu means the Consciousness who is touching every entity and thus has kept everyone connected to everyone. vaayu is beyond the confinement created by dimensions; vaayu or the air also implies a rarefied state. Because of this characteristic of being ' rare', I think, the English word 'sparse' and the Sanskrit word sparsha (touch----the property of air) are related.
The essence of touch is that, during touch something different gets in contact with the self or soul. Thus, when I touch a thing, it is different but still in me. This is the difference between the Soul and praaNa. In the Soul, it is oneness only, nothing different. As the Soul tends to create, the Soul emerges as praaNa. In praaNa, it is duality held in Oneness. So, as Consciousness becomes praaNa to create many, the separate entities being created are held in praaaNa or Consciousness as praaNa's own manifestation. So, in praaNa, One and duality co-exist and this is characteristic of praaNa as well as that of 'sparsha ' or 'touch'.
(For the etymological meaning of the word sparsha refer to the Section 38 below.)
27. Touch and the vision.
The vision happens after the touch. Thus the sequence is first shavda (sound), next sparsha (touch), and after that ruupa (vision). First contact is made and then the vision is formed. Vision is like flaring up by the touch. If two wires with opposite electrical charges touch each other, they create a spark. As the words are the forms of Consciousness, the relationships and the similarities among the words provide clues to many secrets. So, I find these related words: 'spash' as well as 'pash' means ' to see' and the word 'spaShTa' means, 'what is clearly visible'; the word 'sparsha' means 'touch'.
It is interesting to note that the word 'sparsha (touch)' has some similarity in sound with the English word 'spark', similarly the words 'tvach (touch)' and 'torch', are similar in sound. Thus, it looks like that the origin of these words is probably based on the fact that the sense of vision originates from that of touch.
28. Touch and the flow (air). Primary flaccidity.
Any action in Consciousness means 'knowing'. Consciousness becomes many by knowing itself as many. This knowing itself as different from itself creates the flow between the One (creator) and the duality that is created. This is flow, and this is the swelling, growing or expansion of the One. This is described by the number 1-1/2 (one and half) in Upanishad. 1-1/2 means the one who is growing, swelling and inflating, creating many, as well as holding the halves or the fragmentation of One in One itself. This is the fundamental of flow of vaayu the divine air or the flow of Consciousness. This also explains the inherent connectivity and coordinated network we observe in the universe. Thus vaayu is called suutra-aatmaan----the soul (aatman) of all threads (suutra). This is why our body remains taut and well-coordinated as long as we live in the body. When we depart from the body, it becomes slack, a phenomenon known as primary flaccidity. We are providing some references to the verses in Upanishads on the above subject, and we are quoting a few verses below:
(a) Verses on growing or expansion.
(Extract from verse 3.9.8 and 3.9.9 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
(Question): katamaH (who is) adhi ardha (one and half) iti (iti denotes the end of the statement) ---who is the one and half?
(Answer): yaH (who) ayam (this) pavata (flows) iti (iti denotes the end of the statement)-- this, who flows
(Question): katama (who) ekaH (one) deva (deity) iti (iti denotes the end of the statement)----who is the deity One?
(Answer): praNa iti------it is praaNa.
(Question): tad (that; about that) aahuH (said), yad (when) ayam (this) eka (one) iva (as if) pavate (flows), atha (then) katham (how) adharydha (adhi [over and above]) ardha [ half ]; one and half) iti---About that it is said, when it flows as if it is one, then how it is one and a half !
(Answer) yad (since) asmin (in it) idaM (these) sarvam (all) adhi (surpassingly) aardhnot (grow) tena (by that reason) adhi ardha (one and a half) iti (iti denotes the end of the statement)----since all these surpassingly grow in it, it is called one and a half.
Consolidated meaning
(Extract from verse 3.9.8 and 3.9.9 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
(Question): Who is the one and half?
(Answer): This, who flows.
(Question): Who is the deity One?
(Answer): It is praaNa.
(Question): About that it is said, when it flows as if it is one, then how it is one and a half?
(Answer): Since all these surpassingly grow in it, it is called one and a half.
(b) Verse on the 'thread / suutra' and primary flaccidity
(Extract from verse 3.7.2 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
vaayuH (vaayu) vai (indeed) gautama (Hey Gautam) tad (that) suutram (thread)---Hey Gautam, vaayu indeed is that thread
vaayuana (by vaayu) vai (indeed) gautama (Gautam) suutreNa (thread) ayam (this) cha lokaH (world) paraH cha (and other) lokaH (world) sarvaaNi cha (and all) bhuutani (existing/entities) samdRibdhaani bhavanti (are tied together) iti ( iti denotes the end of the statement)---- Gautam, by the thread vaayu, this world and the other world, and all that exists are tied together
tasmaad vai (this is why) gautama (Gautama) purushaM (to the person/about the person) pretam (deceased) aahuH (is said) vi-asraMsiShata (flaccid) asya (his/her) an~Ngani (body members) iti (iti denotes the end of the statement)-----this is why, Gautama, about the deceased person it is said that his/her body-members have become flaccid
Consolidated meaning
Hey Gautama, vaayu indeed is that thread. Gautama, by the thread vaayu, this world and the other world, and all that exist are tied together; this is why, Gautama, about the deceased person it is said that his/her body-members have become flaccid. (Extract from verse 3.7.2 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
Whether it is a space-time fabric, or the network of the nerves, or interconnecting veins and arteries, the lattice of the crystals, fabric of a race or a cast, or the fabric of a dress material, or the coordinated universe, all are within the domain of this suutra-aatman or the Consciousness who has tied everything in a universal mesh beyond the reach of our mind.
29. Proliferation and branching.
Consciousness is growing and surpassing all by the desire. In the beginning Consciousness desired to become many from one---sa (he/Consciousness) aikShata (desired) vahu (many) shyaam (become myself) prjaayeyeti (generate)------Consciousness desired, 'let me generate myself as many'. (Quoted from Verse 6.2.3 of Chandogya Upanishad). So, Consciousness is called brahma. brahma is from the root word bRiMh. bRiMh means to grow and brahma means who is growing, surpassing all. We are growing, from childhood to adulthood, and so on. We are reproducing. Our generations are growing. Our body cells are generating. The universe is growing and inflating. Proliferation, branching off, connecting, and communicating are the inherent nature of praaNa or Consciousness. Any branch is called shaakhaa in the Vedas, be it a branch of a tree, that of a vein, or that of a race. 'shaas' means 'to regulate'. The word 'shaasana' means 'regulation, administration'. shaasana = shaas (to regulate) + ana (praaNa, Consciousness)-----the regulation by praaNa. So, the word shaakhaa (branch) means, shaa (shaas----order, command)+ kha (space/void) + a (appearance, form)-----the domain or the wing of a specific regulation by Consciousness. So, the Vedas have several shaakhaa or schools. This universe is like a vast tree growing countless branches in all directions and for ever, the tree is having its roots upward and branches downward. (See Section 85, below.)
30. Body hair (loma,loman). Marriage.
The body hairs respond to feelings; they stand when we feel cold, fear, or other excitement. This is known as horripilation. Body hair is called loma or loman. The nature of horripilation denotes whether it is from fear or joy, or it is due to a specific feeling. Thus there is the word anu-loma which means that the flow of air or Consciousness corresponding to a touch or contact is as desired or in the right way. If it is in an adverse or opposite manner it is called prati-loma or vi-loma. A marriage between a man and a woman is considered prati-loma if the marriage does not lead to a healthy transfer of the traits of the father or the ancestors into the offspring.
31. kesha----hair on the head.
The hair on the head is called kesha. These hairs on the head represent our instincts, whose physical location is within our brain. The hairs (also the nails) are the terminals and are made of dead cells. These hairs are sprouting from the skin or sparsha (touch). In Chandogya Upanishad (Verse 2.22.3), it is stated that, sarve (all) sparshaa (touch; consonant sounds produced by the touch of tongue to the parts of mouth, or by the touch of the lips) mRityoH (death's) aatmaanaH (offsprings; belong to the death)---all the acts of touch belong to the deity of death. As the duality starts with touch, so all touch is in the domain of the deity of death who covers the imperishable Oneness to make the duality (or the difference from Oneness) prominent for the sake of creation.
Hair = kesha = ka (where is) + iisha (the regulator)---where is the regulator? These kesha, the hairs on the head (brain) have covered the head , as if it has covered the regulator; so it is kesha (= where is the regulator?).
32. hRiShii-kesha
The word hRiShii-kesha is a name of viShNu, who is the divine personality of praaNa. We have mentioned about viShNu in the section 11 above. The seat of viShNu is said to be in the heart, the centre of our feelings. The abode of viShNu is called vaikunTha. vaikuNTha means vigata (gone) kuntha (sluggishness, hindrance)--the place where there is no hindrance; when there is a relationship of heart, there is no hindrance.
hRi means the heart or hRidaya. hRiSh means ' to express rapture'. hRiShii-kesha means the divine one in the heart from whom the streams (hairs, kesha) of raptures are splitting out as flows from the heart. (Shii denotes splitting.) These streams of the heart have been described as the flow of One who is the sense or the knowledge within our senses, and who has illumined our heart, and who is our Soul. These streams are called hitaa and has been mentioned as subtle as the fragment of a hair split in thousands. We have narrated hitaa, in later part of this article, in the Section 70 below.
We are quoting below a comment of king Duryodhana (duryodhana) of Mahabharata to the lord kRiShNa who is regarded as the incarnation of viShNu:
jaanaami (knowing) dharmam (what is right) na (no) cha (even) me (mine) pravRittir (inclination)-- Even knowing what is right, there is no inclination of mine to it
jaanamyadharmam (knowing what is not right) na (no) cha (even) me (mine) nivRittiH (wish to abstain from)----even knowing what is wrong there is no abstinence of mine from it
tvyaa (by you) hRiShiikesha (hRiShii-kesha) hRidi (in the heart; within the heart) sthitena (dwelling/staying)-----By you Hrishikesha (hRiShiikesha) while staying in my heart
yathaa (as) niyutktaH (driven) asmi (I am) tathaa (so) karomi (I perform)----as I am driven, so I will perform.
Consolidated meaning
Even knowing what is right, there is no inclination of mine to it; even knowing what is wrong there is no abstinence of mine from it.
As I am driven by you, while you dwell within my heart Hrishikesha (hRiShiikesha), so I perform!
33. Etymologies of the words tvach and tvak.
tvak or tvach is the skin or the seat of touch in us. *tvak = tv(a) + ak; tvach = tv(a) +ach; *tva is the base of the second personal pronoun (*you); ak means 'to move tortuously'; ach means to make curve (arch), to make round, to adorn or dress. Thus tvak, tvach or the skin is the thing by which you are 'bound', you are 'dressed or covered'.
(*The second person, tva ('you'), is created only when 'touch(tvach) is created.)
Earth is the body and the atmosphere is the skin. Beyond the atmosphere, is the outer space, and beyond our skin is the external world or the external space. (In reality, our body is a part of the external world or the earth; our body is actually external to us.)
The word tva which means 'you' or which is the second personal pronoun, implies that the first person praaNa or vaayu yokes or embraces the second person who is created from praaNa.
Consciousness who is one and only one, and, so is called the Soul, becomes praaNa or animated/activated/self-initiated, as Consciousness tends to become many or about to create duality. The difference or the gap between the one, and the second so created is the space or void, or aakaasha. Like everything, this void or aakaasha is held in the knowledge of Consciousness and is thus conscious, and not inane.
It is said by the seer in Upanishad, that like the skin binding the body, when a human being knows that he/she is embraced by the sky/void, he/she gets relieved of all the distress. We quote the verse below and this verse reveals the consequence of the realization of what is touch.
yadaa charmavadaakaashaM veShTayaiShanti maanavaaH
tadaa devamvij~naaya dUHkasyaanto bhaviShyati. (Verse 6.20 of Shvetasvatara Upanishad.)
Word -word meaning
yadaa (when) charma (skin) vad (like) aakaashaM (the sky) veShTayaiShanti (embraces/covers) maanavaaH (the human beings)----when the sky embraces the human beings like the skin (over the body)
tadaa (then) devam (the deity) avij~naaya (not knowing) dUHkasya (of the sorrow) anto (end) bhaviShyati (will happen)-----then end of the sorrows due to not knowing the deity will happen
Consolidated meaning.
When the sky embraces human beings like the skin (over the body), then the end of the sorrows due to not knowing the deity will happen. (Verse 6.20 of Shvetasvatara Upanishad.)
It is the same void or sky everywhere. The feeling of the sky within or the feeling of the inner sky is extremely blissful and not comparable with any pleasure that we experience in mortal existence. Many enlightened souls fail to lead the normal household life or the daily chores, when they start experiencing this sky.
34. Hands and the flanks.
Spreading, pervading, flowing or moving are all characteristics of the air or the Consciousness who is in us as 'touch'. The word for side or flank is paarshva in Sanskrit. paara means the other side or the bank, edge. shva means time or regulation of praaNa or the regulation by time, like the word shvaasa means breathing or the regulation by praaNa. The word sva means aatman or the soul, and shva means the 'time' or 'regulation'. (A dog is also called shva or shvan because of its obedience or attachment to the regulations, or for its obedience to its master.) paarshva means the direction or the directive that takes us to the other side or to the desired destination.
So, from paarshva or the flanks originate the organs by which we work to reach our goal, by which we swim to reach the bank, by which we walk, by which the birds fly, and the fishes swim i.e. the hands, legs, wings, fins and similar organs by which we reach the destination or reach what we desire. By the hands we work to implement what we determine. By hand means, by Consciousness who drives us to touch and work.
35. Hand (hasta, baahu).
Hand is hasta in Sanskrit. The alphabet ha is the last guttural consonant of Sanskrit alphabet and indeed it denotes the end or 'annihilation'. Sanskrit verb 'han' means 'to kill' or 'to destroy' and the alphabet 'ha' means 'sky' as well as the number zero. 'haMsa' means swan and it is the bird or career of the goddess sarasvatii who is the goddess of the words. Her colour is white because she is expressing positivity, defined and expressed forms of mind or defined words. From where, she or vaak is coming out, there it is void, no particular sound is there, and it is the sky or haM. Thus, haMsa = haM (sky) +saH (it)---it is sky, it is goddess vaak who as nothing-ness is becoming everything! She is carrying herself from her void form to create the perceptible universe, which is the domain of white sarasvatii. As vaak (i.e. before expression) she is neela (blue) sarasvatii at one end and white sarasvatii (expressed words) at the other end.
As hand is our tool for the implementation of something that we desire or determine, and touch. Some thing that is in my mind or inner space (ha), that is converted into an activity, work and executed in the external space (ha) by the hand. So, hand implies, has (haH---space/sky)+ ta (tad---this, this world)----whatever it is in ha or haM in my inner sky, it is implemented or made in the external space by hand.
The alphabet string sta is also used to denote a 'state'; a frightened state is trasta i.e. who is looking for tra or rescue/protection. A laid down state is nyasta, i.e. something that is led into a particular situation or state; the root verb nii meaning to lead, to bring into a state or condition. grasta means 'seized' or 'obsessed' and is from the root word gRih meaning 'seizing'. Thus hasta means seized by ha or haM, and thus it creates all that is hidden in the void, in haM.
Thus, these two hands are endowed with the features of expression, i.e. expression of Consciousness. So, we create or work by hand. As explained before, all work, and activities originate from the desire and touch. Thus the touch and work or expressions are established in the hands. A hand is also called 'baahu' which originates from the word 'bahu' meaning 'many or numerous'. Whatever we do, we do it in our Consciousness or knowledge. We live in a world made of Consciousness. That we live in Consciousness, that we do in Consciousness, means we become what we do or feel. This is happening in every moment in our inside. To know means to become. Thus we are becoming new or a different personality at every moment or we are becoming many (bahu). This is why a hand is also called 'baahu'. It is noteworthy that the digits or the fingers are inherently connected with our numerical senses and abilities to count, i.e. to multiplicity.
36. Hand as paaNi.
The Sanskrit word paaNi also means a hand. This word has originated from the root verb paN meaning 'to trade, to barter, to stake, to negotiate'. (I am sure that the English word 'pawn' and 'pawn shop' has a connection here.) Give and take which is a nature of the heart, also happens through the use of hands. The logic behind acceptance or rejection is associated with the process of giving or taking, accepting or forsaking. In fact, the Sanskrit word paNDita meaning 'learned' has its root in paN. Thus, paaNi (hand) grahaNa (accepting)---accepting the hand or the offer, means getting engaged in a marriage.
Etymologically the word paNDita means someone who is a scholar (pundit) in logical arguments or matters. In our Consciousness or in our work, we are always trading, accepting and rejecting, reasoning and concluding with logic. Each such conscious personality is a paNi. paNi refers to the tradesmen or trading communities in Vedas.
37. The paNi community of Veda, the divine dog named saramaa, and indra the king of heaven.
There was a Vedic community called paNi who were fierce tradesmen and they were hoarding cows.
The Sanskrit word for a cow is ' go' and it actually means the organs by which we move around or pasture. Through our movements or activities in Consciousness, we grow and evolve. This is pasturing the cows.
We have explained hand or paaNi above. paaNi means, not only the hands but also the functionary and sensing organs, with which we are always active or engaged in work. Thus, in each of us, in our world of Consciousness, there exist so many working personalities, called paNi, each related to an activity and consequent gains. In fact, Consciousness has driven us to work, and we as forms of Consciousness are working. Consciousness as paNi has driven us into physical work or mortal work and we are not aware that this mortality is an extension of divinity, created in divinity. Thus our cows are now captured by paNi, and our faculties are now limited by the boundaries or by physical laws.
We have explained earlier in Section 34 of this article that shva or shvan means 'time, regulation', as well as 'dog'. (This is somewhat similar to the words 'dog' and 'dogma'.) saramaa is the 'divine dog' and is female. She is regarded as the mother of dogs. saramaa means saha (along with) ramate (enjoys, rejoices). This means, in our every moment, divinity exists and participates. Thus, saramaa, as the messenger of indra, urged paNi to return the cows, or return the herds to divinity. indra is idam (this, it) + dra (drasHtrI----observer)-----the observer of all observations, or the observer within all the observers. Our vision, hearing, touch etc., are all parts of indra's vision, hearing, touch etc. Consciousness as the universal observer is indra . In indra, in divinity, the faculties, the vision, the touch, the hearing etc. are unlimited and unending, not tarnished by the limitation and abruption by mortality. Thus, saramaa, (the divine hound of indraa) was urging paNi to return the cows and horses, the cattle.
These cattle in the possession of paNi are trapped in mortality.
(You may refer to the hymns in Tenth maNdala, Ninth anuvaak, One hundred and eighth sukta -- of Rik Veda ((Rik veda verses 10.9.108))
I quote below a translation of the above hymns by Sir. Ralph T.H. Griffith,:
(It may be noted that where the word ' cattle 'has been used in the translation quoted below, the corresponding original Vedic word is 'go' which means 'cow'. go means our organs. Further in the translations the word 'kine' has been used for 'cows'. Also, in the translation 'horse' is mentioned. The word for 'horse' is 'ashva' in Sanskrit, and this word is also related to the word 'shva' meaning regulation of time or Consciousness. ashva means the flowing or running Consciousness in our functions, or Consciousness who is functioning within our organs, and pulling us along the time.)
(Quote.)
1. WHAT wish of Sarama hath brought her hither? The path leads far away to distant places.
What charge hast thou for us? Where turns thy journey? How hast thou made thy way o'er Rasa's waters.
2. I come appointed messenger of Indra, seeking your ample stores of wealth, O Panis.
This hath preserved me from the fear of crossing: thus have I made my way o'er Rasa's waters.
3. What is that Indra like, what is his aspect whose envoy, Sarama, from afar thou comest?
Let him approach, and we will show him friendship: he shall be made the herdsman of our cattle.
4. I know him safe from harm: but he can punish who sent me hither from afar as envoy.
Him rivers flowing with deep waters bide not. Low will ye be, O Panis, slain by Indra.
5. These are the kine which, Sarama, thou seekest, flying, O Blest One, to the ends of heaven.
Who will loose these for thee without a battle? Yea, and sharp-pointed are our warlike weapons.
6. Even if your wicked bodies, O ye Panis, were arrow-proof, your words are weak for wounding;
And were the path to you as yet unmastered, Brhaspati in neither case will spare you.
7. Paved with the rock is this our treasure-chamber; filled full of precious things, of kine, and horses.
These Panis who are watchful keepers guard it. In vain hast thou approached this lonely station.
8. Rsis will come inspirited with Soma, Angirases unwearied, and Navagvas.
This stall of cattle will they part among them: then will the Panis wish these words unspoken.
9. Even thus, O Sarama, hast thou come hither, forced by celestial might to make the journey.
Turn thee not back, for thou shalt be our sister: O Blest One, we will give thee of the cattle.
10. Brotherhood, sisterhood, I know not either: the dread Angirases and Indra know them.
They seemed to long for kine when I departed. Hence, into distance, be ye gone, O Panis.
11. Hence, far away, ye Panis! Let the cattle lowing come forth as holy Law commandeth,
Kine which Brhaspati, and Soma, Rsis, sages, and pressing-stones have found when hidden.
(Unquote.)
38. Joining the hands, yoking the cattle,yajur veda.
Yajur Veda (yajur veda) is related to vaayu, the Consciousness that has kept everyone joined and has spread everywhere by branching off.
Here we quote the sixth hymn of Shukla (shukla) Yajur Veda (yajur veda) below:
kaH (who) tvaa (you) yunakti (unites/yokes)------who unites you
sa (he) tvaa (you) yunakti (yokes)-----he unites you
kasmai (what for) tvaa (you) yunakti ( (he)yokes)----what for he yokes you?
tasmai (for that) tvaa (you) yunakti ( (he)yokes)-----for that he yokes you
karmaNe (for the work) vaam (you two)----- you two for the work
veShaya (for the merging) vaam (you two)-----you two for merging
Consolidated meaning
Who unites you?
He unites you.
What for he yokes you?
For that he yokes you.
You two for the work.
You two for merging.
Whenever any sense, any feeling occur in me, I as a part of the Consciousness, become its observer. I see it, I know it, I feel it, I get attached to it. This happens by Consciousness or praaNa in me, by whom I get united.
Why thus I get attached, why am I yoked? Because, every moment or every event in me has its root in my karma or has its root in what I have already desired and what I have already done. However, whatever it is, the moments and events are coming to take me back to my eternal form, to my form who is the soul of the universe, who regulates the universe, and by whom the universe is made.
Who are the two? They are an inseparable pair; they are called akShara and kShara. akShara means the eternal, immutable soul, who does not perish. kShara means who is emitted from akShara and who decays or who is regulated by time. At every moment, in our Consciousness, we are being emitted as a new personality, as a unique kShara from our soul (who is also the soul of everyone) and who never decays (akshara).
Upanishad has described these two entities as the two birds, perching on conjoined branches of the same tree; one of them is eating a tasty fruit,; the other bird does not eat and keeps looking at the one eating. We are quoting the verse below:
dvaa suparNaa sayujaa sakhaayaa samaanam vRikShaM pariShasvajaate
tayoornayaH pippalaM svaadvattyanashnannanyo abhichaakashiiti. (Mundaka Upanishad, Verse 3.1.1)
Word-word meaning
dvaa (two) suparNaa (birds) sayujaa (conjoined) sakhaayaa (branches) samaanam (same) vRikShaM (tree) pariShasvajaate (embracing)
tayoH (among them) anayaH (the other) pippalaM (fruit named pippala) svaadu (tasty) atti (eating) anashnan (without eating) ananyaH (the other) abhichaakashiiti (looks on).
Consolidated meaning
The two birds are embracing (perching on) the conjoined branches of the same tree.
Among them, one is eating the tasty Peepal fruit and the other without eating looks on (at the another). (Mundaka Upanishad, Verse 3.1.1)
In the above verse, ' conjoined branches on the same tree' means branches belonging to the same soul.
A tree is called vRiksha; vRiksha = vRi> bRi (growing) + kSha (radiating)= the One who is growing and radiating. A tree grows and produces fruits. Each fruit contains seeds, each such seed contains a tree and each tree contains fruits and each such fruit contains seeds, and so on in recurring infinity. So, vRiksha is the ever-growing Consciousness.
The one who does not eat is the constant, immutable, eternal Soul or akShara. The other one is eating Peepal fruit, which is tasty. The fruit named Peepal in English, is pippala in Sanskrit and is related to the Sanskrit word pal meaning momentary or fleeting. Thus the Sanskrit word ' palayana ' means the 'act of fleeing'. (The word pala also means a unit of time, equivalent to 24 seconds.) Thus, the other bird or the other one is occupied with fleeting moments, and so is called kShara meaning the one who is 'decaying' or 'experiencing the fleeting existence'. The One who does not eat, akshara, keeps looking at his companion. 'Keeps looking' means regulating the other one by time. From the vision of akshara, time is generating. (We have already explained the relation between 'vision' and 'time' earlier in the Section 11).
To eat means, to assimilate and change. Eating or any kind of sensing is the process of consumption by the time, or by the regulation of Consciousness. Thus in Upanishad it is said 'ashanaayayaa (the desire to eat) hi (indeed) mRityu (death) '-----the death is from the desire to eat. (Refer to verse 1.2.1 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.) This definition of death i.e. 'the desire to eat' is expressed by the single Sanskrit word sparsha. sparsha means 'the act of touching'; sparsha = spRi (spriha=desire) + ash (to eat, to consume)= desire to consume or eat. We have discussed sparsha (touch) varNa (alphabets) or the alphabets of touch, later in this article.
The above-quoted verse of yajur veda describes how we are engaged or yoked (yunkati) by akShara, and how the two (vaam) are working together (karmaNe vaam).
The next verse (Mundaka Upanishad, Verse 3.1.2.) says how they merge (veshaaya vaam). The next verse is quoted below:
samane vRikShe puruSho nimagno'nishayaa shochati muhyamaanaH
juShTaM yadaa pashyatyanyamiishamasya mahimaanamiti viitashokaH.
Word-word meaning
samane (in the same) vRikShe (tree/Soul) puruSho (the being) nimagnaH (attached/stuck) aniishayaa (powerless) shochati (grieves/grieving) muhyamaanaH (bewildered)
juShTaM (gets the bliss) yadaa (when) pashyati (sees) anyam (the other being) iisham (the regulator) asya (his) mahimaanam (glory) iti (thus) viitashokaH (becomes free of sorrows).
Consolidated meaning
The being in the same tree (in the same Soul/ Consciousness) is stuck, powerless, grieving, and bewildered.
It gets the bliss when it sees the other being, the regulator, and its glory; thus it becomes free of the sorrows. (Mundaka Upanishad, Verse 3.1.2.)
Thus we are yoked or joined to our eternal soul, and in between is the divine thread or the apparatus that has yoked the two. This thread (suutra) or the connector is called vaayu (the divine air) i.e. the touch of Consciousness.
39.Horses yoked to the chariot
In Upanishad it is mentioned that the body is the chariot (ratha), the Soul (aatman) is the rider (rathii), the faculty called intellect (buddhi) is the driver (saarathi), the mind (manas) is the bridle (pragraha), the organs (indriya) are the horses (haya), the objects/matters are the roads (gochara) and thus the being or the Soul yoked with the organs, mind is the one who is living/experiencing (bhoktRi/bhoktaa). (Refer to verse 1.3.3 of Kathopanishad.)
The chariot is called 'ratha' in Sanskrit language. ratha = ra +tha. The expansion of the alphabet 'Ri' is 'ara'. 'ara' means 'a radius, spoke of a wheel'; more appropriately 'ara' means ' the motion originating from the centre in all directions'. The alphabet 'tha' means 'stationary or a fixed state'. When the motion appears to be static, or the static impression created by the motion is called ratha; more appropriately when the motion is captured in a frame, it is a ratha. A ratha or a chariot portraits or depicts the characteristics emerging out of a being when placed in the chariot of time.
(This Sanskrit alphabet 'tha' reminds me of the English article 'the', which is a 'definite article', i.e. 'the' defines a noun in a deterministic or 'fixed' manner, or it fixes a noun.)
Thus, the word 'ratha' means the stationary impression of something which is in motion or which is undergoing changes by the regulation of time. Our body is like a 'ratha' or like a chariot being pulled by the regulation of time or by the activities of our organs (indriya), but still we feel like seated, having a stable state. The most appropriate example of ratha is the earth; we are absolutely stable on the earth in spite of the spinning (diurnal motion) and the revolution of the earth around the sun. The motions are so naturally integrated in our system!
Our body is being pulled by the sensory organs along with the working organs or the organs for action. Each sensory function/organ has a corresponding organ for action or function. Thus we state below the sensory and the associated organ for action:
(i) Ears (for sense) & tongue (for action)------listening and speaking.
(ii) Lips/skin (for sense) & hands (for action)---feeling the touch and touching.
(iii) Eyes (for sense) & legs/feet (for action)-----vision and motion (explained above in Section 11).
(iv) Tongue (for sense) & genitals (for action)-----taste and reproduction----pleasure of amalgamation and the action or reproduction from the amalgamation or union.
(v) Nose (for sense) & annus (for action)-----inhaling the physicality (inhaling the airborne particulates) which becomes the smell & excreting the physicality or the waste.
So, we are being driven into actions and perceptions by the organs or by the personalities of Consciousness, who are existing in us as our organs for sensing and working. Mind along with the ten organs that we have described above belong to a group of eleven deities called rudra.
40. indra, gautama, and ahalyaa.
We have described the universal observer indra earlier. Our observations, sensing and perceiving of every moment, are parts of the observations of the universal observer or indra. Organs are called indriya which means indra iyate----indra is moving; so, in fact its not me or you, but indra is riding the chariot. Physicality or physical living is a part of divinity.
In Vedas, the divine observer indra has been described as of thousand eyes (sahasra lochana). sahasra or thousand means saha (along with/along with aatman/soul) + srava (flowing, streaming). Thus the eternal soul as the eternal and universal observer is existing in all our vision, in all our state of Consciousness.
We are the representation of indra who is cursed and with thousand wounds (sahasra kShata). indra was cursed by the sage gautama. gautama = go (organs)+tama (in the supreme state; tama is an affix, forming superlative degree of adjectives)--whose faculties are in the state of excellence or beyond mortality. indra was cursed by gautama, because he enticed Gautama's wife named ahalyaa. ahalyaa means the field that cannot be (should not be) ploughed or tilled. We are using the divinity, our faculties without knowing, without acknowledging. So, we see end, termination, weakening and decay of our faculties. We are afflicted with numerous wounds. ahalyaa was cursed to become stone, i.e. we experience the inert or mortal world. When we will be emancipated from the curse, we will be indra with thousand eyes or we will be gautama and our consort will be ahalyaa.
Our faculties are our Consciousness as our consort, who is merged with us as our faculties. In divinity, the Soul and the faculties of the Soul are inseparable. This is why Consciousness is called svayam-prakash--who manifests oneself and everything by oneself. As long as we do not know this, she (Consciousness) is to be worshipped as a 'mother' and not as a consort (shakti). Mother is the one by whose measure we are born from her and we are her measures.
Right now we are sowing, ploughing, and tilling in the field of duality.
41. Body or a~Nga.
a~Nga means body, limbs, or anything that is extended from the body. Etymologically, the word a~Nga means am +ga (going, flowing). 'am' means Consciousness who is 'a' (without) + m >ma (measure). One of the meanings of the verb 'am' is 'to sound', meaning the unmeasurable Consciousness expressing to become measurable. Thus, the word ambhRiNa means the vessel, and more precisely it means the one who is carrying (bhRi) 'am' or the seed that is going to become expressed or measurable. bhRi = to bear or to carry. am = teja (radiant, vibrating Consciousness) or vaak (mother of all words or expressions). vaak is also known as vaak-ambhRiNii or vaagaambhRiNii in Rik-Veda.
When Consciousness is active with vaak, it is called praaNa, i.e. Consciousness is praaNa as the source of creation, and Consciousness is vaak as the faculty of creation. vaak is the consort of praaNa. Thus, this body, is the flow of am, praaNa, or praaNa-agni. As the water on the surface of a river appears still, but inside there are currents, so is the body. (Refer to the explanation of the word ratha in the Section 39 above.). So, at the end, the dead bodies of Hindus and some other communities are cremated, or ignited in the fire (agni/praaNa).
42. Fingers.
Fingers are the terminals of the hands and feet. Hands are also called kara. kara means 'doer' and also 'rays'. The five fingers represent the five streams of Consciousness emitting from our space or inner sky to the external space or the sky. By our work, by our doings, we are throwing or emitting ourselves to the external world or space.
Fingers are called a~Ngula and this word is from the parent word a~Nga. The root verb 'ul' means to burn. So, a~Ngula is a~Nga + ula, i.e. Consciousness who is flowing, and is also burning in five different flames. These flames are the sound, touch, vision, taste, and smell. The body is like the burning pyre, in which the five flames are burning.
43. Identifying five senses with five fingers.
The Thumb is called anguShTha. The thumb represents the Soul. The Soul has been addressed in Upanishads as 'anguShTha-maatra puruShaH'----the being just as the thumb. (Refer to Verse 2.1.12 of Kathopanishad.).
The significance of the word anguShTha to the thumb has been explained later in the section 66 below.)
The gap between the thumb and the index finger represents the space, the void, which is the source of all sounds or expressions.
The Index finger represents the sense of touch or the air. We use this finger for pointing (directing), and it is frequently used for tapping, poking, and touching. The gap between the thumb and the index finger is the space or the sky, from where the sound originates. Consciousness as the Soul is the origin of everything and has become everything, but still beyond everything or separated. This separation is the void we see as the external space and also perceive as our inner-sky.
The index finger is called tarjanii. The significance of the word tarjanii to the index finger has been explained later in the Section 47 below.
The Middle finger represents the sense of vision and also the radiance (teja) . It is the longest finger, i.e. it reaches out to the physicality. The eye or vision is the sap of physicality, the essence of reality; we believe what we see. The eye is the leading finger and that's why the middle finger is the longest. The eye is the seat of reality, and vision is the leading sense (see Section 11 above). Please refer to Section 45 below for more on the middle finger.
The Ring finger represents the taste as well as the amalgamation or the process of taking in the offered food as a part of assimilation. Merging, dissolving into Oneness, and becoming the same is the significance of assimilation and marriage. Our faculties are the faculties of our creator, or the faculties of Consciousness. Consciousness as the faculties have merged with us; thus we call it our faculties of vision, touch, etc. We live and perform by our faculties. This is the role of shakti or wife, and she lives inside the house (antaHpura). Thus we wear the engagement or marriage ring on this finger. The ring finger is called anaamikaa which means a female who has no name. We will discuss the significance of this name later. So, this finger represents 'taste' as well as the divine sap in which everything dissolves.
The Little finger represents the olfactory functions or the sense of smell. It is called kaNiShThaa. kaNiShThaa means the youngest and belongs to the female gender. We will discuss the significance of this name later. As the name suggests, it is smaller than the ring finger, middle finger, and index finger, as well as it apparently contributes much less toward the identification an object. This finger is adjacent to the ring finger that is related to taste. Thus the little finger of Consciousness along with the ring finger of Consciousness, i.e. the smell and taste together create the flavour.
44. Fingers and the heart.
Through the sensory functions or organs (j~naanendriya) Consciousness from the external is coming to us, merging with us. Through the working/operating organs (karmendriya) Consciousness from us is reaching out to the external space. The domain or the centre of this 'give and take' activity is called hRidaya or the heart. hRidaya = hRi (acquiring)+ da (giving)+ ya (controlling)-----the centre that regulates and executes 'give and take'.
It has been mentioned in Upanishad that there exist five divine orifices/conduits/doors in the heart and at each such orifice or at each such door there are five heavenly doorkeepers. (Refer to the third chapter, thirteenth part of Chandogya Upanishad, Verses 1.13.1 through 1.13.8.)
The fingers are like the terminals, and tools for reaching out as well as acquiring.
45. The middle finger and the door at the front of the heart; praaNa.
The door on the front side of the heart is related to the vision and the sun (aaditya). This aspect of Consciousness, who is looking at everyone in the same (sama) manner is aaditya or without duality (a =without; diti = duality/division); aaditya is also the one who is eating (adana) or eating /adding/assimilating everyone to itself, and whose eating, living or observation includes our eating, living or observation. Consciousness as aaditya is directly visible to us as the sun in the external sky and is also known as gRiha (house)---pati (lord, dominating)---agni (fire, praaNa, self-illuminated active Consciousness). Consciousness as the lord of our house or gRihapatiagni, is regulating our daily chores, our existence within the diurnal cycles of the earth, our perception of reality or physicality, our vision. As vision is the most prominent sensation in us, it is the longest finger and the middle finger, flanked by other fingers. This is because vision or the eye leads.
Thus, in Prashnopanishad, it is mentioned that when we eat, when we sense or perceive anything, first it goes to praaNa; and then praaNa is pleased, and when praaNa is pleased, the vision (the eye/chakShu) is pleased and the sun is pleased. (Refer to Verses 5.19.1 and 5.19.2 of Chandogya Upanishad.)
.
The middle finger is called madhymaa. madhyamaa, means who is situated in the middle or within. All our feelings are burning in our eyes. So, the eye (chakShu) or the vision has been associated with praaNa in the above quoted verse of Upanishads. praaNa, who is the eternal Consciousness, who is everywhere as everything, is called madhyama praaNa when viewed as existing within an entity. Thus, middle finger represents this vision (eye) and madhyama (middle/within) praaNa. Vision of Consciousness is said to be pervading everywhere----divi iva (like the heaven) chakShuH (the eye/vision) aatataM (spread)----the vision like the heaven spread (all over). (Quoted from Rik Veda Verse 1.22.20)
As mentioned before, madhyama means 'within' and also 'middle'. So, the middle finger being in the middle, and representing vision and madhyamaa praaNa is called madhyamaa. praaNa is also called agni; agni means ag (agra) + ni (leading)-----the one who is leading in front. This is because by praaNa everything is first initiated, every event begins, and everything is conveyed. So, the middle finger is the longest, leading and in the middle, flanked by other fingers. It is also leading as it represents the vision or the sense of reality.
46. The index finger and the door at the south of the heart; vyaana.
It may be noted that adjacent to the index or pointer finger is the middle finger which is related to vision. Vision is initiated by touch.
The offered foods or the perceived feelings first go to praaNa, and then go to vyaana. vyaana is an aspect of Consciousness or praaNa. vyaana = vi (various, different) +ana; vyaana is Consciousness or praaNa streaming in all directions. As the middle finger is connected to praaNa, chakShu (eye/vision) and aaditya (sun), similarly the index finger is connected to vyaana, ear /listening and chandramaa (moon). (Refer to Verses 5.20.1 and 5.20.2 of Chandogya Upanishad.) Verse 3.13.2 of Chandogya Upanishad, mentions that the door on the south side of the heart is related to the 'listening' (shruti) and 'moon' (chandramaa). (We have discussed earlier the relations among the listening, moon, directions, and the dakShina-agni (Consciousness manifesting the southern side.) All such narrations in the various sections above are relevant to this discussion.
Dispersion, differentiation, discrimination and thus recognizing the specificities and details and accordingly building up every being of the universe in infinite details and perfection are the main features of dakShina-agni (also known as the fire/agni/Consciousness belonging to the mother or motherhood).
We have also explained earlier that dakShina-agni or the lunar domain is restraining us and the corresponding divine personality is the deity of Death or yama. Our desire, our activities according to the desire, and the consequent effects of the activities leading to our developments or evolution are all happening in this lunar domain under the administration of dakShiNa-agni. This 'act of restraining' by Consciousness is the gesture demonstrated by the raised index finger of Consciousness, praaNa who is the regulator of all the regulators and thus here is a hymn from Upanishad quoted below:
bhayaadasya agnistapati bhyaattapati suuryaH |
bhayaadindrashcha vaayushcha mRityurdhaavati pa~nchamaH || (Kathopanishad Verse 2.3.3.)
Word-word meaning.
bhayaad (from the fear) asya (of it) agniH (agni) tapati (warms) bhyaat (from the fear) tapati (warms) suuryaH (the sun)-----from the fear of it agni (the divine personality of the fire) warms, from the fear the surya (the sun warms)
bhayaad (from the fear) indraH (indra) cha (and) vaayuH cha (and vaayu) mRityuH (the personality of Death) dhaavati (runs around) pa~nchamaH (the fifth)-----from the fear, both indra (the divine personality or the observer who leads all the deities) and vaayu (the divine air, who connects everyone) (performs), and the Death the fifth, runs around (to discharge the task)
Consolidated meaning.
From the fear of it, the agni (the Fire) warms, from the fear the sun warms, from the fear both indra (the divine observer) and vaayu (air---the divine connector) performs and the Death the fifth, runs around (to discharge the task). (Kathopanishad Verse 2.3.3).
Like the Universal Consciousness, we also raise the index finger to restrain or admonish, because we are created and held in the knowledge of Universal Consciousness.
47. tarjanii the index finger and the act of differentiation.
The index finger is called tarjanii in Sanskrit. The root verb tarj means 'to threat', to scold', and we have already described in the previous section, how Consciousness is raising its index finger to admonish. Further, the words tarj and tarjanii contain the word 'tara' which is used for 'comparative degree', i.e. the word 'tara' is used to express the sense of the word 'better or worse'. The word 'jan' means 'to generate'.
tarjanii= tar (to compare, to differentiate) +jan (to generate)+ ii (ii represents femininity, shakti, faculty). We have already mentioned above that 'dispersion, differentiation, discrimination etc., are the features of dakShiNa-agni in the context of the index finger. We use the index finger to point, to assign, to count (like counting an array of things as ' this one, this one.......') or to index or label items. praaNa as vyaana is streaming in all directions, connecting and regulating all dualities or different entities. One of the names of agni or praaNa or Consciousness is pRithagvartman meaning the one who is having different courses. In the verse 5.14.1 of Chandogya Upanishad it is mentioned that the aspect of the Soul who is vaayu or the divine air is called 'pRithagvartmaa-atmaa vaishaanaro'. Here, the word vaishaanara means vaishva (universal) nara (personality) or the Consciousness/praaNa (praaNa-agni) who has personified itself as every entity. So, *pRithagvartmaa-atmaa vaishaanaro' means Consciousness who on its different courses has personified itself as every entity of the universe. This is something about indexing the universe.
(*pRithagvartmaa = pRithak (separate, different) + vartman (course). )
48. Index finger and vyaana.
From the above discussion, it is clear that the index finger is related to vyaana. vyaana is praaNa (ana) active in various (vi) directions.
Index finger is considered as the most active, dexterous and sensitive finger. It is interesting to note that in Chandogya Upanishad (verse 1.3.5) it is mentioned that vyaana is worshipped while executing tasks needing vigour, while running after a target (pointing a target), while drawing a sturdy bow.
49. The alpahbets articulated by touch-----sparsha varNa.
The index finger is related to touch or sparsha (vaayu/divine air) and also to vyaana. We have mentioned and explained these above. Consciousness is streaming in various directions, and this index finger or tarjanii belongs to vyaana--- the flow of praaNa in all directions, touching every corner.
vyaana radiating in various directions are also called sparsha varNa or 'the touching alphabets or the alphabets created from touch'.
The first twenty-five consonants of Sanskrit alphabet are called sparsha varNa, and they are plosive and nasal consonants. When these alphabets are articulated, praaNa or the flow of air is stopped (or touched) by the lips, teeth, or palate and then released through the mouth or through the nose and mouth.
The (plosive and nasal) consonants or sparsha varNa, start from the alphabet ka and end in the alphabet ma. These consonants are twenty-five in total, arranged in five groups and each group consists of five alphabets . Thus, the touch is divided into five groups and each group represents a particular type of touch. (It may be noted that the five is the number for Death; refer the verse quoted in section 46 above. Five is also the number for 'climax'.)
The consonants (ka, kha, ga, gha, ~N) of the first group are pronounced when the base of the tongue touches the soft palate. The air flows out through the passages so formed.
The consonants (cha, Cha, ja, jha, ~n) of the second group are pronounced when the tip of the tongue touches the hard palate.
The consonants (Ta, Tha, Da, Dha, N) of the third group are pronounced when the tip of the tongue touches the hard bump at the roof of the mouth.
The consonants (ta, tha, da, dha, n) of the fourth group are pronounced when the tip of the tongue touches the roots of the front teeth in the upper row.
The consonants (pa, pha, ba, bha, ma) of the fifth group are pronounced when the lips touch each other.
The number five (pa~ncha) represents the number of components or participants required to create a perfect outcome. Like the five forms of senses (sound, touch, vision, taste, smell), five fingers, five forms of praaNa (praaNa, vyaana, apaana, samaana, udaana). It is also a number that represents the climax. It also denotes 'end or completion'. The word pa~ncha (five) is from the root verb 'pach' which means ' to cook, to digest, to bring to an end or completion'.
The last or the fifth consonant, in each of the five groups of consonants, generates nasal sound when articulated. The nasal sound denotes the ending. When these last consonants are pronounced, most of the air flows out through the nose, implying that the sound which is otherwise articulated from the mouth is now being articulated through the nose and thus is transcended to the subtler form of articulation. We inhale life or praaNa through the nose from the external atmosphere or from praaNa in the external, and praaNa returns to the external as we exhale. Those who are experienced, they know that the voice of those from the other worlds of higher order, sounds nasal when aired. It may be noted that what is the physicality or the earth outside, is existing in us as the sense of smell whose seat in us is the nose or the olfactory system. The day and night cycles created by the diurnal rotation of the earth, work along with the breathing cycles happening through the nose or through the olfactory organ (organ for smelling). (Also refer to the Section 88 below on the narration of the diacritical mark chandra-vindu or the moon-dot.)
50. The last two nasal consonants (na and ma). maa (mother).
The dental nasal consonant na is the twentieth consonant and the labial nasal consonant ma is the twenty-fifth consonant.
The consonant na implies 'negation' or termination. The consonant ma implies 'materialization, becoming mortal or physical, becoming measured, and mRityu (death/negative state). The word maa means mother. maa = ma +aa. Mother (maa) is the one who creates from ma (negativity) or who gives a form (aa>aakaara) and a measure to nothingness. Thus Mother is that personality of Consciousness who creates Her positive, measurable form from Her negative state. maa is also the origin of the word maapa (measure) and maatraa (degree, the degrees of an action or quality).
Mother provides the measure. We are shaped in Her wombs, we are provided with a different entity by HER. She creates reality out of nothingness. Mother or maa is also the One who makes the 'nothingness' to happen, or who shapes (aa) the nothingness (ma), i.e. transforms a realized entity beyond realized world. Thus maa takes us from birth to death and from death (nothingness) to birth, in Her endeavour to take us beyond death and birth or beyond the compulsory cycles of birth and death.
Now, the word 'name' is 'naama' in Sanskrit, i.e. naama means a name or a definition. naama = na+a+ma, means na (no/not) + a (without) + ma (maapa or measure)= what is measurable, or what can be defined.
Another meaning is: naama = na (not)+a (without)+ma (mRityu/death)---everything that has a name or a definition will die or will give up its definition at some point.
51. The ring finger and rasa (the sap).
The ring finger represents the divine water or the sap (rasa) and our sense of taste.
From the vision of Consciousness, specific, defined, perceptible entities are created. This is done by the middle finger of Consciousness. We have stated earlier that whatever Consciousness creates, Consciousness becomes it and Consciousness feels it. This feeling or knowing belongs to listening and tasting. We have mentioned earlier that whatever we sense or perceive, it creates a sound in us or it is associated with a word or a sound. As we listen to this word or sound we get anointed with it; it wets us. Thus it gets assimilated into us or we get merged into it. In the physiological process of listening and tasting, water (liquid) and saliva/digestive liquids are involved respectively. We are being built by whatever we feel, sense, and assimilate. When we listen to something, the associated feeling or the perception spreads in our entirety; similarly, when something is added to a liquid or to water, it gets dissolved into it and spreads in the entire mass. A similar thing happens when we digest food; saliva and digestive liquids dissolve/ absorb the food and transfer the food to the blood. This is one aspect of Consciousness as the juice or sap (rasa). Consciousness or praaNa, in whom we are held, secretes itself as the digestive liquids, insulin, bile, saliva, and all for assimilation. This acquirement, acquiring food, acquiring senses, acquiring life and vitality from the universe and converting the same into the sap of us, having them and holding them as the essential sap or the elixir that supports our physicality or reality is the aspect called rasa. This is the divine water or ap and the basis of aapti i.e. acquirement and satisfaction (tRipti). Physicality dissolves in this 'satisfaction' and remains in it without the physicality, and physicality is materialized from this 'satisfaction' or the divine water.
52. svaada meaning taste; rasa and aa~Ngirasa.
The word svaada means taste, in the Sanskrit language. This word consists of two parts sva and ada, i.e. svaada = sva+ada. sva is the 'soul' whom we perceive as the 'assertion-less self' and is the creation-field of all our senses and perceptions, including the sense of existence (asmitaa) and the feeling of 'self' or aham (I am). The one who is sva in me is sva in everything, every being. As mentioned before in the Section 38 above, this sva is the bird who does not eat the tasty fruit. But then again, though it does not eat, still it eats, i.e. though it remains as it is, unchanged, immutable, still it becomes everything and every being.
In the state of inactivity, Consciousness is the Soul, constant, unperturbed, unassociated, and immutable. Simultaneously, Consciousness is active as praaNa, as the regulator of the universe, and has become the universe itself.
The touch of praana (also called praaNa-agni) creates the taste or svaada. The act of eating and assimilation is the science of Consciousness known as praaNa-agnihotra in Upanishads. (Refer Chandogya Upanishad, Chapter 5, Part 19 through Part 24.)
The root verb ad is the source of the word adana which means 'the act of eating', and adya which means 'now or today'. This means, as Consciousness eats, time starts or time is created. When we eat or sense, or taste , at that time we change, we evolve. This universe is splitting out from the oneness of Consciousness; this creation of the so-called external universe is termed as sambuuhti (created duly). From Consciousness is created Consciousness and everything is made of knowledge or consciousness. Every being, every individual is also thus conscious, and is knowing, feeling the universe (sambhuuti). Each of us feels or perceives the universe in a unique way and also in the way it is already created. When we feel, sense, or perceive any external thing, that thing is created in our Consciousness and it is created as per the external thing or as it is existing in the external world i.e. as it is held in the knowledge of Universal Consciousness. Thus in every moment, we or Consciousness in us is taking a form of something that is in the external world and this formation happens according to what it is in the external world. This 'according to' or 'accordingly' is anu in the Sanskrit language, and anubhuuti means to become according to what is in the external or in sambhuuti. This is how our inner world is corresponding to the external. The way we feel or sense, that is changing us every moment and this change is the part of our evolution to eternity. So we are created in sambhuuti, and anubhuuti is our return journey. Any feeling, or any perception exists in us in word-form, thus the term 'listening' or shruti is applied to the process of knowing or perceiving or feeling or sensing. By this process, the senses from the external merge in us, get assimilated in us. This is the process of eating. Thus, act of eating by Consciousness means time is in action, and our evolution i.e. the process of integration to the source is on. So, the root verb ad is the source of the word adana or eating, as well as of the word adya meaning 'now, or present or the time'. The origin, where we are returning, and from where the time is originating, is visible as the sun in the external sky, and the sun is called aaditya, i.e. who bears the flavour (quality) of aditi or of the 'one who is without duality'. So, this is how is the divine taste or svaada--the feeling or the taste of integrating everything in Oneness. The One who is eternal, other than whom no One else exists, and in whom we all are dissolving, is called rasa, as well as aa~Ngirasa ----a~Nga rasa or the sap of our selves! (Refer to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Verse 1.3.8.)
53. pratiruupa (corresponding form) and reta (sperm).
The spermatic and virile liquids are parts of this rasa or the divine sap. Consciousness holds the faculty to reproduce or create similar beings. Thus there is the term pratiruupa, meaning 'corresponding form'. In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad verse, 2.1.8 it is said, that the divine being who is in the water or ap, is called pratiruupa because from ap individuals or similar identities are created. ( This aspect of Consciousness is also the origin of properties of reflection in liquids, i.e. because of this we can see our image in liquid by the reflection of light! )
It is mentioned in Brihadranyaka Verse 3.9.22, that ap is founded in reta (sperm, seminal fluid), and reta is founded in hRidaya (heart). If the son (the entity created) is a copy (pratiruupa) of the father (creator), it is said to be generated from the heart and made of the heart (Brihadaranyka verse 3.9.22).
The word itara means 'separate or different'. reta means the faculty by which different but similar forms are repeatedly created from the origin. These two words reta and itara are in a retroversion relation.
reta = ra + i + ta ; itara = i + ta +ra. In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the word itara has been mentioned in Verse 1.4.4 while describing the origins of the creatures and the associated copulations.
54. Semantic fluid and conception.
At the time of the intercourse, the semantic fluid that is ejaculated from the male into the female, originates from teja---the radiant vigour (am) of Consciousness, and this fluid comes out from all the parts of the body (a~Nga). The sperm that is placed in the female's/ mother's womb does not harm her, and does not react as an external matter; it becomes a part of her soul or the self. The conception happens in the father's body, where the soul waiting to be born (realized) as a separate being on the earth, gets into the sperm. It has been mentioned in Upanishads that it is not an easy transition from the external world to the father's body. During the process of re-birth, from the lunar domain, the soul travels to the terrestrial domain or the domain of the earth. It enters the clouds, and through the rain enters the corpse, food, etc. One of the most common ways of entering the father's body is to enter through the food. Conception is considered to happen when this entry into the father's body is accomplished. The first birth is counted when the sperm is placed in mother's womb and the second birth is counted when the soul is born from the mother as a separate entity, thus extending the 'father' to the world. The third birth is considered when the mortal life is ended and the soul is re-born in a different domain. We are quoting here only one verse of Aitareya Upanishad (aitareya upanishad) to describe the reproduction in us.
Here is a verse (2.1.1.) from Aitareya Upanishad with translation:
oM puruShe ha vaa ayamaadito garbho bhavati yadetadretaH.
tadetadsarvebhyo'a~Ngebhyaste sambhuutamaatmanyeva''tmaanaM bibharti tadyadaa striyaaM si~nchatyathainajjanayati tadsya prathamaM janma. (Aitareya Verse 2.1.1.)
Word-word meaning
oM!
puruShe (in the soul/in the individual soul) ha vaa (indeed) ayam (this) aaditaH (in the beginning) garbhaH (conception) bhavati (happens)-----indeed, in the beginning, the conception happens in the soul (father)
yad (what) etad (this) retaH (semen)----what this semen is
tad (that) etad (this) sarvebhyaH (from all) a~NgebhyaH (parts of the body) tejaH (radiant vigour) sambhuutam (is created) -----that this teja / radiant vigour is created from all parts of his body
aatmani (in the soul/in the self) evaH (indeed) aatmaanaM (the soul/the self) bibharti (bears) ----indeed bears the soul in the soul
tad (that/ that semen) yadaa (when) striyaaM (in the female /wife)* si~nchati (discharges)
atha (then) enat (this) janayati (generates) -----when (he) discharges that (semen/sperm) in the female then this generates
tad (that is) asysya (its) prathamaM (firts) janma (birth)--that is its first birth
( *female= strii---sa (He/Soul)+trii (three)----the three faculties of Soul---(i) vaak / faculty of speech, faculty that splits to create a separate entity, praaNa---faculty by which the created entity remains connected to the origin and universe, manas (mind)---faculty by which the entity gets into realization/physicality, faculty by which the entity determines.)
Consolidated meaning
oM! Indeed, in the beginning, the conception happens in the soul (puruSha/father) itself, and that is what is the semen (sperm); that, this teja / radiant vigour (semen) is created from all parts of his body; indeed (the soul --- the soul/puruSha who is the begetter) bears the soul (the soul who is in the form of sperm) in the soul.
That (that semen/sperm) when is discharged in the female (strii) then this generates; that is its first birth. (Aitareya Verse 2.1.1.)
55. Some explanation of the above verse 2.1.1 of Aitareya Upanishad; svadhaa and svaadhiShThaana.
Any conception and any birth happens in Consciousness. Birth is a change of state. When the eternal immutable soul is referred in any being or entity, the soul is called puruSha. puruSha = pura (abode, body) +Sha (fragmented). Thus when, the eternal soul who is everywhere and beyond everything, is observed existing in any individual, the eternal soul as the soul of the individual is called puruSha.
During the process of re-birth, when a soul as the sperm, enters an individual or puruSha, it stays in the person of the individual without an identity; more precisely the being to be born remains in sameness with the father or with the one who procreates. So, the conception happens in the male. This is mentioned in the verse as "aatmani evaH aatmaanaM bibharti ----indeed (the soul --- the soul/puruSha who is the begetter) bears the soul (the soul who is in the form of sperm) in the soul.
This is why svadhaa is the consort or the faculty of the divine fathers (pitRi-gaNa). svadhaa = sva (soul) +dhaa (holding)-----holding in the soul.
Centre of reproduction in us, is called svaadiShThaNa. svaadhiShThaana = sva (soul) + adhiShThaana (seat)---seat of the soul; it is so called because of the reason explained above. It is the centre from where corresponding forms, pratiruupa, or the offspring originate. Physically it is below belly button located in the pelvis.
56. anaamikaa-----the nameless damsel; the demons madhu and kaiTabha.
We have discussed pratiruupa---corresponding vision and corresponding existence in previous sections. We are pratiruupa of Eternal Consciousness. We are made in His/Her image. Every grain of sand, every entity has been created in His/Her image. Whatever you may name! Thus He/She has no name; no noun, no pronoun is applicable, though all nouns and all pronouns are His/ Her descriptions. anaamikaa means a nameless female! As SHE assumes all the names, SHE doesn't have any particular name. As a solid substance that has a shape (ruupa) and a definition (naama), i.e. that which is defined by a name and has a shape, when dissolves in water, it loses its name or definition and its shape, or its physical identity; similarly, all sounds we hear get dispersed in our mind, and remain dormant in our memory; similarly in Consciousness, everything loses its physicality or the defined existence and also everything is created with definition and physicality by Consciousness. This is why Consciousness is called anaamikaa, i.e. from whom everything has materialized with a physical or realized entity, all names are created, but who cannot be defined by any specific name (naama). As the ring finger represents the divine water or the sap, so the name of the ring finger is also anaamikaa.
(See also last part of the Section 51 above.)
Thus, in this divine water, in this water of creation, we remain dormant and we are born from here again and again. This is the divine 'water bag', and the domain of repetitive creation. As this is the causative domain of repetitive creation, so in Hindu mythology, the demons madhu (honey; attraction to mortal sweetness) and kaiTabha (belonging to kiiTa or insects, clinging to confined or limited attainments; small, contained) requested viShNu (the divine personality of praaNa) to slay them in a place on the earth that is not flooded by the water. These two demons are the conscious personalities by whom we remain attached to mortal things and remain confined and contained within the boundaries of mortality. They wanted to be slain in a place with no water so as to terminate the compulsory cycles of life and birth for ever. Thus, when one knows the mystery of the divine water, one transcends the repetitive cycles of compulsory deaths or births; so in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, it is said 'apa (by water) punaH (repeated) mRityum (death) jayati (wins)'----by water the subjugation to repeated deaths are won. (Refer to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad verse 3.2.10.)
57. Marriage ring.
The above description explains the sap/rasa which is the divine water from where every perceptible entity is created and where everything dissolves in sameness. This divine water is also existing as the virile fluid in us. This is also known as kaarNa (cause)-vaari (water)---water which is the cause of all, the water from where the physicality is created.
This is why the engagement or the marriage ring is worn on the ring finger.
58. The little finger---kaniShThaa.
The little finger is connected to our olfactory sense or to the perception of smell. The word for smell is gandha in Sanskrit. gandha=gam (going, movement) + dha (holding). gandha means the motion held or captured in a frame. gandha = gam (motion/going) +dha (held).
We earlier explained two words, a~Nga and ratha; both words mean the body. However, as explained before, a~Nga etymologically means the flow of Consciousness, and on the surface, it appears as the (stationary) body. Similarly, etymologically the word ratha means ' the static impression created out of something in motion'. Thus both words imply the sense of motion creating a stationary impression. Our existence is a dynamic event, but we cannot perceive it or enjoy it duly without the statical feature created out of it.
The olfactory process and the breathing process are not two different or unrelated functions. Our breathing rhythm varies according to our physical conditions and is an index of our stability in the body. So, the sense of smell is also called praaNa in Vedic parlance, as the smell represents how praaNa Consciousness has taken a physical state which is our physical existence.
The diurnal rotation of the earth that creates the cycles of day and night (aho-raatro) creating a steady life cycle and the breathing cycles are intimately related. These are all in the domain of apaana. (See the next section.)
The word kaniShThaa means the 'youngest maid'. This word is from the word kana meaning 'little'. kanaa is the female form of kana. These words kana, kanaa are from the root verb kan meaning 'to shine, to go' and these are the properties of the fundamental particles as known in Physics. A particle is called kaNaa, and the fundamental particles exhibit properties related to light, electricity, and motion, and also exhibit properties tending to be non-physical. Thus, the root verb kan also means 'to split, to become minute or particle'. Consciousness as vaak, splits Consciousness into many. Thus, vaak is the consort of praaNa. From the union of vaak and praaNa, every entity is created and every entity is thus vaakya or a word of Consciousness. Each word (vaakya), each entity, is a split-form (kaNaa), split out of the Oneness of Consciousness. Consciousness as praaNa is attached to Consciousness as vaak, they being the primeval couple from whom everything is created. As praaNa is attached to vaak, and thus attached to splitting (kaN), so, praaNa is kaniShTha. kaniShThaa is the female form of kaniShTha, and it means vaak who always splits praaNa into kaNaa or fragmented-soul. Thus, the little finger represents how praaNa has taken a physical form (defined form) as us. This is vaakya or a defined word of Consciousness. So, little finger is called kaniShThaa, the little girl, or the one who splits to become minute.
The physical version of the smelling process is noteworthy. When we smell a substance, the microscopic molecules (kaNaa) released from that substance, enter our nose which contains odour-receptors. These receptors get stimulated by such molecules and send the signal to the brain where the smell is identified.
59. Earth, gandha and apaana form of Consciousness.
We have already explained the connection between the act of smelling and the stability of our physical existence.
Consciousness or praaNa is holding us, creating a stable state with a sense of reality or physicality. Consciousness, thus holding us, providing us with a definition (naama and ruupa----name and shape), and securing us in a world of reality, is termed as 'apaana'. The way we are held on the earth and the way we are held in the body, are the same and by apaana. This has been stated in Prashnopanishad (prashnopanishaad) in the following manner (extract from verse 3.8 of Prashnopanishad) :
pRithivyaaM yaa devataa saiShaa puruShasyaapaanamvaShTbhya------ pRithivyaaM---(in the earth; earth = pRithivii) yaa (who) devataa (the deity) saa (she) eShaa (this) puruShasya (being's) apaanam (apaana) avaShTbhya (arresting) ------the deity (the divine personality) who is in the earth, she by siezining this apaana in the being (exists). The Consciousness who has arrested or held us in the earth is also holding us in our body. In Vedic parlance, the words for earth and the body, have been used in the same sense. Thus, what are the inbreathing and out-breathing cycles in us, it is the same as the diurnal cycles created by earth's rotation around her own axis.
When we are born, when we first inhale the air, our heart starts clocking, we perceive apaana, we are earthed. It is for this reason, the sense of smell is also called praaNa (Consciousness, life) in Sanskrit.
When we recognize this praaNa or Consciousness as apaaNa, then the physicality turns into fragrance.
The sensory aspect of smell is located in the nose or in the nasal organs. The working or functionary organ is mentioned as the anus. The physical location of apaana has been stated in anus and genitals.
paayuu (in the anus) upasTheH (in the genitals) apaanam (apaana) -----apaana stays in the anus and genitals. (Refer verse 3.5 of Prashnopanishad.) As all that is needed is held by apaana, so what is not needed is also excreted by apaana.
apaana = apa (downward) + ana (praaNa)----praaNa who acts downward, praaNa who holds us to the body, praaNa who holds us to the earth.
apaana = apa (away) + ana (praaNa)----praaNa who drives away the waste, praaNa by whom excreation is done, praaNa who cleans us. Thus, ap or the divine water who keeps us clean, cool, is part of apaana.
60. praaNa meaning gandha (smell).
The Sanskrit word for smell is gandha and ghraaNa. We have already explained the word gandha. Etymologically, the word ghraaNa also implies a similar meaning.
ghraaNa = gRi+ha+ana = gRihita (received) ana---- the way praaNa or ana is recived or held in the body.
As explained earlier that this holding is achieved by the function of praaNa or Consciousness, called apaana. Thus the act of smelling or the condition of our stay in the body is controlled by apaana. This is cited in a verse in Brhidaranyaka Upanishad (Verse 3.2.2). We will discuss this verse after explaining the terms graha (planet) and atigraha (super-planet) in the section below.
61. graha (planet) and atigraha (surpassing the planet/super-planet).
In Brihadranyaka Upanishad it is mentioned in verse 3.2.2 that there are eight planets and eight super-planets. A planet is called graha. The word graha is related to the word grahaNa; grahaNa means the act of taking, holding, and seizing. graha or planet is a destination or a state where we live as per our destiny or what has been destined or fixed for us. The sun, the stars are the divine personalities, and they are the source of life (ana) and life-nourishing constituents (anna); these constituents or anna are received by the planets and held in them by apaana. We are the inhabitants of the planets and are the recipients of anna or praaNa.
atigraha means the one who is ati i.e. beyond and also who is graha i.e. seizing.
So, all the divine personalities in whose custody we are living in our abodes are graha or the planets; and all the divine personalities who are dominating over the graha or the planets, who have seized the graha are atigraha. Each of the two groups of divinities, i.e. graha and atigraha, are assigned the number eight, i.e. there are eight planets (graha) and eight super-planets (atigraha). The number eight i.e. aShTa actually means 'present everywhere'. aShTa = ash (to pervade, penetrate) +Ta (Ta denotes a superlative state).
62.Significance of graha (planets) and atigraha (super planets); earth the lonely planet.
Consciousness is universal, and is also individual, and beyond. Consciousness means who is knowing, seeing, feeling, doing and we are all parts of Consciousness. We are created in the knowledge of Consciousness and are made of knowledge or Consciousness. Knowing means, seeing, and seeing means to become. Consciousness has become everything and still it remains unchanged, constant. So, Consciousness is infinite.
From the vision of Consciousness, all the forms, shapes, appearances, and colours are created. We ourselves also created from Consciousness are having eyes to perceive and feel the shapes and colours created from the vision of Consciousness. The eye acts as the receiver. Consciousness or the divine personality in us as our eyes is graha, the receiver, a planet. Consciousness, as the donor, is flooding us with vision, and is called atigraha.
graha and atigraha are stated in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Verses 3.2.1 through 3.2.9), and the first pair is stated as the nose/olfactory/breathing system and apaana. We list the eight pairs sequentially as below:
(i) graha----praaNa (nose/olfactory/breathing system)
atigraha----apaana
(ii) graha----vaak (organ or faculty of speech)
atigraha----naama (name, definition)
(Everything is the word, definition, or a name of Consciousness. Whatever we utter is a name of the Consciousness.)
(iii) graha----jihvaa (tongue)
atigraha----rasa (taste)
(iv) graha----chakShu (eye)
atigraha----ruupa (vision)
(v) graha----shrotra (ear)
atigraha----shavda (sound)
(vi) graha----manas/mana (mind)
atigraha---kaama (desire)
(From the desire we determine. We determine in our mind.)
(vii) graha----hasta (hand)
atigraha----karma/karman (work/performance)
(viii) graha----tvak /tvach (skin)
atigraha----sparsha (touch)
It is to be noted that in the above quoted verses of Upanishad, first the pair praaNa (breathing and the olfactory system) and Consciousness as apaana have been mentioned. We have explained earlier that by apaana we have achieved our physical existence and this in turn is related to our breathing and smelling process. This implies that all the cognitive and other faculties that we possess from the time of birth are as per the administration of apaana. This administration sets a boundary or limit for our faculties. The process of embodiment, setting a boundary or providing defining lines, are implemented in the domain of apaana. apaana is acting differently in different planets or physical locations. It is for this reason when we do not see or find creatures on other planets, it does not necessarily mean that the other planets do not harbour any living species.
63. The navel and umbilical cord.
apaana is also described as related to the navel (belly button). While in the womb, our navel is connected to the mother by the umbilical cord. When we come out of the womb, we breathe the air from the atmosphere, the umbilical cord is severed, we get into the direct control of apaana or the earth.
It is said in Aitareya Upanishad, that the personality of Death, in the form of apaana entered into the navel of the being ----mRityuH (the Death) apaanaH bhuutvaa (by becoming apaana) naavim (into the navel) praavishat (entered). (Extracted from Verse 1.2.4 of Aitareya Upanishad.)
The word mRityu meaning death carries a number of implied senses in Vedic parlance, which we briefly list below:
(i) mRityu = death = loss of identity or becoming unconscious;
(ii) mRityu = death = losing the previous state of existence and entering into a new state of existence;
(iii) mRityu = death = loss of the eternal or unlimited identity and entering into a confined or limited state of existence;
(iv) mRityu = death = getting into a defined shape or form, freezing into a stationary state or form or body, creation of physicality, becoming mortal.
So, during the process of birth, first, we enter the father's personality or body, but we remain in oneness with him. This is the conception. Then we enter the mother's womb and becomes an embryo; and that is our first birth. In her womb, she (Consciousness as the mother), applies the measures to build each of us with unique features. The embryo grows into a fetus assuming distinctive identities, drawing life from mother through the naval cord (umbilical cord); then when we reach the time of the (second) birth, we are born on the earth; apaaNa in the mother, acts to expel us out from her body into the earth; thus we are born, breathing right in the domain of the mother earth or apaana.
This is the earth, physicality, gandha, smelling, the process of inhaling and exhaling, the diurnal rotation, and the consequent days and nights (aho-raatro).
64.The silver cord during the process of death.
It is well known to the people who have interests in meta-physics or para-psychology, of the silver cord, reported to be observed by persons present at the deathbeds of the parting souls and also by persons who have had out-of-body experience. Those who have experienced this silver cord connecting the physical body to the nascent spiritual body at the time of death, they have felt it analogous to the umbilical cord, . They have mentioned that death occurs when this silver cord gets disengaged from the physical body. The silver cord/cords act as the conduit through which the parting soul and its faculties are transferred from the physical to the spiritual body.
That a dying soul waits for a certain period over the physical body, has been narrated in a passage in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Verse 3.2.11) as quoted below:
(Question): " yaaj~navalkya (hey Yaaj~navalkya) iti ha (thus) uvaacha (he said)----He said, ' hey Yaaj~navalkya'
yatra (when) ayam (this) puruShaH (being) mRiyata (dies)----when this being dies
ut (up, away) asmat (from--from the body) praaNaaH ( cognitive faculties) kramanti (move)---(does) from the body the cognitive faculties move away
oho (or) na (not) iti----or not; ( iti denotes the end of the statement.)
(Answer): na (No) iti (thus) ha (indeed) uvaacha (told/replied) yaaj~navalkyaH (Yaaj~navalkya)-----'No', thus indeed replied Yaaj~navalkya
' atra (here) iva (only) sam-avaniiyante (led into sameness / brought together), sa (it/the being) ut (above) shvayati (inflates----inflated by the air carrying cognitive faculties), aadhmmayati (is blown), aadhmaato (blown) mRitaH (the deceased/ the departing soul) shete (lies)------ here only, are brought together (the cognitive faculties), it (the parting soul) is inflated above (the physical body), is blown (by the divine air carrying the cognitive faculties), thus blown the departing soul lies
Consolidated meaning.
(Question asked by the sage Aartyabhaaga):
He (the sage Aartyabhaaga) said, ' hey Yaaj~navalkya, when this being dies, does from the body the cognitive faculties move away? Or not?'.
(Reply by the sage Yaaj~navalkya):
'No', thus indeed replied Yaaj~navalkya.
'Here only, the cognitive faculties (vital forces) are brought together; (the subtle body) is inflated above (the physical body), is blown, the deceased lies having blown (by the divine air carrying the cognitive faculties)'. (Quoted from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Verse 3.2.11)
In this part of the Upanishad, divine air has been hailed as suutra-aatman (the soul as the universal thread) and has been mentioned as the thread that binds everything to everything.
During the process of death, during the changeover from the physical body to the subtle body, the parting soul takes recourse to a spiritual body constructed above the physical body. Consciousness, as the divine thread acts as the conduit, and the soul with all the cognitive faculties is driven to the subtle body; the subtle body is thus inflated and blown. The soul in the subtle body waits near and above the physical body till the process of transfer of the cognitive faculties is completed and after that, the spiritual body drifts away to other destinations and undergoes several transformations.
65. The significance of the word naabhi (navel).
We have mentioned earlier that Consciousness or praaNa who is in active motion in all directions, is called vyaana. If we consider the various directions as the spokes of a wheel, then praaNa or Consciousness is at the centre of the wheel which is the hub from where all the spokes originate. This aspect of praaNa as the hub is called naabhi or navel. It is mentioned in Prashopanishad that like the spokes of a wheel converge to the hub at the centre, so everything has its root in praaNa-----yatha (as) araa (spokes) iva (like/so) ratha (chariot---chariot wheel) naabhou (nave) praaNe (in praaNa) sarvaM (everything) pratiSThitam (is rooted)-----like the spokes of a chariot-wheel connected to the nave, so everything is rooted in praaNa. (Quoted from Prashnopanishad Verse 2.6).
Thus the navel/ naavi is praaNa. Consciousness or praaNa is distributing itself in all directions, everywhere. Thus, as the offered foods arrive, the senses or stimulations from the external world arrive, oxygen arrives, they are all integrated in praaNa within us. They come from praaNa, which we call external world, and they get into praaNa in us. They are integrated and distributed. This centre of distribution is naabhi (navel) also called maNipura-chakra (Solar-plexus). praaNa when flows like this everywhere, nourishing, enlivening, animating everyone, is called vyaana. Because of this whirling out and spreading of praaNa from the nave, praaNa is called vena*. Also, when we are driven out of the mother's womb for the birth, it is by vena. (This has been mentioned in the hymn 10.123.1 of Rik Veda).When we get out of the body during the process of death, the purging from the body is done by praaNa as vena; and we are driven to the after-death destination by praaNa called udaana.
(* Most likely the English word 'vein' through which the blood circulates is related to the word 'vena' and 'vyaana')
In Aitareya Brahmin it is stated that praaNa as vena is above and below the navel, as various streams of praaNa. praaNa in the nave or naabhi, assures the streams of praaNa, saying 'naabheH'. naabheH means 'naa (don't)-bhaiShiiH (be scared)' . It further states that this 'naabheH is the essence of 'naabhi'' or navel. (The verb bhii means 'to fear, to be afraid'.)
It is mentioned in Hindu-mythology that from the navel of vishNu rose brahmaa. viShNu is the divine personality of Consciousness or praaNa, whose vision has pervaded everyone, and whose foot or motion is the time cycle in every unit of the universe. viShNu is from the root verb vish meaning ' to enter' and also from the word uShNa meaning 'warmth'. viShNu as praaNa is within all of us and has kept us warm with the animation or life. He is leading the entire divinity to run the universe.
brahmaa is the divine mind and in this mind the perceptible, defined universe is manifested; it is like the defined, crystallized words in our mind.
66. The thumb----a~NguShTha; The unattached soul and the regulator of the universe.
We have already stated earlier that the thumb is called anguShTha, and that the thumb represents the Soul. The Soul has been addressed in Upanishads as 'anguShTha-maatra puruShaH'----the being just as the thumb. The Universal Soul is the soul of every entity. In us, though the Soul is in the body, but still it is above the body, i.e. the thumb is up. Thus it is said,
anaaditvaat nirgunatvaat paramaatmaa ayam avyayaH |
shariirasthapi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate || ( Geeta Verse 13.32.)
Word-word meaning
anaaditvaat----being without beginning, nirgunatvaat------being not defined by any quality, paramaatmaa ---soul of all the souls, ayam---this, avyayaH----undecaying
shariirasthaH (situated in the body) api (though) kaunteya (hey the son of kuntii/Kuntii) na (does not) karoti (do anything) na (does not) lipyate (does not get involved)
Consolidated meaning
Hey the son of Kuntii, being without beginning, being not defined by any quality, this soul of all the souls is undecaying.
Though situated in the body the soul does not do anything and does not get involved. ( Geeta Verse 13.32.)
No perception can exist unless there is the assertion-less self or the soul is there. Whenever we sense or feel anything, there is that sense or the feeling as well as the assertive self (I am); behind this, as the base exists the assertion-less form of self (called aatman or svayam). This is the neutral phase. It is because of this, the 'me' who laughs is not the 'me' who cries, and also the 'me' who laughs is the 'me' who cries. The soul is without any involvement with the universe as well as the soul is the universe and the regulator of the universe.
The gap between the thumb and the first finger (air/touch) is the space that depicts the feature of not getting involved or being unassociated with everything else. Thus the Soul is called asa~Nga. sa~Nga means 'involvement', 'contact' etc. But, there is another meaning of asa~Nga; if the Soul or Consciousness is everything, then who will touch whom, who will be in contact with whom? There cannot be any phenomenon of touch or contact if there is no duality. (Refer to Verses 4.3.22 through 4.3.32 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
In Consciousness, opposite poles, contradictory features exist together or simultaneously. This is natural, and spontaneous. Thus the Soul who is still, inactive, constant, and unassociated is also the involved dominator, and regulator of the universe and resides within the caves of our hearts. Here are two verses:
Verse 3.2.17 of Kathopanishad
a~NguShThamaatraH puruSho'ntaraatmaa sadaa janaanaaM hRidaye saMniviShTaH |
taM svaacchriiraatpravRihenmu~njaadiveShiikaaM dhairyena |
taM vidyaacchukramamRitaM taM vidyaacchukramRitamiti ||
Word-word meaning
a~NguShTha (thumb) maatraH (just as much as) puruShaH (the being) antara (inside) atmaa (soul) sadaa (always) janaanaaM (in the creatures') hRidaye (heart) saM (duly) niviShTaH (situated)
taM (that/the soul) svaat (from own) shariiraat (body) pravRihet (select) mu~njaat (from grass) iva (like) iiShiikaaM (stalk) dhairyena (with patience)
taM (it/ the soul) vidyaat (know) shukram (bright) amRitaM (eternal)
taM (it/ the soul) vidyaat (know) shukram (bright) amRitaM (eternal) iti ('iti' denotes the end of the verse)
Consolidated meaning
The being, just as much as the thumb, is the soul inside, always situated in the heart of the creatures.
From your own body pluck (identify) that (the soul) like the stalk from the grass, with patience.
Know it (the soul) bright, eternal, know it (know the soul) bright, eternal. (Kathopanishad Verse 3.2.17.)
Verse 2.1.12 of Kathopanishad
a~NguShThamaatraH puruSho madhya aatmani tiShThati |
iishaano bhuutabhavyasya na tato vijugupsate |
etadvai tat ||
Word -word meaning
a~NguShTha (thumb) maatraH (just as much as) puruSho (the being) madhya (within) aatmani (self) tiShThati (exists)
iishaanaH (the regulator of ) bhuuta (those created) bhavyasa (those will be created) na (never) tato (from it/from the being) vijugupsate (hide)
etad (it is) vai (indeed) tat (that)
Consolidated meaning
The being just as much as the thumb exists within the self, the regulator of those already created, (and) those who will be created; never hide from it (from this being) .
It is indeed like that. (Kathopanishad Verse 2.1.12.)
67. The fist and the heart.
When we clench our fist, the four fingers curl, with the thumb on the top. The finger on the top is the thumb, representing the sound and the sky, and the next is the index finger representing the touch and air; then comes the middle finger representing vision/light and next is the ring finger representing taste/water. The finger at the bottom is the little finger which represents the smell and the earth.
The hollow that is formed within the curled fingers, represents the cave of the heart, or the 'sky within the heart'. The size of the heart is almost the same as the size of the fist. A fist is called muShTi and it is from the root word muSh meaning ' to captivate, to cloud, to obscure'. This clenched fist provides the grip, i.e. we grip a thing with the clenched fist*. (See note at the end of this section.) The heart holds what belongs to us, it is a center to which belongs the 'sense of belonging'. We say 'my wealth, my life, my child' and so on. The heart is 'within' or in the 'middle'. The physical heart is also in the middle of our body. We accommodate everything by the heart; we can tolerate what otherwise we dislike if there is a touch of heart. Thus, this middle region is the place of Consciousness called samaana. samaana is that aspect of praaNa or Consciousness who implements 'sameness', evenness or samataa. Whatever we offer to ourselves as food, whatever we sense or feel, is brought to evenness by samaana. We quote the following from Prashnopanishad (Extract from verse 3.5 of Prashnopanishad):
madhye (in the middle) tu (and) samaanaH (samaana)----and in the middle is samaana
eshaH (he) hi (indeed) hutaam (offered) annaM (food; whatever that nourishes or enlivens us) samaM (sameness, evenness) nayati (leads, brings)----he indeed brings the offered food to evenness (to the state of integration).
(Extract from verse 3.8 of Prashnopanishad)
antaraa (in side, in the middle) yad (that) aakashaH (sky) sa (that) samaanaH (samaana)----the sky that is inside, is samaana.
We have mentioned earlier that the heart or hRidaya is holding all that is belonging to us. The earth, apaana, is holding us by heart, by love. Though we call it gravity, but it is the attraction of the heart.
We will quote and discuss a few verses from Chandogya Upanishad in this context.
In the verse 3.12.2 of Chandogya Upanishad it is said that all the objects, all that are there in the physical universe (bhuuta) are founded to the earth. Earth means the Consciousness who is holding the physical universe, the domain where the entities are having isolated, individual, and bodily existence.
The next verse is ,
yaa vai saa pRithivii yaM vaava saa yad idam asmin puruShe shariiram asmin hi ime praaNaaH pratiShThitaa etad eva na atishiiyante. (Chandogya Upanishad,Verse 3.12.3.)
Word-word meaning.
yaa vai saa (she who is) pRithivii (the earth) yaM (this) vaava (indeed) saa (is she) yad (that) idam asmin (in this) puruShe (being) shariiram (the body) asmin (in this) hi (indeed) ime (these) praaNaaH (praaNa; praaNa in multiple forms, sensory and operating faculties) pratiShThitaa (established) etad (they) eva (indeed) na (can not) atishiiyante (go beyond (the body)).
Consolidated meaning.
She who is the earth, this indeed is she that in this being is the body. In this indeed these sensory and operating faculties are established; they indeed can not go beyond (the body). (Chandogya Upanishad, Verse 3.12.3.)
We have earlier mentioned that we are created as physical entity by apaana and in the process our sensory faculties are set with limits. This is stated in the above verse by the clause " they indeed can not go beyond (the body)".
The next verse is about the heart, we are quoting it below:
yat vai tat puruShe shariiramidaM vaa tad yad idam asmin antaH puruShe hRidayam
asmin hi ime praaNaaH pratiShThitaa etad eva naatishiiiyante. (Chandogya Upanishad Verse 3.12.4.)
Word-word meaning
yat vai (whatever) tat (in that) puruShe (being) shariiram (is body/physicality) idaM (it) vaa (indeed) tad (that) yad (what) idaM (it) asmin (in) antaH (inside) puruShe (being) hRidayam (heart)
asmin (in this) hi (indeed) ime (these) praaNaaH (sensory and operating faculties) pratiShThitaa (established)
etad (they) eva (certainly) na (can not) atishiiiyante (go beyond).
Consolidated meaning.
Whatever in that being is its body, it is indeed that-what it is the heart, in the inside of the being.
In this indeed these sensory and operating faculties are established.
They (the faculties) certainly can not go beyond (the heart). (Chandogya Upanishad Verse 3.12.4.)
We have mentioned how Consciousness as the personality of the earth or as apaana is holding us to the earth as well as in our body. We have also stated that this attraction by which we are being held, is the attraction of the heart, attraction out of the sense of belongingness that we all belong to Consciousness.
It is for this reason when during the debate in King Janak's court, the sage shaakalya asked the sage yaaj~navalkya, ' where the heart is founded', yaaj-navalkya addressed shaakalya as ahallika. ahallika means what disappears (lii) in the broad day (aha) light; this means shaakalya failed to see what is visible like the day-light. Thus yaaj-navalkya replied ----
ahaliika (day-blind) iti (that's it) yatra (when/as) etad (this) anyatra (elsewhere) asmad (from us) manyaasai (you think)
yat hi (should be) etat (it) anyatra (elsewhere) asmat (from us) shvaanaH (the dogs) vaa (either) enat (it) adyuH (eat) vayyaMsi (the birds) vaa (or) enat (it) vimathniiran (tear off) iti (thus said)------
" Day-blind! that's it, as you think that this (the heart) is elsewhere from us. Should it (the heart/Consciousness holding us)) be elsewhere either the dogs would eat it (the body) or the birds would tear it off. " Thus it was said. (Quoted from verse 3.9.25 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
This means, wherever there will be a body or a defined entity, there will be certainly the heart holding it; certainly there will be a loving conscious field of gravity. It can't be elsewhere.
(*Note: Clenching fists is a part of the rituals in soma yaaga (oblation to soma). This is stated in the First Panjika (Chapter), third part of Aitareya Brahmana (part of Rik Veda). It is further stated that the fetus lies in the womb clenching its fists, the new born also clenches its fists, and in those clenched fists they hold all the deities and the acts of oblations.)
68. The Soul in the heart.
Verse 3.6 of Prashopanishad mentions, hRidi (in the heart) hi (indeed) eSha (is this) atmaa (soul)-----the soul indeed is in the heart.
The following is stated in Verse 4.3.7 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad,
(Question): katamaH (who the one) aatma (is soul) ------Who the one is the soul?
(Answer): yaH (who) ayam (is this) vij~naanmayaH (knowing, conscious) praaNeShu (within the senses and faculties) hRidi (in the heart) antaH (inside) jyotiH (the illuminated form)------ This one, who is knowing (who is the sense) within the senses and faculties, who is the illuminated form inside the heart. (Quoted Verse 4.3.7 of Brihadranyaka Upanisha.)
69. The streams (naaDii) of the heart.
In this article, by the heart, we mean Consciousness as the heart. The function of the physical heart is to circulate an Oxygen-rich blood to all the parts of the body and return Oxygen-lean blood to the lungs. The Oxygen-rich blood flows through the arteries and Oxygen -lean blood flows through the veins. These arteries and veins have sub-branches and the thinnest branches are called capillaries. There are estimated ten billion capillaries in the human body. (Refer to < http://www.vhlab.umn.edu/atlas/physiology-tutorial/blood-vessels.shtml#:~:text> .)
Like these physical conduits or channels described above as arteries, veins, and capillaries, the flow of Consciousness is driven from the heart as the centre where the Soul is located. The Soul or Consciousness is knowing itself in countless ways and that has created us, and the deities through whom Consciousness is regulating.
The physical nerves, veins, arteries, capillaries, and all limbs and parts of the body are created in Consciousness and are driven by Consciousness.
Immediately behind the physicality is the mind. Mind is held by the heart (feelings, desires) and driven by the heart. The heart is driven by teja or the radiant Consciousness who becomes many by its own faculty or by vaak. This field of teja is the domain of our instincts.
These three aspects of Consciousness are known as trivRit (trinity) in Upanishad and are also called teja/tejas, jala and anna or vaak, praaNa, and mana /manas.
The radiant Soul, or praaNa is spreading everywhere from the heart and this aspect is known as vyaana. Any function of vyaana, or a any collective functions of streams of hitaa has a centre called naabhi or navel that is analogus to the nave of a wheel. (We have discussed this before.)
vyaana = vi +ana; vi = various/different; vyaana= ana or praaNa streaming in all directions, knowing in all directions. In Prashnopanishad it is said that Consciousness as vyaana is in movement in these streams. Thus it is said,
hRidi hi eSha aatmaa. atra etad ekashataM naaDiinM tasaaM shataM shataM eka eka asyaa dvaasaptatiH dvaasaptatiH prati shaakhaa naaDii saharsraanNi bhavanti aasu vyaanaH charati. (Prashnopanishad Verse 3.6.)
Word-word meaning
hRidi (in the heart) hi (indeed) eSha (this) aatmaa (soul)---- The soul is located in the heart.
atra (here) etad (these) ekashataM (eka-one, shataM--hundred) naaDiinM (the streams----Here, these one hundred and one streams
tasaaM (among them) eka eka (each and everyone) asyaam (of these) shataM shataM ( hundred- hundred)----among them each and everyone is hundred-hundred-----among them each and everyone is branching off in hundred;
dvaasapttiH dvaasaptatiH prati shaakhaa naaDii saharsraanNi bhavanti -----prati (every) shaakhaa (branch) naaDii (stream) dvaasaptatiH dvaasaptatiH (seventytwo- seventytwo) saharsraanNi (thousand) bhavanti (become/exist)----each such branch of the streams becomes (splits into) seventy two thousand (sub-streams)-----every branch-stream becomes seventy-two-thousand sub-streams;
aasu (in these) vyaanaH (vyan) charati (moves around/flows)---- vyaan moves around in these.
Consolidated meaning.
The soul is located in the heart. Here are these one hundred and one routes; among them, each and everyone is branching off in hundred; each such branch of the routes becomes (splits into) seventy-two-thousand (sub-streams) and in these vyaan moves around. (Prashnopanishad Verse 3.6.)
I have used the word 'route' against the Sanskrit word naaDii. This word naaDii actually means the flying of Consciousness out of joy. naaDii= naa + Dii. Dii is a verb that means 'to fly'. naa means the negativity or the joy when 'no one is there but only the Soul or Oneness'. Out of that joy, the Soul in the heart is splitting into countless joyous streams of Consciousness which are driving the activities in us and the activities of the universe.
70. indra and viraaT----the couple who roams in the lanes and bylanes of the heart.
In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad it is stated that the being in the right eye is indha and is also called indra.
The self (soul) effulgent (svayam-jyotii) form of the Soul is indha or indra. The absolutely independent, omniscient Consciousness is spontaneously expressing itself by its own faculty or by itself. In this expression, everything is revealed, i.e. the creator or the source itself and the universe. From the vision of Consciousness, views, and realities are created. Thus Consciousness is indha. indha means who creates fire or vision. indhana means fuel; the root verb indh means 'to blaze'.
indhaH (indha) ha vai (indeed is) naama (the name) eSha (this) yaH (who) ayam (in this) dakShiNe (rght) akShaN (eye /axis) puruShaH (the being/entity)----indha indeed is the name of the being who is in the right eye. (Extract from the verse 4.2.2 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad.)
But though, in fact, he is indha but he is regarded as indra; he is known as indra. indra = idam (it, this) +dra/draShtri (observer). indra is the universal divine observer and the perceptions of everyone are parts of his observation. It is for this reason our organs for senses and working are called indriya.
We are also observing the reality all the time, like 'this is flower', 'this is the sky'...... These are parts of indra's vision, and indra sees everything as the expression of the Self or the Soul.
indra is the king of heaven, the king of the deities, and each deity is a personality of Consciousness that represents an aspect of Consciousness among the infinite aspects; thus each deity is a source of an ingredient of the universe.
Though indra sees everything as the formation of the Soul, however, the universe cannot be in a stable state of existence or reality unless the source gets obscured, so that what is created from the source can become prominent. So, the deities like and follow the indirectness as through them the creation and the regulation of the universe are happening. They love indirect addresses, as the universe is primarily based on indirectness or duality, on curvatures and bending.
Thus, out of the love for indirectness, the deities call indha as indra; indha implies the one who is creating. indra implies the observer of what is being created. This implementation of indirectness or the dominance of duality in the creation has been stated in verse 4.2.2 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad. It is said,
taM vaa etam (that who is this) indhaM (indha) santam (despite) indra (indra) iti (as) aachakShate (regarded) parokSheNaiva (in indirect way); parokShapriyaa (fond of regarding or viewing indirectly) iva (is the manner) hi (indeed) devaaH (of the deities) pratyakshadviShaH (hater of viewing in direct manner) (Extract from the verse 4.2.2 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad.)
That who is this Indha (indha), despite, he is regarded as Indra (indra) indirectly; the deities indeed are fond of viewing indirectly, they are the haters of direct manners.(Extract from the verse 4.2.2 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad.)
The next verse (4.2.3 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad) says that the being in the left eye is the wife (faculty) of indra and her name is viraaT.
indha and indra are the same one, i.e. the formation of vision and perception of vision are done by the same one, as well as the faculty (viraaT) by which the observer sees is also the same one, same Consciousness. In the domain of duality, the domain where everything appears different from the self (or the soul), they (view, observer, the creator of vision, the faculty of vision) are seen as different and also they are described as different by the seers to enable grasping correctly the mysteries of Consciousness. Also, our tendency is to remain involved in what we see or feel; we are not inclined to see the source, from where the vision or the feelings are coming to us, and how we are viewing.
viraaT is said to be the wife or the faculty of indra. Whatever indra observes, it is viraaT in that form enables indra to see. viraaT= vi (many, various) + raaT >raaj (existing, shining; raaT> rata=disposition; raaj= to shine and to be dominant).
Whatever routes (naaDii) that we have described above within which vyaana flows, are also called the streams (naaDii)/ routes named hitaa. The movement of vyaana is mentioned as the movement of indra and viraaT together along the lanes and bylanes of hitaa, and thus all the activities of the universe are realized.
What all are contained within the heart (hRidaya) of Universal Consciousness, or within the heart of each of us, are contained within hitaa, and indra is seeing all these. One of the meanings of hita is nihita or contained/ laid, and another meaning is 'wholesome/ beneficial'. angi or praaNa-agni has been hailed as purohita in Rik Veda. purohita= puro (in front) + hita (laid/placed), i.e. agni or praaNa moves ahead of everything and leads everyone/every event. These hitaa are the paths of agni. This agni or praaNa has been mentioned as vyaana in Prashnaponishad, as stated above. praaNa or vyaana as indra and viraaT are walking in the roads made of hitaa. Upanishad has mentioned these roads or routes as sRiti (street) and saMcharaNiii (walk-way). Here is an extract from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (extract from verse 4.2.2):
tayaH (their) eSha (is this) saMstaavo (saM --together; staava---dwelling filled with hymns) ya (what is) eShaH (this) antarhRidaya (antarhRidaya---antaH + hRidaya----inside the heart) aakaashaH (sky)---this, the sky inside the heart, is their place of togetherness that is filled with hymns;
atha (and now) enayaH (their) etad (this) annaM (food; anaa---ana or praaNa who provides nourishment) ya (what) eShaH (this) lohita (red) piNDaH (lump)-----and now this is is their food what is this red lump within the heart;
atha (and now) enayaH (their) etad (this) praavaraNaM (pra--elegant + aavraNam--cover) yad (what) etad (this) antarhRidaya (antarhRidaya---antaH + hRidaya----inside the heart) jaalakam (mesh) iva (like)-----and now this is their elegant cover what is this mesh like (structure) within the heart
atha (and now) enayaH (their) eShaa(this) sRitiH (street) saMcharaNii (walkway) ya (what) eShaa (this) hRidayat (from the heart) uurdhvaa (rising up) naaDii (stream) uchcharati (goes upward) ----and now this, the route (stream) that rises upward from the heart is their street and walkway
yatha (as the) keshaH (hair) sahasradhaa (in thousnad) bhinna (split) evam (like) asya (its/the Soul's) etaaH (these) hitaa (hitaa) naama (named) naadyaH (naaDii/streams) hRidaye (in the heart) pratiShThitaa (located) bhavanti (happen to be)-------- as the hair split in thousand, like that are it's (the Soul's), these streams /nerves, happen to be located in the heart
etaabhiH (by these) vaa (indeed) etad (these/these foods we eat/the senses we perceive) aasravad (are flown into) assravati (and this flows/ thus flows as hitaa)----by these indeed all these (which we eat/which we perceive) are flown into and (thus) flows (as hitaa)
tasmaat (therefore) eSha (this soul/this soul in the heart) pravivikta (discriminating) aahaar (eating) tara (compared to) bhavati (happens to be) asmad (from this) shariiraat (body/bodily involved/physically involved) aatmanaH (soul / the being)-----therefore this soul happens to be the eater with discrimination (the soul eats by separating out/ discarding the physicality) compared to the bodily-being (who is living with the body or physicality).
(Consolidated meaning): This, the sky inside the heart, is their place of togetherness that is filled with hymns; and now this is their food what is this red lump within the heart, and now this is their elegant cover what is this mesh-like (structure) within the heart, and now this, the route (stream/nerve/naaDii) that rises from the heart is their street and walkway; as a hair splits in thousand, like that are it's (the Soul's), these streams/nerves, happen to be located in the heart; by these (hitaa) indeed all these (which we eat/which we perceive) are flown into and (thus) flows (as hitaa). Therefore this soul happens to be the eater with discrimination (the soul eats by separating out/discarding the physicality) compared to the bodily-being (who is living with the body or physicality). (Extract from verse 4.2.3 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
The food that we eat, the universe that we see, the physicality in which we live, are nothing else but Consciousness, nothing else but created from the knowledge of Consciousness who is simultaneously one and many. Thus, though physicality is the physical form of Consciousness, whatever we eat in the physical world, whatever we perceive in the physical world, they are brought in us for the due assimilation or integration; and within us, in the inner sky, the subtle parts go the soul, and this is described as the soul eating by discrimination or segregation (picking up the subtle parts from the coarse or physical parts). This is mentioned by the term 'pravivikta aahaartara'. These assimilated foods or the senses then exist in radiant colours, and thus it is said (in Prashnopanishad) , spata archishaH bhvanti---seven flames are formed. This soul, indha, radiating within the heart has been mentioned as 'taijasa aatman' or the 'radiant soul' in Upanishad.
We have mentioned 'lohita piNDa' or the red lump of the heart as the food of indra and viraaT. This red lump is the 'physical world/ body / earth', which they eat; thus it is said, that the essence of the physicality is being flown into by hitaa and it flows in the heart-------by these (hitaa) indeed all these (which we eat/which we perceive) are flown into and (thus) flows (as hitaa).
71. jihva / jihvaa----the tongue, and the saliva (laalaa); kissing (chumbana) and magnet (chumbaka).
jihvaa (also jihva) is the Sanskrit word for tongue. It means the personality of Consciousness, who wins (ji) or receives whatever is offered (hu). jihvaa = ji+hu+aa.
jihvaa is also called rasanaa. rasanaa means the one who leads (naya/nayati) rasa (the sap that dissolves the food as the first step to drive the foods in hitaa.) rasanaa-----rasam (sap) nayati (leads).
The word laalaa means saliva. It is related to the word laya meaning 'act of dissolving, dissolution'. The word laalaa is also related to the word laalana meaning 'caressing'. One of the functions of the tongue is 'licking'. lih means 'to lick', and liha as well as lehana means the act of licking. We know in the animal kingdom, how the mother caresses the cub by licking. We eat by chewing, licking, dissolving the food in saliva and finally the food is absorbed in us to accomplish our nourishment. In every moment of our existence, whatever we sense, we know it, we feel it, and that changes us, and matures our faculties. This is how we are evolving. This is the process of assimilation of the food or senses that Consciousness feeds us. We have explained this earlier in the context of listening or shruti; whatever words the tongue pronounces or throws in the air or outer space, it also tastes it, listens to it. Uttering as well as tasting both are the properties of the tongue. What is tasting a food, it is the same as listening to a sound. Every word is an entity, and this perceptible, physical universe is created in the Consciousness, the defined objects and entities are the words or definitions of Consciousness. As our words remain attached to us, similarly the universe is attached to the Consciousness; this is licking and kissing. Kiss is chumbana; the root verb chumb means to kiss. The word chumbaka means 'a magnet', and is also called loha (iron)-maNi (gem)---a gem of iron, and loha (iron)-kaanta (charming)-----charming iron. The words loha and lauha both mean iron and is related to the word lohita (lo+hita) which means red. The uttered words are kissed by the lips and caressed by the licks of Consciousness. They remain in a magnetic plane. We remain attached to our origin, to the Consciousness; our words remain attached to us and live in our memory. The Sanskrit alphabet la implies lagna or attachment.
All these words laalaa (saliva), lih (to lick), lohita (red), laalana (to caress), loha (iron), loha-maNi (magnet), chumb (to kiss), chumbaka (magnet), lakta (also rakta meaning blood), and the lip are connected in relational manners in the Consciousness.
It is interesting to note that both saliva and blood contain iron, and like blood samples, samples of saliva are also used by clinical pathology to determine iron deficiency.
It may be noted that iron (loha) is also known as red (lohita) metal as the oxide of iron (Ferric Oxide) is red in colour. Red is lohita and the blood is called lakta as well as rakta. rakta also means, (i) red, (ii) beloved, and (iii) what is dyed or painted. This blood is generated from the heart, out of love as Consciousness holds us as its own entity. Iron in the blood plays vital roles of oxygen-transportation to various parts of the body, converts sugar into energy, supports the immune system, boosts cognitive function, helps to maintain healthy skin, nails, and hairs, and plays a major role in metabolism and growth. The word rohita (red) is from the root verb ruh meaning ' to grow' or 'to thrive'. The red colour is of the longest wavelength and acts as the coat during materialization. (Like red oxide of iron is used as the primary-coat in painting process.)
When we say red colour, it is the red hue of Consciousness, and the colour produced in physicality when Consciousness materializes its love, its attraction. This makes the iron core and magnetic fields as observed in the earth. Red is attractive, the root verb lubh means to entice, to attract; the English word 'love' has originated from 'lubh'.
72. The sound of joy from the tongue-----uluulava; uvula--the inner tongue and Algebra.
The sound of elation from all the entities and creatures, who see the sun (aaditya) or praaNa ushering and rising, is known as uluulava or uluu-rava (rava = sound; ravi = the sun). This has been stated in verse 3.19.3 of Chandogya Upanishad. This sound is uttered by Hindu women by rapidly flipping the protruding tongue during rituals based on Vedic rites. The sound or the word rises up from the region of darkness or silence and manifests in shining articulation.
The uvula is called ali-jihvaa in Sanskrit. It is also called inner tongue or the root or the seat of the words which are articulated. In fact, the mathematics of the root is called Algebra, and it got its name from the word ali-jihvaa, where the roots of the articulated words exist. (In Indian dialect, like in Bengali (Bangla) language ali-jihvaa is called 'aaljihvaa' and also 'aaljiv'. )
uluulava or the ululation is produced by the rapid back-and-forth motion of the tongue and the uvula, by rolling the tongue.
Some of the properties of the uvula (ali-jihvaa) as mentioned by modern medical science are decribed below.
Physically, the uvula is in the middle of the soft palate and is hanging in the cavity of the mouth, pointing toward the throat. It produces a large amount of saliva that keeps the throat moist and lubricated, which is needed for swallowing and also for digestion. Uvula also isolates nasal passage from the mouth so that food or drink cannot enter into the nose during eating or drinking. Uvula plays a role in speech formation. As it is not there in mammals other than human beings, and as it secretes large amounts of saliva in the throat, it is considered to play a role in processing speech. In many languages like French, German, Hebrew certain consonants are pronounced by constricting airflow between the uvula the and back of the tongue.
Uvula plays the role of directing the sound (air flow) toward the oral cavity or nasal cavity, resulting in oral sounds or nasal sounds.
Here is the quote from Chandogya Upanishad (Verse 3.19.3) on uluulava.
atha (and now) yad (who) tad (that) ajaayata (was born) saH (it) asou (that) aadityaH (the sun); tam (it) jaayamaanaM (when nascent) ghoShaa (sounds) uluulavaH (ululation sound) anu (toward) ud-tiSThanti (arose) sarvaaNi (all) cha (and) bhuutaani (creatures) sarve (all) cha (and) kaamaH (those of desire) tasmaat (that is why) tasyaH (its) udayaM (rising) prati (toward) prati-ayanaM (toward the opposite motion/ setting) prati (toward) ghoShaa (sounds) uluulavaH (ululation sound) ut-tiShTnati (arise) sarvaaNi (all) cha (and) bhuutaani (creatures) sarve (all) cha (and) kaamaaH (those of desire) -----And now, who is that sun, was born; when it was nascent, the sound of ululation arose toward this; all the creatures, all those of desire (greeted); that is why the sounds of ululation arise toward the rising (sun) and (also) toward the (sun) setting; all the creatures, all those of desire (greet). (Chandogya Upanishad Verse 3.19.3).
The word uluulava which has been mentioned above is probably the origin of the word 'uvula'.
The uvula is called indra-yoni or the origin of indra. yoni means origin or the place of origin. A vulva is also called yoni.
(It is noteworthy that both the words uvula and vulva consist of the same alphabets (only the word uvula has two 'u' and one 'v', and the word vulva has two 'v' and one 'u') and in the context of Upanishad, both imply 'origin'.)
The cavities/ regions from the heart to the brain are physical locations of the 'sky within the heart' or 'antara (inside)-hRidaya (heart)-aakaasha (sky), and the uvula is located there.
Following is quoted from verse1.6. of Taittariya Upanishad. It is mentioned:
anatreNa (inside/middle) taaluke (of two (soft) palates) ya (what) eSha (this) stana (breast/nipple) iva (like) avalambate (hangs) saa (she is / that is) indra (indra) yoniH (yoni)------ In the middle of the two palates, this what hangs like a breast/nipple that is the origin of indra.
While discussing the word ali-jihvaa and Algebra earlier, we have mentioned that ali-jihvaa or the uvula is the seat of the seeds or the roots of the words. With every word or every expression of Consciousness, from the Oneness, Consciousness creates a second form, whose definition is that articulated word. Consciousness also observes and perceives what is thus created. The immutable soul, as the observer is indra. The sense of 'self' or the sense of 'I am' is an assertion along with the 'observation'. Thus this root of the tongue or uvula (ali-jihvaa) is the birth place of indra.
There is an implication of the word stana (breast /nipple) in the expression 'stana iva ablambate' (hanging like. a breast). The word stana also means 'sound'. It is from the root verb stan, which means, 'to roar', 'to sound', 'to thunder', 'to reverberate'. etc. The word stana (breast) is sta+na. 'sta' means 'stationed', 'founded'. 'na' represents the 'reverberating sounds'. Any sound emitted, any word spoken reverberates through the time and space, and they are founded in the breasts of the Mother Consciousness; She is nourishing the universe with Her words. 'stan' also means to produce sound from the hollow of the heart by resonance. Hollow of the heart means the 'sky within the heart'. (Refer the Verse 5.8.1 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad regarding the breasts of the goddess vaak.)
indra is called stanayitnu. (Refer to verse 3.9.6 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad.) stanayitnu means 'lightning'. It is the illumination of Consciousness that creates the observation or vision of indra, or it is the illumination of indra; it is the light (ravi) associated with the sound (rava). The light (expression/vision) of the Soul and the associated flood of feelings, the flow of divine milk (dugdha) from the bosom of Mother Consciousness are what that characterizes indra.
dugdha is 'milk'. The word is from the root verb 'duh', which means 'to extract', 'to milk out.' dha or dhaa means 'to hold'. So, what is being extracted by Consciousness from herself, is the milk that holds indra, that holds the entire divinity (div) and the creation. This milk is the raindrops from the cloud that pour down by the lightning associated with the rumbling of clouds; the milk that makes the earth verdant. This milk bears the sap of the emotions, feelings, and ideas which are rained in our heart, in the inner sky, as the words of Consciousness.
Below is a citation from Chandogya Upanishad (Verse 1.13.4):
dugdhe (milks) asmai (for him/for her; for the worshipper) vaak (vaak) doham (milk), yad (what; what all) vaachaH (belonging to vaak) dohaH (milk that can be drawn)----vaak (herself) milks for the worshipper what all the milk belongs to vaak.
vaak is called dogdhRii meaning a 'milker' and also duhitRi (meaning daughter and milker), as vaak, or Consciousness as vaak, is drawing the universe out of her by herself.
73. The tongues and the flicker of agni the fiery Consciousness.
Consciousness has been described with seven flickering tongues in Upanishad.
We are quoting the verse below:
kaalii karaalii manojava cha
sulohitaa jaa cha sudhuumravarNaa |
sphuli~Nginii vishvaruchi cha devii
lelaayamaanaa iti sapta jihvaa || (Mundaka Upanishad, Verse 1.2.4.)
Thus the name of the seven tongues are:
(i) kaalii------Goddess Consciousness from whom kaala (time) or the creation, existence and annihilation are being generated.
(ii) karaalii----Goddess Consciousness who is cleaving herself or cleaving Oneness to create every event, every activity.
(iii) manojava-----Goddess Consciousness who is faster than the mind; manojava = manasaH (than the mind) javiiyaH (faster). (Refer verse 4 of Ishopanishad.)
(iv) sulohitaa---su (extracted) lohita (red and growing; (see above the narration on lohita and rohita))----Goddess Consciousness who is extracting redness or love out of herself and growing/expanding; (red shift of the universe!)
(v) sudhruumravarNaa------su (extracting) dhuumra (smoky/ cloudy) varNaa (colour)----Goddess Consciousness who is emanating the smoky hue or the clouds out of herself; clouds those rain everything.
(vi) sphuli~Nginii------Goddess Consciousness who is sparking----Goddess Consciousness from whom the universe is splitting out as sparks (like the words coming out of the tongue like the sparks).
(vii) vishvaruchi-----vishva (universe) ruchi (taste, appetite)------Goddess Consciousness who is tasting the entire universe; goddess Consciousness who is existing as the sense of tatse and flavour in everyone.
The last line of the verse is, " lelaayamaanaa (flickering) iti (are thus) sapta (the seven) jihvaa (tongues)" ----thus the seven tongues are flickering.
The seven goddesses listed above are the seven flickering tongues of Consciousness. Each type of flicker is the way Consciousness is deviating from its unperturbed Oneness towards the creation, sustenance, and annihilation of the universe.
74. Goddess kaalii and Jehovah the god of the Jews.
The idol of the Hindu goddess Kalii (kaalii) displays her tongue, the sickle (the cleaver), the garland of heads (universe), and her blood (lohita) stained mouth. She is described as the great luminous cloud (mahaa-megha-prabhaam). Cloud is megha and this word is from the root verb mih meaning ' to sprinkle', 'to emit seminal fluid' etc. So, here megha means the form of Consciousness from whom the universe is raining down.
The Jews worship the tongue (jihva/jihvaa) as Jehovah. Jehovah is the Latinization of Hebrew Yəhōwā.
Yəhōwā is the vocalization of one of the seven names of gods in Judaism. (Refer to <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah> ).
75. The lips
The upper lip is called oShTha and the lower lip is called adhara. The upper lip is said to belong to heaven and the lower lip to the earth. The words are coming out of the lips, being kissed by the lips. The upper one is the heaven (div) and the heavenly canopy (apidhaana). The lower one is the earth (pRithivii). Every creation, every uttered word of Consciousness is held between heaven (div) and the earth (pRithivii) and this is the famous pair of Veda known as dyaavaa-pRiThivii . The plane of self(soul)-effulgence, from where everything is manifested and regulated is div, divinity or heaven. Here there is no ending, no limiting boundary. pRithivii (earth) or the physical plane is the plane where isolated (pRithak), defined, forms or bodies enclosed within secured boundaries are located.
Whatever is directed from the heaven, whatever is manifested, it is received in the earth. Like 'humanity' is created in the divine mental sphere and is transformed into physical entities called human beings. Again, every individual human being is being regulated by heaven. So, one is creating and the other is receiving and holding.
Every word or every creature is held in the Consciousness out of love, and each creature moves in its orbit or life-path being held in this magnetic plane of love. This is kissing or act of magnetism, and a magnet is called chumbak which is related to the word chumb meaning to kiss. We have already discussed these in the previous section. The air (vaayu) or the divine thread (suutra-atmaan), who is also in the lips as the 'sense of touch' connects the heaven (divinity) and the earth (pRithivii). Like kissing, the lips allow a baby to suck the nipple of its mother during the breast feeding.
Upper lip oShTha
oShTha = a + uSh +Tha;
a = ayam= this;
uSh--to rise up and radiate the warmth (of life); uShaa = the dawn; the goddess of dawn; uShma = warmth; warmth in the body that confirms the presence of life (praaNa).
Tha > stha = standing, stationed;
So, oshTha is the upper lip or praaNa, who is up to emit the radiant praaNa, Consciousness, or the radiant words, Consciousness radiating the divinity.
Both the upper and lower lips have portions with a reddish colour, called vermillion zones, as if, the lips are exhibiting the colour of the dawn (uuShaa) or 'the rising word'.
adhara-----Lower lip
adhara---adha (downward) + ra (rava--the sound)----Consciousness dominating on the sounds downward, the sounds those are captured by apaana, by the earth; the sounds those are in physical formation.
In addition to the process of eating, both the lips play critical roles in articulation as well in facial expression; every expression of face exhibits the graphically the form of the 'word-entity' articulated.
76. Cupid bow on the upper lip.
A bow is called dhanu. This word is from the root verb dhan or dhaN, meaning 'to sound'. The bow or dhanu is an instrument or a faculty by which we hurl a word toward a target, or we speak a word with an intention formed in our mind as 'determination' (saMkalpa). The cupid bow lip exhibits this. As mentioned before, every expression of divinity, or every word is coming to the earth and captured in physicality, and thus the perceptible universe is formed. Also, when we utter our words, it is not just getting articulated to the outer space; whatever we articulate, we listen to it, and so the word also goes back inside, back to the source. The way the cupid bow is formed on the upper lip or oshTha, it represents that the bow is positioned to release the arrow upward toward the brain from where the words are originating.
Here are quotes from Upanishad:
dhanur gRihiitvaa upanishadaM mahaa astraM |
sharaM hi upaasaa nishitaa saMdhayiita ||
aayamya tad bhaavgatena chetasaa |
lakShyaM tadeva akSharaM somya viddhi || ( Mundaka Upanishad Verse 2.2.3.)
Word-word meaning
dhanur (of the bow) gRihiitvaa (taking possession) upanishadam (upanishad; quoted in Upanishad) mahaa (the great) astraM (missile weapon)-----By taking possession of the bow, the great missile-weapon quoted by Upanishad
sharaM (the arrow) hi (indeed) upaasaa (by the meditation) nishitaa (sharpened) saMdhayiita (fix, unite)-----fix on it the arrow sharpened by meditation
aayamya (draw) tad (that) bhaavgatena (sucked in thought) chetasaa (by the mind)------draw (the bow) by the mind that has been sucked in that thought (mind seized by the thought or the vision of the target)
lakShyaM (the target) tad (that) eva (is) akSharaM (immortal soul) somya (you who illuminated by internal light/ light of soma or moon) viddhi (hit) ------the target is that immortal soul, somya (you illuminated by inner shine) hit.
Consolidated meaning.
By taking possession of the bow, the great missile weapon of Upanishad, fix on it the arrow sharpened by meditation, draw (the bow) by the mind that has been sucked in that (target's) thought (mind seized by the thought or by the vision of the target), you illuminated by the inner shine, hit! (Mundaka Upanishad Verse 2.2.3.)
The next verse is quoted below:
praNavo dhanuH sharo hyaatmaa brahma tallakShyamuchyate |
apramattena veddhavyaM sharavattanmayo bhavet || (Mundaka Upanishad Verse 2.2.4.)
|
Word-word meaning
praNavaH (oMkaara---- Consciousness as the primary sound/expression, which is the origin of all events, origin of all creation, sustenance, and annihilation; praNava = praNauti ---who is becoming new at every moment; refer to Chandogya Upanishad) dhanuH (dhanu =bow=source of all dhvani or sound )-----praNava (oMkaara the prime expression of Consciousness as the origin of all expressions) is the bow
sharo (the arrow) hi (indeed) aatmaa (the soul; the soul or self hurled as the word) -----------the arrow indeed is the soul/self (who is being hurled as the words)
brahma (the universal Soul who is ever growing and surpassing) tad (it's/the arrow's) lakShyam (target) uchyate (is said)-----brahma (the universal Soul who is ever growing and surpassing) is said to be the target
apramattena (by the one who is composed) veddhavyaM (to be hit)-----to be hit by the one who is composed
sharavat (like the arrow) tanmayo (focused) bhavet (be)----be focused like the arrow (that remains pointed to the target)
Consolidated meaning.
praNava (oMkaara the prime expression of Consciousness as the origin of all expressions) is the bow, the arrow indeed is the soul/self (who is being hurled as the words from Consciousness), brahma (the universal Soul who is ever growing and surpassing) is said to be the target; to be hit by the one who is composed, (so) be focused like the arrow (that remains pointed to the target). (Mundaka Upanishad Verse 2.2.4.)
We have explained oM/oMkaara and vyoma (void) in Section 19 above. praNava is oM or oMkaara. Consciousness is oM and from Consciousness all manifestations or words are coming out. As every expression is a new (nava) form of Consciousness, so oM is called praNava. If Consciousness is every word, everything, so if this is 'known', then whatever one will utter, one will get it. Thus it is said that the bow must be 'praNava'.
77. Rik veda verse on tongue, upper lip, teeth , and goddess of speech.
We have earlier narrated the uttering of the words from the tongue and by the lips. There is a verse in Rik Veda which is also chanted during the upanayana ceremony (sacred thread ceremony). In the upanayana ceremony, it is said that this verse or mantra is applied to touch mukhya praaNa or eternal Consciousness. (We have mentioned about mukhya praaNa earlier in this article.)
Thus it is cited:
prajaapati RishiH (the seer of the verse is prjaapati), anuShtup Chando (metre of the verse is anuShTup) jihvaa devataa (the deity of the verse is jihvaa or the personality of Consciousness called tongue) mukhya-praaNa-sparshane (to touch mukhya-praaNa) viniyogaH (is duly employed)---- The verse (mantra) whose seer is prajaapati, whose metre is anuShTup, whose deity is jihvaa (divine personality of tongue), (that mantra) is duly employed to touch mukhya-praaNa (eternal praaNa or Consciousness).
The verse is quoted below:
oM oShThaapidhaanaa nakulii dantaparimitaH paviH |
jihve maa vihvlo vaachaM chaaru maadyeha vaadaya ||
Word-word meaning
oM!
oShThaa (the lips) apidhaanaa / pidhaana (cover)-----covered by the lips
nakulii----(you) (na) without kulii ( kula= race; nakulii = without lineage)-----(you) without any lineage
/cast and creed
danta (by the teeth) parimitaH (regulated) -------regulated by the teeth
paviH (who flows and purify; pava----purification; puu---to make clean, purge)----flowing and purifying
jihve (on the tongue) maa (do not) vihvlo (falter)
vaachaM (word) chaaru (charming) maa (to me) adya iha (adya = now; iha= here, now, in this case; adya iha-----right now) vaadaya (make me speak)-----make me speak charming word right now
Consolidated meaning.
(This hymn is addressed to vaak or the consort/faculty of Eternal Consciousness or mukhya-praaNa. vaak the mother of words is shaping Consciousness/mukhya-praaNa into many words or many entities. vaak and mukhya-praaNa are the same.)
Covered by the lips
You, without any cast and creed!
Regulated by the teeth
You flowing and purifying.
Do not falter on my tongue
Make me speak the charming word right now.
In some versions of the above hymn, the word 'parivRitaH' (surrounded) has been used instead of ' parimitaH' (regulated).
The word ' nakula ' means without kula. The word ' kula ' means herd, race, and also imply 'lineage'. The word ' nakulii ' is the female form of ' nakula'.
(A mongoose is also called nakula may be because the banded mongoose do inbreeding, and thus a proper or well-defined lineage is lost.)
(The word 'regulated by teeth', reminds me of a liquid/oil flow measuring instrument that very precisely meters (measures) the flow of liquid through the teeth of the two gears that mesh with each other. The two meshing gears rotate as the liquid flows through it by its own pressure during the rotation; the teeth of the two gears keep disengaging from, and engaging with each other as the liquid makes its way through them. The two gears with the teeth appear to me as the two jaws with the teeth. The liquid flowing is similar to the streams of words (pavi). The parimitaH in the above quoted verse means pari (fully) mitaH (metered, regulated).)
78. The words pavi and danta (a tooth).
This word pavi as explained above means the one who is flowing and purifying, i.e. purging. pavi also means 'thunder-bolt'. vaak has been identified with vidyut or electricity. In Brihadaranyka Upanishad, it is stated that the sound 'da' that one hears as the sound from the clouds during lightning is the expression of daivii (divine) vaak. vaak or electricity can split asunder an entity or an object to reveal its divinity, its illuminated conscious form. This illuminated, self (soul) effulgent conscious form is its supreme (ut) state of existence (vid). Thus electricity i.e. vidyut means vid (to exist; vidyamaanataa= existence) + ut (supreme; above all), i.e., supreme state of existence.
Another meaning of vidyut is stated below, as quoted in Brihadranyaka Upanishad Verse 5.7.1 :
vidyud (vidyut) brahma iti aahuH (said)----vidyut is brahma, it is said.
vidaanaad (as splits asunder) vidyut----as it splits so it is vidyut
vidyate (splits asunder/smashes) enaM (this) paapmano (from sin) ya (who) evaM (like this) veda (knows)----one who knows like this, it splits the one from this sin.
Consolidated meaning.
It is said, vidyut (Electricity) is brahma; as it splits asunder so it is vidyut; one who knows like this, it (vidyut) splits the one from this sin. (Brihadranyaka Upanishad Verse 5.7.1)
As we bite, the teeth (like vidyut or Electricity) grind, tear, and crush the food. It breaks its hardness or physicality, then it is dissolved in saliva and swallowed. The subtle parts of the food we consume get integrated into our self and go to the soul. We have mentioned this before. These result in the seven hues in the inner sky. Here is a quote from Prashnopanishad:
madhye (in the middle) tu (and) samaanaH (samaana); eshaH (this he/ this samaana) hi (indeed) huutaM (offered) annaM (food) smamM (sameness/evenness) nayati (leads). tasmat (that's why) etaaH (these) sapto (seven)-archiSho (shines) bhavanti (happen)------and in the middle is samaanaa; he (this samaana) indeed leads the offered food to the sameness (evenness); that's why these seven shines happen (in the inner sky). (Refer to Verse 5.3 of Prashnopanishad.)
79. The divine dents ; three da.
As mentioned before, the thunder sounds as da, da, da, and these are the divine vaak or the messages from divinity.
Consciousness, who is vaak, the mother of all expressions, illuminates the sky with lightning (ashani) to say da to the deities and here da means 'damyata' or to restrain; it says da to the human beings, meaning to be generous to donate (datta; dana= act of donation; root verb is daa); it says da to the asura meaning to be kind (daya).
Thus there are three dents the goddess vaak wants to deliver to call back the three categories of creatures, deities, asura, and human beings to herself.
Deities were told 'damyata'; damayata is from the word dama meaning 'to restrain, tame'. Deities are self-radiant,expressive, and they create dualities. On behalf of Consciousness, they are creating and regulating to maintain the creation. As explained earlier, they hate directness, and in general they mask the Oneness to ensure that the creation is maintained, and creation does not get merged into the Oneness.
They were asked to restrain themselves by seeing that their power of self-expression and regulation belongs to vaak or belongs to the Soul. So, from the realm of self-expression that creates infinite varieties, they are urged to merge in the One who is the One in many and whose faculty has enabled them to create duality out of themselves and regulate the universe. vaak or the faculty of Soul who leads them into Oneness is called damayantii. damayantii has been mentioned as the wife of the king nala. nala means na (no) + laya (annihilation), i.e. who is imperishable or who is the immortal Soul.
Humans were asked to be generous, to donate. The root verb daa means to donate and the act of donating is daana. da (vaak) + ana (praaNa). The Soul or praaNa is splitting itself spontaneously by its own faculty vaak in many forms, thus sacrificing itself, donating itself as the universe. Similarly, if we look at our existence in Consciousness, we find splitting ourselves as our activities in every moment, and thus we find ourselves within everything associated with me in my activities. This is distribution or donation. Thus by our work, by our activities, we are expanding; this expands our heart, it expands our self, our horizon increases and our meanness fades away.
It may be noted that in Hindu scripts, the river of death is called vaitaraNii and one of the meanings of vaitaraNii is that it is the river to be crossed by vitaraNa or by donation.
We human beings, are naturally motivated to work and are distributing ourselves as our activities. We live in a domain whose speciality is work (karma) and its consequent effect (phala). For every thing we have to work, and in that process we distribute ourselves. As explained above, as our heart expands, as our self widens, we naturally start observing the universal conscious thread that has bound everyone with the the strength of Universal Oneness.
asura means those who are obsessed with the external resplendence of praaNa or Consciousness.
asura = asu (praaNa) + ra (ra~njana= colouring). They were asked to be kind or daya. 'ya' (which is a semi-vowel) means to control by taking within; what is the external resplendence, is the resplendence of da or vaak in the external world. When we realize that we know the external world in our Consciousness and thus within, the resplendence or the external blaze becomes the inner shine, Consciousness shining within. This is 'ya'. In this way, the dominance of physicality or the external world can be won.
It may be noted that in the same personality, there may be traits of a deity, human being and asura in different proportions.
80. Meaning of the word danta, eka-danta, daMsha.
danta means 'a tooth'. In this context, we have already mentioned two words, dama, and damayantii in the previous section. Etymologically the word danta means dam (to dominate, to conquer, to subdue) +ta (ta denotes an ending (anta), or an execution/materialization). The teeth carry the faculty of Consciousness that dominates on the physicality (marta/martya), teeth shape the words, and crush the food as the first step of eating and we chew by the teeth. The snarl of an animal acts to protect it by warding off its enemy. The teeth are exposed during a smile confirming the joyous gesture. We have mentioned in the context of the verse in Section 77 above, that the teeth are applying measures to the flow of praaNa or pavi, as the words are articulated. Consciousness as the teeth are shaping the expressions, the expression of the speakers as well as of the speeches. As explained in the previous sections that vaak is vidyut, and as thunder it shines in the external sky. Like vidyut that splits asunder, teeth also tear and split. The teeth in the upper rows and in the lower rows along with the jaws, act like the stones used to press out soma. Consciousness is pressing out the saps out of the external word at every moment as the senses and feeling in every moment. The teeth crushes the food similarly to initiate the process of extracting the sap or soma that nourishes us and finally becomes our inner shine.
eka-danta.
Lord gaNesha (the elephant-headed deity) is called ekdanta and also vinaayaka. He is called gaNesha, because he regulates groups (gaNa) of the deities (iisha). (gaNesha=gaNa + iisha.) These are the groups of deities called, vasu, rudra, marut, aaditya, saadhya and vishva-devataa. gaNesha = gaNa (group, class) +iisha (regulator).
The infinite divine personalities of Consciousness, each of whom is the unending source of an aspect of Consciousness, are the deities. They are summarized in the groups mentioned above. They are being regulated and led into the Oneness of Consciousness, into the immutable eternal Soul called akShara. As gaNesha leads the groups to Oneness, so he is called vinaayaka or the great/unique (vi) leader (naayaka). As he is leading the deities to the domain of Oneness or to the Soul, he is called eka (one)-danta (tooth). One of the implications of the elephant head of lord ganesh is the 'leadership faculty', as the elephants live in herds and a herd is led by a leader (naayaka); another implication is the piercing tusks which are magnificently white and can pierce like a thunder-bolt.
It is noteworthy that the vehicle of lord gaNesha is a mouse. A mouse has one pair of top incisors and one pair of bottom incisors, and they grow constantly. To keep the size of the incisors to a reasonable length, a mouse keeps on gnawing and chewing things. The teeth of a mouse are stronger and harder than those of human beings. Thus the species of mice and rodents carry the divinity that is the tool of vaak, that is incessantly creating dents to control and regulate the creation.
daMsha ----biting. dashana----tooth.
daMsh means 'to bite' and daMsha means 'biting' or 'stinging'. A word can sting us, and the words are stinging us. They are biting us too. Like, Consciousness has bitten me by the word 'human' and has held me by the jaws. I cannot think myself a bird or a flower. By a biting or a stinging of Consciousness, I have got a state which I call 'human being'. Consciousness has done it by the tooth, and a tooth is called dashana. By dashana our state or dashaa is created.
81. The corners of the lips----sRikva (also sRikka).
The corners of the lips are called commissure. These corners are the regions where the vermilion borders (the reddish borders) of the upper and lower lips meet. The movement of the corner of the lips or the change of the mouth angles exhibit the facial expression or the way praaNa is expressing, or a direction of praaNa. sRi means 'to flow, to begin to flow'. The alphabet ka is the first consonant and also the first alphabet of touch (sparsha varNa). Thus, sRika means, the beginning of an expression. The formation of words and articulation are the expressions of us or the expression of our emotions, our mind. The word sRikva (also sRikka) means the seat or the centre of Consciousness for the above-mentioned beginning of an expression . The dictionary says, that sRika means an arrow. An arrow implies an orientation (toward a target). Thus the Consciousness who steers the direction of a word or an arrow (shara) is sRikva (sRikka) when it leaves the mouth or the speaker. This direction gets revealed in the facial expression. There are two commissures of the lips, at the two ends; as you cannot hurl an arrow unless both the ends of the bow are tied to the string, so we cannot reach the goal unless the divinity and the physicality are tied together. (Refer to the mention of the pair dyaavaa-pRiThivii above.)
These commissures or sRikva (sRikka) are mentioned in the hymns to the goddess (kaalii) about whom we have mentioned above in the context of the seven tongues of Consciousness. The relevant portion is quoted below:
sRikka-dvaya (from the two corners of lips) galad (dripping)-rakta (blood) dhaara (streams) visphurita (flashing) aanaam (face)-----(Goddess Kaalii's) blood-streams dripping down the two corners of the lips and flashing her face. Blood streams means, the streams of rakta or streams of passionate attachment, and the reflection of that passion is shining on the face. rakta means 'blood'; rakta = ra (possession, love)+akta (smeared)----Consciousness anointed with the love that binds.
82, Jaw---hanu.
A jaw is called hanu in Sanskrit. The word hanu has its origin in the root word han meaning to kill or to destroy. haM denotes the space or void where all dimensions have been killed. haM is the sacred seed word (beeja-mantra) for the sky. haMsa means swan, but it actually means, the sacred words of the sky or the sacred beings of words. The hollow within the mouth is a physical appearance of this sky. If we know that the materials are created in Consciousness, then we realize that our real body is made of words and we can fly in the inner-sky. It is for this reason, the title haMsa is sometime ascribed to the sages.
The upper jaw is called uttaraa hanu and the lower jaw is called adharaa hanu. When Consciousness created, Consciousness simultaneously vowed to devour the every entity that is created : sa (it/the creator ) yad yda eva (whatever) asRijata (created) tad (that) tad (that) attum (for eating) adhriyata (vowed)------whatever it (the creator) created, it vowed to eat it. (Quoted from Verse 1.2.5 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ).
As explained before, eating is the process of assimilation or integration into the soul. Consciousness with its jaws, teeth, tongue and other organs, which are its own forms, are assimilating us. We are evolving to merge in the Oneness of Consciousness, and they (the jaws, teeth, tongue and other organs needed for eating) are all conscious personalities. It is stated in the next part of the verse: sarvam (all/everyone) vai (indeed) atti (it eats) iti (so) tad (that) aditeH (of aditi) adititvam (quality of being aditi)-------it indeed eats everyone, so that is the quality of aditi being aditi (without duality or sense of difference). (Quoted from Verse 1.2.5 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ).
We have mentioned aditi and aaditya earlier in this article. aditi is the goddess of the deities and the mother of aaidtya. aaditya is the sun. aaditya means the one who has the traits of aditi. Both the words, aditi and aaditya originate from the root verb ad; ad means 'to eat'. Also, aditi means a (without) +diti (duality). (The English word 'add' must be from the Sanskrit word 'ad'. Add = adding to One.)
The sun, aaditya, is our source of time, the time that is consuming us and driving us through our evolution through the cycles of our deaths and births. Our evolution means our journey back to our source from whom we have originated, the Oneness from whom we were split with separate individualities.
Similarly when we eat, the foods get integrated in us, they get distributed in all our parts and become the shine (shine of moon or soma) in our inner-sky.
The jaws are controlling the opening of the mouth and the process of eating; they are executing the action of 'han' or conversion (of the foods) into the dimensionless state (haM). So, they are called hanu, i.e. what is associated with 'han'.
The one who knows the mysteries of han, the one lives in the regions beyond dimensions, such a knower is called hanumaan. The legendary hanu-maan (hanumat) of the epic Ramayana, is also called maaruti. maaruti is the son of the deity marut. marut means mar (mortality) +ut (above)---who drives us above mortality. vaayu or divine air is known as marut. Air and void are both the dimension-less aspects of Consciousness.
The lower jaw is adharaa hanu. adhaH or adhas is the downward direction, and it is the direction in which the words or the expressions of Consciousness are held in physical forms. adhara also means the 'lower-lip'. We have explained earlier that adhara is the goddess earth in whose domain, the words or the expressions of vaak or Consciousness are held in the physical forms, as the realized universe. It is for this reason, vaak has been identified with the earth or pRithivii in the Vedas. The self-expressing divinity or dyu is praaNa, and praaNa is impregnating pRithivii or vaak. The seminal fluid is soma, and it is in the form of water or ap in the earth. This brings life to the earth, the recycles of death and re-birth are happening through the rains and corpse (as explained earlier). oShTha belongs to the heaven or dyu, and we have mentioned this before, and so also the upper jaw or uttaraa hanu. These upper and lower jaws are the famous couple dyaavaa-pRithivii (couple that is the heaven and the earth) of the Vedas, and this couple is existing as the two jaws in our body.
The tongue (jihvaa) rests in adharaa hanu or inside the lower jaw. As we utter words, it lifts, it flings itself toward the upper jaw or uttaraa hanu or it goes lower, in its effort to find out how the goddess vaak is transforming herself to vaakya or the words, how is she articulating, and how she is in union with praaNa.
We have explained earlier that our development and consequent evolution are happening in the domain of dakShiNa-agni and yama is the corresponding deity ruling in this domain. yama is the deity of death and is the most celebrated preacher on the Immortal Soul (refer to Kathopanishad.) The death reveals the eternity. The process of eating and assimilation leading to our evolution is executed by the jaws, lips, teeth, tongue etc. who are thus the associate of the divinity yama. The formidable open jaws or the snarl of a beast grips us with terrible fear. However, the open jaws of Consciousness are inviting us in the space of immortality, ever-conscious state of bliss and independence.
83. siitaa and hanumaan.
In the epic Ramayana it is stated that the queen Sita (siitaa) the wife of lord Rama (raama), mentioned herself as 'sambhuti' and 'vaak' . (We have explained sambhuti earlier.) siitaa is considered as the personification of vaak and a historical character as well. We have mentioned about vaak and agni (praaNa) and also about vaak and pRithivii, and so it is noteworthy that Ramayana has mentioned about the entry of sitaa in the fire (agni) as well as in the earth (pRithivii). hanumat or hanumaan, the divine personification of the jaws was an ardent devotee of siitaa or vaak.
In this context, it is interesting to note that Custard Apple is known as Sita-Phal in India. Sita-Phal means 'fruit loved by siitaa'. If the outer skin is removed, then you will find that the fruit inside consists of several tooth shaped seeds (black in colour) and covered with soft creamy pulpy layers white in colour, appearing like several white teeth.
84. Jaws as mentioned in Taittiriya Upanishad (taittiriiya upaniShad). siitaa and the furrow line.
Here is a verse from Taittiriya Upanishad:
atha (And now) adhyaatam (about the self)-----And now about the self.
adharaa (The lower) hanuH (jaw is) puurva (eastern/located in front/first) ruupam (form)----The lower jaw is the first form.
uttaraa (The upper) hanuH (jaw is) uttara (northern/ subsequent/ concluding) ruupam (form)----The upper jaw is the subsequent form.
vaak saMdhiH (union)----vaak is the union.
jihvaa (the tongue) saMdhaanam (is the means that unites)----the tongue is the means that unites.
Consolidated meaning.
And now about the self.
The lower jaw is the first form.
The upper jaw is the subsequent form.
vaak is the union.
The tongue is the means that unites. (Taittiriya Upanishad Verse 1.3.4)
We have mentioned about dyaavaa-pRithivii (divinity and the earth) as the two forms which are present in every expression of Consciousness. The physicality or the formation which is in the east or which is the first and which is in the front, is mentioned as the lower-jaw or adharaa hanu in the above verse. It is the earth, where vaak (Consciousness) has captured praaNa (Consciousness) in the body or by the defined boundary. This is materialization. This is in the front. This strikes us the first. This is red, rohita. This why the colour of Rik veda is red*. A conscious word in the mind of Consciousness that is the origin of a material or of a physical formation is Rik.
(*The fruit pomegranate is called Bedaanaa. It is probably from the word vedanaa (pain, feeling) or veda (knowing). The fruit is made of seeds contained within a red-coloured shell. Each seed is covered with red juicy skin, and thus the fruit is an assembly of many red globules together. Most likely the name of the fruit is related to red colour of Rik veda, i.e. Bedaanaa is derived from veda. It contains folate which is necessary for the formation of red blood cells. (See also lohita, lahu, rohita, discussed above.))
The divinity or dyu is uttaraa hanu. uttaraa is the female form of uttara. uttara means what is 'subsequent' or, what is 'an answer'.
When, as a result of the union of praaNa with vaak, Consciousness splits to generate, always a splitting line with two poles or forms are revealed in the process. These two forms are perceived as the inner and outer space, creator and the created, unrealized and the realized, immutable and the changing. This is the creation of two poles or meru in every creation or expression of Consciousness. meru = me (my) + rupe (two forms)----my two forms. This bifurcation creates the demarcating line or furrow line.
Every physical entity, which is limited and mortal, has its dimensionless, unlimited, unending form in the divinity. This is utaaraa hanu, the divinity whom we know later. We first know or see what is in front, which is the earth, the physical universe, or adharaa hanu.
It may be noted that both the words, adharaa and uttaraa are of female gender. The corresponding words in masculine gender are adhara and uttara respectively. Thus both the words adharaa hanu and uttaraa hanu are referring to vaak. vaak is female. praaNa is male. vaak takes praaNa (or the Soul) within Her, and reproduces praaNa or the Soul with a body made of vaakya or 'word'.
So, this is splitting into two poles and creation of a dividing line like the furrows in a field (because every creation is associated with manifestation of two poles or meru as explained above) . The word siitaa means the track or a line of plough share. (Refer to Ramayana narration on the birth of Sita/siitaa.)
In the above quoted verse of Taittiriya Upanishad, vaak is called the saMdhi or the junction and the tongue is called saMdhaana i.e. the 'search'. The tongue or jihvaa is always running after vaak, who is creating and becoming the articulated words (vaakya) on the tongue. We are quoting a paragraph from the Section 81 here: " The tongue (jihvaa) rests in adhaara hanu or inside the lower jaw. As we utter words, it lifts, it flings itself toward the upper jaw or uttaraa hanu or it goes lower, in its effort to find out how the goddess vaak is transforming herself to vaakya or the words, how is she articulating, and how she is in union with praaNa."
Also, refer to the Verse quoted in Section 77.
85. naasaa---Nose.
The word for nose in Sanskrit language is naasaa. vaayu, the divine air is flowing in and out through the nose. As the air is inhaled, it flows down to the lungs from the nasal cavity through various members within the nose, through pharynx, larynx, wind pipe and and finally through bronchi tubes and millions of alveoli (minute air-sacs). The flow is downward, indicating that the action is by the control of apaana.
The airways appear like a tree with its root above the trunk and branches, i.e. it resembles an upside-down tree. The roots are toward the nose or toward the brain. This reminds the following quote in Geeta by lord Krishna:
uurdha (upward is) muulam (the root) adhaH (downward) shaakham (the branches) ashvatthayaM (the Pipal tree) praahuH (is mentioned) avyam (imperishable).
chandaaMsi (the rhythms are) yasya (whose) parNaani (foliage) yaH (who) taM (that) veda (knows) sa (he/the knower) vedavit (knows the Vedas.)----The Pipal tree, (Consciousness spreading as the universe) which has its root upward and the branches downward, is said to be impreishable.
The rhythms are its foliage, the one who knows that (tree), the knower knows the Vedas. (Geeta Verse 15.1.)
(Refer <https://www.msdmanuals.com/en-in/home/lung-and-airway-disorders/biology-of-the-lungs-and-airways/overview-of-the-respiratory-system>)
86. naasaa (nose) and naasatya--the twin divine doctors and equestrians.
The word naasaa means nose and this word naasaa is related to the word naasatya. These words, carry the sense, na (not) asat (dead). asat is from the root verb as meaning 'to exist'. naasatya are the twin brothers and the divine doctors, who can cure any ailment. They are keeping us alive by steering the two flows, controlling the inhaling and exhaling of air or by controlling the breathing. praaNa or Consciousness is entering and leaving in the form of breathing cycles. Thus naasa or the nose implies, na asat i.e. 'existing, living, breathing'.
Thus naasatya = na (no) + asat (state of not existing) +ya (regulating); ya means to regulate or dominate; so, naasatya means the personalities of Consciousness who are regulating (the breathing) to keep us existing in our current status. The nose or naasaa is their seat in us.
The twin divine brothers are also known as ashvin, i.e. who possess the horses (ashva) and have the full knowledge of them. They are the divine equestrian. The general meaning of the word ashva is horse. ashva means the one who is flowing in us as shvaas or the breathing, and driving us through our activities. The breathing is happening relentlessly, non -stop, like a horse that can run a great length at a stretch. ashva or the horse is the Consciousness who is carrying us through the time.
Everything has been named after a character or an aspect of Consciousness. At first it is the word, and then come the objects or the creatures. The qualities are first created in Consciousness, and then the creatures and objects which are the bearer of the qualities are created.
87. Breathing and speaking. Vedic deity dasra, a~Ngira and the significance of nasal sounds.
If you want to know how the air-flow through our nose and throat is converted into audible speech, you may read the content in the Internet, available in the links <https://www.templehealth.org/about/blog/how-does-my-voice-work>, <https://he.kendallhunt.com/sites/default/files/heupload/Dillard_Hoffmann_1e_Chapter2.pdf>.
Briefly, the air that we inhale, flows from the nose through the larynx and the wind pipe, and enters the lungs. But when we speak, the speech is formed on the air we exhale. So during speaking, the flow of air is upward, and the air from the lungs enters the larynx (voice box), where the vocal cords or vocal folds are located. These cords vibrate to produce sound, and the air from larynx (voice box)flows further up in the pharynx. Pharynx is located just above larynx and behind the mouth. The uvula, located in the cavity of the mouth determines whether the air will be passing out through the cavity of the mouth or will be directed toward the nose to produce nasal sound. The sound through the mouth is processed to produce speech by the lower jaw, teeth, tongue, gums, hard and soft palate, and the lips. They are all the aids of vaak, and are divine personalities.
The exhaling air carrying the speech contains Carbon dioxide. Carbon or charcoal is called a~Ngaara, and one name of praaNa, or praaNa-agni is a~Ngira. a~Ngira means am+gira. am=teja or radiating energy or praaNa-agni and gira means speech. Thus the words are the radiating Consciousness, a~Ngira, they are the radiating hymns coming out from within, and returning to the Universal Consciousness or Consciousness as the external.
dasra is also a name of the divine twins naasatya. dasra means da (words) +sra (srava--flow)---the words flowing. We are talking all the time, always there are words in our mind, and when this stops, we fall into sleep.
88. The nasal sounds.
As mentioned before, uvula (ali-jihvaa), directs the air carrying the speech either toward the mouth cavity or toward the nose. When it is directed toward the nose, a part of the air moves further up to flow out of the nose.
We have narrated earlier the consonants in Sanskrit language. The last consonant in each of the five groups of consonants, is nasal. That the last consonant (the fifth consonant in each of the five groups of consonants) is nasal, implies that at the end of articulation the words return to a finer form, i.e. above the articulated forms (or above the the words pronounced from the mouth). In other words, the last consonant in each of the five groups indicate the transformation of the alphabets if they are pronounced within.
If you refer above, we have discussed the inner plane antariikSha or the lunar domain. It is mentioned in Upanishad that whoever leaves the body after the death, first goes to the lunar domain. Thus in Sanskrit there is a diacritical mark (nasal mark-- ँ ) called chandra-vindu which is placed over an alphabet to convert it into a nasal sound. This nasal mark is also known as 'moon-dot' and is graphically represented by a crescent moon and a dot above it. Among Hindus, there is a practice to place this nasal mark before the name of a deceased person, and this is often noticed in the formal obituary.
(People are said to experience the voice of spirits and superior beings as nasal.)
The word chandra-vindu consists of two separate words, chandra (moon) and vindu (dot). Moon is also called indu. So, chandra and vindu are indu and vindu. indu is the waxing or waning moon. Like the high and low tides caused by the moon, Consciousness is *invigorating us and enervating us during every event.
(*The phases of invigorating and enervating are mentioned in detail in Chandogya Upanishad as hiMkaara, prastaava, udgiitha, pratihaara and nidhana.)
vindu means a point; vindu means the 'new moon', from where all the phases of moon (soma) emerge. The state of new moon is also called ama-kalaa. kalaa means 'phase'; ama means the Consciousness is whom everything is there in a singularity (vindu). (amaa hi te sarvam idam......all these rest in you----Chandogya Verse 5.2.6.).
89. Adam's apple, adolescent, cupid, kumaara, and kuntii (pRithaa).
Adam's apple (also known as laryngeal prominence) is the small protrusion or a bump externally visible on the human neck. It is more prominent and visible in adult males. It is less prominent in females and may not be externally visible also. This laryngeal prominence increases in males during the puberty, when the production of testosterone hormones increases. Due to this increase, the size of voice box (larynx) grows and the vocal cords (within the larynx) become longer and thicker; the facial bones also grow, as well as the cavities within the sinuses, nose and the back of throat grow. These changes result in deep voice*. Along with the change in voice the sex drive or libido increases due to increased production of testosterone hormones. The root cause is that, the creation that happens from sexual union and the creation that happens from the words (as discussed earlier, about the multiplication of Consciousness or praaNa by vaak) are the same, and it is vaak whose unfolding in the various phases of our lives, brings about these changes which we experience during the onset of adolescent.
(*Refer to <https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/voicechanging.html#:~:text=At%20puberty%2C%20guys'%20bodies%20begin,the%20voice%20box%2C%20grows%20bigger.)
This onset of libido is the physical manifestation of kaumaarii shakti. kaumaarii means the faculty of kumaara*.
(* I think, that the Greek god Cupid is related to kumaara or the deity kaartikeya.)
kumaara = ku (evil) +maar (killing/destroying) +a----One who kills or destroys the evil. Seeing or knowing anything as different from the soul or Oneness is evil or ku. kumaara knows that any thing created by vaak or by the union of vaak and praaNa, is Consciousness or the Soul itself. Consciousness by becoming vaak and praaNa is creating itself. So, knowing this is killing ku.
The word ku means evil, and etymologically it means any thing related to ka or sparsha (touch). We have explained above, why all the consonants of touch (plosive and nasal consonants) belongs to the deity of death, as the sense of duality starts with 'touch'. But knowing or perceiving that all feelings of touch and the subjects of touch are in the Consciousness, one can win the subjugation to physical sexual drives.
Thus, by kaumaarii shakti, it is possible to hold the semen indefinitely. Even if the knower of this wisdom, copulates, the knower knows that the union is between the same souls and not with someone different. One such personality is kuntii the mother of the paaNDava brothers mentioned in the epic Mahabharatha. kuntii remained virgin even after conceiving her first son karNa. She is known as the one among the five divine kanya (divine virgin daughters) and also has another name pRithaa. pRithaa means who remains pRithak i.e. isolated or untouched even after a touch.
90. The deity kaartikeya and the number six and sex. Six seasons and the goddess ShaShThii. paa~nchaalii.
The divine personality related to kaumaarii shakti is the deity called kaartikeya. kaartikeya is the divinity that represents kumaara (mentioned in the previous section). The word kaartikeya is from the root word kRittikaa and the root verb kRit. kRit means to perform, and also to cut in pieces. kaartikeya was born from the sperm of shiva (soul) and the sperm was jointly conceived in the womb of six mothers. These mothers are known as kRittikaa in whom the sperm was divided.
Six is the number for sweetness (honey) and the word sex is related to six. The Sanskrit word for six is ShaT and it is 'sex' in Latin. The speciality of kaartikeya is the formation of vaak, or the manifestation of ruupa i.e. shades and shapes. This is the expression of the 'truth' or the perceptible universe that supports our feelings of existence. This is Rita. When the truth or satya expresses in many colours and forms, it is Rita. Rita which is coming out from Consciousness or praaNa (who is satya) is called Ritu. Ritu also means 'season' and is generally considered as six in number. Thus we and every fragment of the universe are reared by all the seasons. Ritu is from the root verb Rit. Rit means to flow. So, the Ritu or seasons are the flows of praaNa or the divine air (vaayu). Six seasons are the six types of sweetness by which praaNa or the divine air touches us. The number six stands for the sweetness or honey. It is noteworthy that the honey-bees have six legs, and the sex of a human embryo is fixed after 6-7 weeks of the conception. There is a goddess called ShaShThii who is worshipped by the Hindus on the sixth day of the child birth. ShaShThii means who is characterized by six, or the mother (maataa) Consciousness who applies the measure (maatraa) of six (sex) to all the creatures of the universe. Mother Consciousness who applies her measures to fix the sex in a being to be born is the goddess ShaShTii. It is noteworthy that eunuchs are called chakka i.e. 'sixer' in some parts of India. In our childhood we have seen (in India) the eunuchs visiting the premises of newborn children to greet and offer well-wishes to the new-borns by singing and dancing.
The number six, is the five senses and their amalgamation in praaNa or Consciousness. This state of amalgamation or conjugation of five senses in praaNa is the sixth state or the state of being in sexual union. Conjugal pleasure felt out of physical sex is a very limited part of this. These five senses (or five forms of praaNa) and their togetherness in Consciousness or vaak make six and this sixth state is called mithuna or 'couple'. So there are five pairs, formed by vaak. Thus, the great princess Draupadi (draupadii) of the epic Mahabharata, who married the five princes, is called paa~nchaalii because of her divine connection to this knowledge. paa~nchaalii is from the word pa~nchan meaning 'five'. Like kuntii (the mother in law of paa~nchaalii) paa~nchaalii also discerned the same praana or the soul in her five husbands.) (We have earlier mentioned about kuntii in this article.)
Here is a quote from Upanishad:
yena (by whom) ruupaM (the vision) rasaM (the taste) gandhaM (the smell) shavdaan (the sound) sparshaanM (the touch) cha (and) maithunaan (the pleasure of union) |
etena eva (indeed by this Soul) vijaanaati (knows/experiences) kim (what else) atra (here) parishiShyate (is left) | etad (this) vai (indeed) tat (that) || (Quoted from Verse 2.1.3 of Kathopanishad.)
Consolidated meaning.
By whom, the vision, the taste, the smell, the sound, the touch and the union (sex) are known----- indeed by this Soul; (then, when known) what else remains? This Soul (Consciousness) is indeed that (by whom everything is known or experienced.) (Quoted from Verse 2.1.3 of Kathopanishad.)
The above verse mentions the five senses or five forms of praaNa and their blissful state of union with the Soul/Consciousness or vaak. Five senses / five forms of praaNa and vaak together make six or sex.
91. Peacock (mayuura) the bird of kaartikeya and the goddess sarasvatii.
Those who have seen the idols of goddess durgaa with her divine children, they know that the two children, the deities lakShmii and ganesha are located on the right side of the goddess durgaa, and the other two children, the deities sarasvatii and kaartikeya are located on the left side of the goddess durgaa. sarasvatii is the goddess of the expressed words, i.e. she is that aspect of Consciousness or vaak who is taking shape as words or as defined entities. As the source of all defined and expressed words, she is white in colour. White is the colour in which all other colours exist. There are two descriptions of the goddess sarasvatii as stated in her hymn. One description is *vishaala (vast)-akShi (eye), i.e. all words, all definitions and colours are held in her vision. The other description is vishva (universe)-ruupa (appearances, colours and shapes). Every entity is a shining colourful appearance of Consciousness, or a shining colourful word of Consciousness. This is the dominion of kaartikeya, the scattering (kRit/karttana) of Consciousness. The peacock, which is the bird of kaartikeya, is a magnificent colourful bird, whose colourful plumage bear the images of several eyes (vision), and whose long neck (where the voice box is located) is coloured and shines.
A peacock is called mayuura. mayuura = me (my) + uuraH (uurasa>ourasa---sap, secretion from what belongs to the self, secretion from the heart --- seminal fluid). So, mayuura= me uuraH -----my virility. Among the many calls a peacock make, one call sounds as ' may-awe' as if saying 'me uuraH -----my virility'. This is a loud nasal sound made at the dawn and dusk. (Refer to <https://birdavid.com/peacock-sound/>.) Thus, a peacock's voice in a way carries the message of the virility in it in very direct words, as if it is announcing the presence of vaak in its call.
Consciousness who is vaak, from her we have acquired our reproductive capabilities, including the faculty of conceiving.
(* vishaala-akShi is described as the goddess called viraaTa (vast and shinning) present in the left eye of a being. viraaTa is mentioned in Chandogya Upanishad Verse 4.2.3. brahmaa is the consort of sarasvatii and indra is the consort of viraaT. The observing personality in brahmaa (also called prajaapati) is indra.)
92. Adam's apple, and Indian fruit green Jubjube (badarii fruit).
In Sections 89 above, we have mentioned Adam's apple located in the neck. The voice box is located there, and the conversion of the words in the mind to the articulated sounds in the air, first takes place here. The sound generated in the voice box is converted or shaped into speech by the various members within the mouth like lower jaw, tongue etc. The sound is converted into speech and is then released through the oral or through the nasal cavity.
One of the fruits that grow during the season of spring is Indian Jubjube fruit (locally known as 'kul' fruit). The green Indian Jubjube fruit resembles an Adam's apple. This fruit is offered to the goddess sarasvatii (the goddess of the expressed words), and the Sanskrit name of this fruit is badar and the name of the tree is badarii. The fruit is also called badarii. These words badar and badarii are from the root verb vad which means ' to speak', 'to utter'. badarii= vada (speech)+rii (release)----the faculty by which a speech is released or uttered.
The worship of the white goddess sarasvatii is performed on the day of the fifth waxing moon of the spring (vasanta pa~nchamii). The white goddess sarasvatii is the goddess of the formed or expressed words those are created in our mind and articulated as the words in our voice.
93. Brain----masta, mastaka.
The head or the brain is called masta or mastaka. The word mas means something that is measured. The word maasa meaning month, is from the root word mas; like a solar month means the measures from the sun and a lunar month means the measures from the moon. So, masta or mastaka means where all measures are laid or placed, or what is the centre of all measures.
The word samasta means, 'all, everything together'. samasta means saha (together with) masta or saha (together with) mastaka.
It is mentioned in the Upanishad that the brain or the head is like a bowl with its upside down, where all the treasures of the universe are located. We will quote the verse later.
94. Brain---shira, shiras.
Another Sanskrit word for brain or head is shira or shiras. The word shira is from the root verb shi meaning 'to grant', 'to bestow. We have already mentioned about oM and anuj~naa akShara, in the Section 19 above. oM is akshara from whom all expressions originate. These conscious expressions, or the Conscious Personalities, which contain aspects of Consciousness in seed forms are called alphabets and they are also called akShara as they originate from the immutable universal Soul or akShara. These alphabets are called varNa. varNa = vRi (to cover, to embrace)+ana (praaNa). Every alphabet or a seed is a way *vaak has embraced praaNa or the soul akShara. These varNa or the alphabets are coming out from akShara and is coming from the head or shira of Consciousness. The head in our body is also called shira and is the physical seat of the Soul and vaak. Earlier we have mentioned that heart (hRidaya) is the physical seat of the Soul. The brain or the head is considered as the 'upper heart' or uurdhva (upper) hRidaya (heart), and the middle region of our body is known as the lower heart or nimna (lower) hRidaya (heart). The upper heart is the place from where commands are given, it is the place from where events or senses are bestowed or granted. The lower heart (heart) is the place where the events or senses passed down from the upper heart are received and felt.
95. shriiphala (Cerebrum) and shriiniketana (Cerebellum) and the spine (brainstem). (Pair of Bel /Apple-wood fruits attached to the same stem.)
(Refer the content in the Internet < https://mayfieldclinic.com/pe-anatbrain.htm#:~:text=The%20brain%20has%20three%20main,and%20fine%20control%20of%20movement> to know about the physical structure of the brain and the brain functions for a comprehensive description of the anatomy of the brain.)
The three major overall parts of the brain, i.e. Cerebrum, Cerebellum and Brainstem (with the spine) are known as shriiphala, shriiniketana and shaakhaa (stem). This brain structure is represented by a pair of wood-apple fruits ( Bel fruits) attached to a single stem in the Vedic and Tantric worships. Bel tree is called bilva (Bel/Wood-Apple) vRikSha (tree) in Sanskrit.
shriiphala is the cerebrum and shriiniketana is the cerebellum. The word shriiphala generally means a phala or a fruit of a wood-apple tree (Bel tree). shriiphala = shrii +phala. shrii means the elegance or the prosper that arises out of the act of shrat or faithfulness to Consciousness or Eternal Consciousness (mukhya praaNa). shrii is the elegance or the grace that is shining above the death or the mortality. Thus shriiphala or the wood-apple (Bel) fruit is the Consciousness who is creating everything in the realm of eternity or divinity, which is above the mortality.
shriiniketana = shrii +niketana. niketana or niketa means the 'abode'. So, as shriiniketana, Consciousness is holding the beauty or the grace in countless forms and as shriiphala, Consciousness is granting the grace or the prosper.
96. sahasraara----the seat of the soul in the brain.
bilva is the Sanskrit word for Bel or Wood-Apple. The brainstem is the stem to which the two fruits called Cerebrum and Cerebellum (shrii-phala and shrii-niketana ) are attached. Brainstem is attached to the spine through which the Consciousness is flowing in countless branches (shaakhaa) and sub-branches. (Refer to vyaana and hitaa in the previous sections.)
sahasraara = sahasra (thousand) + ara (spokes)----the place from where Consciousness is radiating out in thousand of streams like the spokes originating from the nave or the hub of a wheel. Every number is associated with counting or it specifies a value that can be measured or counted, however every number also has a qualitative aspect. Thus the number thousand or sahasra means ' saha sravati' or 'aatmanaa saha (with the soul) sravati (flowing) '. This means, whatever sense (ana) is coming from the brain, the Soul (j~na) is there. So, sahasraara means the origin from where the Soul (j~na) is splitting out as Consciousness or as the streams of senses and events (ana). j~na and ana together is j~naana or Consciousness. (Refer Preface of this article for the explanation of j~naana.)
It may be noted that the Bel tree (bilva vRikSha) along with shriiphala, shriiniketana, and stem is worshipped during worshipping the goddess durgaa who is mukhya-praaNa.
97. The mountainous region in the brain. paarvatii and girijaa. kailaasa mountain.
The surface of the cerebrum (shriiphala) is called cortex and it has hills and valleys, i.e. the surface is having folds.
It is mentioned in a hymn to the goddess durgaa that shriiphala grows in the ice-capped mountain called 'meru, mandar, kailaasa'. kailaasa is also the name of a famous peak of the Himalayas.
The meaning of the word meru is 'my two forms' (me rupe) and we have already described this in the Section 84 above.
The mountain that was used as a churning rod to churn the ocean (of Consciousness) to generate nectar is called mandaara. This has been mentioned in the mythology. mandaara is from the word manda. manda means slow. mandaara means by whose presence or dominance everything becomes slow or lose their individuality. Thus in a glacier from where a river originates, one does not see the fierce streams of the river.
The other name is kailaasa. This word is from the word kelaasa. kelaasa means a crystal. kailaasa means related to crystal. So, kailaasa means the region where everything is crystallized.
Another meaning of kailaasa is ka (= praaNa) +ila (vaak) +as /asa (existing/existing together)---where praaNa and vaak are in togetherness. This is further explained below.
The alphabet ka means prajaapati or praaNa. praaNa is called prajaapati. prajaa means who are generated (jaa) from pra or praaNa. pati means master or lord. The alphabet ka (the first consonant) is the origin of all questions like kena ---by whom, kutaH---from where, kutra---where, ko, kaH--who, kasya--whose, kim---what, katama- which. There is an Upanishad called prashnopaniShad which is a Upanishad on praaNa who is the origin of everything. prashnopaniShad = prashna (question) + upanishad. As the queries or questions lead us to the origin, so this Upanishad is on praaNa and *prajaapati; praana or prajaapati is thus represented by the alphabet ka, which the first consonant.
(*prajaapati= prajaa +pati (lord; dominator); prajaa= pra (praaNa) + jaa (generated)-----generated from praaNa; prajaapati= praaNa dominating on all created from praaNa.)
The word ila is related to the word ilaa which means 'flow of speech or flow of vaak as the speech', and also ilaa means 'the earth'. Again, earth implies vaak. (Refer to Section 4 above.) Thus ilaa means vaak. ila means the act of lying; ilaa is vaak lying conjugally with the soul or praaNa, in every creation. This explains the meaning of the word kailaassa.
Another meaning of kailaasa is ka (who) +ai (that) +laasa (rejoicing)----'who is that rejoicing'.
A mountain is also called giri in Sanskrit. This word giri is from the root verb gRI meaning ' to pronounce, to recite'. The brain, the top of our body, is the seat of vaak and praaNa and from them we are getting our perceptible universe made of the words of Consciousness.
Another name of mountain is parvata. This word is from the word parvan or parva which means ' step, section, joint, limb, member'. The word parvata which means a mountain, also implies a body. Both the physical body and our subtle states consist of several layers and divisions. The divisions and layers are also experienced in the inner-space or inner-sky. As Consciousness unfolds to create, these parava or the layers are created one by one, exhibiting the subtle difference of the one from the other, and thus displaying the exquisitely beautiful spectra of variations and the unimaginable subtleties. One of the names of Consciousness is paarvatii, i.e. which means the 'faculty that creates parva or the strata'. paarvatii is also known as 'the daughter of the mountain (parvata) '. We have explained earlier that a daughter means kanyaa or vaak (refer to Section 6 above). vaak or paarvatii is also called *girijaa. girijaa= giri (mountain)+jaa (generated)---generated from the mountain. girijaa means a mountain-born girl; girijaa means vaak, who as the speech (*gira) or expressions is radiating herself from the mountain or from her seat in the brain.
(* The English word 'girl' may be related to 'girijaa' and 'gira'.)
kailaasa is said to be the abode of lord shiva and paarvatii. The universal soul is called shiva. There is a hymn on shiva on his subtle than subtler forms . The hymn is quoted below from Shvetasatara Upanishad (Verse 4.14):
sukShaati sukShaM kalilasya madhye
vishvasya sraShtaaram aneka ruupam
vishvasya ekam pariveShtitaaraM
j~naatvaa shivaM shaantim atyantam eti. (Verse 4.14 of Shvetasvatara Upanishad.)
Word-word meaning.
sukShaati (than the subtlest) sukShaM (subtler) -----subtler than the subtlest
kalilasya (of kali; kali = bud of time; kaala=time; kali= bud of time) madhye (within)--within the buds of time
vishvasya (of the universe) sraShtaaram (creator) aneka (many) ruupam (forms)----the creator of the universe is in many forms
vishvasya (of the universe) ekam (one) pariveShtitaaraM (encircling, embracing)---the one of the universe (the one who is the universe) embraces (the universe)
j~naatvaa (by knowing) shivaM (shiva) shaantim (the peace) atyantam (unending) eti (attains)
Consolidated meaning.
The creator of the universe exists in many forms subtler than the subtlest within the buds of time.
The 'one' of the universe (the universe is none other than the 'one') is embracing (the universe).
By knowing shiva (the soul, the creator) one attains the unending peace. (Verse 4.14 of Shvetasvatara Upanishad.)
'Within the buds of time' means existig as the seeds; this is why the term shiva has been used in the verse. shiva means in whom everyone lies, or sleeps--the state of 'no work', 'the state of ever calmness'. The word shiva is from the root verb shii meaning 'to sleep'. To sleep means, to exist in the Oneness of the Consciousness. The bud of time may also mean 'a frame of time'.
shiva is called girishanta. girishanta means the one who remains calm or unperturbed amidst the formation of gir or amidst the multiplications by vaak. grisihanta = giri+shanta. shanta =sham+ta. sham means the act of bringing everything to the state of tranquility or in the region of no activity. It is the domain of Oneness. So, another meaning of the word grisihanta is, 'the one who brings everyone in tranquility (shanta/shanta) by the words (gir)'.
Here is a hymn on shiva as girishanta:
yaamiShuM girishanta haste vibharshyastave
shivaam giritra taam kuru maa hiMsiiH puruShaM jagat. (Verse 3.6 of Shvetasvatara Upanishad.)
Word-word meaning.
yaam (which)
iShuM (the arrow; ishuM is the derivation from the word iShu meaning an arrow; the base word or the root verb is iSh. isH means 'to wish, to throw, to deliver a speech or announce'; so isHu means to hurl or bestow the wish)
girishanta haste (in the hand) ----oh Girishantam, in your hand
vibharshi (holding) aastave (to hurl)---holding to hurl
shivaam---peaceful/auspicious ( the state created by the presence of shiva)
giritraa----giri+tra (rescue. relief)----who provides relief amidst the rains of gir or the rain of speech (Consciousness raining on us as the senses and events)
taam (that) kuru (make) ----make that
maa (do not) hiMsiiH (destroy) puruShaM (the beings) jagat (the world).------do not destroy any being or the world.
Consolidated Meaniging.
Oh Girishantam (the one who remains calm or unperturbed amidst the formation of gir or the multiplications by vaak), the arrow (the wish, the Conscious word) in your hand which you are holding to hurl, let it be auspicious oh Giritraa (who provides relief amidst the rains of gir or the rain of speech i.e. Consciousness raining on us as the senses and events), do not destroy any being or the world. (Verse 3.6 of Shvetasvatara Upanishad.)
98. The skull and the brain. Quotes from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
The brain has been described as a bowl with its bottom up and the cavity down. This has been described in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The brain is said to contain the treasure known as the universe.
Here is the passage from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Refer Verse 2.2.3):
tadeSha shloko bhavati.
arvaagbilashchamasa uudrhvabudhnaH tasminyasho nihitaM vishvaruupam |
tasyaasata RiShyaH sapta tiire vaagShTamii brahmaNaa saMvidaana | iti |
' arvaagbilashchamasa uudrhvabudhnaH' itiidaM tachaChiraH, eSha hyarvaagbilashchamasa uurdhvabudhnaH; ' tasminyasho nihitaM vishvaruupam' iti praaNo vai yasho vishvaruupam praaNaanetadaahaH, 'tasyaasat RiShyaH sapta tiireH' iti praaNaa vaa RishayaH praaNaanetadaahaH; 'vaagaaShTamii bhramhaNaa samvidaanaa' iti vaagaaShTamii brahmaNaa saMvitte || ( Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 2.2.3.)
Word-word meaning.
tad (About that) eSha (this) shlokaH (hymn) bhavati (exists)-----About that this hymn exists
arvaakaH (downward) bilaH (the hollow) chamasa (bowl) uudrhvaH (upward) budhnaH (bottom)----downward is the hollow of the bowl, upward is the bottom
tasmin (in that) yashaH (the treasure) nihitaM (placed) vishva (universe)-ruupam (form, formation)----in that is placed the treasure that is the universe
tasya (of that) aasata (sit) RiShyaH (the truth-seers) sapta (seven) tiire (on the bank) vaak (vaak) aShTamii (the eighth) brahmaNaa (by brahma) saMvidaana (making it known)------on the bank of that (bowl) seven truth-seers (sages) are sitting, and vaak who is the eighth, is making Her presence known by Her aspect of brahma (brahma = Consciousness expanding and surpassing all)
iti (iti = end of the statement)
' arvaakaH (downward) bilaH (the hollow) chamasa (bowl) uudrhvaH (upward) budhnaH (bottom)'----downward is the hollow of the bowl, upward is the bottom' --------'downward is the hollow of the bowl, upward is the bottom'
iti (it is/ it means) idaM (this) tad (that) shiraH (head/brain)----it means, this is that brain
'tasmin (in that) yashaH (the treasure) nihitaM (placed) vishva (universe)-ruupam (fom)'----'in that is placed the treasure that is the universe'
iti (it is/ it means) praaNo (praaNaH---praaNa) vai (indeed) yasho (the treasure) vishvaruupam (that is the universe) praaNaan (to the multiple forms of praaNa) etad (these) aahaH (have been told)------it means praaNa (Consciousness) indeed is the treasure that is the universe, and to the multiple forms of praaNa these (the words in the hymns) are told
'tasya (of that) asata (sit) RiShyaH (the truth-seers) sapta (seven) tiire (on the bank/brim) ' --------on the bank (brim) of that (bowl) the seven truth-seers (sages) are sitting
iti (it is/ it means) praaNo (praaNaH---praaNa) vaa (indeed) RishayaH (the seers of the truth) praaNaan (to the multiple forms of praaNa) etad (the
se) aahaH (have been told)------it means praaNa (Consciousness) indeed is the seers of the truth (seven sages), and to the multiple forms of praaNa these (the words in the hymns) are told
'vaagaaShTamii brahmaNaa samvidaanaa' ------(vaak) aShTamii (the eighth) brahmaNaa (by brahma) saMvidaana (making it known)---vaak who is the eighth, is making Her known by Her aspect of brahma (brahma = Consciousness expanding and surpassing all)
iti (it is/it means) vaak (vaak is) aaShTamii (the eighth) brahmaNaa (by brahma or by Her aspect as brahma) saMvitte (makes her known)-----it means vaak is the eighth (member) and makes Her known by Her aspect as brahma (Consciousness expanding and surpassing all)
Consolidate meaning.
About that this hymn exists.
Downward is the hollow of the bowl, upward is the bottom, and in that is placed the treasure that is the universe; on the bank (brim) of that (bowl) seven truth-seers (sages) are sitting, and vaak who is the eighth, is making Her presence known by Her aspect of brahma (brahma = Consciousness expanding and surpassing all).
' Downward is the hollow of the bowl, upward is the bottom'------it means, this is that brain.
'In that is placed the treasure that is the universe'--------it means praaNa (Consciousness) indeed is the treasure that is the universe, and to the multiple forms of praaNa these (the words in the hymns) are told.
'On the bank (brim) of that bowl (on the edge of the universe) the seven truth-seers (sages) are sitting'-----it means praaNa (Consciousness) indeed is the seers of the truth (seven sages), and to the multiple forms of praaNa these (the words in the hymns) are told. ( Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 2.2.3)
'vaak aShtamii' means vaak is the eighth. 'aShTamii' is 'eighth' and the gender of the word 'aShTamii' is female. The word 'aShTamii' and the corresponding word 'aShTa' (meaning 'eight') have originated from the root verb ash meaning to pervade, to penetrate to fill, etc. Thus vaak, the speech or the word of Consciousness has become everything and pervading. So, as stated before, it is said that vaak is the eighth. It is for this reason, a virgin female child is worshipped on the 'eighth day' of the worship of the goddess durgaa (mukhya-praaNa).
The word brahmaNaa is the instrumental case of the base word brahman. This word brahman is from the root verb bRih (also vRih) meaning 'to grow, to increase'. So 'brahmaNaa samvidaanaa' means vaak by her aspect called brahman is announcing Her presence everywhere. brahmhaNaa means by expanding or making herself vaster, greater.
vaak who is the 'eighth', is surrounded by seven sages (RiShi) and they are the seven forms or personalities of praaNa. The number eight or aShta signifies presence everywhere, existence (as) everywhere, scattered everywhere. The number seven or sapta signifies that everything is staying together at a point or in a single location, and not scattered. Eight is divergent and seven is convergent. sapta = saha (together with, along with) +aapta ( obtained, acquired). Thus in the seven personalities of praaNa, everything that is / was / would be in the universe is existing there, and vaak is in union with praaNa to create or manifest, and vaak is also everything created; thus vaak is announcing that Consciousness is brahman, Consciousness is ever-growing.
Thus vaak is known as bRihatii-----vaak hi brihatii----vaak indeed is the vastness (Quoted from Verse 1.2.13 of Chandogya Upanishad.)
The skull is the inverted bowl----arvaakaH (downward) bilaH (the hollow) chamasa (bowl) uudrhvaH (upward) budhnaH (bottom)----downward is the hollow of the bowl, upward is the bottom.
Inside the brain is the universe, or the one who is the source of the universe and the universe itself. It does not matter, whether it is your brain, or the brain of an ant, or the brain of a deity.
(The word bRiMhaNa means the act of making big or vast and is related to the word brahman quoted in the verse. The brim of the bowl (edge of the brain/universe) has been mentioned in the above quoted verse. It might be that the English words, brim, brink, and big are related to the word bRiMhaNa and brahman.)
99. The seven sages (Rishi) or the seven truth seers sitting on the edge or on the brim of the skull/universe.
In the next verse 2.2.4 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad, the seven seers are identified with the names and the seven faculties of Consciousness. It is as below:
(i) The right ear----gautama.
(ii) The left ear----bharadvaaja.
(iii) The right eye----vishvaamitra.
(iv) The left eye-----jamadagni.
(v) The right side respiration (right part of nose)----vasiShTha.
(vi) The left side respiration (left part of nose)----kashyapa.
(vii) The tongue---- the taste (and also articulation)----atri.
(i) The right ear-----gautama= go (sensory and corresponding functional faculties) +u+ tama (supreme state)-----supreme state of the sensory and corresponding functional faculties. Ear or karNa (corner) in Consciousness is the seat of all directions (dik). Directions are inclinations of praaNa and they are behind our sensory functions and feelings.
(ii) The left ear----bharadvaaja= bharat (carrying, bearing) +vaaja (vaa=vaakya or word or sound; ja =generation; vaaja = strength or the vigour to generate words or expressions)----who is bearing the words or expressions ready for generation.
(iii) The right eye----vishvaamitra = vishvaa (universal) + mitra (sun or the eye)----the universal eye.
The word mitra means 'a friend'. As the sun rises, it raises or manifests all that we desire; it brings the day to us. In every moment, Consciousness is rising in us as our senses or what we desire. When we determine or desire to perform or acquire something, and when we perform it or get the desired thing, it is Consciousness who rises in us as that sense of accomplishment or fulfillment. So, this is the rising sun mitra friend). When this sun rises in our inner sky, along with the sun, the sounds of joy or the sounds called uluulava are also generated. (Refer to Section 72 for uluulava.)
mitra = mi (mikSh---to mix) + tra (three). mitra also means who mixes (mikSh) or administers tra or three types of regulations in us for our evolution. These three are the three periods of the day i.e. 'morning', 'noon', and 'evening'; these three are also three stages of our life, 'early life, middle life, and the later life', these three are also, 'the state of wakefulness, the state of dream, and the state of sleep'.
(iv) The left eye-----jamadagni = jamad (root verb jam = to eat, to digest) +agni (divine fire, praaNa)----the eye or the vision generating the time, and by the action felt as time, assimilation into the Oneness of Universal Consciousness or our evolution is happening.
(We have earlier explained in the previous sections in detail the role of the sun (eye), assimilation and consequent evolution of ours, and the role of praaNa or praaNa-agni (dakShiNa-agni) in the act of eating and assimilation. In Sanskrit iikShaNa means 'vision' as well as 'action of time'; kShaNa= moment or time. )
(v) The right side respiration (right part of nose)----vasiShTha= the one who is supreme among the group of deities called 'vasu'. The word vasu is from the root verb 'vas' which means 'to dwell'. Another word from this root is vastu, which means 'an object'. 'vas' also means 'to shine'. Thus, the divine personalities of praaNa, who are known as the group of deities called vasu, has kept us awake or has kept us in the state of wakefulness in the form of 'material or the objective world'. This is why the words vas, vasu etc., carry the sense of 'object', 'dwelling', 'shine' etc. When in the morning, or when after the sleep we rise, we rise by the shine or the actions of the deities called vasu. When by the action of Consciousness or praaNa, this shine is withdrawn from us, we fall asleep.
As vaak is eighth, so the group of the deities called vasu are also eight (aShTa) in number. We have explained the meaning of the number eight above. (Thus it seems that the English word 'vast' which implies the vast universe, may be related to the Sanskrit word 'vastu'.)
We have earlier narrated the relations among the olfactory sense, respiration, and our stable physical existence. Thus the right respiration, the right-side section of the nose is vasiShTha. As explained above Consciousness as vasiShTha is the deity to whom the objective world belongs and our physical existence is directly connected to this objective world.
(vi) The left side respiration (left part of the nose)----kashyapa. With respect to respiration and olfactory system, we have earlier mentioned the two divine doctors who are also equestrians named ashvin. The twin divine personalities (ashvin) are regulating pulses or inspiration and expiration. The root verb kash means to control or guide the course of a motion. praaNa who is in different courses in different entities is kashyapa. The root verb kash also means to strike, and the word kasha means a whip. Thus kash means 'to whip through the time'. The word kashya means 'the flank of a horse', where the whip is applied to steer its motion. (We have earlier mentioned about the 'flank' with respect to motion in Section 34 above.)
So, kashyapa = kashya (characterized by the act called kash) + pa (paalana= act of nourishing). So, kashyapa is praaNa or gandha (fragrance/olfactory aspect of Consciousness ) who is regulating each of us by controlling our circulatory motion through time, controlling our individual diurnal motion, our individual pulses, our breathing. ashvin are working to implement the orders of kashyapa. (Refer Sections 58, 59, 60,86 above.) praaNa as kaashyapa is whipping us through time and this its ashvin aspect. Thus the sun (who controls our time) is called kaashyapeya meaning 'the one who is from kaashyapa'.
(vii) The tongue---- the taste (and also articulation)----atri. This word atri is from the root verb ad meaning 'to eat'. (Refer to Section 81for ad and aaditya.) The tongue tastes and produces saliva to dissolve food for eating and assimilation. The tongue is the seat of taste and articulates the words. Creation, i.e., Consciousness becoming expressions or words and Consciousness tasting (knowing) what is created is the nature of Consciousness. Thus we speak, listen and taste. (Refer to Sections 51 and 70.)
Upanishad has mentioned that atri or the tongue is vaak. Though for the sake of clarity, Consciousness (praaNa) and vaak (the faculty or the consort of praaNa) are described as two separate entities, however, here atri ( the seventh praaNa or the seventh sage) is mentioned as vaak. Consciousness is the faculty of Consciousness, and so is called svayam-prakaasha or 'Soul-expressing/Self-expressing'.
atri= ad /at (to eat) + tri (three)--who eats in three ways. This physical world, our physical living (living in the world of reality, world of shapes and colours), is the part of the 'physical eating' of Consciousness and this is referred as shthuula (gross)-bhuk (eater). The sun in our planetary system is the domain of this physical eating and this corresponds to our wakeful state. (Refer Mandukya Upanishad, Verse 3 for shthuula (gross)-vukh (eater).)
Whatever we sense or eat in the physical world, they are sensed and felt within us. The physical foods that we eat, finally get integrated into our subtle forms (Refer to Section 9 and Section 70 above.). This eating or our living in the inner plain is the domain of the moon in our planetary system and this corresponds to our state of dream. The physicality is left out and it is only pure senses and feelings. This is called eating by discretion or differentiation. This is called pra-vivikta- bhuk. pra = perfect; vivikta---differentiated, separtaed; bhuk---eater. (Refer Mandukya Upanishad, Verse 4 for pra-vivikta- bhuk.)
Where we sleep is the state of full consciousness and oneness. There we do not dream. It is the state of bliss, and here everything exists and also does not exist because existence happens in Oneness. This is the state of eating joy or the bliss and Consciousness is called aananda (bliss)- bhuk (eater).
Consciousness as the physical domain, or Consciousness living or eating physically is shthuula (gross)-vukh (eater).
Consciousness as the inner domain of pure senses and feelings, without physicality, is pra-vivikta- bhuk or Consciousness living or eating (bhuk) by separating (vivikta) the physicality or discarding the physicality.
Consciousness in the Oneness is knowing only joy, and this is bliss (= no one but me and everyone is me). Consciousness living in only bliss or eating joy or bliss is ananda (bliss) bhuk (eater).
The above three are the three (tri) aspects of atri or praaNa as the 'tongue' or the mouth or the seat of eating, seat of taste (and also seat of expression or manifestation).
Following is a quote from the verse 2.2.4 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:
vaagevaatri ----vaak (vaak is) eva (indeed is) atri -----vaak is indeed atri
vaacha hyannamadyate----vaachaa (by vaak) hi (indeed) annam (the food) adyate (is eaten)--by vaak (by mouth, tongue, teeth and the other organs of eating, those who are in the domain of vaak) the food is eaten
sarvasyaattaa bhavati sarvamsyaannM bhavati ya evaM veda----sarvasya (of all) atta (eater) bhavati (becomes) sarvam (all) asyaam (his/her/one's) annam (food) bhavati (become) ya (the one) evaM (like this) veda (knows)-----the one who knows like this, the one becomes eater of all the things, and all the things become the one's food.
Consolidated meaning.
vaak is indeed atri; by vaak (by the personalities of Consciousness called mouth, tongue, teeth, lips etc., who perform the tasks as directed by vaak) the food is eaten.The one who knows like this, the one becomes eater of all the things, and all the things become the one's food. (Quoted from the verse 2.2.4 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
vaak herself is the 'touch' or 'sparsha' by whom all the seven sages mentioned above and everyone is connected.
100. The brain stem and wood-apple tree.
The wood apple-tree is called bilva vRikSha. bilva = wood-apple, vRikSha = tree. As mentioned before that a pair of wood-apple fruits joined to the same stem is required during the worship of the goddess durgaa. durgaa is mukhya-praaNa or the Eternal Consciousness, and in Upanishad it is mentioned that her name is duur (distance) as the death keeps away from her.
durgaa---mRityuH (the death) etasmaat (from her) duuram (distance, away) gachhati (goes)----The death (mRityu) goes away from her.)
Here is the quote from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 1.3.9:
saa (she) vaa (indeed) eshaa (this) devataa (deity) duur (duura /distance) naama (name) duuraM (at a distance; away) hi (indeed) asyaa (from her) mRityuH (is the death) -----she, this deity has the name 'duur' (distance), the death is away from her
duuraM (at a distance) ha vaa (certainly) asmat (from the one) mRityuH (the death) bhavati (exists/remains) ya (who) evaM (like this) veda (knows)----the one who knows like this the death certainly remains at a distance from the one (the death keeps away from the one).
Consolidated meaning.
She, this deity has the name 'duur' (distance), the death is away from her.
The one who knows like this, the death certainly remains at a distance from the one (the death keeps away from the one). (Quoted from Verse 1.3.9 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
During the bodhana (awakening ceremony of goddess durgaa (duurgaa) in her idol), bilva vRikSha or the wood apple tree is worshipped. This tree represents the Universal Consciousness. Wood-apple fruit or bilva is the brain or sahasraara. (We have described sahasraara above.) From the Universal Soul or Universal Oneness, thousands (sahasra) souls are streaming out. (Refer j~na, ana, and soul explained in the Preface of this article.) Though it is one soul, but when viewed in an individual it is viewed as the soul of the individual. This splitting of the soul as many souls, is seen as the branching of the tree in countless branches. Thus, this branch (j~na, svyam, one-soul) is the route through which we get connected to the Universal Soul, because it is the same soul in every individual and it is the same One has become many One. This is why in the bodhana ritual, the stem or the branch has been mentioned in a number of hymns. It is mentioned----devaiH (the deities) gRihiitvaa (by resorting to) te (your) shaakhaa (branch) pujya (have worshipped) durgaa (the goddess durgaa) iti (this is) vishruti (as known famously)-----(Oh Wood-Apple tree) it is famously known that the deities have worshipped the goddess durgaa by resorting to your branches.
(Goddess durgaa who is mukhya-praaNa, and is taking everyone beyond death, is at the same time the Universal soul and our souls; in the Soul there is no activity or there are all the activities in Oneness.)
From our brain, the stream of senses, j~naana, or the streams of j~na (the soul) and ana (sense, animation) are flowing continuously through the spine and its branches. No sense, no ana can exist without j~na or the immutable soul (assertion-less self)---if you are not there, how your sense will exist!)
101. akShiti——the endless vision.
akShiti means what is not kShiti. akShiti = a (without, not) +kShiti. kShiti is that aspect of Consciousness that exhibits kShaya or decay. Thus, the earth or the physical universe is called kShiti as every entity in the earth or physical universe exhibits changes or termination of its present status.
The changes and the decay, i.e. end of one state and the beginning of another state are happening by the action of Consciousness known as kaala or time. The center from where the time or kaala originates is the ‘eye of Consciousness’. The eye is called akShi. Both the words akShi and akShiti are derived from the word akSha. The word akSha means ‘ a (no/does not) + kSha (decay); radiate)’. aksha also means ‘ a (ayam/this) + kSha (decay; radiate)’ ; akSha also means ‘axis or axel’. So, akShi or the eye means the hub or the axel of the circulating wheel from where the time and space is emanating. akShi = akSh+ i (motion)—-from where motion or time is generated and also the space or the perceptible universe (vision). (Refer Section 11 and other sections of this article for the narration on the vision and motion.) Even generating and radiating the time and the vision, the source remains intact and is so eternal or akShiti.
The element of time or a moment is known as kShaNa, and the act of vision as well as the act of desiring is called iikShaNa. Thus from the vision of Consciousness time is generating and this vision is the desire of Consciousness, i.e. the time is the revelation of the desire of Consciousness. This is why our desires become visible in our eyes.
It is said in the Veda, ‘tad (that/Consciousness) aikShata (made iikShNaa) bahu (many) syaaM (I shall be) prjaayeya (I shall be born)’———Consciousness desired and beheld, “ I shall be many, I shall be born”. (Quoted from Verse 6.2.3 of Chandogya Upanishad.) This is why we all desire, we all look for what we desire. So, what is desire or ‘kaama’ is also the time or ‘kaala’.
The eye of the Consciousness is said to be attended by seven eternal divinities (sapta akShitaya——seven undecaying beings). The seven divinities are visible inear the source from where the vision of Consciousness is emitting the time. The related verse is quoted below:
tam(it) etaH (these) sapta (seven) akShitaya (akShiti; eternal beings) upa (near) tiShThante (stays)—— These seven eternal beings stay near it (near praaNa or Consciousness and who is the eye)
tad (that) yaa (what) imaa (these) akShan (eye’s) lohinyo (red) raajaya (hues) staabhiH (by those) enaM (this) rudraH (rudra/deity called rudra) anvaayattaH (attends)——- that what are these red hues of the eye by that rudra (the deity called rudra) attends this (Consciousness the eye)
athaa (and now) yaa (what) akShan (eye’s) aapaH (water/tear) staabhi (by that) parjanyaH (parjanya/ the deity called parjanya) ——and now, what is this water in the eye by that the deity called parjanya (attends)
yaa (what) kaniinakaa (cornea-pupil-retina) tayaa (by that) aadityaH (aaditya)——what is kaniinaka (cornea-pupil-retina), by that aaditya (the deity called aaditya) (attends)
yat (what) kRishNam (attractive/dark) tena (by that) agniH (agni) —what is attractive (or the dark) hue by that agni (the deity called agni; the divine fire) attends
yat (what) shuklam (white/whitish hue; colour that makes sacred or unsullied; shuchi=holy, unsullied; colour that belongs to water) tena (by that) indraH ( the deity called indra) (attends)——what is whitish hue,(colour that makes sacred or unsullied; colour that belongs to water) by that indra attends
adharaya (by downward) enam (this) vartanyaa (motion; eyelid) pRitivyaa (the earth) anvaayattaH (attends)——by downward motion (by the lower eyelid) the earth attends to it (praaNa/Consciousness)
dyauH (the divinity/the heaven) uttarayaa (by the upper—-by the motion upward —by the upper eyelid) attends——the divinity/the heaven attends by the motion upward (by the upper eyelid)
na (not) asya (the one’s) annam (anna; food; nourishment) kShiyate (decays/diminishes) ya (who) enam (it; Consciousness and the seven undecaying beings) veda (knows)—-the one who knows it (the eye of Consciousness), the food/nourishment by praaNa (Consciousness) does not diminish
Consolidated meaning.
These seven eternal beings who stay near it (near praaNa, or Consciousness, or Consciousness the eye); that what are these red hues of the eye by that rudra (the deity called rudra) attends; and now, what is this water in the eye by that the deity called parjanya (attends); what is kaniinakaa (cornea-pupil-retina), by that aaditya (the deity called aaditya) (attends); what is attractive (or the dark) hue (of the eye) by that agni (the deity called agni; the divine fire) attends; what is whitish hue (colour that makes sacred or unsullied; colour that belongs to water) by that the indra (attends), by downward motion (by the lower eyelid) the earth attends to it (praaNa/Consciousness the eye); the divinity/the heaven attends by the upward (motion; by the upper eyelid). The one who knows it (the Consciousness who is the eye), the food/nourishment (provided by praaNa Consciousness) of such knower does not diminish. (Brihadaranyaka Verse 2.2.2)
(i) That what are these red hues of the eye by that rudra (the deity called rudra) attends. rudra is the name of the group of eleven deities. (Refer to Section 39 for rudra.) The mind, the five sensory faculties, and the five working faculties are the eleven deities known as rudra. rudra is from the root verb rud meaning ‘ to cry, to roar ‘ etc. They make us cry. All the activities that we are in, by the mind and our faculties, are sounds or words in our inner space or sky. We are experiencing the joys and sorrows of our existence through these eleven deities called rudra. They are implanting the joys and sorrows in us, or they are bestowing what all we have to get in our existence. Their colour is red or lohita (rohita), as red represents the colour of ‘materialization’. (Refer to Section 71.) This is how the rudra perform their tasks and are thus connected to Consciousness the eye of the universe.
When we become Rishi i.e. the ‘seer of the truth’, then we are able to see the motion of the divine particle who is kanyaa or vaak. (See Section 6 on kanyaa and also narration on kaniinakaa below.) vaak is transient and elusive, and escapes the notice. By rudra the truth-seers see the elusive vaak. rudra = ru (ruupa—-form, shape, view) + dra (dru——fast,rapid)——-who enables to view rapidly changing shapes.
The deities called rudra, make us cry (rud), when we leave this mortal body. We cry when we are born, we cry when we part. (Refer to the Verse 3.9.4 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.)
(ii) And now, what is this water in the eye by that the deity called parjanya (attends).
The word parjanya means ‘the rain god’. The word parjanya originates from the root verb pRij and the word ana. prij means the act of creating or generating (ja) separately (pRi). We have described earlier that during the process of re-birth, we descend to the earth from the lunar domain through the cloud and rain, and we enter the crops, and then into the body of the father or the progenitor. The process of individual birth is thus controlled by the deity called parjanya and also the anna or the foods are created by the rain (action of parjanya) that fertilizes the earth. This is how parjanya performs his task and is connected to Consciousness the eye of the universe.
Like the rain drops to the earth, similarly the tears roll down from our eyes as our emotions become too strong to materialize. As the seeds of life are carried by the rain to the earth, similarly our desires and emotions are borne by the tears.
Like the birth of individual entities is driven by parjanya, similarly the tear in our eyes plays a role in maintaining the vision as our eye blinks from one to the next. The tear ensures that every blink can take a clear vision by splashing a tear-film across the surface of the cornea at every blink.
(iii) What is kaniinaka (cornea-pupil-retina), by that aaditya (the deity called aaditya) (attends).
The core of the eye of Consciousness is called kaniinakaa. The general meaning of kaniinakaa is the pupil. (However, I consider it as cornea-pupil-retina and the inner eye.)
kaniinakaa——kanii (minute) na (none) kaa (anybody)——none is as minute as me.
The word kanii implies a female who is small, who is a kanyaa or vaak. (Refer to Section 6 for kanyaa and vaak.) From the vision or iikshaNa, kShaNa or the ‘elements of time’ or ‘moments’ are emanating. Consciousness or vaak herself is the divine maid or kanyaa and the divine particles or kaNaa (kanaa), and the minutest of the moments or kShaNa. She (vaak) is very transient. She is very elusive, and this elusiveness is also seen in the shift of the eyeballs and blinking of the eyelids. The entire universe is captured in this vision of Consciousness and being created out of this vision. kaniinakaa is at the core of the vision. We have explained the deity or the divinity called aaditya (the divine sun) with respect to vision, time, and assimilation. aaditya attends vaak through kaniinakaa, or aaditya finds his way to the core through kaniinaka.
We all move along with aaditya (the divine son), along with the time. In Upanishad it is said, that as aaditya is existing in the form of twelve months, and these twelve months or twelve forms of aaditya take all along with them as they move. Thus it is stated in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:
ete (they) hi (indeed) ete idam sarvam (all these) aadadaanaaH (by taking in him) yanti (move, depart))—-they indeed depart taking all these (with them)
te (they—-aaditya as the twelve months) yat (that) idam sarvam (all these) aadadanaaH (by taking in) yanti (depart) tasmad (that’s why) aadityaaH (aaditya) iti (iti = end of statement)——-that they depart taking all these that’s why they are aaditya
Consolidated meaning.
They (aaditya in twelve forms/twelve months) indeed depart taking all these (with them); that they depart taking (aadadaana) all these that’s why they are (called) aaditya. (Quoted from Verse 3.9.5 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
Thus we are all moving with the time, conveyed by the chariot of the sun, who is aaditya, who has twelve forms as twelve months or the twelve types of solar time or six types of seasons.
We are moving toward the core of the eye. Whatever we are seeing, they are all going through the pupil inside the eye.
(iv) What is attractive (or the dark) hue by that agni (the deity called agni; the divine fire) attends.
kRiShNa means ‘dark’ or ‘attractive. The word kRiShNa is from the root verb kRiSh meaning to attract. The word for attraction is aakarShaNa in Sanskrit. The divinity or the divine fire agni attends vaak through this dark (kRiShNa) part of the eye. This feature of dark hue or kriShNa of the eye of Consciousness is represented by the iris in our eyes. Iris is the coloured part surrounding the pupil and appears like a spreading flame. The colour of the iris is unique for every individual, and this implies how agni or the divine fire has burnt every individual to fix its individual feature. That everyone is nourished by praaNa-agni is the feature of agni called anna (the nourishing feature of Consciousness or agni). Everyone is nourished in specific ways or is featured uniquely. Thus, in Chandogya Upanishad it is said that the dark (kRiShNa) colour of agni is anna. (Refer Verse 6.4.1 of Chandogya Upanishad.) Consciousness, the divine fire has burnt everyone providing it with unique pigments or colours. By the vision of Consciousness, we have got our specific colours. This specific colour is called dark or kriShNa. The colour of the iris is also very specific and unique for every individual.
(v) What is whitish hue,(colour that makes sacred or unsullied; colour that belongs to water) by that indra attends.
The Sanskrit word mentioned in Upanishad for the white or whitish part of the eye is ‘shukla’. It is mentioned, ‘ yat shuklam tena indra ——-what is shukla by that indra (attends)’. In our eyes, this is physically the sclera. The word shukla consists of two components, shu and kla. The component kla is from the sacred seed word kliiM which is the seed word for all ‘kaama’ or the desire. The shu denotes the source of time/kaala. shu+a = shva. shva is time in action. We have mentioned above that kaala and kaama (desire) are the same. So, shukla means the colour or expression of Consciousness that ensures that all desires are being provided or bestowed. Thus in Chandogya Upanishad (Verse 6.4.1) it is stated that the colour of ap/aap or the divine water is shukla. We explained before that all that we desire exists in this divine water or ap, and fulfillment of desires is materialized by the divine water ap.
indra is shukla, i.e. all accomplished or enjoys what is the shukla aspect of Consciousness.
indra, the king of heaven, the observer in all the observers, experiences everything everywhere and knows them as the expression of the soul or the universal self. Thus indra is unsullied. indra is the divine observer. indra is ‘I’ in everyone and also the ‘eye’ or the observer in everyone. (We have narrated the deity indra in the Section 37,40 and 70.) Being shukla, all the things of desire go to indra or indra is accomplished with everything.
The sclera embodies the cornea along with the pupil and the other layers. This divine water who is shukla is stated to be the body of praaNa or Consciousness and the luminous form is the moon or the Consciousness glowing in the lunar domain.
Thus it is said: atha (and now) etasya (this) praaNasya (praaNa’s) aapaH (water/divine water) shariiram (the body) jyotiirupam (luminous form) asou (that) chandraH (moon)——And now water is the body of this praaNa, that moon is its (praaNa’s) luminous form. (Quoted from Verse 1.5.13 of Brihadranyaka Upanishad.)
Thus shukla implies a whitish or pale colour too. Consciousness as the moon (lunar domain) and water (ap/aap—the divine water) holds the seeds of everything so it is whitish or pale or yellowish. The yellow colour is also called piita. pitaa means ‘drunk, sucked’.
The colour of the moon is called shukla, and the waxing phase of the moon is called shukla-pakSha (phase). We have explained earlier that water is a part of the lunar domain and how as seeds we return from the lunar domain to be born in the the physical world. As each birth is a birth of indra, and indra as each creature is an observer of the universe, so indra is shukla.
( We have earlier narrated praaNa and prajaapati. The phasing moon or praaNa has been described as prajaapati. All the phases from the full moon to the new moon are the phases of praaNa or prajaapati. Thus prajaapati has sixteen phases and is called ShoDasha (sixteen)-kalaa (phase)-puruSha (being). (See Verse 1.5.14 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.) prajaapati experiencing his every phase is indra. Thus, shukla, or the bright part of the moon is indra. This is the sclera. The corresponding creature in whom indra is the divine observer is the dark (kRiShNa) part of the moon. This kRiShNa is the iris. (See narration on the iris above.)
(vi) By downward motion (by the lower eyelid) the earth attends to it (praaNa/Consciousness); (vii) the divinity/the heaven attends by the motion upward (by the upper eyelid).
If you refer to the earlier discussion on naabhi/vena or the navel in Section 65 above, you will find that we have mentioned there that vyaana or praaNa is whirling above and below the axel/hub/navel or the centre which is the eye or praaNa. The time or the time cycles are flowing out of the core of the vision or the eye. Those whirling time cycles have created the two caps, one above and one below the cap-less and endless universe. One is the upper eyelid or dyu (dyau, div) or the divinity, and the other is the lower eyelid or the earth or pRithiivi. (Refer to Sections 4,75,81,82,84 above.)
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