[ p. 54 ]
SECOND VALLÎ, OR, THE CHAPTER ON ÂNANDA (BLISS).
Harih, Om! May it (the Brahman) protect us both (teacher and pupil)! May it enjoy us both! May we acquire strength together! May our knowledge become bright! May we never quarrel! Peace! peace! peace [1]!
He who knows the Brahman attains the highest (Brahman). On this the following verse is recorded:
‘He who knows Brahman, which is (i.e. cause, not effect), which is conscious, which is without end, as hidden in the depth (of the heart), in the highest ether, he enjoys all blessings, at one with the omniscient Brahman.’
From that Self [2] (Brahman) sprang ether (âkâsa, that through which we hear); from ether air (that through which we hear and feel); from air fire (that through which we hear, feel, and see); from fire water (that through which we hear, feel, see, and taste); from water earth (that through which we hear, feel, see, taste, and smell). From earth herbs, from herbs food, from food seed, from seed man. Man thus consists of the essence of food. This is his head, [ p. 55 ] this his right arm, this his left arm, this his trunk (Âtman), this the seat (the support) 1.
On this there is also the following Sloka:
‘From food [3] are produced all creatures which dwell on earth. Then they live by food, and in the end they return to food. For food is the oldest of all beings, and therefore it is called panacea (sarvaushadha, i.e. consisting of all herbs, or quieting the heat of the body of all beings).’
They who worship food as Brahman [4], obtain all food. For food is the oldest of all beings, and therefore it is called panacea. From food all creatures are produced; by food, when born, they grow. Because it is fed on, or because it feeds on beings, therefore it is called food (anna).
Different from this, which consists of the essence of food, is the other, the inner Self, which consists of breath. The former is filled by this. It also has the shape of man. Like the human shape of the former is the human shape of the latter. Prâna (up-breathing) is its head. Vyâna (back-breathing) is its right arm. Apâna (down-breathing) is its left arm. Ether is its trunk. The earth the seat (the support).
On this there is also the following Sloka:
[ p. 56 ]
‘The Devas breathe after breath (prâna), so do men and cattle. Breath is the life of beings, therefore it is called sarvâyusha (all-enlivening).’
They who worship breath as Brahman, obtain the full life. For breath is the life of all beings, and therefore it is called sarvâyusha. The embodied Self of this (consisting of breath) is the same as that of the former (consisting of food).
Different from this, which consists of breath, is the other, the inner Self, which consists of mind. The former is filled by this. It also has the shape of man. Like the human shape of the former is the human shape of the latter. Yagus is its head. Rik is its right arm. Sâman is its left arm. The doctrine (âdesa, i.e. the Brâhmana) is its trunk. The Atharvâṅgiras (Atharva-hymns) the seat (the support).
On this there is also the following Sloka:
‘He who knows the bliss of that Brahman, from whence all speech, with the mind, turns away unable to reach it, he never fears! The embodied Self of this (consisting of mind) is the same as that of the former (consisting of breath).
Different from this, which consists of mind, is the other, the inner Self, which consists of understanding. The former is filled by this. It also has the shape of man. Like the human shape of the former is the human shape of the latter. Faith is its head. What is right is its right arm. What is true is its left arm.
[ p. 57 ]
Absorption (yoga) is its trunk. The great (intellect?) is the seat (the support).
On this there is also the following Sloka:
‘Understanding performs the sacrifice, it performs all sacred acts. All Devas worship understanding as Brahman, as the oldest. If a man knows understanding as Brahman, and if he does not swerve from it, he leaves all evils behind in the body, and attains all his wishes.’ The embodied Self of this (consisting of understanding) is the same as that of the former (consisting of mind).
Different from this, which consists of understanding, is the other inner Self, which consists of bliss. The former is filled by this. It also has the shape of man. Like the human shape of the former is the human shape of the latter. joy is its head. Satisfaction its right arm. Great satisfaction is its left arm. Bliss is its trunk. Brahman is the seat (the support).
On this there is also the following Sloka:
‘He who knows the Brahman as non-existing, becomes himself non-existing. He who knows the Brahman as existing, him we know himself as existing.’ The embodied Self of this (bliss) is the same as that of the former (understanding).
Thereupon follow the questions of the pupil:
‘Does any one who knows not, after he has departed this life, ever go to that world? Or does he who knows, after he has departed, go to that world [6]?’
[ p. 58 ]
The answer is: He wished, may I be many 1, may I grow forth. He brooded over himself (like a man performing penance). After he had thus brooded, he sent forth (created) all, whatever there is. Having sent forth, he entered into it. Having entered it, he became sat (what is manifest) and tyat (what is not manifest), defined and undefined, supported and not supported, (endowed with) knowledge and without knowledge (as stones), real and unreal 2. The Sattya (true) became all this whatsoever, and therefore the wise call it (the Brahman) Sat-tya (the true).
On this there is also this Sloka:
‘In the beginning this was non-existent (not yet defined by form and name). From it was born what exists. That made itself its Self, therefore it is called the Self-made [7].’ That which is Self-made is a flavour [8] (can be tasted), for only after perceiving a flavour can any one perceive pleasure. Who could breathe, who could breathe forth, if that bliss (Brahman) [ p. 59 ] existed not in the ether (in the heart)? For he alone causes blessedness.
When he finds freedom from fear and rest in that which is invisible, incorporeal, undefined, unsupported, then he has obtained the fearless. For if he makes but the smallest distinction in it, there is fear for him} [9]. But that fear exists only for one who thinks himself wise [10], (not for the true sage.)
On this there is also this Sloka:
(1) ‘From terror of it (Brahman) the wind blows, from terror the sun rises; from terror of it Agni and Indra, yea Death runs as the fifth [11].’
Now this is an examination of (what is meant by) Bliss (ânanda):
Let there be a noble young man, who is well read (in the Veda), very swift, firm, and strong, and let the whole world be full of wealth for him, that is one measure of human bliss.
One hundred times that human bliss (2) is one measure of the bliss of human Gandharvas (genii), [ p. 60 ] and likewise of a great sage (learned in the Vedas) who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of human Gandharvas is one measure of the bliss of divine Gandharvas (genii), and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of divine Gandharvas is one measure of the bliss of the Fathers, enjoying their long estate, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of the Fathers is one measure of the bliss of the Devas, born in the Âgâna heaven (through the merit of their lawful works), (3) and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of the Devas born in the Âgâna heaven is one measure of the bliss of the sacrificial Devas, who go to the Devas by means of their Vaidik sacrifices, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of the sacrificial Devas is one measure of the bliss of the (thirty-three) Devas, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of the (thirty-three) Devas is one measure of the bliss of Indra, (4) and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of Indra is one measure of the bliss of Brihaspati, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of Brihaspati is one measure of the bliss of Pragâpati, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
One hundred times that bliss of Pragâpati is one [ p. 61 ] measure of the bliss of Brahman, and likewise of a great sage who is free from desires.
(5) He [12] who is this (Brahman) in man, and he who is that (Brahman) in the sun, both are one [13].
[ p. 62 ]
He who knows this, when he has departed this world, reaches and comprehends the Self which consists of food, the Self which consists of breath, the Self which consists of mind, the Self which consists of understanding, the Self which consists of bliss.
On this there is also this Sloka:
[ p. 63 ]
He who knows the bliss of that Brahman, from whence all speech, with the mind, turns away unable to reach it, he fears nothing [15].’
He does not distress himself with the thought, Why did I not do what is good? Why did I do what is bad? He who thus knows these two (good and bad), frees himself. He who knows both, frees himself [16]. This is the Upanishad [17].
| TAITTIRÎYA-UPAN. | SATAPATHA-BRÂH. | BRIHADÂRAN.-UPAN. |
|---|---|---|
| Men | Men | Men |
| Human Gandharvas (and Srotriya) |
—— | —— |
| Divine Gandharvas | —— | —— |
| Fathers (kiraloka) | Fathers (gitaloka) | Fathers (gitaloka) |
| —— | Gandharvas | |
| Gods by birth | Gods by merit | Gods by merit |
| Gods by merit | Gods by birth (and Srotriya) |
Gods by birth (and Srotriya) |
| Gods | Gods | —— |
| Indra | Gandharvas | —— |
| Brihaspati | —— | —— |
| Pragâpati | Pragâpati | Pragâpati |
| Brahman | Brahman | Brahman. |
The commentators do not help us much. Saṅkara on the Taittirîyaka-upanishad p. 62 explains the human Gandharvas as men who have become Gandharvas, a kind of fairies; divine Gandharvas, as Gandharvas by birth. The Fathers or Manes are called Kiraloka, because they remain long, though not for ever, in their world. The âgânaga Gods are explained as born in the world of the Devas through their good works (smârta), while the Karmadevas are explained as born there through their sacred works (vaidika). The Gods are the thirty-three, whose lord is Indra, and whose teacher Brihaspati. Pragâpati is Virâg, Brahman Hiranyagarbha. Dvivedagaṅga, in his commentary on the Satapatha-brâhmana, explains the Fathers as those who, proceeding on the Southern path, have conquered their world, more particularly by having themselves offered in their life sacrifices to their Fathers. The Karmadevas, according to him, are those who have become Devas by sacred works (srauta), the Âgânadevas those who were gods before there were men. The Gods are Indra and the rest, while the Gandharvas are not explained. Pragâpati is Virâg, Brahman is Hiranyagarbha. Lastly, Saṅkara, in his commentary on the Brihadâranyakaupanishad, gives nearly the same explanation as before; only that he makes âgânadevâh still clearer, by explaining them as gods âgânatah, i.e. utpattitah, from their birth.
The arrangement of these beings and their worlds, one rising above the other, reminds us of the cosmography of the Buddhists, but the elements, though in a less systematic form, existed evidently before. Thus we find in the so-called Gargî-brâhmana (Satapatha-brâhmana XIV, 6, 6, 1) the following succession: Water, air, ether [18], the worlds of the sky [19], heaven, sun, moon, stars, gods, Gandharvas [20], Pragâpati, Brahman. In the Kaushîtaki-upanishad I, 3 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. i, p. 275) there is another series, the worlds of Agni, Vâyu, Varuna, Indra, Pragâpati, and Brahman. See Weber, Ind. Stud. II, p. 224.
54:1 Not counted here as an Anuvâka. The other Anuvâkas are divided into a number of small sentences. ↩︎
54:2 Compare with this srishtikrama, Khând. Up. VI, 2; Ait. Âr. II, 4, 1. ↩︎
55:2 Anna is sometimes used in the more general sense of matter. ↩︎
55:3 Worship consisting in the knowledge that they are born of food, live by food, and end in food, which food is Brahman. ↩︎
56:1 Cf. II, 9. ↩︎
57:1 As he who knows and he who knows not, are both sprung from Brahman, the question is supposed to be asked by the pupil, whether both will equally attain Brahman. ↩︎
58:3 Cf. Ait. Up. I, 2, 3. ↩︎
58:4 As flavour is the cause of pleasure, so Brahman is the cause of all things. The wise taste the flavour of existence, and know that it proceeds from Brahman, the Self-made. See Kaushîtaki-upanishad I, 5; Sacred Books, vol. i, p. 277. ↩︎
59:1 Fear arises only from what is not ourselves. Therefore, as soon as there is even the smallest distinction made between our Self and the real Self, there is a possibility of fear. The explanation ud = api, aram = alpam is very doubtful, but recognised in the schools. It could hardly be a proverbial expression, ‘if he makes another stomach’ meaning as much as, ‘if he admits another person.’ According to the commentator, we should translate, ‘for one who knows (a difference), and does not know the oneness.’ ↩︎
59:2 I read manvânasya, the commentator amanvânasya. ↩︎
59:3 Kath. Up. VI, 3. ↩︎
61:1 Cf. III, 10, 4. ↩︎
61:2 In giving the various degrees of happiness, the author of the Upanishad gives us at the same time the various classes of human and divine beings which we must suppose were recognised in his time. We have Men, human Gandharvas, divine Gandharvas, Fathers (pitaras kiralokalokâh), born Gods (âgânagâ devâh), Gods by merit (karmadevâh), Gods, Indra, Brihaspati, Pragâpati, Brahman. Such a list would seem to be the invention of an individual rather than the result of an old tradition, if it did not occur in a very similar form in the Satapatha-brâhmana, Mâdhyandina-sâkhâ XIV, 7, 1 ,31, Kânva-sâkhâ (Brih. Âr. Up. IV, 3, 32). Here, too, the highest measure of happiness is ascribed to the Brahmaloka, and other beings are supposed to share a certain measure only of its supreme happiness. The scale begins in the Mâdhyandina-sâkhâ with men, who are followed by the Fathers (pitaro gitalokâh), the Gods by merit (karmadevâh), the Gods by birth (âgânadevâh, with whom the Srotriya is joined), the world of Gods, the world of Gandharvas, the world of Pragâpati, the world of Brahman. In the Brihad-âranyaka-upanishad we have Men, Fathers, Gandharvas, Gods by merit, Gods by birth, Pragâpati, and Brahman. If we place the three lists side by side, we find— ↩︎
63:1 Cf. II, 4. ↩︎
63:2 Even if there is no fear from anything else, after the knowledge of Self and Brahman has been obtained, it might be thought that fear might still arise from the commission of evil deeds, and the omission of good works. Therefore the next paragraphs have been added. ↩︎
63:3 The construction of these two sentences is not clear to me. ↩︎
63:4 Here follows the Anukramanî, and in some MSS. the same invocation with which the next Vallî begins. ↩︎
61:a Deest in Kânva-sâkhâ. ↩︎
61:b Between sky and sun, the Kânva-sâkhâ places the Gandharvaloka (Brih. Âr. Up. III, 6, 1, p. 609). ↩︎
61:c Instead of Gandharvas, the Brih. Âr. Up. places Indra. ↩︎