Episode 01 - Aithareya Upanishad.
AITHAREYA UPANISHAD
Aithareya Upanishad is one of the ten Mukhya Upanishads affiliated to Rig Veda. It is amongst the older set of Upanishads. The rishi of the Aithareya Aaranyaka was Aithareya Mahidaasa. He is believed to have lived 116 years – as mentioned in the Chaandogya Upanishad. This is a fairly extensive work, dwelling on the nature of Athman.
This Upanishad is amongst the smaller works in Upanishads - 4 mantras in chapter 1, 5 in chapter 2, 14 in chapter 3, 6 in chapter 4 and 4 in chapter 5.
This Upanishad is also home to one of the four Mahaa Vaakyas:
pragnyAnam Brahma.
The Shaanthi Mantra of this Upanishad is one that many of us might have heard during veda paraayanam; some might have understood the imports and others might have just phonetically enjoyed the emphatic proclamations shooting forth:
SAnthih Mantra
OM. vAgmE manaSi prathishtithA: manO mE vAsi prathishtitham;
AvirAvIrma Ethi: vEdhaSya ma ANIStha: srutham mE mA prahAsee:
anEnAdhIthEnAhO rAthraan Sandhadhaami. Ritham vadhishyAmi;
Sathyam vadhishyAmi; thanmAmavathu; thathvakthAramavathu;
Avathu mAmavathu vakthAramavathu vakthAram.
May my speech be harmonized with my mind; and, likewise, may my mind be harmonized with my speech. Oh! Glowing Brahman, glow within me. Oh! Speech, Oh! Mind both bring to me a realization of the Vedas. Whatever was heard by me, let these not leave me (my thoughts). Let me not differentiate between night and day in this quest for learning. I shall speak the material truth. I shall speak the spiritual (sathyam) truth. Let the Almighty protect me. Let Him protect my Guru as well. Let the Almighty protect me. Let Him protect my Guru as well. (repeated for effect.)
Order of creation explained
OM. AthmA vaa idhamEgra ASInnAnyath kinchana mishath;
Sa Ikshatha lOkAnnu SrujA ithi.
In the beginning this was but the absolute Athman (Self) alone. There was nothing else whatsoever that winked. He thought:, “Let Me create the worlds.”
Sa imAn lOkAnaSrujatha: ambhO marIchirmaramApOh thOmbah:
parENa dhivam dhyow prathishttAnthariksham marIchaya:
prithvee marO yaa adhaSdhAththA Apah.
He created Ambha lokam, mareechi lokam, mara lokam and Apah lokam. That which is beyond heaven is ambhas. Heaven is its support. The sky is marichi.(mareechi is light; the space between the earth and the heavens is illuminated and is therefore called mariachi lokam) The earth is mara. The worlds that are below are the apah. Apah is water. What is below the earth is considered a world made of water.
Sa eekshathEmE nu lOkaa lOkaa paalaannu srujA ithi:
sOthbhya Eva purusham SamuththruthyAmUrchchayath.
He then thought: I have created the worlds. Let me now create the protectors and providers of these worlds. Then with water (adhbhya), he created Brahma (purusham eva).
Thamabhyathapath thabthaSya mukham nirabithyatha yathANdam;
Mukaath vaag vaachOgnir nAsikE nirabithyEthaam nAsikAbhyam prANah;
prANAth vAyu raksheeNi nirabithyEthaam aksheebhyaam;
cakshu chakshusha Adithyah karNow nirabithyEthaam karNAbhyaam
srOthram srOthraath dhicaSthvang nirabhithyatha dhvaSO lOmaani
lOmabhya Oshadhi vanaSpathayO hridhayam nirabhithyatha
hridhayAn manO manaSaSchandramA nAbhirnirabhithyatha
nAbhyaa apAnOpAnaan mruthyu; cichnam nirabhidhyatha;
cichnAth rEthO rEthaS aApah:
He then deliberated about the Purusha (Brahma) He had created. Then the Purusha’s (Brahma’s) mouth broke open, just as an egg breaks open (yathANdam). From the mouth emerged speech; from speech came Fire. The nostrils parted; from the nostrils came out the sense of smell; from the sense of smell came Vaayu (Air). The two eyes parted; from the eyes emerged the sense of sight; from the sense of sight came the Sun. The two ears parted; from the ears came the sense of hearing; from the sense of hearing came the Directions (dhicaSthvang). The skin emerged; from the skin came out hair (i.e. the sense of touch associated with hair); from the sense of touch came the Herbs and Trees. The heart took shape; from the heart issued the mind; from the internal organ came the Moon. The navel parted; from the navel came out the apaanan, the energy of ejection; from apaanan issued Death (mruthyu). The seat of the procreative organ parted; from that came the procreative organ; from the procreative organ emerged Water.
(Here, the inescapable interconnection between the Creator (Brahma), the primal forces like earth, water, fire, wind, the inanimate and the humans is illustrated. This could be found in several other places in the Upanishads.)
The Upanishad proceeds to describe how He created food, man and how after several unsuccessful attempts, he caught hold of food with the help of apaanan the energy of ejection, how He gave life to man by entering him through the head, (vidhruthi). Man then thinks of the other creatures and objects in this creation. What is there to think about these? He realized that the Athman that resides in him is pervading everywhere and in everything. He exclaims: “I have realized this.”.
The Upanishad then describes the process of birth in metaphysical terms (as different from physiological or biological terms). When this subject is taken up, the pregnant women in the gathering are asked to leave the assembly. When this part of the discussion is completed, the pregnant women are invited back. This demonstrates so emphatically the vital place accorded to women in upanishadic period in the most advanced spiritual discussions. It was definitely not a totally male world!
Here is an exceptional declaration of rishi Vaamadeva quoted in chapter 2. 5 of this Upanishad:
Thadhuktham rishiNaa: garbhE nu SannanvEshAm avEdhamaham dhEvAnAm janimAni viSwA
Sadham maa pura AyaSIra rakshannathah cyEnO javaSaa niradhIyamithi:
Garbha Evaithath cayAnO vAmadEva EvamuvAcha.
The rishi narrated about this: When I was in my mother’s womb, I had learnt about the entire story about the birth of the various Gods (Devaanaam) I was held down (in my mother’s pregnancy) by a hundred fortresses of steel. I forced my way out like a hawk with the help of this knowledge. Rishi Vaama Deva said like this when he was still lying in his mother’s womb.
Supreme God
Let us now consider the mantra that is home to the famous maha vaakhya :pragnjAnam Brahma:
एष ब्रह्मैष इन्द्र एष प्रजापतिरेते सर्वे देवा इमानि च पञ्चमहाभूतानि पृथिवी वायुराकाश आपो ज्योतींषीत्येतानीमानि च क्शुद्रमिश्राणीव । बीजानीतराणि चेतराणि चाण्डजानि च जारुजानि च स्वेदजानि चोद्भिज्जानि चाश्वा गावः पुरुषा हस्तिनो यत्किञ्चेदं प्राणि जङ्गमं च पतत्रि च यच्च स्थावरं सर्वं तत्प्रज्ञानेत्रं प्रज्ञाने प्रतिष्ठितं प्रज्ञानेत्रो लोकः प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठा प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म ॥
Esha brahmaisha indhra Esha prajaapathirEthE SarvE dhEvA imaanicha pancha mahAbhoothAni
Prithvee vAyuraakaasa ApOh jyOtheemshIthyEthaani imaani cha kshuthra misrANeeva:
Bheejaani itharANi chEtharANi chANdajaani cha jaarujaani cha SvEthajaani sOthbhijjaani
saaSvaa ghaava: purushA haSthinO yathkinchEtham prANi jangamam cha pathathri cha
yachcha Sthaavaram Sarvam thath prajnaanEthram prajnaanE prathishtitham prajnaanEthrO lOkah:
prajnaa prathishttA prajnaanam brahma.
This One is (the inferior) Brahman; this is Indra, this is Prajaapathi; this is all these gods; and this is also the five elements, viz. earth, air, space, water, fire; and this is all the big creatures together with the small ones, that are the procreators of others and referable in pairs – to illustrate, those that are born of eggs, of wombs, of moisture of the earth, viz. horses, cattle, men, elephants, and all the creatures that there are which move or fly and those which do not move. All these have Consciousness as the giver of their status and reality; all these are impelled by Consciousness; the universe has Consciousness as its eye and Consciousness is its end. Consciousness is Brahman.
Sum up
This work is an unusually styled one amongst the Upanishads and deals mainly with its concept of creation. I give below, in rather grossly aggregated terms (the deeper meanings excepted for the sake of brevity), what the Upanishad propounds:
1. In the beginning only God existed (here God is expressed as Athma). Nothing else - that winked (mishath) - existed. God thought unto Himself: I shall create the worlds.
2. God then created Ambhalokam, mareechilokam, mara lokam(the earth), Aapa lokam.
3. Having created the worlds, God thought: I shall now create the protectors (Loka Paalas) for these worlds. Then God created Brahma from a handful of water.
4. Then God thought about Brahma. Then Brahma's mouth splintered like a hatching egg (Andam). From Brahma's splintered mouth came forth speech. From that speeach came Fire. The nose came forth and splintered; from the nostrils came the breadth. Eyes came forth and broke open. Sight was created. Fromthe sight came forth the Sun. Eyes came forth. As these broke open, hearing was created. And from that hearing was formed the different directions (East, West, South, North, etc.). The skin came forth. As it opened up, hairs came forth. And from these came herbs and vegetation. The heart appeared. And as it opened up, the mind was created and from the mind came forth the moon. The belly button appeared and from that appeared apaanan (one of the five praanas) and from apaanan appeared death. Human sex appeared and from it came forth semen and from it water was created.
The mantra dealing with how God activated what was created are however spell-binding and are worth elaborating a bit:
Sa EthamEva Seemaanam vidhaaryaidhayaa dhwaaraa praapadhyatha / Saishaa vidhruthirnaama dhwaaSthadhEthannaandhanam / thaSya thraya AvaSathaa; thraya swapnah; / ayamaavaSathO yamaavaSathO yamaavaSa ithi.
God broke through the entrance on the top of the skull and entered the body. The name of that entrance is vidhruthi. That is the abode of Anandaa. God's abodes are three. Dreams are three. This is His Abode. This is His Abode. This is His Abode.
(The human being is described to have eleven gates - Puram Ekaadasa Dwaaram( (Kata Upanishad). Of these, the one on the top of the skull is known as "Brahma Randram". The "gate" could be perceived as the soft tissue on top of the skull felt in newborn babies.
Now I reproduce below the "genesis" from the Bible, for the readers to savour the comparative styles in the narration of creation in the two scriptures:
Genesis 1:1-2:3
The Creation Story Summary
The opening chapter of the Bible begins with these words, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This summarizes the drama that was about to unfold. We learn fromthe text that the earth was formless, empty, and dark, and God's Spirit moved over the waters preparing to perform God's creative Word. And then God began to speak into existence his creation. The day by day account follows:
Day 1 - God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day" and darkness "night."
Day 2 - God created an expanse to separate the waters and called it "sky."
Day 3 - God created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters "seas." On day three, God also created vegetation (plants and trees).
Day 4 - God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night. These would also serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years.
Day 5 - God created every living creature of the seas and every winged bird, blessing them to multiply and fill the waters and the sky with life.
Day 6 - God created the animals to fill the earth. On day six, God also created man and woman (Adam and Eve) in his own image to commune with him. He blessed them and gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate.
Day 7 - God had finished his work of creation and so he rested on the seventh day, blessing it and making it holy.
Points of Interest from the Story:
• Genesis 1, the opening scene of the biblical drama, introduces us to the two main characters in the Bible: God and man. One author, Gene Edwards, refers to this drama as The Divine Romance. Here we meet God, the Almighty Creator of all things, revealing the ultimate object of his love—man—as he concludes the stunning work of creation. God has set the stage. The drama has begun.
• In summary, the simple truth of the creation story is that God is the author of creation. In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly? No one can answer these questions definitively. In fact, these mysteries are not the focus of the creation story. The purpose, rather, is for moral and spiritual revelation.
• God was very pleased with his creation. Six times throughout the process of creating, God stops, observes his handiwork and says, "It was very good." This is a great time to remind ourselves that we are part of God's creation. Even when you don't feel worthy of his pleasure, remember that God made you and is pleased with you. You are of great worth to him.
• In verse 26, God says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness ..." This is the only instance in the creation account that God uses the plural form to refer to himself. It's interesting to note that this happens just as he begins to create man. Many scholars believe this is the Bible's first reference to the Trinity.
• On the seventh day, God rested. It's hard to come up with a reason why God would need to rest, but apparently he considered it important. Rest is often an unfamiliar concept in our busy, fast-paced world. It's socially unacceptable to take an entire day to rest. Yet God knows we need times of refreshing. Our example, Jesus, spent time alone away from the crowds. So, we should not feel guilty when we take time each week to rest and renew our bodies, souls, and spirits.
Questions for Reflection:
The story clearly shows that God was enjoying himself as he went about the work of creation. As noted previously, six times he stops and savors his accomplishments. If God takes pleasure in his handiwork, is there anything wrong with us feeling good about our achievements?
Do you enjoy your work? Whether it's your job, your hobby, or your ministry service, if your work is pleasing to God then it should also bring pleasure to you. Consider the work of your hands. What things are you doing to bring pleasure to both you and God?