IshAvAsya – Part 4

By : JayakrishNa Nelamangala

Shree krishNArpaNamastu

There is a popular idea that we can live happily without any philosophy. On the contrary, this upanishat teaches in this mantra that lack of knowledge of tattva is destruction of oneself. This needs to be understood with a deeper inquiry into the matter. There is another popular idea that there is emancipation for everyone. On the contrary, the next upanishat mantra teaches about something quite the opposite state called andhan-tamas, which proves that the tradition of upanishat has rejected the popular idea that there is emancipation for everyone. There is yet another popular idea that any means will do for emancipation. If everyone follows their own variety of means, and if all of them reach the highest, then any discussion on those means would be futile. These mantras in this upanishat establish that just as mukti is a permanent state, so also is andhan-tamas. This shows how disastrous wrong knowledge can be. By this, the greatness of right knowledge becomes established. That right knowledge is the right knowledge of Vedic Brahman. It is the only means for emancipation as Veda has made it clear. Opposing Vedic Knowledge is itself the disaster. On the contrary, right knowledge itself is bliss. The highest state of bliss is in the state of emancipation. This is how the knowledge of the Highest results in the highest state of bliss. Right knowledge that comes from Veda is obtained as a result of inquiry. Inquiry into Veda is in the form of study-contemplation-application and this is the path prescribed in upanishats. आत्मा वा अरे दृष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यो मैत्रेयि आत्मनो वा अरे दर्शनेन श्रवणेन मत्या विज्ञानेन इदँ सर्वं विदितं । ātmā vā arē dr̥ṣṭavyaḥ śrōtavyō mantavyō nididhyāsitavyō maitrēyi ātmanō vā arē darśanēna śravaṇēna matyā vijñānēna idam̐ sarvaṁ viditaṁ | So teaches sage yaajnyakalkya.

In the previous mantras, the suitability for knowledge was described. The necessity for the third mantra in IshAvAsya arises because, after obtaining competence for knowledge, the curiosity to obtain proper knowledge of Brahman through Veda is to be quenched. The process of obtaining proper knowledge automatically involves the recognition and rejection of all that is not proper knowledge. In this mantra, the upanishat teaches what happens to the individual who has the improper knowledge.

We should remember that knowledge is always with a being. It is not something that can be found outside of beings. Thus, whenever ‘knowledge’ is talked about, two questions automatically should arise: 1) knowledge of what? and 2) whose knowledge? Similarly, for improper-knowledge the same two questions arise: improper knowledge of what? and whose improper knowledge?

उपनिषत्: upanishat:

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः|
ताँस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चाऽत्महनो जनाः || ३ ||

asuryā nāma tē lōkāha anḍḥēna tamasāvritāha |
tāgumstē prētyābhigaccanti yē kē cātmahanō janāha || 3 ||

There is no exception to the rule that, one who has knowledge that is opposed to what is established by pramANAs i.e., tattva, he will receive mahAdukha, without fail. As students of Vedanta, what we should notice here is this. purāṇas already contained the meaning of these words such as “asuryA nAma tE lOkaaha” that show up in upanishats. So, while interpreting those upanishats, śrīmad ānandatīrtha brings out their meanings consistent with those purāṇaas. For this reason, he profusely quotes from purāṇaas, bhāgavata, gītā and other works of śrī vēdavyāsa. We also notice that he does not quote anyone else.

उपनिषत्: upanishat:

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः|
ताँस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चाऽत्महनो जनाः || ३ ||

asuryā nāma tē lōkāha anḍḥēna tamasāvritāha |
tāgumstē prētyābhigaccanti yē kē cātmahanō janāha || 3 ||

अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः anḍḥēna tamasāvritāha – The stations that are covered in dense darkness असुर्या नाम ते लोका asuryā nāma tē lōkāha – such stations which are full of only misery, called ‘asuryA’ ताँस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति tāgumstē prētyābhigaccanti — are attained after death by those ये के चाऽत्महनो जनाः yē kē cātmahanō janāha – that did not get the knowledge of Parabrahman as established by pramANa and hence have killed their own thinking principle.

The phrase ‘yē kē ca’ in the upanishat indicates the fact that, those that have killed their own thinking principle as a rule end up in misery and darkness. There is no exception to this rule. ‘ātmahanō janāha’ in the upanishat stands for those people, who do not understand the Paramaatva-tattva as it is but understand it in quite the opposite manner.

This shlOka contains a warning that is given to every student of shAstra. One should let go of every abhimAna (hanging onto something that pramANas have shown otherwise) and other defects, while understanding philosophy. Then and only then, Parabrahman as the sole meaning of Veda can be known. When there are these defects, what is known through the same Veda also has defects, and therefore it cannot be the Defectless Parabrahman. Those who get such wrong knowledge, as a rule, go to andhan-tamas. Therefore, a student of shAstra, must examine every concept that is thrown at him. Did pramANas establish that concept? Whether Veda has been interpreted to teach that Defectless Parabrahman? Whether the interpretation is due to abhimAna and such other defect? All these different concepts that are given to him as Vedanta are part of his understanding in ShravaNa. It is up to
him to do the “manana” based on what he has heard and understood from shravaNa. Thus, “manana” is the most important step for progress in one’s shAstraic knowledge. All this is possible, only through a constant manana in the form – what is the correct meaning of this shruti-vAkya?

“manana” is defined as:

प्रतिवाक्यार्थं अयं वाक्यार्थो युक्तः अन्योवेति संशयादि निरासक विचार शास्त्रं

prativākyārthaṁ ayaṁ vākyārthō yuktaḥ anyōvēti saṁśayādi nirāsaka vicāra śāstraṁ.

For every sentence in shruti, whether this meaning is the correct meaning, or some other meaning is the correcting meaning? Enquiry which removes all these doubts is called “manana”. Thus, all doubts get cleared at the stage of manana, so that one may commence an incessant concentration on it, in the nidhidhyAsana stage. This is an iterative process. One level of jignyAsA leads to the next level of jignyAsA.

We should also remember that the entire Veda establishes only one thing: that is Parabrahman who is denoted by OmkAra. But ‘how?’ is the question. It is through what is called shAstra-samanvaya. For this reason, a student of shAstra must examine every kind of interpretation and see what they establish or fail to establish.

We will come back to this aspect of brahma-jignyAsA, when it is taken up by the upanishat itself later. For now, let us recall that Bhagavad-Gita has listed ‘abhimAna’ as a demonic quality.

दंभो दर्पो अभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च । अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ संपदमासुरीं ॥ ( गीता १६.४)

daṁbhō darpō abhimānaśca krōdhaḥ pāruṣyamēva ca | ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya pārtha saṁpadamāsurīṁ || ( gītā 16.4)

Pretense, arrogance, conceit, anger, cruelty, ignorance are the qualities of a person born with demonic qualities. Maana means valid pramaaNa. pramaaNa generates true-knowledge. Abhi-maana is that which is opposite to maana. Invalid-pramaaNa produces “knowledge” that is not true. Knowingly holding onto such knowledge, is conceit. Not knowing what is valid and what is invalid is part of ignorance. Both ignorance and conceit are the qualities of a person with demonic qualities.