THIRD VALLI (CHAPTER)

THE RELATION BETWEEN THE SUPREME SOUL AND UNREDEEMED SOUL

The supreme cosmic soul is seated in the heart of the unredeemed soul or jeeva. Both of them together partake truth. The jeevatma and the supreme soul are different like shadow and the sun. The unredeemed soul is ignorant or knows less while the supreme soul is omniscient. The little knowledge possessed by the Jiva also belongs to the supreme soul. Hence a human should not have ego on one's capabilities and aptitudes.

THE NOBLEST METHOD TO ATTAIN GOD- 'PRAYER'

The Yamaraj prays to the supreme God and says: "O Lord! Give us that assiduity by which we can selflessly perform good deeds such as Yagya so that we can make you happy and realize the ultimate truth and experience your beauty. The best way hence to realize the supreme God is nothing but prayer.

THE METAPHOR OF THE CHARIOT AND CHARIOTEER

O Nachiketa! The Jeeva is the master of the chariot. This body itself is the chariot. The intellect is the charioteer, the mind is the reins, the senses are the horses and the material pleasures are the paths on which the senses run.

The desires and the person suffering is the human who is embellished by a body, a mind, the senses etc.

Humans should try to attain the supreme God on the basis of the mind and the senses. But unfortunately, due to negligence, the human being became careless and the intellect was bereft of the divine inclination. The reins were not in control of the mind and the mind delegated its duty to the wicked senses.

As a result, the senses took control of the human mind and body. The human thus became dependent and eventually indulged in ephemeral, material pleasures. He got caught in the vicious cycle of birth and death. He continued to take birth in inferior yonis such as dogs and pigs.

But a cautious and sagacious person makes the mind calm and stable and orients the mind towards spiritual thoughts, frees himself from desire and hatred and surrenders himself at the feet of the supreme Lord by being selfless, he attains the highest state of bliss and divinity from where he never returns.

THE SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF THE SENSES

Orienting oneself towards God means disinclining the senses from the wrong path of enjoyment. The material pleasures are stronger than the senses that is why the senses should be kept away from material pleasures. The mind is stronger than the material allurements.

If the mind remains detached, the senses and the material allurements are thoroughly conquered. Hence one should cleanse the mind away from desire and hatred and by controlling the impulses of the fickle mind. This can be done by the concerted efforts of the intellect. But superior to the intellect is the soul. All have to knowingly or unknowingly agree to the decree passed by the soul. One should keep a watch on the intellect by one's latent divine energy.

The delusion (Maya) embellished by three qualities is stronger than the 'Jeeva' due to which the Jeeva cannot realize God. Strong in the sense that the jeeva cannot curtail the delusion with his individual efforts. By being blessed by God only he can transcend the delusion. But there is nothing superior to the supreme God. The jeeva's well being lies in surrendering himself at the feet of the Lord.

That supreme God is omnipresent and dwells in the heart of each and everyone. But he is hiding behind the vast curtain of Maya (delusion). They who seek refuge and tune their intellect towards him, are endowed with divine powers by which they attain the supreme God.

CAUTION ON THE PATH OF SPIRITUALITY

The intellectual human should curb the impulses of the senses and should orient the senses towards the mind. He should instate the mind in the intellect and the intellect into the pure form of the unredeemed soul.

Doing so, such a state is attained that one does not perceive anything other than the divine soul. After this one should orient oneself in the supreme cosmic spirit.

The Shrutis say- O Humans! You all are in deep slumber of ignorance. You have finally attained this precious human body. Do not engage in negligence and in wastage of time in futile ephemeral things. On the contrary, seek the blessings of noble souls and tread on the path advised by them so that you realize the supreme divine soul. This element is difficult to understand and follow. The only way to realize this divine soul is to tread on the path bequeathed to us by our great noble people.

THE BENEFITS OF THE REALIZATION OF SUPREME GOD

As the supreme God is beyond palpability and tangibility, he is not intelligent. Our lay senses, mind and intellect cannot imagine reaching out to the divine element.

By realization of the divine cosmic element one transcends death and transmigration.

SECOND CHAPTER

FIRST VALLI

THE SENSES CANNOT GAUGE OR FATHOM THE SUPREME GOD

The supreme cosmic soul resides in all the human beings and creatures but is not perceivable by anything and to any one. The things like speech are gross and are esoteric. The senses can only experience those esoteric things that are gross and palpable. But these senses can be oriented towards pure things with which one can lead a healthy life and tread towards the supreme God. That is why God has made the opening of the senses towards external ambience. As humans are ignorant and not judicious they fall prey to the material evils. Seldom does a sublime soul realize the Divine soul by the aid of self- study, company of noble souls and by the grace of supreme God.

With the aim of realizing Brahma he suppresses the senses externally itself and orients them in spiritual thoughts. As a result he experiences the beauty of the Supreme God.

THE AID OF HUMAN LIFE

The human birth is nobler and superior to all other forms of birth. The ultimate objective cannot be at any cost 'hedonism'. That person loses the golden opportunity of emancipation if he indulges in pleasure seeking only. He is plagued by death and transmigration.

Those people who orient themselves towards the supreme soul and suppress all the impulses of the mind and senses attain immortality. Immortality can be attained with that aid of this body itself. Just as we realize the material world with our inner energy we can realize simultaneously the transition of this world also. We realize that all these things are subject to change but amongst all these things, the supreme soul is constant, unchanging, immutable and eternal.

It is by his inspiration that we see all the incidents occurring in our daily life again in our dreams and in the para-conscious state. By realizing the supreme soul the human transcends all miseries.

The ruler of the past, present and future supreme spirit, when resides in the human being that person does not criticize any one does not hate any one as he sees that divine soul in one and all.

SUPREME GOD: THE CAUSE OF THE UNIVERSE

All the things from Brahma to the creature take birth from that Divine Cosmic spirit. Everything is merely an expression of that spirit. But he is one and only one though he has taken different forms. Though he dwells in the heart of one and all he is one and only one.

That intangible energy is not different from Supreme God. Just as Agni resides in the wood and on friction assumes its original form similarly that Supreme God is pleased with prayer and praises.

The Sun resides in that Supreme God. No god can understand the glory of that supreme God. But that God is all pervasive. The difference in form seen is the perception of the ignorant and such people are subjected to life and death.

O Nachiketa! Realize that all tangible and intangible, palpable and unpalpabale, esoteric and exoteric, is nothing but supreme God. By contemplating in this manner the soul develops relation with the supreme soul.

SECOND VALLI

THE METAPHOR OF BODY AS A CITY

This human body has nine doors that is, two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one anus and one penis.

This body is like the city of the invincible, indestructible and pure supreme God. This human body is the capital on which the supreme God presides like a king. The person who realizes the body to be the abode of divinity and propitiates God by name recitation and bhajans etc. is freed from sorrow and pain and eventually is liberated from life and death.

THE OMNIPOTENT SUPREME GOD

The God named Vasus also resides in that place where the supreme God resides. They are the ones who come to the homes of householders as guests. They are like the brilliant Agni in the sacrificial altar and are the ones who give sacrifice.

They are present in form of all human beings, all the deceased ancestors and superior gods. They reside in the sky and the truth. They are present in the fish, conch, Sukti (good statements), in different yagyas and their fruits, in mountains and rivers.

In all ways they are superior, great and are the embodiments of truth. The activity initiated in the inanimate things, prana, apana is the grace of the supreme God itself.

All the gods of the senses perform cautiously all their respective duties to please the supreme God.

When the human being dies, the soul is transmigrated while the mind, senses and intellect desert the body. Only the supreme God resides in the body, he is never eliminated. That itself is Brahma.

THE ULTIMATE STATE ATTAINABLE BY THE UNREDEEMED SOUL

Yamraj said: "O Nachiketa! You asked where does the Jeeva go after death. I shall now tell you the fact.

The jiva assumes another body after death, according to one's good and bad actions.

If he has performed good actions he begets a human body again. But if his actions were bad, he has to take birth in lower and inferior yonis such as dogs, birds etc. Those who perform a lot of bad Karma have to eventually assume forms of trees, plants, mountains, creepers etc.

THE FORM OF SUPREME GOD

The God creates different Karmas and their fruits. Even at the time of final annihilation, that supreme God is awake and monitors anything. He is the embodiment of truth.

No one can transgress the rules created and established by him. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. No one can ever transcend his glory.

Just like fire is pervasive in this entire universe, but attains the form of the thing it burns, similarly the omnipotent supreme God is one and only one. But he assumes form in different creatures. He is just like air which assumes form and energy according to the things that contain it. It is dependent upon the Sun in whose light and energy people perceive things differently and do different types of Karmas.

God is beyond pain, sorrow, grief, happiness and all titles. He is autonomous and voluntary.

Great scholars see him within themselves. By this they are bestowed with bliss and divine happiness. Even the Sun's radiance seems negligible before the divine halo of God. All things are enkindled and enlightened by the fragment of that divine brilliance.

THIRD VALLI

SUPREME GOD - THE ROOT OF THE TREE IN THE FORM OF UNIVERSE

This entire world resembles a pipal tree. The supreme God is the most superior amongst all. The main branch is Brahma and the sub-branches are the gods, the ancestors, humans, animals etc. This pipal tree has been in existence from the time immemorial. The cause of this tree is Brahma and that itself is immortality. The entire world seeks refuge in him.

Although that supreme God is the ocean of compassion, he is also the greatest form of terror. All gods accordingly try to appease that Brahma. The realized one is delivered from this cycle of life and death. This itself is the ultimate goal of human life. By attaining the human body, he can experience the beauty of God through penance. By undergoing transmigration i.e. vale of sufferings, the jeeva assumes different forms and is bereft of the divine cosmic spirit and eternal peace.

THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING

The person who experiences the beauty of God sees the essence of God in heaven, the abode of the deceased ancestors, Gandharva loka and everywhere else. In the Brahma loka one can very distinctly see the difference between the jeeva (unredeemed soul) and the Supreme God as sunlight and shade.

An intelligent person realizes the ultimate truth in all three states and says that 'I am not the body, the mind, the intellect and senses.' And that all of them are finally one element. By reflecting in the manner he is freed from the shackles of sorrow and grief.

The mind is greater than the senses, the intellect is greater than the mind and the unredeemed soul is greater than the intellect. Nature is even greater than the unredeemed soul. The supreme God is greater than Nature or Prakriti and is all pervasive. In this way the person who practices spirituality engages in similar contemplation.

The divine form of Supreme God cannot be experienced by the senses (Jnana). The person who contemplates and meditates upon the Supreme God with indomitable faith and pure love experiences the beauty of God. God comes and resides in the heart of such a person. He gets a vision of the supreme Lord. As a result he attains divinity and godhood.

CONTEMPLATION OF GOD BY YOGA

When all the senses become stable and calm due to practice of yoga, one does not see anything other than God and divinity. In this state the impulses of the mind tend to cease and this is itself the most divine state. The process of making the mind, senses and intellect stable and calm is Yoga. Such a person who practices Yoga is devoid of any dereliction and negligence. But this Yoga is something that rises and sets. Hence it is in the best interest of those who are desirous of attaining God to assiduously practice Yoga incessantly.

Although the experience of divinity is beyond the flight of senses, the experience of god-hood can be had by those who seek divinity with perseverance. Hence we should yearn to achieve god-hood with firm conviction and diligence.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SELFISHNESS

The human mind is full of material and celestial desires. Due to these desires he cannot aspire to attain god-hood. The material desires are a big impediment to attain god-hood.

When all desires cease to exist, the person is freed from all the shackles of life and death, he merges into that repository of divinity and salvation i.e. God.

With the subduing of all senses, all ignorance and suspicion is destroyed. He becomes confident that he shall definitely attain God. In this human body itself he experiences God and attains God-hood.

THE ULTIMATE STATE OF THE JEEVATMA

There are hundred and one prime nerves in the heart which are spread throughout the body. One of them is Sushmna Nadi (nerve) which extends from the heart to the head. Those virtuous people who are desirous of attaining God, come out of their body through this nerve and eventually attains immortality and god-hood. Other people come out of their body through other nerves and take birth in different yonis according to their actions, desires and deeds.

Conclusion: This is the spiritual discourse given by Yamraj, listening to this discourse Nachiketa imbibed all the things said and got liberated. He was devoid of all flaws, demerits and finally experienced the beauty of God.

The person who practices spirituality like Nachiketa and has indomitable faith and devotion will attain god-hood and shall be freed from the nebulous and diabolic cycle of life and death.