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The Consciousness Principle

Pranav Khullar, June 11, 2019: The Times of India

The nature of consciousness is a seminal theme at the heart of Upanishadic thought. The Taittiriya Upanishad explores the fivefold sheath of human consciousness, the koshas: annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnamaya and anandamaya – the physical, vital, mental, intellectual and causal layers of human individuality. The Mandukya Upanishad lays out the four states of consciousness – jagrat, svapna, susupti and turiya – in terms of our waking, dreaming, dreamless sleep state, and pure consciousness. The Aitereya Upanishad outlines how Brahmn itself may be defined as Consciousness.

Reflecting deeply on the nature of human and transcendental consciousness, the Aitereya begins by stating that Atman is the only reality. It then outlines how this First Principle created the universe in stages, beginning with the creation of space-time and crystallising its essence in the shape of human beings, finally. The Aitereya draws attention to how the human body is the prime manifestation of the atman, perhaps also alluding to the fact that we need to understand our inner cosmic nature. “Who Am I?” The classic question of the Upanishads is first asked in the Aitereya, urging us to realise that human beings are more than the sensory organs, and more than the mind.

Man is atman, actually.

The Aitereya then touches upon the theme of how this atman further sustains itself by procreation and nurturing of family, by metaphorically outlining how the Atman is born thrice in a human – first, when a child is conceived through shedding of the seed in the womb; second, when the child is born and the parents nurture the child to adulthood; and third, at the time of death. He takes on another body as determined by his karma, his third birth.

The Aitereya elucidates that though this is the reality of the empirical world, we have to simultaneously understand that this created, worldwide web of samskara, is only a projection, not real. We need to understand the First Principle behind the mystery of birth and rebirth, behind this endless cycle of samskara and karma.

The Upanishad then draws us back into a reflection of what the atman is and points out that consciousness itself is the atman. Absolute Consciousness itself has become the world of multiplicity, yet it does not become those multiple selves that are only gross and subtle layers of consciousness that correspond to our psychological and mental state of being. Although these may seem real and intense to an individual, as he experiences those states, all these layers are subsumed within Prajanam, Pure Consciousness.

The Mandukya defines Pure Consciousness as Turiya, the immeasurable, something akin to samadhi in yogic terms. The Aitereya Upanishad defines it in its concluding line, the Mahavakya, as Prajanam Brahmn, Pure Consciousness. The seeker is required to begin with an inquiry into the consciousness of mind and body, and peel back those layers of consciousness with which one has covered consciousness of Self. Consciousness as Prajanam reminds us to see the empirical world as it truly is, as only one relative part of a larger Consciousness. The seeker is to strive for that state of Pure Consciousness where one would experience the immanence of Brahmn, not just intellectually grasp it.

Success through prayer

The Times of India, Aug 11 2016

Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Traditionally, both teacher and student pray together before beginning the study of any Upa nishad. Every Upanishad has a shantipatha, a prayer invoking peace, in the beginning. Any new undertaking ­ whether building a house, writing a book or studying a text ­ begins with a prayer. A prayer is said to invoke Divine Grace and to overcome obstacles. The success of an undertaking requires three factors ­ prayatna, kala and daiva. Prayatna is well-directed, adequate effort, your commitment to the pursuit. You must persevere and continue to be with the pursuit until it is accomplished. This perseverance is prayatna. Kala is time, an important factor in the successful completion of an undertaking because everything does not happen instantly .

The third factor is daiva, an unknown factor. Unlike prayatna and kala you have no control over daiva. An undertaking does not succeed just because you put in effort and time.There could be many obstacles in the way of accomplishing the goal; you may not be able to totally overcome all of them. Our knowledge is very limited. You cannot visualise all possible obstacles to be avoided. Even if you do, you either do not have the power to overcome these obstacles, or the power you have is not adequate. The result of an undertaking is not predictable.This is daiva. You may call it law of karma, chance, luck, God or whatever, but you recognise that there is an unknown factor that makes the difference between success and failure.

Daiva may be called chance, something you cannot control. If you can control it, then it is not chance; it is a manageable fact. Though you cannot control chance, you can take it into account and do something to make it favourable, in which case you are not that helpless; you can be hopeful. This hope has a basis. Hope is not based on your knowledge of what is happe ning or what will happen and so on; it is based on prayer. It is prayerful hope to avoid hel plessness. If you acknowledge the existence of this factor, then you are objective; otherwise you are in a helpless situation. You are in for disappointment.

You would call yourself a failure saying, “I am defeated all and smothered by situations. I the time and smothered by situations. I have no control over anything.“ By being objective you discover strength within.

The objectivity here is, “I have some resources, talents and knowledge. With all these, i plan for a particular thing to happen, but there is always one factor over which i have no control. I say a prayer to have that factor in my favour.“

When you say a prayer you are pragmatic. You know that you cannot call all the shots. When you do not call all the shots, naturally , you take into account the daiva factor and say a prayer to help control hidden variables.

This prayer, meaningful for the occasion, is a specific prayer. When you pray in general, without a specific purpose, it is a broad-spectrum prayer.There are specific prayers too, for every season, problem and disease, for instance. But like the intake of medicine, mere prayer does not do the job. Prayer is to make daiva favourable. You have to make adequate effort for a length of time to make the undertaking successful.