Taitreya Upanishad, Class 34


Greetings All,

Chapter 2, Anuvakaha # 6, Shloka # 3:

 He desired, “ I shall become many and be born. He performed tapas; having performed tapas, He created all this whatsoever (we perceive). Having created it, He entered into it. He became the manifest and the unmanifest, the defined and undefined, the housed and the houseless, knowledge and ignorance, truth and falsehood and all this whatsoever exists. Therefore, it is called Existence. In this sense, there is the following Vaidika verse”

Continuing his teaching of the Upanishad Swamiji said, the Anuvakaha six has introduced some questions from a student. The teacher has started answering those questions. There were three questions raised. One was an implied one while the other two were real questions.

The implied question is, is there a Brahman or not? The teacher answering the implied question first says the entire creation comes out of Brahman. He gives seven reasons as proof of the existence of Brahman.

  1. Brahman with Maya is the sentient cause of creation. Brahman as the intelligent cause is called Ishwara. He desired, visualized and created the world. He is the nimitha karanam of the world.
  2. Now next point is that having created this world Ishwara himself entered the creation as a Jivatma. This process of god entering creation is known as anupravesha. Thus, every Jiva is the Paramatma himself.

Existence of Jivatma is proof of Paramatma.  Citing an example of our dreams, the creation of a dream is similar to the creation of this world. There are certain similarities and differences between swapna and real srishti. Nevertheless a swapna is the closest example of srishti.

If something is 100 percent equal to another thing it is not considered an example. When an example is given, our focus should be on the common features and not the uncommon ones. Thus, if a person is called a pillar of society, it is a comparison to pillars supporting a building. It does not man the person is round like a pillar nor does it mean he is an inert being like a pillar.

Ishwara creates the world by his sankalpa. The same process also creates a dream. Our dream is a projection of our Self while world is a projection of Ishwara.

Everything in a dream has to be experienced. This means an experiencer also has to be there. Who creates the experiencer? I, the creator of Swapna, go into Swapna prapancha and become the dream experiencer.

Thus, the waker-creator becomes the dream experiencer.

How does this process of the dream creator entering and experiencing the dream work? Until dream is created, I am a waker identified with the physical body lying on the bed. The moment the dream occurs (swapna prapancha) a special body for experiencing the dream is created. At that moment I shed this physical body and I create the dream body also known as Vasanamayi Sharira. I, myself, take on the swapna shariram dropping the physical body. It is similar to the process of re-birth after one’s death. I die in jagrit prapancha and take birth in swapna prapancha. In this process the physical body is dropped. We perform this phenomenon every day going from physical body to dream body and back. This is one of the reasons a morning bath is required by our tradition. We need to clean the body.

In swapna sharira we have swapna indriyas and all other faculties. Thus, we have gyanendriyas of shabda, sparsha, rupa, rasa, gandha in dream body as well. Using this swapna body, we travel as well. We even get hungry in our dream. Waker becomes a product in the dream world. I am only limited by dreamtime and dream space. I am the Creator of the dream and I also am the one Created. Thus, I experience swapna. Experiencer of dream is not different from one in waking state. The Experiencer is one and same, the medium alone changes. Waker is with a sthula sharira, while dreamer is with a dream body.

How do you know waker has entered dream world? For a moment suppose that the waker was different? If waker were different, he would never know the dream experience. Reality tells us that upon waking I am aware of the nightmare I had. Thus waker and dreamer are one and the same. When I am within the dream, I never claim to be its creator. I just feel I am part of the dream, experiencing the joys and sorrows of the dream world. The moment I wake up, I dis-identify with the dream body; I now become one with the waking body. So, am I karyam or karanam depends upon which body I am associated with.

In waker-body, I am an individual in the world as a Jivatma. I claim the world is outside of me. The moment I dis-identify from my body, I can claim I am the paramatma. It is through Me that this whole world and creation has come into being. The moment I dis-identify with the body, I become the Creator. In the dream, the dreamer argues that there is no waker creator. The very experiencer of dream, as a Waker he is the creator of the dream. The very experience of the dream is proof of the Waker. So also, the very existence of Jivatama is proof of Paramtama. Paramatma takes role of Jivatma. We all need to see the Paramatma.

Having entered shariram, paramatma has become a karta as well as a bhokta. Paramatma alone, like in a dream, performs all transactions. If you want to get out of this show, you need to wake up and then body becomes falsified. Hence the saying: Brahman Satyam, Shariram Mithya.

Having entered the body, Brahman alone performs all karmas. Both Jagrat prapancha and swapna prapancha are all fields of my activity.  While in each field, I take on a body for my role; I alone am really the Chaitanyam. Jagrat role, dream roles all come and go. The problem is, once I am in a field I feel I am a part of it. Shankaracharya says Jivatma is Paramatma. This is the second proof. Your very existence is the proof of Brahman.

  1. Here Brahman is nimtha karanam or intelligent cause or creator. This is just like a carpenter is the creator of furniture.

If Brahman is the intelligent cause, what is the raw material for creation? Just as wood or gold are raw materials for furniture, jewelry etc. respectively; they can be called the material cause.  Generally intelligent cause and material cause are different just as goldsmith and gold are different or a mason and his bricks are different. If Brahman is the intelligent cause, what is the material cause? What is the material cause of the five elements? The elements being: Akasha, Vayu, agni, apaha and prithvi.

Unfortunately there is nothing other than Brahman. Before creation, there was Brahman alone who was both the intelligent cause and material cause. How is this possible? Nimitham and Upadanam are generally separate. Scriptures say there are some exceptions to this general rule. The term Utsarga means general rule while Apavada means exception. Mundako Upanishad says the spider itself is the intelligent and material cause of its web.

Another example cited was, you alone are the intelligent cause and material cause of your own dream. My own vasanas become the material cause. The dream created is solid in the dream; however, it comes from my own abstract mind. Thus, non-solid thought creates a solid dream. Similarly, the non-solid consciousness can create a tangible earth. Creator is the non-solid consciousness. Scientists say energy (intangible) is cause of creation (tangible). Just like I am the intelligent and material cause of the dream world, Brahman is also the intelligent and material cause of the Universe. Ishwara using Maya and Karma produces this world.

Clarifying the terminologies, we say, Carpenter is creator of furniture.  In this sentence the word the verb “create” is used to describe the intelligent cause. For material cause, we say, gold becomes an ornament. Here the verb “ becomes” is used.  So too, Brahman “creates” the world and is the nimitha karanam. Brahman itself “becomes” the creation and is thus also its upadana karanam.

One cannot say this of a carpenter. I create the dream world and then I also become the dream world. Therefore, Brahman has become everything. In the Gita, in Vishvarupa darshanam, God says, I alone have become everything.

Therefore God is everywhere. You are seeing the Vishvarupa everywhere. That is why even when entering a river, one does not place the feet first in the river; one must touch the river and perform Prokshanam and then enter the river. Thus, the tangible universe is Brahman as is the intangible (mind, thought) world as well.

Brahman creates the world with Maya. Maya itself is never created.

In shloka: Sat means sthula prapancha and Tayat means sukshma prapancha. Niruktam means with clearly defined features. Aniruktham means with features not clearly defined such as one’s inner personality. Nilayanam means clearly defined while anilayanam means not clearly defined.

Take away


With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy