The Nature Of Ultimate Self, By Chandogya Upanisads

749 Words2 Pages

The Upanisads are concerning the nature of ultimate reality (Brahman) which always connection with the exploration of human, the individual self (Atman). Chandogya Upanisad discusses how Indra and Vairocana seek an answer to self from the teaching by Prajnapati.
Prajapati describes "The self (atman) that is free from evils, free from old age and death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst; the self whose desires and intentions are real—that is the self that you should try to discover, that is the self that you should seek to perceive. When someone discovers that self and perceives it, he obtains all the worlds, and all his desires are fulfilled (Olivelle, page 279)." It has four states of consciousness as awake, dream-filled sleep, deep sleep, and beyond deep sleep. Vairocana just seeks the awake self, but Indra seeks dream-filled sleep self and deep sleep self, and then achieves the final state of beyond deep sleep self.
The first state …show more content…

This is “homology” in reference to the “vital powers” or sense faculties when we seek the self. The faculties of sight, smell, speech and hearing enable one to see, smell, speak and hear. Then the one uses the mind, the divine sight, to think. Then the one finds …show more content…

Brahman is the nature of ultimate reality and Atman is the individual self. One important homology between nature and human is about the creation of world and human, or Cosmic Man. According to Aitareya Upanisad, “In the beginning this world was the self (atman), one alone, and there was no other being at all that blinked an eye. He thought to himself: ‘Let me create the worlds.’” Then this self created the world. Then he created the world’s keepers. He incubated Cosmic Man. This man has mouth, nostrils, eyes, ears, skin, heart, navel and penis. Then, from this man, fire, wind, sun, quarters, plants, trees, moon, death and waters

Open Document