Vedanta - SELF SLAYERS - Īśāvāsya upaniṣad - Sloka 3

ஈசனின் உறைவிடம் - பண் 3 - ஆன்மக் கொலையாளி

PREAMBLE

In the first two mantras , the Upanishad introduced the destination of Īśvara - jñānam (Knowledge of God, the Ultimate Reality) as a means for liberation. To reach that destination, two life styles also were mentioned:

• 1. Knowledge (jñānam) & renunciation (nivṛtti-mārga or saṁnyāsa-āśrama)

• 2. Action as per scriptures (pravṛtti-mārga or gṛhastha-āśrama).

With regard to the lifestyle, we do have a choice but everyone will have to pursue jñānam .

After introducing the two mārgas, now from the mantra 3, up to the mantra 8, the upaniṣad talks about nivṛtti-mārga or saṁnyāsa-āśrama, in which a person dedicates himself or herself, for the pursuit of ātma-jñānam. The upaniṣad wants to talk about ātma-jñānam in these mantras.But before presenting the ātma - jñānam , first the Upanishad wants to glorify the ātma -jñānam by saying, through jñānam alone one can get liberation. Other practices (sādhanas) can purify the mind and prepare the mind but they cannot give liberation. Upanishads in general do not accept many paths for liberation/moksha. The only path is ātma - jñānam.

The famous Puruṣa -sūkta mantra brings out this point very clearly. Only through jñānam , there is liberation. No other path. Don’t talk about many paths for liberation.

tamevam vidvānamṛta ihabhavati nānyaḥ panthā ayanāyavidyate ॥

Many paths are accepted for citta -śuddhi. You can purify the mind through several methods. It can be pūjā . It can be japam (meditation). It can be dānam (charity). It can be pilgrimage. You can do varieties of things. You have options. But for mokṣa , it is eka sādhana sādhyam – only one method. Therefore, the Upanishad wants to say, that if jñānam is not there, you won’t get mokṣa whatever you do. Let us niw see the Sloka.

SANSKRIT SLOKA

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसावृताः ।

तांस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः ॥ ३ ॥

MEANING IN TAMIL

அசுர குண மடமையுடன் இருள் கொண்டு குருடரென

அகமுறை இறை உணர்வறியா ஆன்மக் கொலையாளிகள்

அல்லலெனும் மாசாம் பிறவிப் பிணி பெருவரே மூடரவர்.

ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ | tāṃste pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātmahano janāḥ || 3 ||

MEANING IN ENGLISH

Sunless are those worlds, and enveloped in blinding gloom to which all those people, who are slayers of their own Souls go, departing from here. [Verse 3]

MEANING OF THE SANSKRIT WORDS

असुर्या - asuryā (f. nom. sing. asurya): incorporeal, spiritual, divine; demoniacal, belonging to or relating to the asuras (spirits or demons who are sometimes considered the opponents of the gods). नाम - nāma (n. acc. sing. nāman): named, called. ते - te (m. nom. pl. pron. tad): they, those. लोकाः - lokāḥ (m. nom. pl. loka): worlds. andhena (mn. ins. sing. अन्ध - andha): with/by blindness. तमसा - tamasā (mn. ins. sing. tamas): with/by darkness, gloom; with/by ignorance, illusion, error. अवृताः - vṛtāḥ (m. nom. pl. vṛta; past pass. p. √vṛ): concealed, screened, hidden, enveloped. तान् - tān (m. acc. pl. pron. tad): them. ते - te (m. nom. pl. pron. tad): they, those. प्रेत्य - pretya (ger. √pre): having died; lit. having proceeded, gone on, departed, having come forth/appeared. अभिगच्छन्ति - abhigacchanti (3rd pl. pres. abhi √gam): (they) go near, approach. ये के च - ye ke ca (expression): any person whatsoever. ye (m. nom. pl. relative pron. yad): who, which, what. के - ke (m. loc. sing. ka): in who? in what? ca (ind.): and; makes ka indefinite. आत्महनः - ātma-hanaḥ (m. nom. pl. ātma-han, TP. comp.): self-slayers. आत्म - ātma (grammar not specified; from √an,√at, or √vā): of the self, in the self, for the self, etc +  हनः - hanaḥ (m. nom. pl. han): killers, slayers. जनः - janāḥ (mf. nom. pl. jana): creatures, men, people.

UNDERSTANDING THE SLOKA

A person might be a ritualist who has performed several yāgas , yajñas , pūjā s etc., or a person might have done great upāsanas also. Still, with regard to ātmā he is ajñānī . The Upanishad points out that, even that person will be a saṁsārī because he is ignorant. The Upanishad presents the ignorance in a particular language for emphasis. These ritualists and meditators, have ignored the ātmā , and therefore they don’t derive the benefit of ātmā . So it is as though they have destroyed the ātmā . Therefore, the ignorant people are called, “ātmā -destroyers” by the Upanishad.

It is a metaphorical language. Nobody can destroy the ātmā . Ātmā is eternal and indestructible but the Upanishad uses the language. Ignoring the ātmā , is as good as destroying because they won’t get the benefit, therefore the word ātma -hanaḥ . The Upanishad wants to say that these self-ignorant people will not get mokṣa (liberation). To show that, it says that they will get rebirth (punar -janma) . However, because of their rituals and upāsana (worship/prayer/service) , punar -janma will not be in this mortal world (manuṣya -loka) but in higher loka , like svarga -loka , brahma -loka etc (loka means world). Then the Upanishad points out, even though they go to brahma -loka , still they will be saṁsārīs only because they have not gained ātma -jñānam . Ajñānam continues. Since ignorance (ajñānam) continues, saṁsāra also continues for them. Therefore the Upanishad says, even the higher lokas are darker lokas figuratively.

First it said ignorant people are destroyers of ātmā . Now it says, even the higher lokas are filled with gloom and darkness. Again, another figurative expression to indicate that their ignorance continues there also. Therefore, saṁsāra also continues. The continuation of ignorance and saṁsāra , is indicated by the words andhena tamasā . Blinding darkness is there. Not only that, they are all in a world which belongs to asuras (demons) . They are all in asura -loka and not deva -loka .

Again the word asura -loka has a special meaning – the world of extroverted sense pleasures where they get joy not from oneself, the ātmā , but from the external world. Asu means sense organs, raḥ means reveling. Asūrya -loka means reveling in the external sensory pleasures. There saṁsāra continues because, they will enjoy a higher loka for some time buthow long will their enjoyment last, due to self-ignorance? As long as puṇya from karma -phala (fruit) , and upāsana -phala lasts, they can enjoy. But again, they will have to fall down. Not only will they have to fall down, even before falling down the worry starts.

Therefore as long as ajñānam is there, karma cannot solve the problem of saṁsāra . Upāsana cannot solve the problem of saṁsāra . But that doesn’t mean karma is useless. We don’t say upāsana is useless. Karma is useful, for purifying the mind. Upāsana is useful, to make the mind free from preoccupation. Preoccupation is the biggest obstacle. To get a mind which is free from preoccupation and distraction, upāsana is a useful sādhana . Therefore the message is: practice karma , practice upāsana , but don’t stop with that. You have understand yourselves - you have to come to ātma -jñānam . Then alone liberation is possible.

Adi Sankaracharya says:

“Malignant are those worlds and enveloped in blinding darkness, into which pass, after death, whatsoever people slay the Self”. Who are these people? How can they slay the eternal Self? Through their failing of ignorance, they veil {i.e., forget) the everpresent Self. The sign of (a belief in) its existence is the consciousness of its un decaying immortal nature. This becomes veiled {i e. forgotten), as if the Self has been slain, and the ordinary ignorant people are termed 'slayers of Self'^. By reason of this sin of slaying the Self, they transmigrate.

Elaborating this strange statement of slaying the Self (which is supposed to be eternal), Swami Krishnananda states: This word “hana” in Sloka 3 means to destroy, kill or demolish. And it refers to those who kill the ātman, i.e., those who commit suicide. To engage oneself in action without realising what this ātman is, or understanding its nature, is to act contrary to its nature. This is referred to as killing the ātman.

இத் தத்துவத்தை, திருமூலர் திருமந்திரத்தில், கல்லாமை எனும் பதிகத்தில் நிலையற்றைவைகளை நிலையானவை என்றும் நிலையற்ற உடலை அழிவில்லாதது என்றும் உள்ளத்தில் தவறாக எண்ணுகின்றவர்கள், எல்லா உயிர்களுக்கும் இறைவனே என்ற நிலையான பரம்பொருளைப் பற்றிய உண்மைதனை உணர இயலாது எனக் கூறி

நில்லா நிலையை நிலையாக நெஞ்சத்து

நில்லாக் குரம்பை நிலை என்று உணர்வீர்காள்!

எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் இறைவனே ஆயினும்

கல்லாதார் நெஞ்சத்துக் காண ஒண்ணாதே (312)

கல்லா மனித்தர் கயவர்; உலகினில்

பொல்லா வினைத் துயர் போகம் செய்வர் (314)

என்றும் ஞானத்தைத்தேடி சாதனை செய்தவர்களால் மட்டுமே சிவம் என்னும் சிறந்த விளங்கனிப் பெற முடியும் எனத் திருமூலர் திருமந்திரத்தில் கற்று அறிந்தவர் பெருமை கூறுகிறார் (316)

கணக்கு அறிந்தார்க்கு அன்றிக் காண ஒண்ணாது;

கணக்கு அறிந்தாற்கு அன்றிக் கைகூடா காட்சி,

கணக்கு அறிந்து உண்மையைக் கண்டு அண்டம் நிற்கும்

கணக்கு அறிந்தார் கல்வி கற்று அறிந்தாரே.

அத்தகைய “அறிவுடையார் எல்லா முடையார் அந்த அறிவிலார் என்னுடைய ரேனும் இலர்” எனக்கூறிய திருவள்ளுவரின் திருக்குறளில் அறிவுடமை அதிகாரத்தில், பரிமேலழகர் தனது விளக்க உரையில்,

சென்ற இடத்தால் செலவிடா தீதொரீஇ

நன்றின்பால் உய்ப்ப தறிவு.

என்ற குறளுக்கு, குதிரையை நிலமறிந்து செலுத்தும் வாதுவன் போல வேறாக்கி மனத்தைப் புலமறிந்து செலுத்துவது அறிவு என்றார்.

அந்த அறிவினால் ஆய பயன் நற்றாள் தொழா அறிந்து. இருள்நீங்கி இன்பம் பயக்கும் மருள்நீங்கி மாசறு காட்சி கிடைக்கும். மயக்கத்தினின்று நீங்கிக் குற்றமற்ற அறிவுடையார்க்கு, அறியாமையாகிய இருள் நீங்கி முத்தியாகிய இன்ப முண்டாம் என மணக்குடவர் தமது உரையில் கூறுகிறார்.

SUMMARY:

Essentially, this Sloka is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain Self-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be your own master? In order to be your own master, you have to realize that you are identical with Brahman, the Cosmic Self, that you are Pure Consciousness, ever free, without name and form, and unconditioned. You are not subject to any modification, without beginning and end, beyond thought and speech. You are Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute. When you know this you are free. You no longer swing between birth and death. If you do not try to know who you really are, you are indeed committing suicide. You are inviting the ignominy of a slave's life in this world and a similarly unfortunate fate after death.