Krishjan

Chapter 4 — Fourth Question

Prashna

11 Shloka • Translation Only

Then Gārgya Sauryāyaṇī approached and asked: “Revered Sir, in this person, which faculties fall asleep, and which remain awake? Which deity is it that sees dreams? Whose is the happiness experienced in sleep? And in whom do all these become established?”

To him, the sage replied: “Just as, O Gārgya, the rays of the Sun, when it sets, all become united in that radiant solar orb, and then spread forth again when it rises, so indeed do all these faculties become united in the supreme deity, the mind. Therefore, at that time, the person does not hear, does not see, does not smell, does not taste, does not touch, does not speak, does not grasp, does not enjoy, does not discharge, and does not move. Thus people say, ‘He sleeps.’”

But in this city of the body, the fires of Prāṇa alone remain awake. Apāna is indeed the Gārhapatya fire (the household sacrificial fire). Vyāna is the Anvāhāryapacana fire (the southern sacrificial fire). And Prāṇa is the Āhavanīya fire, for just as the sacred fire is carried forth from the Gārhapatya fire, so does Prāṇa proceed from Apāna.

The process of inhalation and exhalation is like the two sacrificial offerings, and that which maintains them in balance is Samāna. The mind (manas) indeed is the sacrificer (yajamāna). And Udāna is the fruit of the sacrifice. Day after day, it leads the sacrificer toward Brahman.

In the dream state, this deity—the mind—experiences its own greatness. Whatever has been seen, it sees again. Whatever has been heard, it hears again. Experiences gathered from different places and directions are relived again and again. It perceives what has been seen and unseen, heard and unheard, experienced and unexperienced, real and unreal. It sees all things; indeed, it becomes all and sees all.

But when this deity—the mind—is overpowered by Tejas (inner light), then it no longer sees dreams. At that time, in this body, there arises that state of happiness and deep rest.

Just as, dear one, birds return and settle upon a tree for their resting place, so indeed do all these faculties come to rest and become established in the Supreme Self (Paramātman).

Earth and that which pertains to earth; water and that which pertains to water; fire and that which pertains to fire; air and that which pertains to air; space and that which pertains to space; the eye and what is to be seen; the ear and what is to be heard; the nose and what is to be smelled; the tongue and what is to be tasted; the skin and what is to be touched; the speech and what is to be spoken; the hands and what is to be grasped; the organ of generation and what is to be enjoyed; the organ of excretion and what is to be expelled; the feet and what is to be reached; the mind and what is to be thought; the intellect and what is to be known; the ego-sense and what is to be identified as “I”; the citta (mind-stuff) and what is to be perceived and remembered; the inner light and what is to be illumined; and the Prāṇa and what is to be sustained by life—all these become established in the Supreme Self.

For this indeed is the seer, the toucher, the hearer, the smeller, the taster, the thinker, the knower, the doer—the conscious Self (Vijñānātmā Puruṣa). This conscious being becomes established in the Supreme Imperishable Self (Akṣara Ātman).

He attains that Supreme Imperishable Reality (Akṣara). He who realizes That which is without shadow, without body, without color, pure, and imperishable— that person, O dear one, becomes all-knowing and attains all. Concerning this, the following verse is declared:

He who realizes that Imperishable Reality (Akṣara) in which the conscious self (Vijñānātmā), together with all the deities, the Prāṇas, and all beings, become established— that person, O dear one, becomes all-knowing and enters into all existence itself.