Consciousness: The Tale of Two Birds (From the Mundka Upanishad)

Here is a question to begin with:  how many 'me' are inside you? One, two? Very quickly you will realize that there are more number of 'me' than what you can count on your fingers.  'Me' the father or mother, 'me' the son or daughter, 'me' the colleague, 'me' the citizen etc. All of us understand and take on these many 'roles' in life, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously. Now,  here is a trickier question: how many 'I' are inside you ? You may think the answer is one, the single 'I am'. (Even for one who may be schizophrenic, the answer is still one at given point of time). And, here is where the Upanishad will beg to disagree with you. It says that there is not one but two "I" inside us. One of them is 'I- the experiencer' and the other is 'I- the witness'.

'dva suparnaa sayujaa sakhaaya

samaanam vriksham parishasvajaate

tayoranyah pippalam svaadatthe

anasnanyo abhijaakasih" (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 1)

'Two birds with beautiful feathers are perched together on the same tree. One pecks on the fruits while the other watches, not eating'

samaanam vriksham purusho nimagno

aneesaya sochati muhyamaanaah

jushtam yadaa pasyatyanyameesam

asya mahimaanam iti veetasokah (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 2)

"On the same tree are these two embodied souls (birds), one of who is deluded, powerless and sorrowful and engrossed completely (in pecking the fruit) . When it perceives the worshipful glory of the other who lords (over the tree), it becomes free of all sorrow"

The metaphor of the tree is used to depict the world of action with its many inter dependencies and the fruit of the tree stands for the experiences that the world produces. The bird that pecks on the fruit is the 'experiencer' who becomes happy, sad, angry etc. depending on the experience. The bird that is watching is the 'witness' who is silently observing, not subjecting itself to the happiness or sorrow of the experience.

There is an 'I' in us that is continuously watching, unaffected by the many experiences we have. We are rarely conscious of this 'I - the witness' within us and when we do and identify with it, the world stops affecting us any further. Interestingly, the common advice given to someone who gets carried away by emotions is 'get a hold of yourself'!

The first step of spiritual journey is to recognize this 'I-the witness' in the self. How can one perceive the 'witness' within and become one with it? Here is a four step process instructed for the purpose.

'satyena labhyah thapasaa hi esha aatma

samyag gnaanena brahmacharyena nityam' (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 5)

'By the practice of truth, intense and focused contemplation, total wisdom and continuous striving on the path to Brahman is this Aaatman obtained'

First and foremost, be true to yourself and maintain complete integrity. Second, contemplate with focus and intensity on the teachings of the Upanishad about what is self and what is not self. Thirdly, fill yourself with the total understanding that this contemplation will create about the self and the world. And, finally strive continuously and do not stray from the spiritual path even for a minute. Only such a person realizes the Aaatman.

And, what is the self-realization like?

'brihascha tad divyam achinthya roopam

sooksmaat sookshmataram vibhaati

dooraat sudhoore tadaantiket cha

pasysthihaive nihitam guhaayam' (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 1, Sloka 7)

'(this seeker) perceives within the hidden caves of heart that effulgent Aatman which is larger than the largest, subtler than the subtlest, farther than the farthest and nearer than the nearest'

 A self-realized person not only gets the perfect understanding of the real nature of his own self but also obtains the understanding of the cosmic truth of the Brahman, as was discussed earlier in the Upanishad.

Is the method described above a guaranteed means that always produces the intended result of self-realization? Unfortunately that is not the case because then self-realization becomes a temporary result of an like the other results of actions found in the world.

'naayamaatma pravachanena labhyah

na medhayaa na bhahunaa srutena

yamaivesha vrinute thena labhyah

yasyaisha aatma vivrinute  thanumswam'  (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 2, Sloka 3)

'This Aatman is not obtained by scholarship of scriptures, by plenty of listening to scriptures or by intellectual prowess . This Aatman is obtained by the one (who strives for it) to whom the Aatman choses to reveal itself'

As intense as the desire for self-realization may be within the heart of a seeker, it is only when even that desire itself becomes totally self-less would the Aatman reveal itself to that person. At that point, the only thing that can be said about self-realization is that it happened because of divine grace and the grace of the Guru, not because of any ardent scholarship or listening to spiritual matters.

How would such a person who has realized the self be?

'vedanta vignaana sunischitaarthaa

sannyaasa yogaath yathaya sudha satvah' (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 2, Sloka 6)

'paryapta kaamasya kritaatmanastu

ihaiva sarve pravileeyanti kamah (Mundaka Upanishad, Book 3, Chapter 2, Sloka 2)

'with a perfect understanding of the vedantic  knowledge, a soul that has become pure through the practice of total renunciation and a heart that has no discontent from unfulfilled desires, the desires of such a person dissolve here itself (and do not cause rebirth)'

The knowledge of the person who has achieved self-realization is not merely scriptural but embedded with total clarity and without an iota of contradiction within his soul. And, this knowledge is not intellectual but lived every second of life. And, for such a person there will be no trace of unfulfilled desires at the time of death as the unfulfilled desires are said to be the cause of rebirth.

'Thad eva satyam' . "That alone is the Truth" (Mundaka Upanishad)

The key to the Cosmic truth: Mundaka Upanishad (contd.)

How big is this universe that we are in? Here is what the Cosmologists tell us. Our Sun and the Solar system are only a tiny spec within the galaxy called Milky Way which in turn has about 200 Billion stars, many of which are larger than our Sun. Now, the Milky Way itself is just one of the 100 billion of such galaxies that are spread across the universe, each containing billions of stars. The mass of all the material within these trillions of stars still forms only 4% of the total mass of the universe! The rest 96% is accounted for by what is called as the 'dark energy' that permeates the entire universe. There is more empty space filled with 'dark energy' than physical matter in the universe.

In terms of distances, the boundaries of our knowable universe are about 13.8 billion light years away (A light year is the distance traveled by light in one year. Light travels about 186,000 miles in one second and there are 31,556,926 seconds in a year. You can do the math now! For a quick comparison, the distance between Earth and Sun is about 8 light seconds)  Whether there is anything existing outside of these boundaries is beyond our knowledge since we get limited by the speed of light to know. (Now that you know this,  you may appreciate better why there are some  genuine skeptics among the scientific community when it comes to accepting concepts of a human-like God as the creator of the universe)

However big this universe might be, there is still one thing that would still surpass it, and that is the human spirit and its quest for knowledge. And, the question topmost in the mind of such a human is:

'kasminnu bhagavo vijnaate

sarvamidam vijnaadam bhavati' (Mundaka Upanishad, Canto 1, Chapter 1, Sloka 3)

'O venerable one, what is that one thing having known which all this becomes known?'

The question is not if there is one single secret that unravels all the principles and phenomena of this vast universe. It is rather about what is that one thing not knowing which, all the other knowledge that can be gained are vain.

And the poetical answer we find in the Mundaka Upanishad is :

'agni murdhaa chakshushi chandra suryo

disa srotrai vak vivritaascha vedah

vaayu praana hridayam viswamsya

padbhyaam prithvi

hyesha sarva bhuthaantharaatmah' (Munkadaka Upanishad, Canto 2, Chapter 1, Sloka 4)

'The heavens(fire) are its head, the sun and the moon its eyes, the many directions are its ears, the vedas are its speech, the air is its breath,  the universe is its heart, the earth  its feet. Such is the (cosmic) nature of that self that is within every single being"

The Rishi's of yonder probably had no idea of how vast this universe is. But surely they knew one thing for certain: the cosmic secret of the universe is not far out there but right here, within our own selves!

If the 'secret to everything' lies within our own self, then what should we be doing to get to it? What is the course of action?

'dhanur grihitya oupanishadam mahaastram

saram hi upaasanisatam samdayita

aayamya thad bhaavagatena chetasaa

lakshyam thadavaaksharam somya viddhi' (Munkadaka Upanishad, Canto 2, Chapter 2, Sloka 3)

'O Good looking one, take that bow, the mighty weapon born of Upanishads. Place that arrow sharpened by upaasana and draw hard that string with a mind that is completely absorbed in That imperishable and break that target'

'pranavo dhanuh sarohyaatmaa

brahma tallakhyamuchyate

apramatthena vedhavyam

saravat tanmayo bhavet'  (Munkadaka Upanishad, Canto 2, Chapter 2, Sloka 4)

'The pranava (Om) is the bow, the mind is the arrow and Brahman is the target. Penetrate that target with a mind that is disillusioned and let it become one with the target as the arrow (that is embedded in the target)'

The role of scriptural knowledge is clearly stated as the role of a bow in discharging the arrow. The scriptural knowledge is the means and not the end. And, what matters is not  the holiness of the scriptures and reverence to it but use of its ability to launch an individual to get to the target. The sanskrit word 'veddh' is very deftly used here with the dual meaning of gaining knowledge (which is the metaphorical intent) as well as breaking target (which is contextual to the metaphorical image being painted). Again, another point about the seeker, though mentioned later, is also being reinforced here. 'naayam aatma balaheenena labhyah' , 'this Atman is not obtained by one who is weak'. One should be strong enough, physically and mentally, to wield the bow of knowledge and bend it sufficiently by pulling on the string.

And, what awaits the one who reaches the target:

'bhidyate hridaya granthi

chidyante sarva samsayaah

ksheeyantechaasya karmaani

yasmin dhrishte paraavare' ((Munkadaka Upanishad, Canto 2, Chapter 2, Sloka 8)

"The knots of the heart are cut, all doubts are eliminated and the binding of the karma are weakened for the one who has seen That which is above and below"

The vision of the one who has realized the true nature of the self is comprehensive and spans  both worldly matters and spiritual matters. And, true internal freedom dawns on this one who has gained the vision of 'That'.

'hiranmaye pare koshe

virajam brhma nishkalam

thad subhram jyotishaam jyotih

thad yadaatmavido vidhuh' (Munkadaka Upanishad, Canto 2, Chapter 2, Sloka 9)

"In the golden hued sheath rests the Brahman who is untainted, pure, brighter than the brightest. It is That the knower of self comes to know"

Is this known by the mind and intellect? The Upanishad again emphatically reiterates that this is not known by the mind and intellect but only by becoming one with It.

"na tatra suryo bhaati na chandra taarakam

nemaa vidyutho bhaati kuthoyamagnih

tameva bhaantham anubhaati sarvam

tasya bhaasaath sarvamidam vibhaati" (Munkadaka Upanishad, Canto 2, Chapter 2, Sloka 10)

"Neither the Sun, nor the Moon or the Stars are effulgent in its presence. Even the lightning does not shine in its presence, what to say of the (earthly) fire. In its illumination, everything is revealed and all effulgent are only reflecting its effulgence"

The universe may be unimaginably huge but everything in  it are still a subject of knowledge of the mind , senses and intellect. That by the presence of which we are able to know is not an object of examination for mind and intellect. Hence, to realize the true nature of self, one has to take the entire 'being' to it and become one with it.

'Thad eva satyam' . "That alone is the Truth" (Mundaka Upanishad)

'Thad eva brahma tvam viddhi netam yaditam upaasate' . "That Brahman alone you must realize, not the (worldly) other things that are pursued'  (Kena Upanishad)

We will see more of this magnificent Upanishad in the next, concluding blog post on the topic