इति प्रथमः पादः
19 verses · 1 of 4
The fourth adhyaya speaks of the fruit. Meditation is to be repeated, since the Shruti teaches it more than once. Brahman is to be meditated on as one's own Self. A symbol (pratika) such as the mind or the sun is not to be taken as the Self, though the higher may be seen in the lower. Meditation is done seated, since it needs a steady mind, and wherever the mind becomes one-pointed; it continues until death. When Brahman is known, past sins are destroyed and later ones do not cling, as water does not cling to a lotus leaf. Merit too ceases to bind. Karma that has begun to bear fruit is exhausted only by being lived out, and then the knower reaches Brahman.
आवृत्तिरसकृदुपदेशात्
āvṛttirasakṛdupadeśāt
Repetition of the meditation is needed, because the teaching is given more than once. The Upanishads say 'hear, reflect, meditate' and repeat the instruction, so knowledge of Brahman is to be practised again and again until it ripens.
लिङ्गाच्च
liṅgācca
And because of the indicatory marks in scripture. In the Chandogya the meditation on Udgitha as the sun is repeated, and such signs show that sustained repetition, not a single thought, is meant.
आत्मेति तूपगच्छन्ति ग्राहयन्ति च
ātmeti tūpagacchanti grāhayanti ca
But the knowers approach the Lord as their own Self, and the scriptures teach them so. Brahman is to be meditated on as 'I', the inmost Self of the meditator; acharyas explain this inner relation in their own ways.
न प्रतीके न हि सः
na pratīke na hi saḥ
Not in a symbol (pratika), for the symbol is not the Self. When mind or name is meditated on as Brahman, the meditator should not regard that symbol as his own Self.
ब्रह्मदृष्टिरुत्कर्षात्
brahmadṛṣṭirutkarṣāt
The symbol is to be seen as Brahman, not Brahman as the symbol, because of Brahman's superiority. One raises the lower to the higher: name is regarded as Brahman, never the other way round.
आदित्यादिमतयश्चाङ्ग उपपत्तेः
ādityādimatayaścāṅga upapatteḥ
And the ideas of the sun and the rest are to be placed on the members of a rite, for that is reasonable. In meditations on the Udgitha, the limb of the rite is viewed as the sun, which raises it, not the reverse.
आसीनः सम्भवात्
āsīnaḥ sambhavāt
One should meditate sitting, because only then is meditation possible. Standing or walking distracts the mind; a seated posture allows the single flow of thought that upasana requires.
ध्यानाच्च
dhyānācca
And because upasana is dhyana, steady meditation. Scripture speaks of the earth as though meditating, still and unmoving, and such stillness belongs to one who sits.
अचलत्वं चापेक्ष्य
acalatvaṃ cāpekṣya
And with reference to immobility. Meditation is compared to the stillness of the earth and the mountains, which points to a steady, seated posture.
स्मरन्ति च
smaranti ca
The Smritis also say so. The Bhagavad Gita and the yoga texts direct the seeker to set up a firm seat in a clean place and sit there to meditate.
यत्रैकाग्रता तत्राविशेषात्
yatraikāgratā tatrāviśeṣāt
Wherever the mind becomes one-pointed, there one may meditate, for there is no rule about it. No particular place, direction or time is fixed; what matters is concentration.
आ प्रायणात्तत्रापि हि दृष्टम्
ā prāyaṇāttatrāpi hi dṛṣṭam
Meditation continues until death, for even then it is seen in scripture. The thought held at the time of departure shapes what follows, so the meditations that lead to a goal are kept up for life.
तदधिगम उत्तरपूर्वाघयोरश्लेषविनाशौ तद्व्यपदेशात्
tadadhigama uttarapūrvāghayoraśleṣavināśau tadvyapadeśāt
On attaining Brahman, later sins do not cling and earlier sins are destroyed, for scripture declares it. As water does not wet a lotus leaf and a reed in fire burns away, the knower is freed from sin.
इतरस्याप्येवमसंश्लेषः पाते तु
itarasyāpyevamasaṃśleṣaḥ pāte tu
In the same way the other, merit, also does not cling; but release comes at the fall of the body. Good works too cease to bind the knower, and final freedom follows death.
अनारब्धकार्ये एव तु पूर्वे तदवधेः
anārabdhakārye eva tu pūrve tadavadheḥ
But only those earlier works whose effects have not yet begun are destroyed, for the body lasts until that limit. Prarabdha karma, which has already started this life, must run its course.
अग्निहोत्रादि तु तत्कार्यायैव तद्दर्शनात्
agnihotrādi tu tatkāryāyaiva taddarśanāt
But the agnihotra and other daily duties lead to that same result, knowledge, as scripture shows. Such nitya karmas are not destroyed like other works; they help the rise of knowledge.
अतोऽन्यापि ह्येकेषामुभयोः
ato'nyāpi hyekeṣāmubhayoḥ
For according to some recensions there are also other good works of both kinds. Merit done with a desire for fruit is distinct; the text of some shakhas says the knower's friends receive his good deeds.
यदेव विद्ययेति हि
yadeva vidyayeti hi
For scripture says, 'Whatever is done with knowledge.' Rites joined to meditation become more powerful, so works done with knowledge, and even without it, aid the seeker in different measure.
भोगेन त्वितरे क्षपयित्वा सम्पद्यते
bhogena tvitare kṣapayitvā sampadyate
But having exhausted the other two kinds, prarabdha merit and demerit, by experiencing them, the knower attains Brahman. When the body that began with these works ends, nothing remains to bind him.
Text source: Wikisource · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription of a public-domain text)
