Mundakopanishad : Chapter-2. Section-2. Mantram-2. Post - 20. Swami Krishnananda.

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Wednesday, January 27, 2021.12 : 11:36. AM.

Mundakopanishad

Chapter 2:

Section 2,

Mantram-2. : Instructions on contemplation upon Brahmam :
"Yad-arcimad yad-anubhyo- nu ca
yasmin-loka nihita lokinas ca,
tad-etad aksharam brahmo sa pranas -tadu vah-manah
tad-etat satyam tad-amrtam tat ved-dhavvam somya viddhi."

Post - 20.

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tad-etat satyam tad-amrtam tat ved-dhavvam somya viddhi."

That imperishable being is the target which you have to hit with this arrow of your mind, struck and discharged by the bow of Upanishadic knowledge, and bent with tremendous strength arisen from your longing for liberation. This is the meaning of the third mantra. The Upanishad is the knowledge which gives you the strength to embark on this great adventure of spiritual experience. That knowledge of the Upanishad is compared here to a bow, the mind is the arrow, the longing for the liberation of the soul is the power with which you bend the bow and strike the string, and the target is the Imperishable Reality. Thus is the analogy of the bow and the arrow in the case of sadhana, or yoga practice. It is again briefly repeated in the next verse.

"Pranavo dhanuh, saro hy atma, 
brahma tal lakshyam ucyate, 
apramattena veddhavyam, 
saravat tanmayo bhavet (2.2.4)": 

Pranava, Omkara is the bow. It was said earlier that Upanishadic knowledge is the bow. Now it is said that Pranava is the bow. The idea is that the Pranava, or Om, is the essence of Upanishadic knowledge. The Mandukya Upanishad is supposed to be the quintessence of all the Upanishads. Mandukyam ekam evalam mumukshunam vimuktaye (Muktika 1.27): For the sake of the liberation of the spirit, the Mandukya Upanishad alone is sufficient. This is a statement made in the Muktika Upanishad. Now, the Mandukya Upanishad is nothing but an exposition of Pranava. So in a sense it means the quintessence of Upanishadic teachings is Omkara, and so there is a pertinence here. It is appropriate that this verse says that Pranava, or Omkara, is the bow, equal to saying that Upanishadic knowledge is the bow.

The individual soul which seeks liberation is the arrow. Brahman is the target. With great concentration, with unwavering attention, you must aim this arrow on that object. As the arrow merges in the object by striking it directly, the Atman, this individual, this mind, has to get dissolved in that object. The concentration of the archer in respect of a target is well known. He does not know what is happening to him on either side. His ability to concentrate on one point is such that he will not see anything other than the object.

There is an illustration in the Mahabharata. During the tournament in which Drona tested the archery of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, he hung a little wooden bird on a branch of a tree. The image had all the features of a bird, such as eyes, beak, etc. The idea was that the archer should hit only the eye, not any other part of the bird, and he should see only that. The eye of the archer should concentrate itself on only the eye of the bird, and he should not go on thinking varieties of things.

To be continued ...

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