Commentary on the Mundaka Upanishad - 32: Swami Krishnananda

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Tuesday 28, July 2026. 11:50.
Books
Upanishads
Commentary on the Mundaka Upanishad - 32: 
Swami Krishnananda
Chapter-3, Section-1.
Mantram-4 ( Instructions on conemplation on Brahmam )
POST-32.

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Mantram-3.1.4 :

Prāṇo hy eṣa yaḥ sarva-bhūtair vibhāti vijānan vidvān bhavate nātivādī, ātma-krīḍa ātma-ratiḥ kriyāvān eṣa brahma-vidāṁ viriṣṭhaḥ. 

This great Hiranyagarbha Prana, the Universal life principle, is visible in the form of the life of every little creature in this world. Having known this, our mouths are shut and we will not speak afterwards. Like a drowning person whose mouth is filled with water, Eternity will fill us to such an extent that we will have no occasion to open our mouths, and we will not speak. Silence is golden. Not merely is it a policy, but it is a result that follows from the highest vision. The more we know, the less we speak. As it is said, it is only half-filled pots that make a lot of noise. One who is filled with this knowledge of the Universal Prana operating through all life in this world is the true knower, and he does not speak afterwards. What does he do then?

Ātma-krīḍa ātma-ratiḥ kriyāvān eṣa brahma-vidāṁ viriṣṭhah: 

He is the Knower supreme. He is the best of the knowers of Brahman. He rejoices not with things outside; he rejoices with himself—ātma-krīḍa. He plays with himself, he rejoices with himself, he works through himself, not with instruments outside. God does not have instruments like a pickaxe, a fountain pen, etc. By His very existence, He works. So is this knower of Brahman capable of working miracles in this world by his very existence. The words used here are brahma-vidāṁ viriṣṭhah, which means the best of the knowers of Brahman.

There are four stages of Brahman knowledge described in the Yoga Vasishtha, and these stages are called brahmavid, brahmavidvara, brahmavidvariya and brahmavidvarishta. There are seven stages of knowledge in the ascent of the spirit to God—shubhecha, vicharana, tanumanasi, sattvapatti, asamsakti, padartha-bhavana and turiya. The fourth stage is called sattvapatti, where light flashes from Brahman, and that condition of the awareness of the flash of light from Brahman is called the state of brahmavid. Then the next stage comes. When we are totally detached from everything on account of the perception of this light everywhere, that is brahmavidvara. When we see consciousness illuminating through every brick, every stone and every atom, that stage is brahmavidvariya. Then we feel that the light is scintillating within us also, and we become indistinguishable from this mass of light everywhere; that is turiya. Such a stage is called brahmavidvarishta. He plays with himself, he rejoices with himself, he is satisfied with himself, and he works through the soul, and not by any kind of external instruments. Such a great soul, a true knower of Brahman the Supreme, is called brahmavidvarishta—eṣa brahma-vidāṁ viriṣṭhah.

Mantram- 3.1.5:

Satyena labhyas tapasā hy eṣa ātmā samyag-jñānena brahmacaryeṇa nityam, antaḥ-śarīre jyotir-mayo hi śubhro yam paśyanti yatayaḥ kṣīṇadoṣāḥ.

The Atman is attained through truth, penance, correct knowledge, and brahmacharya (self-control), observed continuously without break. The Atman is beheld within in the form of light and purity by the austere ones who are freed from all kinds of sins.

Truth is adherence to fact, whether absolute or relative. It is proceeding along the way of the unity of existence. Relatively, it takes the form of acting in conformity with facts that are experienced through the process of individual knowledge. Absolutely, it is living in the light of the fact that Existence is absolute and indivisible. Falsehood is the opposite of truth, and is the result of clinging to the falsehood of individuality. Truth is the way of disintegrating the individual personality through presentation of the good and not the pleasant. Truth is that which is universally good; but falsehood, when it is deliberately resorted to for the fulfilment of a definite purpose, appears pleasant only to an individual or certain individuals. Falsehood, therefore, fattens the individuality, whereas truth breaks open the individuality and enables one to realise the Atman.

Tapas, or penance, in its true sense, consists in the withdrawal of the senses and the concentration of the mind. Austerity, or penance, is only a means to the end, and not the end itself. It is a means inasmuch as it disciplines the individual functions and directs them to meditation, which leads to wisdom and realisation. By tapas, what is meant is not merely bodily mortification, because bondage does not consist in the body, but in the mind that animates the body. The cause of bondage is the mind alone, and therefore the discipline of the mind is tapas.

Proper knowledge is equal vision, or perception of the one Atman in all. This is a function deeper than that of speaking truth or practising tapas. It is a function of the spirit which realises itself in every form of existence.

Brahmacharya is the method of the abstraction of sense-energy from the externals, and the conservation of the same for the sake of steadying the mind and giving it the energy necessary for the practice of concentration and meditation. Though the popular meaning of brahmacharya is continence, it really means leading a life befitting the nature of Brahman. It is, in other words, charya, or moving or acting or conducting oneself in accordance with the law of Brahman, which is the unity of existence. Such control is not merely the abandonment of objects, but is the absence of the taste for objects. Bondage is not caused by the existence of objects, but by the connection of the mind with those objects. In short, self-control is absence of sense-experience, giving rise to mental equilibrium, light, consciousness and joy.

These observances should be practised continuously without exceptions to the rules, and not practised for some time alone and with certain exceptions. These should be practised until the realisation of the Self, because the stoppage of such practices may lead to the assertion of individuality and impede the process of Self-realisation. The Upanishad says that the Atman is attained by those in whom there is no crookedness, no falsehood and no play of tricks.

This Atman is realised within oneself, and not outside oneself. Though the process of realisation is an inward one, the goal that is attained includes the outward also. Sadhana starts with an introversion of the mind, but in the end, the result achieved is not simply internal but is infinite. From the point of view of the individual, it is said that this Atman is realised in one's own heart in the form of a splendid effulgence, perfectly pure and limitless in its nature, which is realised only by those who are free from attachments, sins, desires, and all kinds of greed. This realisation is effected through the practice of virtues such as truth, enumerated above. Sankara was of the opinion that only a Sannyasin—that is, a person of complete renunciation—will be able to achieve this Supreme End which requires of the aspirant a total transcendence of the universe.

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Next
Mantram - 3.1.6:
Satyam eva jayate nānṛtam, satyena panthā vitato deva-yānaḥ, yenākramanty ṛṣayo hy āpta-kāmā yatra tat satyasya paramaṁ nidhānam 

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