Section 7.6 (sixth khaṇḍa) (six texts)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

If one, who is equipped with Celibacy and other means, and is free from all longings for all external objects, meditates upon Brahman located in the Lotus of the Heart, as described above, he goes out (at death) through the artery in the Head; this is what has got to be expounded now; hence the text proceeds with the ‘Artery-Section’ (of the Upaniṣad):—

Upaniṣad text:

Now, the arteries that belong to the Heart consist of the brown substance, of the white, of the blue, of the yellow and of the red. This Sun is verily brown, white, blue, yellow and red.—(1)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

The Arteries that are going to be. described as related to the Heart, shaped like the white lotus which the locus of meditation on Brahman,—which spread out on all sides from the fleshy substance of the Heart, just as the Sun’s rays spread out from the solar disc,—these consist of the brown substance—i.e. filled with the extremely subtile essence of the subtile juice coloured brown,—and continue to exist in that form;—similarly they consist of the essence of white substance, the blue substance, the yellow substance and the red substance; this has to be understood all through. When the heat of the Sun in the form of ‘Bile’ passes through a process of heating (in the human body) and becomes mixed up with a small quantity of Phlegm, it becomes Brown in colour, and called ‘Bile’,—that same, when the Element of Wind predominates, becomes Blue; and when the Element of Phlegm predominates, it becomes White;—and when there is an equal quantity of Phlegm, it becomes Yellow; and when there is an excess of blood, it becomes Yellow;—Or the actual colours of these substanees may be found out from works on medicine. As regards the question as to why these substances are so, the Vedic text declares that it is all due to connection with the Sun; the heat from.the Sun enters the arteries and assumes these colours.—“How?”—This Sun is brown—in colour,—the Sun is white,—the Sun is blue,—the Sun is yellow,—The Sun is red.—(1)

Upaniṣad text:

Just as long—distance road goes to both villages, this as well as that,—so do the rays of the Sun go to both regions,—this as well as that. They spread out of the Sun and flow into these arteries; and spreading out of these arteries, they flow into the Sun—(2)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

The Text proceeds to explain in what way is the Sun connected with the arteries:—In the ordinary world, a long-distance road—spreading far and wide—goes to both villages—this—near one—as well as that—that remote one; just as in this example, the long road enters into both the villages,—in the same manner the Rays of the Sun go to both regions,—this—the solar disc,—as well as that—the man, and enter into both; just like the long road.—“How so?”—They spread out—proceed—of the Sun,—the solar disc—and they flow into—enter—the arteries—in the body of man—described above as being of brown and other colours;—and out of these arteries they spread out—proceed in a series—and enter the Sun.—The term ‘ray’ (raśmi) is both masculine and feminine—hence, they are spoken of as ‘they’ (‘te’) in the last sentence.—(2)

Upaniṣad text:

And when one is thus sound asleep, at perfect rest, so that he knows no dreams,—then he enters into these arteries. Him no evil touches, as he is filled with light.—(3)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

Under the circumstances described above,—when—at which time—one—the ‘Living self’—is thus sound asleep;—as sleep is of two kinds (with and without

dreams), the text has specified it as ‘sound’, which means that the functioning of all the organs has been withdrawn,-and hence, there being none of the impurities due to the contact of external objects, he is at perfect rest; and on that account, he knows no dreams—has no apprehension of any mental dream—cognition bearing an external form;—at the time that the man is thus asleep, he enters into these arteries,—that is, he enters into the said arteries which are full of the solar light, which means that he has entered the Ākāśa in the Heart through the said arteries. As a matter of fact, there is no cessation of Dream-cognition except when one has reached the True Being; and on the strength of this fact, the locative ending in the word ‘nāḍīṣu’ (into the arteries) has to be changed into the instrumental (nāḍībhiḥ) (which makes the meaning to be that he enters, through these arteries, into the said Ākāśa, in the Heart). Him,—when he has reached the Pure Being—no evil—in the shape of Merit and Demerit—touches, as during that time the Self stands in Its own form.

It is only when the Self is circumscribed by the body and the sense-organs, that the said evil touches it by bringing to it pleasure and pain;—but when it has reached its own state of pure Being, no evil dares touch it; for the single reason that it is no longer an ‘objective’; it is only when there are two distinct things that one becomes the objective of another; and there can be no such difference for one who has reached the state of Pure Being; in fact, it is only when the Self has fallen off from its own nature (of Pure Being) that it enters the states of Waking or of Dream; during which there appear cognitions of external things, due to the fact that the seeds of the man’s ignorance, desires and Karmic Residum have not been quite burnt up by the fire of the Knowledge of Brahman; this we have explained under Discourse VI, and it should be understood in the present context also—when the man is thus sound asleep, he is filled up—pervaded over—with the light—of the Sun, which is contained in the arteries. Hence, at this time, the man’s organs do not go out for bringing about the experiences of external objects, through the arteries of the eye etc., and thus the organs being prohibited, the man remains firm in his own self, and it is only natural that he knows no dreams.—(3),

Upaniṣad text:

And when he is reduced to a weakened condition, those sitting around him say—‘Do you know me? Do you know me?’—and so long as he has not departed from this body, he knows them.—(4)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

Such being the case, when—at which time Devadatta—is reduced—brought to—a weakened condition, leanness and weakness due to disease or to old age, i.e. when he is on the point of death,—then, those relations of his who are sitting around him—surround him—say—‘Do you know me? Do you know me?—who are your son, or your father?’ and so forth,—so long as the dying man has not departed from—gone out of—this body,—he recognises his son and other relations.—(4)

Upaniṣad text:

When he thus departs from this body, then, through these very rays, he proceeds upwards; or goes up meditating on ‘Om’ and dies; and while his mind is failing, he goes to the Sun; as that indeed is the door to the Regions; the knowing ones pass through, while the ignorant ones are shut out.—(5)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

‘Atha yatra’ is an adverbial phrase, meaning Thus—when he departs from this body,—then, through these Very rays, he proceeds upwards—to the region that he has earned for himself by his actions; this refers to the ignorant person;—as for the other, the knowing man, who is fully equipped with all the accessories described above,—be goes up—Meditating, through the syllable ‘Om’, on the Self; he goes, as before, or upwards,—if he knows Brahman,—while the other, the ignorant person goes, horizontally;—and dies—goes out. The knowing person, when departing, while his mind is failing,—during the time that the mind is thrown out of gear,—he goes to—reaches—the Sun; that is, very quickly; it does not mean that the time taken by him in reaching the Sun is exactly that during which his mind is failing.—The next sentence explains why he goes to the Sun: As that—Sun—indeed is the—well-known—door through which the knowing one goes to the Brahmic Region; hence, for the knowing persons there is passing through,—they pass through that door—to the Brahmic Region; while for the ignorant persons, there is shutting out—they are shut out—from the Sun; that these latter are held back in the body by the light of the Sun, and hence do not pass through the Artery in the Head. That this is so is also indicated by the verse—Viṣvananyā etc.’, (the last foot of the next text).—(5)

Upaniṣad text:

To this end, there is the following verse:—‘There are a hundred and one arteries of the Heart; one of them goes out into the Head; passing upwards by way of that, one reaches the Immortal; while the other arteries serve as ways for departing in various directions;—yea, for departing in various directions.’—(6)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

To this end,—i.e. in the sense of what has gone above,—there is the following verse—mantra text—there are a hundred and one arteries of the Heart,—these are the principal arteries connected with fleshy mass of the Heart, as the actual number of such arteries is endless;—of them, one goes out into the Head,—passed upwards into the Head; —passing upwards by way of that, one reaches the immortal,— i.e. the state of immortality; while the other arteries serve as Ways for departing in various directions—proceeding towards various directions, i.e. both horizontally and vertically;—being the doors leading to the Cycle of Births and Deaths; and these latter do not lead to immortality; they only serve as the ways for going out (of the present body—to others). The repetition is for the purpose of indicating the end of the Section.—(6)

End of Section (6) of Discourse VIII.