pūrvavikalpaḥ prakaraṇātsyātkriyāmānasavat ..3.3.46..

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SUTRA III. 3. 46.

पूर्वविकल्पः प्रकरणात्स्यात्क्रियामानसवत्॥३.३.४६॥

pūrvavikalpaḥ prakaraṇātsyātkriyāmānasavat ..3.3.46..

.. Purva, of the former (i.e., devotion.) … Vikalpah. an optional form, … Prakaranat, on account of the subject-matter, Syat, there may be. … Kriya, the acts of offering in Puja. …. Manasavat, like the act of meditation.

46. This «So’ham» meditation is a form of the former (i.e., it is a kind of Bhakti), because of the context, just like the mental forms of meditation and the physical acts (offerings in Puja and the rest, are but modes of Bhakti). — 407.

COMMENTARY

This mental idea «I am He» is an optional form, and nothing more than that, of the «former» namely, of Bhakti. Why do we say so? Because of the context. The opening sentences of the Gopala Tapani, after describing meditation and Japa of Shri Krishna, thus defines Bhakti or Bhajana:

Bhajana or worship means Bhakti or devotion to the Lord. It consists in having no desire, or rather in renouncing all desires of enjoying the fruits of good work, either in this world or in the next; and in fixing the mind in That (Shri Krishna). This is indeed true Naishkarmaya or Sannyasa.

This Bhakti being mentioned in the previous portion of the Upanishad, and being also mentioned in the concluding portion of it also (Sachchidanand-aikarase bhaktiyoga tishthati) the middle portion ‘So’ham’ cannot but refer to this Bhakti. Hence this text must be interpreted in consonance with the opening and the concluding portions of the whole Upanishad; and when so interpreted, it is found to be a peculiar mode of Bhakti, and not a different statement altogether, teaching the identity of the human soul with God. The Sutrakara illustrates this by an example, «Kriya-manasa-vat». It is like acts of services and Pujas, and mental meditation. As these acts of Puja and meditation are but modes of Bhakti, so also the cry of the devotee «I am Ho», is also a particular mode of that very Bhakti previously taught. This mental condition «I am He» arises from the intensity of love as well as from the extremity of fear. (As the Gopinis from the intensity of love cried out, «I am Krishna»). Or as a man attacked by a lion, from the extremity of his fear says, «I am the lion». The sense, therefore, is this. In the Purva Tapani the question asked is, «Kah paramodevah, etc». Who is the highest God, etc? The sages asked Brahma about the nature of that transcendental substance, who possessed the attribute of being the object of adoration to all, who destroys the cycle of birth and death for His devotee, who is the refuge of all and the cause of all. Brahma» being thus a c ked, replies by saying Shri Krishna is the highest God, who possesses all these attributes, which the sages have enquired after; and then he further teaches that he who meditates on Shri Krishna, recites His Mantra and worships him, becomes immortal, and by such Bhakti the man loses the fear of the world. On being so taught, the sages again asked Brahma what is the form in which Shri Krishna should be meditated, what is the particular Mantra which should be recited, and what was the mode of worshipping Him? Here the question evidently relates to an object of devotion and the method of that devotion. Being thus questioned Brahma teaches the form of Shri Krishna which the devotee must meditate upon in the verses beginning with «The cow-herd of the colour of cloud standing under the Kalpa tree, etc». Having thus described His form and essential nature together with His companions (the cow-herd, the cow-mates and the cow) Brahma next describes the Mantra that one must constantly recite in his Japa and then he says that the worship of Krishna consists in devotion to Him, by which a man discards the fruit of all works to be enjoyed here or in the next world, and which consists in renunciation of all such fruits; and such fixing of the mind on the Lord is true Sannyasa. In other words, Brahma teaches three things to the sages in answer to their three questions, (i) The form which must be meditated upon, (ii) the Mantra which must be recited in the Japa and (iii) the most important of all, he gives the definition of Bhajana, as Bhakti in these memorable words:

Bhajana or worship means Bhakti or devotion to the Lord. It consists in having no desire or rather in renouncing all desire of enjoying the fruits of good work, either in this world or in the next. And in fixing the mind in That (Shri Krishna). This is indeed true Naishkarmya or Sannyasa.

This defines Bhakti and describes its nature. After thus defining the nature of Bhakti, the Upanishad teaches the silent recitation of the Mantra with the syllable Om prefixed to it, and states that the result of such Japa is Mukti, in the shape of attaining Krishna.

He who recites this Mantra, consisting of five words, prefixed with the syllable Om, is shown by the Lord His own form; therefore let the person desiring Mukti recite it always.

Note: With the syllable Om, the Mantra would become Om Klim Krishnaya, Om Govindaya, Om Gopijanavallabhaya. Om Svaha Om.

Having thus shown the result of this Japa, the Upanishad goes on to say:

«I worship with the highest praise that one Govinda, whose form is existence, knowledge and bliss; whose Mantra consists of five words; who is seated under the heavenly tree in Brindabana, along with the Maruts».

Having thus shown that a man by meditating on Krishna gets knowledge and happiness, the first part of Gopala Tapani ends with the statement «Therefore, Krishna is the highest God, let one meditate upon Him, let one recite His Mantra, let one love Him, yea, love Him Om tat sat»

Thus an analysis of the whole of Gopala Purva Tapani Upanishad shows that it begins with declaring that Krishna is the highest God, and ends with that declaration. The whole thesis of this Upanishad is to teach the greatness of Krishna, and His worship, as the only means of getting Mukti.

It does not show that the Jivas who have to worship Krishna are identical with Him. An analysis of the second part (i.e., of) Gopala Uttara Tapani (in which occurs the phrase «I am He»), would lead any reasonable man to the same conclusion as above, in spite of this stumbling block of So’ham Asmi = I am He. We now proceed to analyse this Upanishad.

Once the cow-maids of Brindabana asked Shri Krishna, Who was the fittest person whom they should feed with alms? Krishna replied that Durvasas was such a person, who lived on the other side of the Yamuna. They asked Him, «How are we to cross it?» Krishna said, «You will walk over it by saying to it, «Krishna is a celibate». The cow-maids did so, and crossing the river, went to the hermitage of Durvasas, and presented all the delicious dainties that they had brought for him. And the safe did full justice to the viands. Being highly pleased, he blessed them, and then they asked him. «How are we to return?» He said, «Walk over the waters of the river saying that Durvasas is a fasting sage». The cow-maids perplexed, making Radha their spokesman, enquired from Him the meaning of these dark sayings — how Krishna was a celibate, and how Durvasas was a fasting sage. Then Durvasas explained to them the mystery of the Great Self of Shri Krishna, beginning with the following words: «This verily is Shri Krishna, about whom you have asked, who is the cause of the subtle and the gross body, etc». He taught them, that Shri Krishna was the cause of all, that His nature was to willingly submit to those who loved Him with sincere and disinterested affection; and that He is the eternal beloved of such souls. Then the cow-maids asked him about the birth, deeds, the Mantra and the various places of manifestation of Shri Krishna. And the sago tells them these, commencing with the following words:

In the beginning was God Narayana alone, in Whom these worlds are interwoven. From the lotus of his heart arose Brahma, the Creator of the world. Brahma asked Him who is the highest and best of all Avataras with whom all the worlds and the Devas are satisfied, by remembering whom they cross the cycle of births and deaths, and how is this Avatara, the Brahman?

To him replied the God Narayana, «As there are seven cities on the summit of the Meru hill where dwell those who have performed good deeds, with the desire of getting reward; so there are seven other cities above these where dwell those who perform works without any desire of reward. Among them the best is the city of Gopala, the manifested Brahman. This city is Madhura».

Then Narayana describes this sacred Madhura, surrounded by various groves and gardens, forests and bowers and protected by the Chakra of the Lord. And then he says, «Shri Krishna dwells in this city, accompanied by His three powers, and four glories (Balarama, Aniruddha, Pradyumna, and Rukmini) who represent the four letters of the syllable Aum. Then He adds:

Since He is so, salutation to Him, who is above Rajas. Let a man thinking that «I am He», meditate «I am Gopala».

This teaches a form of meditation — the meditation of unity between the worshipper and the worshipped, and shows that such prayer of union is also a cause of Mukti. This teaching «So’ham, Gopalo’ham» does not declare the absolute identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Self, but that a more reasonable interpretation of this text is that it teaches a particular kind of devotion, similar to those taught in the preceding portions of this Upanishad. As in the state of ecstasy, a man weeps, rolls about, becomes catalyptic, etc., so also there comes a stage in devotion, when the saint cries out «I am He», «I am Brahman». All these expressions are occurrences of God-intoxicated souls, and are not to be taken in their literal sense. Expressions like these, found in other Upanishads, like the Taittiriya and the rest, declaring non-difference, must be understood in this sense, namely, as expressions of persons saturated with Brahman and possessed by Him. This is possible only where there is difference, and not where there is absolute identity. This has boon explained before also.

The author now gives another reason for holding that statements like «I am He», are merely expressions of particular mental modes of the devotees, and they should be so understood; and that they do not teach the absolute identity of the human soul with the supreme Lord.

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