Prajapati, the creator of all living beings
,once said: “The Atman is beyond birth and
death, beyond hunger and thirst and other
afflictions. Those who can realize this
through the grace of the guru can acquire
everything in the universe.”
The gods and the demons came to know of
this solemn pronouncement by Prajapati .The gods had many good qualities, but
they also craved enjoyment. The demons
were greed personified. Indra and
Virochana, the respective leaders of the
gods and the demons, went to Prajapati for
instruction in the knowledge of the Atman.
Both Indra and Virochana became
students. They lived as celibates and took
care of the needs of Prajapati, their guru.They lived with the guru, waiting patiently
for him to instruct them. But after
thirty-two years, he still hadn’t taught the
manything. Then one day the guru asked
them, “My sons, why have you come tome?”
“You have said that the knowledge of
Atman can lead to the acquisition of
everything. That’s why we have come to
you—to get everything,” they replied.
The guru said: “The being which resides in
the eyes is Atman. He is beyond death and
fear .” Both students listened to the guru
attentively. Seeing that they had not
understood him, the guru further said:“Go
put some water in a container. Look at your
own images in that water . If you fail to understand what I’m saying, please comeback.” Indra and Virochana did what they
were asked. And, sure enough, they came back.
Guru: “What did you see in the water?”
The students: “We saw the images of our
bodies. Our nails and hair have grown long.”
Guru: “Have your nails cut and your hair
trimmed. Dress well, and then look again.”
The students obeyed. When they came
back, they said, “Now our images look as
graceful as we do.”
Guru: “This is the deathless Atman which
is beyond fear.”
Content with this elucidation, the students
took leave of the guru.
The Atman or consciousness is reflected in
the mirror of the mind. The sense organs
,like the eyes, become aglow with the
reflected consciousness. This was the
import of Prajapati’s statement about “the
being which resides in the eyes…” The
students could not grasp this truth even
after thirty-two years of study. Prajapati
was amused. He muttered, “Demons or
gods, whoever think that the body’s image
is the Atman, will perish.”
Virochana pondered over his guru’s words
.He mused: “The body and the limbs are
reflected in the eyes as well as in water. So
the body is the Atman. With a good
physique, all things in the universe can be
acquired. So the lesson is, we should take
care of the body.”
Virochana returned to the demons and
proclaimed: “Prajapati has taught me that
the body is the Atman. Take care of the
body, and you will get everything.” Eat,
drink, and be merry—this then became the
philosophy of the demons. Constant
indulgence in luxury made them highly
irreligious. Even today a person without
devotion or charity is called demonic. To
such a person, the body is the soul, and
there is nothing more valuable than the body.
Indra was also on his way back to his
kingdom. He too was glad that he had
known the Atman. But an element of
uncertainty threw a shadow over his mood
of joy. He mused: “Our image changes with
every change in our body; even when we
change our clothes. If the body is destroyed, there will be no image of it. So
how can this image be identical with the
Atman which, according to Prajapati, is
beyond death?” His mind was over cast
with doubt and gloom. He decided to cut
short his journey and go back to Prajapati.
Prajapati feigned amazement: “Why have
you come back, Indra? You were satisfied
and went back home.”
“Holy Sir,” Indra said, “I find that I was
mistaken to consider the image of the body
to be the Atman. It changes even when we
change our clothes. If the body dies, its
image is gone too. So it doesn’t seem right
to identify this image with the Atman.”
“Indra, you are right,” assured Prajapati
,and added: “I shall explain everything. But
live here as a student for another thirty-two
years. Otherwise, it won’t be possible for
you to grasp what I say.”
Years rolled on. Indra served his guru for
another thirty-two years. Then one day, of
his own accord, the guru said, “My child ,
the being which moves through your
dreams, enjoying many things, is the
Atman.” Indra was satisfied and took leave
of the guru. Indra’s mind had become
much more refined and he was now
admitted to a world of wholly new thoughts. He mused: “We enjoy, no doubt
,many things in the state of dreaming. The
defects of the body do not affect our
pleasure in that state. But even in dream
there is suffering. Sometimes we imagine
that enemies are trying to kill us, or a tiger
is chasing us, or some other calamity has be
fallen us. So the being which moves
through our dreams is evidently not beyond
fear and affliction. How can that being be
the Atman?”
Indra again cut short his journey to the
domain of the gods. He could not go therein a confused state of mind. He came back
to his guru and told him about his
confusion. The guru asked him to live as a
celibate for thirty-two years more. Indra
obeyed his guru, because this confusion
was a heavy load for him to bear.
At the end of the third term, after ninety-six
years of celibacy and austerity, Prajapati
solemnly told Indra: “My child, in the state
of deep sleep we go beyond dream and
become full of bliss. Our existence in that
state is the Atman.”
Now Indra was happy. In deep sleep we go
beyond all afflictions. So Indra came to the
conclusion that the enjoyer of deep sleep
would surely be the Atman. Once again
,Indra was on his way back to his kingdom.
But again a doubt arose in his mind. Once
again he turned around and, returning to
his guru, he said: “A person in deep sleep
doesn’t seem to be conscious of him self.
He isn’t aware of his surroundings. It
seems as if he has been annihilated. It is
difficult to consider that state to be the
highest goal, namely, the Atman.”
Prajapati said: “You are right. A person in
deep sleep doesn’t attain to the Atman as
a matter of course. I shall tell you
everything in detail. But you’ll have to stay
here for five more years.”
Ninety
six years of austerity had rendered
Indra’s mind capable of grasping subtle
truths, but further refinement and culture
were still needed for the realization of the
grandest truth.
At the end of the fourth term Prajapati told
him the subtlest truth, namely, the truth of
the Atman. Prajapati said: “The states of
waking, dreaming, and sleeping are not
beyond the body, whether gross or subtle
.The Atman, however, is beyond the body
,which is mortal. Through the body the
Atman enjoys different things. The body
remains within the clutches of pleasure
and pain, but not the Atman, which is
beyond all traces of mortality. Nothing can
chain that Atman down.”
We are separate from our eyes; that is why
we are able to see with our eyes. We are
separate from our mind, so it is possible to
think with it. When we come to know that
, in essence, we are distinct from our body
and our mind, then we are on the threshold
of knowing the Atman. But the prerequisite
for this knowledge is dispassion. Indra’s
long period of austerity made him
dispassionate enough to have this rare knowledge.
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