MOkshasaadhanam (Means of Liberation) – 8

by Krishna Sastri

We are going to make a slight detour to bring to light the role and function of an important entity called ‘hridhayam’ or heart or buddhi or intellect as it is variously called.

I would explain it bringing in another samvaadham narrated in BrihadhaaranyakOpanishad, this time between Saakala and Yaagnavalkya. The questioner is Saakala.

Saakala: What is the deity are you identified with in the East?

Yaagnavalkya: With the deity, sun.

(Yaagnavalkya knew that of the five quarters East stands out first and the sun rises in the East.)

Saakala: On what does the sun rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On the eye.

Yaagnavalkya remembered the Vedic statement (Purushasooktham): “sakshosooryO ajaayatha” – from the eye rose the sun –– here eye is the cause and the sun is the effect and the nyaaya is that the effect rests on the cause.)

Saakala: On what does the eye rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On colours (roopaaNi), for one sees colours with the eyes.

(For, eye itself is a modification of colours).

Saakala: On what do colours rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On the heart.

(The idea is that one remembers colours (forms) through the heart, therefore colours rest on the heart.)

Saakala: It is so Yaagnavalkya. Now tell me, what deity are you identified with in the South?

Yaagnavalkya: With the deity Yama.

Saakala: On what does Yama rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On yagna (sacrifice)

(Because yagna is the cause. The priest officiates the yagna and the yajamana pays dhakshiNa to the priests and redeems the yagna and wins the south together with Yama. As yama is the effect, he rests on the cause, namely, the yagna.)

Saakala: On what does the yagna rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On dhakshiNa (remuneration to the priest).

(Since the yagna is redeemed by dhakshiNa, yagna is the effect and dhakshiNa is the cause.)

Saakala: On what does dhakshiNa rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On faith (sraddha).

(Because if a man has no faith in the yagna, then he would not redeem it with dakshiNa. Therefore dakshiNa is the effect and sraddha is the cause - and the effect rests on the cause.)

Saakala: On what does sraddha rest?

Yaagnavalkya: It rests on the heart.

(For faith is a modification of the heart, as one knows faith through the heart).

Saakala: It is so Yaagnavalkya. Now tell me, what deity are you identified with in the West?

Yaagnavalkya: This deity is VaruNa.

(VaruNa is the God of rain).

Saakala: On what does VaruNa rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On water.

Saakala: On what does water rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On rethas (seed)

(aapOme rethasisrtha:)

Saakala: On what does the rethas rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On the heart.

(Because the seed is the effect of the heart as lust is the modification of the heart.)

Saakala: It is just so Yaagnavalkya. Now please tell me, what is the deity are you identified with in the North?

Yaagnavalkya: Soma (the moon) (also creeper).

Saakala: On what does Somadeva rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On Dheeksha (initiation)

(Because the initiated-sacrificer buys the soma creepers and sacrifices the same along with the meditation).

Saakala: On what does Dheeksha rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On Stathyam (truth)

(Beacause they say to the initiated: “Speak the truth”.)

Saakala: On what does sathyam rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On the heart.

(for one knows the truth through the heart).

Saakala: It is quite so, Yaagnavalkya. Now tell me, what deity are you identified with in the fixed direction (above) {dhruvaayaam dhisa}

Yaagnavalkya: With the deity fire (agnidevathaa).

(For, fire is more luminous over one’s head).

Saakala: On what does Agnidevathaa rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On speech (vaakdevatha).

(agnirmE vaachisritha: )

Saakala: On what does speech rest?

Yaagnavalkya: On the heart.

Now, Yaagnavalkya through his heart extending in all directions, realized all the quarters as his own self. The quarters with their deities and supports are part and parcel of him and he is identified with name, form and action. They are now unified in his heart. The whole universe is but name, form and action and they are but modifications of the heart. So Saakala now asks of Yaagnavalkya:

“On what does the heart rest?”

Yaagnavalkya said: “You ghost, when you think the heart is elsewhere in us, then the body is dead. Should it be elsewhere than in us, dogs would eat this body or the birds would tear it to pieces.”

(contd.)