|| om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya ||
vasudeva sutam devam |
kauMsa chANura mardanam |
devakI paramAnandaM |
KRshNam vande jagadguruM ||
Glories to GuruDev --- Shri KRshNa, Deva, the World's spiritual master, Son of Vasudev, Who is the highest joy of His Mother Devaki, Who [finally] killed KauMsa and ChANur [since they oppressed the saintly and innocent for years]
Namaste
Shwetashvatara Upanishad by Shwetashvatara Rushi or Muni is a beautiful Upanishad, counted among the 10 major Upanishads, is actively theistic and philosophical at the same time, and clear in its message.
I am using Swami GambhirAnanda's translation to base the discussion.
Meaning of Shwetashvatara: One whose chariot (body) is driven by white (Shweta) horses (ashva) i.e. the sage of pure mind and senses (the metaphorical horses - Bahulak etc.).
So this Upanishad is authored by a Rushi of pure focused mind that is not tainted by distractions, selfish desires, vices or other hindrances to Self-Realization. It is said that our names are not accidental - they make our purpose of life clear.
This is the Upanishad that introduces the seeker (sAdhak) to the popular "dvA suparNa sAyujja" in chapter 4 verse 6.
Our favorite topic: Two golden birds sitting on the same branch of a tree. One is the individual Jeeva or [jeev]AtmA, initially in ignorance due to false identification with the body-mind-ego, consuming reactions of its own actions (eats the fruit). The other is [Param]AtmA who just “looks on” , as a witness (sAkshI), does not participate in “the movie” of emotional upheavals, or the individual’s life, and does not “eat the fruit”, hence is always blissful and peaceful.
The next shloka says, by “looking at”, “turning to” or “observing” the Param AtmA Bird (SAkshi - witness), the individual bird becomes wise, loses the ignorance, and gets liberated.
The purport is that the individual simply realizes its (AtmA's) non-difference from Bramh’ which is extremely subtle in nature (sUkshmAtisUkshma) like a film on clarified butter.
Some say the Jeeva bird follows the paramAtmA bird (anukaraN), "gets it" and flies away (becomes free).
Some in Yog with the ParamAtmA thru' bhakti (devotion and vibhakti - partition) experience it like these before and after pictures shown below, while others are more inclined to simply "fly away" as a more direct reaction to shloka 1.6
Yoga : Definition:
Yog = yukta = joined, aligned with, synchronized with, and hence united or in union with.
With what or whom? Obviously in the adhyAtmic context with [param]AtmA , ParaBramh.
vasudeva sutam devam |
kauMsa chANura mardanam |
devakI paramAnandaM |
KRshNam vande jagadguruM ||
Glories to GuruDev --- Shri KRshNa, Deva, the World's spiritual master, Son of Vasudev, Who is the highest joy of His Mother Devaki, Who [finally] killed KauMsa and ChANur [since they oppressed the saintly and innocent for years]
Namaste
Shwetashvatara Upanishad by Shwetashvatara Rushi or Muni is a beautiful Upanishad, counted among the 10 major Upanishads, is actively theistic and philosophical at the same time, and clear in its message.
I am using Swami GambhirAnanda's translation to base the discussion.
Meaning of Shwetashvatara: One whose chariot (body) is driven by white (Shweta) horses (ashva) i.e. the sage of pure mind and senses (the metaphorical horses - Bahulak etc.).
So this Upanishad is authored by a Rushi of pure focused mind that is not tainted by distractions, selfish desires, vices or other hindrances to Self-Realization. It is said that our names are not accidental - they make our purpose of life clear.
This is the Upanishad that introduces the seeker (sAdhak) to the popular "dvA suparNa sAyujja" in chapter 4 verse 6.
Our favorite topic: Two golden birds sitting on the same branch of a tree. One is the individual Jeeva or [jeev]AtmA, initially in ignorance due to false identification with the body-mind-ego, consuming reactions of its own actions (eats the fruit). The other is [Param]AtmA who just “looks on” , as a witness (sAkshI), does not participate in “the movie” of emotional upheavals, or the individual’s life, and does not “eat the fruit”, hence is always blissful and peaceful.
The next shloka says, by “looking at”, “turning to” or “observing” the Param AtmA Bird (SAkshi - witness), the individual bird becomes wise, loses the ignorance, and gets liberated.
The purport is that the individual simply realizes its (AtmA's) non-difference from Bramh’ which is extremely subtle in nature (sUkshmAtisUkshma) like a film on clarified butter.
Some say the Jeeva bird follows the paramAtmA bird (anukaraN), "gets it" and flies away (becomes free).
Some in Yog with the ParamAtmA thru' bhakti (devotion and vibhakti - partition) experience it like these before and after pictures shown below, while others are more inclined to simply "fly away" as a more direct reaction to shloka 1.6
Yoga : Definition:
Yog = yukta = joined, aligned with, synchronized with, and hence united or in union with.
With what or whom? Obviously in the adhyAtmic context with [param]AtmA , ParaBramh.
