Meditation in the Indra-Virochana Passage in Chandogya Upanishad (VIII, 7 – VIII 12)

The Indra-Virochana passage refers back to the previous sections of Adhyaya VII. For instance VIII, 3, verse 4: “Now this serene and happy being, after having risen from this body, and having got at the highest light, reaches his own true form: that is the Self, thus said he. This is the immortal and the fearless, this is Brahman.” The last part of this verse is quoted word for word three times by Prajapati in his preliminary instructions, and the first part is quoted in his final instruction to Indra.

The phrase “What is to be sought after, to be understood (vijnana)” is taken from Adhyaya VII 1, where it is the Akash in the lotus of the heart in the city of Brahman that is to he sought and understood. Shankara says that though Brahman is free from all limitations of place and time, still ordinary people of dull intellect have a firm conviction that all reality is limited by space and time and qualities. Hence Brahman is also taught under the limitation of space as the Akash in the heart, and of qualities like truthfulness of desire.

In this teaching, he says, Brahman is meditated upon within the Akash of the heart. And for those people whose minds are still coloured with the notions of goer and going, there is a process upward through the Nadi in the head (from the heart). And it is with a view to explain this, that the Eighth Chapter is begun. The idea of the text, he adds, is: “Let them come to the proper path; later on, we shall make they comprehend the real truth.” Here he clearly says that for those whose ideas are coloured with notions of space, time and qualities, the proper path is meditation on Brahman first in the heart-centre, and then by means of OM taking the meditation upwards through the Nadi from the heart to the crown of the head.

“The sense of the whole section”, says Shankara, “is that Brahman is found in this palace of the heart lotus, by such persons as have all their organs drawn within themselves and are free from attachment to external objects, and carry on their meditations based on the qualities so     that it is directly perceived…. As in pure water and in a clean mirror there is a clear reflection, so in the pure internal organ of the Yogi, who has his senses drawn into himself, is found Brahman, the pure reflection and essence of the light of intelligence.”

And the Upanishad says (again quoted by Prajapati later): “This is the Self, free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, without hunger and thirst, with true wishes and true volitions.”

Then Khanda 6 speaks of the Nadis of the heart – 101 main ones and innumerable others – which are filled with light. By one of them – the one going through the head – moving upward meditating on OM, he reaches immortality, says Shankara. This carrying up OM with the breath and the mind from heart on the central line to the crown of the head is one of the practices most given by Dr Shsatri

Now coming to our Section, Adhyaya VIII verse 1: “The Self which is free from evil, undecaying, undying, free from sorrow, free from hunger and without thirst, with true desires, true volition, – that is what is to be sought after, which one must wish to understand (vijnana); one who has sought after this Self, and understands It, obtains all worlds and all desires,” so said Prajapati. Shankara says on this: “The Self which is free from evil etc. etc. – for the meditation whereof the lotus of the Heart has been described,- the meditation whereof is accompanied by Brahmacharya as the chief means, and for a full comprehension of the result of whose meditation the text has described the proceeding up by way of the Nadi in the head,- this is the Self that is to be sought after and to be known by instructions of the Teachers, and it is this which one ought to try to understand (vijnana) particularly well, i.e. it should be fully realized in and identified with one’s own consciousness. Elsewhere in the Brihadaranyaka he speaks of this “identification with one’s own consciousness” as similar in intensity to the present conviction of identity with the body.

On this instruction to seek for and know the Self by meditation, Shankara briefly mentions what is set out extensively in the Brihadaranyaka commentary on I. 4. 7, in the Brahma-Sutra commentary on I. I. 4 and elsewhere. This is that such injunctions, like the injunction ’’the Self is to be seen, to be heard about, to be cogitated upon, to be meditated upon” are not originative injunctions but restrictive.

This means that they do not enjoin something which otherwise would not be done, but they direct to the correct method efforts which are being made anyway.” The search for the Self is being continued all the time, automatically, the Self being dearer than all and the real object of enjoyment, but the search is being conducted mainly outwardly: the apparent injunction is really only a restriction of the natural impulse to, the inward search: which is already a possible direction it, does not enjoin anything new.

When outward search is restricted, the search will automatically continue in the only direction still open to it.

The instruction to Indra which follows is not expressly mentioning meditation, though it may be presumed to follow on his deep cogitation. But at the end the text says: (Khanda XII verse 6)”The Devas meditate upon this Self: therefore, all worlds and all desires are obtained by them.” Shankara explains that the gods heard of this Self, explained by Prajapati, from Indra, and even now meditate upon that Self. And because they meditate upon It, therefore, all worlds and all desires are obtained by them. The meaning is that the result for which Indra dwelt with Prajapati as a Brahmachari for a hundred and one years – that result was obtained by the gods by meditation. And Shankara adds that it is knowledge of the Self, and the acquiring of the results, belong equally to all men.

Note:

An example of originative injunction is given as the Agnihotra sacrifice which leads to heaven. There is no visible result here which could stimulate those still on the earth to seek it – so they will only perform the sacrifice on the faith of a Vedic command. But of self-realisation there is one visible result, namely fearlessness and bliss etc. which follows suppression of Avidia. To seek bliss no injunction is needed – but it is needed to direct the method of the search.

© Trevor Leggett