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appear when there is harmony of the two. We talk of inside and outside as long as we
think independently through a physical body, as long as we are individual subjects
thinking of external objects. But when we are knowers of the Atman, as the Upanishad
puts it, we also know what the ultimate Reality is. Then the law of the outside world
becomes the law of the inside world. The law of the Atman is the law of the universe.
Therefore, there is absolute freedom for those who are knowers of this great secret.
Whatever they will, it expresses itself in experience at once. There is no gap of time
between the manifestation of their will and its materialisation. It is not that they think
something today and it materialises tomorrow. It instantaneously manifests itself. This
is the case of the blessed souls who have known the Atman.
The objects of desire appear to be outside us, which is the reason why we take time to
realise our objectives. There is a distance in space and in time between ourselves as
centres of volition and the objects outside. Therefore, naturally there is delay in time.
The time taken by us in the realisation of our objectives is due to the existence of space
which looks very vast outside and which looks very puny inside. The other reason is that
we have no control over the objects of our desires. Our desires are not truth-filled, not
satyakamas. They are artificially projected by conditions which are not entirely in
consonance with the law of truth. Therefore, it is difficult for us to fulfil all our desires.
The desire becomes difficult of fulfilment on account of its dissonance or disharmony
with the nature of truth. Truth alone triumphs, as we know, and nothing else will
triumph in this world. And if the will or the desire of a person is filled with untruth,
which means to say it has certain characteristics that cannot be corroborated by the
nature of truth, to that extent it shall not succeed. But to the extent it is in harmony with
the nature of truth, to that extent it succeeds. The externality of the object is, therefore,
one of the impediments to the manifestation of the object in the fulfilment of a desire.
The whole point seems to be that the object outside is as much an individual with its
own status as the willing subject. Therefore, there is no easy access to the location of the
object by the subject. The object is not subservient to the subject. It is not a vassal or a
subordinate of the subject in any manner whatsoever. Any one person is not a
The Chhandogya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda
125
subordinate of another person. Both are on par with each other. So is the case with every
object in this world. Just as I am the subject, the other so-called object is the subject
from its own standpoint. So, to will in such a manner as to control the object, and
convert it into a subordinate of one s self, is not an easy affair. As long as we are content
to remain physical bodies, individual persons, isolated physically from physical objects
outside under the impression they are absolutely disconnected from us, as long as we
are conditioned by these false notions in us, so long we cannot fulfil our desires. But, the
fulfilment immediately comes once we realise our affinity with the objects.
It is not true, as the mind falsely thinks, that the objects are disconnected from the
subjects. The more the intensity of the feeling of identity with one s body, the greater is
the difficulty in the achievement of any objective in this world, because the objectives
get more and more cut off from oneself. The more the intensity of the feeling of one s
body and isolation from others, the more is one s feeling of segregation from other
things and the greater is the difficulty in one s achieving anything in this world. The
more we cut off connections from other things, the more are we intensifying our
personality consciousness. The more we think we are independent bodily, the more is
the difficulty for us in this world, because the more is the reaction produced by other
persons and things in this world in a similar manner. The greater the affirmation of our
body consciousness, the greater is our segregation from other beings in this world, and
greater is the reaction produced by them who will also assert themselves in a similar
manner to us. If I am different from you, then likewise you are different from me. So,
here is the psychology behind the secret of unfulfilment of desires by those who are
intensely body-conscious and selfish in their nature, egoistic in their motives and
incapable of knowing the inward connections between themselves and other things of
this world.
The knowledge of the Atman that is referred to here is nothing but the knowledge of the
deepest secret of the connection of the subject with the object. If that is known, the
externality of the object falls away, the difference between the subject and the object
ceases, and there results a true union of the two. That is called the true fulfilment of all
desires. This, therefore, is the great truth proclaimed by the Upanishadic master. He
who knows the Atman gets all desires fulfilled at once and the other people who know
not the Atman are subject to the rule of law. The whole world is ours if we are able to
establish an inward contact with the world. But nothing will be ours, we will be forlorn,
deserted wanderers in this world, if we think that we are mere bodies unconnected with
others.
Now comes a beautiful series of proclamations or exclamations made by the Upanishad
in the following section, telling us what the power of the will of a person who has Self-
realisation is, and what capacity that person has got. Nothing is impossible for that
person.
SECTION 2
DIFFERENT HIGHER WORLDS
1. Sa yadi pitr-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad-evasya pitarah
samuttisthanti, tena pitr-lokena sampanno mahiyate.
The Chhandogya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda
126
If he wants to see someone, say a forefather in the other world, he can see him at once.
There is no such thing as  other world for that person who has realised the Atman. Just
as this world is not, the other world also is not. There is only one thing, which is
commensurate with his own Being. We can see our own fingers even though they are a
little distant from our eyes, say two feet away. This distance does not prevent us from
seeing them. Distance is ruled out here on account of the identity of the object with our
own Self. The forefathers in the other heavens also can be seen at once the moment his
will projects itself in that fashion.
2. Atha yadi matr-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad-evasya matarah
samuttisthanti, tena matr-lokena sampanno mahiyate.
3. Atha yadi bhratr-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad-evasya bhratarah
samuttisthanti, tena bhratr-lokena sampanno mahiyate.
4. Atha yadi svsr-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad-evasya svasarah
samuttisthanti, tena svasr-lokena sampanno mahiyate.
5. Atha yadi sakhi-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad-evasya sakhayah
samuttisthanti, tena sakhi-lokena sampanno mahiyate. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]