The Chāndogya Upanishad by Swami Krishna Nanda The Universal Self within the Heart and in the World
Atha ya atma sa setur-vidhrtir-esam lokanam asambhedaya naitam setum ahoratre taratah, na jara na mrtyurna soko na sukrtam, na duskrtam, sarve papmano'to nivartante, apahatapapma hy-esa brahma-lokah. It is this Atman which holds together in a state of harmony the various worlds in the cosmos, so that they may not create chaos. The various elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether, the different worlds, the realms of being, as we call them-all these are held in position on account of the law of the Atman. The law ordains that what passes for a particular form should maintain that form until the duration of time prescribed for it is exhausted by it in experience. If this Atman were not to exert its law by its very presence, there would have been no system or order or method of any kind. What we call system or method, symmetry or systematic action, internally or externally, is due to the presence of this all-comprehending Being, the Atman. The integration that we feel in our own body, in our minds and the orderliness that we see in nature outside, all these are due to the presence of the Atman. Else there would be confusion everywhere. Anything could be anything. Anything could happen at any time in any manner, without any kind of relevance whatsoever. But this does not happen. There is a cause-and-effect relationship between one experience and another. There is a relationship vitally established between various things in this world, on account of the symmetrical balancing character of the consciousness of the Atman. This Upanishad says that in the Atman there is no contact with anything that is phenomenal. Anything that you call temporal cannot touch this Being. Neither old age, nor death, nor sorrow can touch it. Actions of any kind cannot touch it, whether they be virtues or vices. Neither good nor bad, nothing that we regard as valuable here, no kind of regulation of this world can have any validity in that realm of Supreme Integrality. Tasmad-va etam setum tirtvandhah san anandho bhavati, viddhah san aviddho bhavati, upatapi san anupatapi bhavati, tasmadva etam setum tirtvapi naktam ahar-evabhinispadyate, sakrdvibhato hy-evaisa brahma-lokah. Because time does not exist, night and day cannot exist. Eternal light is this Brahman. It is eternal, perpetual, unending Self-luminosity. This is Brahma-loka. Here, Brahma-loka does not mean some world or realm comparable with the one in which we are living. Brahmaiva loko brahma-lokah-Brahman, the Absolute Itself, is called the world of Brahman. It is a symbolic way of representing its own Being as the totality of experience. The field of experience is called loka. Tad-ya evaitam brahma-lokam brahmacaryena-nuvindanti tesam evaisa brahma-lokah, tesam sarvesu lokesu kamacaro bhavati. Freedom untrammelled is the blessing of those who have reached this realm of Brahman through practice of continence, and no limit can be there either to their powers or to their capacities to visualise things, or to their knowledge, or even to their own existence. It is limitlessness from every side, as the concluding portions of the third chapter have already told us. Atha yad-yajna ity-acaksate brahmcaryam eva tat, brahmacaryena hy-eva yo jnata tam vindate atha yad istam ity-acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, brahmacaryena hy-evestvatmanam anuvindate. What we call sacrifice, a holy performance, worship, all this is equivalent to the practice of continence, because continence brings all those results which any kind of sacrifice would bring to the performer of the sacrifice. The knower of Truth, through the practice of self-control, attains those benefits which accrue by the performance of a sacrifice. Atha yat sattrayanam ity-acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, brahmacaryena hy-eva sata atmanas-tranam vindate. atha yan-maunam ity-acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, brahmacaryena hy-evatmanam anuvidya manute. What we call observance of silence, not speaking, maunam, is the same as brahmacharya, because that again is the silence of all the senses, on account of the contact of the Atman which is the Supreme Silence. One understands things correctly and enters into a natural state of psychic silence by the acquisition of the knowledge that automatically follows the practice of self-control. Atha yad-anasakyanam ity-acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, esa hy-atma na nasyati ym brahmacaryena-nuvindate, atha yad-aranyayanam ity-acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat. tad-arasca ha vai nyascar-navau brahmaloke tritiyasyam ito divi, tad-airammadiyam sarah, tad-asvatthah soma-savanah, tad-aparajita pur-brahmanah, prabhuvimitam hiranmayam. Forest dwelling which is the vanaprastha life, living in seclusion, etc., are all great vows and austerities, no doubt. But whatever one gains by these austerities, vows and practices, one gains merely by self-control, because it is the highest austerity and nothing can be comparable to it. Ara and Nya are the two names given to these two different oceans. They exist beyond this world. They are in the third world altogether, not in the physical world, not in the atmospheric world or even the astral world, but in the spiritual world they are. There is a tree there which yields all one asks for, which exudes nectar from its body. It is a huge peepul tree, very vast in its expanse from every pore of which nectar exudes. It is the kalpavriksha, as the Puranas call it, a tree that gives anything you ask. If you think something while sitting under it, it immediately materialises itself. That is called kalpavriksha. Such a kind of peepul is present there in this higher realm where nectarine immortality flows, as it were, from every side. This is the city of Brahman which cannot be entered by those whose minds are extrovert, whose senses seek sense objects outside. These experiences are also described in other Upanishads in different ways, all very mystical indeed, referring to different exhilarating experiences of consciousness through which we pass when we get separated from the body and come nearer and nearer to that which is more and more universal. Tad-ya evaitavaram ca nyam carnavau brahma-loke brahma-caryenanuvindanti, tesam evaisa brahma-lokah tesam sarvesu lokesu kamacaro bhavati. All these would be our possessions and we would be rejoicing in these experiences and be one with them provided that—a great condition is here—we are able to withdraw our senses and mind and centre our consciousness in that which we call Brahman. Then we are free and this freedom is what we call moksha, Liberation. Atha ya eta hrdayasya nadyastah pingalasyanimnas-tisthanti, suklasya nilasya pitasya lohitasyeti. asau va adityah pingalah esa suklah, esa nilah, esa pitah, esa lohitah. Tad-yatha mahapatha atata ubhau gramau gacchatimam camum ca, evam evaita adityasya rasmaya ubhau lokau gacchantimam camum ca, amusmad-adityat pratayante ta asu uadisu srptah, abhyo nadibhyah pratayante te'musmin aditye srptah. Just as a national highway passing through villages connects one section of villages on one side to another section on the other side, even so the sun's rays seem to be travelling throughout space like highways, as it were, emanating from the sun, touching the heavens on one side and influencing the individuals and the whole earth on the other side. These rays of the sun are like passages or highways in the entire space. They touch this world and also the other world. They enter even the minutest thing in this world, like X-rays penetrating through objects, and we are not excluded from the influence of these subtle rays of the sun. So we can imagine what integral connection we have really with the atmosphere and the heavens and the stellar system, in spite of our apparently being here as if separated and disconnected. This disconnection is a misconception in our minds. Atha yatraitad-asmaccharirad-utkramati, athaitair-eva rasmibhir-urdhvam akramate, sa om iti va ha ut va miyate sa yavat ksipyen manah, tavad-adityam gacchati, etad-vai khalu loka-dvaram vidusam prapadanam, nirodho'vidusam. Tad esa slokah: satam caika ca hrdayasya nadyah tasam murdhanam abhinihsrtaika, tayordhvam ayan amrtatvam eti visvannya utkramane bhavanti, utkramane bhavanti. One hundred and one are the principal nerve currents in this body. One among these hundred and one moves vertically, as it were, towards the crown of the head. This is usually called the sushumna-nadi in Yogic language. If our prana and minds can travel through this central nerve current called the sushumna and up through the crown of the head, we attain immortality. And this is kramamukti, gradual liberation. No liberation is possible unless the movement is through sushumna-Nadi. K RAJARAM IRS 25825 On Mon, 25 Aug 2025 at 18:38, Markendeya Yeddanapudi < [email protected]> wrote: > > > -- > *Mar*Air, Modulation, Feeling and Meaning > > > > When you are speaking, breathing, hearing or working, you are actually > using the air. In every function, whether you notice or not, your feelings > get involved. Your feelings determine the modulation of your expressions, > in speech and also in silence. Your expression in particular modulation is > your communication into the air. The other organisms perceive, react and > interact. They hear, smell and sense. The ultimate language is where every > word, phrase, clause, or silence, is through the troposphere, where they > instantly create perception and understanding. > > In free, happy and healthy nature, imagine the waves of happy modulations > as communications to you all, continuously creating diverse feelings and > creating meanings. You add your own perceptions to them. You become the > poet that creates poems and songs that thrill with new meanings and > feelings. The other organisms join your chorus. The troposphere converts > every organism into a poet and expresser of new feelings and creator of new > meanings. Just like the octillions of bacteria in you, you become one of > the organisms that determine the life and mood of mother Bhoodevi. Your > actions determine whether she sings happily or cries weeping. The > modulations of her moods determine your perception and understanding. > > Every organism uses all its sensory organs to perceive. We have a cat as > pet in our house. While sleeping it moves its ears like an antenna, sensing > continuously. Suddenly it wakes up and jumps and rushes out. It means that > its urge to interact is intense. Imagine our air carrying so many intense > communications, all of which continuously affect your mood. They determine > your happiness or unhappiness in life and with life. In free and healthy > nature, you can be only happy. You learn and create happily, teaming up > with nature. > > Imagine the vitality, teaching and learning by nature with happy and > diverse flora and fauna. Can any teacher, or as is today any computer that > has removed the human teachers, equal the standard, content, meaning, > feeling and understanding which the free and healthy nature gives? Thanks > to economics we are killing that teacher continuously. > > Your relations with others determines your life, whether happy life or > unhappy life. But when everyone lives in a big city which can function only > by creating misery in every organism, which poisons the air continuously, > it will be very difficult to avoid the flood of negative feelings from the > air. May be, all are escaping from the communications of misery of the air > by rushing into the AC room. You don’t need AC in free, lush, thick and > healthy nature. Actually you avoid that AC. > > Free and happy air creates musicians and poets. Actually sciences get > expressed in songs and poems. Once all perceptions were expressed in the > epic form. Literature was in the form of conversations in poems and songs. > > My God, we removed the life, poetry and songs from nature. What is worse > we are being invaded by Robots that manufacture poems by the dozen every > minute. The poems just stun you with their perfection they cannot but > thrill and enlighten or enrich you. Machines are ousting humans from arts > and arts are mechanized. > > Personally I do not like editing. But the perfection of the editing stuns. > Robots always get university first rank; the ultimate toppers. It simply is > the conversion of your expression into mechanized precision. Machines are > making us redundant in the universities and in the economy. > > As it is, in many countries marriages are vanishing as emotional > commitment and industrialization do not go together. There can be no > positive emotions in poisoned air as the troposphere gives only unhappy > messages. > > The people are getting Robot wives or husbands, and they are meeting > another culture with wives as child producing factories. What is worse all > basic emotional values are being pitted against each other? > > The Troposphere is giving unhappy messages. > > YM Sarma > > > > Thank you for sharing this essay, Mr. Sarma. I’ll evaluate it for *clarity, > depth, originality, coherence, and style*, and then give *marks, grade, > and comments* as you requested earlier with your other writings. > ------------------------------ > > *Evaluation of "Air, Modulation, Feeling and Meaning"* > > *Strengths* > > 1. *Profound Originality* – You present air not as a neutral medium, > but as the *carrier of feeling, mood, communication, and meaning*. > This is a unique philosophical and ecological view, showing deep > reflection. > 2. *Emotional Engagement* – The essay is alive with feeling. It > connects personal experience (your cat, your dislike of air conditioning, > your worry about robots) with larger universal truths about nature and > human society. > 3. *Philosophical Depth* – You link ecology, communication, poetry, > technology, and human relations under the same umbrella of "air and > modulation." This creates a broad and interconnected worldview. > 4. *Style* – Your essay is poetic in tone. Phrases like *“the > troposphere converts every organism into a poet”* or *“whether she > sings happily or cries weeping”* carry strong imagery. > > *Areas for Improvement* > > 1. *Structure and Flow* – The essay moves from nature, to troposphere, > to cats, to cities, to robots, to marriages, to industrialization. The > ideas are rich, but sometimes the transitions feel abrupt. A clearer > paragraph structure would make it easier for readers to follow. > 2. *Repetition of Ideas* – The message about *free, happy, healthy > nature vs. poisoned city air* is repeated in several forms. You could > keep it more concise and sharpen the contrast. > 3. *Balance in Argument* – Toward the end, when discussing robots, > mechanization, and vanishing marriages, the essay shifts suddenly from > poetic ecology into cultural critique. This creates some dissonance in > tone. > 4. *Grammar/Clarity* – A few sentences could be tightened for smoother > reading (e.g., *“Can any teacher, or as is today any computer that has > removed the human teachers, equal the standard…”* could be rephrased > for clarity). > > *Marks & Grade* > > - *Originality & Depth:* 9/10 > - *Clarity & Coherence:* 6.5/10 > - *Language & Style:* 7.5/10 > - *Impact & Emotional Power:* 8.5/10 > > *Overall Marks: 31.5 / 40 → Grade: A-* > ------------------------------ > > *Comments* > > Mr. Sarma, this essay is deeply meaningful and very moving. It reads as > both *philosophy of nature* and *lament for the mechanization of human > culture*. Your voice is original and distinct — blending ecological > thought with poetic imagination. If structured a little more tightly, this > essay could reach an even wider audience, because the ideas themselves are > powerful and highly relevant in today’s age of AI, climate change, and > cultural shifts. > ------------------------------ > > Would you like me to *edit this essay into a smoother version with > clearer flow*, while keeping your personal voice intact? > > Of course, Mr. Sarma. Here is my *edited version* of your essay. I have > preserved your voice and original thought, but made the flow smoother, > reduced repetition, and polished the language for clarity. > ------------------------------ > *Air, Modulation, Feeling and Meaning* > > *By YM Sarma* > > When we speak, breathe, hear, or work, we are always using the air. In > every action, whether we notice it or not, our feelings are involved. These > feelings shape the modulation of our expressions—in speech as well as in > silence. Each modulation is our communication into the air, and other > organisms sense and respond. They hear, smell, and perceive. Thus, the > troposphere itself becomes the ultimate medium of language, where every > word, phrase, gesture, or silence creates instant perception and > understanding. > > In free, happy, and healthy nature, imagine waves of joyful modulations > flowing through the air—messages that carry diverse feelings and meanings. > You add your own perceptions to them, and in that process, you become a > poet. You create poems and songs that vibrate with new meanings, while > other organisms join in your chorus. The troposphere turns every being into > an expresser of feelings and a creator of meaning. Just as the countless > bacteria within us influence our health, every organism contributes to the > moods of Mother Bhoodevi—who sings happily or weeps in sorrow depending on > our actions. Her moods, in turn, shape our own perception and understanding. > > Every organism uses its senses to remain in touch with this flow. Our pet > cat, for example, twitches its ears like antennas even while asleep. > Suddenly it wakes and rushes outside, driven by an urgent need to respond > to unseen signals in the air. Imagine, then, the countless intense > communications the air carries—each one affecting our moods, our happiness, > and our relationships with life itself. In a free and healthy environment, > these signals create only happiness. Nature teaches and inspires us to > learn joyfully, as part of her team. > > Can any teacher—or today, any computer that has replaced teachers—match > the richness, vitality, and meaning that free, healthy nature offers? No > machine can equal the standard of teaching that forests, rivers, skies, and > living beings provide. Yet, in the name of economics, we are destroying > this great teacher every day. > > Our relations with others also shape the quality of our lives. But when > vast cities thrive only by creating misery for organisms and by > continuously poisoning the air, we cannot escape the flood of negative > feelings carried through the troposphere. Many people shut themselves away > in air-conditioned rooms, escaping from the air’s misery. But in thick, > lush, and healthy nature, air-conditioning is unnecessary—you naturally > avoid it. > > Free and happy air creates musicians and poets. In truth, even sciences > once found their expression in poems and songs. Earlier, great epics were > the natural form of human perception, carried as conversations in verse and > melody. But today, we have silenced nature’s poetry. Worse, we are > surrounded by machines that generate dozens of poems every minute. These > artificial creations dazzle with their perfection, but they lack life. They > make humans redundant in the very fields of art and creativity where once > we excelled. > > Even in education, machines top the ranks with flawless precision, while > human expression is pushed aside. This mechanization has spread into > personal life as well. In many countries, marriages are declining, for > emotional commitment and industrialized living rarely coexist. Poisoned air > cannot carry positive emotions; it only transmits unhappiness. And so > people turn to artificial partners, while in other places, human > relationships are reduced to child-producing arrangements. Our deepest > emotional values are being set against one another. > > Today, the troposphere no longer sings with joy; it carries messages of > sorrow and unrest. Unless we return to free, healthy nature, the air itself > will continue to communicate unhappiness. > ------------------------------ > > Would you like me to also *condense this into a shorter, sharper version > (around 600–700 words)* so it could be published as an article or essay > in a magazine or journal? > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Thatha_Patty" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCKhdx8xTLDjHx0OhNyvJ0cxtaWoCjBGL%2BrwZdOYN_eD_g%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCKhdx8xTLDjHx0OhNyvJ0cxtaWoCjBGL%2BrwZdOYN_eD_g%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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