..
of nothing?". Later, Uddalaka asks Svetaketu to dissolve salt in water and then asks him to taste it. Even though the boy cannot see the salt in the water, he can taste every part of it. Then Uddalaka compared two experiences to Brahman, saying that like salt, Brahman is present but unseen."This whole world has that as its soul; that is reality; that is Atman; that art thou, Svetaketu"(Chandogya Upanishad)(Zimmer 1951 p.
360). 6 The Brahman is the Self and Self is the Brahman, that relationship was described by many metaphors in the Upanishads'. Here is one of them from Heinrich Zimmers 'Philosophies of India": "' Space is enclosed by earthen jars. Just as space is not carried along with the jar when this is removed [from one lace to another}, so Jiva [i.e., the Self when contained in the vessel of the subtle and gross body], like the infinite space [remains unmoved and unaffected.
" It matters not to Space whether it is to be inside or outside of a jar. The Self, similarly, does not suffer when a body goes to pieces"."The various forms, like earthen jars, going to pieces again and again, He (Brahman) does not know them to be broken; and yet He knows eternally"(Zimmer 1951p.359). When talking about the Self (Atman) the famous description is "Nati, nati" (not so, not so), there are no words and symbols in human understanding to describe it, thus everything we know, every description we make, every symbol we construct is an illusion. Therefore, nothing known and used by people could be applied to Brahman.
The question which evolves out of such a view is: "How would one get in touch with the Self, how is it possible not just to be aware of it but to physically touch it?". Thus when one is aver of his/her true self he/she can know the reality that is 7 deathless. Upanishads give an answer to this question by describing three states of consciousness.First is "the awakened state, where the sense faculties are turned outward, and the field of cognition is that of the gross body; 2.
the dreaming state, where the field is that of subtle bodies, self-luminous and magically fluid; and the 3. the blissful state of dreamless deep sleep" (Zimmer 1951 p.362.). The dreaming state was described as a short glimpse into the other dimension: the realm of gods and demons.
This realm was considered to be similar to the realm of awakened consciousness, because as well as the awakened consciousness dreaming state had its illusions and was not free from suffering that was a result of constant change. On the contrary, dreamless sleep was seen as something totally different because it only had a pure being with no consciousness, and therefore having no worries and no changes in itself.Upanishads see a dreamless state as the manifestation and human experience of the existing real Self that knows no change and is unaware of all the illusions. That was considered the state in which Atman exists.
Such philosophy enabled people to experience the state of deathlessness for themselves and gave beginning to the segment of Hindu religion that had experiential transcendence in its essence. 8 The view portrayed in the Upanishads' was that in order to gain liberation from a cycle of death and rebirth, one must discover the truth of Brahman which is all existent. In order to find Brahman one must look inside and find the Atman (the dreamless existence), which is the real Self and, consequently, the Brahman.When one succeeds in doing so, the truth will be revealed and the liberation from the realm of maya and therefore death will be attained once and for all. Philosophy portrayed in Upanishads' implies that one can gain liberation by discovering the true Self.
To do so is to follow the way of knowledge. Ignorance of Brahman was understood to be the cause for the endless cycle of birth, life and death. After gaining the truth, the knowledge of Atman, one is freed from the life in ignorance, and, therefore, freed from constant rebirth. The way to find Atman was to engage in deep meditation. A follower of the way of knowledge was to look inside and peel off layer by layer: any needs, senses, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and the awareness of the world, because all of that is an illusion which prevents one from seeing the true Self- the Atman.When the yogi (one who is engaged in meditation techniques) will be able to put away the consciousness itself (by this consciously putting 9 him/her self into the state of dreamless sleep), he/she will attain the knowledge of the Atman through which becoming a part of Brahman unaffected by ignorance.
Shankara describes the difference between the one who is searching for knowledge and the one who attained it as "The man of knowledge sees this first in meditation, with his senses withdrawn; but the man of Brahman even at the time of dealing with the world sees the Self who has entered into all beings. Now the senses and mind are functioning in the response to events in the world, but the Self is not felt to be identified whit the body and mind. It is universal, 'Brahman, in the highest heaven'."(Lingat .1973p.141) To conclude, when one examines the philosophy of Upanishads' and the way of knowledge some connection to reality (as it perceived by those who just want to study the doctrine of the philosophy) could be found.
Logically such philosophy could fit into the mind and then find support in experiences of its followers. Many yogis who follows the way of knowledge seem to find inner peace and understanding of life.Transcendence offered by the philosophy of Upanishads' seems to be real enough to follow the path which leads to it. That is why the philosophy of the way of knowledge was so widely accepted in the days of its emergence and later became a base for many other philosophies of India.
Bibliography Robert, Lingat. The Classic Low Of India. University of California Press Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1973.Zimmer, Heinrich, Robert. Philosophies Of India.
New York: Pantheon Books, 1951. Chidester, David. Patterns Of Transcendence.Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1990. Comtons Interactive Encyclopedia. America On-line 1995.
