Uparati & Titikshhaa - Part 2 of 15

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Once that happens it is just opposite to ‘death’; it is the state of immortality (*amRRitaM*). But Atman is not yet realised, though the mind has no turbulence or vibration now, as if the mind is dead.

In the Upanishads we meet several arguments between opponent schools. A spokesman for one set of arguments might have answered all the opponents’ objections and the opponent may become spell-bound and ultimately totally silent.

The word that is used on such an occasion is “upararAma”. It means the opponent “rested, devoid of arguments”. In other words, he reached ‘uparama’, the state of rest.

The words ‘uparama’ (the noun form describing the action implied in the verb ‘upararAma’) and ‘uparati’ are both the same. In fact ‘yama’ and ‘yati’ both connote the state of actionless rest. ‘uparati’ is of the same kind. He who has reached ‘uparati’ is said to be an ‘uparata’.

Such a person is described by the Acharya in his Bhashya of BrihadAraNyaka-upanishad as *sarvaishhaNA vinirmuktah sannyAsI* (IV – 4 – 23). Here ‘EshhaNA’ means desire, longing.

At another place in the same Upanishad (III – 5 – 1) a JnAni is said to be roaming about like a beggar, having abandoned the ‘eshhaNA’ for son, ‘eshhaNA’ for money ands ‘eshhaNA’ for worldly life.

Generally the three desires, namely ‘putra-eshhaNA’ (desire for son) ‘dAra-eshhaNA’ (desire for wife) and ‘vitta-eshhaNA’ (desire for money) are said to be the triad of desires (*eshhaNA-trayaM*).

In LalitA-trishati, Mother goddess has a name *eshhaNA-rahitA-dRRitA*. It means She is propitiated by those who have no desires. VairAgya (Dispassion) also connotes the state in which desires have been eradicated. But in that case it is disgust in objects that is dominant.

That is the state where one has discarded things because of disgust. But now in ‘uparati’ there is neither disgust, nor desire.

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