Correct meaning of "Death in Uttaraayana"

  

The idea of ‘Death in Uttarayana’ has become well-known. But the general opinion about it is not correct. What I am going to say may surprise you. But I am telling you only what is in the Bhashyas of the Acharya. (B.G. VIII-24. Brahma-sUtraM IV -3. Chandogya U. V-10-1, Brihadaranyakam VI-2-15 – Bhashyas of these by the Acharya).

The Acharya never interpreted ‘Uttarayana-death’ as death in the six months of Uttarayana. Then how has he interpreted it?

The Yogi ( a desireless karmi and all upAsakas and bhaktas – other than JnAni) goes to Brahma-loka by a divine path called devayAna after the soul leaves the body through the nADi that goes from the heart to the head. But before reaching the terminus there are several junctions!

Each of these is the seat of a devatA. First comes the seat of Agni. Then comes the seat of the devatA for the daytime; then the devatA for the white fortnight and then the seat for the devatAs of the UttarAyaNa period.

Mark this carefully! It is not UttarAyana period. It is the devatAs of the UttarAyaNa period.

Thus the Acharya has explained that it reaches the terminus after crossing several junctions. The Lord also already has said in the Gita only in accordance with what has already been said in the Upanishads of Chandogyam and BrihadAranyakam.and others.

The Brahma sUtra and the Bhashya of later times (later than the Gita) also explains this point without the least possibility of any doubt.

In the same manner, the dakshhiNAyana-death is wrongly associated with the result of having a next birth. DakshhiNAyana-death does not mean that the time of death is dakshhinAyana, but the seats of the devatAs associated with dakshhinAyana constitute the path (*pitRyAnaM*) of the leaving soul.

Further, another matter. This kind of passage through the path of the seats of the devatAs like those of UttarAyaNa, then passing through junction after junction, finally arriving in Brahma-loka, and then at the time of Grand Dissolution, becoming one with Brahman – all this process has nothing to do with a JnAni.

So by looking at the date or tithi of the leaving of the body of a JnAni, it is not right to conclude that “the time is not that of UttarAyaNa and so they have not got mokSha”!

The NaaDis of the heart - Part 20 of 20

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Just to show the difference that one is in the jIvan-mukti stage even when being in the body, we use the term ‘Brahma-bhUta’. To clear this , He himself says one or two shlokas later: (V-26): “abhito brahma-nirvANaM vartate …”: “In both situations, that is, both in this world and in the other world, JnAni gets the Brahma-nirvANaM’.

He also says what happens to those who go along the ashhTAmga-yoga (the eight-component-yoga) path, what we ordinarily call the yoga-mArga. But the Yogi he refers to must have practised well his ashhTAnga-yoga, and must have perfected both the breath-discipline and the mind-control regimen.

In addition, as an added qualification he should have deep devotion and must be one who constantly and continuously thinks of God – not just one who has to think of God (*Ishvara-praNidhAnaM*), as per the prescriptions of the yogashAstra, for the purpose of developing concentration .

Krishna says “mAM anusmaran” (remembering Me continuously) “satataM yo mAM smarati nityashaH” (B.G. VIII – 13, 14) (he who remembers me always and every day) . Such a yogi who has also devotion, even though he may leave the body in the contemplation of praNava that has been equated to shabda-brahman, will still not get the advaita-mukti.

This is what the Lord says in the eighth chapter called ‘akshhara-brahma-yoga’. It has been described that his soul goes only to Brahma-loka along the path of the ‘uttarAyaNa-Sun’.

The NaaDis of the heart - Part 19 of 20

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What the pilgrim on the jnAna-path obtains, through his SAdhanA, without recognising that it is also the Grace of God, this devotee-type person obtains by prayer, knowing full well it is the blessing/benediction (prasAda) of God.

Of course elder traditionalists in our religion may say that the Lord might not just give him advaita-mokSha on a platter, he will also be turned towards the jnAna path and then only he will be made to reach his goal.

Thus there are several yogas. In one of these it has been stated that one should hold on to the primeval shakti, hold on to it and rise on the sushumnA nADi, chakra after chakra, and finally through that Power reach the Source of that Power, namely the ShivaM that is Brahman and unite with it in one-ness.

And that mukti has been depicted as an advaita-mukti only. For such upAsakas also, we may be sure that the destination is not Brahma-loka, but the advaita-mukti itself.

Another opinion is the ashhTAnga-yoga siddhas who speak of the goal of samAdhi in the attributeless Absolute also obtain *Brahma-nirvANaM*
(advaita-mukti).

But the words of the Gita don’t support this. There is no greater suthority than Lord Krishna Himself. That He calls only JnAnis as ‘sAnkhyas’ or ‘sannyAsis’ is well-known to scholars of all the different traditions.

Krishna says: Only those who go on the advaita path become ‘brahma-bhUtas’ while living in this world and reach ‘Brahma-nirvANaM’ when the body falls. (B.G. V -24). ‘Brahma-bhUta’-becoming is also only Brahma-nirvANaM’.

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The NaaDis of the heart - Part 18 of 20

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I have to tell you one or two more points on the subject of mokSha.

It is not as if only the mokSha of the ‘dualistic’kind is what will be obtained by all the followers of the Bhakti path till the end. That was said only with respect to those devotees who circumscribe themselves by a non-advaitic philosophy.

But in actuality, when one adheres to bhakti that comes from the heart and overflows in its own natural way, it cannot be circumscribed by any boundary. Such were the devotees, like the Alwars and Nayanamars. Instead of limiting themselves to visishtadavaita or shaiva-siddhanta, they just allowed themselves freely to be led by their noblest emotion of bhakti, wherever it tossed them, to whatever experiences they were subjected to.

For many of them, even this process was not enough; they were not satisfied with doing this from outside, they wanted to be one with their Ultimate. They poured all this in their songs and some have sung about the non-dual experience that they were blessed with.

Such travellers who journeyed on the path of parA-bhakti and were led on to the continuous state - *anusandhAnaM* - of one-ness, will not go to the saguNa-brahman of Brahma-loka. Instead they will reach the MokSha of non-dual Realisation (*advaita-sAkShAtkAra-mukti*).

The person who by himself does not do any yoga-SAdhanA, but keeps on praying to God that He should grant him advaita-mokSha, to him also the Lord grants the Brahma-nirvANa, that is superior to Brahma-loka.

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The NaaDis of the heart - Part 17 of 20

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We can be even more generous and broad-minded. Once our Vedic religion itself was objected to and there were founders of other religions.

Let the matter be whatever with these Founders. In fact our Vedas have said (see Br. U. IV.3.22) the Veda is not a Veda beyond a certain stage.
Maybe one or two people might have transcended by themselves the ritual regimen of the Vedas. Let us not try to infer anything about those individual people.

But unlike the avaidik (i.e. which do not accept the vedas) religions that sprang up in other countries, other religions in our own country were established by objectors to the Vedic religions that prevailed here. I am now speaking of those who came in later times in these other religions.

They have been following these non-vaidik religions as their veda and have been revering, with devotion and dedication, their founders and other important persons as much as we revere our rishis and Acharyas.

They cannot be faulted for this. For them also it is possible that Brahmaloka is their destination. For them it may be exactly what they think it is – void or whatever.

Whether Ishvara gives them Brahma loka or so, let me have the credit of being ‘broad-minded’ for giving them this! If you ask the hard-liner Vaidik people, they might not agree with me.

They might opine: ‘If those who belong to the non-vaidik religions follow their religion steadfastly, as a consequence they will be born in their next birth in some vaidik religion and only by properly doing the upAsanAs there they will reach Brahmaloka’.

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The NaaDis of the heart - Part 16 of 20

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Maybe,in a lighter vein, one might say that if it had been named after one of those favourite deities, the others in the same category might object to it!

We can be more ‘generous’ and include some more in this list of ‘upAsakas’. Originally once upon a time only the Vedas were there all over the world.

Later, in the other countries, somehow it all got mutilated and in course of time, the very fact that there was a vedic path was itself forgotten.

At some places some great men established a religion or a religious philosophy – and these were made in such a way that it promoted devotion to the divine, good character and spirituality.

All those who follow these other religions and religious works may be included in the list of ‘upAsakas’. We may even suppose that they will also go to Brahma-loka and that will be their ‘heaven’ or ‘the relieved state’ which is their goal according to their belief.

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The NaaDis of the heart - Part 15 of 20

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Incidentally, BrahmA is not the favourite deity (ishhTa-deivam) for no one! Then why is this called Brahma-loka?

Maybe that is exactly the reason!. Let me explain.

The ShAstras assign this Hiranya-garbha loka only to those who perform their religious rituals without desire for the fruits thereof, but as a path to mokSha.

Not only in the spiritual type ShAstras like Upanishads but also in Manu-smRti, which is a Dharma-shAstra, the assignment of Brahma-loka is only for such persons.

He does not have a favourite deity in particular. So on the plea that he goes back from Creation to the Source, the world that is the path from one to the other is given the name of the Creator.

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