विषय

ब्रह्मज्ञान से सुख का उपदेश।

पदार्थ

[हे मनुष्य !] (एतम्) इस [जीवात्मा] को (आ नय) ला और (आ) भले प्रकार (रभस्व) उत्सुक [उत्साही] बन, (प्रजानन्) भले प्रकार जानता हुआ वह (सुकृताम्) सुकर्मियों के (लोकम्) दर्शनीय लोक को (अपि) ही (गच्छतु) प्राप्त हो। (बहुधा) अनेक प्रकार से (महान्ति) बड़े-बड़े (तमांसि) अन्धकारों [अज्ञानों] को (तीर्त्वा) तरके (अजः) अजन्मा वा गतिशील अज अर्थात् जीवात्मा (तृतीयम्) तीसरे [जीव और प्रकृति से भिन्न] (नाकम्) सुखस्वरूप परमात्मा को (आ क्रमताम्) यथावत् (प्राप्त करे) ॥१॥

भावार्थ

मनुष्य पुरुषार्थ करके अपने आत्मा को अज्ञानों से हटाकर सच्चिदानन्दस्वरूप परमेश्वर को पाकर आनन्द भोगे ॥१॥ इस सूक्त का मिलान अथर्ववेद काण्ड ४ सूक्त १४ से करो ॥ यह मन्त्र स्वामिदयानन्दकृतसंस्कारविधि वानप्रस्थप्रकरण में व्याख्यात है। उन्होंने (नाकम्) का अर्थ “दुःखरहित वानप्रस्थ” किया है, जो ब्रह्मचर्य और गृहाश्रम से तीसरा है ॥

विषय

तृतीयं नाकम्

पदार्थ

१. (एतम्) = गतमन्त्र में वर्णित इस 'युवा [प्रभु]' को (आनय) = अपने हृदयदेश में प्राप्त करा और (आरभस्व) =  कर्त्तव्य-कर्मों का आरम्भ कर, प्रभु-स्मरणपूर्वक कर्तव्य कर्मों में लग जा। (प्रजानन्) = ज्ञानवाला होता हुआ पुरुष (सुकृतां लोकम्) = पुण्यकर्मा लोगों के लोक को (अपि गच्छतु) = प्रास हो। २. (महान्ति तमांसि) = महान् अन्धकारों को (बहुधा) = नाना प्रकार से (तीर्त्वा) = तैरकर (अज:) = गति के द्वारा बुराइयों को अपने से परे फेंकनेवाला यह 'पञ्चौदन' [पाँचों इन्द्रियों से ज्ञान का भोजन ग्रहण करनेवाला] जीव (तृतीयं नाकम्) = प्रकृति व जीव से ऊपर उठकर दु:ख के अभाववाले तृतीय सुखमय [आनन्दस्वरूप] प्रभु में (आक्रमताम्) = विचरण करे। प्रकृति के भोगों से हम ऊपर उठे तथा जीव के प्रति भी मोह [राग-द्वेष] से दूर हों। इसप्रकार हम आनन्दमय प्रभु में विचरनेवाले बनें।

भावार्थ

प्रभु-स्मरणपूर्वक कर्तव्य-कर्मों को करते हुए। हम पुण्यकर्मा लोगों के लोकों को प्राप्त करें। अन्धकार से ऊपर उठकर हम प्राकृतिक भोगों व जीव के प्रति राग-द्वेष में न उलझते हुए तृतीय स्थान में स्थित आनन्दमय प्रभु को प्राप्त करें।

भाषार्थ

[कोई शुभेच्छु आचार्य के प्रति निवेदन करता है कि हे आचार्य!] (एतम्) इस मुमुक्षु को (आनय) अपने समीप ले आ, (आरभस्व) और इसका शिक्षण आरम्भ कर, ताकि (प्रजानन्) योग विधि को जानता हुआ यह (सुकृतां लोकम्) सुकर्मियों के लोक में (अपि गच्छतु) जाय। (बहुधा) बहुत प्रकार के (महान्ति) बड़े-बड़े (तमांसि) तमोमय जीवनों को (तीर्त्वा) तैर कर,पार कर, (अजः) यह अजन्मा जीवात्मा (तृतीयं नाकम्) तिसरे सुखमय लोक की ओर (आक्रमताम्) पग बढ़ाए।

Subject

The Soul, the Pilgrim

Meaning

Aja means that which is unborn, which also implies that which is undying. Aja therefore is that which is unborn, immortal, eternal. Aja in Vedic language is the Trinity of three: Paramatma, Jivatma and Prakrti (Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 1, 7 and 9). Which one of these three is the Aja in this hymn? ‘Panchaudana’ clearly points to the Answer. ‘Panchaudana’ means ‘that which eats five kinds of food’, i.e., the one that has five varieties of experience. Now, if you have an experience, you also feel the pleasure or the pain of it, which means that the experiencer, the experience and the sufferance (of pleasure or pain) are together. The Aja of this hymn, therefore, is that one of the three which is subject to experience and sufferance. Of the three, Prakrti is the object of experience, it is not the experiencer. The experiencer is aware of the experience and also of the pleasure or pain of it. Food for example does not have the awareness of its own attribute of taste, only the eater knows by experience whether it is sweet or bitter or, later, whether it is bitter-sweet or sweet-bitter (Gita, 18, 37). Prakrti, therefore, is not the Aja of this hymn. The Aja here is either Paramatma or Jivatma. So, which one of the two, Paramatma and Jivatma, is the Aja in this hymn? Parmatma is not the ‘Aja’ here, because it is above sufferance. Therefore the one Aja that tastes the sweet as well as the bitter fruit of the tree of existence is the Jivatma as is expressed in Rgveda, 1, 164, 1, and in Atharva-veda 9, 9, 20: There are two birds sitting on the tree of existence. One of them tastes and relishes the fruit, the other just watches. The bird that tastes is the Jivatma. The other that sits on the same tree and watches is Paramatma. What is Panchaudana, the five kinds of fruit which the Jivatma tastes? The tree is the world of existence consisting of the five elements of Prakrti: Akasha (space), Vayu (wind and electric energy), Agni (light and fire energy), Apah (waters), and Prthivi (earth). The fruit or five kinds of food is the experience of “ Shabda or the music of sound and language from Akasha, Sparsha or the romance of touch from Vayu, Rupa or the romance of form and beauty from Agni, Rasa or the taste of drink and food from Apah, and Gandha or fragrance of perfume from Prthivi. The organs of perception are the senses of hearing, touch, seeing, tasting and smelling with the ear, skin, eye, tongue and the nose. Aja in ordinary language also means ‘the goat’. But, although the goat has senses and does, by instinct, experience things, yet it is not capable of knowing and, much more, not capable of the consciousness of knowing as the human being is (mantra-1). Therefore Panchaudana Aja is the human soul. O Master, take over this child of nature, in the healthy state of mind and senses, admit him / her to the school of nurture and culture, and with love and affection lead him / her to the second birth of the rational and faithful person of education so that this devotee, knowing clearly and consciously, may rise to the state of holistic knowledge and noble action and, in comprehensive ways of life, having crossed through and over the deep layers of darkness and ignorance, may ultimately reach the third state, beyond pleasure and pain, of spiritual freedom and bliss in Moksha.

Subject

Ajah Pancaudanah

Translation

Bring him here. Commence (the sacrifice). Knowing well, may he go to the world of the virtuous. Getting across the great darkness by various ways, may this unborn stride up to the third sorrowless world.

Translation

[N.B.: Aja here stands to mean eternal things-God, soul and matter. Here it stands for soul. Aja means he goat also. Here in the hymn Aja, the soul is imagined as worldly goat. To show the similarity between soul and goat imagination aspires high. Soul lives in the body. Body is nourished by five elements—Air. space, fire, water and the earth. Therefore, this body of soul is called Panchaudan. As soul lives soundly in the sound body and soundness of body depends in these five elements, therefore, the soul is called Panchaudana. By nature soul is unborn and immortal. The term Aja denotes this unbornness of the soul as it is Aja unborn.] O learned man ! bring this man of household life hither and make him active. He knowing the utility of the Ashramas enter into the sphere of the men of good actions. He again crossing the mighty darkness of worldly affairs and realizing him to be eternal and unborn accepts the third Ashrama known as Vanaprsatha. the life of austerity.

Translation

O man, control the soul, and take it on the right path. Be energetic. May thy soul, full of wisdom, attain to the dignity of pious greatmen. The soul, overcoming many mighty moral frailties, like grief, infatuation, avarice, lust and anger, and being unborn and immortal, should attain to the third blissful God.

टिप्पणीः

१−(आ नय) प्रापय (एनम्) अजं जीवात्मानम् (आ) समन्तात् (रभस्व) उत्सुको भव। उत्साहं कुरु (सुकृताम्) सुकर्मिणाम् (लोकम्) दर्शनीयं पदम् (अपि) अवधारणे (गच्छतु) प्राप्नोतु (प्रजानन्) प्रकर्षेण विद्वान् (तीर्त्वा) पारयित्वा (तमांसि) अन्धकारान्। अबोधान् (बहुधा) अनेकप्रकारेण (महान्ति) बृहन्ति (अजः) न जायते यः, नञ्+जन-ड। यद्वा, अज गतिक्षेपणयोः-अच्। अजा अजनाः-निरु० ४।२५। अजन्मा। गतिशीलः। परमेश्वरः। जीवात्मा (नाकम्) अ–० १।९।२। सुखस्वरूपं परमात्मानम् (आ) समन्तात् (क्रमताम्) प्राप्नोतु (तृतीयम्) जीवप्रकृतिभ्यां भिन्नम् ॥