नायमात्मा बलहीनेन लभ्यो
न च प्रमादात् तपसो वाप्यलिङ्गात् ।
एतैरुपायैर्यतते यस्तु विद्वां-
स्तस्यैष आत्मा विशते ब्रह्मधाम ॥ ४॥
nāyamātmā balahīnena labhyo
na ca pramādāt tapaso vāpyaliṅgāt .
etairupāyairyatate yastu vidvāṃ-
stasyaiṣa ātmā viśate brahmadhāma .. 4..
This Atman cannot be attained by one who is without strength or earnestness or who is without knowledge accompanied by renunciation. But if a wise man strives by means of these aids, his soul enters the Abode of Brahman.
Commentary:
A weakling cannot attain the Atman. The word ‘bala-hīnena‘ has been used here in a different sense. It does not mean that elephants will reach God, and human beings will not, because elephants have greater strength than humans. Here, strength means toughness of the inner spirit. Of course it also means physical health, which is very necessary; but more than that, it means inner toughness of spiritual aspiration and the power of tapas, the strength of freedom from desire.
All these are implied here by energy, strength, bala; and whoever has not this bala, or strength, cannot attain the Atman. The Atman is great energy, power and potency; and that can be reached only by a powerful person, spiritually great in energy. Therefore, weaklings cannot reach the most powerful. Neither should we be physically weak, nor mentally, nor intellectually, nor spiritually, nor ethically. We should be strong in every field. Na ca pramādāt: A heedless, careless and slipshod attitude towards the Atman will not take us there. How concentrated our mind has to be is mentioned here. Today I think of the Atman, tomorrow I think of the anatman; today I sleep away, tomorrow I shall do work; the day after tomorrow I shall eat, and go for a walk, then go on tour, and do every blessed thing distractedly, in a perfunctory manner. This is called pramada, or careless behaviour. A person who is careless in his attitude towards the Atman will not reach it.
Tapaso vāpy aliṅgāt: By any kind of ostentation, pretension, vainglorious appearance in public life, this is not to be attained. A great person in society need not be really great in the eye of God. And austerities which are just physically oriented, and even torturous mental restraints, may not be adequate for the sake of the Atman, because the highest tapas is love of God. Mumukshutva, and all austerity, converge in this intense longing, devotion; and any kind of tapas or austerity, minus devotion or longing, ends only in a kind of mortification of the spirit, and will not lead us to the Atman.
Etair upāyair yatate yas tu vidvāṁs tasyaiṣa ātmā viśate brahma-dhāma: All these methods that have been described earlier in this Upanishad have to be adopted. And we know what these methods are. Satyena labhyas tapasā hy eṣa ātmā (2.2.5), and so on, is mentioned in earlier verses. Satya, ahimsa, brahmacharya, aparigraha, asteya are one’s powers. And the method of meditation has also been mentioned. By drawing the bow of the Pranava of the Upanishad and discharging the arrow of the Atman on the target of Brahman with the force of devotion, you shall find yourself merged in Brahman as an arrow merges in the object or the target. Unless intense meditation is carried on day in and day out for a protracted period, the knots of the heart cannot be broken, avidya, kama, karma cannot go, and the body may leave you at any time. Life is very short, and even in this short span of life, you do not know the length of life that is actually granted to you. It may end tomorrow, the day after, or two days after. A little grain of rice stuck in the throat will see you in heaven in one minute. So do not be proud of your glory, power, wealth, and the imaginary length of time in this world. Frail is this body, uncertain is life; therefore, gird up your loins just now, and not tomorrow. There is a saying in Hindi. Kal kare to aaj kar, aaj kare to aab: If there is something which you can do tomorrow, it is better you do it today itself, and if there is something which you can do today, it is better to do it just now. Why postpone it until tomorrow? Tomorrow may not come at all.
Now the following verses, with which we will conclude the Upanishad, speak of the final attainment of the soul, unity with Brahman, the attainment of the final goal. How do we attain that? Some examples and illustrations are given here to make it clear as to how we unite ourselves with Brahman.
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