#203 Who is the greatest? The story of Brahman and the organs of the body

The sixth chapter of the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad has a section on meditation which includes a story. It is a dispute between the various organs of the human body about which one was the greatest. Unable to resolve the matter among themselves they approached Brahman, the creator and asked, ‘Which of us is the Vashishtha, the greatest?’ The creator replied, ‘The one after whose departure, you consider the body to be worse off, is the greatest among all of you’.

Vaak, the organ of speech went out of the body for a year. After staying out for an entire year it came back and asked~ ‘How did you manage to live without me?’ They replied, ‘We lived just as dumb people do, without speaking through the organ of speech, but breathing prana, seeing through the eyes, hearing through the ears, knowing through the mind and having children through the organ of reproduction.’ So the organ of speech re-entered the body.

The chakshu: eye went out of the body. After staying out for the entire year it came back and asked, ‘How did you manage to live without me?’ They said, ‘We lived just as blind people do, without seeing through the eye, but breathing prana, speaking through the organ of speech, hearing through the ear, knowing through the mind and having children through the organ of reproduction.’ So the eye re-entered the body.

The shrotram, ear went out. After staying out for the entire year it came back and asked, ‘How did you manage to live without me ? They said, ‘We lived just as ·deaf people do, without hearing through the ear, but breathing prana, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, knowing through the mind and having children through the organ of reproduction.’ So, the ear re-entered the body.

The manah:, mind went out of the body. After staying a whole year out it came back and asked, ‘ How did you manage to live without me ? ‘ They said, ‘We lived just as idiots do, without knowing through the mind, but breathing prana, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and having children through the organ of reproduction.’ So the mind re-entered the body.

The organ of reproduction went out. After staying a whole year out it came back and asked, ‘How did you manage to live without me?’ They said, ‘We lived just as eunuchs do, without having children through the organ of reproduction, but living through prana, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and knowing through the mind.’ So the organ of reproduction re-entered the body.

Then as the prana was about to go out, it uprooted those organs just as a great, female horse pulls out the pegs to which her feet are tied. The organs immediately pleaded, ‘ Please do not go out, sir, we cannot live without you.’ Thus prana was identified as that without which the body is worse off and will not survive.

‘All right, Then pay me a tribute.’

The organ of speech said, ‘ That attribute of the Vasishtha which I have is yours.’

The eye said, ‘ That attribute of steadiness which I have is yours.’

The ear, ‘That attribute of prosperity which I have is yours.’

The mind said, ‘That attribute of abode which I have is yours.’

 The organ of reproduction: said, That attribute of reproduction which I have is yours.’

All the gunas, the organs had, be they karmendriya – organ of action, jnanendriya – organ of knowledge or even the mind manas, they acknowledged that the gunas belonged to prana alone and thus glorified prana. Even the very fact that they could glorify was because of the presence of prana.

We acknowledge and marvel at this subtle form called prana or Vayu at the level of totality which cannot be seen but experienced all the time as Ishvara.  And hence we can so effortlessly say in the shanti mantra – Namaste Vayo. Tvameva pratyaksham brahmaasi. You indeed are Brahman.

Although we think and speak of breath as ‘my breath’ it is not something that belongs to any one of us and cannot be possessed.   Prana or breath is available to us as a gift, always enveloping us in an embrace every moment of our lives. 

Living beings in Sanskrit are called prani, which literally means ‘those who breathe’. Breathing is the most powerful indicator of presence of life in the human body.

And yet, the question that begs to be asked is – Does prana function independently or does it depend on anything else?    

Prana is an important aspect of the subtle body which pervades the gross physical body. The subtle body is that which is Apanchikrt-panachamahbhutyai  made of the ungrossified five great elements and consists of panch-jnanendriyani, viz., five sense organs of knowledge, panch-karmendriyani – Five organs of action, panchapranadayah – Five fold pranas which is like an energy system that makes the functions of respiration, digestion, circulation, assimilation and evacuation possible. In addition to these 15, manas, buddhi, chittam and ahankara. 

manas which is the seat of desires, buddhi, the intellect which is the deciding function, chittam which is the memory of experiences and finally the ahankara, the sense of I who holds its all together.  

How did the sukshma sharira, subtle body come about?

satkarma janyam, is born of the (past) right actions,

What is its function? sukha-dukhadi bhoga sadhanam,  the instrument for all the experience of pleasures, sorrows, etc as it is the subtle body which pervades the entire gross body. It helps us to transact in the world.

So prana is really an aspect of our subtle body. And Atma, the limitless being is sharira vyatiriktaḥ – other than the body.

It is the Atma that is the basis of all life and not prana.

The physical body or the subtle body including the prana is neither self-existing nor self-sustaining.

If prana functioned independently we would not be able to perform pranayama.

Pranayama, one of the angas of Ashtanga Yoga involves accumulating, expanding and working with our prana. Think about it – If prana was indeed independent then how would we regulate it?

Without a doubt pranayama is an important part of one’s sadhana. But to equate oneself to one’s prana is an error that we refer to as pranamaya kosha. Identifying oneself only with prana and its many aspects is an error that needs to be corrected.

And so, it is amply clear that prana at the level of the individual cannot function on its own. Its total counterpart Vayu is also dependent on something else.

In the absence of Atma, the body is jadam, inert, lifeless matter. If you are not fully convinced and think prana is life, try seeing the poignant scene of oxygen being pumped into a lifeless body. Surely with the help of oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators we could have lived forever if indeed prana alone sustained life. 

It sounds ironical that prana gives life but its form is not the basis of life. Prana is not self-existent.

Ishvara is present as the Atma, that Atma which is other than the gross, subtle and causal body. To dwell more on this, please listen to episode 164 – Who dies? The Atma or the body?

In the absence of the invisible Atma, as Chandogya Upanishad puts it, the body will not live.

The Taittiriya Upanishad indicates this – tasmaat va etasmaat Akaasha sambhutah. Akaashaat vayu: when revealing how Brahman manifested as space from which came air. Both space and air are karyam, effect and cannot exist without the cause, Brahman that is the Atma.  Later the Upanishad says, Bheeshaasmaat vaatah pavate. The air, vayu performs its function of moving in fear-like reverence. It cannot function on its own. It has a dependent existence on Brahman.    

The Kena Upanishad speaks of Brahman or God as pranasya pranah – the breath of the breath.

Katha Upanishad describes Ishvara as urdhvam praanam unnayati apaanam pratyagasyati – the one who pushes the prana upwards and downwards.

Taittiriya Upanisad also rhetorically asks – Who would breathe in and who would breathe out if God was not there? In fact for most of the time we are not aware that we are breathing. Like the breath, Ishvara or Brahman sustains our life. Just as inattentive as we are to Ishvara, so too we are to our breath.

Just as Vayu, air has no boundaries, Ishvara or the Atma that is you cannot be contained within any boundaries. 

You are free of prana and as though lend reality to prana

You as the Atma are ever free, boundless. Here and Everywhere.

Then and Now.