“Countless men will die in this war,” lamented Arjuna. Open it and you find the first chapter called “The Yoga of Arjuna’s Dejection.” What was Arjuna’s dejection? Was he gloomy about some worldly issue, about relatives and friends? If so, why was his despair given the noble title of yoga? No, no, his grief was not related to worldly joys, friends and relatives, money, power, or fame. The Bhagavad Gita is the scripture acknowledged and accepted by peoples of all countries and faiths. The yearning for the divine vision, permanent bliss, and merger with God gradually becomes a fire within, known as sokagni. What is this sorrow? It is not sorrow born out of unsatisfied worldly desires. Next comes sokagni ( soka means “sorrow”), the fire of sorrow. Kamagni ( kama means “desire”), the third, is the craving of desires, which assaults the mind endlessly. The second fire, mandagni ( manda means “slow,” “sluggish,” “lazy,” “dumb”) is the suffering of indigestion arising from overeating.
This text talks about the “five fires.” The first is udaragni ( udara plus agni ), the fire of the stomach. The teachings of this Upanishad are absolutely necessary for everyone, irrespective of age, status, and other conditions. The Taittiriya Upanishad propagates lessons indispensable to all-students, householders, retirees, and renunciates. There is a secret in the Upanishads: They can be interpreted in more than one way, based on the state of the interpreter. These truths in the form of brief aphorisms are mantras known the world over, granting wisdom and delight to mankind. Sages describe it in various ways.)Įkovasi sarvabhutaantaratma (The One is the indweller in all beings.)Įkoham bahusyam (The One manifests as many.) Satyam jnanam anantam Brahma (God is truth and wisdom and is infinite.)Įkam sat Vipraah badhudaa vadanti (Truth is One. Satyam vada, dharma chara (Speak the truth, follow righteousness.) Every verse, every word of this Upanishad, is a potent mantra because it has reverberated in human minds since time immemorial. No, no, whatever is recalled again and again and made steady in your mind is a mantra. What is meant by the word mantra? You think that only invocations like the five-syllabled Om namah Shivayah or the eight-syllabled Om namo Narayanaya are mantras. The Taittiriya Upanishad belongs to the Taittiriya branch of the Dark Yajur Veda. This Upanishad asserts that the journey of life is to progress from food to bliss. This is the main teaching of Taittiriya Upanishad. He experiences the joy and bliss emanating from good actions. While working, you must ask yourself three questions: What am I doing? Why am I doing it? How am I doing it? When man inquires into the what, where, and how, he can achieve victory in his efforts and derive self-satisfaction.Īs man observes the world, he assimilates the good around him and tries to put it into practice. To eat and laze around is not human nature. Why? Food satisfies the body, not the mind. However, man cannot rest contented by merely filling his stomach. Morality, character, and human values are shattered.Įveryone needs food to survive. Social norms of behavior have drowned in the Ganga.Ĭontentment has disappeared from the minds of people.