There, The Sun Shines Not
The “Light Mantra” from the Katha Upanisad (and others) was the subject of the last SRV kids retreat.
(Aum) Na tatra suryo bhati na chandratarakam
nema vidyuto bhanti kutoyamagnih
tameva bhantamanubhati sarvam
tasya bhasa sarvamidam vibhati
Aum shantih shantih shantih
There, within the innermost Consciousness of every living being, the sun shines not, nor moon, nor stars, nor fire, nor lightning, much less this tiny mortal flame (of prana). That One light shining, all else shines. By Its light all is made radiant. (May the hearts and minds of all beings perceive this Light. May all beings be illumined.) Om peace, peace, peace.
In previous years, we have prepared our children for this teaching by introducing them to the teaching of the 4 states of consciousness (waking, dream, deep sleep, and Turiya), as well as the 5 Koshas/coverings of the body-mind complex over Atman, the true Self. These koshas consist of: anna/matter, prana/life force, manas/mind, vijnana/intellect, and ananda/ego/separate “I”-sense.
The four states of consciousness holds the easiest key to understanding this beautiful sloka. In the waking state, our external senses engage with external objects. In the dream state, all interactions occur in the mind. In deep sleep, there are no objects at all, yet, there is a witness, a seer of this formless state. That seer is based in Turiya, all-pervasive Consciousness. So the children (and adults) can see that in the deep sleep state the sun does not shine, or the moon, stars, fire, or lightning because there are no objects in that state. However, the innermost Seer/Consciousness remains. It is the witness and purveyor of perceptibility to all states of consciousness and their respective objects or lack thereof.
The following is one of the lessons from this retreat, with some additional comments:
Lesson Three:
Na tatra suryo bhati na chandra-tarakam
n’ema vidyuto bhanti kuto’yam agnih
(There)…the sun shines not, nor the moon, nor stars, nor lightning, nor fire, much less this tiny mortal flame of prana
Story:
Once there was a firefly floating on the evening breeze over a cool, sweet-smelling pond that was reflecting the stars above. He thought to himself, “see how bright I am! I shine like the stars in the sky. He hovered over the little pond admiring himself shining in the reflection along with all the stars. As he did so, the moon came out and all the stars disappeared and he could no longer see his reflection. (Why?) He flew away feeling so small. But far above the Earth, the moon looked down upon the ocean and thought, “Oh, I am so radiant! I light the waves, the hills, the trees, and all the waters and clouds with my beautiful silvery light.” As she traveled the dome of the sky she felt so proud. But as she approached the horizon, a bright yellow-orange-pink glow appeared behind her. This light grew brighter and brighter until her silvery light seemed only a faded echo. Then the sun rose above the water and no more could the moon be seen. Now the sun lighted the entire landscape, and traveled across a clear blue sky, his brilliance reflecting off of all waters, glass, leaves, and rocks, infusing plants and animals with energy. “No one is brighter than I am, he thought.” Is that true?
[Note: In lesson 2, the children were reminded that there is always a witness of phenomena via a riddle we call “the secret teaching of the hand,” which brings forward this awareness from within the student. The question is asked: “What do you have to know before you can see my hand?” Answer: “My own existence.” They are not told the answer, but guided to it based on their initial answers. When the child understands this riddle, the look on her face is quite wonderful. For some of the children, as they mature in mind, it has become a way to retrace their steps back to recognition of the presence of Atman, the untouched Witness of all. With regard to the story above, the sun’s brilliance is made possible by Consciousness, which is the sole observer. As stated in the Hasta Amalaka Stotram:
Without the sun, no terrestrial actions are possible,
Yet the light of Timeless Awareness allows the sun its moment of glory.
That inner Radiance, vast and conditionless,
illumines the corridors of mind and senses.
And That Light am I, pure and boundless, attributeless and free.]
Lesson 3 Riddle:
To see the sunrise where do you need to stand? To see the sun rise and set where do you need to stand? To see the sun rise over the whole Earth, where do you need to stand? To see the moon circle the Earth, where do you need to stand? To see the planets of our solar system circle the Sun, where do you need to stand? To see the galaxies expand and contract where do you need to be? To see the entire universe projected and dissolved, where do you need to “be”?
[Note: This riddle is designed to encourage the student to think in a wider and wider scope. A parent with access to Google Earth can help with the first parts, but it takes knowledge of cosmology and philosophy to unravel the final questions. The teacher/parent should be familiar with how the 3 relative states of consciousness at the individual level (vyasti) pair up with the three bodies of gross, subtle, and causal, and how these correlate at the cosmic/collective levels (samasti) of existence. (Please refer to the chart accompanying this blog – the link is just below the photo at the bottom.) For example: the waking state of the individual is experienced in one’s gross (physical) body; at the cosmic level, one’s body (or the Lord/Mother’s body) is made of all the gross bodies of all the gross universes – all planets, stars, living beings, plants, etc. Instead of being conscious only of one’s individual body, a shift of consciousness can take one to identification with all manifestations in the gross universe. The individual dreaming state is associated with the subtle/mental body and the dreams and thinking processes of a person. At the collective and cosmic level, this is the Lord’s Cosmic Mind, manifesting and encompassing all the subtle realms or heavens and the departed souls and celestial beings that inhabit these realms. The deep sleep state of consciousness at the individual level is a state of peaceful formlessness that is not remembered upon waking and represents our causal body whose chief characteristic is unknowingness or avidya/ignorance. All the forms of our individual waking and dream states have merged into this state of formlessness. Now, at the cosmic level, this state of formlessness is the cause of all the subtle and gross worlds/realms. Its consciousness is the Lord or Mother of the Universe (Ishvara/Ishvari) who is omniscient, being the Seer and formless refuge of all the realms, its beings and activities. Relative to the riddle above, one can postulate that to see the universe projected and dissolved requires that one “stand” where Ishvara is “standing.” Or, one must attain the realization of AUM. ]
Lesson 3 Discussion:
- Where does the sun’s light go on a cloudy day? Where does it go at night? Where does it go when you are asleep? Where does the sun’s light go when the sun is extinguished?
- If everyone in the entire world was in deep sleep at the same time, would the sun be shining? Who would see it?
- Do you use a flash light to see the sun? What happens if you try?
- What is prana? Where does it come from?
- Where does prana go when it leaves the body (at death)?
- Who sees the prana?
[Note: One of our first responsibilities as parents and religious/spiritual teachers of children is to inoculate them against the pervasive notion that we are the body. Part of this entails reasoning about the deathless nature of both absolute Consciousness and relative consciousness, and also the prana, life force, which is a vehicle for relative consciousness. Light is universally used to represent Consciousness, which is our true nature. Just as the physical sun does not disappear because of clouds or the turning of the earth, even so does the Light of Consciousness never waver even though the presence of the gunas of tamas and rajas seem to hide, diminish or distort Its brilliance. The questions above can be answered philosophically and cosmologically from the Vedanta and Sankhya, but the intention here is to encourage a child to generate awareness of Awareness and her birthless, deathless nature, and become accustomed to seeking for more and more subtle causes to phenomena.]
Lesson 3 Contemplation:
Close your eyes and think about all these different lights: fire, lightning, moon, stars, sun, and prana. How long do these lights last? Who sees all these lights come and go over time? Can these lights be seen without a seer?
That One Light Shining, all else Shines
As mentioned in my previous blog, a period of contemplation for each lesson is essential in order that the student find out what she knows from within. The lessons are but a catalyst. Further, we include one or more art or science projects as a way to integrate and assimilate the teachings. The concentration placed on these projects is another form of contemplation. This summer’s project was an illustration of the Light Mantra on a lampshade. The light bulb stands for the Light of Consciousness that illumines all else. Please see the photo attached to this blog.
“Spiritual knowledge is the only thing that can destroy our miseries forever; any other knowledge satisfies wants only for a time” — Sw. Vivekananda
