Questions for Angiras

In ancient India, a very wise man named Angiras (Ung-gee-ross) lived in a hut in the forest. He had inherited all his wisdom from his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. One day he was seated in front of the hut when a young man from the village came up to him. This was a man well-known as the owner of land, wise in the ways of the world. He said to the sage, "People speak of knowing this subject and that science, and they brag about it; I want to know from you if there is something I can learn which will explain everything to me."

Angiras looked at him steadily. "There are really two kinds of knowledge," he replied, "and one of them is higher and the other is lower. The lower knowledge is of hymns and scriptures, rituals, grammar, poetry, astrology and other such sciences... but the higher knowledge leads a man to that which never dies. That is called the Indestructible."

"Yes, sir," said the young man. "That is what I want to know about."

"Then, listen well. The Indestructible cannot be picked up like this stick or that stone. It belongs to no family, nor to any caste. It neither sees nor hears, It has no hands or feet, It is forever. Wherever you go It is there; you cannot leave It; It is all around you.

"But It is very fine, very subtle, and that is why you do not see It. Everything else has come out of this Indestructible, you see. You know how a spider spins out her thread from her own body, and draws it back with her arms, or how plants grow from the soil, or how hair grows on a person's body. In that same way, the whole universe emerges from that Indestructible Being.

Thus did my ancestors see in their wisdom, and thus did they impart the knowledge to me, and, more than that, thus have I seen for myself."

"Sir," the young man said, "I need you to teach me more. I have been thinking within myself, 'What am I working toward, after all, in this short life? Just to satisfy some little desires? But how can that lead me to something which is forever?' So I decided to gather some firewood and go in search of a teacher of holy wisdom. And people told me about you. 'Is he learned,' I asked, 'one whose mind is filled with Truth?' Now I come to you in all faith and reverence: please teach me further."

In those days, the sages and saints, who made their homes in the fields or forests, lived a very simple life. They would build a small fire for performing the ceremonies prescribed in their scriptures, or for cooking their food and for warmth in the winter. So when a seeker of Truth wanted to become a pupil of such a sage, he would gather firewood in a bundle and go to him with this fuel as a gift and sign of respect.

Now Angiras understood that here was one whose mind was not constantly restless with desires, one who was fit to receive the higher knowledge. And he began to tell him more of the indestructible being called Brahman.

Fire

"As from a blazing fire, thousands of sparks of fire fly out, so these various beings you see in the world all spring forth from Brahman and go back to Him again. Pure, higher than the highest, He has no body, no breath, no mind; He is inside and outside everything. Yet, from Brahman have come your life, your mind, eyes, ears, hands, feet, space and air, light and water, and the very earth itself. It is He who binds all these together.

"About Him, my boy, they recite this poem:

'Fire is His head, His eyes are the sun and moon;
His ears, the directions -- north, south, east and west;
His breath is the wind, the Vedas his voice;
Under his feet the earth has sprung up,
And all things know Him as their innermost Self.'

"My boy, the man who knows this secret, hidden in the cave of the heart, breaks open, here and now, the knot of ignorance.

"The instruction I give you, called Upanishad, "Angiras went on, "will be your bow. Your mind, sharpened by worship and meditation, will be the arrow. Fixing it on the bow, with full concentration, draw back and hit the target, the Indestructible Brahman. There is a sacred word -- OM -- which is the bow; your own self is the arrow and Brahman is the target. Without trembling, hit the mark, and like the arrow, lose yourself in It! Then all the knots of the heart are broken, all doubts disappear and all actions trail away when He is realized, who is the farthest away of the far away, the nearest of the near, the light of lights."

"Sir," said the disciple, "you have called this Brahman my 'inner self'. Then tell me about how I can reach in to find this Self; how may I feel it is as my Self?"

Angiras replied, "I will give you an illustration."

Two birds in a tree

"This body is like a tree in which two birds roost. They look alike, wearing beautiful feathers, and they are fast friends. The lower bird is tasting the fruits of the tree and some are sweet but others are sour. The higher bird sits in majesty, merely looking on. One day, the lower bird, getting tired of all this, weeps at his forlorn state. Then, looking up at his friend above, so silent and so calm, he hops up nearer to him. As he approaches the higher bird, the lower one is surprised to find that the upper bird is just himself -- his true Self -- sitting there all the while, unattached and at peace. Then his grief disappears. Then he knows that his ego never was real; the Self was the real, the observer of all.

"This Self," Angiras continued, "cannot be reached by much talking or thinking, or even by great study of scriptures. If the Self itself chooses a man, that man may reach It. To him, this Self reveals Its true nature. But mark this well: That Self can never be won by one who is weak, or careless, or practices foolish bodily tortures. Only if a person tries by strength, by earnestness and right meditation, does he or she reach the home of Brahman."

"And, sir, what happens to one who reaches that?"

"Then, just as the many rivers flow into the one ocean, losing their names and forms, so the wise person, free from name and body, enters into that Divine Being, higher than the highest. My son, when you know that Brahman, you become that Brahman. You cross beyond all sorrow and evil. You become immortal."