Eye the abode of the gods - The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Eye the abode of the gods - The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

by Swami Krishnananda

The Vital Force Embodied in a Person


tam etaḥ saptᾱkṣitaya upatiṣṭhante. tad yᾱ imᾱ akṣan lohinyo rᾱjayaḥ, tᾱbhir enaṁ rudro'nvᾱyattaḥ; atha yᾱ akṣann ᾱpas tᾱbhiḥ parjanyaḥ; yᾱ kanīnakᾱ, tayᾱ ᾱdityaḥ; yat kṛṣṇam, tena agniḥ; yat śuklam, tena indraḥ; adharayainaṁ vartanyᾱ pṛthivy anvᾱyattᾱ; dyaur uttarayᾱ; nᾱsyᾱnnaṁ ksīyate ya evaṁ veda.

This Prāṇa is manifest through the sense-organs. It is actively manifest through the senses particularly because of their desire for objects. One of the senses through which it is predominantly active is the organ of sight. The eyes are supposed to be indicative, to some extent, of the entire personality of the individual. There are certain physicians who can diagnose the disease of a person merely by looking at the eyes.

The iris of the eye is an indication of what the entire system is. (An extra scientific info - as our palm is unique for every human, the iris is also unique for every being in this world)

That's what it's said rightly as "Iris is the greek goddess of speech and rainbows" symbolically. Rainbows symbollically means the 7 colours inside our pupil as seven layers which you will identify once you go deeper in the meditation.....

The same is said in hinduism symbolically as "Nama", so the nama japam became famous, but the inner meaning is very deep towards silence not chanting.... or the holy word in other religions.

In Deuteronomy 32:10, God tells us He watches us as “the apple of His eye.” 

Meaning of the phrase, “apple of the eye.” This term, taken originally from Scripture, means to be a reflection and in Psalm 17:8, David asks God to keep him as the “apple of His eye.”The Old English says this is the pupil of the eye for some felt that an apple and thepupil look alike.

The pupil, we know, is the clear center part of our eye where light enters. So we might say David wanted God to keep him as the core or center of His focus.

"Thou art like unto the pupil of the eye
which is dark in colour,
yet it is the fount of light
and the revealer of the contingent world."
-`Abdu'l-Bahá

`Abdu'l-Bahá, inThe Advent of Divine Justice, p. 31

The pupil is said in singular, reason, the light glowing from inside the atmastanam(our geocentre where our soul is) till the pupils is one and only one, it glitters inside and is reflected in the pupils, so pupil is mentioned as one..... so this pupil is the gate ( as symbollically told as entrance of the vaikunda also.....)

The Pupil
The pupil of the eye is a portal which admits and regulates the flow of light to the retina.Without this passage, no images are perceived. At the retina, our consciousness is intimately in contact with physical reality, for the brain's cells themselves flow out to the retina to receive information through the illumination modulated by the pupil.

The pupil has the dual function of light gathering and modulation. Light, which unites all colors and is composed of all colors, illumines physical reality, but at the same time its intensity can destroy the delicate structures of the eye. When light levels are high, it constricts to protect the retina from intense and even damaging exposure. Since sight is often described as our most precious sensory ability, we can say that the pupil helps to protect this most precious gift. On the other hand, when there is very little light the pupil admits more light through dilating, thus permitting sight even in very dark places.


The black appearance of the pupil is deceptive. The pupil appears black only until the inside of the eye is illumined. Then it becomes radiant, filled with a warm, reddish-orange glow. With this reflection from the inside of the eye, the pupil itself becomes a source of illumination. This is why the pupil(after ignited/illuminated state, not in the normal condition) is called as the "Apple of his Eye".


A person whose pupil is in this colour can be told the real sanyasi who wears saffron colour.... this is the real saffron cloth worn by a sanyasi, not the physical body's dress.... kindly understand............

The most remarkable quality of the pupil is that despite its vital service, it is the embodiment of "the hollow reed from which the pith of self hath been blown," for it is the absence of physical structure that permits it to facilitate the harmonious functioning of all the other components of the eye that make sight possible.
-Dr. May Khadem Czerniejewski and Dr. Richard Czerniejewski

 There are others who can study the entire personality by looking at the soles of the feet. And there are occult teachers who tell us that the Cakras, or plexuses, studied in the Kundalini-Yoga system, are within the skull only; they are inside the head of a person, and not in the trunk of the body, as usually held. 

The idea is that the whole system above the neck is regarded as a centre for the operation of the other activities, as if it is the main switchboard for the entire activity of the total personality. Everything that is in us is microscopically and subtly present in the head. Here a special mention is being made of the action of the eye as the abode of the gods. How it is the abode of the gods is stated further.

Seven indestructible powers wait upon this Prāṇa. The seven gods are the seven powers. Seven superhuman energies are guarding this Prāṇa that is lodged in the individual. They take care of it – tam etaḥ saptᾱkṣitaya upatiṣṭhante.

What are these seven energies? (The saptha rishis)

Yᾱ imᾱ akṣan lohinyo rᾱjayaḥ, tᾱbhir enaṁ rudro'nvᾱyattaḥ: The red streaks in the eye are the passage of the action of Rudra. This divinity is supposed to be presiding over, superintending over, or acting upon, or lodged in that particular psychic manifestation in the eyes which is visible outside as the red streaks. 

Atha yᾱ akṣann ᾱpas tᾱbhiḥ parjanyaḥ: The liquid portion that is visible in the eyes is presided over by Parjanya, Varuṇa, as the deity. 

Yᾱ kanīnakᾱ, tayᾱ ᾱdityaḥ: The pupil of the eye is presided over by Āditya (Sun). 

Yat kṛṣṇam, tena agniḥ: The black spot in the eye is presided over by Agnī (Fire). 

Yat śuklam, tena indraḥ; adharayainaṁ vartanyᾱ pṛthivy anvᾱyattᾱ; dyaur uttarayᾱ: What is white in the eye is presided over by Indra. (this is why we say, indra has the white elephant, so understand where the devas are)

The lower eyelid is presided over by the principle of Prithivi (earth), which pulls it down.

The upper eyelid is presided over by Dyaus, the atmospheric region. 

All these are the food, as it were, of the Prāṇa, food because they wait upon it for their own sustenance. They protect it as long as it is inside the body. 

The cosmic divinities are minutely present as hidden forces even in this little organ of the eye. One who knows this is filled with abundance of every kind. 

Nᾱsyᾱnnaṁ ksīyate ya evaṁ veda: One who knows the secret, as to how the divinities themselves are waiting upon the individual in this manner, draws all sustenance from everything in this world, and everything waits upon this individual. The quarters of the world, the deities of the heaven, the divinities that preside over the different manifestations in creation, perpetually take care of such a person. 

It is on account of the action of these divinities that this body is existing at all. Thecementing force, as we may call it, which keeps the various parts of the bodily personality intact, is the divinity that is presiding over us. It is God that is working through us, finally. 

One who knows this in deep meditation, one who realises this secret in one's life, does not lack anything. Everything comes to that person automatically, as a food and support. 

Saptha rishis:

1.    tad eṣa śloko bhavati: arvᾱg-bilaś camasa ῡrdhva-budhnaḥ, tasmin yaśo nihitaṁ viśva-rῡpam: tasyᾱsata ṛṣayaḥ sapta-tīre, vᾱg aṣṭamī brahmaṇᾱ saṁvidᾱna iti. 'arvᾱg-bilaś camasa ῡrdhva-budhnaḥ' itīdam tac chiraḥ, eṣa hy arvᾱgbilaś camasa ῡrdhva-budhnaḥ, tasmin yaśo nihitaṁ viśvarῡpam' iti, prᾱṇa vai yaśo nihitaṁ viśva-rῡpam, prᾱṇᾱn etad ᾱha. 'tasyᾱsata ṛṣayaḥ sapta-tīre' iti, prᾱṇᾱ vᾱ ṛṣayaḥprᾱṇᾱn etad ᾱha. 'vᾱg aṣṭamī brahmaṇᾱ samvidᾱnᾱ' iti, vᾱg aṣṭamī brahmaṇᾱ saṁvitte.

There is a saying in this connection, an old maxim quoted by the Upaniṣhad, a mystical comparison of the head of the individual to the abode of divinities, for the purpose ofmeditation. 



This passage describes a bowl whose mouth is below and which is bulging on the top. The rotundity of this bowl is on the top; its opening is at the bottom. In this is hidden immense magnificence (yaśo viśva-rūpam). All the glory of the heavens is hidden within this bowl. 



The seven great sages also have their abode inside this. Not only the seven sages, the powers in us, including speech, the eighth, which is an embodiment of Vedic knowledge; are this little cup whose building part is on the top, whose mouth is below. 



This is a mystical passage, as is the one we have already studied just prior to it. The Upaniṣhad itself tells us what is this mystery, what are the seven sages and what is this bulging cup, etc.


This head of ours, in this body, is the bowl, the cup. Its round part is on the top; its mouth is at the bottom. We know very well what this means. 

Tasmin yaśo nihitaṁ viśvarῡpam' iti, prᾱṇa vai yaśo nihitaṁ viśva-rῡpam, prᾱṇᾱn etad ᾱha:Inside this skull, inside this head, is all the energy of the universe. Here is the force of all creation in the form of understanding, thinking and sensation. Whatever value we have in us is due to the understanding that we exercise, the way in which the senses act, and the manner in which the mind thinks, etc. All this is the action that is taking place within the head only. So, it is the glory of the individual; it is all glory, indeed. 



The entire magnificence of creation, in a sense, is present within the head of man.


Here, the seven sages of yore also have their abode. The sages were masters who plumbed the depths of being, realised the cosmic reality, and were acclaimed as the seven great adepts in all creation. These sages are mentioned here. 



And the Upaniṣhad says that they are not far away; they are not living in the forest; they are not in the higher regions in space and time; they are not in Mahar-Loka, Jana-Loka, Tapo-Loka, or Satya-Loka, as the Purāṇas may tell us, as if they are far off somewhere. No, they are inside this head; they are within us. Where they are will be mentioned. The different sense functions themselves are the working of these sages. 



And the speech in us is capable of manifesting the Vedas as knowledge. This is connected with the highest wisdom because the energy of the Prāṇa that is manifest through speech is capable of the highest expression for which it is competent, and the loftiest expression of speech is the recitation of the Vedas. Every other woe, every other chant, any other speech, is secondary it.

1.    imᾱv eva gotama-bharadvᾱjau, ayam eva gotamah, ayam bharadvᾱjaḥ; imᾱv eva viṣvᾱmitra-jamadagnī, ayam eva viśvᾱmitraḥ, ayam jamadagniḥ; imᾱv eva vasiṣṭha- kaśyapau, ayam eva vasiṣṭhaḥ, ayaṁ kaśyapaḥ; vᾱg evᾱtriḥ, vᾱcᾱ hy annam adyate, attir ha vai nᾱmaitad yad atrir iti; sarvasyᾱttᾱ bhavati, sarvam asyᾱnnam bhavati, ya evaṁ veda.

The great sages, Gotama and Bharadvᾱja, two of the seven masters, are seated in the two ears the person. 



Inside the right ear is Gotama, and in the left ear is Bharadvᾱja.


So, if you want to contact these sages, you can contact them through the ears themselves by concentration on the divinities of these ears. This right ear is the abode of Gotama, and the left ear is the abode of sage Bharadvᾱja. 



The sage Viśvamitra and Jamadagni, two others out of seven, are also here in us. You can invoke them, if you want, within your own personality. They are inside the two apertures of sight. In the right eye we have Viśvamitra's abode; in the left eye there is the abode of Jamadagni. This right eye itself is Viśvamitra; the left eye is Jamadagni.


The secret of the gayathri manthra is kaya + thiri mantra.... meaning of kayam - immortal, thiri - which helps to ignite fire absorbing the oil/ghee..... what we do.... we twist 3 thiris together to lit lamp? Why? the light from the soul part, the light that is reflected in the pupils, altogether - 3, our duty in this birth is to unite these 3 lights within, this is called as "Mukthi" - muthi , 3 kinds of fire, 3 kinds of light , joining and making them to one is termed as mukthi, immortality and it is given to us by Viswamitra, so understand, why it's told Viswamitra is the one who gave the Gayathri mantra, only he can give..... that's the greatness of our right pupil and the light that shines there...... Kindly understand......



The sages Vasiṣṭha and Kaśyapa also are inside us. The right nostril is the abode of Vasiṣṭha; the left nostril is the site of Kasyapa. So, I have mentioned to you, says the Upaniṣhad, you need not go in search of Vasiṣṭha or Kaśyapa somewhere. They are here in the right nostril and the left nostril. By contemplation you may invoke them. 



The sage Atri, who is the seventh, is the tongue. As a matter of fact, the Upaniṣhad says the word Atri has come from the word Atti, to eat, to consume, to take, to swallow, which is done by the organ of the tongue. So, Atti has become Atri. The seventh sage is Atri; he is in the tongue. So, he can be invoked through this particular organ – 


vᾱcᾱ hy annam adyate, attir ha vai nᾱmaitad yad atrir iti; sarvasyᾱttᾱ bhavati, sarvam asyᾱnnam bhavati, ya evaṁ veda. 



One who knows this secret of the presence of cosmic energies, such as the sages and the wisdom of all the Vedas as present in one's own being, becomes an embodiment of all the powers of the sages, and of the wisdom of the Vedas.


The strength that the ancient masters had through practice of penance can be invoked in our own self by similar meditations, because all the secrets of the cosmos are hiddenly deposited, as it were, in our own internal personality. They do not manifest themselves ordinarily, because our individuality has taken possession of us. 



We have not yet become catholic enough to embrace, within our personality, the different forces which work outside the body, though it is true that even the existence and the function of this body is due to the operation of these forces. Even the physical body cannot exist if the five elements do not cooperate. Little portions of the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether – have been put together into the formation of this body, and they are held together in union by a force that is inside. 



If this cementing element in is withdrawn, the components of the body go back to their sources. But this is not the whole story. Everything in us, inside the physical body, the subtle body, and what is in the mind, what is in the intellect and everything inside us – all this, also, is finally controlled by higher forces. 



The various realms of being, the different planes, the various degrees manifestation of reality, are all located, in one way or other, in our own body. So, it is rightly said that this body of ours is the Pindānda, and the whole universe is Brahmanda. It is called Pindānda because it is a small universe, while the outer one is the larger universe in comparison with it. Whatever is outside in the larger universe is also within the small universe. It is a universe by itself. The sun and the moon and the thunder and the clouds and the rain and the wind that blows, and everything that we see outside in space is also in the inside space, says the Chhāndogya Upaniṣhad. Thus, here is a meditation to commingle the inward personality with the outer cosmos, so that the powers of the universe get realised in one's own being in meditation.