The Aitareya Upanishad -2.

 


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The Aitareya Upanishad -2.
 Section 2.
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Sunday, April 11, 2021. 09:57. AM.
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1. The divinities so created fell into the great ocean (of life). The Self subjected them to hunger and thirst. And they asked Him, "Find out an abode for us where we can sit and eat food."

2. He brought for them a cow. They said, "No, this is not enough for us" He gave them a horse. They said, "No this is not enough for us."

3. He brought for them a person. They said this was an appropriate creation. A person is indeed an appropriate creation. He said to them, "Enter your respective parts."

All beings in creation are subjected to desires, which at the most basic level manifest as hunger and thirst. Without the two the physiological needs life will not be possible. In the absence of desires people will not perform any karmas, which will result in chaos and social disorder. Thereby the order and regularity of the worlds will be severely compromised. Imagine a world in which people do not experience any hunger or thirst. That world would be full of lazy people or people who would show no interest in doing anything. Hunger and thirst force all living beings to participate in their struggle for survival and create in the process the forward movement of our world, and the progression of life through the complete time cycle and all divisions of time.

Hence, even gods (compared here to sense organs) are subject to hunger and thirst. Since they cannot make food for themselves, they face even a greater predicament. For their nourishment, they depend upon the body, which is symbolically equal to the mortal world. The verses 2-3 contain the rudimentary notions of the evolution of human body from primitive life forms such as a four footed animal like cow or a horse, which were not found suitable for the functioining of the sense orgas. Hence, they pressed the creator for more suitable body and were happy with the human body.

 4. Fire becoming speech entered the mouth. Air becoming breath entered the nostrils. The sun becoming sight entered the eyes. The directions of space, becoming hearing entered the ears. Plants and trees becoming hair, entered the skin. The moon becoming mind, entered the heart. Death becoming the outgoing breath, entered the navel. Water becoming male fluid entered the reproductive organs.

Here we have a detailed account of how the elements transformed into various parts of the body. Fire became speech. Air became breath. Light became the eyes. Thus the five elements provided the material for the emergence of the sense organs. the moon is the source of the mind. In the macrocosm it is compared to the world of ancestors. Intelligence is usually compared to Brahman, which is however not mentioned here. Death is always related to the outgoing breath, because when breath departs from the body a person dies. So the outgoing movement of the breath is naturally tied to death. The seminal fluid is generally compared to water because according to Vedic beliefs water is the source of all life. The souls that fall from the world of ancestors enter the plants through water. Then when those plants are consumed by humans and animals they enter those bodies and travel into the region where male seed is produced.

5. To Him hunger and thirst said, " Please find out an abode for us also." And he replied, "For you I create a place in these divinities and make you both co-sharers with them." Therefore whatever offering is made to a divinity, hunger and thirst co-share it with the divinity.

To be continued ....


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