The Aitareya Upanishad -4.



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Friday, April 23, 2021. 11:57. AM.
The Aitareya Upanishad -4.
Section 2.
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1. Indeed in a person this one first becomes an embryo. That which is called retas is a culmination of the vigor coming from the limbs of the body. In the self only one bears the self. By shedding it into a female, he gives birth to it. This is the first birth.

2. It enters into the self of the female, as if it is a limb of her. Therefore it does not cause her any harm. She nourishes this self of his that has come into her.

3. She is the one who nourishes, so should she be nourished. She bears him in her womb. Before the birth he nourishes the child, so does he after his birth. He thus nourishes his own self, for the continuation of the worlds. The worlds are sustained in this manner only. This is the second birth.

4. He who is thus born of his own self, becomes the substitute for performing the deeds. After completing his works, he departs. Departing thus he is born again. This is his third birth. This what the seers said.

5. "While I was in the womb, I knew all the births of the gods. A hundred walls made of steel, protected me. I burst out of them with the speed of a hawk," Vamadeva spoke this verse while lying in the womb.

6. He who knows all this, when the body is dissolved, travels heavenward and enjoys al the heavenly desires. He becomes immortal, yes immortal.

These verses explain the triple births of a human being. Contrary to the popular opinion, the Vedic people believed that the father of a child also played a prominent part in the birth of the child not only by contributing the male seed but also by bearing the soul of the child in the male sac before transferrring it to the mother through intercourse. In the previous section we learned that the Self resides in three bodies. Those three bodies are reveaked here, the body of the father, mother and own body. According to early Vedic beliefs, a father is born again through his son. Hence the expression in the 4th verse, "who is thus born of his own Self." We also have a clear reference to rebirth.

NEXT-Chapter 3
To be continued ...





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