The Chandogya Upanishad : 8&9. Swami Krishnananda

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07/01/2020.
Chapter -1 : Vaishvanara-Vidya -8.&9.
8. Water as the Lower Belly of the Universal Self &
9. The Earth as the Feet of the Universal Self :

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8. Water as the Lower Belly of the Universal Self :

Budila Asvatarasvi, the other hero, was questioned :

"What is it that you are meditating upon?"

"I meditate on Water, Your Highness."

There are people who meditate on the ocean as a symbol of Brahman, just as there are people who contemplate Space as such a symbol.

"I contemplate Water as symbolic of Reality (the ocean perhaps), as an endless expanse. This is my Atman."

The king said : "This meditation is good so far as it goes, on account of which you are endowed with plenty of every kind. Water is the source of foodstuff and wealth and strength. It is the cause of the abundance of foodstuff especially in your house. And so is the case with anyone who thus meditates. But, this is also a defective form of meditation because it is the lower belly, as it were, of the cosmic Vaishvanara. It is just the watery element of the whole cosmic embodiment. It is one of the constituents of the Universal body; it is not the entire structure in its totality. If you had not come to me, you would have had a physical illness of this part of the body which is abundant with water. Your body would have failed or some such thing would have taken place, and you would have perished as a consequence of this defective meditation."
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9. The Earth as the Feet of the Universal Self :

Then the king puts the question to Uddalaka Aruni himself : "What is it that you are meditating upon?"

Uddalaka said: "I meditate upon the Earth in its comprehensiveness as Reality, Your Highness."

The king said : "This is all right, and so you have great virtue following from this meditation. You enjoy and see what is dear. As the Earth is the foundation of all things, you are well-founded in life. And so shall be anyone who meditates as you do. But, the Earth is only the footstool of the Vaishvanara-Atman, as it were. The Earth is like the feet of the Universal Self. It is the feet of the Atman because it is the lowest degree among the manifestations of Reality. If you had not come to me, something untoward would have happened to your feet. They would have withered away. Then you would have gone on crutches."
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NEXT. 10. The Self as the Universal Whole
To be continued ...
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