The Chandogya Upanishad - CH-2, SEC: 13.1.. Swami Krishnananda.

 

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Saturday, July 03, 2021. 9:34. PM.
Chapter Two: Uddalaka's Teaching Concerning the Oneness of the Self-12.
SECTION 13: THE INDWELLING SPIRIT (CONTINUED)—ILLUSTRATION OF SALT AND WATER -1.
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"Lavanam etad udake'vadhaya, atha ma pratar-upasidatha iti; sa ha tatha chakara; tam hovacha; yad-dosha lavanam udake'vadhah, anga tad-ahareti, taddhavamrsya na viveda; yatha vilinam evam."

"Bring a little salt and put it in a cup of water," said Uddalaka. The boy brought a cup of water and put some salt into it. "See me tomorrow morning," says the father. Sa ha tatha chakara-the boy does like that. Next morning the boy comes and greets the father and the father says, "Yesterday you put salt into the water; bring that salt." He goes there and sees that the salt is not there in the cup. What has happened to the salt? It has become one with the water. So he could not bring the salt.

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"Angasyantad-achameti, katham iti, lavanam iti, madhyad-achameti, katham iti, lavanam iti, antad-achameti, katham iti, lavanam iti, abhiprasyaitad-atha mopasidatha iti, taddha tatha chakara tac-chasvat samvartate; tam hovacha: atra vava kila sat, saumya, na nibhalayase, atraiva kila iti."

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"Sa ya esho'nimaitad-atmyam-idam sarvam tat-satyam sa atma tat-tvam-asi svetaketo iti, bhuya eva ma bhagavan vijnapayitu iti tatha saumya iti hovacha."

The boy says, "There is no salt in the water." Uddalaka says, "Now I shall prove that there is salt. You sip a little of the water from the top and tell me what the taste is." "It is saltish," says the boy. "You sip a little from the middle and tell me its taste." "It is salty." "You sip a little from any part of the water and see how it tastes." "All is salty." "So, now tell me, does the salt exist there or not?" "Yes, it does exist." "But you cannot see it, is it not?" "Yes, I cannot see it."

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Now, this is a proof to show that though we cannot see a thing, it can exist. Because the salt is dissolved in water, the former cannot be seen through the eyes, but through some other means, the organ of taste, we can discover that it is there. The generality of the salt, which has become indistinguishable from the body of the water, cannot be visibly seen with the eyes, no doubt, but we can find out that the salt is there by tasting the water. By one means we cannot see it, but by another means we can. Similar is the case with the Being that has entered into the substance of all this creation. In the same way as we cannot see the salt in water but we can verify its existence by some other means, that is, by tasting, we cannot see this Being in the particulars of this world through our organs including the internal organ, as it is dissolved in the particulars, as it were. But, by employing another means, other than the organs and the mind, we can find out that this Being is in every particular. And then we will find that It is everywhere in the universe, just as salt is everywhere in the saline water. Wherever we touch, we touch That only, just as wherever we touch the water which is saline, we are touching salt only in that water.

To be continued ....

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