The Chandogya Upanishad - CH-2, SEC: 16.1. Swami Krishnananda.

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Wednesday, August 25, 2021. 7:57. PM.
Chapter Two: Uddalaka's Teaching Concerning the Oneness of the Self-16-1.
SECTION 16: THE INDWELLING SPIRIT (CONTINUED)—ILLUSTRATION OF THE ORDEAL -1
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Purusam, saumya, uta hasta-grahitam anayanti apaharsit steyam akarsit parasum asmai tapata iti; sa yadi tasya karta bhavati, tata evanrtam atmanam kurute, so 'nrtabhisandho 'nrtenatmanam antardhaya parasum taptam pratigrhnati, sa dahyate' tha hanyate.

Atha yadi tasyakarta bahvati, tata eva satyam atmanam kurute, sa satyabhisandhah satyenatmanam antardhaya parasum taptam pratigrhnati, sa na dahyate atha mucyate.

The servants of the king catch hold of a man and say, "Here is the culprit, here is the thief, here is the robber, heat the axe for him." If a person who has told a lie is asked to touch the heated axe, naturally, the fault will be made visible outside by the burning of the hands, and then he is punished by the consequences of his actions. 

But, if a person who has not committed any fault, who is only suspected, is brought to the court, then when he touches the axe he is not burnt, and he is released. So is the case with the soul that is really bound or not bound. Being in the body or not being in the body is not the criterion. Just as touching the axe is common to both the suspected one and the guilty one, but the consequences are different, so is the case with people who have knowledge and no knowledge. 

In spite of the fact that both are in the body and both pass through the same stages of ascent from the grosser to the subtle, the man without knowledge is bound, while the one with knowledge is liberated. The realised soul may be in the body as long as the prarabdha continues, just as a bound soul is in the body. But the difference is that the bodily presence or existence affects the bound soul, while it does not affect the mind of the liberated soul. That condition in which the soul resides in the body with knowledge is called jivanmukti, liberation while living. 

The body is there, but it does not affect the consciousness. The mind has the power to bear the pains brought about by the existence of the body. The exhilarations coming through the contact of the body with the objects of sense desired for and liked, and the pains coming due to contact of the senses with objects disliked and hated—neither of them affect the soul that is liberated.

There are some teachers who give another example, the example of a coconut inside a shell. They say, the coconut that is raw sticks to the shell. That is the condition of the bound soul. Consciousness sticks to the shell of this body. But in the case of the liberated soul, it is inside the body, no doubt, but is not sticking to the body, even as the dry coconut is not touching the shell. It makes a sound inside if we shake it. It is detached from the shell, though it is there tentatively. Even so, consciousness is not confined to the body, even though it is inside.

To be continued ....

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