Mantra 5
आदित्यो ह वै प्राणो रयिरेव चन्द्रमा रयिर्वा एतत्
सर्वं यन्मूर्तं चामूर्तं च तस्मान्मूर्तिरेव रयिः ॥ १.५॥
ādityo ha vai prāṇo rayireva candramā rayirvā etat
sarvaṃ yanmūrtaṃ cāmūrtaṃ ca tasmānmūrtireva rayiḥ .. 1.5..
The sun is verily prana, and the moon is the matter; all that have form and all that is formless is matter; therefore, form is indeed matter.
Prana is the sun, the life-giving force or energy, and matter is the moon. The presiding deity of mind is the moon. The forms are the living beings and inert objects are matter. Formless is also matter, which is the subtle and causal body. Gross and subtle matter are perishable in nature. Whereas prana is imperishable.
Life = Spirit + matter
The chart explains that there is no life in inert objects, but Atman does exist. Inert matter has gross body but does not have the subtle body. So, on the death of an individual, the subtle matter leaves the body, and the gross body becomes like any inert matter.
Form and formless are matter, and the mantra further says, form indeed is matter. The formless, consisting of your emotions and thoughts, are impressions created in the mind and intellect because of the form that you have experienced. Form is responsible for thoughts, ideas, and feelings. If form did not exist, we will not have impressions of the form. It is the formless world which is also controlled, regulated and sustained by the outer world of forms. Impressions of the world is because of the form. Self- control starts with gross control and then we start controlling at the subtle level.
“Subtle controls the gross.” However, the gross triggers the subtle thought. Therefore, gross is instrumental for the subtle. The thought will not arise without the gross conducive environment. A seed will not sprout if the gross soil is not there. Yet it is the seed which produces the tree. Gross soil is conducive and paramount for the seed. Gross triggers the subtle and to that extent gross influences the subtle thoughts. Without the relevance and presence of gross, subtle has no role to play as it were. Impressions created in the mind has come from physical experiences. Without the gross, there is no subtle existence. Form is responsible for mental impressions in the mind and intellect. So, form is matter.
The concept can be compared to Lord Rama shooting Vali by hiding behind a tree. Vali symbolises sense objects and had a boon that anybody who comes in front of him, he gets half the strength of the opponent. When you come face to face with the sense objects you lose half the ability to control the sense objects. Therefore, you must keep away from sense objects if you want to exercise any control.
The mental impressions we carry are a result of our direct or indirect experience of the outer world that gets registered as formless. The inner world cannot exist without the outer world. If you had no experience of anything, it is impossible for you to have a mental impression of it. Therefore, the formless world to a large extent is regulated and sustained by the outer world of forms.
Firstly, we use the form to check the existence or non-existence of the formless vasana within you.
Secondly, the form is also used to measure the intensity of your vasana.
Therefore, form plays a pivotal role in establishing the existence and intensity of the vasana.
When you are in a conducive/protective environment, you will not have any stimuli that will distract or become a deterrent for spiritual sadhana. You have no exposure to outside stimuli, and you come to a false notion of thinking you have no vasana. The moment you enter the marketplace, you are allowing the stimuli to reach you, and when the world of form reaches you, it determines the existence/non-existence and intensity of a vasana.
The only way to measure your spiritual growth is by being amidst the world and not by getting away from the world. By putting yourself in a conducive environment for sadhana, there is stunted or limited growth. The real sadhana to check your challenges is by being in the marketplace. Otherwise, you don’t know what exists in the depth of your mind. Form influences the formless.
You may go to the spiritual laboratory to do study and the sadhana. But you must go and test yourself in the marketplace. It must be a mix of inner journey and verifying yourself in the outer world.
Eg: When Hanuman ji went to Lanka searching for Mother Sita, he burnt the whole Lanka with fire lit on his tail by the rakshas. Lanka is symbolic of materiality, sensuality and indulgent society. Just as a seed roasted in fire loses its ability to germinate, he charred Lanka. He was not charmed by the wealth and sensuality of Lanka. The world of objects and beings lose the charm for you. The black market value you had for them will be of no value to you.
Q: When does the object loses its charm ?
A: An object does not charm you when you have risen above the desire or eradicated/annihilated the desire. Therefore, abstinence is bliss and great masters have abstained from the world. In sense contact, there is no pleasure as law of diminishing value sets in.
Eg: At the start of mango season, the very first mango is delicious because we have abstained for 9 months. But after one month or so you will lose the urge to enjoy it. You should have the ability to abstain to enjoy.
