Written by London Swaminathan

Post No. 16,008

Date uploaded in London – 23 July 2026

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Part 10

Mantra 56

सत्येन लभ्यस्तपसा ह्येष आत्मा सम्यग्ज्ञानेन ब्रह्मचर्येण नित्यम् ।

अन्तःशरीरे ज्योतिर्मयो हि शुभ्रो यं पश्यन्ति यतयः क्षीणदोषाः ॥ ५ ॥

Satyena labhyastapaso hyeṣa ātmā samyag-jñānena brahmacaryeṇa nityam |

antaḥ-śarīre jyotirmayo hi śubhro yaṃ paśyanti yatayaḥ kṣīṇa-doṣāḥ || Mundaka Upanishad (Chapter 3, Verse 1.5).

• Satyena: By truthfulness. Not just theoretical truth, but strict alignment with reality and integrity in thought, word, and deed.
• Labhyaḥ: Attainable / obtainable.
• Tapasā: By austerity, intense focus, and self-discipline.
• Eṣa Ātmā: This Supreme Self.
• Samyag-jñānena: By correct, discriminative knowledge of reality.
• Brahmacaryeṇa: By celibacy, continence, and controlled senses.
• Antaḥ-śarīre: Within the body.
• Jyotirmayo: Full of light, resplendent.
• Śubhraḥ: Pure and untainted.
• Yaṃ paśyanti yatayaḥ kṣīṇa-doṣāḥ: Whom the ascetics (yatayah), whose impurities have been destroyed (kshina-dosha), realize and behold. Mundaka Upanishad (Chapter 3, Verse 1.5).

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57

यथोदकं शुद्धे शुद्धमासिक्तं तादृगेव भवति |एवं मुनेर्विजानत आत्मा भवति गौतम || १५ || Katha Upanishad Chapter 2, Section 1, Verse 15.

 yathōdakaṃ śuddhē śuddhamāsiktaṃ tādṛgēva bhavati |ēvaṃ munērvijānata ātmā bhavati gautama || 15 ||

“Just as pure water poured into pure water becomes the very same, so too, O Gautama [Nachiketa], does the Self of the wise sage who knows this become identical with the Supreme Self.

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58

वेदान्तविज्ञानसुनिश्चितार्थाः संन्यासयोगाद् यतयः शुद्धसत्त्वाः ।

ते ब्रह्मलोकेषु परान्तकाले परामृताः परिमुच्यन्ति सर्वे ॥ ६॥ Mundakopanishad 3-2-6

vedāntavijñānasuniścitārthāḥ saṁnyāsayogādayatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥ |

te brahmalokeṣu parāntakāle parāmṛtāḥ parimucyanti sarve || 6 || Mundakopanishad 3-2-6

Vedanta-vijnana-sunishcitarthah: Those who have thoroughly and undoubtedly understood the profound wisdom (Vijnana) of Vedanta.

Sannyasa-yogad: Those who have embraced renunciation and spiritual discipline.

Yatayah suddha-sattvah: Seekers of purified minds who continuously exert themselves on the path of truth.

Parantakale: At the time of the great end (at the time of death, when physical constraints are destroyed).

Paramrtah parimucyanti sarve: They become truly immortal (Paramrta) and are entirely liberated (Parimucyanti) in the realm of Brahman.

This verse describes the ultimate spiritual goal of a Jnani (a realized being). It emphasizes that true liberation is not merely an external journey, but an inward realization of one’s immortal nature.

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59.

न चक्षुषा गृह्यते नापि वाचा नान्यैर्देवैस्तपसा कर्मण वा ।
ज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्वस्ततस्तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं ध्यायमानः ॥ ८ ॥

Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.8

na cakṣuṣā gṛhyate nāpi vācā nānyairdevaistapasā karmaṇa vā |
jñānaprasādena viśuddhasattvastatastu taṃ paśyate niṣkalaṃ dhyāyamānaḥ || 3-1-8 ||

8. He is not grasped by the eye; nor by speech; nor by other senses; nor by tapas; nor by karma; when one’s mind is purified by the clearness of knowledge, then alone he sees the indivisible (Brahman) by contemplation. Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.8

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60

Atmanam rathinam viddhi shareeram rathameva tu,

Buddhim tu sarathim viddhi manaha pragrahameva tu.

Indriyani hayanyahur vishayansteshu gocharan, Katha Upanishad (1.3.3)

The atman is Ratha – the body,

The intellect is the Sarathi – driver,

The mind is the rein,

The senses are the horses, and

The Panch Vishayas – material objects of the five senses – are

the fields of pasture for the horses.

आत्मनं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव तु ।
बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च ॥

Ātmānaṁ rathinaṁ viddhi śarīraṁ rathameva tu |
Buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi manaḥ pragrahamevaca || 

The verse equates the human system to a chariot, identifying each component’s spiritual role:

• आत्मनं (Ātmānam): The Atman (the Self or Soul) is the owner or rider of the chariot.
• शरीरम् (Śarīram): The Body is the chariot itself.
• बुद्धिम् (Buddhi): Intellect is the charioteer (driver) who must guide the journey.
• मनः (Manaḥ): The Mind is the reigns (used by the driver to steer).
• इन्द्रियाणि (Indriyāni): The Senses are the five horses that pull the chariot. 

इन्द्रियाणि हयानाहुर्विषयाँ स्तेषु गोचरान् ।

आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः ॥ ४ ॥

indriyāṇi hayānāhurviṣayām̐ steṣu gocarān |

ātmendriyamanoyuktaṃ bhoktetyāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ || 4 || Katha Upanishad (1.3.4)

इन्द्रियाणि (Indriyāṇi): The senses (eyes, ears, etc.).हयान् (Hayān): Horses.आहुः (Āhuḥ): [They] call / say.विषयान् (Viṣayān): The sense-objects.तेषु (Teṣu): On them.गोचरान् (Gocarān): Roads / paths of movement.आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तम् (Ātmendriyamanoyuktaṃ): The Atman (Self) combined with the senses and the mind.भोक्ता (Bhoktā): The enjoyer.इति (Iti): Thus.मनीषिणः (Manīṣiṇaḥ): The wise ones.

The wise declare that the sense organs (the eyes, ears, etc.) are the horses, and the objects of those senses are the paths they travel. When the Supreme Self (Atman) is connected with the body, the senses, and the mind, the wise call It the “enjoyer” or experiencer of the world.

TO BE CONTINUED……………………….

TAGS- Part 10, important Upanishad mantras