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The Story of Jabala-Satyakama (I) I THINK I told you once of
the story in the Upanishada bout a seeker of spiritual knowledge who had been
given by his teacher as a first assignment the task of looking after his kine.
This was meant to serve both as an initiation and a training; it was to be his
work and also his test. But the student had had to pass through another,
perhaps somewhat minor, ordeal of a preliminary nature. Tagore has a well-known
poem based on this episode. I begin my story with that narrative, giving it
almost verbatim as it appears in the Upanishad (Chhandogya, IV.4). Jabala Satyakama, says the Upanishad, approached his
mother, Jabala, and put to her the question, "What, O my mother, is the
name of my caste and family, for I desire to become a student of sacred
lore?" To this Jabala replied, "I do not know about that, my darling;
but I obtained you when I was young and
was serving maid to a number of different men. That is why I do not know what
is the name of your caste and family. But my name is Jabala and yours is Satyakama.
So you may say that you are Satyakama, the son of Jabala." Satyakama now went to Gautama, the son
of Haridruman, and said, "I come to you with the desire to stay as a
student of sacred lore." Gautama asked him, "What is the name of your
caste and family, my child?" Satyakama answered, "I do not know what
my caste or the name of my family is. But when I asked my mother, she said, 'I
obtained Page-125 you when I was young and
was serving maid to a number of different men. So I do not know who your father
was. But my name is Jabala, and yours is Satyakama. You should therefore say
you are Jabala Satyakama.' This is the whole story." Thereupon Gautama answered,
"No one but a Brahmin could have spoken thus. Bring in the fuel, my dear;
I shall take you as a disciple, for you have not swerved from the truth." (2) Thus
was Satyakama given admission to the Ashrama of Gautama. Now for his initiation
and training and the tests. Gautama sent for him and said, "Satyakama, I
shall now I invest you with the sacred thread." This investiture is a
sacred rite which "sets one on the path" - what the Buddhists call in
Pali "sompatti" (srotapatti in Sanskrit), that is,
"getting into the stream" or starting on the way. He added, "You
bring in the fuel from the neighbouring wood." Satyakama did as he was
told and the ceremony of initiation was duly performed. The
teacher now sent for him again and said, "Satyakama, I possess some four
hundred kine. But they are all puny and weak. You should look after them."
This meant that he was to take them out to pasture. Satyakama replied,
"Very well, sir, it will be as you desire. I am leaving with the four
hundred kine and I do not return till they are a thousand." Gautama sent
him off with his blessings. Satyakama
went along with his herd of kine. He looked after them as they roamed over the
meadows and fields, through the forests and village settlements. Months passed,
and years went by - many years. The kine had by now all gained in bulk and had
a well-fed look; their numbers too had reached the thousand mark. One day, all
on a sudden, a Bull from out of the herd appeared before Satyakama and
addressed him in the voice of a man. "Satyakama!"
Page-126 he said. Satyakama took it
as nothing unusual and answered in a polite tone, "Yes my Lord." The
Bull went on, "Satyakama, now let us turn homeward. We have reached the
thousand mark and all of us are fit and strong." Then the Bull added
something more. "Meanwhile, Satyakama," he said, "let me tell
you something about the knowledge of Reality, brahma-vidya - the
very first lessons. Brahman has to be known in his four aspects; of these I
shall tell you about the first just now. Of this first phase or aspect there
are again four limbs. North, south, east and west, these four quarters are the
four limbs of the first aspect of Brahman out of the four. Through the four
quarters Brahman appears as the manifest One, prakasavan. And
he who realises this manifest aspect of the Brahman becomes himself manifest
and wins all the manifest worlds. This is the first of the four aspects of
Brahman. Now, Agni is going to tell you about the second." The next day, Satyakama resumed his march
with the kine. As evening came, he gathered his herd together and penned the
kine. Then he collected the fuel and lighted the sacrificial fire, and sat
facing the east with Agni in front. Now Agni called to him, "Satyakama!"
And Satyakama gave reply with his usual humility, "Yes, my Lord?"
Agni continued, "Let me now, speak to you about the second aspect of
Brahman. This too has four limbs; these are earth, mid-air, the heavens and the
ocean. This second aspect of Brahman that is constituted by these four is the
Infinity of Brahman. He who gains it lives in Infinity even on this earth and
wins all the worlds of Infinity." Again
the homeward march began, and again the Bull came and informed Satyakama thus,
"Now it will be the Swan who will come and tell you about the
Brahman." When it was eventide, Satyakama gathered his herd again, penned
them in, and lighted his sacrificial fire. Again he sat in front of the fire
facing the east. Then the Swan appeared as promised by the Bull and called in a
human voice,
Page-127 "Satyakama!" And
Satyakama made answer, "Yes, my Lord?" The Swan continued, "I
shall speak to you about another aspect of Brahman." "Tell me,
my Lord." "This the third aspect of Brahman consists of Fire, the
Sun, the Moon and Lightning. Through this quartet of the third aspect Brahman
appears as the Effulgent One. He who realises this aspect of Brahman becomes
himself effulgent and wins all the worlds of effulgence even while on this
earth." Satyakama started on
his march again, and once again the Bull came and informed him that this time a
Flamingo would come and tell him about the fourth aspect of Brahman. As'
evening came, Satyakama gathered his herd together and penned them as usual. He
lighted the sacrificial fire and sat in front facing the east, and waited. The
Bird flew in and called, "Satyakama!" Satyakama replied, "Yes,
my Lord?" The Bird went on, "I shall give you the knowledge of the
fourth aspect of the fourfold Brahman." Satyakama replied in all
humility, "Tell me, my Lord." The Bird said, "The four limbs of
this aspect are the Life-force, the Eyes, the Ears and Mind. These four combined
make Brahman the All-Form. He who knows this becomes the All-Form and wins here
itself the All-Form." By
now Satyakama arrived at his master's home, accompanied by his herd of a
thousand well-fed kine in place of the original four hundred weaklings. As he
came to his master, Gautama gave him a look and came out with these words,
"Satyakama, I see your face shining with the light of Brahman. Who has
given you the knowledge of the Brahman?" Satyakama told him about the four
strange encounters. But he added, "My master, you are my sale teacher, and
my knowledge will remain incomplete until I receive the knowledge directly from
you." Gautama then repeated to him the same things that he had heard about
the four aspects of Brahman, thus confirming what Satyakama had already
experienced and realised; it was now
Page-128 sanctified with
Gautama's blessings. Thus did Satyakama become a knower of Brahman and foremost among
Brahmins. In course of time he himself took the place of a Guru. (3) I intend to tell you on another occasion the story of his dealings with
his own disciples. That story too appears in the Upanishad. Let me in the
meantime add some explanations of the knowledge given to Satyakama. The knowledge and realisation that he had gained from
his life of a wandering cowherd are the basic truth of the world, the supreme
secret of creation. He realised that Brahman is the ultimate Truth, the one and
only Reality. The signs or qualities of this ultimate Truth or Reality are
four. Brahman may be described as if in a group of four aphorisms, like the
first four aphorisms of the Brahmasutra, the basic compendium of Vedantic
thought, which Shankara has commented on in-very clear terms. If you know his
commentary on these four aphorisms, you get to know practically the entire
philosophy of the Vedanta as interpreted by Shankara. The first of the aphorisms taught to Satyakama implies
that Brahman has made himself manifest, for He is selfmanifest. Another
Upanishad has said the same thing: tameva bhantam anubhati sarvam,
"His is the Light that illumines all." Of this self-luminous form
of Brahman or God the four limbs are the four quarters. He is manifest on all
sides, above and below, in every direction, and he is not only thus manifest;
there is also no end or limit to his manifestation. Hence, as a second step in
our knowledge, we learn that God or Brahman is the Infinite. This Infinity too
has four limbs or lines: (1) earth, or the physical and material extension, (2)
mid-air, or the expanse of the vital worlds, (3) the vast expanses of mind, and
(4) the oceanic reaches of the higher
Page-130 worlds that stand above the mind. The third attribute or quality of God
is Luminosity, He is the Bright, the Effulgent One - He is the supreme light.
Of His Brightness or Effulgence the symbols are four, the four that serve as
the medium or base: these are fire, the sun, the moon and the stars. Fire is
enkindled on the solid earth of matter; the sun burns in the mid-regions of
life; the moon illumines with its cooling rays the regions of the quiet and
happy mind; and the stars give us the brilliance of the world beyond mind. It
is needless to add that the Seer is not speaking here in terms of astronomy.
He has been expressing his meaning through the help of significant symbols or
metaphors. And finally, the Reality or God is made up of Form: that is to say,
He has put Himself forth variously through a multitude of forms, rupam rupam
pratirupo babhuva. And the functions or instrumentalities through
which Form has taken shape are the four main powers of sense-consciousness.
These are: (I) the power of sensitivity, the capacity of living contact and
intimate or close experience, of which the sense of touch represents to us the
external form or activity, for through it we get a sense of reality as living
existence; (2) the power of vision or sight, for through the eyes we get a
sense of form and definite shape; (3) the power of hearing, for the organ of
hearing gives us a sense of rhythm, of sound, the form of articulate speech;
and (4) the power of mind which, being the centre of thinking, gives us a sense
of meaning, builds the forms of thought. These then are the four aspects of Brahman, the
fourfold quartet through which we get a glimpse of the wholeness of Brahman, Purnabrahman. (4) This story of Satyakama brings out a picture that tells us something
about the lines or circumstances of ancient Indian education.
Page-130 We know that the Upanishads are classed with the Aranyaka
literature; the Brihadaranyaka is a well-known name. The forest life of the
recluse was in those days intimately associated with education and learning,
and especially with the spiritual disciplines. The injunction for the seeker
of truth was, "Repair to the forest," vanarm vrajet. The
seers, the Rishis, had their hermitages in the forests alone. That of course
was an age when the forest reigned upon earth. The greater part of the globe
was still a virgin forest. Cities and townships were not so common; there were
only a scattered few that glimmered like torches amid vast stretches of night.
There is also the point that the free and easy association of day to day with
Nature brings about a natural heightening and widening of the consciousness.
The English poet Wordsworth, as I told you the other day, had some experience
of this to which he gave voice in lines like these: And beauty born of
murmuring sound Shall pass into her
face. The quiet beauty and rhythm of Nature permeate the limbs if one lives
in close proximity to Nature. We in our country had, no doubt, the advantage of
forests. But even in other countries like But in the modern world, under the circumstances of
today, we no longer follow the ancient method either physically or even
perhaps psychologically. Man does not now depend on external props or
surroundings, nor does his consciousness either. Man's consciousness has grown
to be in large measure free and self-reliant. It would rather bring external
Nature under its own control than be guided by its
Page-131 influence. As in our outer so in our inner spiritual life, we are becoming city-dwellers in place of the old forest recluses. Even when we repair to the forest we try to make it as far as possible akin to the city. But this need not give rise to a quarrel or conflict between the forest and the city; it is possible to reconcile the two – the rural and the urban – even as it is necessary to effect a reconciliation between the inner and the outer life, between the consciousness within and the conditions of life without.
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