kathopanishad-2-3-5-yathā''darśe

Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

The relationship between the soul, the self, and the universal Self is described in the next verse. Yathādarśe tathātmani, yathā svapne tathā pitṛ-loke, yathāpsu parīva dadṛśe, tathā gandharva-loka chāyā-tapayor iva brahma-loke (2.3.5): In this world we have an experience of the Atman inside in an indistinct manner, as if light is cast on a mirror. Just as the qualities of the light are not entirely reflected in the mirror, and only some aspect of the light is so reflected, the entirety of the Atman cannot be seen reflected in our mind and intellect. So here, in the case of the individual personality, the experience of the reflection of the Atman in experience is as if light falls on a mirror.

In Pitriloka, or the world of the forefathers, the Self is experienced as we see things in dream. We see things in dream, but not very clearly; they are translucent and disturbed. Gandharva-loka is still higher up. Gandharvas are the celestial musicians and dancers who are said to be entertaining Indra in heaven. In that kingdom of Gandharvas, the Self is seen as if the sun is reflected in water. Just as there is a disturbance on account of the movement of water, there is no clear perception of the Atman even in Gandharva-loka. Only in Brahmaloka can the distinction between the universal and the individual be seen, as the distinction between light and shade. When the sun is shining in the mid-sky, the light is so intense that we can clearly distinguish that brilliance from the shade cast by a tree. So is the distinction, the clarity, that we can perceive in Brahmaloka, the world of the Creator, where the supreme consciousness of the Atman will be clearly experienced as distinguished from all that is created and all that is anatman, or other than the Self. The Self and the not-Self are very rarely distinguishable, and even then, very unclearly in our case, and unclearly in Pitriloka also, very unclearly in Gandharva-loka, but clearly in Brahmaloka. The distinction between God and the world, in the form of the distinction between the universal and the particular, or the universal and the external, can be seen in Brahmaloka, which is the highest spiritual experience that is possible for any seeker. It is the penultimate region of Godhood.