Upanishad, Katha
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Chariot And Golden Deer As Metaphors
K Vikram Simha Rao, July 21, 2022: The Times of India
Indic philosophy is rich in usage of metaphors and analogies to explain difficult concepts in a simple manner. Epics like the Ramayan and Mahabharat and scriptures like the Upanishads have resorted to such examples to illustrate ideas even through various human characters. Let us take two examples, ‘chariot’ and ‘golden deer’. In the Katha Upanishad, there is an attempt to describe the human form as a chariot – the senses are its horses, mind is its reins, intellect is the charioteer and the passenger is the jivatman, individual soul. This metaphor, thus, shows that we are distinct from our physical body, senses, mind and the intellect, just as the passenger of the chariot is separate from the chariot, horses, rein and the charioteer. The path traversed by the chariot and its surroundings are the sense objects – the samsara. There is a natural tendency of the mind and senses to get attracted to or repelled by the sense objects, which has a serious bearing on the movement of the chariot and its passenger. The intellect finally decides to either overpower the demands of the fickle mind or yield to its temptations.
Katha Upanishad concludes that ‘He, who has the understanding of the driver of the chariot and controls the rein of his mind, reaches the end of the journey, that Supreme Abode of the All-pervading. ’
The explanation of chariot is made more explicit in the Mahabharat. In the final war, Prince Arjun is seen sitting as a passenger in a chariot driven by Krishn. Arjun could have chosen anyone among the many skilful charioteers available at that time, but he chose Krishn as he had full faith in his ability and guidance, thus replacing his own limited intellect. Arjun represents the individual soul fully surrendering to Krishn, the Paramatman, the Universal Soul, to ensure his safe and successful journey.
The Ramcharitmanas deals with dangers that arise when an individual soul tries to distance itself from the universal soul. There is a description of the turning point wherein Sita is seen attracted to a ‘golden deer’ in the forest and she seeks to possess it. Ram goes in search of it in the forest, leaving her behind. When Sita is alone, devoid of the company of Ram, she is abducted by Demon King Ravan. We know that after marriage of the Divine Couple and their shifting to the forest, both Ram, representing universal soul, and Sita, representing us as individual soul, were living in a state of bliss in total communion with each other. The moment Sita is enchanted by the appearance of maya, the golden deer, thus downplaying the primacy of Ram, she gets possessed by Ravan representing dreadful ego and samsara. She then realises her mistake. Her suffering and pangs of separation come to an end only on reunion with Ram, thus bringing back the individual soul in full and blissful company of the universal soul.
Examples of the chariot and golden deer can, therefore, remind spiritual seekers time and again that God realisation is possible and maya can be kept at bay only by invoking the grace of the universal soul.
