Krishna concludes the discussion of the 8th chapter with a very significant, but intriguing reference to uttarayana and dakshinayana, the two opposite paths available for humanity. Despite varied attempts to explain this section of Bhagavad Gita, the import of the message seems still dubious. The clarity required is somehow missing. As a result, the concluding verses of the chapter continue to be more enigmatic than revealing.
True significance of uttarayana and dakshinayana
But can it be so? Considering the stature of Krishna, the exponent, as well as the greatness of Vedavyasa, the author, can the proposition be disposed of as inconclusive or irrelevant?
Krishna says:
I shall now speak, O Arjuna, about the two paths, departing by one of which the yogis will return to this worldliness again, and departing by the other they will not.
One path consisting of fire, brilliance, day, and whiteness (agnih, jyotih, ahah, suklah) and leading to evolution and deliverance, is meaningfully called uttara-ayana. The other path, marked by smoke, darkness and blackness (dhumah, ratrih, krshnah), resulting in going round and round, is identified as dakshina-ayana.
These are the two religious fates ruling human life. Those taking to the brilliant path will escape worldliness and attain deliverance. And those who follow the dark path, are unable to see things clearly. Consequently they get stuck to worldliness again and again:
The meaning and import, judged in their proper relevance, will be:
Uttarayana, associated and identified generally with six months of the year, in fact, is like fire, brilliance, day and whiteness, bespeaking the course of wisdom and ascent. Betaking to that, the Knowers attain Brahman.
Dakshinayana, associated and identified generally with six months of the year, in fact, implies smoke, night and blackness, representing ignorance, delusion and downfall. Yogis taking to this and relying upon lunar brilliance, come back here again.
Krishna, in this statement, is shifting the emphasis from the so called six month period – ascribed each to uttara-ayana and dakshinayana – to a list of meaningful illustrations, which, when studied will explain the truth about both. The illustrations evidently constitute a full contrast. As the items listed themselves depict, the two paths referred to are mutually opposite. If one is straight and goes upward, the other is curved and turns back again and again.
In the normal reckoning of Time, day-time or night-time alone cannot constitute a day or a week – not to speak of the month. But Krishna speaks of only ahah (day) in his uttarayana list, and ratrih (night) in the dakshinayana counterpart. This clearly shows that the two ayanas cannot be, at any rate, consisting of time-duration, like six months or so. To identify the two paths, each with one half of the year, is then a sheer delusion. The subject, however strong is the traditional belief in the matter, calls for discreet enquiry and assessment. With the illustrations provided, the seeker should strive to grasp the message with clarity. It is true that the two paths are divergent, leading to different goals.
In the context of yoga and spiritual sadhana, uttarayana implies the path of uttarana, ascent, in which knowledge and brilliance, the freedom they bestow, are alone reckoned. Thus Krishna listing fire, brilliance, day and white to mark uttarayana is quite relevant. All these things are equally luminous. They help alike in seeing.
The second half of the verse dispels all doubts as to what the uttarayana verily means. The term verily depicts the path of wisdom, where, like the sun, Brahman, the only Independent Luminary, is the sole refuge. Taking to this path, the people become Knowers of Brahman (brahmavidah), and hence attain Brahman (brahmavido janah brahma gacchanti – 8.24). To realize Brahman, neither day and night, nor week and month, can be of any reckoning.
All along Krishna has been emphasizing that the yogic-pursuit must be wholesome and continuous. In the 2nd chapter he had pointed out that sthita-prajnata and brahma-sthiti should be the aim of yogasadhana. Even if one gains brahma-sthiti at the end of his life-time (sthitva-asyam-antakale’pi), he will attain brahma-nirvana. It is not then dying at any particular time, but having Brahma-jnana that determines one’s fate. It is this path of supreme wisdom, Krishna says, that uttarayana denotes, signifies. The idea is very clear from the illustrations of fire, etc. he has used, and the reference to Brahman and Knowers of Brahman he refers to in the verse.
Fire and other luminaries are necessary for us to see things clearly. As for white, it is the colour in which all rays of light are reflected. In the same sequence, day is the time when we can see objects clearly and interact with them. The sequence of illustrations is thus appropriate. All the agencies help the same purpose alike. Dakshinayana, on the other hand, is depicted by smoke, night and black, all of which are impediments to our vision.
Worshippers of Devatas, he said earlier, gain only a short-living result (7.23). Those who worship the Supreme obtain everlasting outcome. Here too the path of brilliance, of the self-luminous Self, the freedom and ecstasy it instills and preserves, alone lead decisively to the final goal. This is the elevating, enriching, emboldening and fulfilling course. It is like svalpam-api asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat: even a little of this knowledge and practice will deliver man from the colossal fear of worldliness (2.40). Worshipping the Supreme is the true uttarayana, meaning the path taking one upward and higher, as different from one half of the year, as it is generally taken to be.
In contrast, each of the dakshinayana illustrations, namely smoke, night and black, is opposed to its counterpart in uttarayana. The yogis following this path, are led by the lunar brilliance (candramasam jyotih), says Krishna. Moon itself is devoid of brilliance. The light coming from it is but a reflection of sun-rays. If dakshinayana brilliance is deemed as lunar, the brilliance of uttarayana is naturally solar. As the sun has independent brilliance, the contrast is obvious.
Sreyas and preyas – the benevolent and the pleasant
In fact, these two divergent pursuits are the sole subject of Vedas and Vedic life. They inhere in the karma-kanda and jnana-kanda – one aiming at prosperity (abhyudaya) and the other at supreme wisdom (nihsreyasa). The outcome of ritualistic pursuit is short-lived, repetitive. It focuses and relies upon various outside agencies, devatas. The path of wisdom, instead, seeks to rest completely upon one’s own Self, the ultimate and final source. The outcome it brings is forever.
The dark or lunar path, Krishna refers to, is the ritualistic course of Vedas. And the bright, solar path is that of wisdom.
Bhagavad Gita is an epitome as well as elaboration of Upanishads. Right in the 2nd chapter Krishna sets forth the concept of the immortal Soul and elaborates it exemplarily. There (2.19, 20, 29) he quoted from Kathopanishad. In this chapter (verse 8.11), he cites the same Upanishad. The two paths, he clarifies here, are well revealed in Katha and Mundaka Upanishads. It is the same as sreyas and preyas, as Yama puts it, that surround human life equally. Sreyas leads to everlasting goodness and happiness. The attainment is once and forever. On the other hand, preyas is but immediately pleasant. All objects of enjoyment this world extends and the other worlds promise, fall under preyas. The keen seeker has to be discreet in choosing sreyas, bidding goodbye to preyas.
The whole of Kathopanishad dialogue is an elaboration of sreyas. Sreyas, the path of enlightenment, the path of wisdom, says Yama, is something to be gained from the Master Knowers, as Arjuna does from Krishna. It consists in the knowledge of the Imperishable. Unlike rituals and their rewards, the authority of which is unverifiable, the lasting attainment called sreyas results from gaining direct knowledge and experience. The outcome knowledge brings is obviously different from the plight or fate, brought by rituals and ceremonies. The path of preyas is of temporary gratification and repetitive.
Knowledge – superior and inferior (para and apara)
Mundakopanishad deals with the same subject, but with a striking difference. Saunaka, the great householder, given to rituals, stands before Sage Angiras with a question: “By knowing which can I know everything?” (1.1.3). Obviously, he has found his ceremonial life fruitless, indecisive and transitory. He yearns to outlive it and find the right refuge and fulfillment.
Angiras emphatically says that all object-knowledge, including Vedas and other Scriptures, comes under apara vidya (inferior knowledge). The para vidya (superior knowledge), he adds, has only one focus – to discover and realize the Source of the whole creation, by unveiling the Imperishable (1.1.5). The Imperishable reigns, hidden in one’s own heart. It is the unmistakable Self of all. By calling both as vidya, knowledge, and distinguishing them as superior and inferior, Angiras highlights that in both knowledge alone features. The only difference is that in one it ties man with the short-living, transitory, while in the other it takes him to the everlasting, eternal. The relevance in Krishna describing dakshinayana as candramasam jyotih is thus quite striking.
Angiras points out that the path leading to the Imperishable is marked by dispassion and indifference to the entire ritualistic life and pursuits. The ceremonial effort, he emphasizes, is like the journey in a frail boat. Those who begin it will cover some distance, but by then, their boat, being leaky, will sink. They cannot then go either forward or return. Mundakopanishad (1.2.7-10) describes such uninformed, indiscreet, travellers as ornamented fools, pramudhah.
So nirveda (indifference) to the whole ritualistic life and its promises (Mundakopanishad 1.2.12) is the remedy. The true seeker’s focus must be on his own Self, the Soul – the Truth behind the ego and intelligence. It is, as Krishna points out, the Supreme reigning within one’s body as superior to the Intelligence (Bhagavad Gita 3.42). It is the great Brahman, the supreme Atma. That alone, none else, should constitute one’s search, discovery and refuge. This is the summary declaration of Angiras.
Discard all external dependence and refuge; look only to the one constant presence and witness within. This is the message for a true seeker. Become self-resting, self-sufficient and fulfilled.
This inmost Reality, the Self, Katha (2.2.15) and Mundaka (2.2.10) Upanishads declare, is the first self-luminous Presence. This being first there, are all the other luminaries noticed. The eyes in us open first and then alone are the colours and shapes outside seen. For one without eyes, there is no visible existence!
The comparison Upanishads make is significant. Neither the external sun nor the moon can light up or show this inner luminary. No star or lightning and the rest can reach it. For, all these are external, and dependent on the inner Presence for their getting perceived. The inner Self is the sole independent luminary. The entire universe derives brilliance from It alone.
Thus Krishna’s clarification of the two paths, one of brilliance and the other of darkness, repudiating the traditional six-month concepts of dropping the body in uttarayana and dakshinayana, are in tune with the Upanishadic exposition. It is also in pursuance of his own words in the 2nd chapter on the ritualistic life and its promises: traigunya vishaya veda nistraigunyo bhava-arjuna – Vedas deal merely with the three gunas and their creation; Arjuna, be indifferent to the gunas. Again, durena hyavaram karma buddhi-yogat dhananjaya — the ritualistic pursuit is far inferior to that of pure wisdom (2.45, 49).
Misconceptions about uttarayana and dakshinayana
The need for elucidating the subject is there because the uttarayana and dakshinayana are firmly held to be the two halves of the year, by tradition. Even the great Bheeshma, after having fallen in the Kurukshetra war, wished to wait for uttarayana to shed his body. To die in uttarayana months is considered holy, in dakshinayana months unholy.
These concepts came up because the words uttara and dakshina also mean the north and south directions. In this sense, they also came to be associated and identified with the sun’s northward and southward journeys which regularly take place, each occupying six months of the year. The northward motion, from January to June, is naturally regarded as uttarayana, uttara meaning the north. The other six months, when the sun moves to the south, are dakshinayana.
The basis on which the northern swing became holy is the location of the imposing holy Himalayas, which have always attracted the ascetics and pious people. The snow-capped mountain is linked legendarily with austerity, asceticism and spirituality. Trek to the Himalayas and its four holy abodes (caturdhama) is even today the most auspicious and rewarding pilgrimage. The sun’s journey in that direction obviously gained the same connotation and the six months marking this became equally holy.
But this view cannot be left at that, especially in the context of Vedantic and Upanishadic Wisdom, which sternly disallows any such narrow or partial view. Himalayas and northern journey of the sun may have their special relevance for India and Indians, but not for the people of the entire world! So a proper insight into this subject is necessary. In Bhagavad Gita many other similar concepts are also dealt with, throwing true light on this matter and giving right guidance. In fact, the text is throughout enlightening, elevating and ennobling to the mind and intelligence.
But the fact that sun brings light to the earth’s denizens was, no doubt, given sufficient importance in our religious thoughts right from the start. Sunrise signals and initiates the active life of the earth’s beings, including the humans’, now as ever. The Gayatri and its upasana came to have their focus and identity with the sun, as the karma kanda rituals have with the superhuman powers like Indra and the rest!
The Rigvedic hymn, Gayatri, in its last line seeks to inspire and guide the intelligence (dhiyo yo nah pracodayat). Savita is the subject of contemplation in this. While the sun from the sky can obviously light up only our eyes, the inner intelligence can have its illumination and inspiration only from something inner and sentient. The Upanishads unambiguously declare that the supreme brilliance is the immortal Soul within the body. From that alone do all the visible luminaries like sun, moon and the rest derive their lustre. None of these has any power to shine independently or reach and reveal the inmost Soul.
So, what the Savita-Gayatri seeks to contemplate upon cannot be the brilliance of the sun in the sky at all. It denotes the “Svatmabhuta”, the antaratma alone. But this is not the general notion and so we find the Gayatri upasana veering round the rising and setting of the sun. Unreflective minds always want to have some symbol or idol to give shape to their worship or contemplation. This is not wrong. But the deeper truth has to be discussed and let known for seekers.
This culture of religious practices and ceremonies has resulted in identifying the six months of the solar journey northward as uttarayana, and the other six months as just the opposite. But the fact is: it is the earth that moves, and not the sun!
The actual uttarayana and dakshinayana must, therefore, have their intrinsic notes and message. The uttarayana implies the seeker taking to the supreme luminary, the Self within his body, and thereby shunning all other religious assumptions and godly agencies. The first hand, direct and wholesome dependence on the Self and its supreme potential will alone mean and bring the uttarana for him.
Krishna, therefore, adds:
These bright and dark paths of the world are regarded as eternal. One takes the seeker to the Supreme and the other brings back the votary again and again to where he started. Knowing the truth about the two paths properly, the yogi does not get deluded. Therefore, O Arjuna, be given to yoga at all times. That will save you from all differential notions, and bestow deliverance.
The divergence in the two paths is something that will remain eternally. There will always be those who adopt the repetitive path, and a few others who prefer, like Nachiketas and Arjuna, the Imperishable, to gain the eternal release it bestows. That is why he has used the words sasvate mate. The six-month uttarayana or dakshinayana is not sasvata, eternal. They alternate like day and night. But the real uttarana (elevation) and pradakshina (coming back again and again) paths remain ever constant before man.
So what should one do? Krishna makes it clear: “Without awaiting any particular period of time, Arjuna, be ever dedicated to the non-dual, independently brilliant, path of yoga, in which all differences cease, and the one Imperishable alone reigns.” In fact, this is the message throughout the dialogue.
And so the message in the last verse:
Knowing the secret of this path of independent brilliance, the yogi outlives and transcends all the holy rewards and fruition bestowed by the Vedas, yajnas, austerities and dana, to attain the supreme primordial abode.
This concluding statement weds beautifully with the earlier one (8.11). It fulfils what Krishna promised there. The great ultimate abode he alluded, Krishna now unreservedly discloses here. The emphasis and highlight are not in following a time or period and reaching another abode, but in knowing this truth (idam viditva), the true brilliance.
Take to the thought and contemplation of the Immortal Self within your own body. Understand it to be the singular independent brilliance, from which alone has emerged the whole creation. The powerful sun, its dependent, the moon, likewise the fire, lightning, and the rest, are all but a trifling reflection of that supreme sovereign splendour.
Think of It exclusively, wholeheartedly. Contemplate upon It. Be absorbed in its sublimity. Get embraced by Its warmth. Give no room for any distraction, diversion. There is no divergence or diversity, no alternation or transitoriness. It is all one and the same Eternal Brilliance and that alone.
Let this idea of One and Oneness devour all the rest. Be that One. Rest on It. Live and be It. There is no decline or loss for such a yogi, such a seeker, such a Knower. His is a wholesome attainment, gained once and for all!
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(From Essential Concepts In Bhagavad Gita - Volume 4)
