Synecdoche

Synecdoche

The Chandogya Upanishad is principally concerned with the question of what is the “true self” or Soul, the Atman of the individual and how it relates to the larger question of the Universe at hand.

It is a catechism of parts for the whole, though the whole, in Truth, is never divided, but only perceived as being divided by our discretion, though born out of ignorance of how things are all truly entangled, leaving us confused about the coherent nature of existence.

This is unsettling when one thinks of the concept of Theodicy, or the explanation of Evil in the world, and how can there be bad things in a world created by a perfect, omnipotent, omniscient power. For if All is One, then it begs the question of whether Evil then is part of Good, and vice versa.

Having lived now for 43 years, I am inclined to believe that this is true. When one reaches this age, you have lived long enough to see a lot of shit in the world, as well as a lot of beauty. How can we reconcile the extremes that we see and experience on a daily basis? While in India, I was confronted by this seeming dichotomy every day of the piles of shit next to blankets of flowers. Back in Belgium, it is more subtle, but there all the same.

Hearing of the death of a former student and friend, one who sought desperately for Beauty in the world, claiming that he saw it all around, yet at the same time felt desperately alone and discouraged, feeling the absence of the beloved for his Love for the world. His life ended running blindly amongst the traffic of Austin’s I-35, being struck down by a truck in a most indignant death. He was loved by many and mourned by many. In his memorial guestbook, words such as Beauty, Love, Peace, and Life were reiterated over and over. All of those words overshadowed for the time being by Death.

And yet, to sound very trite, what is Life without Death, and the contrary of Death without Life? Such reflections are often made in the armchairs of philosophers, but when it is reality, and it takes on a visceral nature when you are one of the Living, contemplating the Dead, words take on new meaning.

Within the Chandogya, there is a metaphor of the life essence of person as a tree, that all throughout, there is life, but when dead, Death permeates all, except for the Soul, which lives on. Though this sounds like a duality, it is the root of Advaita, that is that the Soul, or Atman, is not related to Life nor Death, but is beyond, beyond Good and Evil, beyond the Time and Space that we experience in our corporeal selves. To this extent, there is no “Heaven above us, nor Hell below…” Imagine.

I don’t have answers, but have been running through many questions of late, and I recently returned to the Chandogya for some such reflection and these verses jumped out at me today.

So, here they are:

Asya somya mahato vrkshasya yo mule-bhyãhanyãjjivinsraveddhyo

Mathye-bhyãhanyãjjivansraveddhya-pre-bhyãhanyãjjivansravetsa

Esha jivenãtmãnãnuprabhutah pepiyamãno modamãnastishtati

Asya yadekãm shãkhãm jivo jahãtyatha sã shushyati

Dvitiyãm jahãtyatha sã shushyati

Tritiyãm jahãtyatha sã shushyati

Sarvam jahãti sarvah shushyati

O, Fair One, if anyone strikes the root of this great tree, it seeps while living. If one strikes the trunk, it seeps while living. If one should strike its crown, it will seep its juices while alive. This one, thus, while drinking the sap, abides by being permeated by the Soul.

If the individual removes one of these branches, that branch will wither. If one removes a second one, it too withers, and a third. When the whole is discarded, then the whole withers as well.