The Spirit Indomitable.

मुण्डकोपनिषद् / परा चैवापरा विद्ये

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And Invincible. 

शौनको ह महाशालोऽङ्गिरसं विधिवदुपसन्न पप्रच्छ। कस्मिन्नु भगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवति।।३।।

शौनकः ह महाशालः अङ्गिरसं विधिवत् उपसन्नः पप्रच्छ। कस्मिन् नु भगवः विज्ञाते सर्वं इदं विज्ञातं भवति।।

शौनक ऋषि Shaunaka Rishi was an educator with a big Institute of Study and Learning, where students from all over the world came to be educated. Shaunaka approached to ऋषि अङ्गिरस / अङ्गिरा / Rishi AngirA, after being duly initiated, he asked to AngirA :

What is that भगवन् स्वामी! O Blessed-One Lord! Which when known, verily all this becomes known? Pray Please help me learning and understanding this. 

तस्मै स होवाच। द्वे विद्ये वेदितव्ये इति ह स्म यद्ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति परा चैवापरा च।।४।।

To him (Shaunaka) spoke AngirA thus:

The sages Who Know ब्रह्मन् / Brahman say :  knowledge is of two kinds, one should see :  - One the परा विद्या - Of the Superior kind, and the other the अपरा विद्या - Of the Inferior kind.

तत्रापरा ऋग्वेदो यजुर्वेदः सामवेदोऽथर्ववेदः शिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दो ज्योतिषमिति।

अथ परा यया तदक्षरमधिगम्यते।। ५।।

तत्र अपरा - ऋग्वेदः यजुर्वेदः सामवेदः अथर्ववेदः शिक्षा व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दः ज्योतिषं इति। 

Out of the above two, Rigveda, Yajurveda, SAmaveda, Atharvaveda, shikShA, Kalpa vyAkaraNaM niruktaM Chanda and Jyotish are the Inferior .

The Superior is the One That enables one to see and know तत् अक्षरम् - that AkShara, The Spirit Immortal, The Imperishable Reality.

Shaunaka asked :

O Master! How one should proceed to know That? Could it be learnt through scriptures or by attending to a competent Master?

AngirA said :

This is learnt by one who is utterly disgusted with the (ways of) the world. When one has carried out the practice of discerning and discrimination about what is transitory and what is not, and has developed detachment to all passing things and the phenomenal, one then has true and authentic urge to find out what is it that is ever so incorruptible, so ever-existent, immutable, and eternal.

Changing / विकारशील, 

Transient / परिवर्तनशील,

impermanent / अस्थायी,

Permanent / स्थायी, 

 Unchanging / विकारी, 

Changeless./ अविकारी

Sentient / चेतन / 

 and

insentient /जड 

Corruptible and Incorruptible. 

Shaunaka asked : O Master! Please instruct me how to begin with?

AngirA : How do you Learn and study?

Shaunaka : Through and by means of words. 

AngirA  : What do the words give to you?

Shaunaka : All The worldly knowledge that greatly facilitates and helps in carrying out the day to day activities of life.

AngirA : And where-to, how is the end?

Shaunaka : In death. 

AngirA : Do you know what is Death? Or you just think that you know!

Shaunaka : Yes Master I really know nothing about what is Death.  Death is merely a trifle word for me, and I'm just blank when I try to find out what is conveyed through this word. It really does not help me in any way. When I am asked, I am just dumb-struck.

AngirA : When Death approaches you, comes face to face, how you're going to deal with it? Could all this acquired knowledge help you in dealing with the Death at the instant?

What happens to your knowledge, acquired by studying the Veda and all those various, other streams of knowledge - Be it :

The Rigveda / ऋग्वेद, The Yajurveda / यजुर्वेद, SAmaveda / सामवेद,  Atharvaveda / अथर्ववेद, ShikShA / शिक्षा,  KalpaH कल्पः,  VyAkaraNaM / व्याकरणं,  NiruktaM / निरुक्तं, ChandaH / छन्दस्, and jtotiShaM / ज्योतिषम्?

Shaunaka : O Master Gracious!  I just don't know!  I have no answer what-so-ever.

AngirA : O my child! Don't feel dejected and  helpless. There is a clue and a way! Just pay attention to what I'm going to tell you! The Veda and all that acquired knowledge will be forgotten in an instant when you come face to face with death. Still you know without least doubt or suspicion that you are!

Maybe, you can't translate this knowing into words, for that knowing is a true, non-verbal awakening, spontaneous and in the moment itself. It is ever so silent but still at once, you can recognize it in the very moment when the attention is turned inwards, withdrawn from all the outward, the objective, acquired knowledge.

Shaunaka : So there is no question - "how"!

AngirA : Yes my child! But one needs to have an intense urge to know it, while one is still alive, and Death seems to be a far-away, a distant affair that happens to some-one else only.

Shaunaka : O Master! You just now said that  there is a clue and there is a way!

I pray, Please be kind and elaborate upon this for me!

AngirA : O child! Don't panic and lose heart! While I'm here. Listen to me :

Your simple sense of being and the equally simple and spontaneous sense of knowing that you are, is ever so indomitable and invincible that can't be defeated even by  Death.

Shaunaka: O Master! Your words are sweet like the nectar and indeed are the ultimate wisdom.

AngirA : So now shall you be practicing this? 

Shaunaka : Oh Blessed, Beloved My Master! What is there to practice! Your very words are indeed the panacea that has removed all my pain and fear of Death. I have gained no new knowledge, but awakened only to the wisdom that I am the same unique knowing only that I had been ever so, -always. I am nothing what-so-ever - that is corruptible. I am ever so resplendent incorruptible spirit, the knowing only and not the consciousness or the mind, where the world and the sense of me emerge out from, appear, stay for a short while, and soon disappear, get merged into repeatedly in some assumed, imagined unreal time! Therefore O Master! Where is Death to Me!

Thus concludes the dialogue between the sages -

ऋषि अङ्गिरा / AnfirA and,

शौनक महाशालः / Shaunaka MahAshAla.

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