Isha Upanishad - Super school - Auroville - Isha Upanishad 703

This reality is the essence, it is one but it is sevenfold.  This sevenfoldness of the reality is arranged in that very Brahman but the one who arranges is called the Lord. The Lord arranges the sevenfold expression of that reality in a certain order and in that order on the top is Sat, next is Chit, third is Ananda, fourth is Vijnana, fifth is Manas, sixth is Prana, seventh is annam. First is Sat, which is called pure existent, the element of existence, second is chit that is called consciousness, the third is called Ananda or delight, fourth is Vijnana, that is supermind and then Manas that is the mind, sixth is prana or life and the seventh is annam or matter.

These are the seven waters, seven expressions; the reality is sevenfold, although one. It is sevenfold, it is like the white ray of light and when you make a refraction of the ray of light, if you put through a prism the same ray of light, it is one ray of light but in the spectrum you see seven colours. There are seven colours it is the same ray, so one ray consisting of seven rays. You might see sevenfold expression of it, you can distinguish all of them but they all coexist, they are not divided, they are differentiated. This is the one word that you must understand, difference between division and differentiation.

This reality is sevenfold but in its sevenfoldness it is not divided into seven parts, there is only differentiation. If I draw a line on this paper, drawing the line does not divide the paper, it only demarcates. Similarly, these seven aspects, seven colours, seven elements of the same reality do not divide the reality into seven parts; one indivisible reality having sevenfold character. This sevenfold character is arranged in a particular order, it can be arranged differently also but in this world as we see it. The Divine Lord arranged these seven worlds in a particular order and this is the order that they are now having. Sat, chit, Ananda, Vijnana, Manas, Prana and Annam, − these seven are arranged in this fashion. A world in which we live, the principle is matter therefore; you will see nothing grows in this world except in matter. We are obliged to anything that we want to express it, expresses through matter. We are obliged to live in matter. Even when we think, we are obliged to think in matter. So this is a speciality of this particular world in which we live and this is the order made by the Lord himself, by the Brahman itself, − the Brahman organising itself in a sevenfold manner. In that Brahman, who arranges the sevenfold order is the supreme Lord.

When the seven elements are manifested then you find in the next sentence,− ‘that moves and that moves not’, the sevenfold waters are in motion and yet this motion is stable, there is a kind of absence of motion. These two are contradictory of each other because in our normal experience that which moves, moves there is no stability in the motion and where there is stability there's no motion. It is true of ordinary experience, as you rise higher and higher, you will find only that can move which is stable. There are many examples of this kind that you may have a magnet, it does not move but it attracts the iron filings without moving. Aristotle gave the name ‘the unmoved mover’. He himself is unmoved but he moves all the rest. The higher is your consciousness the more stable you are but the greater the stability the greater the power of moving others. That is the speciality of the higher level of consciousness. The higher you are, the less you are disturbed. If you have to face an examination, and if you are well prepared, your mind a stable and whatever question is asked you are able to answer it actively. So, you are, both stable and active, very powerfully active but if you're not prepared for the examination then you are disturbed, you are not stable. You ask this person, you ask that person, what you think will be the question, how do you answer, you take advice of so many people around and you are not stable. And ultimately you'll find that the affectivity of your answer and your action will be very poor. The higher you reach, the greater the stability. Take for example the lion, lion is supposed to be the king of beasts. There is a special psychological reason for it, among all the animals lion is the most stable one. You examine the psychology of the lion, it does not go about like the tiger, which goes on moving in search of prey. if you see the lion’s movement, when the prey is somewhere near then suddenly it rises and it attacks the prey and kills it and quietly sits down. There is a tremendous quietude in the strength of the lion. Take for example a huge store of water from where a flow is laid out.