The Setting
Both Indra (king of the gods) and Virochana (king of the demons) heard that the Self was to be discovered, and that one who discovers the Self obtains all worlds and fulfills all desires. Both approached the sage Prajapati to learn.
First Teaching: The Body as Self (Wrong Understanding)
Prajapati: Live with me as students for thirty-two years, practicing discipline and self-control.
After thirty-two years:
Prajapati: That person who is seen in the eye - that is the Self. That is immortal, fearless. That is Brahman.
Indra & Virochana: Who is it that is seen when one looks in water or in a mirror?
Prajapati: The same person is seen in all these. Now look at yourself in a pan of water, and ask me whatever you do not understand about the Self.
They looked and Prajapati asked:
Prajapati: What do you see?
Indra & Virochana: We see everything - the entire body from the hair on our heads to our toenails.
Prajapati: That is the Self. Adorn yourself, dress well, make yourself beautiful - then look again.
They did so and saw themselves adorned.
Prajapati: As this body is adorned, so is that Self adorned. As this body is well-dressed, so is that Self well-dressed. That is immortal and fearless.
Both left satisfied. But Prajapati thought: “They have gone without understanding the Self. Whoever follows this doctrine, whether gods or demons, will perish.”
Indra’s First Doubt
Virochana returned to the demons, teaching that the body is the Self - leading them to focus on bodily pleasures and care.
But Indra, before reaching the gods, thought:
“If this is the Self - when the body is well-adorned, it is well-adorned; when the body is well-dressed, it is well-dressed. But then, when the body is blind, the Self is blind; when lame, the Self is lame. When the body dies, the Self dies. I see no good in this teaching.”
He returned to Prajapati.
Second Teaching: The Dream Self (Still Wrong)
Prajapati: Why have you returned? You left with Virochana, both satisfied.
Indra: If the Self is the body, then when the body is destroyed, the Self is destroyed. I see no good in this.
Prajapati: You are right. Live with me for another thirty-two years.
After thirty-two more years:
Prajapati: That person who moves about happy in dreams - that is the Self. That is immortal, fearless. That is Brahman.
Indra left satisfied. But again, before reaching the gods, doubt arose:
“In dreams, the body may lie blind or lame, yet the dream self sees and moves freely. But in dreams, the self seems to experience suffering, to be killed, to weep. I see no good in this teaching either.”
He returned again.
Third Teaching: Deep Sleep (Closer, But Incomplete)
Prajapati: Live with me for another thirty-two years.
After thirty-two more years:
Prajapati: When one is soundly asleep, completely at rest, seeing no dreams - that is the Self. That is immortal, fearless. That is Brahman.
Indra left satisfied. But once more, doubt arose before reaching the gods:
“In deep sleep, one is not conscious of oneself - one doesn’t know ‘I am this’ or ‘These are others.’ One has gone to annihilation. I see no good in this teaching.”
He returned yet again.
The Final Teaching: The True Self
Prajapati: Live with me for five more years.
After five years, making Indra’s total discipleship 101 years:
Prajapati: Indra, this body is mortal, held by death. But it is the dwelling place of the immortal, bodiless Self. One who is embodied is subject to pleasure and pain; there is no freedom from pleasure and pain for one who is embodied.
But pleasure and pain do not touch one who is bodiless.
Indra: How is this possible?
Prajapati: The wind is bodiless. Clouds, lightning, thunder - these are bodiless. They arise from space and reach the highest light, appearing in their own form.
Similarly, when this serene being rises up from the body and reaches the highest light, it appears in its own form. That is the Supreme Person.
There it moves about, laughing, playing, enjoying itself - whether with women, chariots, or friends - no longer remembering the appendage of this body.
As an animal is attached to a cart, so is the spirit attached to the body.
Understanding the Three States
The Waking State
- The Self appears to be the body
- Subject to physical limitations
- Experiences pleasure and pain through senses
- Error: Identifying the eternal Self with the mortal body
The Dream State
- The Self creates an entire world from its own consciousness
- Free from physical limitations
- Still experiences pleasure and pain
- Error: Though freer than waking, still involves duality and suffering
Deep Sleep
- No subject-object duality
- No pleasure or pain
- Complete peace
- Error: Though peaceful, it involves ignorance - you don’t know “I am Brahman”
The Fourth State (Turiya)
- Beyond waking, dream, and sleep
- Pure consciousness without objects
- Like deep sleep but with awareness
- The true Self, always present, witnessing all three states
The Progressive Teaching Method
Prajapati’s method shows the pedagogical approach of Vedanta:
Step 1: Start where the student is (body identification) and gradually refine understanding
Step 2: Show increasingly subtle aspects of the Self (waking → dream → deep sleep)
Step 3: Each teaching is true at one level but incomplete
Step 4: The student must recognize the limitations themselves through inquiry
Step 5: Finally, reveal the ultimate truth: The Self is beyond all states, beyond all bodies
Why Indra Needed 101 Years
The teaching couldn’t be given all at once because:
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Purification: Long discipline purified Indra’s mind and developed discrimination
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Gradual Understanding: Each stage built on the previous one
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Elimination: By experiencing the limitations of each wrong view, the truth became clearer
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Readiness: Only when the student is truly ready can the highest teaching be grasped
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Earnestness: Indra’s willingness to return again and again showed his sincerity
The Ultimate Truth Revealed
The Self is:
- Not the body (though it appears in a body)
- Not the dream self (though it witnesses dreams)
- Not the unconscious deep sleep state (though it is present there)
- The eternal witness of all three states
- Bodiless, formless, pure consciousness
- Beyond pleasure and pain
- Immortal and fearless
The body is like a cart:
- The Self is like the owner of the cart
- The cart may be damaged, but the owner is unaffected
- When the cart is abandoned, the owner continues
- The owner was never truly bound to the cart
Practical Application
Observe the Three States
In Waking: Notice you are not the body but the awareness that witnesses bodily sensations.
In Dream:
Recognize that your consciousness creates entire worlds. If you can create a world in dream, what does that say about the waking world?
In Deep Sleep: Where do you go? To the Self. You are most yourself in deep sleep, free from all identities.
The Witness: What is present in all three states? What never sleeps, never dreams, never wakes? That unchanging awareness is your true nature.
Key Insights
On the Body: You are not the body, though you have a body. The body is the cart; you are the owner.
On States: All three states (waking, dream, deep sleep) appear in you, the unchanging witness.
On Pleasure and Pain: These affect only the embodied. The bodiless Self is untouched.
On Teaching: Truth cannot always be given directly. The student must be led step by step through their own inquiry.
On Immortality: You are already immortal. Death affects only the body-cart, not the Self-owner.
“This body is mortal and held by death, but it is the dwelling place of the immortal, bodiless Self. The Self, though appearing to be embodied, is never bound by pleasure or pain.”
— Chandogya Upanishad 8.7-12
Indra’s 101-year quest teaches us that Self-knowledge requires patience, discrimination, and the willingness to question even seemingly satisfying answers until the ultimate truth is revealed.