Knowledge of Brahman, The Base
She (Uma) replied: "It is, indeed, Brahman. Through the victory of Brahman alone have you attained glory?" After that Indra understood that It was Brahman.
Uma replied to Indra, "It is to Brahman that you owe your victory. It is through His power that you live and act. He is the agent and you are all only instruments in His hands. Therefore your idea that 'This victory is ours, this glory is ours,' is based on ignorance." At once Indra saw their mistake. The Devas, being puffed up with vanity, had thought they themselves had achieved the victory, whereas it was Brahman, but for whom not even a blade of grass can move.
Brahman here is Isvara or personal god who governs the universe.
Since they approached very near Brahman and were the first to know that It was Brahman, these devas, namely, Agni, Vayu and Indra, excelled the other gods. Since Indra approached Brahman nearest and since he was the first to know that It was Brahman, Indra excelled the other gods.
Agni, Vayu and Indra were superior to the other Devas because they gained a closer vision; and they were able to do this because they were purer; while Indra stands as the head of the Devas, because he realized the Truth and reached Brahman directly through the grace of Uma. The significance of this is that whoever comes in direct touch with Brahman or the Supreme he is glorified.
BRAHMAN, THE COSMIC AND INDIVIDUAL REALITY
This is the instruction about Brahman with regard to the gods: It is like a flash of lightning; It is like a wink of the eye.
The teaching as regards the Devas was that Brahman is the only Doer. He had appeared before them in a mysterious form; but the whole of the unfathomable Brahman could not be seen in any definite form; so at the moment of vanishing, He manifested more of His immeasurable glory and fleetness of action by a sudden dazzling flash of light. Thus there is a sudden enlarging of the mind, a flash of light enlightening the intellect causing fervor and joy indescribable.
The two illustrations of flash of lightning and winking of the eye suggest the sudden glimpse into Reality which has to be transformed into permanent realization.
Now the instruction about Brahman with regard to the individual self: The mind, as it were, goes to Brahman. The seeker, by means of the mind, communes with It intimately again and again. This should be the volition of his mind.
Only by the mind can the seeker after knowledge approach Brahman, whose glorious nature has been described as like a flash of lightning. Mindalone can picture the indescribable Brahman; and mind alone, being swift inits nature, can follow Him. It is through the help of this mind that we canthink and meditate on Brahman; and when by constant thought of Him the mindbecomes purified, then like a polished mirror it can reflect His Divine Glory.
That Brahman is called Tadvana, the Adorable of all; It should be worshipped by the name of Tadvana. All creatures desire him who worships Brahman thus.
Tadvanam means dearest of all. Brahman is the object of adoration and the goal of all beings. For this reason he should be worshipped and meditated upon as Tadvanam. Whoever knows Him in this aspect becomes one with Him, and serves as a clear channel through which the blessings of Brahman flow out to others. The knower of God partakes of all His lovable qualities and is therefore loved by all true devotees.
The disciple said; 'Teach me, sir, the Upanishad."The preceptor replied: "I have already told you the Upanishad. I have certainly told you the Upanishad about Brahman."
The Upanishad is based on tapas (practice of the control of body, mind and senses), dama (subjugation of the senses), karma (right performance of prescribed actions). The Vedas are its limbs. Truth is its support.
He who thus knows this Upanishad shakes off all sins and becomes firmly established in the infinite and the highest Heaven, yea, the highest Heaven.
Heaven does not mean a five star paradise but infinite bliss from which there is no return to earthly embodiments (na punas samsaram).