The very interesting part of Tika is the gloss on "Loka" (लोक) word which stems from moola "lok" and means "to obtain".
असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः ।
तास्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः ॥ ३॥
asuryA nAma te lokA andhena tamasA.a.avRRitAH |
tAste pretyAbhigachChanti ye ke chAtmahano janAH || 3 ||
Translation: "Asurya is the name of the lokas
covered with blinding darkness. To them they go after death, the men who kill atma".
Tika by Kaula Acharya Satyananda: "After speaking of the state of liberation in life characterised by a thorough knowledge of Atma, in this Mantra the Upanisad speaks of the state of delusion characterised by a thorough want of knowledge of Atma in which one thinks, “consciousness does not shine, it does not exist.”
Suras are wisemen. Those who are not suras are asuras, thoroughly devoid of the knowledge of Atma.
In the story beginning with “Wherefor Devas and Asuras struggled” The "Shree Chandogya Upanishad" by saying that “the Asuras struck (the prana) with sin” indicates that they are darkness itself, destitute of the light of Atma - blind egotism, sinful.
"Shree Katha Upanishad" says,
“How can that (atma) be known from any body other than who believes in its existence”
and,
“Of the two (upadhi-ridden atma and upadhi-free atma) upadhi-free Atma should be realised as existing in Truth. The Truth favours him who realises (atma) as existing.”
Hence the Upanisad indirectly points to the infidel who does not perceive the existence of Brahma in either svarupa or tatastha aspect.
In the Gita Shastra also it is said:
“Men, who have the nature of asuras, know neither devotion (to duty) nor abstinence (from evil). Neither cleanliness nor good habit nor truth exists in them. The world, they say, is without truth, without basis, without an Ishvara, brought about by mutual union and caused by lust and nothing else. Holding these views, these ruined selves of small understanding and fierce deeds prevail as enemies of the world for its destruction” and so forth.
Lokas having the character of asuras are asurya lokas. The world loka is derived from root lok, to obtain, and means what is obtained, that is, fruit of Karma consisting of a particular rebirth.
Covered with blinding darkness, that is, the darkness of delusion, devoid of the light of Atma. The men who kill Atma are the men who, through delusion of intellect, think that beyond the body, there is no undecaying and undying Atma consisting of consciousness.
Fruits of Karma are of three kinds. The Karma which consists in the worship of the tatastha saguna aspect of Brahma-consciousness and is performed with faith and resignation to Ishvara, with a mind purified by tapas and so forth, leads to Brahmaloka by the Devayana Path whence there is no return.
The men, however, of impure minds who consider heavenly happiness to be the highest object of attainment and to that end perform Yajnas and so forth with a craving for their fruits, their Karma leads them to the Chandraloka by the Pitryana Path from which there is a return to this sansara.
Those, again, who consider the body to be Atma and are devoted to this world and thoroughly deluded, for them there is no journey to the next world either by the Devayana Path or by the Pitryana Path.
On the contrary, they take birth and die repeatedly without interruption as insects, flies and other ephemeral creatures. The lokas of these ephemeral creatures are asurya, covered with the blinding darkness of perfect ignorance.
Shruti says: “The peaceful men who, living in forests on alms, practise tapas and shraddhas and wisemen become taintless and by the solar gate go where resides that immortal Purusha of undecaying self “
and
"The deluded men who consider Yajnas and works of public utility as the best and do not know of any thing better, they enjoy on surface of heaven earned by their good deeds and thereafter enter into this or even a worse loka” and
“Now, to neither of these two paths go these little ephemeral creatures who are born again and again. This is the third place” and
“The means of attaining to the next world is not revealed to the child who is attached to worldly objects and deluded by wealth. This is the world, there is none beyond it—whoever thinks thus comes under my * sway again and again” and so forth.
Smriti also says: "White and black, these are thought to be the world’s everlasting paths. By the one he goes who returns not, by the other he who returns again’’ and
“Cast into the wombs of Asuras, deluded birth after birth, attaining not to Me, O Kaunteya, they sink into the lowest depths” and so forth.
Cited from
"Ishopanishad" with a
new commentary
by The Kaula Acharya Satyananda,
Ganesh and Co,
