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General Forum: Religion | | upanishattulu | |
| Possibly one of the most famous versus from all of the Upanishads is Brihad. IV.4.5:
You are what your deep, driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As you deed is, so is your destiny.
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SOG has a very good point,as I pointed out earlier,in his words.coz he is SOG :))
keerty's jk taken :))
(I was searching 4 keerty..:))
BTW,I repeat Upanishads and vedaas and vedaanatas contain verbatism and juglary of
words which common man never ,in the past and present understood.They were meant for selected few,who were self proclaimed Pandits.
If u read ancient Indian history U'll come to know that Budhism and Jainism arose as a reaction to Brahminical domination of scriptures and suppression of lower varnas.
They welcomed all varnaas into their fold ,including women who were treated with highest respect during Rig veda and whose status gradually degraded thereafter during barhminism.
Unfortunately/fortunately Budhism and Jainism could not survive in this country.
The beauty of hinduism is it has this infinite capacity to absorb all kinds of sects into its fold and thats why despite several sectorial conflicts,it still survives in India and elsewhere.
For ex. Budha preached against idol worship.but u c how people worship Budha's idol!
The writers of Our "HOLY SCRIPTURES' wanted to be sole masters of their content and intentionally they made it unfathomable to common man to to make everyone else inferior before "knowledgebale'Pandits.
Brahmins had verybig say in the affairs of running a State in ancient time.
Fortunately they no longer have that iron grip on knowledge and the king.
As can be seen from the long posts I posted below,Vedaas ,Upanishads and puraanaas mostly contain our ancient man,s thinking about the relationship b/w man and God.
Rigveda completely contains Mantraas and Slokas to appease GODS.Likewise other Vedas contain some moral and political principles.
I would say, to prevent our society from "evil aspects" of modernisation we can still depend on some moral principles in our ancient scriptures.
So far so good.I admire them.
But we should not loose sight of modern science and blindly go on doing whatever is stated in ancient scriptures.
Application of scriptures minus their many undesirable,socially evil aspects is welcome.
In any case there is absolutely no need to discuss /worry about vishnu is great or Shiva is great or Kaali is great.
Or who killed who.
or spelling or correct pronounciation of mantras.
AndukE annaru "raamaayanaantaa Ranku
Bhaaratamantaa Bonku" ani.
I do admire "BHAGAVADGEETA" for its infinite knowledge
Mantraalaku chintakaayalu raalunaa?
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 3, Mar 2006 10:46:42 AM IST
'True 'Keerthy ji
Knowledge should make us "balance in mind".
Posted by: Mrs. shaloo At: 2, Mar 2006 9:11:05 PM IST
The following two ideas dominate the teaching of all the Upanishads: (1) Final emancipation can be attained only by knowledge of the Ultimate Reality, or Brahman (Brahmajnana): (2) He who is equipped with the four means of salvation, viz., Viveka, (discrimination), Vairagya (dispassion), Shad-Sampat (the six-fold treasure; self-control, etc.) and Mumukshutva (yearning for liberation), can attain Brahman. The Upanishads teach the philosophy of absolute unity.
The goal of men, according to the Upanishads, is realisation of Brahman. Self-realisation alone can dispel ignorance and bestow immortality, eternal bliss, and everlasting peace. Knowledge of Brahman alone can remove all sorrows, delusion and pain.
The Upanishads are rightly called the Vedanta, the end of the Vedas, that which is reserved for those who have freed themselves from the bonds of formal religion.
///The Upanishads are not meant for the masses, as they contain the highest speculations of philosophy. They are meant only for the select few, who are fit and worthy to receive the instructions.///*CHUCKLES*///
Hence the term 'Upanishad' signified at first 'secret teaching' or 'secret doctrine'. As already stated, Sadhana-Chatushtaya (the fourfold means) is the primary qualification of an aspirant of Jnana-Yoga, or one who seeks the knowledge of the Upanishads.
Study the Upanishads systematically. Acquire the four means of salvation. Meditate on the non-dual Atman or Brahman and attain ever-lasting Bliss!
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:56:48 PM IST
What do the Upanishads contain?
The Taittiriya Upanishad says this in the Ninth Chapter:
"He who knows the Bliss of Brahman, whence words together with the mind turn away, unable to reach It? He is not afraid of anything whatsoever. He does not distress himself with the thought Why did I not do what is good? Why did I do what is evil? Whosoever knows this regards both these as Atman; indeed he cherishes both these as Atman. Such, indeed, is the Upanishad, the secret knowledge of Brahman."
The Philosophy of the Upanishads
Due to their mystic nature and intense philosophical bent that does away with all ritual and completely embraces principals of One Brahman and the inner Atman, the Upanishads have a universal feel that has led to their explication in numerous manners, giving birth to the three schools of Vedanta.
To sum up all the Upanishads in one phrase would be "Tat Twam Asi" (Thou Art That). In the end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize it through discrimination and piercing through Maya. A distinctive quotation that is indicative of the call to self-realization, one that inspired Somerset Maugham in titling a book he wrote on Christopher Isherwood, is as follows:
" Get up! Wake up! Seek the guidance of an
Illumined teacher and realize the Self.
Sharp like a razor's edge is the path,
The sages say, difficult to traverse."
--- Death Instructing Nachiketa in the Katha (Word) Upanishad
The Upanishads also contain the first and most definitive explications of ॐ 'Aum', as the divine word, the cosmic vibration that underlies all existence and contains multiple trinities of being and principles subsumed into its One Self.
The Isha says of the Self:
"Whoever sees all beings in the soul
and the soul in all beings
does not shrink away from this.
In whom all beings have become one with the knowing soul
what delusion or sorrow is there for the one who sees unity?
It has filled all.
It is radiant, incorporeal, invulnerable,
without tendons, pure, untouched by evil.
Wise, intelligent, encompassing, self-existent,
it organizes objects throughout eternity."
"Aum Shanti Shanti Shantihi" This, too, is found first in the Upanishads, the call for tranquility, for divine stillness, for Peace everlasting.
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:53:55 PM IST
The term Upanishad means sitting down near; this implies the students sitting down near their Guru to learn the big secret. In the splendid isolation of their forest abodes, the philosophers who composed the Upanishads contemplated upon the various mysteries of life and its creation – whether common, or metaphysical. The answers were however not open to all, but only for select students. The reason for this was simple: not everyone can handle knowledge.
The composition of the Upanishads marks a significant and stride forward in the direction of knowing the mystery of earth's creation and one comes tantalizingly close to the answers. Through episodes, commentaries, stories, traditions and dialogue, the Upanishads unfold the fascinating tale of creation, life, the essence of life and of that beyond to the seeker of truth.
There is no exact date for the composition of the Upanishads. They continued to be composed over a long period, the core being over 7th -5th centuries BC. The Upanishads were originally called Vedanta, which literally means the conclusion to the Vedas.
In the Upanishads, views about Brahman (the Absolute, or God) and atman (one's true self) were proposed.
There are 18 principal Upanishads viz:
Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad
The Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad is widely accepted to be the most important of all Upanishads. It has three khandas or parts. The madhu khanda contemplates on the relationship between the individual and the Universal self. The muni khanda or yajnavalkya is a debate which goes on to give the philosophical backing to the earlier teaching. The khila khanda tackles various rituals of worship and meditation.
Chandogya Upanishad
This Upanishad is a part of the Sama-Veda (see The Vedas). The name comes from the singer of the songs (samans) who is called Chandoga. The initial chapters of the Upanishad, discuss the ritual of sacrifice. The others debate the origin and profundity of the concept of Om, among other things.
Aitareya Upanishad
This one forms part of the Rig-Veda. The purpose is to make the reader understand the deeper meaning of sacrifice and to take him away from the outer trappings of the actual act.
Taittriya Upanishad
A part of the Yajur-Veda, this Upanishad is divided into three sections or vallis. The siksa valli deals with the phonetics of the chants, while the others, brahmananda valli and bhrgu valli deal with self-realization.
Isa Upanishad
Also called the Isavasya Upanishad, this book deals with the union of God, the world, being and becoming. The stress is on the Absolute in relation with the world (paramesvara). The gist of the teachings is that a person's worldly and otherworldly goals need not necessarily be opposed to each other.
Kena Upanishad
The name of this Upanishad comes from the first word kena, or by whom. It has two sections of prose and two of poetry. The verses deal with the supreme spirit or the absolute principle (brahmaana) and the prose talks of ishvara (god). The moral of the story is that the knowledge of ishvara reveals the way to self-realization.
Katha Upanishad
Also called the Kathakopanishad, this Upanishad uses a story (katha) involving a young Brahmin boy called Nachiketa to reveal the truths of this world and the other beyond the veil.
Prashna Upanishad
Prashna literally means question, and this book is part of the Athrava-Veda. It addresses questions pertaining to the ultimate cause, the power of Om, relation of the supreme to the constituents of the world.
Mundaka Upanishad
This book also belongs to the Atharva-Veda. The name is derived from 'mund' or to shave, meaning that anyone who understands the Upanishads is s(h)aved from ignorance. This book inscribes the importance of knowing the supreme brahmaana, only by which knowledge can one attain self-realization.
Mandukya Upanishad
The Mandukya is an exquisite treatise which expounds on the principle of Om and its metaphysical significance in various states of being, waking, dream and the dreamless sleep. The subtlest and most profound of the Upanishads, it is said that this alone will lead one to the path of enlightenment.
Svetasvatara Upanishad
The name of this Upanishad is after its teacher. It comments on the unity of the souls and the world in one all-encompassing reality. The concept of there being one god is also talked about here. It is dedicated to Rudra, the storm god.
Kausitaki Brahmana Upanishad
The Upanishad has come down to us in bits here and pieces there. The core of the text is dedicated to illustrating the fact that the path to release is through knowledge.
Maitri Upanishad
This is a comparatively later Upanishad as it has references to the Trinity of Hindu Gods (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) which is a later development, and plus references to the world being illusory in character reflects Buddhist influence.
Subala Upanishad
Belonging to the Yajur-Veda, this Upanishad puts down a dialogue between the sage Subala and Brahma the creator of the Hindu Trinity of Gods. It discusses the universe and the absolute.
Jabala Upanishad
Belonging to the Athrava-Veda this Upanishad addresses some questions pertaining to renunciation.
Paingala Upanishad
The Paingala is again a dialog, this between Yajnavalkya, the sage mentioned the Brhad-aranyaka's muni khanda and Paingala, a student of his. It discusses meditation and its effects.
Kaivalya Upanishad
This Upanishad delves into the state of kaivalya or being alone.
Vajrasucika Upanishad
Belonging to the Sama-Veda the Vajrasucika reflects on the nature of the supreme being.
The core of the teachings of the Upanishads is summed up in three words: tat tvam as… you are that.
PURANAS
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The Puranas contain the essence of the Vedas. They were written to impress the teachings of the Vedas onto the masses and to generate devotion to God in them. They have five characteristics: history, cosmology (with symbolical illustrations of philosophical principles), secondary creation, genealogy of kings, and Manvantaras (the period of Manu's rule consisting of 71 celestial yugas).
The Puranas were meant, not for the scholars, but for ordinary people who could not understand high philosophy and could not study the Vedas. There is an emphasis on the worship of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), Shiva (the destroyer), Surya (the Sun God), Ganesha (the elephant headed god known to be the remover of obstructions ), and Shakti (the goddess). All the Puranas belong to the class of Suhrit-Sammitas, or the Friendly Treatises, while the Vedas are called Prabhu-Sammitas or Commanding Treatises with great authority.
There are 18 Puranas : Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana, Vayu Purana or Siva Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Narada Purana, Markandeya Purana, Agni Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Linga Purana, Varaha Purana, Skanda Purana, Vamana Purana, Kurma Purana, Matsya Purana, Garuda Purana and Brahmanda Purana.
Of these, six are Sattvic Puranas glorifying Vishnu; six are Rajasic, glorifying Brahma; six are Tamasic, glorifying Siva. Vyasa, the son of Rishi Parasara, is said to be the author of them all.
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:50:18 PM IST
The oldest Scriptures in all of India and the most important are called the vedas. All Hindus recognize the Vedas as the true origin of their faith because of the spiritual meaning behind them. The Scriptures served as a base for inner searching among the Indo-Aryan people as they were composed by seers or ancient prophets while in a state of inspiration. There are four Vedas: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. Each is divided into two groups: works and knowledge. The first is made of hymns and instructions regarding rights, ceremonies and rules of conduct. The latter is concerned with knowledge of who god is.
The Rig Veda in all probability was composed between 1500 BC and 900 BC (Walker, p.215). During this time period more than 200 canons of Scripture were produced. At the end of this era (800 BC to 400 BC) the Vendanta (meaning "end of the vedas") writings were completed. Although the Vedas were still held in high regard, several "seekers" felt that people were still searching for the meaning of life. The people needed something more than the Vedas to fulfill their needs. After deep contemplation, these seekers compiled the wise words and sayings of the gurus from whom they attained spiritual knowledge and wisdom. This collection of teachings became known as the Upanishads and the seekers themselves were given the name Upanishads that literally meant "came near to" the gurus.
It seems that the Upanishads were created as an Indo-Aryan reaction to the previous sacrificial rituals they were finding unsatisfactory. The Upanishad texts were writings comprised to further develop spiritual knowledge already attained in the vedic scriptures. The spiritual doctrine of these additional texts attempted to reach beyond the traditional vedic concept of reality which was more of a physical concept. The major concepts of the Upanishads are ultimately man's greatest dilemmas: the nature of god and man, the soul and god, man's role in the world and how they relate, the purpose of existence, and true salvation .The difference between the Vedas and the Upanishad scriptures seems to be that the Vedas are held as the true foundation of their faith (the Hindu faith) and the Upanishads are the actual vehicle to attaining this enlightenment which brings them to a oneness with existence.
Throughout history, the Hindu people have constantly been seeking the meaning of life. This search can be seen through the Vedas and Upanishads as they seek to relate to god and the world and to find true salvation. The Hindu faith stems mainly from the ancient vedic scriptures and evolved to include the Upanishads. Modern Hindus would agree that the Upanishads are a necessary addition to the Vedas. The evolving of these texts was the first consistent expression that directed the people to a philosophical solution to their spiritual dilemmas, questions, and problems.
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:45:47 PM IST
The upaniShads represent a great chapter in the history of the human spirit and have dominated Indian philosophy, religion and life for three thousand years. Every subsequent religious movement has had to show itself to be in accord with their philosophical statements. Even doubting and denying spirits found in them anticipations of their hesitancies, misgivings and negations. They have survived many changes, religious and secular, and helped many generations of men to formulate their views on the chief problems of life and existence.
Their thought by itself and through Buddhism influenced even in ancient times the cultural life of other nations far beyond the boundaries of India, Greater India, Tibet, China, Japan and Korea and in the South, in Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula and far away in the islands of the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. In the West, the tracks of Indian thought may be traced far into Central Asia, where, buried in the sands of the desert, were found Indian texts. [ 'For the historian, who pursues the history of human thought, the upaniShads have a yet far greater significance. From the mystical doctrines of the upaniShads, one current of thought may be traced to the mysticism of the Persian Sufism, to the mystic, theosophical logos doctrine of the Neo-Platonics and the Alexandrian Christian mystics, Eckhart and Tauler, and finally to the philosophy of the great German mystic of the nineteenth century, Schopenhauer.' Winternitz: A History of Indian Literature. E. T. Vol I (1927), p. 266. See Eastern Religions and Western Thought. Second Edition (1940), Chapters IV, V, VI, VII. It is said that Schopenhauer had the Latin text of the upaniShads on his table and 'was in the habit, before going to bed, of performing his devotions from its pages.' Bloomfield: Religion of the Veda (1908), p. 55. 'From every sentence {of the upaniShads}, deep original and sublime thoughts arise, and the whole is pervaded by a high and holy and earnest spirit. In the whole world ... there is no study ... so beneficial and so elevating as that of the upaniShads. They are products of the highest wisdom. They are destined sooner or later to become the faith of the people.' Schopenhauer. ]
The upaniShads have shown an unparalleled variety of appeal during these long centuries and have been admired by different people, for different reasons, at different periods. They are said to provide us with a complete chart of the unseen Reality, to give us the most immediate, intimate and convincing light on the secret of human existence, to formulate, in Deussen's words, 'philosophical conceptions unequalled in India or perhaps anywhere else in the world,' or to tackle every fundamental problem of philosophy. [ Cp. W. B. Yeats: 'Nothing that has disturbed the schools to controversy escaped their notice.' Preface to the Ten Principal upaniShads (1937), p. II. ] All this may be so or may not be so. But of one thing there is no dispute, that those earnest spirits have known the fevers and ardours of religious seeking; they have expressed that pensive mood of the thinking mind which finds no repose except in the Absolute, no rest except in the Divine. The ideal which haunted the thinkers of the upaniShads, the ideal of man's ultimate beatitude, the perfection of knowledge, the vision of the Real in which the religious hunger of the mystic for divine vision and the philosopher's ceaseless quest for truth are both satisfied is still our ideal. A. N. Whitehead speaks to us of the real which stands behind and beyond and within the passing flux of this world, 'something which is real and yet waiting to be realised, something which is a remote possibility and yet the greatest of present facts, something that gives meaning to all that passes, and yet eludes apprehension; something whose possession is the final good and yet is beyond all reach; something which is the ultimate ideal and the hopeless quest.' [Science and the Modern World, (1933), p. 238.] A metaphysical curiosity for a theoretical explanation of the world as much as a passionate longing for liberation is to be found in the upaniShads. Their ideas do not only enlighten our minds but stretch our souls.
If the ideas of the upaniShads help us to rise above the glamour of the fleshy life, it is because their authors, pure of soul, ever striving towards the divine, reveal to us their pictures of the splendours of the unseen. The upaniShads are respected not because they are a part of shruti or revealed literature and so hold a reserved position but because they have inspired generations of Indians with vision and strength by their inexhaustible significance and spiritual power. Indian thought has contantly turned to these scriptures for fresh illumination and spiritual recovery or recommencement, and not in vain. The fire still burns bright on their altars. Their light is for the seeing eye and their message is for the seeker after truth. [ In an article on Christian VedAntism, Mr. R. Gordon Milburn writes, 'Christianity in India needs the VedAnta. We missionaries have not realised this with half the clearness that we should. We cannot move freely and joyfully in our own religion; because we have not sufficient terms and modes of expression wherewith to express the more immanental aspects of Christianity. A very useful step would be the recognition of certain books or passages in the literature of the VedAnta as constituting what might be called an Ethnic Old Testament. The permission of ecclesiastical authorities could then be asked for reading passages found in such a canon of Ethnic Old Testament at divine service along with passages from the New Testament as alternatives to the Old Testament lessons.' Indian Interpreter. 1913. ]
The Term 'upaniShad'
The word 'upaniShad' is derived from upa (near), ni (down) and sad (to sit), i.e., sitting down near. Groups of pupils sit near the teacher to learn from him the secret doctrine. In the quietude of forest hermitages the upaniShad thinkers pondered on the problems of the deepest concern and communicated their knowledge to fit pupils near them. The seers adopt a certain reticence in communicating the truth. They wish to be satisfied that their pupils are spiritually and not carnally minded. [ Cp. Plato: 'To find the Father and Maker of this universe is a hard task; and when you have found him, it is impossible to speak of him before all people.' Timaeus. ] To respond to spiritual teaching, we require the spiritual disposition.
The upaniShads contain accounts of the mystic significance of the syllable aum, explanations of mystic words like tajjalAn, which are intelligible only to the initiated, and secret texts and esoteric doctrines. upaniShad became a name for a mystery, a secret, rahasyam, communicated only to the tested few. [ guhyA AdesAH - ChAndogya upaniShad III. 52; paramaM guhyam - KaTha upaniShad I. 3. 17; vedAnte paramaM guhyam - SvetAsvatara upaniShad VI. 22; vedaguhyam, vedaguhyopaniShatsu gUDham - SvetAsvatara upaniShad V. 6; guhyalamam - MaitrI upaniShad VI. 29; abhayaM vai brahma bhavati ya evaM veda, iti rahasyam - NrhsiMhottaratApanI upanishad VIII; dHarme rahasy upaniShat syAt - Amarakosa; upaniShadaM rahasyam yac cintyam - shankara on Kena upaniShad IV. 7. The injunction of secrecy about the mysteries reserved for the initiated is found among the Orphics and the Pythagoreans. ] When the question of man's final destiny was raised, yAjnavalkya took his pupil aside and whispered to him the truth. [ bRhad-AraNyaka upaniShad III. 2. 13. ] According to the chAndogya upaniShad, the doctrine of brahman may be imparted by a father to his elder son or to a trusted pupil, but not to another, whoever he may be, even if the latter should give him the whole earth surrounded by the waters and filled with treasures. [ III. 11. 5; bRhad-AraNyaka upaniShad III. 2. 13. ] In many cases it is said that the teacher communicates the secret knowledge only after repeated entreaty and severe testing.
shankara derives the word upaniShad as a substantive from the root sad, 'to loosen', 'to reach' or 'to destroy' with upa and ni as prefixes and kvip as termination. [ Introduction to the KaTha upaniShad. In his commentary on TaittirIya upaniShad, he says, upaniShannaM vA asyAm paraM sreya iti. ] If this derivation is accepted, upaniShad means brahma-knowledge by which ignorance is loosened or destroyed. The treatises that deal with brahma-knowledge are called the upaniShads and so pass for the VedAnta. The different derivations together make out that the upaniShads give us both spiritual vision and philosophical argument. [ Oldenberg suggests that the real sense of upaniShad is worship or reverence, which the word upAsana signifies. upAsana brings about oneness with the object worshipped. See Keith: The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the upaniShads (1925), p. 492. ] There is a core of certainty which is essentially incommunicable except by a way of life. It is by a strictly personal effort that one can reach the truth.
Number, Date and Authorship
The upaniShads form a literature which has been growing from early times. Their number exceeds two hundred, though the Indian tradition puts it at one hundred and eight. [ See the muktikA upaniShad, where it is said that salvation may be attained by a study of the hundred and eight upaniShads. I. 30-39 ] Prince Muhammad Dara Shikoh's collection translated into Persian (1656-1657) and then into Latin by Anquetil Duperron (1801 and 1802) under the title Oupnekhat, contained about fifty. Colebrooke's collection contained fifty-two, and this was based on nArAyaNa's list (c. A.D. 1400). The principal upaniShads are said to be ten. shankara commented on eleven, Isa, kena, kaTha, prasna, muNDaka, mANDUkya, taittirIya, aitareya, chAndogya, bRhad-AraNyaka and svetAsvatara. He also refers to the kauShItakI, jAbAla, mahAnArAyaNa and paingala upaniShads in his commentary on the brahma sUtra. These together with the maitrAyaNIya or maitrI upaniShad constitute the principal upaniShads. rAmAnuja uses all these upaniShads as also the subAla and the cUlika. He mentions also the garbha, the jAbAla and the mahA upaniShads. vidyAraNya includes nrsimhottara-tApanI upaniShad among the twelve he explained in his sarvopaniShad-arthAnubhUti-prakAsa. The other upaniShads which have come down are more religious than philosophical. They belong more to the purANa and the tantra than to the veda. They glorify vedAnta or yoga or sanyAsa or extol the worship of siva, sakti or viShNu. [ There is, however, considerable argument about the older and more original upaniShads. Max Müller translated the elevan upaniShads quoted by shankara together with maitrAyaNIya. Deussen, though he translated no less than sixty, considers that fourteen of them are original and have a connection with Vedic schools. Hume translated the twelve which Max Müller selected and added to them the mAndUkya. Keith in his Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and upaniShads includes the mahAnArAyaNa. His list of fourteen is the same as that of Deussen.
English translations of the upaniShads have appeared in the following order: Ram Mohan Roy (1832), Roer (1853), (Bibliotheca Indica) Max Müller (1879-1884) Sacred Books of the East, Mead and Chattopadhyaya (1896, London Theosophical Society), Sitaram Sastri and Ganganath Jha (1898-1901), (G. A. Natesan, Madras), Sitanath Tattvabhusan (1900), S. C. Vasu (1911), R. Hume (1921). E. B. Cowell, Hiriyanna, Dvivedi, Mahadeva Sastri and Sri Aurobindo have published translations of a few upaniShads.
shankara's commentaries on the principal upaniShads are available in English translations also. His interpretations are from the standpoint of advaita or non-dualism. Rangaramanuja has adopted the point of view of rAmAnuja in his commentaries on the upaniShads. Madhva's commentaries are from the standpoint of dualism. Extracts from his commentaries are found in the edition of the upaniShads published by the pANini Office, Allahabad. ]
Modern criticism is generally agreed that the ancient prose upaniShads, aitareya, kauShItakI, chAndogya, kena, taittirIya and bRhad-AraNyaka, together with Isa and kaTha belong to the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. They are all pre-Buddhistic. They represent the vedAnta in its pure original form and are the earliest philosophical compositions of the world. These upaniShads belong to what Karl Jaspers calls the Axial Era of the world, 800 to 300 B.C., when man for the first time simultaneously and independently in Greece, China and India questioned the traditional pattern of life.
As almost all the early literature of India was anonymous, we do not know the names of the authors of the upaniShads. Some of the chief doctrines of the upaniShads are associated with the names of renowned sages as AruNi, yAjnavalkya, bAlAki, svetaketu, sANDilya. They were, perhaps, the early exponents of the doctrines attributed to them. The teachings were developed in pariShads or spiritual retreats where teachers and pupils discussed and defined the different views.
As a part of the Veda, the upaniShads belong to sruti or revealed literature. They are immemorial, sanAtana, timeless. Their truths are said to be breathed out by God or visioned by the seers. They are the utterances of the sages who speak out of the fullness of their illumined experience. They are not reached by ordinary perception, inference or reflection, [ They are relevant in matters which cannot be reached by perception and inference. aprApte sAstram arthavat. mImAmsA sUtra I. 1. 5. ] but seen by the seers, even as we see and not infer the wealth and riot of colour in the summer sky. The seers have the same sense of assurance and possession of their spiritual vision as we have of our physical perception. The sages are men of 'direct' vision, in the words of yAska, sAkShAt-kRhta-dharmANaH, and the records of their experiences are the facts to be considered by any philosophy of religion. The truth revealed to the seers are not mere reports of introspection which are purely subjective. The inspired sages proclaim that the knowledge they communicate is not what they discover for themselves. It is revealed to them without their effort. [ puruSha-prayatnam vinA prakaTIbhUta. shankara. ] Though the knowledge is an experience of the seer, it is an experience of an independent reality which impinges on his consciousness. There is the impact of the real on the spirit of the experiencer. It is therefore said to be a direct disclosure from the 'wholly other', a revelation of the Divine. Symbolically, the upaniShads describe revelation as the breath of God blowing on us. 'Of that great being, this is the breath, which is the Rhg Veda.' [ bRhad-AraNyaka upaniShad II. 1. 10; muNDka upaniShad II. 1. 6; Rhg Veda X. 90. 9. ] The divine energy is compared to the breath which quickens. It is a seed which fertilises or a flame which kindles the human spirit to its finest issues. It is interesting to know that the bRhad-AraNyaka upaniShad tells us that not only the Vedas but history, sciences and other studies are also 'breathed forth by the great God.' [ II. 4. 10. The naiyAyikas maintain that the Vedas were composed by God, while the mImAmsakas hold that they were not composed at all either by man or by God, but have existed from all eternity in the form of sounds. It is perhaps a way of saying that the timeless truths of eternity exist from everlasting to everlasting. Aristotle regards the fundamental truths of religion as eternal and indestructible. ]
The Vedas were composed by the seers when they were in a state of inspiration. He who inspires them is God. [With reference to the prophets, Athenagoras says: 'While entranced and deprived of their natural powers of reason by the influence of the Divine Spirit, they uttered that which was wrought in them, the spirit using them as its instrument as a flute-player might blow a flute.' Apol. IX.
Cp. 'Howbeit, when he the spirit of truth is come he shall guide you unto all the truth; for he shall not speak for himself, but whatsoever things he shall hear, these shall he speak.' John XVI. 13. ] Truth is impersonal, apauruSheya and eternal, nitya. Inspiration is a joint activity, of which man's contemplation and God's revelation are two sides. The svetAsvatara upaniShad says that the sage svetAsvatara saw the truth owing to his power of contemplation, tapaH-prabhAva, and the grace of God, deva-prasAda. [ VI. 21. ] The dual significance of revelation, its subjective and objective character, is suggested here.
The upaniShads are vehicles more of spiritual illumination than of systematic reflection. They reveal to us a world of rich and varied spiritual experience rather than a world of abstract philosophical categories. Their truths are verified not only by logical reason but by personal experience. Their aim is practical rather than speculative. Knowledge is a means to freedom. Philosophy, brahma-vidyA, is the pursuit of wisdom by a way of life.
The upaniShads as the VedAnta
The vedAnta meant originally the upaniShads, though the word is now used for the system of philosophy based on the upaniShads. Literally, vedAnta means the end of the Veda, vedasya antaH, the conclusion as well as the goal of the Vedas. The upaniShads are the concluding portions of the Vedas. Chronologically they come at the end of the Vedic period. As the upaniShads contain abstruse and difficult discussions of ultimate philosophical problems, they were taught to the pupils at about the end of their course. When we have Vedic recitations as religious exercises, the end of these recitals is generally from the upaniShads. The chief reason why the upaniShads are called the end of the Veda is that they represent the central aim and meaning of the teaching of the Veda. [ tileShu tailavad vede vedAntaH su-pratiShTHitaH. muktikA upaniShad. I. 9. Again, vedA brahmAtma-viShayA. bhAgavata. XI. 21. 35. Atmaikatva-vidyA-pratipattaye sarve-vedAntA Arabhyante. shankara's Commentary on the brahma sUtra Introduction. vedAnto nAma upaniShat pramANam. vedAnta-sAra. ] The content of the upaniShads is vedAnta vijnAnam, the wisdom of the vedAnta. [ muNDaka upaniShad. III. 2. 6. svetAsvatara upaniShad speaks of the highest mystery in the vedAnta. vedAnte paramam guhyam VI. 22. ] The samhitAs and the brAhmaNas, which are the hymns and the liturgical books, represent the karma-kANDa or the ritual portion, while the upaniShads represent the jnAna-kANDa or the knowledge portion. The learning of the hymns and the performance of the rites are a preparation of true enlightenment. [ Much of the material in the chAndogya upaniShad and bRhad-AraNyaka upaniShad belongs properly to the brAhmaNas. ]
The upaniShads describe to us the life of spirit, the same yesterday, to-day and for ever. But our apprehensions of the life of spirit, the symbols by which we express it, change with time. All systems of orthodox Indian thought accept the authoritativeness of the Vedas, [ Even the Buddhists and the Jainas accept the teaching of the upaniShads, though they interpret it in their own ways. See Introduction to Dhamma-pada and ViseShAvasyaka bhAShya, Yasovijaya Jaina GranthamAlA. No. 35. ] but give themselves freedom in their interpretation. This variety of interpretation is made possible by the fact that the upaniShads are not the thoughts of a single philosopher or a school of philosophers who follow a single tradition. They are the teachings of thinkers who were interested in different aspects of the philosophical problem, and therefore offer solutions of problems which vary in their interest and emphasis. There is thus a certain amount of fluidity in their thought which has been utilised for the development of different philosophical systems. Out of the wealth of suggestions and speculations contained in them, different thinkers choose elements for the construction of their own systems, not infrequently even through a straining of the texts. Though the upaniShads do not work out a logically coherent system of metaphysics, they give us a few fundamental doctrines which stand out as the essential teaching of the early upaniShads. These are recapitulated in the brahma sUtra.
The brahma sUtra is an aphoristic summary of the teaching of the upaniShads, and the great teachers of the vedAnta develop their distinctive views through their commentaries on this work. By interpreting the sUtras which are laconic in form and hardly intelligible without interpretation, the teachers justify their views to the reasoning intelligence.
Different commentators attempt to find in the upaniShads and the brahma sUtra a single coherent doctrine, a system of thought which is free from contradictions. bhartRhprapanca, who is anterior to shankara, maintains that the selves and the physical universe are real, though not altogether different from brahman. They are both identical with and different from brahman, the three together constituting a unity in diversity. Ultimate Reality evolves into the universal creation sRhShTi and the universe retreats into it at the time of dissolution, pralaya. [ See Indian Antiquary (1924), pp. 77-86 ]
The advaita of shankara insists on the transcendent nature of non-dual brahman and the duality of the world including isvara who presides over it. Reality is brahman or Atman. No prediction is possible of brahman as prediction involves duality and brahman is free from all duality. The world of duality is empirical or phenomenal. The saving truth which redeems the individual from the stream of births and deaths is the recognition of his own identity with the Supreme. 'That thou art' is the fundamental fact of all existence. [ chAndogya upaniShad VI. 8. 7; bRhad-AraNyaka upaniShad I. 4. 10. ] The multiplicity of the universe, the unending stream of life, is real, but only as a phenomenon.
rAmAnuja qualifies the non-dual philosophy so as to make the personal God supreme. While brahman, souls and the world are all different and eternal, they are at the same time inseparable. [ a-pRhthak-siddha. ] Inseparability is not identity. brahman is related to the two others as soul to body. They are sustained by Him and subject to His control. rAmAnuja says that while God exists for Himself, matter and souls exist for His sake and subserve His purposes. The three together form an organic whole. brahman is the inspiring principle of the souls and the world. The souls are different from, but not independent of, God. They are said to be one only in the sense that they all belong to the same class. The ideal is the enjoyment of freedom and bliss in the world of nArAyaNa, and the means to it is either prapatti or bhakti. The individual souls, even when they are freed through the influence of their devotion and the grace of God, retain their separate individuality. For him and Madhva, God, the author of all grace, saves those who give to Him the worship of love and faith.
For Madhva there are five eternal distinctions between (1) God and the individual soul, (2) God and matter, (3) soul and matter, (4) one soul and another, (5) one particle of matter and another. The supreme being endowed with all auspicious qualities is called viShNu, and lakShmI is His power dependent on Him. mokSha is release from rebirth and residence in the abode of nArAyaNa. Human souls are innumerable, and each of them is separate and eternal. The divine souls are destined for salvation. Those who are neither very good nor very bad are subject to samsAra, and the bad go to hell. Right knowledge of God and devotion to Him are the means to salvation. Without divine grace there can be no salvation. [ mokShas ca viShNu-prasAdena vinA na labhyate. ViShNu-tattva-nirNaya. ]
Baladeva adopts the view of acintya-bhedAbheda. Difference and non-difference are positive facts of experience and yet cannot be reconciled. It is an incomprehensible synthesis of opposites. rAmAnuja, bhAskara, nimbArka and baladeva believe that there is change in brahman, but not of brahman. [ See Indian Philosophy by Radhakrishnan, Vol. II, pp. 751-765; Bhagavad-gItA, pp. 15-20. ]
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:41:49 PM IST
The Upanishads are wisdom teachings that explore the deeper, internal meaning of sacrifice. They were written in the sixth century BCE, during a period of great ferment – the time of the Buddha and Mahavira. The Upanishads were dialogues between gurus and their students, and they emphasize the esoteric dimension of sacrifice. Sacrifice has various meaning, including a person’s life, breath-control exercises, or celibacy. Brahman (the real) is sound, mantra, or prayer that conveys insight into ultimate reality if heard properly. Atman is the soul or spirit that is attached to the body.
I. The literature of the Upanishads
A. The Upanishads are Vedanta (the “end of the Vedas”). Each of the Vedic samhitas has Brahmanas (ritual texts), Arayakas (forest books) and Upanishads affiliated with it.
B. The Upanishads are “wisdom teachings” that explore the deeper, internal meaning of sacrifice. Jnana – revolutionary wisdom that transforms and enlightens one’s consciousness – is an important goal of Upanishadic teachings.
C. The social context of the Upanishads.
1. They were written in the sixth century BCE, during a period of great ferment marked by urbanization, social instability, competition for resources, dissatisfaction with traditional ways, and a search for new answers.
2. The locus of this searching was both the city and the wilderness. Some teachers and seekers pursued spiritual knowledge of deeper reality by renouncing settled village life.
D. Seekers were not only Brahmins but also kshatriyas, women, and bastards.
1. King Janaka asks Yajnavalkya, “What light does a person have?” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3)
2. The woman Gargi asks Yajnavalkya, “On what is the world woven, warp and woof?” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.8).
3. The bastard Satyakama Jabala asks about his lineage (Chandogya Upanishad 4.4).
E. The Upanishads are dialogues between gurus and their students. “Upanishad” can mean either “to set down side by side” (e.g., the correspondences between microcosm and macrocosm), or “to sit down side by side” (i.e., near a teacher).
II. Knowledge of sacrifice
A. The rites are powerful, world-ordering acts, but they can degenerate into formal rote observances divorced from their original meaning.
1. If the external – exoteric – aspect of the sacrifice is overemphasized, the ritual can become hollow and lifeless.
2. If the internal – esoteric – aspect is overemphasized, the ritual can become incomprehensible.
3. The Upanishads emphasize the esoteric dimension of sacrifice; they contain many layers of esoteric meaning.
B. Interpretations of sacrifice in the Upanishads.
1. Sacrifice has various meanings – a person’s life, breath-control exercises or pranayama (Chandogya 3.16 ff.), or celibate student life (brahmacharya (Chandogya 8.5).
2. Sacrifices are “unsafe boats” for the crossing (Mundaka 1.2.7), since one might possibly be born again into this or a lower world.
C. Goal of the Upanishads:
Asato ma sad gamaya From untruth lead me to truth
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya From darkness lead me to light
Mritorma-amritam gamaya From death, lead me to immortality
III. Knowledge of Brahman or “the Real”
A. Meanings of Brahman:
1. Sound, mantra, or prayer – the holy power of sound, which conveys insight into ultimate reality if heard properly.
2. Those people who know the mantras and prayers; i.e., the brahmanas or Brahmins.
3. A class of ritual texts – the Brahmanas.
4. The Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality – the holy power that undergirds all reality.
B. The dialogue of Gargi and Yajnavalkya (Brihadaranyaka 3.8 ff.).
IV. Knowledge of Atman, the Self or Soul
A. The dialogue of Prajapati and Indra (Chandogya VIII.7 ff.) on the Self. Atman is the soul or spirit (the breath of life) that is yoked to the body.
B. The story of the “Contest of the Senses,” won by breath (prana) (Brihadaranyaka VI.7 ff.). When breath departs, death follows.
C. The dialogue of Uddalaka and Svetaketu after the latter’s return from the ashram (Chandogya 6). Uddalaka teaches Svetaketu that self-knowledge is the fundamental knowledge that allows one to make sense of all particular learning.
1. Sat, meaning the Real, lies at the heart of all.
2. Atman is like the invisible inside of a fig seed, from which the tree grows.
3. Atman is like the taste of salt in water, pervasive but invisible.
4. Tat tvam asi – “That thou art, Svetaketu.”
D. Yajnavalka’s teaching in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad defines Being exclusively – it is not anything that one can name.
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:31:45 PM IST
Other books I recommend are:
A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India
K. M. Sen, Hinduism
Prabhavananda & Manchester, trs., The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal
F Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophic Reconstruction
B. S. Miller, trans., The Bhagavad Gita: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War
W. Rahula, What the Buddha Taught
R. D. Baird, ed., Religion in Modern India
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:29:29 PM IST
SOG,
exactly.
upanishads and puranaas are nothing but verbal juglary. they essentially contain nothing great.discussed in detail in "The wonder that was India"by by AL Basham
Posted by: Mr. Siri Siri At: 2, Mar 2006 5:25:26 PM IST
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