Upanisad An Introduction.pdf

Upaniṣads: An Introduction By Pranay Bin The great landmark in the religious development of India is to be found in a group of books of exceeding importance called the Upaniṣads. Upaniṣads are remarkable product of the Indian religion. They are a contribution of supreme importance not only to the religious thought of India, but have an exalted and abiding place in the religious literature of the world. Nevertheless, this study seeks to proffer its basic concept, to discern what Upaniṣad is. 1. The Term Upaniṣad The word Upaniṣds has been derived thus: Upa+ni+ṣad. Upa and ni are the prefixes to the root sad. Upa means nearness or quickness. Ni means certainty. The root ṣad has two meanings- (1) to attain and (2) to loosen or destroy. As the word Upaniṣad has been interpreted in two ways, it is the knowledge by means of which the ignorance, which is the cause of attachment to the world, is quickly and completely destroyed. Or it is the knowledge by means of which one can quickly attain the Supreme Being, Brahman.1 Upaniṣads is also the search for what is true and express numerous suggestions about it. 2. The Upaniṣad as the Vedanta The word Vedanta is a compound word. It consists of two words, ‘Veda’ and ‘anta’. Veda means knowledge, and ‘anta’ means end. Therefore, ‘Vedanta’ means ‘end of the Veda’. The Upaniṣads are the concluding portions of the Vedas. Chronologically they come at the end of the Vedic period. As the Upaniṣads contain abstruse and difficult discussions of ultimate philosophical problems, they were taught to the pupils at about the end of their course. Radhakrishnan states that “when we have Vedic recitations as religious exercises, the end of these recitals is generally from the Upaniṣads.”2 The chief reason why the Upaniṣads are called the end of the Veda is that they represent the central aim and meaning of the teaching of the Veda. The content of the Upaniṣads is Vedanta vijnanam, the wisdom of the Vedanta. The Samhitas and Brahmanas, which are the hymns and the liturgical books, represent the karma kanda or the ritual portion, while the Upaniṣads represent the jnana kanda, or the knowledge portion. The learning of the hymns and the performance of the rites are a preparation for true enlightenment. However, Upaniṣads describe to us the life of spirit, the same yesterday, today and forever. 3. The Mode of Preservation of Upaniṣads The last sacred books, especially the Upanishads give glimpses of how this learning was imparted, and it is easy to picture what took place. Max Müller’s description is true of disciples in the sacred colleges today, as it was of their procedures in the forest hermitages three thousand years ago. 1 2

B. K. Chattopadhyaya, The Teachings of the Upanisads (Delhi: Oriental Book Centre, 2008), 7. S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upaniṣads (New Delhi: HarperCollins Publishers India Pvt Ltd., 1994), 24.

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How then was the Veda learnt? It was learnt by every Brāhmaṇ during twelve years of studentship or Brahmācāya. This, according to Gautoma, was the shortest period, sanctioned only for men who wanted to marry and to become Gṛhastha. Brahmanas who did not wish to marry were allowed to spend forty years as students. The Prātiśākhya gives us a glimpse in to the lecture rooms of the Brahmanic Colleges. ‘The guru,’ it is said, ‘who has himself formerly been a student, should make his pupils read. He himself takes his seat either to the east or north, or the north-east. If he has no more than one or two pupils, they sit at his right hand. If he has more, they place themselves according as there is room. They then embrace their master and say, “Sir read!” The master gravely says, “Om,” i.e. “Yes”. He then begins to say a praśna (a question), which consists of three verses. In order that no word may escape the attention of his pupils, he pronounces all with the high accent, and repeats certain words twice, or he says “so” (iti) after these words. It does not seem as if several pupils were allowed to recite together, for it is stated distinctly that the Guru first tells the verses to his pupil on the right, and that every pupil, after his task is finished, turns to the right, and walks around the tutor. This must occupy a long time every day, considering that a lecture consist of sixty or more praśnas, or of about 180 verses. The pupils are not dismissed till the lecture is finished says, ‘sir,’ the pupil replies ‘yes, sir.’ He then repeats the proper verses and formulas, which have to be repeated at the end of every reading, embraces his tutor and is allowed to withdraw. This quest for “connections” often occurred in small groups as disciples (śiśyas) gathered around a teacher and student were drawn largely from brahmaṇa and kṣatriya communities and both were male and female. Indeed at least two women-Gārgī Vācaknavī and Maitreyī-were mentioned as serious students cum teachers. 4. Number of Upaniṣads It is assumed that as many Upaniṣads as there were Vedic school, indeed the Muktika Upaniṣad asserts, that there had been 21 schools of Ṛgveda, 1000 of the Samaveda, 109 of the Yajurveda and 50 of the Atharvaveda, it follows there form that there must have been 21+1000+109+50=1180 Upaniṣads. In reality, however, the state of things was much simpler, so far as the number of the Śākhās, which, as we actually know, restrict for every Veda only few Upaniṣads.3 At present only a few branches (10 branches) of the Vedas are available. The greater portion has been lost in the course of time. As an instance of the loss of Vedic texts mention may be made of the verses with which Upamanyu is stated to have worshipped the twin gods Aśvinīkumara in the Mahābhārata, Ādiparba, 3.57.68. These verses are not found in the Vedas. As there was an Upaniṣad at the end of each branch, there ought to have been 1,180 Upaniṣads. About 108 Upaniṣads are however available at the present time.4 Of the hundred and eight extant 3 4

Ibid., 2. Chattopadhyaya, The Teachings of the Upanisads . . . , 10.

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Upaniṣads, ten have come to be regarded as the cream of the Upaniṣadic teachings. They are as follows: Śankara commented on eleven, Īśa, Kena, Kaṭha, Praśna, Muṇḍka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chānddogya, and Bṛhad-āraṇyaka. 5. Setting, Date and Form of Upaniṣads There is complication to trace out the place of the origin of the Upaniṣads, since there is no direct evidence or tradition to prove. Yet we can infer from the texts themselves. Scholars unanimously agree that the Brahmanical sacrifice cult flourished in the region of the Gaṅgā and Jamunā. It is the region between present Delhi and Agra, and to the east thereof, the place where the tribes of the Kurus and the Pāñcālas lived. From there the Aryan Indians and with them, their Vedic culture started spreading, toward the north of the Gaṅgā and towards the east, up to where Bihar of today is placed. This whole land is considered as a holy land of Vedas. This same area is considered as the land of the origin of the Upaniṣads. In the earlier Upaniṣads, the land of the kurus and the Pāñchalas is mentioned.5 In the progressively later texts, the king of videha, Janaka is referred to. However, the oldest of these Upaniṣads represented oral exchanges occurring around the seventh century BCE. These included the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad centred perhaps in the lower Gangetic basin and a product of the yajurveda school of Vedic hymnists. The most commonly mentioned teacher in this school is Yājn͂avalkya. The other early set of dialogues is that of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, centred perhaps northwest of the upper ganges in an area brahminic writer referred to as Āryāvrata. It was a product of Sāmaveda singers. Other significant Upaniṣads representing reflections occurring by the sixth to fifth centuries BCE are the Taittirīya, Aitareya, and Kausitaka Upaniṣadas. Such collections are the kena, Kaṭha, Īśā, Śvetāśvatara and Mundaka Upaniṣads were probably products of the last few centuries BCE and, among other things, expressed a more theistic orientation.6 The lesson of the guru to his pupil or sisyas were not public in the ordinary sense of the world: to be practicable they naturally required quite, but the ritual text show us more than that: they bear witness that certain texts of special importance were to be to the pupil in the forest, and not in the normal place, the abode of the teacher.7 Most of the Upaniṣads are in dialogue form, including occasional records of great public debates where many individuals competed for prizes.8 In order to substantiate we can take an instance from the Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad, where, Yājnavalkya, the winner of such debating contest at which the prize was a thousand cows each with ten gold pieces on her horns, is a prominent figure in the Upaniṣads. In the Chandogya Upaniṣad, the dialogue between Śvetaketu and his Mrinalini Vivek Manohar, The Earlier and Later Upaniṣads: A Comparative Study (Delhi: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan, 2011), 2. 6 Fred W. Clothey, Religion in India: A Historical Introduction (London/New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2006), 31. 7 Arthur Berriedale Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanisads Part II (Delhi: Motilala Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 1998), 489. 8 P.S. Daniel, David C. Scott and G.R. Singh, Religious Traditions of India (Delhi: ISPCK, 2011), 89. 5

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father is another ample evidence of the form. In kaṭha Upanṣad, explicitly we can trace the form of dialogue between Nciketa and his father and Yama.9 This information makes clear the form of Upaniṣad as dialogue. 6. Factors for Composition of Upaniṣads When we pass from the Vedic hymns to the Upaniṣds we find that the interest shifts from the objective to the subjective, from the outside world to the meditation on the significance of the self. The human self contains the clue to the interpretation of the nature. The real at the heart of the universe is reflected in the infinite depths of the soul. The Upaniṣads give in some detail the path of the inner ascent, the inward journey by which the individual souls get at the ultimate reality. The truth is within us. The different Vedic gods are envisaged subjectively. ‘Making the Man (puruṣa) their mortal house the god indwelt him.’10 ‘All these gods are in me.’11 He is, indeed, initiated, whose god within him are initiated, mind by mind, voice by voice. The operation of the gods becomes an epiphany: ‘This Brahma, verily, shines when one sees with the eye and likewise dies when one does not see.’12 In the Upaniṣads we find a criticism of the empty and barren ritualistic religion.13 Sacrifices were relegated to an inferior position. They do not lead to final liberation; they take one to the world of the Fathers from which one has to return to earth again in due course. 14 When all things are God’s there is no point in offering to him anything, except one’s will, one’s self. The sacrifices are interpreted ethically.15 Sacrifices become self denying acts like puruṣa-medha and sarvamedha which enjoin abandonment of all possessions and renunciation of the world. 16 For example, the Bṛhad-āranyaka Upaniṣad opens with an account of the horse sacrifice (aśvamedha) and interprets it as a meditative act in which the individual offers up the whole universe and by the renunciation of the world attains spiritual autonomy in the place of earthy sovereignty. In every homa the expression svāhā is used which implies the renunciation of the ego, svatvahnana.17 Sāṁkhyāyana Brāhmaṇa of the Ṛgveda says that the self is the sacrifice and the human soul is the sacrifice, puruṣo vai yajn͂aḥ, ātmā yajamānaḥ. The observance of Vedic+ ritual prepares the mind for final release, if it is in the right spirit.18

Manohar, The Earlier and Later Upaniṣads . . . , 174. Atharvaveda XI. 8. 18 11 Jaiminiya Upanisad Brahmana I. 14.2. 12 Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upaniṣads . . . , 49. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Yaska explains it thus: su āhā iti vā, svā vāg āheti vā, svam prāheti va svāhutaṁ havir juhati iti vā. Nirukta VIII.2. 18 Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upaniṣads . . . , 50. 9

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Prayer and sacrifice are means to philosophy and spiritual life. While true sacrifice is abandonment of one’s ego, prayer is the explanation of reality by entering the beyond that is within, by ascension of consciousness. It is not the theoretical learning.19 The Upaniṣad seers are not bound by the rules of caste, but extend the law of spiritual universalism to the utmost bounds of human existence. The story of Satyakāma Jābāla, who, though unable to give his father’s name, was yet initiated into spiritual life, shows that the Upaniṣad writers appeal from the rigid ordinance of custom to those divine and spiritual laws which are not of today or of yesterday, but live forever and of their origin known no man. The words tat tvam asi are so familiar that they slide off our minds without full comprehension.20 The view that is generally held by the western scholars is that the authors of the Upaniṣads lost faith in the efficacy of Vedic sacrifices and that they realized the conception of One god discarding the conception of many gods which is to be found in the earlier Vedas. Thus Prof. Macdonald writes, “Though the Upaniṣads generally from a part of a Brahmaṇas they really represent a new religion which is in virtual opposition to ritual or practical side.”21 Winternitz writes: “while the Brahmins were pursuing their barren sacrificial science, other circles were engaged upon those highest questions which were at last treated so admirably in the Upaniṣads. From these hermits who were not originally connected with priestly caste preceded the forest hermits and wandering ascetics.”22 Max Muller writes: “in these Upaniṣads the whole ritual or sacrificial system of the Vedas is not only ignored but directly rejected as useless, nay as mischievous. The ancient gods of the Vedas are no longer recognized.”23 Deussen writes: “the Ātman doctrine is fundamentally opposed to the Vedic gods and the brahmiṇcal system of ritual.”24 Robert Hume writes: “no longer is worship or sacrifice or good conduct the requisite of religion in this life or of salvation in the next. Knowledge secures the latter and disapproves the former. The whole religious doctrine of different gods is seen to be stupendous fraud by the man who has acquired metaphysical knowledge of the monastic unity of the self and of the world in Brahman or Ātman.”25 Further he states that “sacrifice and works of merit towards hypostatized divinities are, in the light of metaphysical knowledge, seen to be futile.”26 Because the Upaniṣads makes it clear that there is One God (Brahman), the western scholars have concluded the author of Upaniṣads did not like the existing practices and believe on their minor gods. In addition to it, Upaniṣads provide the information that the aim of life is the attainment of salvation through the knowledge of Brahman. Therefore, scholars might have not believed in the efficacy of sacrifices in attaining heaven. On the other hand we found that minor 19

C.U. VII.1.2.3. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upaniṣads . . . , 51. 21 Chattopadhyaya, The Teachings of the Upanisads . . . , 18. 22 Maurice Winternitz, History of Indian Literature (Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd., 1991), 237. 23 Chattopadhyaya, The Teachings of the Upanisads . . . , 18. 24 Ibid., 18-19. 25 Robert Earnest Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upaniṣads (London: Oxford University Press, 1931), 54. 26 Ibid., 54. 20

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gods are not rejected. When Naciketā asks about Brahmajn͂āna, Yama says that the gods also desire to know Brahman (which shows that the conception of minor gods is not rejected in the Upaniṣads). “In the past gods wanted to know it.”27 Again the Kaṭhopaniṣad says “All the minor gods exist in Him (Brahman).”28 With regard to sacrifice, the Muṇḍakopaniṣad categorically affirms the truth of the Vedic sacrifices: “All this true, the rituals which were revealed to the sages and which were connected with the Vedic mantras.”29 Again we see that “you should constantly perform these sacrifices with the desire for attaining the ultimate truth.” 30 However, the entire Upaniṣdas do not supply the consistent opinion for origin of Upaniṣads. In spite of this, there is also grappling issue that Upaniṣads are the end part of Vedas, so as they might have perceived the nugatory of the sacrifices and started to provide an alternative means to achieve salvation. Despite of the above mentioned reason, it is widely accepted among the Hindus that Upaniṣads did not replace the Vedic religion and thought but supplemented the earlier religion. 7. The Relationship of Upaniṣads with Śruti Literature The Vedas are four in number: the Ṛg, the Sām, the Yajur, and the Atharva. Each of these may be regarded as consisting of four parts, the first three pertaining to rituals and sanctions, and the last to knowledge, philosophic and transcendental. The four parts of each Vedas are as follows: (1) the Saṁhitās, (2) the Brāhmaṇas, (3) the Āranyakas, and (4) the Upaniṣads. The Saṁhitās are the hymns and chants in praise of various gods, such as Vāyu, Agni, Parjanya (rain), Indra, Mitra etc. The hymns are sung in order that man may please the gods and thereby receive from them the blessings of worldly goods such as health, wealth, power and fame. The Brāhmaṇas are manuals for performing various kinds of rituals and ceremonies as well as guides for the conduct of everyday life. They describe in detail procedures for performing different rituals for pleasing different gods, as well as the kinds of sacrifices to be offered to them; they also lay down the rules of conduct and duties of men toward each other. It is worth pointing out that undue emphasis of the Brāhmaṇas on the performance of rites, ceremonies, and duties has in course of time resulted in the degradation of religious consciousness: the mere chanting of certain word, the performance of certain rites, and acting in certain ways have totally replaced genuine religious consciousness. Thus empty utterance and mechanical gestures have themselves come to be regarded as a constituting the core of religious life. From such degradation it is but a short step to the emergence of an all-powerful priest class and therewith the rigid institutionalization of religion. However, these remarks are not to be construed as implying that the Brāmahmaṇs are wholly devoid of anything valuable. Indeed, they emphasize self-control and exhort men to cultivate love, kindness, and charity toward all living beings, including animals. Further, the Brāhmaṇs forbid murder, theft, greed, and jealousy. The Brāhmaṇs therefore surly deserve to be commended for their lofty ethical teachings. Nevertheless, their 27

Chattopadhyaya, The Teachings of the Upanisads . . . , 21. Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 28

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excessive emphasis on rituals and ceremonies did result in the gradual eclipse of genuine and sublime religious consciousness.31 Like the Brāhmaṇas, the Āraṇyakas deal with rites and ceremonies. But, unlike the Brāhmaṇas, they go beyond rites and ceremonies to remind man that true and liberating wisdom does not consist in the mere performance of rites and ceremonies but in spiritual insight into ultimate reality. The Āraṇyakas call upon men to inquire into and grasp the spiritual significance behind the Vedic sanctions, rituals, and ceremonies. In other words, the Āraṇyakas are the transition from the outward symbols to the inner reality. In this manner, the Āraṇyakas pave the path to the Upaniṣads, the flower of the wisdom.32 8. Teachings of Upaniṣads 8.1. Brahman In the Ṛgveda, the word ‘Brahman’ means a hymn or incantation or a prayer. Gradually it acquired the meaning-‘the power or potency of prayer.33 In the Atharvaveda, Brahman is always portrayed as not only the power of the mantra but as the basic cosmic principle. Brahman is the womb of existent and non-existent, the unity of the binding force of the world.34 Further, as the Atharvaveda denotes “the person who knows this Brahman as his atman has no need to fear death, for this atman is complete in itself, self existent, wise and immortal.”35 During the sacrificial texts (Brahmaṇas), the Brahman was identified with various Vedic deities such as Mitra, Vāyu, Bṛhaspati and also with the sacrifice. The priest, the fire, the oblations and all the rituals of sacrifice are identified with the Brahman. Brahman is the primal principle and the guiding spirit of the universe; and is regarded as omnipotent. There is nothing more ancient and brighter than the Brahman.36 In the Āranyakas, the conception of Brahman has become more or less metaphysical. “One who realizes it becomes emancipated. It is both Sat as well as Asat. It is described as the truth, the knowledge, and the endless. From the Brahman, all animate and inanimate objects have come forth, through whom these exist and wherein they merge.”37 The word Brahman, which, in the days of Ṛgveda, simply meant ‘prayer’; but during the progressive period of thought has been provided numerous broader meaning and ultimate sense of Brahman, can be traced in Upaniṣads.

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Ramakrishna Puligandla, Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy (New Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd., 2008), 211212. 32 Ibid., 212-213. 33 Manohar, The Earlier and Later Upaniṣads . . . , 25. 34 Singh, Religious Traditions of India . . . , 88. 35 Ibid. 36 Ibid. 37 Ibid., 25-16.

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The story in Chānḍogya Upaniṣad38 explains how the world which has names and forms arises from the subtle essence of pure being. The Brahman as Reality(सत्यम): The name of the Brahman is the ‘True’, states the Brahman as Reality Chānḍogya Upaniṣad and explains that, it consists of three syllables sat (सत), ti (तत), yam (याम)- the सत that is the immortal. The तत that is the mortal. The याम, with one holds the two together.39 But it is differently explained in Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad.40 The first and the last syllable are the truth and middle is untruth. However, it states that the Brahman is the reality of the real. The source of all existing things, That which alone, in this reality is truly real.41 The Brahman as being (सत): in the Taittiriya Upanisad, where the verse says, “असव्द इदमग्रमाससत ् ततो वै सदजायत”42 it is to be perceived that, it is not the absolute not-being, as compared with the

later concrete existence. Further it is said, “तत्सष्ृ टवा तदव वाुप्ािवतत

तदु् प ािव्य

स्च

त्य्चाभवत ”43

Consciousness (चचत): P. Deussen opines that “the nature of the soul, and in connection therewith the nature of the God, is to be conceived as something analogous to human thought as reason,

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According to a story in the Chandogya Upanisad when Svetaketu returned home after twelve years stay in the hermitage, where he studied the Vedas; he became arrogant and considered himself to be a wise man. His father inquired, “what have you learned that you seem to think yourself so wise?” do you know that which whence once known, everything else becomes known?” when you know iron, you know that all can be made out of iron, for these are in essence nothing but iron; we can distinguish the iron vessels from iron only by their specific forms and names. But whatever may be their forms and names, the true essence in them all, whether they may be needless pans or handles, is nothing but iron. It is only that there are so many forms and names, what are these forms and names without essence? It is the essence, the iron that manifests itself in so many forms and names. When this iron is known, all that is made of iron is also known. It is the ineffable reality, the ultimate being, which is the essence of everything else. Continuing the instruction further, the father asked the son to bring a fruit of nyagrodha tree and ask him to break it. The son observed fine seeds in the fruit, when broken. Again the father asked him to break one of those seeds; and the son observed that there was nothing at all in that seed. Then the father said to him, न्यग्रोधफलमाहरव तीदं भगव इतत सभन्ुं भगव इतत किमत्र पस्यतत ... धाुा भगव इत्यासमङगैिां सभन्धीतत भगव इतत किमत्र पस्यस्तीतत ु किन्चु भगव इतत तं होवाच यं वै सोम्यैतमणिमाुं ु तुभालयस एतस्य वै सौम्यैष णिम्ु एवं

महान्यग्रोधस्स्तष्ठतत “my dear, that subtle essence which you do not perceive, from that very essence this great nygrodha tree exists.” VI.12.1-2 39 तस्य वा एतस्य ब्राह्मिो ुाम तातु ह वा एतातु त्रीण्यक्षराणि सततयसमतत तध्यत्सत्तमत ृ म ् अथ यतत तन्मत्ययमथ यध्यं तवुोभव य्छतत यदुवुोभव य्छतत तल्लमाध्यमहरहवय एव्थिवत्ल्लवगँ लोिमवतत

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VIII.3b-5

तदव त्रयक्षरं सत्यसमतत स इत्यविमक्षरं ततत्यिमक्षरं यसमत्यविमक्षरं ्थमोत्तमव अक्षरव सत्यं मध्यतोुत प यतः ृ ं तदव तदुत ृ मभ

सत्यवु पररगहृ हतं सत्यभूयमवव भवतत ुैवम ् िवव्दांसमुत Br. Up. V.5.1b. Swami Madhavananda, The ृ ं हहुस्स्त Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad with commentary of Sankaracarya (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2011), 572. 41 ...तस्य उपतुषत्सत्यस्य सत्यसमतत... Br. Up. II.1.20b. Madhavananda, The Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad . . . , 202. 42 Not being was this in the beginning, from that being arose. Taittiriya Upanisad II.7.1a 43 After he had created it, he entered into it, he entered into it and when he entered into it, he was the ‘being’ and ‘beyond’. Taittiriya Upanisad II.6.1

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spirit or intelligence”44 for e.g. , when Uṣasta asks Yajn͂avalkya, to explain this Brahman, which cannot be perceived directly and “the in dweller of all.” He explains, “You cannot see the seer of seeing, hear the hearer of hearing, think the thinker of thinking. He is yourself which is in all things.” He who breaths in with your breathing, is the self of yours. The conception of atman, implies that; the Brahman pervading all, and the Atman, the essence of a man is knowing subject. The Brahman as Bliss (आुन्द): in the Upaniṣads, bliss does not appear as the “attribute” of the Brahman, but the Brahman is bliss itself. In the Chādogya Upaniṣad, it is said that the Brahman is joy (िम);् 45 also the term सपखम ् denotes bliss.46 These are sheaths of the Ātman are described and when they are stripped off as a mere husks, the kernel can be perceived as ānandamaya Ātman. This Ātman consisting of bliss is described as, “love is his head, joy his right side, jousness as his left side, bliss his trunk, and the Brahman, his base.”47 Here, Brahman is described as the base of the Self consisting bliss. Further, the origin we may found that Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad also states that Brahman as bliss.48 Forms of Brahman (ब्रह्म रूप): the Maitrī Upaniṣad states that there are two forms of the Brahman, the manifest and unmanifest. “That which is manifest is unreal and that which is unmanifest is real; that is the Brahman.”49 In the similar way Brhadaranyaka Upanisad50 states the two forms. Radhakrisnan, in his commentary on the above verses mentions that, “the form is the effect and the formless is the cause.”51 The Brahman being the Ultimate Reality, encompassing all-the living and non-living things, at the same time, the very essence of the things, and formless by itself. Radhakrishnan says the Brahman to be ‘cause’ which is beyond causality; only in the sense that without which nothing can exist. However Brahman is beyond causality and no becoming touches the essential reality. The Isa Upaniṣad explains that the manifest (संभपतत) and the unmanifest (असंभपतत) are the two aspect of the supreme.52 44 45 46

Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanisads of the Veda (Delhi: Motilal Banarshidass Publishers Private Limited, 1997), 133. यो वै भम ू ा तत्सख ू म ् ुाल्पव सख प मस्स्त भम ू ैव सख प ं भम ू ा त्ववव िवस्जज्ञाससतव्य इतत... चान्दग्य उपतुषाद ७.२३.१

आुन्द ब्रह्योतत व्यजाुात ्यन्त्यसभसस्ववतन्तीतत

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आुन्दाध्दयवव खस्ल्वमातु भूतातु जायन्तव

आुन्दव ु जातातु स्जवस्न्त

आुन्दं

तैत्रत्रया उपतुषाद ३.६.१

तल्लय ि्यमवव सतरः मोदो दक्षक्षिः पक्षः ्मोद उतरः पक्षः आुन्द आत्मा ब्रह्मा पप्छं ्ततष्ठा

२.५ Manohar, The Earlier and Later Upaniṣads . . . , 30. 49 व्दव वाव ब्राह्मिो रूपव मत ू ं चामत ू ं चाथ यन्मत ू ं तदसत्यं यदमूतं तत्सत्यं तदब्रह्म... मैत्री उपातुषद ६.३

तैत्रत्रया उपतुषाद

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व्दव वाव ब्राह्मिो रूपव-मूतँ चैवामूतँ, मत्यँ चामत ृ ं च, स्स्थतं य्च त्य्च ब्रह ृ दआरण्यि उपतुषाद २.३.१. Brahman has two forms-gross and subtle, mortal and immortal, limited and unlimited, defined and undefined. Madhavananda, The Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad . . . , 228. 51 Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upaniṣads . . . , 817. 52 संभतू तं च ववुातं च यस्तव्दव दोभयँ सह िवुातवु मत्ृ यंप तीत्वाय संभत्ू याऽमत प व ईता उपतुषाद १४. Srisa Chandra Vasu, ृ मश्रत The Upanisads Prasna, Isavasya, Kena, Katha Upanisad Volume I (New Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 2007), 11. 50

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Brahman is the supreme Lord from whom everything has preceded and who is the source of all energy. Thus Kena Upaniṣad, we find the query, “by whose will and direct by whom the mind works? By whose command the Prānas move? At whose direction speech is uttered?”53 In Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad, he is described as the controller, the lord and the master of all. He is the creator. He is the creator of the universe and the world belongs to Him. Yet, He is the indweller, inner controller and He is the inmost self of all living beings.54 It shows that he is beyond the ritual speculation as well as human and cosmos. 8.2. Ātman (आत्मान) One of the commonest expressions for ātman is prāṇa, or ‘breath’, and several passages deal with this prāṇa or its relation to the organ self-speech, breath, sight, hearing and thought-which correspond to the five natural forces-fires, wind, sun, the directions and the moon.55 The atman is clear from the following passage: As a lump of salt dropped into water dissolves with (its components) water, and no one is able to pick it up, but from wheresoever’s one takes it, it tastes salt, even so, my dear, this great, endless, infinite Reality is but pure intelligence. (The Self) comes out (as a separate entity) from these elements, and (this separateness) is destroy with them. After attaining (this oneness) it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear. So said Yajn͂avalkya.56

Ātman is presented in all beings, irrespective of their place in the hierarchy. According to Upaniṣads there is ātman on the one hand and the Brahman on the other. Brahman is the substance of all existence. Ātman is the eternal, silent witness in all beings; it is the pure spirit, all pervading. Further both ātman and Brahman, being beyond names and forms, are inexpressible and are to be experienced only on intuition. But the question rise here is that are ātman and Brahman two different realities, what is the relation between ātman and Brahman? It is identified that both ātman and Brahman do not refers two different realities, but are two different labels for one and the same unchanging reality underlying the changing world of phenomena, external as well as internal. Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad makes it very clear that “I am

53 54

Manohar, The Earlier and Later Upaniṣads . . . , 32. स वा एष महाुजआत्मा योऽयं िवज्ञाुमयः ्ािवषप य एषोऽन्तहृदय आिासस्तस्स्मऽञ्छव तव सवयस्य वसत सवयसयवताुः

सवयस्याचधपततः स ु साधपुा िमयि भूयात्रो एवासाधपुा ितुयाुवष सवे्वर एष भूताचधपततरव ष भूतपाल... ब्रपहदारण्याि

उपतुषाद ४.४.२२ Singh, Religious Traditions of India . . . , 90. 56 स यथा सैन्धवणखल्य उदव िव ्ास्त उदिमववाुपिवलीयवत, ु हास्योद्ग्ग्रहियवव सयात ् यतो यतस्त्वाददीत लविमवव एवं वा अर 55

इदं महदभूतमुन्तमपारं िवज्ञाुघु एव एतवभ्यो भूतभ् व यः समपत्थाय ताण्यववाुप िवु्यतत, ु ्वत्य संज्ञास्तीत्यरव ब्रवीमीतत होवाच याज्ञावल््यः

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ब्रह प दआरण्यिा उपतुषाद २.४.१२. Madhavananda, The Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad . . . , 255.

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Brahman.57 The Upaniṣads recognized our atman our inmost individual being, as the Brahman, the inmost being of universal nature and of all her phenomena, i.e. “That art thou”. 8. 3. Karma and Rebirth (कममसंसार) The word karma samsara is derived from two different Sanskrit words. Karam which means action, action is attached with kriya, vyaparm, chestitam, prabruti and karana, which helps us to understand the meaning of karma as our tendency, action, activity, cause and attempt. These are related to the human action, which produce the fruits or destiny. Samsara means world, if the action is attached or entangled with world and dies a person, whose soul come back to the world. Karma functions basically as a natural moral law of actions and consequences. All actions have consequences and accrue karma, or the residue of action. Good actions accrue good karma and bad actions accrue bad karma and this karma sticks with an individual from one birth to another, determining the conditions of one’s rebirth. In the Upaniṣads karma is treated as cumulative effect of good and bad action that determines one birth, but it is also presented as secret doctrine not to be taught every one. The Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad presents karma as the actualization or realization of one’s actions: “What it desires, it resolves; what it resolves, it works out; and what it works out, it attains.”58 An individual’s desires, will, actions and experience are essentially linked, and these are realized ultimately in each rebirth. Belief in rebirth has persisted, at any rate, from the time of the Upaniṣads. It is a natural development from the view of the Vedas and the Brahmaṇas and receives articulate expression in the Upaniṣads. After the death of human body, what remains of the individual? With regard to this Yājn͂avalkya replies to Ārtabhāga as, ‘Yājn͂avalkya,’ said he, ‘when the vocal organ of a man who dies is merged in fire, the nose in air, the eye in the sun, the mind in the moon, the ear in the quarters, the body in the earth, the ether of the heart in the external ether, the air in the body in herbs, that on the head in trees, and the blood and the seed are deposited in the water, where is then the man?’ ‘Give me your hand, dear Ārtabhāga, we will decide this between ourselves, we cannot do it in a crowded place.’ They went out and talked it over. What they mentioned was also work, and what they praised there was also work alone. (Therefore) one indeed becomes good through good work and evil work there upon Ārtabhāga, of the line of Jaratkāru, kept silent.59

ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आससत ्

57

तदात्माुमववाववत ्, अहं ब्रह्मास्मीतत ब्रपहदाराण्यि उपतुषाद १.४.१०. Madhavananda, The

Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad . . . , १००.

अथो खल्वाहप: िाममय एवायं परू य तत, यत्ितभ य तत तत्िमय िपरूतव, यत्िमय प ष इतत; स यथािामो भवतत तत्ितभ प व प व िपरूतव तदसभसंप्दतव ब्रपहदाराण्यि उपतुषाद ४.४.५. Ibid., 495.

58

59

याज्ञवल्िवतत होवाच, यत्रास्य पपरुषस्य मत ृ स्यास्ग्ु वागप्यवतत, वातं ्ाि:, चक्षपराहदत्यम ्, मु्चन्रम ्, हदत: श्रोत्रम ्, पचृ थवीं

तरीरम, आिातमात्मा, अषधीलोमातु, वुस्पततन्िवता:, अप्सप लोहहतं च रव त्च तुधीयतव, ्वायं तदा पपरुषो भवतीतत; आहर सोम्य हस्तमातयभागा, आवामववत ै स्य ववहदष्याव:, ु ुाववतत ् सजु इतत

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तौ होत्रम्य मन्त्रयांचरातव; तौ ह यदच ू त:प िमय है व

The future of the soul is not determined but the soul has chances of acquiring merit and advancing to life eternal. Until the union with the timeless Reality is attained, there will be some form of life or other, which will give scope to the individual soul to attain enlightenment and to eternal life. It is more explicitly described in IV.iv.4 of Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad, Just as goldsmith takes apart a little quantity of gold and fashions another-a newer and betterform, so does the self throw this body away, or make it senseless, and make another-a newer and better-form suited to the manes or the celestial minstrels, or the gods, or Virāj, or Hiraṇyagarbha, or other beings.60

When the self continues to desire and act, it reaps the fruit and comes again to this world for performing the act. However, the doctrine of rebirth is conditioned by karma and the karma and rebirth wrest man’s destiny. Thus, a desire is the root cause of rebirth and karman forms the connecting link between desire and rebirth. 8. 4. Mokṣa Upaniṣad teaches not only karma saṃsāra but there is concern of a person’s mokṣa from saṃsāra. The word मोक्ष् is derived from the Sanskrit word मपच which means ‘to release’ or ‘free’. Here the term is being used as, to be released from rebirth. Freedom from ignorance and bondage is to be attained here and now, in this life. He who attains the knowledge of Brahman, while still in body existence is the jīvamukta, the living free. He has conquered ignorance and delusion once and for all as well as beyond birth and death and has attained immortality. Upaniṣads suggest that “release comes with knowledge of the Lord, who transcends both the perishable and the imperishable. Knowledge of the lord, available by his prasāda or grace comes through dhyāna, meditation, through knowing him as resident within one’s self. Directing one’s thoughts and feelings to the all powerful and unchanging Lord, uniting with him through constant meditation, one loses one’s attachment to the world.”61 In addition to it, Upaniṣads recommends the fourfold discipline: (1) cultivation of moral purity as well as the disposition and will to seek the liberating knowledge, namely, the knowledge of Brahman, of atman; (2) listening attentively to a teacher as he expounds the Upaniṣadic truths; (3) reflecting upon the truths thus heard; and (4) meditation.62 Human state of bondage is due to ignorance of his real being and true nature. The moment a person start cultivating the moral purity, gradually it will lead to listen the truth, which will help him to reflect on it and to meditate. Thereby one can attain the mokṣa. तदच ू तप:, अथ यत््ततंसत:प िमय है व तत्््ततंसत:प , पण् प यो वै पण् प यवु िमयिा भवतत, पाप: पापवुवतत ततो ह जारत्िरव आतयभग उ्ाम 60

पवतस्िारी

ब्रपहदारण्याि उपतुषाद ३.२.१३. Madhavananda, The Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad . . . , 255.

मात्रामपादायान्यत्रवतरं िल्याितरं रुपं तुपतव,

एवमववायमात्मवदं तरीरं तुहत्य-अत्रिदयां गमतयत्वा-

अुयत्रवतरं िल्याितरं रुपं िपरुतव-िपत्र्यं वा, गान्धरवँ वा दै वं वा, ्ाजापत्यं वा, ब्राह्मं वा, अन्यवषां वा भूताुाम ्

ब्रपहदाराण्यि उपतुषाद ४.४.४. Ibid., 494. Singh, Religious Traditions of India . . . , 105. 62 Puligandla, Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy . . . , 225. 61

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Conclusion Unceasing motion is the natural characteristic of universe. In the similar way it is recognized that there is shift or motion in the teachings in Hinduism. Upaniṣads are numerous in number, but there are ten principal Upaniṣads, which have been emphasized. In the Śruti, The shift is taken place from ritualistic (Karmakāṇda) portion of sacrificial text with philosophical (jn͂ānakāṇda) and intuitive portion. It seems that there is perception of worthlessness of the ritual and sacrifice but does not condemned the Vedic practices rather it supplement. Therefore, Vedas are being regarded as lower knowledge. Nevertheless, Vedas have been placed in above than the other literature of Hinduism. Upaniṣads also contain teachings such as Brahman, Atman, Karmasaṃāra and mokṣa. Brahman and atman is identical, however atman or the self is in the clutches of ignorance, therefore, attached with material things and unable to release from it. In order to get rid from it, it is suggested by the Upaniṣads, especially cultivation of moral purity, knowledge of Brahman and atman, reflection upon the truth which is heard and meditation. However, Upaniṣads are immensely rational and metaphysical.

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Bibliography Chattopadhyaya, B. K. The Teachings of the Upanisads. Delhi: Oriental Book Centre, 2008. Clothey, Fred W. Religion in India: A Historical Introduction (London/New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2006. Daniel, P. S. David C. Scott and G. R. Singh. Religious Traditions of India. Delhi: ISPCK, 2011. Deussen, Paul. Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda Vol. I. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 1997. Hume, Robert Earnest. The Thirteen Principal Upaniṣads. London: Oxford University Press, 1931. Keith, Arthur Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanisads Part II. Delhi: Motilala Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 1998. Madhavananda, Swami. The Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad with commentary of Sankaracarya. Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2011. Manohar, Mrinalini Vivek. The Earlier and Later Upaniṣads: A Comparative Study. Delhi: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan, 2011. Puligandla, Ramakrishna. Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy. New Delhi: D.K. Print world (P) Ltd., 2008. Radhakrishnan, S. The Principal Upaniṣads. New Delhi: Harper Collins Publishers India Pvt. Ltd., 1994. Vasu, Srisa Chandra. The Upanisads Prasna, Isavasya, Kena, Katha Upanisad Volume I. New Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 2007. Winternitz, Maurice. History of Indian Literature. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd., 1991.

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