Introduction to Upanishads and Vedanta.

[Guest guest]

subbarao bondada <sbonda writes

> These postings are wonderful in trying to draw distinctions about

> parabrahman, Iswara, parabrahma and brahma, Atman, moksha, Nirwana >

etc..

 

Greetings Subbarao:

 

I am happy to hear your thoughtful questions and let me explain the

distinctions using an introductory article. Hopefully, you will also

receive replies from other members, clearing your doubts. In addition, I

would suggest that you access the Internet sites using the search

criteria "advaita" or "vedanta." You will get plenty of information to

clarify your questions.

 

The Upanishads, Vedas and Vedanta

 

The history of Hinduism shows, there are several levels of thought and

experience that gave rise in time to several schools of philosophy.

Hinduism, the oldest of the world religion, is founded on the sacred

scriptures, called Vedas. The four important phases of Vedic revelation

contain Mantras, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. The Mantras

or Slokas are the Vedic hymns orally passed from generations to

generations. The Brahmanas are the consequence of the ritualistic

elements in the Mantras. They discuss rituals and sacrifices, the hymns

to be sung, and the gods to be invoked. They also define the duties of

the officiating priests. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads articulate the

mystical elements of the Mantras.

 

The last phase of the Vedic revelation established the most significant

thought process to the philosophy of life through the Upanishads. The

Upanishads come after the Veda and therefore the philosophy is known as

the Vedanta. The Upanishads, written by the teachers of Vedas, contain

the universal and eternal truths of the Vedic hymns. It describes the

relationship between Atman, the human soul and Brahman, the universal

soul. The eleven known Upanishads are Isavasya, Kena, Katha, Prasna,

Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brihadarnyaka, and

Svetasvatara. The written verses in Sanskrit are difficult to

comprehend because they contain deep insight to the problems of religion

and human thought. The main objective of this article is to illustrate

the essence of the Upanishads for the readers to understand and

appreciate. Secondly, I hope to motivate the readers to look for more

detailed works on Vedanta in general, and Upanishads and Gita in

particular.

 

The Creation and Realization

The Upanishads compare God to a spider that weaves its web out of its

own body and lies at the center of it. There is general agreement that

the principle and source of the universe is Brahman. The resolution of

the relationship between Brahman and the universe is the central theme

of Vedanta, and the Upanishads. The relative standpoint is Saguna

Brahman, the manifestation of Brahman by the human soul, viewed through

the human spectacles. Nirguna Brahman, is the absolute standpoint,

where Brahman is God as He views Himself independently. Sankara's

AdvaitaVedanta explains why Brahman, individual soul (Atman), and the

Universe is not different. Madhvacharya's Dvaita Vedanta describes the

conception of God with the basic assumption that Brahman, individual

souls, and the world are different.

The Taittiriya Upanishad using the story of the enlightenment of

Bhrigu, the son of Varunaexplains the ideas of creation and realization.

The universe has five orders of beings: material objects, living plants,

conscious animals, intelligent human beings and God in bliss. The four

important ingredients to realize SELF, are Annam (food), Prana (air),

Manas (consciousness), Vijnana (knowledge). The goal of human life is

ananda (bliss), the realization of SELF (Tat Tvam Asi).

 

Human being, in the scale of spiritual progression, has dual

personality. They are partly animal and partly god, moving in two

worlds, the world of Nature and the world of Spirit. The Taitriya

Upanishad suggests the path of spiritual progression. The path has

movements from food, life, mind, knowledge, and ultimately to Brahman,

the SELF. By eliminating all the limitations of the body, mind and

intellect, the SELF can be realized. The human being is potentially

divine, and that can overcome the world and break the bonds, and

ultimately can realize the SELF. The Mundaka Upanishad states " As the

flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their name and form, so does

a wise man freed from name and form go into the Divine Spirit greater

than the great." This experience has different names at different

times, as Prana, Jyotis, Akasa, Brahman, Atman, Ananda, or simply as

Sah.

The Doctrine of Karma and Samsara

In support of the realization of SELF, Upanishads outlines several

additional explanations. The universe has the natural tendency to guide

the realization by the human soul. The natural forces of the universe

maintain the balance between the material objects, living plants,

conscious animals, and intelligent human beings. The transition from

human consciousness into divine (transcendental) consciousness is a long

and laborious process. Ordinarily, within the span of a single

lifetime, it is not feasible to transit from human to divine. Life is a

continuous journey, carried over and continued through the succeeding

lives till the attainment of SELF realization. The Doctrine of Karma

and Samsara rationalizes the role of the soul during the transition

between the lives. The law of Karma rationalizes the purpose of the

movement. Rebirth is dependent on moral behavior in a previous phase of

existence and life on the universe is transient.

 

In the Upanishads, it is no longer a question of rewards and

punishments meted out by an external judge. The human beings become the

architect of their own spiritual fortunes, no longer subject to chance

or the will of an hypothetical God. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states

that the actions of the human beings decide the outcome. The doer of

good becomes good, the doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous

by virtuous action and sinful by sinful action. As is his desire so is

his will, as his will so is the deed, he does, and whatever deed he

does, that he will reap. Ultimately, being Brahman, he goes to Brahman!

 

The Bhagavad Gita elaborates the doctrine of Karma-yoga, established in

the Upanishads. The Karma-yoga is the solvent of the Law of Karma. It

is an effective spiritual discipline for persons who seek knowledge of

God or knowledge of SELF. According to this doctrine, all works done

in a spirit of renunciation and sacrifice with no desire for their fruit

lead not to rebirth but to mokshaor Self-realization. In nature, the

behavior of plants and trees is in the spirit of renunciation and

sacrifice with no desire. The path to moksha, is no desire! Desires

are the root cause of deaths and births. Work done without any desire

for personal gain, becomes spiritual action. Action should be natural

and spontaneous, prompted by the circumstance. An excellent example

of this spontaneity is the blooming of the flowers during the morning

sunlight (J. Krishnamoorthy's Video Discourse). It is not the

renunciation of the action itself, but renunciation of the gains from

such action is important.

 

The Path to Self-realization - Sravana, Manana, and Nididhyasana:

What are the guidelines to reach the goal of life? What type of life

one has to lead in order to realize God? The answers to these questions

are not directly addressed in the scriptures. It is impossible to

outline the path of Self-realization because such a possibility is a

logical contradiction. Rightly, the acquisitions of knowledge, the

cultivation of virtues, the development of character and the discharging

of the duties of the citizen are the only true concerns of the

scriptures. However, there are hints and suggestions with regard to the

essential pre-requisites of spiritual illumination. It is not the

knowledge of scriptures but the realization of the SELF that brings

liberation to the spirit of the human being. The Sanskrit sloka "

Mantravideva asmi na atmavit." illustrates the true perspective in the

quest for knowledge. Infinite knowledge on Mantras does not lead one

to Self-realization.

Vedanta, the philosophy of life derived from the scriptures, is an

elaboration of the path to Self-realization. The Brihadaranyaka

Upanishad discusses the essence of Vedanta in greater depth. The

discussion between Rishi Yajnavalkya and his wife, Maitreyi elaborates

the essence of Vedanta. The three recognized states to the path of

Self-realization are: Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana. Sravana is the

study of scriptures under a qualified Guru. Manana means constant

reflection upon what has been learnt so that intellectual conviction may

be produced in the mind. Finally, Nididhyasana implies meditation that

helps to cause a direct realization of the unity of things in God.

Knowledge should lead to experience, intellectual conviction should

result in perception. That is why meditation comes in the last stage of

the spiritual journey. Again the scriptures insist that successful

completion of the states are neither necessary nor sufficient for

Self-realization.

Patanjali, the greatest authority on Yoga, discusses the different

kinds of meditation techniques from the scriptures. Yoga, the practice

of meditation is deep thinking. Human beings meditate in their daily

work to get knowledge and power. The Yogi practices yogas with a

specific goal in life. A genuine yogi has no interest in the enjoyment

of powers because they are barriers to Self-realization. The scriptures

discuss the true form of meditation, the path to Self-realization. The

Upanishads outlines the details of Upasanas, the preliminary steps of

meditation. The Upasanasinclude the choice of symbol or object to

represent SELF, the mystic syllable AUM, and other key elements. Prana

(breath), Asana (posture), Pratyahara (training of mind for detachment),

Dharna (concentration of mind to specific part of body), and Dhyana

(get the power to think) are the critical elements of the upasanas. The

last part of meditation is Samadhi, the total absorption. In this state

of the mind, the yogi rejects the external part, the object of

meditation, and contemplates only its essence.

 

The word AUM is primordial and uncreated sound. The mystics absorbed in

contemplation, when their minds and senses are withdrawn from the world

heard the sound AUM. AUM, often written OM (to rhyme with home), is the

most sacred word in the Gayatri mantra, which contains the essence of

Vedanta. This is an effective symbol of Brahman. The Upanishads

describe AUM as the symbol of the Atman, or individual soul, in its

various aspects. The unique sound of A, U, and M represents the Atman

free from the experiences of the relative world, Turiya, the pure

consciousness.

 

States of Consciousness and Transcendental Consciousness:

There are four states of consciousness, waking, dream, dreamless sleep,

and Turiya, (self-realization). The state of waking consciousness

contains the impressions derived directly from the objects presented to

the senses. The state of dream consciousness fills with impressions not

directly from the objects but from the images of objects stored in the

memory. At the state of dreamless sleep, not only the senses and but

the mind is quiescent. Here there are no impressions and the mind is a

temporary cessation of normal consciousness. Finally, the fourth state

of consciousness, Turiya, where the subject is permanently free from the

principle of objectivity. The person has the positive experience of

Atman, the liberated spirit and this experience is not within the

experience of ordinary persons. This state according to Mandukya

Upanishad is neither cognitive nor non-cognitive, it cannot be seen,

cannot be described, and cannot be designated. This is the state of

the realization of Atman, the knowledge of oneness of the SELF, where

the world ceases to exist!

 

All creatures seek happiness, and most of them seek the lowest quality

and for the shortest duration. True happiness consists in expanding our

souls in every direction and reaching out in brotherly union with other

souls, to that universal spirit who is the perfection of knowledge,

beauty and love. This path to true happiness is Pravritti Marga. The

acquisition of knowledge, the worship of beauty, and the thrilling

experience of love is only knowing the different phases of knowing the

SELF. This is Nivritti Marga, the path of concentration. The internal

world and the external world needs equal attention to reach the

transcendental consciousness. The Bhagavad Gita says, " He who sees

that the way of renunciation and the way of works are one, he sees

indeed."

 

Conclusion:

Sharma, in his book, The Upanishads-An Anthology, states "It may be

remarked that this aspect of the Upanishadic teaching, bearing on what

is now called Nature mysticism, as well many other aspects, is either

lost sight of or is reduced to a cold hardened doctrine in most of our

later scriptures, without the warm enthusiasm and the profound mystic

insight of the original seers." Parthasarathi, a well known scholar of

Vedanta, in his book Vedanta Treatise, states " The goal of all

religions is one and the same. To unveil your real Self. To discover

your true nature. To draw out the divinity in you." The Upanishads

with the Gita contains the essence of VEDANTA: the thoughts on creation,

the creator, and the salvation. The stories of Nachiketas in Katha, of

Bhrigu in Taittiriya, Janaka in Brihadaranyaka, and of Satyakama,

Upakosal, Svetaketu and several others in Chandogya are good

illustrations of Vedanta.

 

 

Note: Ideas are taken from the excellent book by Sharma D. S., The

Upanishads - an anthology, published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

However, Ram Chandran is responsible for all the errors and omissions

 

Bibliography

Sharma, D. S. The Upanishads - an anthology, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,

Bombay, 1975.

A. Parthasarathy, Vedanta Treatise, Vedanta Life Institute, Bombay,

1984.

Swami Nikhilananda, Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Madras,

1968.

McCormick, Alvena, The Mystery of Creation, Central Chinmaya Mission

Trust, Bombay, 1986.