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On Mon, 5 Feb 2001 thehindu wrote:

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> This article is emailed to you by Ram Chandran ( rchandran )

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> Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

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> Ultimate goal of human existence

>

> [...]

> Among the Upanishads found in the Sama

> Veda, the Kena is a brief one. Kena is one of the principal

> Upanishads and belongs to the Talavakara recension of the Sama

> Veda.

>

> Its importance can be gauged from the fact that Sankara has

> written two commentaries on this Upanishad. The Kena Upanishad

> [...]

 

 

namaste.

 

Can someone throw some more light on this, about shri shankara's

*two* bhAShyA-s on this upanishad. I did not hear or read of this

(two bhAShyA-s) before.

 

 

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

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This article is emailed to you by Ram Chandran ( rchandran )

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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Self-knowledge must be experienced

 

CHENNAI, FEB. 10. Knowledge of the ultimate truth is a matter of

experience which is gained by direct mystical intuition. The

scriptural texts which expound Self-knowledge are thus marked for

their simple and direct approach. The simplicity of their

expressions mask the pregnancy of the ideas which explain the

paradox of this insight which can only be experienced for oneself

in the dynamic silence of meditation and cannot be communicated

to others as in the case of empirical knowledge.

 

Ashtavakra Samhita (Ashtavakra Gita) is one such treatise which

expounds the insights of a mystic in the form of a dialogue

between Sage Ashtavakra and Janaka, his disciple. The sage

engages his student's attention all the time on the revelation of

the truth without getting into dialectical intellectual exercises

which characterise philosophical discussions. The objective of

this text is that the Reality should never be lost sight of while

dealing with Self-knowledge. Hence it is not a study of the truth

but a process of continuous discovery and celebration of the

unitive vision.

 

In his discourse, Swami Suddhananda said that the sage vividly

described the one who revelled in the experience of the infinite

Self. One who has awakened to the bliss of the Self finds that

all his desires have ended. In this state of dynamic peace

nothing remains to be done. Like the vastness of the ocean which

neither overflows when the rivers empty their waters into it nor

dries up when the rivers become dry in summer, the man of

realisation remains unaffected by the sense objects as he is

content in the experience of the bliss of the Self.

 

Happiness or sorrow is one's reaction to the objects of sensory

experience. By themselves, the sensory organs, sense impressions

and the material objects are innocent and it is the ``I'' which

gets restless by projecting itself on them and feels happy if its

desire is fulfilled and sad when denied the object of its desire.

The moment this projection stops, the reposeful Self emerges in

total Self-awareness. So the ``I'' should not be allowed to

manipulate the senses and the mind. When one looks to the world

for sustenance there is no problem; whereas, when one seeks

fulfilment from it all kinds of frustrations result.

 

The inner transformation which takes place as a result of this

experience makes one a master of one's senses and mind without

being a slave to them. Instead of becoming an unconscious victim

to his desires which are spurred by thoughts, the man of wisdom

remains poised in the Self. There is no room for compromise in

the understanding of the Absolute Reality.

 

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