Introduction
The Upanishad belongs to SAma Veda and is important because it is one of the ten Upanishads on which ShankarAchArya has written commentaries. Brahm Sutra discusses many mantrAs of this Upanishad. Study of Brahm Sutra necessarily requires prior study of this Upanishad. It has 8 chapters with 627 mantrAs. The first five chapters discuss Vedic meditations. The outcome of Brahm-upasana, regarded as the highest meditation is krama-mukti. The meditator reaches Brahmaloka and finally merges in Brahman. It is nothing compared to realization of Brahman in this life.
The meditations may be undertaken with a desire to secure the various results described in the relevant portions of the Vedas, or it may be a desire free devotion to the deity. The latter purifies the mind which is a prerequisite for realization of the Truth. It is perhaps for this reason that the meditations are included in the early part of Upanishads. These meditations are hardly practised nowadays. Over a period of time, they have been replaced by meditations on purAnic deities in human forms who are easier to meditate upon.
Chapters 6, 7, and 8 have respectively 16, 26, and 15 sections and Vedantic teachings: Brahman is the reality, jagat is mithyA, and jiva is not different from Brahman. The mahAvAkya, Tat Tvam Asi (Thou That Art) is in 6th chapter and is repeated 9 times in the chapter. Chapter 6, 7, and 8 respectively reveal existence, bliss, and consciousness aspects of Brahman. A verse is denoted as a.b.c where a stands for the chapter, b for the section and c for the verse number.
Chapter 6
6.1.1 to 6.1.7
The teaching is by way of a dialogue between the disciple Svetaketu, the son and Uddalaka, his father. The son has gone to Guru’s ashrama at the age of 12 and after learning scriptures for 12 years has returned home. The father notices pride and arrogance in him. As if to bring him down to earth, the father enquires from the son: if he has gained knowledge of that thing by knowing which what is unheard of becomes heard, what is unthought of becomes thought and what is unknown becomes known? The son is perplexed as to how such a thing can exist. Therefore, he says that the teacher might not have known about it otherwise he must have taught him. Though it is unworthy of a student to find defect in the teacher, the son does so more out of fear of being sent back to the teacher than as mark of disrespect. And he requests the father to teach him.
The father accedes to the request. He assumes the role of a teacher and Svetaketu becomes a disciple. The teaching begins. The message is that even after studying all Vedas, and other things which are to be known, the mission of life is unfulfilled if a person does not know the reality behind the world. The father cum teacher explains the method to know that extraordinary entity.
By knowing a clod of clay all that is made of clay is known, by knowing an ingot of gold all the products of gold can be known and by knowing a nail cutter suggestive of iron of which it is made of, all products of iron can be known. It is so because all modifications and products are but names based on words, whereas clay, gold, and iron are respectively real. The products of clay, gold and iron are only names and forms resulting due to intervention of space and time. The pot made of clay is essentially clay. It has no existence apart from clay. It is for practical purpose and utility that a particular shape of clay is given the name pot. But this does not vitiate the fact that the pot does not exist separately from the clay. The curiosity of Svetaketu is aroused and he wants to learn more.
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