Tag Archives: Upanishad

Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 31

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Part 30

Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha
6-9 Taittiriya Upanishad BrahmAnanda Valli
6-9-2 AnuvAka 1(Pt 2) and AnuvAka 2 to 4
Upanishad describes Brahman as the source of creation which is the Tatastha (distant) lakshna of Brahman. Everything in the creation is born out of Brahman. Five elements, namely, space, air, fire, water, earth are born in that order. Plants and herbs are born from earth, food is born from plants and herbs, and from food, living being is born. The idea is that a human being is born from Brahman and to emphasize the idea, the teacher points out the different parts of the physical body, namely, head, right side in south, left side in north, middle portion is the body, and the portion below the waist as tail. The gross body is born of Brahman. A person is inclined to take gross body as Brahman. It is an interim position because gross body is finite and is discarded later. The Upanishad teaches discrimination of five-sheaths to understand formless Brahman. The gross body is food-sheath (Annamaya Kosa), made of food.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 26

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Part 25

Part 27

Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha

6-7 Mundaka Upanishad

6-7-1 Mundaka 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 The Upanishad reminds the seekers about the divine origin of the Upanishads and their transmission through the lineage of teachers thereby ensuring purity. Brahmaji is the creator and protector of the world. He has imparted the knowledge of Brahman to his eldest son Atharv who in turn has passed it on to Angir. Satyavaha (of the line of Bhardvaja) and Angiras are the subsequent receivers of knowledge and so on from higher ones to lower ones.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 21

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Part 20

Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha
6-5 Katha Upanishad
6-5-23 Katha 2.1.5 to 2.1.10 Some technical terms used by the Upanishad need explanation. Brahman is all-pervading Original Consciousness (OC). It is AtmA at the individual level. The OC manifests through matter, the Reflecting Medium (RM). It is Reflected Consciousness (RC). OC is only one, but RCs are as many as RMs. The quality of RC depends upon RM. The OC remains unaffected. The material universe is divided into three pairs: three belonging to the microcosm and three belonging to macrocosm. Consciousness reflects in any of the six mediums. There are 6 mediums RM1 to RM6 and six reflected consciousness RC1 to RC6. At the individual level, there are three mediums: RM1 (physical -gross), RM2 (mental-subtle) and RM3 -causal.

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Bhagavad Gita 3.10 and symbolism of the cow

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There are some translations of shloka 3.10 of the Bhagavad Gita which look something like,  

Prajapati, when creating beings and sacrifice, said, “By this, may you receive the bountiful cow whose milk satisfies all desires.”

As a result, the significance and meaning of the verse is not necessarily as clear.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 15

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Part 14

 

Chapter 6 JnAna and Moksha

6-2 Aitareya Upanishad

6-2-1 Aitareya 1.3.13 and 1.3.14
1.3.12 in chapter 5 has described the entry of Brahman in the body of jivA. The embodied Brahman is jivAtmA. The sentient jivA is a combination of consciousness (Atma) and mind-body. And Atma is not different from Paramatma (God). It is an Upanishadic Great Statement ( mahAvAkya). A jivA however forgets this fact due to the veiling power of mAyA. It is Self-ignorance. Sometimes, because of his punyAs earned in previous lives and the current life, a jivA can get a qualified teacher who out of compassion imparts Brahm-knowledge. The student realizes Brahman as ‘id’ meaning ‘this’, i.e., his Self. The Upanishad calls the knowledge IdAndra. As an adorable entity is not called by its direct name, the Upanishad uses the name Indra (not the deity Indra). The message is that by performing virtuous deeds as per scriptural injunctions, a jivA will one day develop mental maturity to know the futility of worldly goals and turn to spirituality and get Self-knowledge with the blessing of a teacher.

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Bhagavad Gita – the meaning of sacrifice

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In shloka 3.9, Krishna tells Arjuna,

Aside from action for the purpose of sacrifice, this world is bound by action. Perform action for the purpose of sacrifice, Arjuna, free from attachment.

In doing so, he instructs Arjuna that the only action he should perform should be “free from attachment.” This is known as ‘sacrifice’ because it is the act of renouncing or giving up attachments. Being free from attachment, one has knowledge of Brahman. As Krishna says in the fourth chapter (4.23),

The work of one who is free from attachment, who is liberated, whose thought is established in knowledge and is done only for sacrifice, one’s karma wholly melts away.

The concept of sacrifice comes from the Vedas, where recitation of a mantra was seen as the sacrifice. Continue reading →

Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part11

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Part 10

Part 12

Chapter 5 Preparation

5-6 Prasna Upanishad

5-6-4 Prasna 3.10
Though all the questions have been answered, there is an extended answer for the 4th question. How does the prAna leave the body? As death nears, our thoughts are no longer determined by our will. The willpower becomes weak in old age and the latent tendencies become strong. UdAnA pulls subtle and causal bodies and they enter the next body, the blueprint of which is already available.

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Advaita in the Vedas – conclusion and anthology

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This post marks the end of the ‘Advaita in the Vedas’ series. While the series could continue indefinitely and branch out to the other Vedas, as was initially intended, it would inevitably end up covering already explored ground rather than adding anything new in the context of Advaita.

The series was always meant to provide an overview of Advaita in the Vedas, rather than an in-depth examination. Also, there’s nothing in the Vedas which the Upanishads fail to make more succinct. This means, by finishing the series here, there’s nothing left out or which remains unsaid – it’s all in the Upanishads. Continue reading →

Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 7

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Part 6

Part 8

Chapter 4 Bandha

4-5 Mundaka Upanishad
4-5-1 Mundaka 1.2.1 to 1.2.10
In the first section of the first chapter, the Upanishad has introduced two types of knowledge, namely, lower knowledge and higher knowledge. The higher knowledge leads to freedom. We will see details in Chapter 5 on Preparation. The second section of the first chapter describes the general nature of rituals prescribed in karma-kAnda of Vedas. Agnihotra, the fire ritual was very popular in Vedic times. The Upanishad assures that the rituals are true in the sense that if performed as per scriptural injunctions, the desired results follow. However, the Upanishad wants the performers of rituals to know the associated limitations and pitfalls. They perpetuate bondage which is the other name of samsAra. Even the fulfillment of the desire of heaven is bondage, like a golden chain. Indiscriminate people are carried away by such material benefits. They are ignorant and fools. Here is how the Upanishad describes the state of affairs.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 4

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Part 3

Part 4

Chapter 3 Jiva Jagat Isvara

3-1 Introduction
It is desirable to begin with the obvious, namely, the creation and human being. The world is constituted of living and non-living beings. It also includes invisible entities, e.g., thoughts, and emotions. A human being is a living being. Though Upanishads differ in the details of creation, there is consensus about a causeless creator called Brahman and that the creation is cyclic, not linear. A linear creation with a beginning and an end runs into logical fallacies. In the cyclic version, there is no beginning and no end. Pedantically, it is absurd to talk about any beginning of creation because time is a part of creation. An immediate question that begs an answer is about the source of raw materials for creation. Before the creation, there was nothing except the creator. Upanishadic answer is that the creator has the material within Himself like a spider having material inside itself. The material is the mAyA power of Brahman which does not exist separately from Brahman. Cyclic creation and the material within the creator lead to a third proposition. In one cycle, the world emerges out of the creator, runs its course according to certain laws, and then resolves into the creator to remain there in potential form and become ready at an appropriate time for the next cycle. It is called creation-sustenance-dissolution. The word ‘creation’ is a misnomer because it conveys that a new thing comes into existence which is not correct. A more appropriate word is manifestation.

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