The book Upanishads by Swami Prabhavananda published by the Ramakrishna Math, Madras in 1979 was purchased and read by me sometime in 1982 or 1983,
and I retain it even now. It is very concise and gives a layman an idea of the
Upanishads. I had a lofty idea about what the Upanishads say before I read the
book, but after reading it, I was brought down to earth and the following is the noting
I made on the inside of the first page on the book.
“Great indeed are my expectations when I started reading this
book. Everyone spoke so eloquently about Hindu philosophy which comes mostly
from the Upanishads. After reading only a quarter of this I feel greatly disillusioned,
for I never knew it could be so hollow. The authors of the Upanishads seem to
have taken it for granted that living on the earth is a great pain. I do not
know what made them think so; perhaps it was because of the circumstances
prevailing in their ages. They were not able to adjust themselves properly in
their environment so they ran away from it and started fantasizing that they
will attain some immortal bliss after death by renouncing themselves in that
fashion. They believed in afterlife and they are so scared of it that they do
not want to be born again. I pity these poor creatures who never understood the
sweetness of life. True these struggles and pains in life we have to undergo,
but without these life becomes lack luster.
The greatest virtue in life is not the contemplation of
Brahman or afterlife but the satisfaction before you die that you have lived
your life happily and bequeathed the same happiness to your posterity in which
you become immortal.”
Now I thought that I should make an even smaller gist of the
Upanishads than Swami Prabhavananda and am doing so with the help of his
book.
1.
BRAHMAN: This is the Universal Self that
pervades all over the Universe. There is nothing that is not Brahman. Brahman
can be described as not this not this and never in the affirmative because it
is beyond all senses. The moment one starts describing Brahman, the evolute is
Eeshwara or the individual God.
2.
ATMAN or the SELF: This is the ego or the
individuality of the person. The Atman is a part and parcel of Brahman and is
therefore one with Brahman. But due to avidya (wrong knowledge) it considers itself
to be separate from Brahman. When this avidya is removed the Self or Atman
again becomes one with Brahman it always is.
How many Upanishads were originally there were unknown but
108 Upanishads have been preserved. The 10 Upanishads on which Sankaracharya
has commented are the Principal Upanishads. That is the same thought is echoed
in the other Upanishads as well. The 10 Principal Upanishads are;
1.
ISHA
2.
KENA
3.
KATHA
4.
PRASNA
5.
MUDAKA
6.
MANDUKYA
7.
AITAREYA
8.
TAITTIRIYA
9.
CHANDOGYA
10. BRIHADARANYAKA.
Now I am giving below a gist of each Upanishad.
1. ISHAVYASOPANISHAD.
Life in the world and life in the spirit are not
incompatible.
Work or action is not contrary to knowledge of God, but
indeed, if performed without attachment, is a means to it.
Renunciation is the renunciation of the ego, of selfishness
and not of life.
The end, both of work and renunciation, is to know the Self
within and Brahman without, and to realize their identity.
The Self is Brahman and Brahman is all.
Explanation: Everyday life in the world and
spiritual life are not incompatible
2. KENOPANISHAD.
The power behind every activity of nature and of man is the
power of Brahman. To realize this truth is to be immortal.
3. KATHOPANISHAD.
The secret of immortality is to be found in purification of
the heart, in meditation, in realization of the identity of Self within and
Brahman without. Immortality is simply union with God.
4. PRASNOPANISHAD.
Man is composed of such elements as vital breath, deeds,
thought, and the senses. All of them deriving their being form the Self. They
have come out of the Self, and in the Self they ultimately disappear—even as
the waters of a river disappear in the sea.
5. MUNDAKOPANISHAD.
Since the manifold objects of sense are merely emanations of
Brahman, to know them in themselves is not enough.
Since all the actions of men are but phases of the universal
process of creation, action alone is not enough.
The sage must distinguish between knowledge and wisdom.
Knowledge is of things, acts and relations. But wisdom is of
Brahman alone; and beyond all things, acts and relations, he abides forever.
To become one with him is the only wisdom.
6. MANDUKYAUPANISHAD.
The life of man is divided between working, dreaming, and
dreamless sleep.
But transcending these three states is super consciousness
vision-called simply the Fourth.
7. AITAREYOPANISHAD.
Brahman, source, sustenance, and end of the universe,
partakes of every phase of existence.
He wakes with the waking man, dreams with the dreamer, and
sleeps the deep sleep of the dreamless sleeper;
But he transcends these three states to become himself. His
true nature is pure consciousness.
8. TAITTIRIYAUPANISHAD.
Man, in his ignorance, identifies himself with the material
sheathes that encompasses his true Self.
Transcending these, he becomes one with Brahman, who is pure
bliss.
9. CHANDOGYOPANISHAD.
Brahman is all. From Brahman come appearances, sensations,
desires, deeds.
But all these are merely name and form. To know Brahman one
must experience the identity between him and the Self, or Brahman dwelling
within the lotus of the heart.
Only by so doing can man escape from sorrow and death, and
become one with the subtle essence beyond all knowledge.
10. BRIHADARANYAKOPANISHAD.
The Self is the dearest of all things, and only through the
Self is anything else dear.
The Self is the origin of all finite happiness, but it is itself
pure bliss, transcending definition.
It remains unaffected by deeds, good or bad. It is beyond
feeling and beyond knowledge, but it is not beyond the meditation of the sage.
