UPANISHADS.

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. 

Again, if we take it in another way the Upanishads stress that the cause and causation is Brahman himself.  So, whatever we do is pre ordained by Brahman, then where does the question of sin arise?  We are doing only what the Brahman wants us to do. The Upanishads say that one is born again because of his ignorance and the sin committed by him. If we take the above case into consideration, the Upanishads become Self contradictory. 

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.  

Specifically two terms have to be clarified before I embark on this venture. These are terms that are the fulcrums on which the Hindu philosophy revolves.

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.