Lesson - 6 Upanishads The word Upanishad means to "sit near". That means the disciple or shishya sits near the guru, near his feet, and listens to an intimate session of spiritual instructions. This was the system of learning in the Vedic culture. It still exists in many places. Upanishads are also called Vedanta – Veda anta - the ultimate knowledge. The Upanishads are not having chapters but each Upanishad is full in itself. There are 108 of them but someone says that there are 10, 11 or 12 main Upanishads depending on which branch or sampradaya you refer to. Upanishads are commentary on Vedas but in one sense they are not philosophy. They are considered as Darshana "something seen" and the student has not only to listen but to realize them. These sessions were not casual like some seminar or workshop but the dedication of almost the whole life time. Generally a session would last for twelve years and the student would be grasping and digesting the subject matter. Just to quote from one of the Upanishads (Katha Upanishad) it says, only a few hear these truths, of those who hear only a few understand, and of those only a handful attain the goal. Lord Krishna also says in Bhagavad Gita like this to Arjuna. A desire to know something is the motivation behind all science, and in Vedic India this scientific tradition was started long time ago and the roots of this scientific spirit are in Vedas and other scriptures emanating from them. The main Upanishads are Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Mandykya Upanishad Kena Upanishad Katha Upanishad Mundaka Upanishad Aitareya Upanishad Taittiriya Upanishad Prashna Upanishad Chandogya Upanishad Isha Upanishad Shevtashvatara Upanishad Kali Santarana Upanishad I will try to explain each one of them in short. For those of you who are interested to know more they can read them in details by buying some books. But before you get fascinated and jump into that I would like to caution that you have very limited free time and each one of these scriptures is attractive and wonderful. I will try to give you the guideline for reading the essences of these scriptures at the end of our sessions. Till then please go along and try to absorb the basics. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad This is the longest and one of the oldest Upanishads. It touches upon themes of almost every Upanishad and it covers the style and range from the texts of Vedas to personal realization. The text is organized into three sections: The exposition of Vedanta, a logical defense of it, and some techniques of meditation. In other words it is an encyclopedia of Vedic literature. It has verses from Vedas and also from other Upanishads, including the whole text of Ishopanishad. It has Vedic mantras, anecdotes, conversations and exposition of some mystical realities. One of the famous mantras is Lead me from unreal to real Lead me from darkness to light, Lead me from death to immortality. The famous author T.S. Eliot used it in his story called "What the thunder said". It also tells us about the parampara (guru-shishya chain) in which this was handed down. One writer says that this Upanishad has mingled love with knowledge, forests with cities and practicality of daily life with the hope of attaining immortality. Some excerpts: Maitreyi : My Lord, if I could get all the wealth in the world, would it help me to go beyond death? Yajnavalkya: Not at all. You would live and die like any other rich person. No one can buy immortality with money. ************** Janaka: What is the light of man? Yajnavalkya : The Sun: In the light we sit, work, go out and come back. Janaka: Whane the sun sets, what is the light? Yajnavalkya: The moon: By that light we sit, work, go and come back. Janaka: When the sun and moon sets then what is the light? Yajnavalkya: The Fire. Janaka: When all go out what is the light? Yajnavalkya: The Speech. Even if we cant see in darkness we can reach out by sound of speech. Janaka: When no one speaks then what is the light? Yajnavalkya: The Self. Janaka: Who is that self? Yajnavalkya: Self is pure awareness. It shines as the light within the heart, surrounded by senses. The Self never sleeps or wakes or dreams. And the dialogue goes on…….. (Next Lesson Mandukya Upanishad and Kena Upanishad)