the upanizads - tirumala

Ancient Indian Culture Series

THE UPANIZADS

Dr. KANCHAN MANDE

Published by

TIRUMALA TIRUPATI DEVASTHANAMSTIRUPATI

2017

FOREWORD

We have a unique and rich heritage handed downto us thousands of years before in the form of Vedas.Vedas are handed down to us from generation togeneration through ear-to-ear method. Hence, it is calledSruti. The vast mass of knowledge in the form of Vedaswas divided into four Vedas as Rig, Yajus, Sama andAtharvana by sage Vedavyasa. Since Vedas were foundto be difficult to be understood, an attempt was madein the form of Brahmanas and Aranyakas, as explanatorytreatises.

The ultimate end fruit of Veda is considered asvedantha which is otherwise called Upanishads.

Upanishads are the philosophical speculations ofthe great seers and rishis of glorious past. It is mostlydone in the form of discourses between the teacherand the student and ultimately they go and establishthe existence of Brahman (God) and His relationshipto the world (Prakruthi).

Upanishads are mainly divided into two i.e., majorand minor ones. The major Upanishads are ten innumber and the minor ones are six. Whatever may bethe division, the purpose of Upanishad is to acquireBrahmavidya. The complete meaning of Upanishad is

Ancient Indian Culture Series

THE UPANIZADS

ByDr. Kanchan Mande

T.T.D. Religious Publications Series No. 1230

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First Print : 2017

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Published bySri ANIL KUMAR SINGHAL, I.A.S.,Executive OfficerTirumala Tirupati DevasthanamsTirupati - 517 507.

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Printed at :Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams PressTirupati - 517 507

iv

‘to sit near the teacher to gain sacred knowledge ofBrahman’.

The author Dr. Kanchan Mande left no stone un-turned to make it very simple and lucid for the benefitof the common reader. Those who seek to knowquintessence of Upanishads will find out it extremelyuseful.

In the Service of Lord Venkateswara

Executive OfficerTirumala Tirupati Devasthanams

Tirupati.

INDEX

No. Title of the Chapter Page No.

1. Introduction 1

2. Isa Upanizad 5

3. Kena Upanizad 7

4. Katha Upanizad 11

5. Prasna Upanizad 16

6. Mundaka Upanizad 21

7. Mandukya Upanizad 24

8. Taittiriya Upanizad 29

9. Aitareya Upanizad 39

10. Chandogya Upanizad 41

11. Bvhadaranyaka Upanizad 54

12. Conclusion 61

UPANIZADIntroduction

India has a rich tradition of literature. It begins withthe Vedas, the oldest available texts. It is said that therewas a heap of Vedas as a lump; Vyasa divided it intofour parts, and so he was named as Vyasa i.e., dividerof Vedas. The one lump of knowledge became afourfold unit viz. Vgveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda andAtharvaveda.

May be after some time those Vedas becamedifficult to be understood. Some aid was essential tofollow them. Then the Brahmana texts came intoexistence as a first commentary on Vedas.

The Vedas are in metrical form but Brahmanas areprosoic in form. Vedas are mentioned as the devotionalpoems of the seers. It is a spontaneous overflow andnot a deliberate composition; but on the other hand,the Brahmanas are composed with specific purpose.According to Brahmanas, the Vedas are meant for theritualistic purposes. The Vedas were thereforeinterpreted in the light of ritual, in the Brahmana texts.

There are 10 chapters i.e., mandalas in all whichare mentioned in Vgveda. Out of them first and lasti.e., the tenth mandala, are said to be later addition. Inthe last i.e., the tenth mandala, some philosophical seeds

The Upanizads The Upanizads

are seen. Famous among them is Naradiya sukta (Vg-X.129). A discussion regarding the Universe is one ofthe problems tackled over in this chapter, which maybe thought of as a seed for the Upanizadic principles.

After the Brahmana texts, the Aranyakasflourished. The Aranyakas think of ritual as well asphilosophy as their prime consideration. Some sort ofsymbolic ritual is also thought of e.g. - concept of in s, but it is called as and is one of the famous samong the eleven principle Upanizads, traditionallyhanded down.

What is Upanizad -

Upanizads are instructions of a teacher to a discipleor dialogue between teacher and a taught or a husbandand a wife or discussions of the seers.

The eminent commentator Adi Sakkaracarya hasinterpreted the term Upanizad in various ways. Theterm Upanizad consists of three components viz. upa+ni + (the root) zad. Upa and ni means 'near'. The rootzad has different meanings. There are three prominentmeanings mentioned by Adi Sakkara. They are 'gati','visarana' and 'avasadana'. Upanizad is Brahmavidya.The Upanizad i.e., Brahmavidya leads those beingstowards Brahman who are to Brahman desirous ofliberation; I.1.1.

Second meaning is that - the Brahmavidya loosensthe stay in embryo, the birth, the old age etc.I.1.1. It is called Brahmavidya for loosening a groupof hindrances viz. the stay in embryo, birth, old ageetc.)

Third meaning provided by Adi Sakkara is that - itis called Brahmavidya because it destroys Avidya,foremost of all the causes of this Universe. ( - it destroys the frame of Avidya, soit is Brahmavidya - I.1.1.)

There are two more interpretations given by AdiSakkara.

One of them is the common meaning i.e., means near and means to sit. The complete meaningis - 'to sit near the teacher for the gain of secret / sacredknowledge'.

In the discussion of the meaning of Upanizad, AdiSakkara proclaims that the word Upanizad is used inthe sense of secondary meaning i.e., For exampleif somebody is carrying the text of Upanizad, he says,'I am carrying the Upanizad, instead of using the word'text'.

Sakkara's commentary is chronologically the firstavailable commentary. Another important point of

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Upanizad is that Adi Sakkara has interpreted it in fiveways. Nobody else has interpreted it in such a manner.It can be said that no meaning is left, and therefore it isdiscussed here.

In all there are 272 Upanizads either in manuscriptform or in printed form. Some Upanizads are knownonly by their names. These Upanizads are mainlydivided into two - either as Pracina or major, or asarvacina or minor. In major Upanizads 10 Upanizadsare discussed, which are known as principle Upanizadsalso. Late V.P.Limaye and R.D.Wadekar from Punehave prepared critical edition of 18 Upanizads. Theyhave included and It is available in VaidicSamsodhana Mandala, Pune. Adyar Library Chennaihas compiled minor Upanizads into six divisions' viz.and ThoseUpanizads are also known as sectarian Upanizadsbecause different sects are taken according intoconsideration. Usually out of these 272, only tenprinciple Upanizads are taken into consideration.Approximately accepted period of these ten Upanizadsis 1200 B.C to 600 B.C. The famous verse of themruns as

Only the major Upanizads are thought over here.The traditional verse mentioned above regarding thenames of Upanizads is also followed. While consideringthese Upanizads, three tenets viz. an individual i.e., jiva,the world i.e., jagat and the Lord i.e., Isvara areencircled with priority. Jiva is that being which lives,and so the individual is a central concept in the triad ofJiva, Jagat and Jaganniyanta. It is for this prime reasonthat every Upanizad has enlightened it.

Isa Upanizad

Isa Upanizad is the first accepted Upanizad by thetradition. It is smallest in size but loaded with manythoughts. It's first mantra speaks of the Lord, residingin the sentient and insentient individual. It is mentionedin this Upanizad that the individual, desirous of livingfor hundred years, should not cling to the action. Thisis an important thought, which is accepted byBhagavadgita (B.G.) too. Lokamanya Tilak, an eminentcommentator of Bhagavadgita has described this factoras 'Nizkama karmayoga'. One gets this concept fromsecond mantra of Isa Upanizad as .

There is a description about the individuals whoare engaged in rituals. As an Upanizadic pattern ritualis considerered as inferior to that of spirituality. Thisis mainly disucssed by Adi Sankara. He is, said to bethe first commentator. There are other commentators

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such as and But thecommentary of Adi Sankara is given prime importance.Many a times it is difficult to read the Upanizad withouta commentary. Therefore Adi Sankara's commentaryis thought over, when and whenever is necessary inthis book. Here, in Isa Upanizad, 'Asurya lokas' ( 3)are referred to. Literally it means there is no light i.e.,there is only darkness. Ritual is suggested by it. Becauseit is said that the ritual leads to rebirth. Rebirth is treatedas darkness, so ritual means darkness i.e., Asurya loka.Then there is a description of Brahman and at the endthere is a prayer for yonder life. Last four mantras areaccepted as prayer of ritual. The Upanizad comes toan end over there.

The concept of can be seen as the main theme.It is mentioned there as everything moving in this worldis encircled by the Lord. The noun Isa is used. Theverb Is means to rule over so the noun Isa is ruler - Isaone who rules over is instrumental case ending i.e., bythe Lord. This is the beginning of the Upanizad. Theseer doesn't speak of non moving entity, butspeaks of jagat only. Either he is unaware of it ,or may be included much in jagat or feeling asunimportant and therefore may have not referred to.The mention of the world i.e., jagat occurs in thebeginning viz. in the very first mantra. Then in the

remaining Upanizad there is no reference to jagat, soagain it may be taken for granted that the world is there.

Individual is already existing, because of whomthis jagat moves. The concept of Lord i.e., the Brahmanis elaborately discussed. The Highest Reality quiversit or does not quiver. It is far away. It is too near. It iswithin all and it is beyond all.

5It may remind one of the Highest Reality accepted

by Abhinavagupta as within the world and beyond theworld i.e., and

That is mentioned as white viz. also means the male semen connected with creation. Ithas no patch, having no sinew.(8) It is speedy thanthe mind. ( 4) Literally it means - the Highest Reality crossesover all the Gods in kinetic motion. But mind is thefastest one, so it is compared with the mind.

Kena Upanizad

Isa and Kena Upanizads are named so becausewords and respectively occur at the beginning.Isa begins with 1and Kena as - I.1

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Kena Upanizad has four chapters. First twochapters speak of the nature of individual. In the IIIchapter there is a story of Brahman called ... Thestory continues till the half of fourth chapter and fourthchapter ends with contemplation on the mind andlightening.

Though in the Kena Upanizad a separate mentionof individual is not there, it begins with the sense organs.The question is raised that by which inspiration doesthis mind go or works, by which factor do an ear, aneye etc., do work? The individual is referred throughthe mention of sense organs. This individual is like anagent because of whom all the organs become active.It is discussed in the first chapter. The very famousutterance in the second chapter runs as :

(Kena II.3). It

means that one who says that he knows everything,doesn't know anything and one who says that, hedoesn't know anything knows everything. It lookscomplex, but this would be a style of an experiencedbeing and therefore it is described in the Upanizad.

When one reads Kena Upanizad, he finds that theworld is not explicitly mentioned. The individual is alsodescribed through sense organs, because sense organs

comprise the body and body is the micro form of theworld. Therefore, when body is mentioned, the worldis mentioned too.

The III chapter opens with the story of the battlebetween Gods and demons. The Gods conquered thebattle. It was not because of their own accord but itwas because of their Highest Reality. The Gods foundit as their greatness, and it is their victory. So the HighestReality thought to judge them. It appeared in disguisedform of The Gods asked Agni, Vayu and Indrarespectively to look into the matter.

At the outset the fire i.e., Agni went as instructed.The asked 'who are you' III.4.The fire introduced itself as - born out of or i.e., the knowledge. A sort of boasting is inferred.The Yakza gave a bunch of hay to burn. III.5It was impossible for the fire toburn it. The fire returned back.

Then the wind i.e., went to . The samedialogue went between them. The wind introduced itselfas that it blows in the mid-region - III.8Yakza requested him to carry the bunch ofhay. III.10Thewind couldn't carry it and went back.

Then Indra went. Yakza disappeared and in hisplace there arose a beautiful lady - Uma Haimavati.

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Adi Sakkara has interpreted the word Haimavati in twoways. The first lore says - Haimavati means, havingornaments or the daughter of Himavan i.e., III.12 The second lore says -Haimavati is which itself is the highest ornament.

It is quite obvious that Indra was fond of women.Therefore the Yakza might have appeared in the guiseof a woman. Another thing is that the noun is afeminine gender word. So expressed herself inthe form of a woman. The third and most imporantreason is that, she is mentioned as , meaning .In Kasmir Saivism is always mentioned. The onlymajor difference is that generally is depictedalways as a listener, a receiver of the lore and Siva isdepicted always as the instructor. But in this Upanizad,is the instructor and Indra is the receiver.

Indra is mentioned as a receiver - in both Kena aswell as in Chandogya Upanizad. It is felt that thecharacter of the Indra is changed in the Upanizads. InVgveda, Indra is soma drinker, and he is fond ofwomen. But in Kena, Uma Haimavati, a beautiful womanis the instructor and Indra partakes knowledge fromher. There is not an iota of covetousness in Indra'scharacter which is depicted in the Upanizads. This maybe either peculiarity of the Upanizads or the change inIndra's character because of Uma might have

bestowed the knowledge of to Indra. This verbalpicture is described in these Upanizads.

Upanizads sometimes speak of Sadhana. KenaUpanizad speaks of it. Contemplation is prescribed atthe end of the Upanizad. It is said that the contemplationon the mind is a physical contemplation ( IV.5).Generally speaking, the word means -'pertaining to body' i.e., physical and spiritual too. Hereit is meant for pertaining to only the Physical body.The physical body belongs only to this mundane world,and hence, mind is referred in this context. Lighteningis the symbol for contemplation in the mind region.Therefore the symbol worship (lightening) is quotedhere. The Upanizad begins with the inspiration oruprising of the sense organs and ends with a symbolworship.

At the end of this Upanizad the seer says in a simple,frame like this - 'you asked about the Upanizad, I toldyou about the Upanizad' ( IV.7). The seer's is notmentioned anywhere in the Upanizad. The simplicityof Upanizad is praiseworthy.

Katha Upanizad

Katha Upanizad is divided into six chapters, outof which first three chapters contain the story elementand last three chapters hold philosophy.

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The first three chapters comprise the famous storyof Yama and Naciketa. Vajasrava was the name ofNaciketa's father. He was a kind man. Once he startedSarvamedha sacrifice (yagna). At the end of thesacrifice he donated barren cows. His son Naciketawas sitting nearby him. He saw it and thought to himself,'usually the precious thing is to be gifted duringsacrifice, why are you donating these barren cows?'He questioned his father. Vajasrava didn't pay attention.Naciketa asked twice and thrice. The father becameangry and said to him 'I am giving you to Yama'.Naciketa found it true and went to Yama. He was notat home. Naciketa stayed there for three nights. Yamareturned after that. He saw the guest waiting for hisreturn. Yama gave him three boons as repentance.Naciketa said 'from the first boon may my father calmdown'. By the second boon, 'may he be happy, whenI return home'. Yama was pleased by these thoughtsso he gave one more boon i.e., knowledge of Agnividyawhich is also known as Naciketavidya. Yama told allthe details of Agnividya to Naciketa. Naciketa thenasked for atmavidya. Yama tried to persuade him bysaying, 'you may have beautiful women for enjoymentalong with all orchestras and chariots etc. You alsomay live as much life on this earth as you want'.Naciketa replied that 'all these things may be with you;( I.26) who will enjoy this

longevity?' ( I.28). Kindlyimpart me atmavidya. The first part of Upanizad i.e.,first three chapters come to an end here. A repetitionof a phrase is also here ( III.17). In ancient Sanskrit literaturerepetition stands for an ending note.

In this way, the Katha Upanizad comes to an endhere, but there are three more chapters, which speakof atmavidya. In Kata IV.1 it is said that the creatorhas created the sense-organs, having the openingsoutside, and therefore they are extroverts and notintroverts. Somebody, who is interested in one's ownself, sees inwardly but this is a rare happening ( - IV.1). The Upanizad then describesobjectives of five sense organs ( -IV.3).

The concept of individual is also stated. InKatha V.I is also mentioned. The elevengates are not stated. Adi Sakkara has interpreted it as that means he has also not mentioned the namein the Upanizad. In Bhagavadgita nine apparatuses aregiven. They are named in the commentary, but not inthe Upanizad. The individual is of the size of athumb that resides always in the heart of every being.(

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VI.17) Here that individual is described as 'Puruza'.The well-known etymology of this word 'Puruza' is - that which lies in the city. Nowhere in theten principle Upanizads, this is explicitly stated ascity nor described as the parts of the city. So it may betaken for granted that the limbs of the body are theparts of city. In Katha (V.1) and in Bhagavadgita (V.13), this is specified as city

This individual is also metamorphicallymentioned as the 'light without smoke' ( IV.13). This is a unique description, because inworldly life when there is smoke there is fire/light, andwithout smoke fire cannot be thought of. But Kathasays that the individual is light without smoke. Smokeis related with darkness, i.e., innocence, etc.According to the Upanizads, the nature of an individual is 'light' i.e., the knowledge. There is no iota ofdarkness in the individual. The Upanizad expresses thisknowledge in the poetic Language as smokeless light.'

The sixth chapter of the Upanizad begins with thefamous illustration of but it speaks of theconcept of Highest Reality and not like the worldmentioned in the Bhagavadgita (XV.1) This is the maindifference between Katha and Bhagavadgita. KathaUpanizad describes the Highest Reality as an agent ofthe sentence. It runs like this -

VI.1

and are similar to Bhagavadgita(XV.1). But there (in Bhagavadgita XV.1) all the threewords are in accusative case ending that means it is aand not or agent of an action. In Katha Upanizadthe Highest Reality, being an agent, supports the ideaof Because in next line it issaid that all the three worlds (plural usage i.e., isalso significant), have their shelter in it, and no onecrosses over that. It means that the Highest Realityencompasses everything. In one way the concept ofworld and Highest Reality are complimentary to eachother. At the same time, the Highest Reality is beyondall the worlds.

This Upanizad is unique in many ways. Some ofthem are already mentioned, such as the descriptionof a body having eleven gates, individual resides in it,etc. But the main thing is the character sketch of Yama.Usually everybody gets afraid of just by listening tothe name Yama. But in this Upanizad Yama is depictedas a real 'Guru' who is proud of his disciple and at thesame time, who becomes upset with the thought ofseparation from him. Therefore, he mentions withoutany hesitation -

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(don't know whether anybody elselike you will be there or not?) ( on II.19).This loving character of Yama makes an individual moreintrovert, which may be one of the means to aim thisUpanizad.

Prasna Upanizad

It is called Prasna Upanizad because manyquestions are raised in this Upanizad. Six sages viz. and have askedtwelve questions to the sage Out of them asks three questions, asks fivequestions and remaining sages ask a single questioneach.

The Upanizad begins with the question related tocreation. How the creation takes place and the reply isthat it occurs with the pair of and is afemale principle and is a male principle. Thereforethe female and male principles together are the causeof the creation of the world. produced thesetwo principles through penance i.e., In too, is proclaimed as a cause ofknowledge. So, is seemed to be the root cause ofeverything. is equated with different time factorsand accordingly the pair i.e., is created throughpenance viz. At the beginning is mentioned

as i.e., the year and, and are respectivelyas and is connected withrituals, and rituals inturn represent darkness and rebirth.On the other hand, is related with knowledge,light and non-return. These two pathways are knownas and i.e., path of darkness andpath of light respectively. Then represents amonth i.e., It has two parts or fortnights namely and Both of them which are suggestedabove, mention the fact of non return and rebirthrespectively.

In the third stage, is equated with day andnight. There is no need to explain, because it goeswithout saying that the day is related with light andnight with darkness. Everything else comesautomatically or on its own. Question regarding theindividual is raised then. The organs are namedas 'deva'. The word is derived from the root meaning 'to shine'. So is a shining entity in whichthe sense organs, the motor organs and internal organsare enumerated. which is treated as is superiorto all i.e., So the concept of individual iscomplete.

Then questioned like where this is originated from? The reply is that it originates from resides in the heart ( III.5).

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In Katha Upanizad (VI.17) also, it is said that theresiding place of is the heart. In one way theseUpanizads confirm the above facts by repetition. Later described the channels . One can getsimilar description regarding channels in KathaUpanizad (VI.16).

questioned about three states viz.waking , dream and deep sleep He asked the question regarding the sleep. The answergot is that all the sense and motor organs become onewith the mind. Then the individual soul dreams(IV.2). When there is no dream, that state of mind iscalled bliss. This is a state of deep sleep. There itself itis mentioned that all are established in Highest Reality( IV.1,7).

The concept of the Highest Reality is notelaborated, but mentioned briefly as (IV.7).

Then posed a question - 'how toconquer the world?' replied as 'the itself is consisting of three s, and with this, oneconquers the world. This is called and this isnothing but concentrating on This is a typeof In Katha also, there is mention of Here it is said that is both and

V.2The Brahman is thought of by concentrating on

In reply to s question the concept of is discussed. One may feel disturbance inthis sequence by raising the question of what does anindividual acquire after theBut the fact isthat this question was asked by toVI.1He could not answer. Hethen questioned the other seers. They too could notgive any reply. So, all of them approached The question rised by them was - 'who is this 'answered and explained it as i.e.,person who pocesses 16 digits. These 16 digits areenumerated by as follows - (ether),(water - fluid element), and VI.4.

Adi Sakkara has interpreted the word assacrificial water i.e., In Brahmana texts alsoat some places this is not mentioned as faith, butit is as specified May be the concept of is expressed here. In the ancient times, just asfaith was essential for every action, so was thesacrificial water viz. . The word maystand for sense and motor organs. The mind is arepresentative of internal organs. Then the food is

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mentioned here, which is the reprensentative of thephysical body. Because in Upanizad also Bhvgurealised food as Brahman ( III.2), that is the grossbody'. Then comes the as it is seen in Everything is created only through and for gross things,gross body is essential, and it is produced through After and are detailed andultimately the name is specified. InNvsimottaratapaniyopanizad II.9, it is stated as This Atma on one hand is of thenature of name and form and on the other hand theworld is also having Name and Form. That name i.e., is the ultimate sixteenth digit of that Puruza. Evenin worldly life, the individual is identified only by thename.

The very cause of birth is Karma. Name or means the identification of a being in the present birth,for which an individual occupies a proper noun. Thusthe origination of an individual is described in a differentway here in this Upanizad. A being experiences variousactions and travels in and which ismentioned as and i.e., path of lightand smoke respectively.

The Upanizad comes to an end here. The Puruzais the miniature form of Highest Reality. Therefore herealso the Highest Reality is depicted in a different way.

Mundaka Upanizad

In 'Eighteen principle Upanizads' the division ofthis Upanizad is as follows - there are six subchaptersi.e., Khandas and three mundakas, each mundakacomprises of two subchapters.

Mundaka begins with the question posed by .At the outset the order of the sages is given. is theforemost among the Gods and the elder son Hespoke to to ultimately asked that 'by knowing what, everything isknown?' ( MundakaI.1.3)

Two vidyas are mentioned here as and (Mundaka I.1.4) Four Vedas viz. and along with 6 auxiliary texts i.e., s suchas and areincluded in (Mundaka I.1.5). is thatin which the imperishable is realized (Ibid.). The Highest Reality is thus understood. ThisUpanizad begins with Highest Reality through thequestion. Illustration of spider is given for the creationand dissolution of the world with a mantra -

(Mundaka I.1.8)

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The creation and dissolution have only a singlesource and come into being without any effort. Thesetwo main things are suggested with this example. It isa spontaneous overflow of the Highest Reality. Theworld is merged as quietly as it comes forth. This isthe first Upanizad in the traditional sequence where the is clearly stated.

In II.1 in the same Upanizad example of fire isgiven as a source of origination.

(Mundaka II.1.1)

Similar thousands of fire-pits come into existencefrom well kindled fire. Oh dear one, beings are bornand they emerge into that imperishable. The cause ismentioned here as imperishable which is nothing butthe Highest Reality. It is the important principlementioned as the aim and the means to achieve it is toperform and practice i.e., Individual i.e., is the mediator through which and with the helpof the Highest Reality is achieved.

Sadhana for individual is suggested in thisUpanizad. It can symbolically be said that Omkara is abow; the individual soul is an arrow and the Brahmanis proclaimed as its aim or target. ( II.2.4)

There is no explicit description of this world. Thereplica of individual i.e., Isvara is mentioned in a famousverse, like this -

(Mundaka III.1.1)

There are two birds having beautiful wings, theyare connected to each other, and embrassing likefriends on one tree. Out of these two, one is enjoyingthe sweet fruit and the other one is witnessing it.

The difference between the individual andIsvara is very aptly depicted in the above mentionedverse. The individual enjoys the result i.e., andIsvara witnesses it. By being one with the HighestReality the individual goes beyond the concept of Isvaraalso. The example of river can be found in Prasna aswell as in Mundaka. But the difference is, in Prasna itis in prosoic form and in Mundaka it is in metricalform (Prasna VI.5).

(Mundaka III.2.8)

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There is a description of sixteen digits and that ofthe individual who bears all those sixteen digits, i.e., In this description the individual becomesone with the Highest Reality. In one way a gradualdevelopment of an individual can be seen throughsimilar simile. One may remember here that the lastform of the sixteen digits is '' ( VI.4). InMundaka it is said that an individual's name and formetc., will be abandoned. So here the is referred toas an entity to be discarded.

This is a very sacred one. Therefore at theend of this Upanizad it is instructed that this should be imparted to one who has undergone the as prescribed in the rituals (Mundaka II.3.10).So this Upanizad might have been named as Mundaka.

Mandukya Upanizad

Mandukya may be the name of seer, because noinformation is found here regarding the name.Mandukya is a derived noun. It is originated from thenoun Manduka. Manduka means a frog. It doesn'tconvey any meaning as seer. Therefore, it's better toaccept Mandukya itself as the name of seer.

This is the smallest among the ten major Upanizads.It has in all twelve s. All these s are dedicated to

Though smallest in size, it has covered all the threeforemost principles viz. and At thevery beginning seer declares that all this is syllable onlyone single entity or one i.e., Om. The word mightbe deliberately used because means a syllable. Italso means imperishable entity. No doubt, in thelanguage, Om is a syllable, but at the same time Omhas utmost importance in philosophy. So with this dualproperty the word might have been used.Immediately after that, Om is referred for 3 times. The3 times represent past tense, present tense and thefuture tense.

Mandukya-1This Om is the second and it is equated with

- the Highest Reality. That is having fourquarters. All the four put together is Therefore is equated with Om. Om is also having foursyllables, because Om is consisted of three s ands viz. and and the fourth one is describedas .

or is measurement. The first three stateshave specific measurements, but the fourth state islimitless or boundless.

First syllable i.e., in Om is a waking state -. It has seven limbs and nineteen faces. Adi

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Sakkara has commented on this. According to himseven limbs are head, eye, vital force, middle portionof body, conglomeration of the limbs, baste and thefeet, and nineteen faces are five sense organs, fivemotor organs, five breaths and five internal organsnamely and It is quite obviousthat the experiences of the waking state are generallyseen in the dream. Nobody can see, what is notexperienced. Therefore, basically there is no differencein waking and dream state. The difference lies only intime span. The dream can be enjoyed at length orotherwise within a fraction of second, unlike worldlylife. It can be told that the dream state is a mirror ofmundane life. Keeping this in view, there is similardescription of waking state and dream state.

The third state is i.e., deep sleep. It has twoway functions. On one hand it is no way connectedwith either the waking or the dream state and on theother hand, it is a state of ignorance. There is noruminant of waking or dream state. in his has rightly pointed out that - . I enjoyedthe sleep, didn't understand anything, this is theexperience awakened one, waking up from sound sleep.

This is the life of a being on the whole. Thereforedescribing these states, the Upanizad has alsomentioned the world in a distinct way.

These three states are linked together. The fourthstate is totally a different one. It is called state.

These are the stages of both individual and Isvara.They are named as - the individual in waking state is and Isvara is . The reason for equating with is because it stands first. Isvara physicallyobtains all desires. The dreams are meant for thefulfilment of desires, but on a psychological plane. Theresult is stated as he becomes the first and foremost. Bhagavadgita might have understood it and mentionedin case of Isvaraas (B.G. XV.14). As ' fire', I am residing in thebodies of the beings. In Bhagavadgita isconnected with digestive fire and in theUpanizad it is a waking state. It has a wider spherehere. The waking state comprises almost a completelife of a being. It is the first in all four states, which isrightly pointed out by the seer of the Upanizad.

The second state of the individual and Isvara issimilar in form. It is mentioned as . In every state,while describing Isvara the etymology is given. It iscalled second because it goes upwards or staysas the middle one. . The upwardness

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or upliftment is in the sense of continual knowledgei.e., . There remains no difference in name ofan individual and Isvara. In the dream state the organsare luminous for enjoyment of dream. So it is viz.consisting of lustre-luminosity.

The third state is called where one and thesame name is ascribed to the state of both individualand Isvara. The word can be interpreted in twoways - and . It is very significant,because in case of the experience is felt as 'Islept happily'. That means a being realizes thathappiness. It is and at the same time healso feels that 'I didn't know anything'. That clearlysuggests his ignorance. That can be said as By these two interpretations it may be said that atwofold experience in daily life is experienced by theindividual and Isvara.

is the third quarter of i.e., So it is calledas Two roots are denoted here viz. and literally meaning 'to measure'. Whensomething is measured it is understood, in a way as ifit is consumed. Therefore the verb is alsomentioned. In deep sleep, nothing is known, aboutswallowing. The meaning of is understood. Butit should be remembered that being in a state of

ignorance, it doesnot mean that it is the last or ultimatestate. So the fourth state is mentioned as It is and It is beyond wordly life, therefore it iscalled , it is the culmination of all expansioni.e., . This itself is . That is statedin the last

It begins with and culminates in At the outsetthe Seer has explicitly said it - is this syllable,and this is imperishable. All this is . This is itselaboration.

So the whole Upanizad is the explanation andexpression ofTaittiriya Upanizad

The name Taittiriya is connected with one story.Previously Yajurveda was one unit. It was handed downto disciples by the teacher. One day committedsome mistake. The Teacher asked him to vomit thatpart which was taught to him. vomited.'s other disciples were present there and theyswallowed it in the form of bird. Therefore thisbranch of Yajurveda is known as . ThisUpanizad belongs to the order of that , so it is Upanizad. The word is a derived noun.It belongs to bird and so is called . Thatis why this is called Upanizad.

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Every Upanizad has a style of its own. Santimantrais mentioned for every Upanizad. But unlike otherUpanizads in Upanizad Santimantra isincorporated in the beginning itself. It has three si.e., chapters namely or and. It begins with Sikzas i.e., phonetics. Again thisis not like usual phonetics but it is a cosmic one. Itbegins with 's and concludes in the body. It isdivided into five groups. They are and . The prefix standshere taking the meaning as 'pertaining to'. So each groupis pertaining to the world, as the light, the knowledge,the progeny and the body. There are four members ineach group on one side, on the otherside, is union and is uniting element. In caseof is mentioned as on one (may belower) side. - the heaven is on the other side of. i.e., ether is union and the wind - isthe uniting element.

Fire is said to be on one side in or the Sun is on the other side. Water is the Union.Lightening is the uniting element.

In , the teacher is on one side. The directdisciple i.e., is on the other side. is theUnion and discourse is the uniting factor.

A mother is on one side in . A father is onthe other side. A creation viz. is union and theprocreative i.e., is the uniting element.

The last one is pertaining to body viz. . Thereis the upper lip on one side. The lower lip is on theother side. The speech is the Union and the tongue isthe uniting element. Here the word is meant onlyfor the body and not for spirit.

This seems to be a combination of differentsubjects. Some ritual is spoken out. It is meant forwealth and gaining students.

Then there is a description of four s utterances. They are and recited byall the three s in There is no mention ofremaining three i.e., and First threes are connected with three worlds such as theearth, the mid region and the yonder world. is .All Vedas get glory through ( I.5.2). Here is interpreted as by Adi Sańkara ( onIbid). In the same Upanizad after equating with ,it is treated and declared as . All the sense organsi.e., s worship . ( I.5.3)

and are prescribed in the next sub-chapter. Here, the seer was asked tocontemplate. ( I.6) The result is shown as one who

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meditates on treating it as becomes a master ofeye, mind, ear etc. (Ibid).

When is everything comes under itscircumference. Therefore in the next sub chapter, all the fivefold objectives i.e., the three worlds,quarters and sub quarters, then the fire, the wind, theSun, the Moon and stars ( I.7) are enumerated.This is mentioned as i.e., pertaining to theelements and then, those that are pertaining to the bodyviz. i.e., an eye, an ear, mind, speech and skin(Ibid). This is declared by Veda or a Seer as AdiSańkara's interpretation ( on I.8). This is calledas , because it is consisting of five elements ineach group. All of them become .

Different opinions regarding observing one's own study and - discourse - are put hereas etc. ( I.9). Then there is adeclaration of ( I.10). It is mentioned thereas he has obtained the Highest Reality and hence hesays it.

After that, in the last of the ( I.11),the instructions are imparted to the graduates like -How to behave, to whom a graduate should followand what qualities of a teacher should be acquired bya graduate, and so forth. This is a very famous passage,which is quoted many a times.

The second is . At the outset there is adescription of . The definition of is mentionedin a clear language as ( II.1).There is no triad as in ten principleUpanizads, though it is more famous than the abovementioned citation.

After that, for the first time the theory of creationis mentioned very neatly. It is very methodical. It beginswith . The word here stands for . Thenthe order of five elements from ether is mentioned. Itis exactly the reverse to what we are familiar with. It isas follows - the ether - wind - fire - water - earth -herbs and plants - food - being - consisting of foodand water element ( II.1). Then the five sheaths are mentioned. They areand. Here metaphor is used asthe figure of speech. In general, metaphor meansunion of (comparable) and (standard ofcomparison). These s are explained through with a bird. Five limbs are common to any bird viz.the head, left wing, right wing, middle portion and thetail. In the Upanizads there are the words like and . Adi Sańkara has interpreted

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as , that is the left. When one sees a bird, allthese limbs can be seen at a glance. Therefore the birdmight have been thought suitable for a metaphor.Secondly, it shows the relation of human being withnature. Now-a-days, the nature is known asenvironment. So it shows environmental awareness.The closeness of a seer with these natural phenomenais stated. The bird is seen by everybody and thereforethere will not be any problem in understanding thesubject matter. This mentality of a seer is worthy to beacknowledged. Again there are five sheaths with fiveelements in each. Number five is made significant again.

is described only with the help ofpronoun as - (II.1) (this is the head of that person. This is the rightwing (side). This is the left wing (side). This is middleportion and this is the tail, the substratum - support.)No symbol is used here because the body is a grosssubstance. It is a visual expression.

is inside . So is a sheathof i.e., gross body. comprises of fourvital forces. is the head. is right side and is left side. viz. the cavity is the middle portionof gross body and that is . It is connected with is a tail, and it is a support. Adi Sańkara

has made it clear that why is not consideredhere. helps an individual soul to depart fromthe body. Therefore, instead of , the earth ismentioned, which represents the individual soul. (II.2)

Third one is is concealed bythis sheath. is its head. is right side. is leftside. is the middle portion. is thesupport. It is peculiar that it begins with . As thehead executes everything, the s are actuallyengaged in the ritual. ( II.3)

The fourth sheath . It covers is stated as the head of and are respectively the right and left sides of it. is themiddle portion. According to Sańkara, is or ( on II.4) is the support. (II.4)

The fifth and last sheath is . It covers, but there is no covering or concealment for is its head. is right side. isleft side. is middle portion. is the support.Here means a loving thing. is the happinessfrom the gain of is excessive happiness. is happiness in general. Having interpreted all this,Sańkara has further proclaimed that is inside all.It is the Highest Reality, which is contradictory to

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duality. ( on II.5) Therefore this isimportant.

This concept of five sheaths occur only in thisUpanizad. Here, two questions are raised. Where doesthe Knower go after leaving the body? What does heattain? The creation process at the Highest Reality isdescribed. But again everything is created in a cosmicsense, and by observing penance ( II.6). In thatcreation was created by itself, so it is called as That is When one acquires it, he will reach astate of bliss - ( II.7).

In II.8 famous consideration ofbliss is shown. Three criteria are mentioned as theeligibility of attaining bliss. The person, who is desirousof bliss, should be noble, young and studious. Thereis a sequence to attain bliss. If this whole earth is filledwith all commodities, it is a sole happiness of a humanbeing Such hundreds of happiness is one Hundred s is oneHundred s is one happinessof manes of Hundreds of their happinessis one happiness of Hundred happiness ofs is one happiness of s. s are thosewho achieved the heaven by their actions. Hundredhappiness of s is one happiness of Indra.Hundred happiness of Indra is one happiness of

Hundred happiness of is one happiness of and ultimately, hundred happiness of isone happiness of The happiness begins with and ends in ( II.8). In all there are 1000s ofhappiness, which is one happiness of This number1000s is used to show its uniqueness. Much effortsare required to achieve that state of happiness (bliss).Therefore, this state of unperiphered happiness is called'bliss' and it is not at all a mere wordly, mundanehappiness.

In this the journey of the individual soul,possessing five sheaths to the Highest Bliss is described.It starts with the definition of and culminates inthe bliss of

Third is known as In this , thereis a story of and his father One day wentto his father and asked him to impart the knowledge of told that and are doors of Adi Sańkara in his interpretationsaid that i.e., the food is gross body. is vitalforce, and are means or pathwaysto realize ( on III.1). Then gavehim the definition of as - is (III.1) It means, is one, from whom all beings are created, by whom

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they sustain and towards whom they approach andenter, and understand Him.

The story tells that then observed penance.Having observed it, at the outset he realized as but again he approached his father and askedabout asked him to observe only penance.

understood as The story doesn'texplain anything, but tells only that every time goesto his father and father tells him to do penance (III2-6). It suggests that though doesn't explicitly openup with the father, he was not satisfied with theachievement, till he obtained bliss. There seems a co-relation between and Fivesheaths of individual soul are described in experiences them, in . The theory and practiceare both prescribed here. It concludes with the praiseof food ( III.7-10). In sixth of the III chapterof the same Upanizad bliss of is mentioned andthen again there is a mention of food. One may find itodd, but it is not so. On the contrary it is the perfectjoining of the start and the end. It begins with food as and concludes in praise of food. But in III.10.5the seer proclaims that having crossed and or the aspirant ultimatelyreaches the Highst Reality i.e.,

Thus, in this Upanizad three tenets viz. and are woven together.

Aitareya Upanizad

The seer of this Upanizad is the son of maid servantnamely So he is and the Upanizad is namedas

It begins with a statement that in the beginning,there was only He thought I may create theworlds along with their protectors. Therefore he created ( I.1.2) Adi Sańkara hasinterpreted it as ( onIbid) Then he created deities having all organs. Theyasked for food. First he offered them four leggedanimals such as cows, horses etc. But the deitiesrefused and said that this is not enough for us. Thenhe created the person, all the deities viz. powers of allorgans entered and got situated in proper places. It isvery nicely described here, for ex. ( I.2.4) becoming a speech, the fire enteredthe mouth. In daily life also the phrase 'fiery language'is used. From the upper side of the head, the then entered the body. It is mentioned as the gate It is pleasing ( I.3.12). Three abodes arestated there without naming them. Adi Sańkaraproclaimed it in two ways. First he has declaredthreefold residence viz. mother's body, father's body

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and his own body. But later Sańkara might have thoughtof greater sphere and then spoke of three states aswaking dream and deep sleep ( on Ibid). One, that enters the body, is Basically, and individual soul are one and the same.

What is accepted as conception in modern medicalscience viz. placing the in female organ is declaredas the initial birth ( II.1). The mother's, nourishmentis the second birth ( II.1.3). When it is born asmale or female child, it is the third birth ( II.1.4).

In no other major Upanizad such idea of birth isrevealed from the conception stage. In one way this isthe uniqueness of this Upanizad. It begins with creationof worlds, their protector, and ends with the individual.

In the third chapter Aitareya Upanizad speaks ofthe It questions as to which we shouldmeditate upon, how it should be performed, and throughwhich medium a person sees, hears, understandssmells, speaks and tastes sweet and sour (Aita III.1).

First it is told that this is heart, or the mind.Different faculties of mind are mentioned here as - (Aita III.2) At the endof the passage it is made clear that these are the namesof intelligence (Ibid).

All, such as all the elements, allthe species, four types of s i.e., cause of creationof beings viz. and isestablished in is Brahman (Aita III.3).

The Upanizad concludes in declaring that one whorecognises and knows of this, becomes immortal (AitaIII.4).

It seems that Aitareya Upanizad has paid moreattention towards the theory of creation. No otherUpanizad has worked on it in this manner. Thereforethis Upanizad has a rare contribution to philosophy.

Chandogya Upanizad

It is Upanizad of Samaveda. The word hasdifferent meanings, one of them is The word is a derived noun, which means 'belonging to' i.e., It consists of eight chapters and manysub-chapters called First two chapters are devotedto It is said that is the origin of IndianMusic. The practical method is also employed in this. When that is chanted in high pitch, it iscalled as Udgitha. Because it is Udgita, is sungin high pitch.

The Upanizad begins with is stated asUdgita and it is equated with It seems that it ismentioned in revers order such as - the earth is an

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essence (lit. juice) of all beings. The water element isan essence of the earth. The herbs are the essence ofthe water element. A being is an essence of the herbs.A speech is an essence of being. Vk is an essence of aspeech. is an essence of Vk. Ultimately Udgithais an essence of ( I.1.2.).

Then the idea of pair / couple is postulated.A speech is Vk and Prana is This is a pair of and i.e., and

Then the story of the battle of Gods and demonsis described ( I.2.1-6). On whatever Godscontemplated, the demons penetrated into it with sin.So it has a counter element too.

The Gods meditated upon the nasal breath asUdgitha ( I.2.2.), the demonspenetrated into it with sin. Therefore there are goodsmell and bad smell ( Ibid). The Godscontemplated on speech as Udgitha. It was spoiled.So the speech became two fold elements as true andfalse ( I.2.3.). The Gods thenmeditated upon an eye as Udgitha. It got spoiled. So,there are both beautiful and ugly things which we see( I.2.4). Then the Godsmeditated upon an ear. It also got spoiled. As a result,there are worthy to be heard and unworthy words

which are not to be heard ( I.2.5).

At the end of the story it is said that the Godscontemplated on the mind as Udgitha. Even that wasalso penetrated by the demons. It resulted in volitionand non-volition thinking ( I.2.6).

This whole story is a symbolic picture. The Godsand demons are symbolic representations of good andbad qualities. The Chandogya Upanizad provides thereason for duality through this story. A nasal breath, aspeech, an eye, an ear and a mind are considered asthe physical representatives of a being. A nasal breathis An eye, an ear and a speech are symbolsof An eye and an ear are sense organs butspeech is a motor organ. A mind denotes can be included in because itis a constituent of As it is a physicaland wordly description, the might havenot been thought of in this context.

The concept of is explained. There are threesyllables in the word It is and Equationof these three letters with some natural phenomenonand Vedas are as follows - ( I.3.7).

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is equated as -

I.6.1 - 4There is one peculiarity in Chandogya Upanizad.

In the first chapter itself the word (I.6.7)occurred. Almost all the commentators, includingSańkara, have dissolved the word as and andconnected it with the back bone of i.e., a monkey.Only Ramanuja could interpret it very skillfully. Thequotation goes like this - (I.6.7). The word has a link with means a red lotus. is a face. when

combined means 'a face of a monkey'. The whole similewill be as follows - his eyes looked like the face of amonkey, which are like red lotuses. The face of amonkey is red and has a round shape. A red lotus alsohas a round shape. So it is compared with the face ofa monkey. This is a symbol worship. The HighestReality is worshipped as Then the minutedescription of and comparison with is done. literally means an element made of gold.So symbolises the Highest Reality.

Then it is stated there that and were three experts in Theyconversed among themselves and then discussed about ( I.8.1 - I.9.4). Then also joined them for discussion (I.10.1 - I.13.4).

Second chapter starts with the definition of Itis near to Because in II.1.1 it is said that- here in as well as respectively, are thought that they may remind of theprinciple of mentioned in texts. Niruktakarahas adopted this method, i.e., the similarity of a singlesyllable can postulate the similarity of the meaning, asin Chandogya Upanizad. The word is equated with

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Fivefold is prescribed in the second chapter.It is and This fivefold is meant for recitation. It suggests the oral tradition. and are described here through ( II.2.1 - II.7.2)

Then, again is connected with all for all thetimes - ( II.9.1). It is a sevenfold conceptrepresenting as and ( II.9.1. - II.9.8). This sevenfold isalso meant for chanting. Chanting is a distinguishingcharacter of By chanting it gets connectedwith five or seven things. It is a universal phenomenon. etc. are included in or ( II.2.1 - II.9.8).

The letters of are calculated as follows- - 3 letters, - 3 letters, - 2 letters, - 4 letters, - 3 letters, - 4 letters, - 3letters ( II.10.1 - 4). It is mentioned there thatone letter is found extra - (II.10.3). So altogether, there are 22 letters, by reaching21 letters one can gain and reaching twentysecond he can conquer That is felt as heaven- ( II.10.5).

is connected with fire. is nothingbut churning of wood-sticks. The smoke comes out

of it and that is the first element called Enkindling is the second element called The firepits, the fourth element (s) are and thefinal element extinguishing is (II.12.1). This is how, the Upanizads, though arephilosophical discourses by nature, are connected andinterlinked with rituals even. There lies only onedifference and that is - the Upanizads interpret the ritualin a different way. The is symbolicallyconnected with sexual life of a being also (II.13.1). In this manner it is related with s etc. ( II.14.1- II.20.2). In Chandogya Upanizad II.23.3 there is adescription of . It is mentioned there that everythingis In the last Brahmana i.e., subchapter of thissection, the recitation of is also mentioned (II.24.1- 16).

Symbol worship is the peculiarity of Upanizads.Almost all Upanizads deal with this peculiarity. Thethird chapter of Chandogya Upanizad begins with stating that he is honey of Gods i.e., Hisrays are like channels of honey ( III.1.1 -III.5.4).

Then there is a description of five divine holes ( III.13.1-7). All this is a mysticdescription, very difficult to understand without an

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expert 'guru'. Only a Guru can guide us to know aboutits hidden secrets.

Four legged Brahman is mentioned here. It isequated with mind and sun respectively. III.18.1 III.19.1.

Fourth chapter of this Upanizad opens with thestory of and was stayingunder the bullock cart, as if he was yoked to it, andbecause of that he was known as The storytells that two swans are talking to each other, whileflying above s terrace. One swan tellsthe other that don't go through the luster of you will be burnt. The second swan said thus- How do you say something about him, when is there?

The first swan questions the second as who is this . The story goes like this - heardabout and asked his charioter to find him out,but the charioter went around, couldn't find He returned to and told that he couldn't get asked him to search in the Brahmin society,because was knower of Brahman, and so mightbe staying along with them. Brahmin doesn't mean acaste in this context. It means 'one who has realizedBrahman' is a Brahmin. The charioter found under

the bullock cart, scratching his body. The charioterreturned back to with the news of went to meet him along with six hundred cows, and achariot of i.e., a she mule. refused theofferings. He said, 'let it be with you only'. Once again came with thousands of cows, nizkaand chariot of along with the daughter to presenther as a wife to and along with them, the village,where he was sitting. It is said that there impartedthe knowledge of Highest Reality, to through his wife's mouth. taught him 'the knowledge of consumption'. The wind is theconsuming factor pertaining to deities and the vital force is the consuming factor pertainingto the body The fire, the Sun and the Moonare related with the wind. The speech, the eye, the earand the mind are connected with ( IV 1.1 -IV 3.8).

The fourth subchapter of the fourth chapter of begins with the story of (IV 4.1-5). The mother spoke the truth about thebirth of which was narrated in Toto by to his teacher The teacher appreciatedthe truth told by and elaborated the moral that,usually a non-Brahmin, does not desire to speak likethis ( IV.4.5). accepted him as a disciple

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and gave him 400 weak cows. He told to returnthe cows to the hermitage, when they become 1000 innumber. along with those cows went to theforest. There the bull, the fire, the swan and the madgu(a kind of bird), imparted him the knowledge of fourfold(lit. four feet) Brahman. He returned to . He asked like this - you seem to look like a knower ofBrahman, who gave you this knowledge?' replied - 'from others who are not human beings. Butkindly instruct me again. The knowledge becomesfruitful, only when that is imparted by an (IV.9.2-3).

In IV.10 the story of s disciple isnarrated. allowed other students to return backto their places after completing their studies. He didn'tallow to go back. Once fellsick. The teacher's wife requested him to eat, but herefused. The fires viz. and gathered there and gave him the knowledge of Brahman.They adviced him to go to his teacher and get theknowledge through proper channel. approached his said, 'you look like aknowledgeable one, who gave you this knowledge?'did not disclose the advice of fire, etc., andrequested to impart the knowledge. 'Guru' toldhim that I will teach you, but it will not let you to return

to this world. He then taught the symbolworship (IV.10.1 - IV.17.10).

The fifth chapter of Upanizad opens withfamous story of superiority among s. Every organis depicted as if they went out of the body for oneyear. The body along with other organs lived bereavedof that particular organ. When that particular organcame back after one year, it asked the others - how didyou live without me? Then the reply was, 'as the personwithout that organ lives'. The vital force then started togo out of the body and then all other organs realizedthat they were living at ease with the sound support ofvital force. So they prayed him not to leave the body(V.1.1-15). In the second sub - section someritual is prescribed to grow a tree ( V.2.1 - 8).

There is a story of a king and Gautama. The kingasked him to stay for long time. Gautama raised thequestion regarding the origination of the beings (beasts).He told him the theory of five fires . It depictsthe symbolic description of creation. Five essentialsfor the sacrifice viz. and are mentioned regarding each oblation. In the fifthoblation, it takes the shape of a human being (V.4.1 - V.10.10). It is a theory of creation and it isrelated to an individual i.e.,

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The discussion of the soul takes place in V.11.1. The sages are and . Theybegin with 'what is soul, what is Brahman i.e., 'HighestReality'. All of them were practising symbolic worship( V.11.1 - V.24.5).

Sixth chapter is a famous one and it opens withthe story of and his father . For 12 yearswas with his teacher acquiring his studies. Whenhe returned he became adamant. He was not loyal whiletalking to others, he was arrogant even while recitingthe Vedas. So his father asked him 'did you notask your teacher to instruct you with what way does ithappen - which is not heard, becomes as heard; notthought of, becomes as thought of; and not known,becomes as known' ( VI.1.3). This is thedefinition of 'the Highest Reality'. When the HighestReality is realized nothing remains to be heard, to bethought of or to be known. , with the help ofvarious illustrations, explains the concept of HighestReality. The famous illustrations are that of soil, goldand irons. Along with these examples, , the fatherof , gave other examples of honey ,of a tree , example of salt etc.,to his son (VI.2.1 - VI.16.3).

An achievement of the Highest Reality must be theaim and objective of life. Therefore approached for the knowledge of Highest Reality. It ismentioned in the VII chapter of knew allother lores except started describingthe symbol worship. He began with name thenspeech mind volition (heart)meditation knowledge strength food , water , lustre ether recollect hope and the vital forces

He wanted to establish that bliss is all pervasive.Therefore, while summing up the chapter he said 'blissnever remains in minor entities. Realize all pervasive.'( VII.23.1).

The last i.e., eighth chapter of this Upanizad speaksof the three states of life viz. waking, dream and deepsleep. It also describes the self which is beyond thesethree states. All this is described in one story in theUpanizadic style. It is the story of Indra - the king ofGods, Virocana - the king of demons and Prajapati -the creator of all ( VIII.7.1 - VIII.15.1). Prajapationce declared that the soul (atma) can be achieved,which is beyond all duality. Indra and Virocana listenedto it and went to Prajapati to acquire 'the self'. Prajapatiasked both of them to stay there for 32 years. He askedthem to see their reflections in the water, with adorned

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bodies. They followed his word. Virochana thoughtthat this is what is called 'self'. He returned to the abodeof demons.

Indra thought, without ornaments if something isleft or remained, that must be the 'self '. He went toPrajapati. He requested him to explain the nature of'the self '. Prajapati again asked to stay for 32 moreyears. Indra stayed. Prajapati said, 'what you have seenin the dream state, is the 'self '.

Again Indra pondered on it and thought that eventhough there is no dream the 'self ' remains. So it mustbe beyond dream state. The same dialogue took placebetweeen Indra and Prajapati. Prajapati suggested himto stay for 32 more years. Indra did accordingly.Prajapati indicated the soul in deep sleep as the 'self '.Indra thought that even in 'self ' deep sleep, the self isfelt. He approached Prajapati again. Prajapati askedhim to stay for five more years and then he impartedthe knowledge of 'self '. That state is beyond all thethree levels of existence. That is called 'self '.

The Upanizad concludes with saying that one whorealizes this nature of the 'self ' does not return to thismundane world.

Bvhadaranyaka Upanizad (Bv)

This is the last Upanizad in the traditional order,the reason may be because of its huge form. It is

divided into six chapters. There are subchapters knownas and paragraphs i.e.,

The Upanizad begins with Cosmic Asvamedhasacrifice. Uza is mentioned as the head of that sacrificialhorse ( Bv Up I.1.1.). Atthe beginning there was nothing. Everything wasencircled by the death. The death is nothing else butthe hunger ( Bv Up I.2.1.). It denotesthe scientific attitude of the seer. Even in modern ageshunger is one of the prime causes of death. In thefurther part, the cosmic horse of the Asvamedhasacrifice is described. Five gross elements arementioned here in a sequence. The directions are alsoconsidered there. That theory of creation is putforththrough the Asvamedha sacrifice. Such symbolicdescription is the peculiarity of these Upanizads.Another device, used by the Upanizads, is the battleof the Gods and the demons. It is seen in Kenopanizadalso, but every time the story suggests different moral.Here through this story, the process of individualcreation is described. The relation between the organand presiding deity is shown in I.3 of the Upanizad,ex. and and and and soon. The famous statement as - 'lead me from unrealityto reality, darkness to light and from death toimmortality' ( -Bv.Up. I.3.28) is shown in this Upanizad.

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Fourth of the first chapter opens with thedescription of the individual soul. It's psychologicalaspects are also mentioned very clearly. In modernPsychology fear is a natural instinct, but this aspecthas been clearly mentioned some where in the far pastin this Upanizad which is amazing and wonderful. Theindividual desired to get rid of this fear just for asecond. Thus the whole creation of pairs of differentspecies came into existance.

The concept of is also referred to inthis Upanizad (I.5.15), which is discussed at length inPrasna Upanizad (VI.4).

The second chapter begins with the dialoguebetween and . Various symbolicmeditations are described in this context like etc.(II.1). went ahead and described the mentalstates of a human being. He took the example of asleeping person and explained how different statesappear in sleep and deep sleep states. These are thedaily experiences, and through them the Highest Realityis revealed. This Highest Reality is a two fold conceptviz. one visible and another invisible. It is further dividedas pertaining to the deity and pertaining tothe body

Fourth subchapter i.e., of the second chapteris the well known dialogue between and This dialogue is also repeated in the fifth subchapterof fourth chapter. The only difference seen here is inthe character of and In II.4 these twodistinct characters are not highlighted. But in IV.5 is clearly stated as and as .Just by using a single adjective, their diagonally oppositecharacters can be noticed here. 's greatness isrevealed through his announcement of renunciation.He was ready to divide all his wealth between and and there itself asked him that shouldI get immortality through this? Tell me that principleby which I will become immortal. 's gentlelove for is also beautifully presented. He toldher, 'you are my beloved, you speak sweet language' II.4.4. Then imparts to the knowledge of Highest Reality.Here the famous utterance, 'everything is being lovedfor one's own sake' II.4.5. occurs ten times. The repetition occurs forbetter understanding to the reader. Here the completephilosophy of monism is explored.

Next is known as or (II.5).This is the narration of the symbol worship. It beginswith the earth and ends in individual.

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This chapter ends with lineage There arevarious dialogues in the third chapter, woven aroundthe sage At the very outset Janaka asked aboutthe nature of the Highest Reality. Janaka was a king.So he declared that I will donate thousand cows withgolden horns to him who shares the experience of theHighest Reality with me. At that very moment entered the assembly. In a humorous way he said thatwe are desirous of cows III.1.2. Theirony here is suggestive. Janaka was asking for theknowledge of the Highest Reality and on the other hand was asking for the cows, which is empiricalin this context. Apparently it is true. But the fact is that had the knowledge of the Highest Reality.That's why he poked on that context. Different sagessuch as etc. posed differentquestions to He explained the concept of in the seventh subchapter of Third chapter.Among all the sages was one and only famous She asked him two gun shot apt questionsregarding the Highest Reality (III.8). answeredthe questions, but cautioned her in a harsh languagelike : 'O Gargi, don't pose me too many questions,your head will be down on earth. This is a literaltranslation. But it seems that , being a realizer,was compassionate towards her and he wanted to

suggest her that without any personal experience, allthe verbal discussion goes vain.

In the ninth subchapter an interesting questionregarding the number of Gods, was raised. began with three hundred and thirty three and ultimatelycame to a conclusion that there is only one God andhe is no other than the Highest Reality.

Different theories, prevalent in those days, wereputforth in the beginning of the fourth chapter. AgainJanaka and met together. realizedJanaka's state and declared that 'Janaka, you havebecome fearless'. Then there is a discussion of threestates viz. waking, dream and deep sleep (IV. 3.10-19)followed by many views regarding various channels( IV. 3.20). The person who experiences theseultimately reaches the Highest Reality. The readers willfind a similar description of channels in I.6. In the Bv Up vivid picture of dieing person is foundin subchapter 4 of chapter IV. The description of suchperson is exactly similar to that condition, which occursin Katha Upanizad VI.14. The verses no. 10 and 11from this fourth chapter and subchapter 4 are also inIsa Upanizad's verses no. 9 and 10. The subchaptercomes to and end with the description of

The fifth subchapter opens with the dialogue ofand , which is already discussed in II.4.

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Chapter four concludes with a lineage.

of Isa Upanizad is repeated at thebeginning of the fifth chapter. Famous story ofPrajapati, giving the syllable to all the three viz.Gods, human beings and demons, is the secondsubchapter. For the Gods means i.e., control.For human being means i.e., donation and fordemons is i.e., compassion. From Bv. Up. V.5.3 - V.5.14 the symbol worship is explained withdifferent symbols such as (V.3.4), i.e., (V.5), (V.14.4) etc. Mantras from 15-18 of IsaUpanizad are repeated in V.15 of Bv. Up. The fifthchapter ends there.

The well known story of the superiority of senseorgans occurs at the beginning of the sixth chapter.One gets the same story in V.1.1. - V.1.15. Thesense organs were under the impression that everyoneis superior to others. So all of them approachedPrajapati and aksed about the theme of superiority.Prajapati answered that by whose departure the bodybecomes impure, is said to be a superior. Each one ofthe organs went out of the body. Still the body remainedpure, but was only deprived of particular organ. Atlast the 'Vital Force' desired to go out of the body. Asit started, the stability of all the organs fell in danger.Then all the organs realized, that it is because of theVital Force, that we are living at comfort (Bv. Up VI.1).

In the second subchapter the description of and paths are specified, followed by the theory ofcreation named as Same theory can be seenin V.4.1 - V.9.1. Bv. Up VI.3 and VI.4 are wellknown for some concepts of The last i.e.,fifth subchapter of sixth chapter ends with lineage .Conclusion

This is real treasure of Indian tradition. Afterthoroughly studying them, one gets the idea that theseUpanizads should be read all at a time. Isolated readingof a single Upanizad may give some idea, but not theentire impression or complete knowledge.

The Upanizads tell the stories to attract the commonman, but the moral of every story always leads to theHighest Reality. The Upanizads discuss about threeeminent principles viz. the individual, the world andthe Lord. It is the journey of an individual towards theLord through the plane of the world. Therefore variouspractices are also prescribed. The main thesis i.e.,Absolute Monism is uphold by these Upanizads,because according to them, the individual is a part andparcel of that Highest Reality and it ultimately mergesand becomes one with it. To acquire the knowledge ofthe Upanizads in a real sense, the learner should sitnear the and experience the state of which is the original nature of an individual.

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the upanizads - tirumala

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