vedanta heart of hinduism

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H A N S T O R W E S T E NT o r we s t e n m a k e s l u c i d t h e l o n g h i s t o r y o f V e d a n t i c H i n d u i s m , bu t h e a l s om a i n t a i n s a g e n u i n e V e d a n t i c p oise -, o p e n , s c r u p u l o u s , s e r e n e bu t e n g a g e d . '

David El l io t t , San iego Union


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VED NTHeart of Hinduism

H A N S T O R W E S T E NAdapted by

L O L Y R O S S E TFr om a Translation from the Germ an by

J O H N P H I L L I P S

G r o v e P r e s s

N e w Y o r k


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C o p y r i g h t 1 9 8 5 b y W a l t e r - V e r l a g A G , O l t e nT r a n s l a t i o n c o p y r i g h t 1 9 9 1 b y G r o v e P re s s , I n c .

A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .N o p a r t o f t h i s b o o k m a y b e r e p r o d u c e d , s t o r e d in a r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m ,

o r t r a n s m i t t e d in a n y f o r m , b y a n y m e a n s , in c l u d i n g m e c h a n i c a l , e l e c t r o n i c ,p h o t o c o p y i n g , r e c o r d i n g , o r o t h e r w i s e , w i t h o u t p r i o r w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n o f

t h e p u b l i s h e r .

G r o v e P r e s s8 4 1 B r o a d w a y

N e w Y o r k , N Y 1 0 0 0 3P u b l i s h e d i n C a n a d a b y G e n e r a l P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , L t d .

G r a t e f u l a c k n o w l e d g m e n t i s m a d e t o t h e R a m a k r i s h n a - V i v e k a n a n d a C e n t e rfo r pe rmis s io n to re pr in t e xc e rpts f ro m:

The Upamshads: v o l u m e s I IV , b y S w a m i N i k i l a n a n d a ( t r a n s l a t o r ) , a s p u b l i s h e d b y t h eR a m a k r i s h n a - V i v e k a n a n d a C e n t e r o f N e w Y o r k , c o p y r i g h t 1 9 4 9 , 1 9 5 2 , 1 9 5 6 , a n d 1 9 5 9 , b y

S w a m i N i k h i l a n a n d a ; a n d The Bhagavad Gita, b y S w a m i N i k h i l a n a n d a ( t r a n s l a t o r ) , a sp u b l is h e d by t h e R a m a k r i s h n a - V i v e k a n a n d a C e n t e r o f N e w Y o r k , c o p y r ig h t 1 9 4 4 , by S w a m i

N i k h i l a n a n d a .L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s C a t a l o g i n g - i n - P u b l i c a t i o n D a t a

T o r w e s t e n , H a n s , 1 9 4 4 -[ V e d a n t a , K e r n d e s H i n d u i s m u s . E n g l i s h ]

V e d a n t a , h e a r t o f H i n d u i s m / b y H a n s T o r w e s t e n ; a d a p t e d b y L o l yR o s s e t f r o m a t r a n s l a t i o n f r o m t h e G e r m a n

b y J o h n P h i l l i p s . 1 s t e d .p . c m .

T r a n s l a t i o n o f : V e d a n t a , K e r n d e s H i n d u i s m u s .I n c l u d e s b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l r e f e r e n c e s .

I S B N 0 - 8 0 2 1 - 3 2 6 2 - 61 . V e d a n t a . I . R o s s e t , L o l y . I I . T i t l e . I I I . T i t l e : V e d a n t a .

B 1 3 2 . V 3 T 6 7 1 3 1 9 9 11 8 1 ' . 4 8 d c 2 0

9 0 - 3 7 9 0 1C I P

M a n u f a c t u r e d in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o f A m e r i c aD e s i g n e d b y Ir v i n g P e r k i n s A s s o c i a t e s

9 8 9 9 0 0 0 1 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3


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Contents

IntroductionT H E S P I R I T O F T H E U P A N I S H A D S

Revelation and Mysticism 22 A LargerWhole 26 Seeking and Finding 32Brahman 36 Dualistic Influences 41The Convergence of Opposites 44Atman 49 The Freedom of the Inner Self55 Deep Sleep and Illumination 58Brahman Seen with Eyes Open 63 TheMystic Syllable OM 65 M ysticism andEthics 67 Job and Nachiketa 71

K R I S H N A T H E O M N I S C I E N T : T H E M E S S A G EO F T H E B H A G A V A D G L T A

A God of War? 78 The Path of ClearKnow ledge: Jnana-Yoga 88 The Path ofSelfless Action: Karma-Yoga 97The Path of Loving Devotion: Bhakti-Yoga101 The Aw esome Majesty of God 109


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VED NT


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v ContentsA D V A I T A : T H E P H I L O S O P H Y O F

N O N - D U A L I T Y 1 1 5The Great Shankara 117 Maya, theIndian Sphinx 121 The Sword ofDiscriminating Insight 126 M aya and Evil129 The M aya Concept 135 Advaitaand Yoga 139 Summ ary of the M aya-Teaching 142

D E F E N D I N G T H E C I T A D E L O F G O D :L O V E O F T H E P E R S O N A L G O D 1 5 1

The Pendulum Swings Back: Ram anuja 153Distinction or Identity ? 162T H E R E T U R N O F S H A K T I : G O D S

C R E A T I V E P O W E R 1 6 9Ram akrishna: Son of the Divine M other 169Vivekananda: You Are Gods 178Aurobindo: Shakti as Creative Energy 187Ram ana M aharshi: Pure Being 193

V E D A N T A A N D T H E W E S T 1 9 9Eastern Mysticism and Christianity 200Reflections in W estern Philosophy andLiterature 206 Europe and Am erica 212A Living Synthesis 215NotesGlossary

2 2 12 2 5


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Introduct ion

A L T H O U G H O F T E N R E G A R D E D a s t h e m o s t r e p r e s e n t a t i v efo rm o f E a s t e rn mys t i c i s m a n d me t a p h ys ic s , V e d a n t a h a snot achieved the same degree o f popular i ty in the West ash a ve yo ga a n d Z e n . T h is ma y w e l l b e b e c a u s e t h e y a rec o n n e c t e d w i t h c e r t a in p ra c t i c e s a n d t h e a ve ra ge p e rs o n i sf a m i l i a r w i t h t h e m i f o n l y b y n a m e t h r o u g h a f l o o d o fcourse o f fer ings ( in which yoga is o f ten only ident i f ied withhatha-yoga e x e r c i s e s n o w a d a y s ) . V e d a n t a , b y c o n t r a s t , islo o ke d u p o n mo re a s s o me k in d o f a b s t ru s e me t a p h ys ic s ,something for the head and access ib le only to an inte l lec -t u a l e l i t e . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e re a re n u me ro u s c o n t e m-p o ra ry a t t e mp t s a t p o p u la r iz a t io n t h a t s e e V e d a n t a a s t h esum to ta l o f a l l re l ig ions and phi losophica l sys tems, a pe-re n n ia l p h i lo s o p h y in i t s s imp le s t a n d mo s t c o n c e n t ra t e dform, universa l re l ig ion as such , which , once the tangledvin e s o f e x c e s s ive E a s t e rn e x o t i c a a re re mo ve d , w o u ld a c t u -a l ly make sense to a ch i ld .

B o t h t h e o ve r ly c o mp l ic a t e d a n d t h e o ve rs imp l i f i e d a p -p ro a c h e s ma ke a c c e s s t o V e d a n t a u n n e c e s s a r i ly d i f f i c u l t , o f

3


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4 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mcourse , b ecause b oth encourage the misconcept ion thatVedanta addresses i tse l f exc lus ively to the inte l lec t . Hencei t seems to some more di f f icul t than Kant , Hegel , and Schel -l ing combined; to others i t can be reduced to a few handyc o n c e p t s B ra h m an Atman maya reincarnation and thel ike b y which the wor ld ' s r iddle can b e c racked open a tonce .

O f course , Vedanta does want to b e unders tood and, l ikeal l other worldviews and rel igions, i t does try to f ind out" what deep wi th in i t ho lds th i s universe together , " to b or -r o w a p h r a s e f r o m G o e t h e ' s Faust. St i l l , w hen al l ha s beenclar i f ied, something inexpress ib le remains in true Vedanta ,something reveal ing i tse l f only in inner myst ical awareness ,retaining something myster ious even in revelat ion. Just l ikeTaoism, Zen Buddhism, Suf i sm, and Chr i s t i an myst i c i sm,Vedanta i s above al l a way that must be walked. It aim s atman's center , his deepest intui t ion, where the l ight of t ruthsuddenly shines for th. I ts emphasis i s on exper ience andreal izat io n. W he re this is no lon ger the case we have merelyan empty facade before us , a system, an ideology, oneamong many o thers . W here Vedanta has re ta ined i t s v i ta l -i ty , what the Benedic t ine fa ther LeSaux (Swami Ab hishik t -a n a n d a ) w h o l i v e d a n d d i e d i n I n d i a h a s s a i d a b o u tthe Upanishads also holds true for a l l o f Vedanta : " I t can-not b e emphas ized enough that th i s exper ience [o f Atman-Brahman real i ty] has i ts origin at the deepest level of ourbeing. The cal l of the Upanishads comes f rom a realmwhich transcends space and t ime. I ts voice spr ings f romsi lence . I t seeks to awaken man and lead him back tohimsel f . Just l ike the guru, the sacred books too are themirror in which man progress ively discovers himsel f andeventual ly recognizes the innermost t ruth about himsel f .


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Introduction 5T h e m o m e n t c o m e s w h e n t h e s p a r k f l i e s a c r o s s f r o m o n epole to the o ther . Af te r tha t there i s noth ing but c lear l ighte v e r y w h e r e a n d i n i t h a v e v a n i s h e d , t h e m a s t e r , t h e d i s c i -p l e , a n d e v e n t h e s a c r e d s c r i p t u r e s . . . Z ' 1

H i s t o r i c a l l y , V e d a n t a g r e w o n I n d i a n s o i l a n d i n m a n yr e s p e c t s c o i n c i d e s w i t h w h a t is c o m m o n l y c a l l e d H i n -d u i s m a l t h o u g h t h e t w o t e r m s c a n n o t b e u s e d s y n -o n y m o u s l y . O n t h e o n e h a n d , V e d a n t a i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o fo n l y one sys tem w i th in H ind u ism ; it is on e of the s ixdarshanas ( l it ., w ay of see ing , v iew po int ) th a t the H ind uc o n s i d e r s o r t h o d o x , a s d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o m t h e h e t e r o d o xs y s te m s o f J a i n i s m a n d B u d d h i s m . O n e s h o u l d n o t , h o w -ever , imagine the s ix systems to be held in equal ly highregard and to be p laying an equa l ly important ro le in there l ig ious l i fe o f today ' s Hindu. Some of these schools a retoday only of in te res t to academic spec ia l i s ts , for ins tanceth e Nyaya ( L o g i c ) , t h e Vaisheshika ( T e a c h i n g o f I n d i v id u a lC h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ) , o r t h e Karma Mim ansa t h e s c h o o l c o n -cerned wi th the r i tua l aspec t o f the Vedas . Sankhya a n d ,above a l l , the yoga sys tem of Patanjali a re fa r m or e wide lyk n o w n t h a n t h o s e s c h o o l s ; t h e y e v e n o c c a s i o n a l l y c o m p e t ew i t h V e d a n t a . H o w e v e r , s i n c e t h e s e s c h o o l s h a v e o v e r t i m en o t o n l y a t t a c k e d b u t a l s o c r o s s - f e r t i l i z e d o n e a n o t h e r , t h el in e s o f d e m a r c a t i o n h a v e o f t e n b e c o m e v er y f lu id . M u c h o ft h e c o s m o l o g y a n d p s y c h o l o g y o f t h e S a n k h y a s y s t e m a n dm a n y o f i t s y o g a m e t h o d s w e r e a b s o r b e d i n t o V e d a n t a . I tsoon proved to be the most recept ive and universa l o f a l lthese schools , so tha t Vedanta i s ident i f i ed by many todayas Hindu phi losophy as such , the bas i s under ly ing thei n n u m e r a b l e g r o u p i n g s , a n d t h e k e y n o t e i n t h e m e l o d i o u ss y m p h o n y o f t h e I n d i a n s u b c o n t i n e n t ; a l t h o u g h m a n yw o u l d g o e v e n f u r t h e r . I n t h e i r o p i n i o n t h i s V e d a n t i c


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6 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mf o u n d a t i o n w h i c h a t t h e s a m e t i m e i s a c r o w n i n gs u p e r s t r u c t u r e f a r e x c e e d s t h e b o u n d s o f a n i n d i g e n o u sH i n d u i s m a n d is e ve n c a p a bl e o f a p p e a l i n g to W e s te r n e r sw h o d o n o t n e c e s s a r i l y c a r e t o b e c o m e H i n d u s i n t h e n a r -r owe r s e n s e o f th e wor d ( a n d s t r i c t l y s p e a ki n g , c a n n ot ) .

T h e te a c h i n gs o f Ve d a n ta , e s p e c i a l l y a s r e f l e c te d i n th eU p a n i s h a d s a n d t h e B h a g a v a d G i t a , a r o u s e d t h e i n t e r e s t o fWe s te r n s c h ol a r s , p h i l os op h e r s , a n d l i t e r a r y f i gu r e s a s e a r l yas the e igh teen th and nin etee nth cen tur ies . I t i s wel l kn ow nt h a t W i l h e l m v o n H u m b o l d t t h a n k e d G o d f o r h a v i n g p e r -m i t te d h i m to l i ve l on g e n ou gh to be c om e a c q u a i n te d wi tht h e G i t a . E q u a l l y f a m o u s is S c h o p e n h a u e r ' s e n t h u s i a s m . H ed e c l a r e d th a t h e d e r i ve d m u c h s o l a c e f r om th e U p a n i s h a d swh e n i t c a m e to h i s own l i f e a n d d e a th . A s e a r l y a s 1 8 0 8 ,Fr i e d r i c h Sc h l e ge l , th e i n te l l e c tu a l l e a d e r o f th e Rom a n t i cs c h o o l i n G e r m a n y , w r o t e On the Language and Wisdomof the Indians a c t i n g , a s it w e r e , o n b e h a l f o f m a n y R o m a n -t i c s w h o s e n o s t a l g i a f o r t h e C a t h o l i c M i d d l e A g e s c o m -b i n e d wi th a ye a r n i n g f or In d i a . T h i s e n th u s i a s m wa ss u p p o r t e d , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e A n g l o - S a x o n w o r l d , b y a p h i l o -l og i c a l m e t i c u l ou s n e s s wh i c h , l i t t l e by l i t t l e , b r ou gh t In d i a ' sspir i tual t reasures to l ight . In th is connect ion names l ikeM a x M i i l l e r a n d P a u l D e u s s e n m u s t be g i ven s p e c i a l m e n -t i o n . A f t e r t h e a d v e n t o f K a n t , t h e i m p a c t o f G e r m a n I d e a l-i s m , a n d t h e r u m i n a t i o n s o f S c h o p e n h a u e r , G e r m a n y w a sp a r t i c u l a r l y r e c e p t i v e t o t h e t e a c h i n g s o f V e d a n t a w h i c hin the process had a lso , of course , of ten to suf fer be ingvi e we d th r ou gh th e s p e c ta c l e s o f on e or th e o th e r o f th e s eG e r m a n p h i l o s o p h e r s .

T h i s i s n ot th e p l a c e to m e n t i on a l l th e s c h ol a r s a n dwr i te r s i n E u r op e a n d A m e r i c a wh o f ou n d th e i r s p i r i tu a lh om e i n th e wi s d om of th e E a s t , or p r ove d to be a t l e a s tinspired by th is wisdom. Al l of th is interes t ex tended in i -


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Introduction 7t ia l ly not much beyond a smal l group of ind iv idua ls , but i thappened to co inc ide wi th a wave of sp i r i tua l expans ion inIndia tha t suddenly began to inundate the W est . This newexpans ion mani fes ted i t se l f in what seem l ike i t s most e s -sent ia l fea tures a t the end of the n ine teenth century in thef i g u r e o f S w a m i V i v e k a n a n d a , t h e g r e a t d i s c i p l e o fR a m a k r i s h n a . I t w a s R a m a k r i s h n a w h o , o n th e o c c a s i o n o ft h e P a r l i a m e n t o f R e l i g i o n s a t t h e C h i c a g o W o r l d ' s F a i r i n1 8 9 3 , a p p e a r e d l i k e a n E a s t e r n c o m e t i n t h e W e s t e r n s p i r i -t u a l s k y a n d b r o u g h t t h e w o r d V e d a n t a i n t o c i r c u l a t i o n . I tseemed to h im most apt ly to re f lec t the hear t o f the Hinduview of re l ig ion . Hindus themse lves re fe rred to the i r re l i -gion as sanatana dharma ( e t er n a l r e l i g io n ) . V i v e k a n a n d awas fac ing the task of fami l ia r iz ing W esterners wi th h ism a s t e r R a m a k r i s h n a ' s u n i v e r s a l m e s s a g e a n d t h e q u i n t e s -s e n c e o f t h e s a n a t a n a d h a r m a w i t h o u t t h e n e c e s s i t y o n t h ep a r t o f A m e r i c a n s o r E u r o p e a n s t o h a v e t o g r a p p l e w i t hthe many loca l de i t i e s and cas te res t r i c t ions of popularH i n d u i s m .

O f c o u r s e , V i v e k a n a n d a d i d n o t i n v e n t V e d a n t a . H e o n l ys impl i f i ed and modernized the anc ient teach ings of theU p a n i s h a d s c o n c e r n i n g t h e i n n a t e l y d i v i n e n a t u r e o f m a nand pointed to the var ious yogic pa ths l eading to h ighes trea l iza t ion of the Se l f . He d id not es tab l i sh any new univer -s a l r e l i g i o n . L i k e h i s m a s t e r R a m a k r i s h n a , h e p o i n t e d o u tt h a t a l l r e l i g i o u s p a t h s w h e n t r u l y l o o k e d u p o n a s pathsa n d n o t a s m u t u a l l y e x c l u s i v e i n s t i t u t i o n s t o g e t h e r a l -ready const i tu te a grea t universa l re l ig ion . He wanteda b o v e a l l t o b r i n g V e d a n t i c w i s d o m o u t i n t o t h e o p e n , t owrench i t f rom the hands of a few pundi ts and pr ies ts . Th is ,o f c o u r s e , l e d h i m t o b e r e p r o a c h e d w i t h w a t e r i n g d o w nV e d a n t a a n d m a k i n g it " p a l a t a b l e . " H o w e v e r j us ti fi ed s u chr e p r o a c h m a y b e w h e n it c o m e s t o o v e r s i m p l i f ic a t i o n a n d


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8 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mp op u l a r i z a t i on i n ge n e r a l , i n th e c a s e o f Vi ve ka n a n d a i tmisses the essent ia l point ; for here s impl i f i cat ion meansintensification. H is d isc ou rses do no t , a f ter a l l , co m e fromthe l ips of a scr ibe who en joys grappl ing with f in icky scho-las t ic deta i l , nor f rom the l ips of an overs impl i f ier whomerely seeks to appeal to the p igeonhole th inking of themasses , but f rom the l ips of a rea l ized yogi , someone en-l ightened who, l ike al l great mystics , is at al l t imes real lyon l y c on c e r n e d wi th th e One. M e i s t e r E c k h a r t , t o o , w a sof te n r e p r oa c h e d f or h a vi n g s p r e a d th e p r of ou n d e s t m ys t i -c a l t r u th s a m on g th e c o m m o n f o l k in s i m p l e ( a n d l ive l y )l a n gu a ge ; bu t a n yon e wh o r e a d s th e s e r m on s o f th i sm a s t e r w h o i n s o m a n y w a y s r e s e m b l e s t h e c o m b a t i v eV i v e k a n a n d a w i l l b e h a r d p u t t o c o n c l u d e t h a t h ewa te r e d d own t r u th .

W e th u s a r r ive a t th e q u e s t i on o f h o w th os e o f u s w h o a r en ot a c a d e m i c a l l y t r a i n e d Sa n s kr i t s c h ol a r s bu t on l y i n te r -e s te d l a y p e r s on s ou gh t to a p p r oa c h Ve d a n ta . Sh ou l d wec o m p l e t e l y i g n o r e t h e m o d e r n i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f n e o -V e d a n t a , o r n e o - H i n d u i s m , s o - c a l l e d , a n d o n l y c o n s u l ts u ch " s o u r c e m a t e r i a l " a s t h e U p a n i s h a d s , th e B h a g a v a dGi ta , a n d th e B r a h m a Su tr a s , a d d i n g to th e s e p e r h a p s s om eof th e c l a s s i c a l c om m e n ta r i e s on th e s e s c r i p tu r e s , s u c h a st h o s e b y S h a n k a r a , R a m a n u j a , a n d o t h e r s ? O r s h o u l d w et a k e u p o n e o f t h o s e " t e x t b o o k s " o n V e d a n t a , t h o s e v e r ys i m p l i f i e d ve r s i on s th a t we r e p r od u c e d i n gr e a t n u m be r s a se a r ly a s t h e M i d d l e A g e s a k i n d o f s c h o o l c a t e c h i s mw h e r e t h e " t r u t h s " o f V e d a n t a p h i l o s o p h y a r e p r e s e n t e d i na n e a t a n d t i d y w a y a s f o r i n s t a n c e t h e V e d a n t a s a r a ?

O u r a p p r oa c h d e p e n d s , o f c ou r s e , to a l a r ge d e gr e e onthe why of such s tudy, and here the l ines of demarcat ion arealso of ten b lurred . I t i s ent i re ly poss ib le for someone s in-cere ly s tr iv ing spir i tual ly to get complete ly hung up on


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Introduction 9s o m e l e a r n e d d e t a i l n o w a n d t h e n ; w h i l e s o m e o n e e l s e , w h oor ig ina l ly se t out mere ly to en large h is knowledge by onemore sys tem, may suddenly d iscover tha t h i s pursui t o fin te l lec tua l knowledge has mere ly obscured h is th i rs t for adeeper l eve l o f unders tanding. A book such as th i s mustt a k e b o t h i n t o a c c o u n t . W i t h i n a l i m i t e d f r a m e w o r k I a mpart i cu lar ly address ing the reader who i s looking for a f i r s to v e r a l l s u r v e y o f V e d a n t i c t h o u g h t , b u t w h o a t t h e s a m etime would l ike to be led r ight into the heart of this spir i tualview of l i fe . The intention is ne i ther to of fer derivat ive andovers impl i f i ed concepts , nor to cause the reader to s tumblec o n t i n u a l l y o v e r a m a s s o f a b s t r u s e s o - c a l l e d s o u r c e m a t e -r ia l . The p leasure a W esterner takes in the s tudy of thespi r i tua l wor ld of India can be spoi led as much by excess ivea t tent ion to de ta i l an endless se r ies o f which leaves h im ina s t a t e o f g e n e r a l p e r p l e x i t y a s b y e x c e s s i v e m i s s i o n a r yz e a l . T h o s e w h o p l u n g e w i t h o u t a n y p r e p a r a t i o n i n t o t h ej u n g l e s o f t h e B r i h a d a r a n y a k a U p a n i s h a d o r w h o s e e t h e m -se lves confronted r ight a t the beginning wi th the dry-as -s t i c k s a n d d i f f i c u l t B r a h m a S u t r a s w i l l p r o b a b l y f o r g o a n yf u r t h e r s t u d y o f V e d a n t a .

I t i s therefore not necessari ly a disadvantage i f we f i rs tencounter Vedanta in i t s modern a t t i re : in the words ofR a m a k r i s h n a , i n t h e d i s c o u r s e s o f V i v e k a n a n d a , o r i n t h es a y i n g s o f R a m a n a M a h a r s h i . T o b e g i n w i t h , t h i s w i l l m a k eus real ize that we are not deal ing with spir i tual foss i ls , withp h i l o s o p h i c a l a n d r e l i g i o u s a r c h a e o l o g y , b u t w i t h a t r u t htha t is a l ive and th e ever las t ingn ess o f w hich requ ires tha t i tper iodica l ly be g iven new express ion . In cer ta in respectst h e s e m o d e r n m y s t i c s h a v e m u c h m o r e i n c o m m o n w i t h t h eor ig ina l seers o f the Upanishads than wi th the sys temat izersof the Middle Ages . Much of the medieva l a t t i re hasd r o p p e d a w a y a n d s o m e t h i n g o f t h e o r i g i n a l j o y o f d i s c o v -


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1 0 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mery , o f the pioneer ing spir i t , i s in ev idence aga in . Of course ,t h i s i n no wa y ho l d s t r ue f o r a l l t ho se "g ur us" who ha v en o w m a d e V e d a n t a i n t o a s l i c k , f a s h i o n a b l e , a n d b a r e l yr e co g ni z a b l e phi l o so phy . B ut t he n a g a i n , t he l a t t e r sho ul dno t b e a l l o we d t o o b scur e t he l i g ht o f t ho se who ha v erevea led to the modern Western wor ld the l iv ing spir i t o fV e d a n t a .

Many wi l l no doubt pre fer in i t ia l ly to t ry the ancientscr iptures , and here i t i s c lear ly important to se lect thoset ha t r e nd e r t he V e d a nt a t e a ch i ng s a t t he i r m o st l uc i d , m o stl i v e l y , a nd m o st i nsp i r i ng . A m o ng t he se a r e t he sho r t e rU p a n i s h a d s s u c h a s t h e I s h a , K a t h a , a n d M u n d a k a U p a -n i sha d s , f o r i ns t a nce a s we l l a s se l e c t e d t e x t s f r o m t hel o n g er B r i h a d a r a n y a k a a n d C h a n d o g y a U p a n i s h a d s , b o t hb e l o ng i ng t o t he so - ca l l e d o l d e r U pa ni sha d s . The n t he r e i s ,o f co ur se , t he B ha g a v a d G i t a a nd , a s a n i n t r o d uct i o n t oc l a ss i ca l A d v a i t a V e d a nt a , so m e o f t he sho r t e r t e x t s b yS h a n k a r a s u c h a s t h e A t m a b o d h a a n d t h e V i v e k a -cud a m a ni . F r o m t h i s so und b a s i s a ny o ne ca n f e e l h i sw a y o n w a r d a c c o r d i n g t o i n c l i n a t i o n ; s o m e , f o r i n s t a n c e ,m a y w a n t t o a c q u a i n t t h e m s e l v e s w i t h t h e m y t h o l o g i c a lstrata we st i l l f ind evidence of in the ancient world oft he U pa ni sha d s ; o r p l o ug h t hr o ug h a l l t he co m m e nt a r i e s ,t he a t t e m pt s t o e l uc i d a t e t he b r i e f c r y pt i c a pho r i sm s o f t heB r a h m a S u t r a s . P o r t i o n s o f t h e s e c o m m e n t a r i e s a r e r a t h e rd a t e d , f o r i ns t a nce t he o f t e n l e ng t hy po l e m i ca l d e b a t e s wi t ht he v a r i o us B ud d hi s t s cho o l s a nd t he d ua l i s t i c S a nk hy asy s t e m . The se d e b a t e s o f t e n r e m i nd us o f t he b i t t e r d i sput e sa m o n g v a r i o u s s c h o o l s d u r i n g o u r W e s t e r n M i d d l e A g e sa b o ut ho w m a ny a ng e l s co ul d d a nce o n t he he a d o f a p i n .A nd jus t a s i t wa s i m po r t a nt i n t he We st , t he n , t o b r e a kthrough this crust o f so-ca l led learnedness t ime and aga in


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Introduction 1 1to the spir i t o f Chr is t , so too in India forg ing ahead t imeand again to reach the l iv ing breath and spir i t o f Vedantaa n d a l l o w o n e s e l f t o b e m o v e d b y i t b e c a m e a n i m p o r t a n tt a s k .

Nom en est omen. T h e w o r d V e d a n t a it s e lf p o i n t s t o i tse s s e n t i a l n a t u r e . O u t w a r d l y , Veda anta o n l y m e a n s " e n d o fthe Vedas , " a pure ly fac tual re ference to the f ina l sc r ipturesin the Vedic l i t e ra ture , namely the Upanishads . But jus t asi n t h e e y e s o f t h e C h r i s t i a n t h e Ne w T e s t a m e n t d o e s n o tmere ly outwardly conc lude the l i t e ra ture o f the B ib le buta l s o i n w a r d l y " f u l f i l l s " a n d t r a n s c e n d s a l l t h a t p r e c e d e d i t ,so here too ant a m e a n s n o t o n l y " e n d " b u t a l s o " c u l m i n a -t i o n " a n d " g o i n g b e y o n d " n o t o n l y w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h eVedic sc r iptures but wi th respec t to a l l that we are capab leo f k n o w i n g . F o r veda m e a n s k n o w l e d g e , a n d V e d a n t a ist h u s w h a t t r a n s c e n d s a l l ( r e la t iv e ) k n o w l e d g e . " W h a t ist h a t by k n o w i n g o f w h i c h a ll is k n o w n ? " r u n s t h e f a m o u sa n d c r u c i a l q u e s t i o n in t h e M u n d a k a U p a n i s h a d . ( I . i .3 )T h e a n s w e r i s t h a t t h e r e a r e t w o k i n d s o f k n o w l e d g e ,t h e " l o w e r " a n d t h e " h i g h e r . " A m o n g t h e l o w e r a r e i n -c l u d e d t h e s t u d y o f t h e V e d i c t e x t s : T h e R i g V e d a , t h e Y a j u rV e d a , t h e S a m a V e d a , a n d t h e A t h a r v a V e d a , a s w e l l a s t h et e a c h i n g s c o n c e r n e d w i t h p h o n e t i c s , s a c r i f i c e , l a n g u a g e , a s -t r o n o m y , e t c . T o d a y w e w o u l d p r o b a b l y r e f e r t o i t a s a l lt h e o l o g i c a l a n d s e c u l a r a c a d e m i c k n o w l e d g e , c o n c e r n e d a si t i s wi th indiv idual and re la t ive t ru ths and incapab le o fever leading to the f inal and highest t ruth. I t can only ber e a l i z e d b y a h i g h e r k n o w l e d g e , b y w h a t m i g h t a l m o s t b et e r m e d non knowledge; for the lang ua ge po int in g to theo b j e c t o f t h is h i g h e r k n o w l e d g e in t h e M u n d a k a U p a n i s h a dis f r a u g h t w i t h n e g a t i v e s : " . . . w h i c h o t h e r w i s e c a n n o t b eseen or se ized, which has no root or at t r ibute , no eyes or


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1 2 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Me a r s , n o h a n d s or f e e t ; wh i c h i s e te r n a l a n d om n i p r e s e n t ,a l l - p e r va d i n g a n d e x t r e m e l y s u bt l e ; wh i c h i s i m p e r i s h a b l ea n d th e s ou r c e o f a l l be i n gs . " ( I . i . 6 )T h e l a n gu a ge o f Ve d a n t i c l i t e r a tu r e i s , o f c ou r s e , n ota l wa ys on l y n e ga t i ve a n d va gu e . T h e r e a r e a l s o a gr e a tm a n y p o s i t i v e s t a t e m e n t s c o n c e r n i n g , f o r e x a m p l e , c o s m o l -ogy, psychology, and the l ike . I t i s not a lways sole ly phrasesl i k e " t h e i n e x p r e s s i b l e a l w a y s r e m a i n s i n e x p r e s s i b l e . " Y e ti n s p i te o f a l l th e s e p os i t i ve d e f i n i t i on s m a i n l y i n c on n e c -t io n w i th th e m i c r o c o s m a n d t he m a c r o c o s m V e d a n t a isn o t m e r e l y a n a c c u m u l a t i o n o f k n o w l e d g e , a r e l i g i o -p h i l os o p h i c a l d i c t i on a r y f r om A to Z , bu t by i ts ve r y n a tu r ea n d ba s i c t e n d e n c y a l s o i n te n t on e x p l od i n g a l l kn owl e d ge ,t h e r a d i c a l p o i n t e r t o t h e " t o t a l l y o t h e r . " V e d a n t a n o t o n l yl e a d s u s i n t o t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f o u t w a r d a p p e a r a n c e s a n di n t o o u r o w n i n n e r m e n t a l w o r l d , b u t a l s o out a ga i n : to th e" oth e r s h or e . " L i ke n e a r l y a l l r e l i g i on s i t i s p r i m a r i l y a wa yof s a l va t i on , a p a th o f d e l i ve r a n c e wh i c h ta ke s u s f r om th ek n o w n t o t h e u n k n o w n w h i c h w e p a r a d o x i c a l l y th e ne x p e r i e n c e s u d d e n l y a s th e f a m i l i a r p l a c e wh e r e we h a vea l wa ys be e n . A s f a r a s I a m c on c e r n e d , on e m a y c a l l Ve -d a n ta a s ys te m ; i n d oi n g s o , h owe ve r , on e s h ou l d n e ve rforget that we are deal ing here with a sys tem that in the endcancels i tse l f out .

In th i s s e n s e Ve d a n ta i s a bove a l l a s p i r i tu a l ou t l ook , a na t t i tu d e o f m i n d , a n d n ot s o m u c h a c l os e d r e l i g i on wi thw e l l - d e f in e d d oc t r i n e s . T h e r e is n o c e r e m on y by w h i c h on e" j o i n s " V e d a n t a . I t is t r u e t h a t a d h e r e n t s o f V e d a n t a t e n dt o s h a r e c e r t a i n c o n v i c t i o n s . M o s t , f o r e x a m p l e , b e l i e v e i nr e i n c a r n a t i o n a n d t h e L a w o f K a r m a ; d e v o t e t h e m s e l v e s t om e d i ta t i on ; be l i e ve i n th e i n n a te l y d i v i n e n a tu r e o f m a n , th eA t m a n ; a n d in a t r a n s c e n d e n t a l , s u p r a - p e r s o n a l " g r o u n d "


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Introduction 1 3b e h i n d C r e a t i o n t h e l a t t e r c o n s i d e r e d b y m o s t a s m e r emaya ( i l lus ion) . Y e t near ly a ll these co m po n en ts a l so serveas early pointers on the way, invi t ing us to keep on going;reminding us tha t "a br idge i s for c ross ing , not for bui ld inga h o u s e o n , " a s t h e P e r s i a n s a y i n g ( s o m e t i m e s a t t r i b u t e d t oJesus) goes .

T h i s d o e s n o t , o f c o u r s e , p r e v e n t V e d a n t a f r o m v e r yof ten be ing used as a house . W e a l l know tha t humans areh u m a n , a n d s o - c a l l e d V e d a n t i n s a r e h u m a n t o o . T h e y o f t e nspeak the i r own language , and somet imes , e spec ia l ly in theW est , cu l t iva te a d i s t inc t e l i t i sm. They thus tend to g iveouts iders the impress ion of be ing a church in possess ion ofabsolute t ruth . Par t i cu lar ly those who s t ress t ime and aga inthat they are not a church , but mere ly in the possess ion ofthe r ight key to a l l re l igions , of ten develop a s trong miss ion-ary zea l . Vedanta then eas i ly turns in to an ideology wi thw h i c h t o d i s p a t c h e v e r y t h i n g e l s e . A m y s t e r i o u s s o m e t h i n gc a l l e d V e d a n t a t h e n s a y s t h i s a n d s a y s t h a t . " V e d a n t a " t h e nk n o w s e v e r y t h i n g b e t t e r ; i n f a c t " w e i n V e d a n t a " a r e t h e na lmost in fa l l ib le . S t i l l , even the most fanat i ca l Vedant indoes not lay c la im to t rue absoluteness , on ly to a univer -s a l i t y , a t m o s t , w h i c h i n n o w a y e x c l u d e s " t h e o t h e r s " b u tr a t h e r i n c l u d e s t h e m l e a d i n g t h e n t o f e a r o n t h e p a r t o fs o m e C h r i s t i a n s o f b e i n g t o t a l l y s u b s u m e d b y E a s t e r n m y s -t i c i sm. The Vedant in can of ten be qui te pa troniz ing be -cause he i s convinced tha t h i s Vedanta inc ludes a l l o therre l ig ions whi le a t the same t ime t ranscending them. Thisa t t i t u d e s o m e t i m e s t u r n s i n t o a r r o g a n c e a n d n o t i n f r e -quent ly a l so accounts for v iews tha t a re ra ther superf i c ia l .S e e i n g e v e r y t h i n g o n l y t h r o u g h V e d a n t i c s p e c t a c l e s , t h ez e a l o t w a n t s t o r e d u c e e v e r y t h i n g t o a c o m m o n V e d a n t i cd e n o m i n a t o r . T h u s w h a t i s u n i q u e t o o t h e r r e l i g i o n s


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1 4 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Ms o m e t h i n g o n e c a n n o t s i m p l y a p p r o p r i a t e t o o n e s e l f i s a l lt oo o f t en com ple t e ly ov er looked . This i s , a f t er a l l , repeat -i n g t h e b a d h a b i t s o f m a n y m e d i e v a l V e d a n t a p h i l o s o p h e r sw ho l i f t ed cer t a in sec t ions f rom t he sacred t ex t s , espec ia l lyf r o m t h e U p a n i s h a d s , a n d f o r c e d t h e m t o c o n f o r m t o t h e i ro w n p a r t i c u l a r s y s t e m . T o d a y ' s V e d a n t i n o f t e n t r e a t s t h ew ord s o f J esu s in a s im i lar w ay . A dm it t ed ly , m uch does fitin with Vedanta , and i f a pr ize were of fered for the mostuniv ersa l re l ig ious sys t em , Vedant a w ould hav e a goodchance o f w inning i t . Y et t he danger a l so p la in ly ex i s t s o fshav ing o f f t he corners o f o t herness t oo m uch, j us t so t hatn o t h i n g s t i c k s o u t f r o m t h e w e l l - r o u n d e d V e d a n t i c v i e w o fthings . Such a way of going about i t reveals nothing som uch as un-Vedant i c doub t in t he t enet t hat in t he d iv ineg r o u n d a l l o p p o s i t e s a n d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s c a n c e l e a c h o t h e rout . W e are o f t en t oo im pat ient and w ould l ike t o achiev ethis wel l - rounded perfect ion here and now, by a l i t t le f i l inghere and a l i t t l e p laning t here ; a process t hrough w hich , inthe case of Jesus , a l l nat ive Jewish features f ly away l ike som a n y w o o d c h i p s a n d a n a l m o s t I n d o - A r y a n g u r u t a k e sshape , w ho t o our as t onishm ent ut t ers no t h ing b ut pureV e d a n t a w i s d o m .

U l t i m a t e l y , o n e o f t h e n a t u r a l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f V e d a n -ta 's universal out look is more l ikely to be the humil i ty ofn o n - k n o w l e d g e . J u s t a s t h e r a d i c a l Z e n m a s t e r g o e s b e -y o n d Z e n , s o t h e t r u e V e d a n t i n t h e o n e w h o h a s a r r i v e da t t h e h e a r t o f V e d a n t i c w i s d o m i n t h e e n d n o l o n g e rk n o w s w h a t V e d a n t a is. M ore prec i se ly , he i s now int i -m at e ly fam i l iar w i t h w hat t he express ion " t he end o f a l lknow ledge" or ig ina l ly im pl ied . At t he h ighes t l ev e l a l lw ords and concept s d i s in t egrat e . I n t h i s "pov er t y o f t hespir i t " the Vedant ic myst ic f inds himsel f eye to eye with a


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Introduction 1 5M e i s t e r E c k h a r t , a J o h a n n e s T a u l e r , a Z e n m o n k c h u c k -l ing to h imse l f , a humble Suf i myst i c , and probably a l so ana n c i e n t s e e r o f t h e e r a o f t h e U p a n i s h a d s w h o i s f o r -t u n a t e l y s t i l l u n a w a r e o f t h e l a t e r V e d a n t a s c h o o l s w h i c hq u o t e h i m a s t h e i r a u t h o r i t y .


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The Spirit ofthe Upanishads

N O T ONLY ARE THE UPANISHADS th e fo u n d at io n an d start-ing point o f Vedanta , the base , as i t were , f rom which la terIndian thinkers took of f in the i r lo f ty f l ights of phi losophi -ca l specula t ion; they are , even more so , the wel l spr ing towhich these thinkers l ike to re turn aga in and aga in to r insea wa y t he d us t o f l e a r ne d ne ss . The g r e a t po e t i c a nd i l l u -m i na t i ng po we r o f m a ny o f t he pa ssa g e s i n t he U pa ni sha d sderives i ts intensi ty from the same divine source that is a lsothe a im of a l l these intui t ions of the ardent ly seeking mind:t he o ne b e hi nd t he m a ny , t he Brahman. T o these seers theB r a hm a n wa s no t a n a b s t r a c t a b so l ut e pr i nc i p l e b ut t heG r e a t e s t T r e a s u r e , t h e G r e a t e s t G o o d , t h e F o u n t a i n h e a d o fAl l L i fe . The Kena Upanishad says that he i s b lessed whorea l izes Brahman in this l i fe , tha t not to do so i s the worstm i s f o r t une . I t wa s no t t he i n t e nt i o n o f t he rishis (see rs) toco ns t r uc t a n i m pr e ss i v e i n t e l l e c t ua l pa l a ce t o b e a d m i r e df r o m wi t ho ut , b ut wi t h i n whi ch no o ne co ul d l i v e ; f o r t he mthe search for t ruth was a genuine ex is tent ia l adventure .L uck i l y , t he t e x t s a r e s t i l l a b l e t o co m m uni ca t e t o us so m e -

1 7


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1 8 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mth ing o f the radiance on the faces o f those whose goodfortune i t was to rea l ize the l imit less Brahman as the ir owntrue be ing.T o a c e r t a in e x t e n t t h e Up a n is h a d s re p re s e n t " s e c re tt e a c h in gs , " a s t h e w o rd in fa c t in d ic a t e s . Up a n is h a d me a n s" t o s i t n e a r s o me o n e , " a n d h e re re fe rs p a r t i c u la r ly t o adisciple s i t t ing at the feet of a guru ( sp ir i tual tea che r) . Inth is re la t ionship the teacher , ra ther than pass ing on ideasand concepts , d irec ts the d isc ip le ' s a t tent ion to Being i t se l f :he thrusts h im into the heart o f rea l i ty , o f ten only a f terye a rs o f p a t ie n t w a i t in g . T h e t e x t s o f t h e Up a n is h a d s c a n ,o f course , only be the f inger po int ing a t the moon, for theya re o b vio u s ly s t i l l d e p e n d e n t o n w o rd s ; ye t s o me t h in g o ft h e imme d ia c y a n d d i re c t n e s s o f re ve la t io n d o e s in d e e di l lu min e t h e s e w o rd s .

T h e Up a n is h a d s a re s e c re t t e a c h in gs t o t h e e x t e n t t h a tt h e y p o in t t o w h a t e lu d e s t h e h u ma n e ye a n d o rd in a ryw a kin g c o n s c io u s n e s s . At t h e mo re a n c ie n t s t ra t a o f t h eUp a n is h a d s t h e t e rm re fe rs , a b o ve a l l , t o t h e h id d e n c o rre -s p o n d e n c e s b e t w e e n m a c r o c o s m a n d m i c r o c o s m . W h i l e iti s s t i l l poss ib le for a modern reader to be a t t rac ted to thosepassages for the ir sheer poet ica l power , they a lso not in fre-q u e n t l y p r o v e c o n f u s i n g b e c a u s e o u r m o d e r n " s c i e n -t i f i c a l ly " t ra in e d min d s a re n e a r ly in c a p a b le o f p e rc e iv in gt h o s e s u b t l e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s t o d a y . M u c h t h e r e s e e m s t ou s a rb i t ra r i ly b ro u gh t t o ge t h e r . W e w a ve r b e t w e e n a p a -t ro n iz in g s mi le fo r t h e s e re mn a n t s o f a w o r ld v ie w fu l l o f" m a g i c " a n d r e g r e t t h a t t h e u t t e r o n e - s i d e d n e s s o f o u r o w nra t io n a l - s c ie n t i f i c w a y o f v ie w in g t h in gs h a s a l lo w e d t h eo rga n o f p e rc e p t io n fo r t h o s e s u b t le c o r re s p o n d e n c e s t oa t ro p h y . G o e t h e ' s fa mo u s l in e s , " We re t h e e ye n o t a k in t othe sun, how could i t behold the sun, " are unl ike ly to e l ic i tm u c h m o r e t h e s e d a y s t h a n a l i t t l e " a h a - r e s p o n s e . " W e


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The Spirit of the Upanishads 1 9ne v e r the l e s s se e m to be a t a tu rn i ng po i nt to d a y . A w a re ne s so f o u r t ra g i c i s o l a t i o n a nd l o ng i ng f o r a w i de r co nte x tw i th i n w hi ch m a n ca n o nce a g a i n e x pe r i e nce h i m s e l f a spart o f the universe , not jus t as i t s conqueror , i s growingsteadi ly . Of course , we can scarce ly rees tabl i sh in our mindstoday each and every correspondence as we f ind i t in theUpa ni s ha ds , bu t w e a re be co m i ng m o re re ce pt i v e a g a i n f o rthe a l l - e nco m pa s s i ng pe rs pe c t i v e o f the s e s a g e s , o ne tha t ,on a new leve l o f unders tanding , i t might be poss ib le toco m bi ne w i th s c i e nt i f i c re a s o ni ng i n to a ne w s y nthe s i s . T heco nf l i c t be tw e e n pre - ra t i o na l a nd ra t i o na l w a y s o f th i nk i ngwould thus be la id to res t in a h igher awareness where theso-ca l led u l t imate ins ights o f the Upanishads a l so have the i rs o u rce .

T he re a l s e c re t t e a ch i ng o f the Upa ni s ha ds cu l m i na te s i nthe m u ch q u o te d s a y i ng Tat tvam asi ( " T h a t [ h i g h e s t d i -v ine rea l i ty ] tho u a r t " ) . Al l e l se are me re ly tentat iv e ap-pro a che s to w a rd th i s u l t i m a te t ru th , o r pre l i m i na ry s ta g e sw he re e x te rna l s a re s t i l l be i ng l i nk e d w i th e x te rna l s a s ,for ins tance , the sense organs wi th var ious forces o f natureand div ine essences , however much they may as such a l -ready form part o f the internal world . Po int ing to the ex is -tence o f a net o f re la t ionships i s cer ta inly important , but i fu l t imate ident i ty (not - two-ness) d id not a l so t ranspire heret h i s n e t w o r k o f c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s w o u l d r u n t h e d a n g e r o fbecoming an end in i t se l f , an ob jec t for ha i rspl i t ters to ge tt o w o r k o n b y e x t e n d i n g i t f u r t h e r a n d f u r t h e r t h e r e b yleaving us in the end again wi th nothing but secre t teach-ings in the plural , with a series of re lat ive truths strungto g e the r , w i th o ccu l t m y s te ry - m o ng e r i ng f u l l o f co nce i t f o ri t s " k n o w l e d g e . " A l t h o u g h t h e m o s t s e c r e t i m a g i n a b l e i n -s i g ht pe r ta i ns to the o ne ne s s o f the Bra hm a n a nd the i nne r -m ost Sel f , this tru th is ha pp i ly also of such br i l l ian t c lari ty


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2 0 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Ma n d i m p a c t th a t a l l oc c u l t s ys te m s c r u m bl e i n to r u i n s be f or eit . I t is as c lear as pure spring water . No c losed f is t holdsanything back here . This t ruth i s by far the s imples t andm o st obv iou s in the w or ld , even i f on ly very few real ize i t.G n o s t i c s y s t e m s o f w i s d o m a s w e k n o w t h e m , f o r e x a m p l ef r o m t h e A l e x a n d r i a n r e a l m , h a v e d e s p i t e t h e i r m a n y a d m i -r a b l e f e a t u r e s o f t e n s o m e t h i n g r i g i d a b o u t t h e m . T h e y t e n dto h ol d th os e wh o ve n tu r e i n to th e m c a p t i ve wi th th e i rk n o w l e d g e . E s o t e r i c t e a c h i n g s e x i s t w h i c h t e n d t o w e a k e nand ens lave us to a sys tem, even to our own spir i tual vani ty .T h e r e a r e o th e r e s ote r i c t e a c h i n gs , th e l i v i n g br e a th a n ds p i r i t o f wh i c h s t r e n gth e n s a n d l i be r a te s u s .

F e w w o r d s i n t h e C h r i s t i a n G o s p e l s m o r e a p t l y c h a r a c -ter ize the spir i t of the Upanishads than those f rom theG o s p e l o f S t . J o h n , " A n d y o u s h a ll k n o w T r u t h a n d T r u t hwil l se t you f ree . " I t i s a quest ion of realization, r e a l i z a t i onof the kind which no longer b inds us to the world ofs u p e r f i c i a l a p p e a r a n c e s w h e r e " t h e d e a d b u r y t h e i r d e a d , "but which re leases us , inc ludes us in L i fe Ever las t ing. Toq u o t e a w e l l - k n o w n p r a y e r f r o m t h e B r i h a d a r a n y a k aU p a n i s h a d , a n d on e s t i l l m u c h r e c i te d by H i n d u s tod a y :" Fr om th e u n r e a l l e a d m e to th e Re a l , f r om d a r kn e s s toL i g h t , f r o m d e a t h t o D e a t h l e s s n e s s . " ( I . i i i . 2 8 )

K n o w l e d g e i n S a n s k r i t i sjnana. T h e U p a n i s h a d s a r e a l s oreferred to as jnana-kanda, t h e p o r t i o n o f t h e V e d i c b o o k sd e a l i n g w i t h k n o w l e d g e i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e karma-kanda,t h e p o r t i o n d e a l i n g w i t h " w o r k s " a n d m a i n l y i n v o l v i n g t h er e q u i r e m e n ts f or r i tu a l . T h i s a s p i r a t i on on th e p a r t o f th eU p a n i s h a d i c s e e r s d i r e c te d s o l e l y towa r d i n s i gh t a n dk n o w l e d g e w a s n o l o n g e r c o n c e r n e d w i th e a r n i n g a p l a c e inh e a ve n f or on e s e l f a n d wi th p r op i t i a t i n g th e va r i ou s d e i t i e sthrough r i tual i s t ic ac t ion and sacr i f i ce . The s t i l l very egoic


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The Spirit of the Upan ishads 2 1t endenc ies o f the human hear t , whi le they did f ind fu l le x p r e s s i o n i n t h e V e d a s , a r e d e n o u n c e d i n t h e U p a n i s h a d s .In the l ight o f the new super ior knowledge , these urgenth u m a n c o n c e r n s o f V e d i c t i m e s o f t e n r a t h e r r e s e m b l e ak indergar ten s tage o f re l ig ion. This break wi th the past i sm a d e q u i t e i r o n i c a l l y c l e a r i n t h e M u n d a k a U p a n i s h a d , f o rexample , where the o ld Vedic sacr i f i ce i s a t f i r s t pra ised buts u b s e q u e n t l y a l l t h e m o r e d r a s t i c a l l y e x p o s e d f o r i t s c o m -ple te fu t i l i ty : "Fra i l indeed are those ra f t s o f sacr i f i ce andl it tl e t h e i r m e r i t . . . f o o l s w h o r e j o i c e in t h e m a s t h e H i g h e s tGood fa l l v ic t im again and again to o ld age and death .Fools dwel l ing in ignorance but wise in the i r own conce i t. . . w a n d e r a b o u t . . . l ik e b li n d m e n le d b y t h e b l i n d . . . .I m m e r s e d i n i g n o r a n c e t h e y f l a t t e r t h e m s e l v e s , ' W e h a v er e ac h e d l if e's p u r p o s e . . . B u t in th e ir e a g er p e r f o rm a n c eof works they do not rea l ize th is and fa l l back when the i rm e r i t i n h e a v e n i s e x h a u s t e d . " ( I .i i. 7 9 )Here profound re f lec t ion on the re la t iv i ty o f l i fe as l ived,o n t h e s h o r t c o m i n g s o f a l l " w o r k s , " o n t h e c h a i n o f c a u s ea n d e f f e c t ( a l s o c a l l e d t h e L a w o f K a r m a ) , h a s d o n e a w a ywith the chi ld ish be l ie f that man can earn for h imse l f ane t e r n a l h e a v e n . T h e n e w i n s i g h t p r o c l a i m s : S o l o n g a s m a nis ignorant of who he real ly is , so long is he t ied to the cyc leof b i r th and death , to becoming and ceas ing to be . The ideaof re incarnat ion i s here tak ing ho ld o f Indian th inking . I t i sno longer a secret that even the heavenly realms are f ini te ,mere way s ta t ions on the long t rek o f the indiv idual sou l .Once the mer i t that has earned a man a so journ in th is k indo f h e a v e n i s e x h a u s t e d h e m u s t a g a i n t a k e o n a b o d y u n t i lhe has rea l ized his t rue oneness wi th the Brahman, thediv ine ground.

Despi te th is recogni t ion o f the inef fec t iveness o f a l l


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2 2 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mworldly deeds and des ires , inc luding the des ire for heavenlybl iss , th is v iew in Upanishadic t imes d id not lead at a l l to at o t a l n e g a t i o n o f t h e p h e n o m e n a l w o r l d ; k n o w l e d g e a n djoy s t i l l went hand in hand. Al though the naive s impl ic i ty ofVe d i c t i m e s wa s n ow l os t , th e p e s s i m i s m wi th wh i c h J a i n -ism and Buddhism were to view the world i s s t i l l far f rommaking i tse l f fe l t . The r i shi of the Upanishads i s not yet thearhat (an ear ly Bu dd his t asc et ic ) ; he s t il l co nce ive s o f thew o r l d a s t h e e m a n a t i o n a n d o v e r a b u n d a n c e o f t h e d i v i n eB r a h m a n n o t as e x c lu s i v el y t h e c o n s e q u e n c e o f i g n o r a n c eand craving for ex is tence . Of course , such a r i shi has a lsol i t t l e i n c o m m o n w i t h a c o n t e m p o r a r y p o n d e r e r w h o d o e sn ot kn ow wh a t to m a ke o f th e wor l d a n d s t r a i n s to s o l vethe r iddle of ex is tence . Even i f the r i shis ' ins ight d id nots i m p l y c o m e t o t h e m o u t o f n o w h e r e , w i t h o u t a n y e f f o r t th e m a n y q u e s t i on s a n d f r e q u e n t c on tr ove r s i e s i n th e te x tss h ow th a t i t d i d n otth e y c e r ta i n l y d i d n ot r e s or t to r e a -s o n i n g a l o n e . D i i r e r ' s Melancholy a n d R o d i n ' s Thinkerc ou l d be c on s i d e r e d a s th e e x a c t op p os i te typ e s o f th eIndian sage .

R E V E L A T I O N A N D M Y S T I C I S M

T h e f or e goi n g br i n gs u s n ow, o f c ou r s e , to th e p r ob l e m ofinspirat ion and revelat ion , which we by no means f ind inC h r i s t i a n i t y a l o n e . T h e t e r m inspiration s h o u l d n o t , h o w -e v e r , b e o v e r t a x e d . I f m a n y a n o r t h o d o x H i n d u l o o k s o nevery verse of the Vedas and every l ine of the Upanishads asthe l iv ing breath and l i tera l revelat ion of the h ighest Brah-m a n , m od e r n m a n wi l l wi th s om e ju s t i f i c a t i on be ju s t a s


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The Spirit of the Upan ishads 2 3dis t rust fu l o f such reve la tory be l ie f as he i s when a Chr is -t ian c la ims that every l ine in the Bib le is inspired and ofdiv ine or ig in . Yet the fac t that the Vedic books , espec ia l lythe la ter t ex ts , the Upanishads , are regarded by Hindus asshruti, a s w h a t w a s heard, sho uld no t be gro un ds for d is -missing i t a l l as anc ient superst i t ion. To the Hindu, shrut i isw h a t c a n n o t b e t h o u g h t u p b y t h e l i m i t e d h u m a n i n t e l l e c t ,but is of God. I t i s what is forever val id, nev er ch an ge s, isn o t d e p e n d e n t o n t h e l i m i t e d c a p a c i t y f o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o fany one his tor ica l person. The Hindu for th is reason i sp r o u d n o t t o n e e d a h i s t o r i c a l f o u n d e r . T h e f o u n d e r a n df o u n d a t i o n o f t h e V e d a s a n d t h e U p a n i s h a d s is t h e B r a h -man i t se l f , i s what i s indest ruc t ib le and t imeless .

T h i s k i n d o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g d i f f e r s s o m e w h a t f r o m t h ebe l ie f in reve la t ion o f the I srae l i t e peoples . There , a prophetwho is quite def ini te ly interested in history and can pre-c i se ly be located his tor ica l ly , rece ives a message f rom ap e r s o n a l G o d w h o speaks t o h i m . N o " G o d " s p e a k s in t heU p a n i s h a d s , t h e r e is o n l y t a l k o f th e B r a h m a n , a n d o n l y f e wpersonages there can be considered his tor ica l indiv iduals( as c a n Y a j n a v a l k r i y a a n d K i n g J a n a k a ) .

S ince we in the West are fami l iar wi th the concept o fr e v e l a t i o n a l m o s t e x c l u s i v e l y f r o m o u r o w n J u d e o -Chr is t ian t radi t ion in connec t ion wi th the B ib le , i t neveroccurred to us that we might be dea l ing wi th reve la t ion inIndian re l ig ions as wel l . Chr is t ian theo log ica l th inking hasr u n s o m e t h i n g l i k e t h i s : s i n c e n o " G o d f r o m o n h i g h "makes h is presence known to these people , the i r re l ig ionmust be a re f lec t ion o f pure ly human endeavors , gropinga t t e m p t s o f t h e m i n d t o f a t h o m t h e D i v i n e M y s t e r y . T h ew i s d o m o f t h e U p a n i s h a d s , a n d i n d e e d Hi n d u i s m i t s e l f ,was thus branded as pr imit ive re l ig ion, as an e f for t by man


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2 4 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mto r i s e a bove h i s e a r th l y l o t , a n e f f or t th a t c ou l d o f c ou r s enever rea l ly succeed s ince i t lacked ful l revelat ion f rom Godi n H e a ve n .A n y o n e w h o h a s t h o u g h t t h is a c o m f o r t a b l e e x p l a n a t i o na n d t h e n c h a n c e s u p o n t h e l a t e r c o m m e n t a r i e s o n t h e U p a -n i s h a d s b y t h e g r e a t V e d a n t a p h i l o s o p h e r s i s p r o b a b l ygoi n g to be s u r p r i s e d by th e te n a c i ty wi th wh i c h th e s e" s c h o l a s t i c s " o f t e n e n d a d e b a t e b y p o i n t i n g t o th e s h r u t i ,the revealed scr iptures . I t i s a lmost l ike l i s tening to St .T h om a s A q u i n a s , f or h e r e , a s th e r e , m i n d s s t r i ve e a ge r l y tob r i n g r e v e l a t i o n i n l i n e w i t h r e a s o n y e t w h e n e v e r t h e r e i sa n y d ou bt , th e s c r i p tu r e s a r e m a d e th e f i n a l a u th or i ty . O n ec a n , o f c ou r s e , i n te r p r e t th e r e ve a l e d wor d , e ve n m i s i n -te r p r e t i t , c a n t r y to m a ke i t s e r ve on e ' s own p a r t i c u l a r v i e wof th e wor l d ; bu t on e m u s t n ot c h a l l e n ge i t s a u th or i ty , f ort h e n o n e b e c o m e s a h e t e r o d o x f r e e t h i n k e r a t w h i c h p o i n to n e r e a l i z e s t h a t i m p e r f e c t h u m a n r e a s o n i n g i s n o a l t e r n a -t ive to b ib l ica l be l ie f in revelat ion .

But we have to get used to the idea that the Eas t has i tso w n c o n c e p t o f re v e l a t i o n . W h a t is i m p o r t a n t in t h is c o n -n e c t i on i s n ot s o m u c h th e a n t i th e s i s o f p e r s on a l ve r s u si m p e r s o n a l s i n c e i n s o m e o f t h e l a t e r I n d i a n t e x t s , s u c h a st h e B h a g a v a d G i t a , a p e r s o n a l g o d d o e s s p e a k t o m a n b u tth e d i f f e r e n c e be tw e e n a p r o p h e t i c a l l y r e ve a l e d r e l i g i onwh e r e e th i c a l p r e c e p ts r e c e i ve p r i m a r y c on s i d e r a t i on a n d am ys t i c a l r e l i g i on wh e r e m a n s t r i ve s a bove a l l to manifestt h e d i v i n e . T h e U p a n i s h a d s b e l o n g , w i t h o u t d o u b t , t o t h i ss e c o n d c a t e g o r y ; t h e y a r e m y s t i c i s m par excellence. T h e i rs e e r s a r e n e i th e r p r op h e ts i n th e b i b l i c a l s e n s e n or p h i l os o-p h e r s b y c o n t e m p o r a r y s t a n d a r d s . E v e n t h e t e r m sage, th a twe a r e s o o f te n r e a d y to a p p l y to E a s te r n m ys t i c s , d oe s n otquite f i t the bi l l s ince i t gives l i t t le indication of the rel igiousi n te n s i ty o f th e r i s h i s o f th e U p a n i s h a d s . T h e y we r e c e r -


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The Spirit of the Upan ishads 25ta in ly sages , but they were a l so more than tha t ; they werephi losophers sk i l l ed in debate . S t i l l , we would be hear ingl i t t l e ta lk of shrut i , o f " t ruth heard and seen , " i f these seersh a d e n c o m p a s s e d t r u t h b y m e a n s o f r e a s o n a l o n e . T h e i re x p e r i e n c e o f t h e B r a h m a n i s m o r e l i k e a being seized thanthe se iz ing of something , i s fa r more than mere ly wisdom'su l t i m a t e c o n c l u s i o n , a n d t h e i r r e a l i z a t i o n o f t h e B r a h m a nfar more than just the last l ink in a long chain of logica lreasoning . The r i sh is heard and behe ld t ruth d i rec t ly whenthey entered a l eve l o f awareness in medi ta t ion where theyb e c a m e t o t a l l y r e c e p t i v e . " T h i s A t m a n c a n n o t b e a t t a i n e dby the s tudy of the Vedas , or by in te l l igence , or by muchhear ing of sacred books . I t i s a t ta ined by h im a lone whom I tc h o o s e s . T o s u c h a o n e A t m a n r e v e a l s I ts o w n f o r m , " w er e a d i n t h e K a t h a U p a n i s h a d . ( I . i i . 2 3 )

Even i f th i s co nc ep t o f gr ace is no t m on ot he is t i c ; s t r i c tlyspeaking , the verse c lear ly shows tha t what i s involved goesb e y o n d h u m a n e x e r t i o n . N o t o n l y t h e p e r s o n a l g o d o fC rea t ion i s revea led in the moment of grace but a l so ouro w n t r u e S e l f . G r a c e c a n n o t b e " p r o d u c e d . " I t is p o s s i b l e t ow o r k t o w a r d t h a t m o m e n t b y l i v i n g a n i n t e n s e l y s p i r i t u a ll i f e a n d t h r o w i n g o f f m o r e a n d m o r e o f t h e e n c u m b r a n c e stha t h inder us f rom perce iv ing t ruth and becoming f ree . Buta t the dec i s ive moment , a l l " I -ness" s t i l l in tent on a t ta in inga n d a c h i e v in g s o m e t h i n g h a s v a n i s h e d . " I " c a n o n l y " a t -t a in " my t rue Se l f w hen th ere is no longer an " I " to a t ta in i t.Then Atman sh ines for th of i t s own. Atman i s ent i re ly se l f -e n l i g h t e n e d ; it is n o t e n l i g h t e n e d b y a n y t h i n g . " W h e n H eshines , everyth ing sh ines a f te r Him; by His l ight everyth ingis l i g h t e d . " ( M u n d a k a U p a n i s h a d , I I . i i . 1 0 )

This i s not to say that every s ingle sentence in the Upa-n ishads conta ins u l t imate t ruth in a nutshe l l and was re -ce ived in a s ta te o f insp i ra t ion . There are many tenta t ive


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2 6 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mbeginnings , many a detour ; there i s much that i s couched inlegend and anecdote , and there are intense debates , a l l ofwhich te l l s more of seeking than f inding. Here and there wea r e p r oba b l y a l s o d e a l i n g wi th l a te r i n te r p ol a t i on s , r a t i o -n a l i z a t i on s , a n d th e l i ke ; bu t wh a t a m ou n ts to th e q u i n t 3 -s e n c e o f t h e U p a n i s h a d s is n o t s o m e t h i n g " t h o u g h t - u p " b u ta t r u th " w h i c h h a s c o m e s t r a ig h t fr o m t h e h e a r t o f G o d , " t ob o r r o w a p h r a s e f r o m M e i s t e r E c k h a r t ( w h o o f t e n c o m e s t omind, as i f he were a d irec t descendant of these anc ientr ishis) .

A L A R G E R W H O L E

T h e r e a r e o v e r o n e h u n d r e d U p a n i s h a d s t h e s a c r e d n u m -b e r 1 0 8 is o f t e n q u o t e d b u t o n l y t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o n e s ,t h o s e t w e l v e t h e V e d a n t a p h i l o s o p h e r s w r o t e c o m m e n -ta r i e s to , n e e d c on c e r n u s h e r e . T h e i r c om p os i t i on i s e s t i -m a te d by We s te r n s c h ol a r s to f a l l be twe e n 1 0 0 0 B . C . a n d6 0 0 B . C . T h i s wa s a p e r i od of ge n e r a l a wa ke n i n g : e ve r y-wh e r e th e h u m a n m i n d wa s a s t i r s e e k i n g a n s we r s to f u n d a -mental ques t ions ; in China as in Greece , in Is rae l as inIndia . Kar l Jaspers re ferred to th is era of new departures asa tu r n i n g p oi n t i n h i s tor y . L a o- tz u a n d Con f u c i u s i n Ch i n a ,th e O l d T e s ta m e n t p r op h e ts i n I s r a e l , th e p r e - Soc r a t i c p h i -losophers in Greece , the r i shis of the Upanishads , and,f o l l o w i n g t h e m , G a u t a m a B u d d h a i n I n d i a , c a n b e c o n s i d -ered the spir i tual f lowers of this era. Indeed, i t seems we areto this day nourished by this t ime in history as far as ourm e ta p h ys i c a l h e r i ta ge is c o n c e r n e d ; f or n o m a t te r h owm u c h c h a n ge a n d p r ogr e s s m a n ki n d h a s e x p e r i e n c e d i n th e


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The Spirit of the Upan ishads 2 7external aspec ts o f l i fe , man's rea l core , h is t rue be ing , hasn o t c h a n g e d .

T h e r e a r e p r o b a b l y s e v e r a l r e a s o n s w h y m a n y I n d i a n sdate the i r sacred books back to much ear l ier t imes than doWestern scholars . F i r s t o f a l l , be ing in possess ion o f theo ldest reve la t ion in the wor ld tends to enhance se l f -c o n f i d e n c e . S e c o n d , s i n c e m a n y w e r e c i r c u l a t i n g l o n g b e -fore the i r f ina l vers ions were commit ted to wr i t ing i t i s verydi f f i cu l t to f ix these tex ts h is tor ica l ly . They had beenh a n d e d d o w n o r a l l y f r o m g e n e r a t i o n t o g e n e r a t i o n i n t h eprocess o f which indiv idual fami l ies had come to spec ia l izein p a r t i c u l a r V e d a s ; m o r e o v e r , e a c h U p a n i s h a d b e l o n g e d t oa par t i cu lar Vedic t radi t ion . But be that as i t may , theprec ise dat ing of the Upanishads is of l i t t le interest prec iselybecause they dea l wi th what i s timeless. An d i f H ind us datethem as far back as poss ib le they may do so unconsc iouslya lso to he ighten awareness o f what i s ever las t ing . Indeed,a c c o r d i n g t o t h e o r t h o d o x v i e w t h e V e d a s a r e n o t c r e a t e d a ta l l but considered to coex is t e ternal ly wi th the d iv ine ,which needs only to breathe new l i fe into them at theb e g i n n i n g o f e a c h n e w c o s m i c c y c l e .

T h e V e d a s a r e t h e f i r s t m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f t h e B r a h m a n ,so to sp eak , are i ts " w o r d " ; a nd th is w or d i s a l l-e n c o m p a s s i n g . V i s i b l e C r e a t i o n i s l i t t l e m o r e t h a n t h e e x -ternal izat ion o f the word, i t s coarser form. To the mind ofm a n y Hi n d u s , t h e r e f o r e , t h e V e d a s a p p e a r t o b e a w o r l d o fP la tonic ideas o f such universa l i ty that wi thin i t i s con-ta ined the idea l s ta te o f a l l there i s . What cannot be foundthere s imply does not exist at a l l .

We, o f course , t end to see the Vedas more in the l ight o fan evolut ion in thinking today, that is , not as the f inishedp r o d u c t o f d i v i n e r e v e l a t i o n s o m e h o w d e s c e n d e d u p o n


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2 8 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mearth a t the dawn of t ime, but as the f i rs t poet ica l expres -s i on s a n d r e l i g i ou s i n tu i t i on s o f a h u m a n r a c e on th e ve r geof f r e e i n g i t s e l f f r om p r i m i t i ve a n i m i s t i c be l i e f s a n d gr a d u -al ly and tentat ive ly fee l ing i ts way up toward the d ivine . Wea l r e a d y l o o k e d a t t h i s p r o b l e m f r o m a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n ta n gl e a bove a n d c on c l u d e d th a t th e i n n e r m e s s a ge o f th eU p a n i s h a d s , r e p r e s e n t i n g i n tu r n th e q u i n te s s e n c e o f th eVedas , can indeed be cons idered revealed , even i f th is reve-l a t i on d oe s n ot e n t i r e l y c o i n c i d e wi th th e b i b l i c a l c on c e p to f r e v e l a t i o n . Y e t w e c a n n o t r e g a r d V e d i c l i t e r a t u r e inc luding, as i t does , a l l k inds of spel l s , incantat ions , ands u c h a s p u r e r e v e l a t i o n . B u t t h e t w o a p p r o a c h e s h e r er e v e la t io n " f r o m a b o v e , " t h e r e h u m a n e n d e a v o r " f r o mb e l o w " a r e n o t n e c e s s a r i l y m u t u a l l y e x c l u s i v e . T h e V e d i cb o o k s d o i n d e e d r e p r e s e n t a n e v o l u t i o n o f h u m a n t h o u g h to v e r t i m e , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f homo religiosus in ta n d e mwi th th e gr a d u a l s e l f - r e ve l a t i on o f th e d i v i n e . H owe ve rhere , unl ike in Is rae l , th is evolut ion per ta ins less to man'shistory tha n to h is t im eless inner being, h is " h e a r t . " " T h e r eis in th is c i ty of Brahman an abode, the smal l lotus [of theh e a r t ] ; w i th i n it is a s m a l l s p a c e . . . . B o t h h e a v e n a n d e a rt hare conta ined within i t , both f i re and a ir , both sun andm o o n , b o t h l ig h t n in g a n d t he s t a r s . . . . " ( C h a n d o g y a U p a -n i s h a d , V I I I . i . 1 - 3 ) W e a r e n o l o n g e r d e a l i n g w i t h r e v e l a -t i on c on c e r n i n g th i s or th a t d e i ty , bu t wi th th e f u n d a m e n ta lr e v e l a t i o n t h a t all this is to be f ou n d w i th i n ou r ow n h u m a nh e a r t . T h e B r a h m a n i s n o t o n l y " h i d d e n " i n t h e e x t e r n a lw o r l d o f a p p e a r a n c e s b u t a l s o i n t h e V e d i c t e x t s t o t h ee x te n t th a t th e y a r e s t i l l p r ovi s i on a l a n d c on te n t wi th p a r -t ia l t ruths . Al l Indian myst ics agree that a t the moment ofhighest rea l izat ion the Vedas can be la id as ide as use less ." W h a t is p e c u l i a r to th e V e d a s , a m on g a ll th e s a c r e d s c r i p -tures , i s that they dec lare again and again that we must go


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The Spirit of the Upan ishads 2 9b e y o n d t h e m , " 2 s a i d S w a m i V i v e k a n a n d a . T o t h i s s h o u l dbe added , however , tha t the ca l l to do so occurs ac tua l lyonly a t the end of the Vedas , tha t i s , in the Upanishads .They are indeed thoroughly suf fused wi th the sp i r i t o ft r a n s c e n d e n c e .

Despi te a l l o f f i c ia l bows to the i r sanct i ty and u l t imateauthor i ty , the Vedas no longer seem to p lay a s ign i f i cantro le in the l i fe o f the ord inary Hindu. For h im the bookscal led smriti ( w h a t is r e m e m b e r e d ) t h e h e r o i c e p ic s a n dt h e p o p u l a r P u r a n a s , s t o r i e s r i c h i n m y t h a n d l e g e n d a r eo f m u c h g r e a t e r i m p o r t a n c e . E v e n a s c h o l a r q u o t i n g t h eVedas to prove h is or thodoxy does so , i t seems , most ly as am a t t e r o f f o r m a l i t y . T h e V e d a s a r e s u f f e r i n g t h e s a m e f a t ea s t h e B r a h m a S u t r a s : p e o p l e c e l e b r a t e t h e m , c o n t i n u a l l yr e fe r t o t h e m , f al l d o w n in p r o s t r a t i o n b e f o r e t h e m b u t n oone reads them.

How the Upanishads re la te to a l l tha t i s Vedic and pre -ceded i t i s not easy to descr ibe . At t imes an organic t rans i -t i o n s e e m s t o e x i s t , a t o t h e r t i m e s a r a d i c a l b r e a k w h e neven a cer ta in sarcasm wi th respect to the former i s notmiss ing. And just as we st i l l f ind in the Upanishads manytraces o f the r i tua l i s t i c po r t io n o f the Ve da s , so w e a l so findin the ear l i e r Vedic books qui te a few germina l ideas tha tant i c ipa te the wisdom of the Upanishads . Even in the verye a r l y h y m n s o f t h e R i g V e d a , w e e n c o u n t e r p a s s a g e s o f ar a t h e r p h i l o s o p h i c a l n a t u r e . T h e s e a r e n o l o n g e r c o n c e r n e dwith s inging the pra i ses o f the numerous na ture de i t i e s andr e a c h i n g s o m e k i n d o f h e a v e n , b u t w i t h k n o w l e d g e o fa h igher rea l i ty . A good example of th i s i s the HymnofPurusha w her e C re a t io n is seen as resu l t ing f ro m the sac -r i f i c e o f m a n ' s d i v i n e p r o t o t y p e ( R i . X . 9 0 ) ; o r t h e Hymnto Prajapati w he re eac h verse a lw ays ends wi th the ques-t io n , " W h a t G o d s h a ll w e a d o r e w i t h o u r o b l a t i o n ? "


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3 0 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S M( R i . X . 1 2 1 ) 3 T h i s questioning b e co m e s s ti ll m o r e pr o -n o u n c e d i n t h e f a m o u s Hym n of Creation, w hi ch in i tse l fr e pr e se nt s a s i ng ul a r g r e a t e f f o r t t o e x pr e ss t he i ne x pr e ss -i b l e a nd b r e a k t hr o ug h t o t he r e a l m whe r e t he r e i s "ne i t he rb e i n g , n o r n o n - b e i n g , n e i t h e r d e a t h n o r i m m o r t a l i t y . " 4Wha t a t t he o pe ni ng o f t he b i b l i ca l a cco unt o f G e ne s i s i sbr ie f ly re ferred to as chaos , as the tempora l beginnings ofour l imi ted planet ear th , so to speak, was in this Vedichy m n i n t e r pr e t e d m e t a phy s i ca l l y a s t he " s t a t e b e f o r e a l lt i m e " a n d i n c l u d e d p a r a d o x i c a l s t a t e m e n t s t h a t a r e n o tu n l i k e t h o s e in t h e U p a n i s h a d s e v e n r e m i n d i n g u s o f m y s -t ic s l ik e J a k o b B o e h m e . W h a t t o e a r li e r g e n e r a t i o n s m a yh a v e a p p e a r e d a s a d e f e c t t h e h e s i t a n t a n d t e n t a t i v e n a -t u r e o f e x p r e s s i o n , i t s c o n t i n u a l q u e s t i o n i n g w e t e n d t oview tod ay in a mo re pos i t ive light . W e are ti red o f a ll to o -r e a d y - m a d e a n sw e r s . W e ha v e ha d t o a d m i t a ll t o o o f t e nt h a t m a n y a p e r i o d - b o u n d d o g m a w a s j u s t t h a t a n d , w h i l epr o c l a i m i ng t o f a t ho m t he m y st e r y o nce a nd f o r a l l , a c t u-a l l y e nd e d up o nl y shr o ud i ng i t e v e n m o r e . The phi l o so phi -ca l and myst ica l depth of this hymn is unsurpassed; and i fevery thing th ere s t il l end s in a qu es t io n, i t is no t beca us e thel i g ht o f r e v e l a t i o n ha d no t y e t sho ne f o r t h s t r o ng l y e no ug h,b u t b e c a u s e q u e s t i o n i n g is t h e l a n g u a g e m o s t a p p r o p r i a t eto the mystery : ra ther than ty ing us to the seeming cer ta intyof a f ini te answer , i t f rees us for the a l l -open and inexpres-s i b l e a b so l ut e .

O ne ca n a l m o st d e t e c t a t o uch o f i r o ny i n t he l a s t que s -t ion of this hymn which ends wi th this verse :

None knoweth whence creation has arisen;And whether he has or has not produced it:He who surveys it in the highest heaven,He only knows, or haply he may know not. (Ri.X.129)


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The Spirit of the Upanishads 3 1T h i s l a s t q u e s t i o n o c c u r s n o t o n l y i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e

ear l ies t Indian tex ts but has ac tual ly remained fa i r ly typica lr ight up to the present day for so many ways o f the In-dian mind, espec ia l ly as seen in Buddhism and radica lA d v a i t a V e d a n t a . S o m e t h i n g a l m o s t l i k e d i s r e s p e c t i s e v i -dent here , the k ind that does not even s top shor t o f Godthe Creator and i s not go ing to res t unt i l i t has reached thevery foundat ion o f a l l there i s . There are , o f course ,plenty of theist ic systems in India as wel l (even inV e d a n t a ) , w h e r e t h e a l m i g h t y c r e a t o r - g o d , I s h v a r a , i s t h el a s t a n d h i g h e s t a b s o l u t e a n d i t i s q u i t e t a k e n f o r g r a n t e dthat th is a lmighty and a l l -knowing god knows fu l l wel lw h e n c e h i s C r e a t i o n h a s a r i s e n . Y e t t h e r e a l w a y s w e r e ,and s t i l l a re , those o ther approaches that cons ider such ag o d a s m u c h t o o h u m a n p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e h e k e e p s h a r p -in g o n h is o m n i p o t e n c e a n d o m n i s c i e n c e , a c i r c u m s t a n c ethat , espec ia l ly in Buddhism, has made an absurdi ty o f thecreator -god. We are obviously not dea l ing wi th a re l ig iono f l a w s , w h e r e m a n i s n o t e x a c t l y e n c o u r a g e d b y G o d t oa s k q u e s t i o n s , b u t w i t h a m y s t i c a l , m e t a p h y s i c a l l y o r i -ented re l ig ion, one that i s not eas i ly int imidated bya n y t h i n g o r a n y o n e , n o t e v e n t h e " Hi g h e s t L o r d i nH e a v e n . "

E a r l y g e r m i n a l i d e a s a n t i c i p a t i n g t h e l a t e r U p a n i s h a d i cw i s d o m t e a c h i n g s b e c o m e m o r e p r o n o u n c e d i n t h eB r a h m a n a s , t h e t h e o l o g i c a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f t h e V e d i chymns; but then again , we a lso f ind in the Upanishads , asa l ready m en t ion ed , st il l m uc h that is V ed ic . H is tor ic a l lys p e a k i n g , t h e U p a n i s h a d s ( w i t h a f e w e x c e p t i o n s ) f o r m t h ec o n c l u d i n g p a r t o f w h a t a r e c a l l e d t h e A r a n y a k a s . T h e s et e x t s w e r e s t u d i e d b y t h e " f o r e s t d w e l l e r s " a n d a r e p r i m a r -ily co nc ern ed w i th the lan gu ag e o f sy m bo l ic sacr i fi ce an dw o r s h i p . S o m e o f t h e s e b e c a m e p a r t o f t h e U p a n i s h a d s


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3 2 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S M

S E E K I N G A N D F I N D I N GOccas ional ly one or t he o t her reader am ong t hose ap-proa ching t he Up anisha ds f rom a pure ly ph i losophica lpoint of v iew might prefer to be g iven only Upanishadicw i s d o m ' s " u l t i m a t e c o n c l u s i o n s " a s e x p r e s s e d , f o r e x a m -ple, in the form of the Mahavakyas, t h e G r e a t W o r d s . F o u rsuch m aj or pronouncem ent s are usual ly quot ed as repre -sent ing the inner message of Vedanta :

" C o n s c i o u s n e s s is B r a h m a n " ( A i ta r e y a U p a n i s h a d ) ;" I a m B r a h m a n " ( B r i h a d a r a n y a k a U p a n i s h a d ) ;" T h a t t h o u a r t " ( C h a n d o g y a U p a n i s h a d ) ;" T h i s A t m a n is B r a h m a n " (M a n d u k y a U p a n i s h ad ) .

I f we were to content ourselves with such ul t imate for-m ulas a lone , how ev er , m uch o f t he pecul iar aura , m uch o ft he a t m osphere o f t he Upanishads t hei r r i ch " fores t f ra -grance , " so ut t er ly a t odds w i t h t he b ookish a t m osphere o ft h e p r o v e r b i a l p h i l o s o p h e r ' s c h a m b e r w o u l d b e l o s t . L e tus not only look at the b lossoms or , worse s t i l l , preservet hem as dr ied spec im ens for in t e l l ec t ua l hom e consum p-t ion, but let us also consider the r ich soi l from which theyhav e sprung . Ot herw ise t he ce leb rat ed form ulas " T a t tvamasi" (T ha t thou art ) an d " A b a m brabma asmi" (I am B ra h -m an) w i l l b ecom e m ere ly handy , and u l t im at e ly ho l low ,concept s t o b e f i l ed aw ay under t he heading "Vedant i c

almost unchanged, some were used more as s tepping s tonesto press onward toward spir i tual ly ever more subt leposi t ions .


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The Spirit of the Upanishads 3 3w i s d o m . " W e m u s t r e a l l y j o i n t h o s e s e e k e r s , w a l k i n t h e i rfoo ts tep s ourse lv es . Even if th os e teac he rs and d isc ip les o fU p a n i s h a d i c t i m e s s e e m s o m e h o w p r i m i t i v e t o u s t o d a y ,they had one dec i s ive advantage : they were not ye t suf fe r -ing f rom informat ion g lut , they d id not ye t f ind themse lvesa s s a u l t e d w i t h w e l l - p a c k a g e d a n d n o i s i l y a d v e r t i s e d i d e o l -o g i e s , t h e y s t i l l h a d a n e n o r m o u s a m o u n t o f t i m e a n d w e r eable to wai t and l i s ten . In th i s the Upanishads a l so d i f fe rf rom la te r sec tar ian deve lopments in India when a so l idd o g m a t i s m w a s t o l e a v e n o d o u b t a s t o w h i c h w a s t h e s o l el e g i t i m a t e t e a c h i n g . T h e d i s c i p l e a p p r o a c h i n g a t e a c h e r o fo n e o f t h e s e d o g m a t i c s c h o o l s f i n d s h i m s e l f i m m e d i a t e l yc o n f i n e d w i t h i n a c l o s e d s y s t e m . T h e U p a n i s h a d s h a v e ab e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t b e c a u s e o f t h e i r u n b o u n d e d o p e n n e s s , b e -cause we are not ins tant ly bea ten over the head wi th dead-e n i n g d o g m a s . T h e d i s c i p l e ' s i n s t r u c t i o n n e v e r b e g i n s w i t hready-made formulas ; he i s g iven only h ints and sugges-t i o n s . H e m u s t s e e k t h e a n s w e r f r o m w i t h i n h i m s e l f . W h e n ,a f t e r a l o n g t i m e , o f t e n s p e n t " o n l y " m i n d i n g c o w s , h e t h e nr e t u r n s t o h i s t e a c h e r , i t i s n o t s o m u c h t h e " c o r r e c t " a n -s w e r t h a t m a t t e r s b u t t h e d i s c i p l e ' s o w n i m m e d i a t e e x p e r i -ence . I t i s a l l r ight for h im to make "mis takes , " i t i s a l l r ightfor him to be sat is f ied ini t ia l ly with a mere provis ionaltruth, i f to him i t i s i l luminating. The guru seems to trust inthe disc iple ' s abi l i ty to arr ive gradual ly a t the truth on hiso w n e v e n p e r h a p s u l t i m a t e l y a t t h e h i g h e s t t r u t h , e x -press ible only by s i lence .

At t imes the guru seems knowingly to l e t the d isc ip le ge ta w a y w i t h j u s t p r o v i s i o n a l o r e v e n " f a l s e " t r u t h s . T h u s i nt he C h a n d o g y a U p a n i s h a d , P r a j a p a t i m a k i n g h is a p p e a r -ance there as something l ike the prototypica l d iv inet e a c h e r l e a v e s t h e g o d I n d r a a n d t h e asura ( d e m o n ) V i -

. 1


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3 4 V E D A N T A H E A R T O F H I N D U I S Mrochana init ial ly in the bel ief that the body is identical withthe highest Self ( A t m a n ) . Whi le Virochana i s sa t i s f ied withthis mater ia l i s t i c v iew, Indra soon begins to have doubtsand returns to Pra japat i for fur ther s tep-by-s tep ins truct ionc on c e r n i n g th e t r u e Se l f , th e E ve r l a s t i n g , th e B r a h m a n .N owa d a ys we te n d to h a ve n o t i m e f or s u c h l on g- wi n d e dstor iesIndra had to spend 105 years in the s ta te of sacredd i s c i p l e s h i p , a c c or d i n g to th e a c c ou n t th e r e a n d a s we d owith detec t ive s tor ies , we hurry toward the unravel ing ofthe puzzl ing part . But because we did not ac tual ly tread thepath, we s e e m to e n c ou n te r a ga i n a n d a ga i n on l y th e s a m eold famil iar c l iches . After the f irs t few lessons, every studentof Ve d a n ta p h i l os op h y q u i c k l y l e a r n s n ot to i d e n t i f y wi thhis body, nor with his breath, nor with his feel ings , nor withhis per cep t ion s , no r with the h ighest reach es of h is inte l lec t ,but wi th the pure Atman a lone , wi th the t rue Se l f envelopedwi th i n th e s e " s h e a th s . " B u t d oe s h e r e a l l y know it de epd own ? Wh a t th e U p a n i s h a d s a r e a bou t a n d e m p h a s i z e ove rand over is the attainment o f t ru th , the ac tu al rea l iza t ion o fwh a t a l l too o f te n wa s l a te r to be c om e a n a c a d e m i c c om -m od i ty .

Thus the s tudent learns s tep by s tep that Brahman is noton l y annam a n d prana ( sub stanc e and energy) but a lsomanas (a term tha t inc ludes the hu m an m ind as wel l asfee l ings and vol i t ion) , buddhi (highe r intel lect and thep owe r o f i n tu i t i on ) , a n d ananda ( s u p re m e b l i s s ) a n dlearning is always understood in i ts inner sense as a quick-e n i n g a wa r e n e s s . A l th ou gh th e U p a n i s h a d s s om e t i m e s r e f e rto the nature of Brahman by a process of negat ion , as in thew e l l - k n o w n neti, neti (no t this , no t th at ) , this via negativanonetheless represents only one among many s trands in thefabr ic of Upanishadic l i terature . Rather more typica l i s apos i t ive order ing by ascending s teps of apprehens ion f rom


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The Spirit of the Upan ishads 3 5lower to h igher levels or s tages ; but th is in no way impl iest h a t , o n c e t h e h ig h es t r u n g o f t r a n s c en d en c e i s r ea c h ed , t h eladder i s pul led up to d isappear in to a to ta l ly acosmica b s o lu t e . I n s t ea d , o n e s o en l ig h t en ed in d eed c o n t in u es t os ee t h e B r a h m a n p r es en t in t h e lo wer r eg io n s o f ex i s t en c e ,now with even grea ter c la r i ty than before . In the Ta i t t i r iyaU p a n is h a d i t i s ex p r es s ly s t a t ed t h a t f o o d t h a t i s , a l l p h y s -i c a l s u b s t a n c e is n o t t o b e d es p is ed . Y e t t h i s b y n o m ea n simpl ies tha t the lo f ty heights of the la ter Advai ta phi loso-p h y wi t h it s p r ed o m in a n t ly n eg a t iv e t e r m in o lo g y r e fl ec teda t o t a l ly e r r o n eo u s d ev e lo p m en t . B u t b e f o r e we s e t t l e t o osoon upon those e levated sea ts f rom which a l l Crea t ion isbrushed as ide as maya, i t is useful to begin by joining thea n c ien t t ea c h er s o f t h e U p a n is h a d s a n d c o v er in g a g o o dd is t a n c e wi t h t h em on foot, a ll the w hi le tak ing deepbreaths in the forest a ir , even with our f leshly, earthlynoses .

A d m it t ed ly t h er e is a l s o q u i t e a b i t o f u n d er b r u s h a r o u

vedanta heart of hinduism

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