Inner Journey

  What are Upanishads? 

Upanishads are utterances of Vedic time seers, more like lecture notes.This forms part of Vedanta-the anta -means end or appendices for the Vedas or end portions...It also means the culminating or final words beyond the karma kanda or the ritualistic part of the Vedas.[Vedanta is also the name of one of the six forms of philosophy.]

The Upanishads contain the esoteric knowledge and was part of 'secret doctrine ' in that it was not given to one and all,but to worthy students.The formal training took place in ashrams of Rishis , great teachers totally devoted to a spiritual life and teaching youngsters. Upa-ni-shad means literally 'sitting near a master'-which is to learn directly from an enlightened teacher...Now of course we learn from books,Dvd's,internet  and so on...Most of the verses were considered as mantras to be chanted --- there were no writing means  then;the oral repetition or chanting helped  to impress one's mind.

How many Upanishads were there? No one knows for sure.May be 108...At the present time only about 30 Upanishads are considered;among them, 10 are called "Principal Upanishads" mainly because Adi Shankara wrote full commentaries on them. [Historians place the compiling of the Upanishads between 800 BCE and 400 BCE, nicely bracketing the period of Lord Buddha around 600 BCE.]

The Upanishads are in the form of dialogue or Question-and-Answer format and are easy to follow.[They are also known as forest texts or part of 'aranyakas'] Some contain instruction of a guru to his wife,who queried him with spiritual questions.

The Bhagavad Gita is considered as the essence of the Upanishads....You will find a few lines from the Upanishads into the Gita too.It is a good practice to read the Gita simultaneously and mark  the corresponding Gita verses.

Most Upanishads derive their names from the first word of the Upanishad--'Isa' and 'Kena' for instance.

Some are short ones;thus Isa has only 18 verses, while Chandogya has  a few hundred verses.

In a sense, Vedanta or Upanishads is all about enquiry or Vichara marga and is closer to Pure Advaita.Devotion or Upasana is also there, but only as a mental preparation or prefacing...Just as we start official government functions with national anthem in India, here we have invocations...But the main approach is arguments and inquiry.This may

not be palatable for those in Bhakti marga or path of devotion.The other parts of Vedas have plenty of material for devotion/worship!    If you go by Devotional path, then Upanishads give very little---Go to the Bhagavad Gita instead ;you get both devotional and jnana (knowledge) path there.!!

[As a piece of history: the Moghul Prince Dara Shikoh, brother of Emperor Aurangazeb, [who killed Dara later ] got the Upanishads translated into Persian..Thus the Upanishads went to the Middle East and later to Europe in 14th to 16th centuries through Spain and France..]

Important Translations and commentaries

  Upanishads have deep meaning and often times careless or simplistic translations lose the main meaning or subtle concepts.The great Acharyas often wrote from their own sectarian basis ,and in my opinion,distorted the meanings quite heavily at certain places to suit their dogmas. Adi Shankara's [788-820 AD] commentaries are well known and heavily used by later philosophers. Sri Ramanuja did not write commentaries on upanishads ,but used those of other Vaishnava acharyas.Sri Madhwa wrote from his dwaita angle.

 In modern times,almost all great scholars have tried their skills in translating and commenting on the Upanishads.I have to be selective here in mentioning only a few which are quite  rigorous and relatively easy to follow:

1Swami Gambhirananda's works come first to my mind.

2Then comes Swami Nikhilananda 's work.[Both of Sri Ramakrishna Mission lineage].

3.Then comes Swami Sivananda's work.I draw heavily from Swami Sivananda's translations.

4 Then comes Swami Chinmayananda's ,with rather elaborate ,but too wordy  explanations with interesting digressions into social factors--typical of the great Swami's lectures.!

5 Swami Ranganathananda's "Message of the Upanishads" --lucid lectures on the Upanishads,with lot of anecdotes--very easy reading.

 {Many of these books are available on-line for free.](You can also study Sri Aurobindo's works---tough reading and not easy for a beginner.

  [I would also  mention a few of others---translations & brief commentaries for the modern reader; some rigor and accuracy might   have been sacrificed in making the material for easy reading in these  books:1 Eknath Easwaran;  2 Swami Parthasarathy 3 S. Radhakrishnan  4 Juan Mascaro  5 Swami Dayananda Saraswathi et al [Arsha Vidya School]. I am mentioning these authors because  their books may be easily accessible in libraries and book stores near you. Each of these may have some merit for the modern reader/student of Vedanta.But for a serious reader,the books mentioned earlier ,1 to 5 ,would be appropriate.

There are many books by western authors which can be consulted.Since I am not familiar with them ,I am not listing them here.See Dennis Waite's website: advaita.org.uk

A book that may interest western readers: Journey of the Upanishads to the West by Swami Tathagatananda, about the spread of the vedanta in the west.]

There is one short ,rather accurate and synoptic translation and comments I would suggest for four Upanishads only: Swami Paramananda's small book.He gives  these Upanishads only: Isa, Katha, Kena and Mundaka .[Swami Paramananda was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda and worked with Swami Ramakrishnananda  in Chennai for several years before reaching USA.] I use his translation with some modifications in this page.

  Swami Sivananda [Divine Life Society]-Rishikesh

  Rishikesh  [Valley of Rishis] at the foot --hills of the Himalayas,with the Ganges entering the plains[near Haridwar/Dehradun] --  a place of quiet and serenity 

This is a short Upanishad with distilled esoteric wisdom and doctrines. This has been the favorite of many teachers and philosophers.Mahatma Gandhi liked it and told that even if all the other Hindu scriptures are lost, we can build the structure of the doctrines with this one Upanishad. Devendranth Tagore,father of Rabindranath Tagore, came across a piece of paper in his garden,wafted by the wind.The paper contained this Upanishad ,and  from that time,he was inspired to study all the Upansihads.

Here is a gist of this Upanishad for a general reader:

There is a Peace -Chant at the beginning  of every Upanishad.

The very first verse has a powerful message:

Verse 1:  1.This whole Universe is covered or clothed by the Lord or ISA.

(The Lord is both immanent and transcendent in this Universe.)

2 Having renounced the phenomenal (unreal ) world,enjoy the Real.

This sentence speaks of rejecting the ephemeral life for eternal,divine, inner life...renunciation of illusory world is essential.In other words, don't be enamored of  the physical world.Everyhting has a birth and death in this world.

3 Do not covet the wealth of any man.

( Be contented.. no use envying the assets and gifts of other persons...cultivate  peace of mind)

So much has been packed in just one verse by the Rishi who uttered this Upanishad.

Verse 2:   Does that mean one should give up activity?

In this verse,the seer tells us: If one should live in this world a hundred years, one should perform right actions or karma; Thus you may live long;there is no other way;such actions will cause no harm to you.

 {Having spoken about renunciation in the first verse, in the very next verse we get this message;Keep doing work for a long life.

Reading the two verses together, we get the meaning of Karma Yoga as told by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita: Do perform actions, but do not cling on to the fruits or hanker after the fruits---renounce the fruits .

What a great message!

Verse 3: Then comes the Knowledge about the "It"  [or Brahman] which pervades the Universe.The Atman or Self is present everywhere.

{Brahman is neither male nor female!]

The esoteric wisdom is given in Verse4: It moves;It moves not; It is far and It is near; It is within and also It is without.

[The normal cognition and use of words,near and far,within and without ,have no meaning when describing It or Brahman.

Verse 14: He who knows at the same time both the Unmanifested and the manifested (perishable) , he crosses over death [attains immortality] through the knowledge  of the Unmanifested .[Brahman.]

 (You see the manifested ,but you should see the Unmanifested within every creation. If you can do that,you attain amrita or immortality; A popular analogy is that : if you see the seeds, can you see the oil in that?  Can you?  ....Since Brahman is immanent in everything,the seer exhorts us to see the formless in all forms....You see pots,vases and jugs everywhere...do you see the clay out of which all are made of?  ...You see different ornaments in a jewelry store,do you see only the gold in them.?

Can you contemplate beyond names and forms? This is the challenge posed by the seer. )

Verse 15: A prayer to Self-Effulgent Being!

O Pushan {Effulgent Being } The face of the Truth is hidden by a golden disk.Uncover Thy face that I ,the worshiper of Truth, may behold thee.

{The Self or Brahman is Self-effulgent and shines on its own! but the golden disk,the illusion or Maya or mundane world 9the golden mask) acts as a screen and hides it from us.The golden piece is a common metaphor in Vedanta for things that distract us...recall the 'golden fawn', the magical fawn which attracted Sita in the story of Ramayana.

Verse 16: Through Thy Grace, I behold Thy blessed and glorious form.The Purusha who dwells within Thee,I am He.

These verses have  very deep meaning.The real Truth is always covered by magical, illusory golden disk or mask.We are fooled by the golden disk. [The golden disk is often taken to be the sun god.]Let the Truth be revealed.With the Grace of the Lord, we are able to see the truth or Effulgent Being everywhere .The worshiper feels the unity with the worshiped , and then  utters: "I am He ".This ,indeed , is the culmination of  UNION with the Lord or Truth.

Summary: This Upanishad gives Brhama-Vidya  or knowledge of the all pervading deity.It tells us about the practical means of doing actions and yet renouncing the fruits of action.It tells us about the Brahman as Self-effulgent being in everything.     Om Tat Sat.

This is a delightful, most popular Upanishad with interesting story.Nachiketas, a brahmin boy of 16 years had a tiff with his father.His father performed a sacrifice or yagna and at the end,gave away as gifts some useless cows to brahmins. Nachiketas felt sorry for his father's act and asked him:" Father, to whom you will give me as worthless gift?"..Father was annoyed and told: "I will deliver you to the Lord of Death, Yama."

The boy, to fulfill father's injunction, died and went to the abode of the Lord of Death ,Yama, and waited at the gate. Yama was away.The boy waited for three days without food.Yama was piqued;he invited Nachiketas and told him that he had made a brahmin boy to wait for three days.

Yama: I will grant thee three boons;Ask now!

Nachiketas: The first boon I ask is that my father must know where I am,forgive me for my impertinence and take me back .

Yama: Granted.Ask for the second boon.!

Nachiketas: I must perform a fire sacrifice to attain heaven.

Yama: Granted;you will perform a special sacrifice,which will be named after you---"Nachiketas yagna".Ask for the third boon.!

Nachiketas:I want answer for this: You are Lord of Death and you are the  qualified one to answer this--none else.

What happens to a person after death? Some say that he exists ;some say that a person does not exist..tell me now.

Yama was reluctant to answer this profound question. He dissuaded Nachiketas to insist on an answer from him.

Yama: I will give you wealth,sons and grandchildren,beautiful damsels with chariots and musical instruments...take these and go away..do not press me to answer this question.

Nachiketas refused: ..all these things are ephemeral and will decay..I want answer for this only for the third boon.

Yama: I know you are sincere to know.You deserve to me instructed.Only a great guru [illumined teacher] can instruct you on these.

Finally Yama told: There is Atman or soul which is imperishable.When the Atman leaves, the body dies.It may take rebirth, prompted by desires....If a person is free from desire, he may attain this knowledge and become free from  cycle of births and death--he has no more births.

 Yama: The wise, by meditation on the Self,knows the Ancient One [brahman or Absolute],difficult to perceive, seated in the innermost recess or cave of the heart,dwelling in the depth of  inner being  as God,,is liberated from the fetters of joy and sorrow.[2-12]

The wise,who know the Self,bodiless,seated within the  perishable bodies,great and all pervading,grieve not.[2-22]

This Atman (Self) is hidden in all beings,does not shine forth;but It is seen by subtle seers through keen and subtle understanding only.      [3-12]

The Katha Upanishad, in this form of dialogue between Nachiketas and Yama ,elaborates on the following:

---the Cosmic word "Om" and its significance.

---the hierarchy of controls---body controlled by the senses, the senses controlled by the mind[manas] which is taken as the sixth sense;mind controlled by the intellect or Buddhi,the discriminating power;Buddhi controlled by the Self or Atman.

---the analogy that the soul or Atman is riding a chariot which is the body; the horses are the senses;the road is the object attracting the senses;mind is the reins to control the horses.

--The mind should control the senses with the discriminating power of the intellect to reach the end of the journey.

---- An illumined teacher is needed.

----God  or Brahman is immanent in everything ----in the sun, in the air,the fire in the altar,guest in the house,in everyman and woman;in sacrifice;in space; in water, in earth;

 Katha Upanishad also spells out the monotheistic basis of Hinduism:

   There is one Ruler,the Self of all living beings,who makes the one form manifold;the wise who perceive Him seated within their Self,to them belongs eternal bliss,not to others.   ----[5-12]

 His [Brahman's] form is not to be seen.No one can see Him with the eye.He is perceived by the heart,by the intellect and by the mind.They who know this become immortal. --------------[6-9]

   No one fails to benefit from reading Katha Upanishad even in a casual manner--whether Hindu or not.!

This Upanishad starts with the word 'kena' --by whom?

What activates our mind?  What is the mind of the mind? What is behind the mind? What is behind our senses activating them?  --That is Brahman or the Absolute!

That which none breathes with the breath ,but by which breath is inhaled:Know that to be Brahman--not other things people worship.           [1-8]

The true knowers  think they can never know IT (because It cannot be known by mind or intellect) while the ignorant think they know It .     [2-3]

(The Brahman is always referred to as "It" in neuter gender [not masculine or feminine].and Brahman cannot be known as such by our minds. How our limited mind can grasp the Infinite,the Absolute!.)

It is known ,when It is known in every state of consciousness.Then one attains immortality.  [2-4]

 (The word 'It ' is used to denote Brahman and also Self with capital 'S', to represent Reality or Absolute or Truth.)

The Wise seeing the same Self in all beings,having been liberated from this world, becomes immortal.[2-5]

{The same sentence is repeated in the Bhagavad Gita]

Immortality or 'Amritva'  is a state of liberation from the cycle of brith and death,freedom from the bodily existence once and for all.

The Upanishad or teaching is based on 'tapas' [self-control,discipline and austerity] 'dama' [control of senses] and 'karma' [performance of right actions].The Vedas are its limbs.Truth is its support. [3-8]

 Lord Buddha emphasized this a few centuries later in several lectures.

This short Upanishad with 34 verses is unique. It forces us to think on one thing---what is behind or what activates our senses and the mind--in other words ,our phenomenal life with body and mind. A little reflection can leads to an understanding  of the Self immanent in all of us---all living beings.

This Upanishad is full of esoteric  meaning.Mundaka means 'shaven head'...may be ,this Upanishad is meant for monks;or it could mean that it leads to renunciation.

Shaunaka , a householder asks a sage,Angirasa by name: "What is that knowing which all others are known?" --what a profound question? Can we know the most fundamental knowledge for knowing everthing. [1-3]

The sage replies: There are two kinds of knowledge: the lower [apara] vidya,consisting of vedas,grammer,phonetics and so on---that is mundane knowledge,including the knowledge of scriptures.

But there is a higher knowledge,derived from intuitve perception or Higher Knowledge by which the Imperishable [Brahman] is known. The sage dismisses all the Vedic lore and scriptural study as lower form . [1-5]

That which is eternal,manifesting in diverse ways,all pervading,subtle,the Imerishable is the source of all creation.[1-6]

The Sage tehn elaborates how different things are created by that Imperishable.

As spider brings forth and draws in its thread, as hair grows on the living body ,as herbs grow from the soil---likewise does the Universe spring forth from the Imperishable.   [1-7]

This is a famous verse---putting the creation process in a nutshell.Everything is created out of imperishable--in three different ways---something is created and the creator becomes part of the creation,like a spider;[this concept is often told of "Ishwara' ---both immanent and transcendent.The second form is a spontaneous growth with inner programming---what we call natural growth.Then there is the possibility of growth with effort by an external agency--like one grows vegetables in a garden..the agency could be human or animal or something else

There is a nice discussion on reaching the path of heaven which is a place of tranquil mind:"They reach the abode of the Imperishable---those wise men with tranquil heart,practice shraddha [faith] and austerity [tapasya] in the forest,living on alms,free from inpure mind,travel the path of the Sun,to the abode of the Imperishable Being."[2-11]

The sage is extolling the path of renunciant to a householder.! [The path of the Sun leading to liberation and the path of moon leading to desires,passion and rebirth into this world---this is a common way of putting nivrittis and pravritti marga---the path of a renunciant and the path of worldly man. The worldly man eventually gets Vairagya or dispassion and then approaches a master to pursue the Sun path.]

The human beings sprong forth like numerous sparks from a fire---from the imperishable....[[2-1]

The bow and the arrow analogy is then given..The target is the Imperishable;the Upanishad is the bow or the instrument.Use the arrow  of the  intellect,sharpened by steadfast devotion [to the Ideal];fix the mind on the supreme;Hit the traget.! [2-2]

The significance of the Cosmic word "OM" is told in this Upanishad as in  many others.Om is the bow,The Atman is the arrow and the target is the Brahman. Then the arrow {Self] becomes one with the Brahman. The sage tells with remarkable clarity the merger of the Soul with the Brahman.This process is facilitated by the mantra "OM" called pranava mantra. [2-2-4]

That stainless  indivisible Brahman resides in the innermost golden sheath or core of the heart;The knowers of Self know the Brahman thus.

Then  comes a famous description of our ego and the soul residing in this body.Two inseparable birds of the same plumage live in the same tree.One of them eats bitter and sweet fruits of the tree,while the other silently watches..Our ego /mind experiences joy and sorrow and other pairs of opposites [dwandas] while the atman or Self is not affected by the varying experiences. [3-1-1]

This pure ,self-effulgent being or Self can be realized by sinless renunciants ,who have practised truthfulness,self-negation,true understanding and chastity. [3-1-5]

Truth alone conquers--not untruth.['Satyameva Jayate'--the motto of Indian Govenrment]...The path of truthfulness by which the seers travel leads to the highest abode or brahman. [3-1-6]

In this section,I have condensed this Upanishad considerably,neglecting many verses, to provide a simple introduction...Much can be derived from this short Upanishad by a deeper study.

We have seen a few verses with brief annotation from four Upanishads only....a very small sampling.The profound wisdom  of  the Upanishads would activate our minds ,with regular introspection.

The Upanishads are to be studied not by reciting repeatedly,though some discussion may help in the beginning stages.You can also hear discourses as a preparation.

Take each verse and reflect or introspect on that. It may take sometimes hours before the true meaning becomes clear and understanding seeps through your mind.[There are peculiarities of the Sanskrit language which may interfere with your understanding.For instance,when ear is mentioned or hearing is stressed, it means all the senses with their actions....the Upanishad teachers had their own form of abbreviations and encriptions.!

Further each sense may be spoken as a deity;the mind is taken as another sense; such nuances are to be learned from a teacher, though some books may mention some of them.

The study of Upanishads is admittedly difficult, but the results are worth the effort. The study of the Upanishads becomes somewhat easier after a deep study of the Bhagavad Gita.read and read the Upanishads,study them several times.

Note: See the page on 'BOOKS" for suggested books on the Upanishads.

 "Seed for nectar" -Upanishad is a minor, later-day Upanishad. It is ,however, a good summary of mind-control for Self-realization and worth studying...it contains only 22 verses and is drawn from Atharva veda.

"Mind is of two kinds: it is impure with the rise of personal desires;it is pure  when devoid of all selfish desires.[verse 1]

The mind should not cling to sense-objects.Sensuous things color the mind ,just like dye-stuff colors a white cloth.

"Restrain the mind  until it dissolves in the consciousness.This is meditation;this is wisdom.The rest is all logic and verbal extensions"[ verse5]

The Upanishads repeatedly state that we should not indulge too much in logical arguments with words from scriptures....leave that to philosophers;one who is serious with spiritual practice forces himself into introspection and contemplation.

For practical means,Upasana with "OM" is the most potent method; "One should meditate on the Supreme as the Reality beyond OM" -----[verse 7]

Om is called  the shabda Brahman"---the Brahman represented as sound for our contemplation.Shutting the eyes, you chant "OM".

" OM as a word is first considered as the Supreme Brahman;After that idea has vanished,the imperishable Brahman remains.[verse 16]

OM as shabda brahman is only a tool...the imperishable brahman is beyond "OM".

" The intelliegent student ,after studying the Vedic texts or scriptures, is intent on acquiring wisdom and realization;he should discard the texts altogether, as one  takes the rice and discards the husk. [Verse 18]

Milk is of the same white color though cows may have different colors...so too, vedas are like Cows; wisdom is the milk derived from them. {verse 19];[ here the term vedas can include all scriptures or  sources of knowledge,not just the four vedas.]

  Pure awareness resides in every being as butter is hidden in milk.It ought to be churned out constantly with the churning rod of the mind. [verse 20]

 " I am vaasudeva  ,the soul of the  Universe,the Supreme Being" [verse 22]

  This upanishad emphasizes the path of  wisdom and introspection  , with meditation on OM,and gives less importance to scriptural study as such.