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The Upanishads are part of the
and from the Hindu scriptures which primarily discuss philosophy, meditation, and the nature of God.
They form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. Considered as mystic or
spiritual contemplations of the Vedas, their putative end and essence, the Upanishads are known as Vedanta ("the end/culmination of the Vedas").
Upanishad literally means sitting near devotedly. So it brings concretely to mind an earnest disciple learning from his guru, his spiritual master.
The Upanishads were composed over several centuries. The oldest, such as the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, have been dated to around the eighth century BC. This article focuses primarily on Chandogya Upanishads. It is one of the "primary" (mukhya) Upanishads.
The essence of Chandogya Upanishads can be explained with the following famous story.
Tat Tvam Asi (Thou Art Thou)
It is a story of a Rishi uddalaka and his son Svetaketu. The son has grown up but he did not start going to school. Rishi asked his son to join Gurukula and acquire the knowledge so that he would not just be a Brahmin in name but also gain noble virtues and perform noble deeds. Svetaketu joins Gurukula and comes back after completing course of Vedas. He regards himself as very learned. His father observes that he is arrogant. He asks his son “did you ask for that teaching through which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought-of becomes thought of, what is unknown becomes known?" The son replies, “No, my teacher has not taught me any such thing , perhaps he may not be knowing” (another example of arrogance, blaming teacher). Rishi starts teaching:
The knowledge makes one humble. The more knowledge one gains the more one realizes the extent of ones ignorance and limitations of the knowledge gained.
The cause precedes the effect. Effects are many but ultimate cause is one. For example, one can make various shaped pots, vase, kullars etc. from clay. The clay is the cause and pots, vase etc. are effects. These have no existence apart from clay. They are only names given to clay in a particular shape. In fact only clay exists in all these shapes.
Similarly various ornaments are effects of gold but the cause is gold.
In actually, the cause alone exists, the effects are mere appearances.
Similarly, TRUTH (sat, param braham ) is cause and the world is effect. The world has no existence apart from the TRUTH By knowing the “cause” various effects become known and thus unknown becomes known, unheard becomes heard and unthought-of becomes thought of.
Creation of “shirsthi/ jagat”
Rishi explains how “shristhi” came into existence. In the beginning there was only “sat” (TRUTH). ”Sat” is that which exists in all three periods of time (past, present, future).
TRUTH willed “May I become many, may I grow forth”. "Tej ' (fire) came into existence and thereafter "Tej” (agni-devta) willed to multiply and “jal”(water) came into existence and “jaldevta” willed to multiply and “bhu”(earth) came into existence.
All the species are divided in the following categories:
After creation of fire, water and bhu ,TRUTH desired to enter into these three elements. As jeeva needs to express as life in the gross elements, these three subtle elements underwent the process of triplication (trivirtikaran). One fourth of “jal” and one fourth of “bhu” was merged in the half of " tej" and it was given name of “agni” devta. Similarly one fourth of "tej" and one fourth of "bhu" was merged with half of "jal" and named as “jal” devta and one fourth of "tej" and one fourth of water was merged with half of "bhu" and named as “bhu” devta. After “trivirtikaran” each devta maintained its original properties.
Red color means“agni”, white “jal” and black “bhu” .
The importance of trivirtikaran ( division into three ) plays a vital role in our life. Our body is dependant on food and food whenever eaten becomes divided into three parts. The grossest ingredient becomes faeces; middling ingredient becomes flesh and the subtlest becomes mind.
Similarly water drunk becomes divided into three. What is the grossest becomes urine, middling ingredient becomes blood and subtlest as “pranas” and also affects all our physiological functions, and whatever fire eaten (in form of ghee etc ) becomes divided into three; grossest ingredient as bones, middling as bone marrow and the subtlest as “vanee” (speech)
From above Rishi explains to his son that what we eat and drink contributes to and affects our health , heart and head . The gross and middle aspects become the gross body made up of the sapta dhatu flesh, marrow, muscles, bone, stool, urine and blood). The subtlest aspect forms the subtle body, the mind, intellect and sense organs.
The divinity and its powers manifest through living beings and it is measured in “kalas”. Plants manifest half kala, animals upto two kalas, man upto four kalas and divine incarnations upto sixteen kalas. Sri Rama and sri Krishana manifested sixteen kalas and therefore called “shodash kala purush”.
Rishi explains further
SLEEP
Each of us undergoes the three states of waking , dream and deep sleep. The “jiva”, prompted by desires does actions (karmas) which may be meritious (punyas) or sinful resulting in the experience of joy and sorrow. The “jiva” is reflection of the “Sat”. In a bucket of clear water ,the reflection of sun is clearly perceived . The sun shines irrespective of the presence or the condition of either the bucket or the water. However , when the water is thrown away , the reflection merges into the sun, (its cause).Now the reflection has no existence independent of the sun. But in the presence of water ,the reflection is seen as though separate from the sun. Our gross body is just like a bucket and the subtle body as water The “sat” reflects as the “jiva” the individual and experiences the waking and dream states. However during deep sleep subtle body (water) is withdrawn, the gross body is also not experienced and “jiva” merges into its cause, the “sat” (just like reflection in the sun). This state is called “svapiti".
HUNGER AND THIRST and DEATH
The desire to eat (hunger) causes us to eat. The food is digested by the juices secreted in the mouth and the stomach. Thus the water (juices) leads away the food eaten, leaving us hungry once more. The digested food, in turn, forms the body and sustains it. Thus the food eaten and the juices that digest it form the root cause of the body.Tthe food grows from the earth which is created from the water element (no food without water ) and water, in turn, comes from fire element. The fire comes from “sat”. The “sat” existed before creation, the ultimate cause from which all things and being emerged.
Thirst prompts us to drink water. The water we drink is removed from our system by the fire within by separating it as urine and transforming it to blood and pranas.
Thus “FOOD” supports the body, and water the cause of food. Also water supports life (pranas) in the body . Therefore, water is said to be the root cause of body. Fire is the cause of water and “sat” is the cause of fire and therefore SAT is the very cause of world and all beings.
Rishi further explains when a person dies first thing to loose is power of speech (“vanee”) as it has withdrawn into mind. The mind still functioning as he understands what others are saying. His eyes express his feeling but lips cannot produce any sound. Tthereafter mind leaves and merges into pranas, mind stops thinking but pranas continue to function. Thereafter pranas withdraws and all the physiology functions stop but the body of person is still warm. The pranas have merged into the fire element. Finally the body becomes cold and the individual is declared dead and gone. The jiva alongwith the fire element has merged with the “sat”.
At death either of the following two happens:
Rishi summaries:
The “sat” who willed and transpired into three “tej”,“jal” and “bhu”(aann) and created the universe by “trivritikaran” and himself was present as jeeva is subtlest and we all are not different from that “sat”. When we are in deep sleep we don’t remember any worldly thing as we are merged in that sat - our root, our home.
His son shavetketu asks why we are ignorant of this?
Rishi explains : a bee makes “madhu” from various trees and flowers but “madhu” cannot know of which flower or tree it belongs. Similarly, when we are merged in the sat we cannot know that we, who had some other identity before have merged into “sat”.
When we are in this world we have our own identity but during the state of deep sleep ( “shushiptee” ) we stand merged into “sat” and we do not have any identity, but when we wake up we are again jeeva and feel sorrow and joy according to our deeds and desires, vasanas etc.
All rivers flow to east or west but all these are born out of ocean and all these rivers again merge in the oceans and become ocean . The water of one river cannot identify from which ocea it has come from. This holds good for jeeva also. We are part of “sat” and we again merge into “sat”. We are not different than sat - therefore “TAT-TVAM-ASI”.
That big tree of bargaad (vat) is born out of a small seed. The seed is cause of tree. This jagat is also born out of subtlest “sat” which is not visible with our eyes and you must know each and every thing cannot be known by eyes only. He asks son to bring a tumble of water and asks him to mix up a piece of salt. He asks son to keep the tumbler on table. He calls his son next day and asks whether you can see salt in the tumbler. Now you taste a part of it. Now you can say salt is present in the water though you cannot see it. You have come to this conclusion because of tongue. Similarly you are not able to see “sat” but you can experience it by other means of knowledge.
A person is left blindfolded in some unknown area. He tries to unfold his hands and eyes and then he tries to ask others the direction of his own home and reaches back to his home asking the way from other knowledgeable ones. We all are blindfolded with our vasanas, avidhya etc. and when we try to free ourselves from these bondages ( “bandhans”) and seek the path to our home ("sat") from other persons who are knowledgeable and only then we can achieve our goal.
When a person is dying his relatives (to verify is he still alive ) ask do you recognize us? Until his “vanee” (speech) does not merge in the mind; and mind in pranas and pranas in tej and tej in braham (sat) he recognizes everyone and when this merger takes place he does not recognize anyone. The jeeva remains in “sat” till he gets another birth but the “mukta” jeeva always lives in “sat” as he does not take rebirth because such person donot have any more vasanas. The gross body of learned persons ends and the subtle body, mind intellect, pranas etc merge in “sat”. So my son by knowing the cause unheard becomes heard, unthought-of becomes thought of and unknown becomes known. You have known the cause of jagat is “sat” (braham), a subtlest one, and we all are part of that “sat”, we are not different from that subtlest “sat”.
The ultimate cause from which the world and individuals are created and because of which they merge in the “sat’, the subtlest essence the very self of all. The upnishad then declares that sat, the truth, the self of all of us is yourself - TAT TAVAM ASI - You Art Thou.
This is based on the Upnishad “Chandogya” and the discourse of Swami Tejomayanand of Chinmay mission.
"Introduction" is from "The Spiritual Heritage of India" by Swami Prabhavananda, 1980.
Compliled by VK Saluja, Lucknow, May 2007.