The Vedas: An Exploration
Upanishads:
The Acme of Philosophical Literature LAKSHMI DEVNATH
April 2019
(Continued from previous issue...)
The Vedanta Kesari
46
The Vedic seers gave to the world a compilation of teachings in religion that were at once practical and profound. A glance at the contents of the Vedas reveals the gradual but remarkable way in which the spiritual aspirant is taken towards the supreme. While the mantra portion and its corollary of the Brahmanas guide the aspirant towards action in the form of rituals and sacrifices, through the study of Aaranyakas he is gradually initiated into withdrawal from the outer world and the commencement of an inward journey. At the end of the Aaranyakas are texts called Upanishads. They can be called the acme of philosophical literature and contain answers to baffling esoteric questions that have perplexed man perennially. ‘Upa (near) – ni (down) – shad (sit)’. The term Upanishad means to sit down, close. Could it be that the word was coined to indicate that the student had to sit near the teacher, listen intently to him and absorb his teachings? The great Advaita preceptor Shankara in his Bhashya to the Taittiriya Upanishad interprets the word ‘Upanishad’ as that which destroys ignorance (shad – to destroy). It is conjectured that the word could also be related to a Pali word ‘Upanisa’, meaning cause or connection. Could it be as Western scholars like Oldenbeg and Senart speculate, that Upanishad corresponds to ‘upasana’ meaning profound knowledge?
Speculations on its etymological interpretations aside, the sheer brilliance and profundity of the knowledge imparted therein can hardly be gainsaid. The supreme reality is interpreted with definiteness and with precision. This whole of literature can be categorised as contemplative and realizationoriented as opposed to ritual and ceremonial. On this basis the Vedas are considered to have two portions – Karma Kanda (portions dealing with action and rituals) and Jnana Kanda (portions dealing with knowledge). Maharishi Jaimini, a hermit of the highest order, analysed the Karma Kanda and wrote a treatise on it called the Purva Mimamsa. The great sage Veda Vyasa absorbed the essence of the Jnana Kanda portion and presented it in the form of aphorisms that gained fame as the Brahma Sutras. There are over 200 Upanishads. However, traditional literature lists 108 upanishads of which 10 belong to the Rig Veda, 19 to the Sukla yajur Veda, 32 to the Krishna yajurveda, 16 to the Sama Veda and 31 to the Atharvaveda. Again, out of these, 13 are regarded to be the principal upanishads. Sri Adi Shankara and Sri Madhvacharya, master of the dualist philosophy, have written exhaustive commentaries called Bhasyas on the Upanishads. However, Sri Ramanuja refrained from writing a regular commentary on the
The author is a researcher and writer with various books and articles to her credit on Indian music and culture. lakshmidevnath@gmail.com
