The Bridharanyaka is literally translated as ‘Great-forest-teaching’. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is generally recognized to be the most important of the Upanis̩ads. It forms the part of Śatapatha Brāhman̩a. It illustrates an all embracing, absolute, self-luminous and blissful reality of Brahman recognized as Ātman. The Upanis̩ad is widely known for its philosophical statements. The whole composition of the Upanis̩ad is in prose except for a few verses here and there. There are six chapters. They are further divided into forty seven sections called Brāhman̩ as and they are further divided into paragraphs called Kan̩d̩ikās. There are three major sections or Kān̩d̩a consisting of – Madhu Kan̩d̩a which explains the teaching of basic identity of the individual and the universal self. Muni Kanda or Yājñyavalkya Kān̩d̩a has philosophical teachings and Khila Kān̩d̩a narrates certain modes of worship and meditation. The aim of the Upanis̩ad is to teach about self and thereby to show the identity of Ātman and Brahman.
An Overview
The first chapter deals with Aśvamedha sacrifice and creation. It is known as Madhu Kān̩d̩a. The Upanis̩ad starts with the description of a sacrificial horse as a cosmic form. Each part of the horse is described as a divine thing in nature. And the horse has to be meditated as Prajāpati or Hiran̩yagarbha. The Upanis̩ad says that meditating on the horse is equivalent to the horse sacrifice. There is a fable to illustrate the magnanimity of the vital force. Gods requested different organs to sing hymns for them. Once demons learnt about it they put evil to the organs and it was only the Vital force who could chant for the gods, rescued the organs from evil, fought against the death and brought victory to the gods. As an appreciation, gods offered food for vital force and all the organs agreed to be the part of the vital force.
The creator created the Universe and food. There are seven types of food created. One is the basic food for sustenance. Two foods for gods mean making libation to the gods. One is for animals – milk. The other three he retained for himself.
Second to fourth chapters are Muni Kanda or Yājñyavalkya Kān̩d̩a. The second chapter starts with a discussion between Ajathasathru and Gange. Ajathasathru preaches about self and explains three states of mind – waking, dream and deep sleep.
Whereas Yājñyavalkya teaches, answers and speaks; about Self with his wife, scholars at the emperor Janaka’s court and to the emperor Janaka himself. Yājñyavalkya tells his wife Maitreyī about the knowledge of self. He says that the real self is heard, reflected on and meditated upon and thus realized. Everyone, even the gods, being and all reject the man who knows them to be different from the self, because all these are only the self. As various kinds of smoke proceed from the fire kindled with damp fuel, even so the Veda etc. have come out of the Supreme Self.
The Emperor Janaka performed a sacrifice and wished to give a thousand cows to a learned Vedic scholar. Yājñyavalkya instructs his pupil to lead the cows to his place. And when challenged by the other scholars he answered all their questions satisfactorily.
One of the scholars asked him – what is immediate and direct, to the inner self. He replied that it is that which works in the body –‘prān̩a, apāna, vyāna and udāna’. He further explained that it is a sun, hearer, thinker and knower in every body and it cannot be seen directly, heard, thought or known like a sense object. He said more by explaining that it does have physical or psychological emotion. The one who understands this knowledge, he too will be just such. Self knowledge he said once attained will not be lost. When asked if he is aware of ‘inner control’ and the sutra connects to it. He confirmed that he knows and said that the sutra is ’vayu’, and explained about the inner control how it is in all beings but not acknowledged. It does not have a separate body but it is his presence that makes the body and the organs. He gave in detail the strength of the inner control,
“adrs̩ t̩o dras̩ t̩a, asrutah̩ srota, amato manta, avijñāto vijñāta …esa ta ātmantaryāmy amrtah̩ ato’nyad artam,” (3. 8.1)
He said, “The inner self that controls you is yourself and immortal.”
For the question which is above heaven, below the earth, which is heaven and earth both in between and which was, is and will be. Without hesitation he replies that it is ‘unmanifested ether’.
Once he was examined by the scholars, Yājñyavalkya questioned the scholars in return. He asks them: if the tree is pulled out, it springs again, from what root does man spurts after he is cut down by death. None was able to answer his question. He gave an explanation to his question by saying that Brahman, the absolute, intelligence and bliss, is the root from which a dead man is re – born.
Yājñyavalkya guides the emperor Janaka in understanding the Supreme Brahman. He tells him that recognizing the vital force, one has to understand Brahman at – the grass, subtle and causal body respectively in the state of waking, dream and deep sleep called ‘Vaisvanra, Taijasa and Prajna’. He clarifies further.
Fifth and sixth chapters form the third and the last division, Khila Kān̩d̩a of the Upanis̩ad. Khila means supplement. In the beginning of the fifth chapter, invocation is repeated. Adi Śaṁkara’s commentary says, “Brahman, which is the theme of all the Upanis̩ads, is described once more in this Mantra to introduce what follows; for certain aids, to be presently mentioned, viz, ‘OM’. Self–restraint, charity and compassion, have to be enjoined a steps to the knowledge of Brahman – aids that, occurring in this supplementary portion, from part of all meditation.”
Some explain the Mantra thus “From the infinite causes the infinite effect is manifested. The manifested effect is also infinite or real at the present moment even in its dualistic form.
The fifth chapter introduces some of the auxiliary meditation which do not clash with rites, confer to prosperity and lead one gradually to liberation.
“tad etad evaisa daivi vag anuvadati stanayitnuh – da, da, da, iti damyata, data, dayadhvam iti. Tad etad trayam sikset, daman, danam, dayam iti.” (5. 2. 3)
There is a parable about how gods, men and demons understood one sound, ‘da’. Prajāpati taught gods, men and demons. At the conclusion of the education before leaving the Guru they asked for a final guidance from the Guru. Prajāpati said, ‘da’ and asked them how they understood the sound. Gods said ‘da’ was ‘control,’ men said it was ’charity’, and demons said that it was ‘merciful’. At that moment they heard the rumbling of the clouds sounding, da, da, da and repeated – control, give and have compassion.
The third section has, the deeper and significance of the Prajāpati – heart, (intellect)
– hr da ya. If one meditates on these three syllables, one obtains results corresponding to the meaning of ‘hr’ receive presents, ‘da’ receive power, ‘ya’ have heavenly world. If the meditation on the three syllables is so powerful, how much more must be that on intellect itself?
Whole of fifth chapter deals with meditation and the result of such meditation. There are meditations on – Satya, Solar being, Mind, Lightning, Vedas as cow, and Vaiśvānara. The main objective of these meditations is that one must have a definite goal. It is meaningless and will not yield results if one meditates on different things at a time. Meditation means concentration on one thing, deeply, regularly and with determination. The main aim of meditation is to get enlightenment.
There is an elaborate discussion about how one should be able to face illness, death and funeral. The Upanis̩ ad says that one should look at it as a penance.
The qualities, virtues and importance of the vital force are explained at different sections, with explanations and with fables. Here is a meditation on the vital force in different names. As vital force is the chief of all the organs, it has to be meditated as, “Uktha,” as it raises the universe. The one, who meditates on vital force as ‘Uktha’, will have a son who is a knower of vital force. And the one who meditates will achieve union with and abode in the same world as ‘Uktha’ then the vital force has to be meditated as “yajus,” for all the beings are joined with one another. Next one is to meditate on vital force as, ‘saman’, because it brings in the union, for him who knows it. The last one is to meditate on vital force as’ ks̩attra’, as vital force protects the wounds. The one who knows the significance of the word will not need any other protection and achieve the world of ‘ks̩attra’.
The meaning and the power of Gāyatrī chandas, meter is dealt in detail. Gāyatrī is the chief of the poetic meters. Only Gāyatrī chandas have the power to protect those who chant Gāyatrī Mantra. It is a prayer to ‘Savit’, the Sun. Each pada is of eight syllables. The first pāda’s eight syllables are equivalent to – ‘bhūmi’, the earth, ‘antariks̩a, the sky, ‘dyaus’, heaven. The second pāda’s eight syllables are the same as ‘R̩ cah̩ ’, ‘Yajumsi’, and ’Sāmani’, the three treasures of knowledge, the three Vedas. The third pada’s eight syllables are similar to ‘prān̩a, apāna, and udāna’. And the fourth pada is ‘supermundane,’ ‘paro’raja’. It is a visible foot, because the solar being is visualized and he alone shines the entire universe. The results of knowing the whole of Gāyatrī are incalculable.
The sixth chapter opens with an allegory. The organs had a dispute among themselves and each claimed that it was ancient and very important. Finally they decided to take their dispute to Prajāpati. He said that the organ which makes the body wretched while leaving would be superior to the others. So, to test each one’s superiority, organs one by one left the body for a year and came back after that period to find out how the body was in its absence. The explanation given is very practical and beautiful. The answer carries scientific meaning. To give an example, the organs said that they lived like ‘idiots’ in the absence of mind. But still the body functioned. The last one to leave was vital force. Once it started leaving, all the organs started losing their strength. Immediately, they pleaded that the vital force should not leave the body.
“ma bhagavah utkramih, na vai saksyamas tvad r̩ te jivitum iti, tasyo me balim kurutcti, tatheti.” (6. 1. 13)
They agreed that the vital force is the superior and offered food to the vital force.
There is an interesting incident about Svetaketu, son of Goutama and grandson of Arun̩a. S’vetakeru after completing his education went to the court of the king Prajanya. The king asked him five questions and Śvetaketu failed to answer all the questions. Even then the king invited him to stay. Bur Śvetaketu left the court in shame and went to his father who was also his Guru and narrated what happened in the court. His father expressed his genuine ignorance about the subject talked about in the king’s court. But at the same time, he decided that he had to go to the king and learn what he did not know. He invited his son to join him. But Śvetaketu refused. The father went and requested the king to take him as a student and learnt about the doctrine of five fires – of heaven, the rain gods, the world, man and woman. The king further instructed that the householder and the hermit if they meditate on these fires then they would go to Brahma loka.
Reflection on a Core Issue
The first chapter is ritualistic. At the Vedic time, Aśvamedha sacrifice was considered to be the greatest sacrifice and one who performed it would attain Brahmaloka, the highest heaven.
In the Upanis̩ad, the description of the sacrificing horse is symbolic. It is looked as a cosmic horse and the description brings out the psychological element that is present in the counterparts of the body of the horse, and the body of the universe outside. Ādi Śaṁkara observes that meditating on such a horse will derive the result of the horse sacrifice even without performing the sacrifice.
The universe was created as the creator was all alone and he wanted a company. He created male and female from his desire. At the same time he did not lose his entity. When the male and female took different species form, all creatures were born. The creator created Gods. Then he himself entered all his creation in a microcosm level as a vital force. Vital force guided the different organs in the body. The description of creation is both spiritual in nature and has poetic beauty.
Perhaps, the core-statement of the Upanis̩ ad is the followng:
“asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mr̩ tyormā amr̩ tam gamaya.” (1. 3. 28)
The Upanis̩ad says that repetition of Mantra is being given for one who knows the vital force. The one who understands the meaning of the Mantra, if one chants the Mantra the result is elevation to divinity.
The literal meaning of the Mantra is – “From unreality lead me to reality, From darkness lead me to light,
“From death leads me to immortality.”
The first two lines have deeper meaning. ‘From unreality (evil) leads me to reality (good),’ evil is death, if our thoughts and actions are evil, they will degrade us. So lead me away from that type of death. Lead me to good, good is immortality, if one follows righteousness, it will lead to divinity and that is immortality. The second line, ‘from darkness leads me to light,’ darkness is death, all ignorance, being of the nature of a veil, is darkness and it is death. And light is immortality opposite of darkness and divine in nature. Knowledge brings luminous light, an imperishable nature. The first Mantra says help me to identify myself with the means of realization, instead of with things that are not such; while the second line says, help me to move away, for it is a form of ignorance – and attain identity with the result. The third Mantra ‘from death leads me to immortality,’ gives combined meaning of the first two and it does not have any inner meaning. If the chanter knows that the vital force is identified with the Mantra, then he will be able to obtain a boon that he desires for.
13.4 PHILOSOPHICAL RESPONSE
The Upanis̩ad speaks of a universal Brahman and an individual soul, Ātman, and at times asserts the identity of both. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that is, was or shall be. The Upanis̩ad brings out the mystic nature and intense philosophy, Brahman is not described as the God in a monotheistic sense but He is be all and end all, who resides within us.
The Upanis̩ad opens with a description of a symbolic placement of the parts of the individual in the cosmic quarters, with the spiritual purpose of an individual meditation, where the subject mingles with the object. The individual mentioned here is the horse of the Aśvamedha Sacrifice, which is the object of sacred use and while, commonly considered, it is one of the items in the Aśvamedha Yajña, and it becomes a part of an external act; in the Upanis̩ad. It becomes a piece of contemplation to transfer every object to a universal subject. It transforms the ritual technique into an inward contemplation of the spirit.
Ādi Śaṁkara and others have mentioned that the horse mentioned here is Prajāpati or a creator of the cosmos. It is not just an animal in the sacrifice. That is how one needs to look at it. So, there is a descent from casual condition to subtle condition and from subtle to gross and from gross to the variegated forms of manifestation in this world. So also the horse to be contemplated in the various aspects of its functions, and the functions are mentioned here in respect of the ritual of the Asvamedha Sacrifice.
The creation of the Universe has symbolic description. How things came, and what is that we see with our eyes. What is the connection between the effect and cause? What is our connection with the Universal Being? What is the relationship between the individual and the Absolute? All these are discussed in detail.
The Upanis̩ad narrates how ignorance can be removed by understanding the vital force – the self. It is difficult to say when or how the ignorance comes. But the knowledge, determination to know the truth, a seeker can understand self. Once it is realized that the self is the supreme Brahman, the knower will become Brahman, there will be no distinction between the two.
“The coordination of the functions of the body, mind and vital force points to the existence of an extra corporeal being for whose sake all those exist. This is what we know as the individual self. But its nature is transcendent. Stripped of the limiting adjuncts that are superimposed by nescience, the individual self is identical with the Supreme self.
Only material things, which affect and have dimensions, come within the range of the organs, but not the Self. Similarly, it is beyond all other characteristics of limited objects such as decay, relationship, bondage, pain and death.”
Ādi Śaṁkara says even though each caste is assigned with specific rituals, meditation guides to enlightenment. In the Upanis̩ad it is repeatedly stressed on the importance of meditation and suggests that it is equivalent to rituals and brings intelligence and understanding of self. And who ignore this and deport this world with ignorance will sustain great loss, loss of enlightenment.
But to understand an Absolute with inner intelligence is challenging to the seeker. He has to understand a Brahman who is neither coarse nor fine, neither short nor long, neither redness nor oiliness, neither shadow nor darkness. He is neither either nor air. He is without a physical form. He cannot be measured, and devoid of interior or exterior. But everything exists because of him. He is the seer, thinker, hearer, knower of all, “etasminb nu khalv aks̩ ara, gārgi, ākāśa otas ca protas ca.” Brahman is reflected in the eternal and the infinite power of knowledge, He is unconditional and a pure essence of creation.
The realization of such Brahman as supreme self will lead to ‘Truth’. This truth does not come in slow pace, but like a flash of lightning. The enlightenment is instantaneous. “Not this, not this, suggests that while there is a realm which consists of the duality of subject and object , which is perceived by the intelligence to be coextensive and reciprocally necessary, there is absolute unity from which all dualities proceed, which is itself above duality. …. Many systems of thought distinguish between the absolutely transcendent Godhead, ‘who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto’ and the creator God. In this famous passage of ‘na iti na iti,’ the Upanis̩ad speaks to us of the absolute transcendent non – empirical Godhead.” (S. Radhakrishnan)
The Upanis̩ad takes the readers to examine the depth of perfection in them and see the purity within to realize Brahman. The means to this end is ‘Knowledge Truth, Righteousness, and understanding the magnanimity of the Heart.’ If one is determined and honest in seeking the enlightenment, one is sure to experience the power of Supreme Brahman within.
Let Us Sum Up
The Upanis̩ad starts with Asvamedha sacrifice; the horse is compared to the cosmic Being and says that each part of the horse has to be meditated upon in relation to cosmic beings. Starting from the horse it takes to the creation of the Universe. There was nothing whatsoever here in the beginning. From nothing everything started, the creation of a beautiful universe. And the magnanimity of life is ‘Prān̩a.’ Self, Ātman is superior to everything else.
The Upanis̩ad covers rituals, enthralling description of the creation of the universe. It has interesting fables to make the reader understand the importance of Vital force. The creation of ‘Righteousness; is fascinating and beautiful. It brings out how Righteousness is the answer to seek the ‘Truth’ and Brahman. There are intellectual discourses to emphasize the magnanimity of Supreme Brahman. Literal and inner meaning of the sound ‘da’ word ‘food,’ and Mantra, astomā sadgamaya…’ are narrated in a highly significant way.
The Upanis̩ad successfully narrates that the meditation is as powerful as the ritual. Various meditations are given and the results of such meditations are stressed. There is a lengthy discussion on ‘Gayathi’ meter.
The Upanis̩ad is successful in helping the reader to work in the direction of seeking the Truth and Supreme Brahman.
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