Essentials of Hinduism

Essentials of Hinduism

Upanishads

Upa-nishad means “sitting near” and receiving intimate Teaching. The same word without “ni” means approaching the Guru (Teacher) for enlightenment. The Upanishads contain the Essence of the Vedas, and are the Cream of the Vedas. They contain the direct Spiritual Experiences of Seers, or Sages, or Rishis. They are the products of the Highest Wisdom, Supreme Divine Knowledge. The Upanishads give a vivid description of the nature of the Atma, the Supreme Soul, and, expound (talk about) the suitable methods and aids to attain the immortal Brahman, the Highest Purusha. They sought earnestly satisfactory solutions to questions like, Who Am I? Where do I go from here? How to attain Immortality? The Upanishads are a source of deep Divine Knowledge which serves as the means of freedom from the Samsara, earthly bondage. The Upanishads are meant only for a select few, who are fit and worthy to receive the instructions. Hence, the Upanishad is meant as a “secret teaching” or “secret doctrine.”

The ten Principal Upanishads in the Alphabetical Order are:

(1) Aitareya Upanishad; (2) Brihadaranyaka Upanishad;

(3) Chandogya Upanishad; (4) Eeshaavasya Upanishad;

(5) Katha Upanishad; (6) Kena Upanishad;
(7) Mandukya Upanishad; (8) Mundaka Upanishad;
(9) Prashna Upanishad; (10) Taittariya Upanishad.

All these ten Upanishads will be briefly explored. Besides these ten Principal Upanishads, there are 98 more Upanishads that will not be named or explored. Please check into a detailed book on Upanishads to explore them.

(1) AITAREYA UPANISHAD

SUMMARY:

The Aitareya Upanishad is part of the Rig Veda. Prajnyanam Brahma – this is the Mahavakya for Rig Veda that is attributed to the Aitareya Upanishad. This Upanishad is written by the Aitareya Muni, after he got the Jnyana and obtained the blessing of Bhu Devi. It describes the Creation of the Universe, the entrance of the Self into the Body, teaches that one is freed from birth and death and attains immortality through the Knowledge of Brahman. Becoming one with the Devas, such as Agni, cannot give one the final emanicipation (liberation) from samsara, birth and death. If one disciplines oneself while remaining in the world, if you are not talkative, if you have a meditative temperament or reflecting nature, if you can bear all the difficulties in the Spiritual Path, you can take a Path to Renunciation.

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DETAILS:

There are five sections but these have been combined. In the beginning, Atma alone existed. Nothing else living existed. Why Paramatma created the Worlds? Because, He thought: I shall Create the Worlds for the living beings to enjoy the results of their Karmas. He created the different Worlds – the Ambhas, Marichi, Mara and the Apah. Ambhas is above the heavenly world. It is called Ambhas because it contains water that supports life. Marichi is the Sky or the interspace below the Ambhas. Mara is the Earth – it is called Mara, because, all creatures die here. Apah are the worlds below the Earth. Then He reflected and created the guardians for the World – thus, Brahma, the Sun, the Moon, the Humans came. These Creations were subjected to hunger and thirst. Desires and Kamas were born out of ignorance, Avidya. They fell into the Ocean of Samsara. One could free himself from the miseries of births and deaths only by knowing the Brahman, who is the Originator. Shrutis declare: This is the Knowledge for the unity of the Jivatma with the Paramatma. There is no other Path for Liberation. Meditation and other Works are only the preliminary disciplines. They are not the direct Path to the Moksha. The Gods were immensely delighted when they saw the form of man. Man alone is the best of the Creations, because, he is endowed with higher intelligence, powers of discrimination and reasoning. The humans can do the Karmas. He made Gods partners with the Humans, such as the Oblations (Religious Offerings) offered by man to the Gods – cooked rice and so on. Then He thought of water and food; not by speech, breath, eyes, ears, touch mind generative organ but by Apana (mouth) the food could be taken in and ensured survival. There are eleven (11) gates (openings) for man – 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, mouth (1), front and back excretory organs (2), belly button (1) and finally there is one opening in the skull(1). This is one reason, the Mothers will be very

careful to protect the head of a new born baby – they will not allow anyone to touch the head for several months. The Paramatma entered inside the Body through the head called Vitruti. As long as the baby is inside the womb of the Mother, he attains the right Knowledge of the Self. He realizes that everything is Brahman only – Prajnyanam Brahma. The baby cries as soon as it touches this World as he is out of touch with the Self from here on. There are three Births involved – the first Birth when the Woman conceives after uniting with her Husband; the second Birth when the Mother delivers the baby; then he grows in this World, does all his Karmas in this World, attains old age, departs from this World and is born again. This is his third Birth. There are three ways to do the Atma-Sadhana. (1) the bird’s way – the bird could pick a fruit and fly but the fruit could slip out; (2) the Markata (monkey) way – the monkey also could take it’s food but loose on the way; (3) the Pipilika (ant) way – the ant slowly and with firm will power gathers its food and then enjoys the food. Therefore, Sadhana to reach the Paramatma should be undertaken slowly, and done with iron will-power until the goal is reached. Rishi Vamadeva and others have questioned each other – Who is this Atma? Who is this Atma whom we are striving to realize as our own Self. There are two Self – one is the individual Soul and the other is the Universal Soul, both have entered the body. The individual Soul plays a subordinate part, is not fit to be the Brahman to be worshipped or meditated upon. All the senses, the Mind and the Buddhi acquire their power, intelligence and illumination from the silent Witness, who is Self-Luminous and all- powerful and all-wise Universal Soul (Antakarana) who should be worshipped.

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The Aitareya Upanishad begins with the text “Atma va idameka evagra asit – in the beginning there was Atma alone. This Upanishad concludes with the text Prajnyanam Brahma– pure consciousness is Brahman.

This article is a snippet from the Book Essentials of Hinduism, Authored by G.S Nilakantan. Hinduism for All is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.