Isavasya Upanishad – 1

Introduction & Shanthi Mantra

Upanishad means BrahmaVidya, knowledge of Brahman, the Cosmic Supreme.  The word upanishad primarily refers to the knowledge of the Brahman, and secondarily to the book that contains the knowledge of Brahman.  Upanishads form the end portion of Vedas, Veda anta bhaga, and so are called Vedanta as well. Since this portion deals with the knowledge of Brahman and its realization and gives the knowledge of jiva, the individual, jagat, the universe and their relationship with each other and with Brahman, this is the philosophical portion of Vedas and is called the jnana khanda.  The earlier portion of Vedas, Veda purva bhaga, deals only with karmas and upasanas and is called the karma khanda.

Vedas are divided into sakhas. Each sakha contains an upanishad.  Originally the Vedas had 1180 sakhas, of which many are lost now.  So we are now having 108 upanishads instead of 1180.  Out of these 108, Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada had written commentaries for 10 upanishads.  These ten upanishads are also referred to in Brahma Sutras of Veda Vyasa.  So these ten upanishads are considered as mukhya upanishads.  There is a sloka connecting these ten which runs as:

Isa Kena Kaṭa Prasna Munḍa Mandukya Thiithri I

Aitareyanca Chandokyam Brihadharaṇyakam tatha. II

Isavasya Upanishad belongs to Shukla Yajur Veda.  Kathopanishad, which was discussed in an earlier series of blogs belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda. Krishna Yajur Veda and Shukla Yajur Veda are two schools of Yajur Veda and there is an interesting story regarding the origin of the two schools in Vishnu purana.  The story is as follows.

After Veda Vyasa compiled the mantras of the Vedas, he taught the Yajur Veda to his disciple Vaishampayana Vyasa who further compiled and taught it to twenty-seven disciples one of them being Yajnavalkya who was distinguished for his brilliance and great piety.  Once Vaishampayana Vyasa committed the sin of Brahmahatya (killing of a Brahmin) by accidentally killing his nephew.  He asked his disciples to perform the necessary penance for seven days to expiate his sin.  Yajnavalkya strongly argued in order to be allowed to do the penance all by himself angering Vaisampayana in the process who found his tone disparaging of his other disciples. 

An angry Vaisampayana asked Yajnavalkya to give back all he had learned from him and go away from the ashram.  Obeying the guru’s command Yajnavalkya threw up the Yajur Veda he had learnt from Vaisampayana in the form of black vomit stained with blood.  As the Veda are sacrosanct, Vaisampayana did not want the vomit to hit the ground and asked the other disciples to take the form of partridges (tittiri) and gulp it up. These pupils in the form of the tittiri birds swallowed up the Vedas as they came out of Yajnavalkya’s mouth. As it came out in the form of black vomit, it came to be known as Krishna (black) Yajur Veda.

Yajnavalkya then worshiped the Sun God strenuously in order to get back the possession of the knowledge of Yajur Veda. He requested Sun God to teach him even the parts of the Yajur Veda that were not known to his guru, Vaishampayana. The Sun God agreed to his request and taught him the Yajur Veda by assuming the form of a horse. While the Krishna Yajur eda that Vaishampayana had taught him had the Samhita and Brahmana portions jumbled together, the Yajur Veda that Surya taught him had them clearly separated. As this version of Yajur Veda was revealed by the Sun, it is called the Shukla Yajur Veda. 

Isavasya upanishad is a small upanishad containing 18 Mantras.  The upanishad derives its name from the first letter in the text.  The svaras for this upanishad are available now also and it is a popular upanishad for chanting in various modes viz, Krama, Jata, Gana etc.  This upanishad is considered as Mantropanishad or Samhita upanishad as it occurs in Mantra Bhagha.  The Brihadarnyaka upanishad that also occurs in the Sukla Yajur Veda occurs in Brahmana portion and is called a Brahmana Upanishad and this bigger upanishad is said to be an elaboration of this small upanishad. 

This is one of the ten upanishads coming under Dasopanishad for which Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada and other acharyas have written commentaries.  In fact enumeration of Dasopanishad starts with this upanishad as we saw earlier.  Though it is a small upanishad it is a very difficult upanishad for the words used in the upanishad do not follow the straight dictionary meaning and is open to different interpretations.  Without Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada’s interpretation it will be difficult to make sense out of them.  So though it is small it is not taken up first for study and taken up only after one or two other Upanishads which familiarises students with the Vedantic ideas and the way the Upanishads present them. 

This upanishad also opens with a Shanthi Mantra which is unique to Shukla Yajur Veda upanishads. This Shanthi Mantra is also very confusing when read as such.  But when interpreted we understand it contains the vedantic idea of Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mitya. The Shanthi Mantra with the straight meaning is as below:

Om Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaat Poornam-Udachyate I

Poornasya Poorna-maadaaya Poorna-mevaa-vasishyate.I

Om shanthi, shanthi, shanthi II                                       

That is Whole; this is Whole; from that Whole this Whole becomes manifest. From the Whole when the Whole is taken out what remains is the Whole only. (Purnam here means not limited by time, space and object which means it is whole, infinite.) 

What it means is: - The invisible Brahman is whole, infinite; the visible world is also whole, infinite.  From the whole that is Brahman, the whole that is the visible universe has come.  Even after this whole that is the visible universe has come out of that Whole that is Brahman, the Brahman remains still the same Whole.  Idam, This, is a demonstrative pronoun, involving an effort to point out something which is within the grasp of sense experience.  It stands for this manifested universe of space and time and change. The totality of the external world in its impact upon the human mind is what is meant by the word Idam.   Adah, That, stands for the Brahman that transcends the space and time and does not undergo any change.  ‘This’ is correlative of ‘that’; ‘this’ is the changeable aspect of reality; ‘that’ is its unchangeable aspect.  If ‘this’ refers to something given in sense experience, ‘that’ refers to something transcendental, beyond the experience of the senses. The visible Universe is only an appearance, having only transactional reality, valid for experience only and does not stand investigation into its true nature and so creation is also a notion. Brahman is the only absolute reality, Satyam, and Universe is only mithya, apparent reality is the essence of this Shanthi Mantra.  The Shanthi Mantra ends with the traditional appeal for peace from the three types of obstacles, which are:

1)    Adhyathmikam – Obstacles arising from within oneself like one’s personal ill-health, negative mood etc. i.e. obstacles arising from oneself.

2)    Aadhi bauthikam – Obstacles arising from other known sources or external situations like ill-health of a family member, noisy neighbourhood etc. i.e. obstacles arising from one’s environs.

3)    Aadhi daivikam – obstacles arising from unseen sources like floods, storm etc. obstacles arising from nature.

-----------------------

Kenopanishad – 5

Upasanas, sadhanas and values

In the previous blog we saw the story which is about a battle which the Devas won over the Asuras and became elated with pride over their victory.  They did not credit their victory to the Supreme Lord, Brahman, but ‘stole’ all the glory for themselves.  To teach them a lesson, Brahman who is the Supreme Controller of every thought and action of ours, brought about an incident which humiliated the Devas, killed their pride and restored them to their divine status.  This story leads to four upasanas stated in chapter 4 in Mantras 4, 5 & 6, based on the above story where Brahman as Yaksha, the Saguna Brahman, appeared brief, brilliant and attractive, drawing attention to Himself.  Two of these upasanas are Adidaiva upasanas (Mantra 4), one Adhyatma upasana (Mantra 5) and one Guna Visishta upasana (Mantra 6).  Adidaiva upasana is one where the meditation on Iswara is done with the help of an external symbol called alambanam.  Adhyatma upasana is one where meditation on Iswara is done invoking one or more aspect of Him on one’s body or part of the body.  Guna Visishta upasana is one where the meditation is done on a particular glory of Iswara.  Through these upasanas

1)  One gets Chiththa ekagratha. single pointed focusing of mind

2)  One meditates on Brahman as the srishti, sthithi, laya karanam for this Jagat

3)  One meditates on the nityatvam of Brahman  and anityatvam of the Jagat

4) One develops Vairagya as Jagat is anityam, and so asaram, i e without substance.

The upasanas given in Mantra 4 are:

1)    Vidyut upasana- upasana on Iswara with lightning as alambanam.  Lightning which is brief, brilliant and attractive symbolizes Yaksha.  On a dark night when lightning flashes the external world is revealed for a moment, to go back into darkness again.

2)    Nimesa upasana – upasana on Iswara with winking as alambanam.  The winking is of fleeting nature and is compared to Yaksha.  The eye lights up the external world when it is open like the lightning.   The external world is shut off when it is closed, to reappear again when it opens, and stay that way until the eye closes again. This stands for srishti, sthithi and laya of Jagat, which is not permanent. 

Mantra 5 gives the third upasana, Vritti upasana- upasana on Iswara with the Vritti of the mind as alambanam.  Vritti is momentary and is compared to Yaksha.  Vriiti illuminates an object and this helps us to gain the knowledge of the object.  In deep sleep where Vrittis are absent, external world is shut off.  Further as Mantra 4 of chapter 2 pointed out Brahman as consciousness is associated with every one of our thoughts, as chithabhasa. 

Mantra 6 gives the fourth upasana, Tadvana upasana – upasana on Iswara as one endowed with all glories.  In the story it is seen that Agni’s power to burn and Vayu’s power to blow off did not work when challenged by Yaksha.   Lord Krishna emphasizes this fact  in Bhagavad Gita as follows:

Yadyad vibhootimat sattwam shreemadoorjitameva vaa I

Tattadevaavagaccha twam mama tejom’shasambhavam.II

Whatever being there is that is glorious, prosperous or powerful, that know thou to be a manifestation of a part of My splendour. (10-41)

“Whatever that is glorious, brilliant and powerful know that to be a part manifestation of my glory” says here Lord Krishna.  Sri Sankara in his commentary on Mantra 5 says “Brahman is well known by the name Tadvanam because it is the innermost self of all beings and therefore the most adorable and worshipful”  The Mantra goes on to give the benefit of the upasana on the word Tadvanam as Brahman, the most adorable and worshipful, as making  that person, the upasaka, most adorable and worshipful person by others. 

After the upasanas Guru wants to emphasise Karma yoga sadhanas and moral character that gives Chiththa Suddhi and helps one to retain and get establihed in BrahmaVidya in reply to the student’s question whether any important point is left out. We can call these Karma yoga sadhanas and values, the foundation bricks for the building of BrahmaVidya.  . They are

1)    Tapas; a life of disciplined moderation and willful self-denial.

2)    Dama; mastery over sense-organs

3)    Karma; performance of actions for inner growth, as enjoined by the Sastras

4)   Vedas; Vedic studies

5)  Satyam; a life of honesty and truthfulness  

Guru employs a simile to drive home this point.  He compares BrahmaVidya to a cow whose legs are Tapas, Dama and Karma, and its other limbs are Vedas and its abode is Satyam.  By remarking Satyam is its abode, guru stresses the importance of moral character in the pursuit of BrahmaVidya.  Swami Ranganathananda while commenting on this Mantra 8 remarks  “Spirituality is not mere scholarship; it is being and becoming, in the words of Swami Vivekananda: it is growth, development and realization.  Spiritual knowledge, unlike scholarship does not arise in the mind of man as long as it is morally impure”.  

The Upanishad concludes with Mantra 9, which makes an emphatic statement that who has acquired the knowledge of Brahman as before stated attains Jeevan Mukthi with all his karmas that result in rebirth getting destroyed, ensuring Videha Mukthi after death.

Acknowledgement

While concluding the series of blogs on Kenopanishad I wish to record my deep debt of gratitude to the speeches and writings on Kenopanishad, of:

1)    Swami Paramarthananda

2)    Swami Gurubhakthananda

      -----------------------------------------------------------

Kenopanishad – 4

The story of Yaksha and Devas

The chapter 3 starts with the story of Yaksha and Devas which is continued in chapter 4 as well.  This seems to be addressed to a student who is adhama adhikari.  Adhama adhikari is one who has neither a sharp intellect nor a refined mind but has shraddha in sastras and guru upadesa, unlike an anadhikari who is devoid of shraddha in sastras and guru upadesa.  So there is the risk of adhama adhikari understanding the teaching wrongly and assuming that wrong understanding as correct understanding, viparitha grahanam.  So to make the teaching simple, the teacher explains through a story and also instructs him on connected upasanas to make the mind more subtle, so that the subtle mind can grasp the teaching easily and correctly.  Let us see the story in this blog. 

Once in their fight with Asuras, Devas scored a big victory.  While celebrating their victory they forgot it is not only their efforts, but Iswara anugraha as well, that earned them their victory.  They became arrogant, blinded by their victory and started bragging about their roles in the victory.  Brahman saw this and did not want the Devas to go the way of the Asuras consumed by their self-conceit.  So in his compassion He decided to remind them that whatever powers they have, these powers flow from Him only and cure them of their pride. So he appeared before them in the horizon as a Yaksha.  Seeing the bright luminous figure, Devas were intrigued as well a bit afraid as to who this Yaksha will be. So they deputed Agni to go and find who the Yaksha is. 

As the Agni approached the Yaksha, the Yaksha asked him who he was.  Agni was miffed that he had to explain who he was to the stranger.  So he replied pompously that he is Agni, the all-knowing.  Yaksha did not appear impressed and asked him what power he has.  Agni boastfully declared that he can burn to ashes anything on earth.   Yaksha then placed a small dry blade of grass before Agni and asked him to show his power by burning it.  Agni tried with all his might and failed.  The grass did not warm up even by a degree; let alone being turned to ashes.  So crestfallen Agni returned to the Devas and confessed his inability to find out Yaksha’s identity.  Then the Devas deputed Vayu to go and find out who the Yaksha is. 

As before, even as Vayu approached the Yaksha, the Yaksha asked him who he was.  Vayu was also annoyed that he had to explain himself first without knowing who the other person was.  So he replied boastfully that he is Vayu, the one who traverses the sky.    Yaksha did not appear impressed now also and asked him the same question as to what power he has.  Vayu proudly declared that he can blow away anything on earth.   Yaksha then placed the same small dry blade of grass before Vayu and asked him to exhibit his power by blowing it off.  Vayu attacked the blade of grass with all his force, to demonstrate his strength but the small blade of grass stayed put where it was not even moving a fraction of a centimeter.  Defeated in his attempt to dislodge the blade of grass, Vayu retreated and reported his failure to find out the identity of Yaksha.  Then Devas requested their lord, Indra, to find out who the Yaksha is. 

Indra agreed and went.  But even as he approached the Yaksha, Yaksha disappeared.  Indra felt humiliated that he was not even given an opportunity to explain.  But he did not retreat.  With all humility he waited and pondered where he had gone wrong.  And in the very place where the Yaksha stood, Uma Devi appeared in all her splendor.  Indra respectfully asked Uma Devi who the Yaksha was.  To his enquiry Uma Devi then explained that it was none other than Brahman, whose blessings alone have earned them their victory, and He appeared before them out of compassion to cure them of their vanity.  Indra returned to the Devas and conveyed to them what he learnt from Uma Devi.  Indra was glorified as he got the knowledge of Brahman, from Uma Devi who is none other than Mother Sruthi.  Agni and Vayu also shared this glory as they were privileged to approach Brahman and talk to Him.

This story explains allegorically what was given as Upadesa earlier.  Verses five to nine of the first chapter of this Upanishad had presented Brahman as that which neither the sense-organs nor the mind can reveal, but which reveals all the sense-organs and the mind.   Agni, the presiding deity for speech, and Vayu, the presiding deity for touch, represent the Indriyas and Indra, lord of Devas represents the mind, controller of sense-organs, and Indriyas are also referred to by the term Devas.  So the Indriyas and mind cannot know Brahman, even though Brahman is a part of all the experiences.  Uma Devi stands here for Brahma Vidya Guru.  When the mind becomes subtle and refined, a BrahmaVidya Guru, can guide such a mind to the knowledge of Brahman.  We can also draw other lessons from this story.

     1)    Whatever be our glories and achievements, they are only by the Grace of Iswara.

2)    They should not make us arrogant and boastful of our prowess.

3)    Where arrogance fails humility succeeds.

4)    Seeking with humility leads to a guru whose guidance is necessary for BrahmaVidya.

5)    Without guru’s guidance, it is not possible to know Brahman.

6)    Indra, Agni and Vayu became glorious, because of their knowledge of Brahman.  So that is the parama Purushartha

---------------------

Kenopanishad – 3

Chapter 2

Second chapter opens with a Mantra that contains two parts, the first one teacher’s caution, the second the start of student’s reply which extends to the next Mantra. The two Mantras 1 & 2 are:

Yadi manyase suveda iti daharam eva api

noonam twam vettha brahmanah roopam I

Yat asya tvam, yat asya deveshu atha nu,

meemaamsyam eva te manye viditam II

 (The teacher said:) If you think: "I know Brahman well," then surely you know but little of Its form; you know only Its form as conditioned by man or by the gods. Therefore Brahman, even now, is worthy of your inquiry. (The disciple said) I think I know Brahman. ( 2-1)

na aham manye suveda iti nah na veda iti veda cha I

yah nah tat veda tad veda nah na veda iti veda cha II

I do not think that I know It well enough; Not that I do not know; I know, and I do not know.  He amongst us who knows It, knows It only as such: Not that I do not know; I know, and I do not know.(2-2)

The teacher, maybe seeing a glow of satisfaction and pride of understanding in student’s face, warns that it is a mistake to feel satisfied at this stage that he knows Chaitanyam well on the basis of upadesa alone, because this feeling of knowing well comes from giving a concrete form to the idea of Brahman and whatever form one tends to give on the basis of upadesa alone will only be a limited manifestation of the all encompassing and surpassing Brahman.  Whatever upadesa one receives is only words of introduction and not of complete information.  Fullness of knowledge comes with subjective experience of this undivided whole wherein all polarities merge into a unitary Being, that is pure Existence and that is one’s own true Self.  So he asks the student to continue the sastra vichara on the basis of upadesa, and not feel smug about the knowledge gained.  

The student is apparently an Uttama adhikari.  Uttama adhikari is one who has a sharp intellect and a refined mind and has doubt-free understanding of the teaching, samyak grahanam. The student being an uttama adhikari, retreats, continues his vichara and comes back after a time to the teacher.  This time he starts with a hesitant note “I think I have understood” and continues “I do not think, I know It well; Not that I do not know, I know too.  Who amongst us understands It both as not-Known and also as the Known, he only understands It.” This is a beautiful reply, which shows he has understood what the teacher meant to convey.  From the subjective point It is known because It is one’s own Self, part of everyone of one’s experience.  At the same time It is not known as an object in which case only, one will be able to explain it and substantiate the statement that he knows It. This dilemma is well brought out in the reply. The teacher appreciates the student’s reply and expresses his appreciation of the student by rephrasing the student’s statement a little more elaborately in Mantra 3, which is also couched in a paradox.  This pattern of explaining the unexplainable is followed in Zen statements also as this shakes one’s thinking of its logical routine to understand a statement. The Mantra is 

Yasya amatam tasya matam matam yasya na veda sah I

Avijnaatam vijaanataam vijnaatam avijaanataam II 

He understands It who feels he knows It not; and he understands It not who feels he knows It.  It is unknown to one who thinks he knows It; but known to the one who feels he does not know. (2-3)

“If one understands It as an object, which the ignorant does,then this understanding is faulty; one can only realize It as his Self which wise men do, not trying to know It as an object”,  is the idea conveyed by the teacher, thus endorsing the student’s statement. With this the teaching to the student who is uttama adhikari is over and this student who is an uttama adhikari leaves.

Thereafter the teacher amplifies this statement in Mantra 4, with the oft-quoted statement; “Pratibodha-viditam matam (realised in every modification of the mind)”, addressing it to the student who is a madhyama adhikari.  Madhyama adhikari is one who has a slow grasp and his understanding is beset with doubts, samsaya grahanam and so needs a more detailed explanation.  Mantra 4 is:

Pratibodha-viditam matam amritatwam hi vindate I

Aatmanaa vindate veeryam vidyayaa vindate amritam II

He who realises It in every modification of the mind, indeed, he attains Immortality.  Through the Athma he obtains real strength, and through knowledge, he attains Immortality. (2-4)

So the teacher again explains to him that Chaitanyam is associated with every thought modification of the mind.  Every experience we have has a variable component, thought and a non-variable component, Consciousness principle, Chaitanyam.  One registers only the thought and not the Chaitanyam. To see an object one not only needs good eyes but also a source of light to illumine the object.  Even if one has good vision, if there is no light and it is totally dark, one cannot see the object. So ordinarily when we see an object, our mind registers the object alright, but not the light pervading it which makes it possible for us to see it.  This you can experiment, while walking in the daytime.  The mind registers the objects only, not the sunlight that envelopes the objects and makes it possible for us to see the objects.  Even if there is nothing to notice, the emptiness also is also revealed by the light only.  In the same way not only the thought but also absence of thought is revealed by Consciousness.  So one has always the experience of Brahman in the form of Consciousness and so one cannot say one does not know it.  At the same time as it is one’s Self itself, one cannot say one knows it as an object.  So everyone has Brahmanubhava always, only he does not know it as he does not have the Jnanam. To get the Jnanam and get established in it one must have a refined mind acquired through karma yoga and upasana yoga and then Jnanam through jnana yoga.  Then his attitude changes first from “I am the body having consciousness” to “I am the consciousness having a body” and finally to “I am the consciousness in every body and this consciousness is the same in everybody, being Brahman” which is called Sarvathma Bhava. This Jnanam liberates one even while alive, making him a Jivanmuktha which fact is emphasised in Mantra 5:

Iha ched avedeet atha satyam asti, na chet iha avedeet mahatee vinashtih I

Bhooteshu bhooteshu vichitya dheeraah pretya asmaat lokaat amritaah bhavanti II

If a man knows Athma here, he then attains the true goal of life. If one does not know It here, a great destruction awaits him. Having realised the Self in every being, the wise one rises above the world of sensual life and becomes immortal (2-5)

As a Jivanmuktha he fears not the death of the body knowing he is the Consciousness that is Brahman which is considered immortal. This Jnanam is possible in human birth only, as there is free will and this must be the spiritual goal of every human being.  The teacher declares that the human birth should be considered wasted, if in human birth one does not strive for this Jnanam.

With this Mantra 5, the second chapter comes to an end and also the upadesa to the uttama adhikari and madhyama adhikari students.  The next chapter starts with a story which is addressed to students who are adhama adhikaris, that we shall see in the next blog.

----------------------------