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Upanishads have over the ages answered many questions related to the spiritual world and the love of God and have thus satiated the curiosity of a new initiate with authentic knowledge of the Rishis.
The human consciousness tried to interact with the world through the medium of the mind and the senses. To the mind of a person this world appears to be a collection of infinite experiences like touch, smell and colour. But there exists some strange longing in the human consciousness that does not keep it satisfied with what the outer world has to offer.
The picture of the world that the senses project in the mind seems illusionary to it and it tries to probe deeper so as to be acquainted with its true form. It is this inborn tendency that encourages a human being to delve deeper and deeper into the ocean of knowledge.
Man involves himself in the pleasures of life that form the outer world. But this does not bring him true joy and peace in life. He is not able to enjoy full freedom or totality in life by interacting with the outer world.
Whether he is working, or trying to enjoy the pleasures of life, he ever remains filled with sorrows and tensions. To get rid of his sorrows and problems he works harder and tries to lose himself in the pleasures of life and tries his best to know the world better.
The senses and the mind
More a person tries to reach the inner consciousness by directing his mind and the senses inwards, more he realises that true joy cannot be had through outer means. It is through this process that one becomes fully enlightened.
And when one is enlightened all one's knowledge, actions and experiences in life are freed from the limiting scope of the mind and the senses, for then one is able to visualise the true picture of this world with the help of one's activated inner vision.
The world then appears very different, for then one is free of the limiting perspective of the senses.
When this happens all differences that exist between the Supreme Consciousness and this world disappear and everything appears to be a part of the Supreme. The human consciousness then becomes omnipresent and omniscient and free of all limitations. It is then that one experiences true joy, absolute freedom and totality.
It is the consciousness that is free of the shackles of the mind and the senses which is known as Human Consciousness or Consciousness of a Yogi. And the true knowledge that is had through the medium of this consciousness is known as Upanishad.
The truth that unfolds itself due to the supreme consciousness forms the basis of the whole world and all the life present in it. This consciousness forms a common playground for both the physical and the biological world.
And it is after realisation of this consciousness that a human attains to true joy, knowledge and freedom. One then becomes free of false boundaries of countries and time , and rises above base feelings like enmity, jealousy, fear and hatred. It is then that one has the realisation of one's true powers and capabilities.
When the great Rishis try to describe their experiences the people are left dumbstruck on hearing the strange facts as their senses tend to distort their inner vision.
They are not able to fully assimilate this knowledge but accept it as ideal knowledge coming out of the mouths of enlightened ones. And encouraged by this description they try to accomplish Sadhanas so as to be free of the limitations of the mind and the senses.
The Upanishads contain collected divine words of the great human beings who were able to achieve total realisation and gain true knowledge and to whom the supreme element had exposed all its hidden secrets.
This knowledge was passed on from one generation to the next in the tradition of Guru and disciple i.e. from a Guru to his disciple. Encouraged by these very words, spiritual seekers and numerous Sadhaks have over the ages gained perfect control over their minds and senses and have had a glimpse of the Supreme.
It is important to note that this realisation is possible only when one has become free of all limitations of the mind and the senses. And the success of these very Sadhaks has helped a lot in enhancing the faith of the common men and women in these divine words.
Benefits of listening to divine words
The greatest of spiritualists having found worldly proofs, logic and all arguments incapable of describing the Supreme have considered the knowledge of the Upanishads as the best proof of Supreme Consciousness. And they used their intellect and wisdom to the best in order to bring out the true essence contained in these texts.
And they decided that a human has to listen to the divine words of the sages and concentrate all his inner power if he wishes to attain true knowledge in life. All texts - the Smritis, Puraanns, Darshan and Tantra - are alive because people listen to them and this knowledge is best propagated through this medium.
Supreme realisation is possible for spiritual aspirants of all ages and places. India is fortunate to have had so many great Rishis in all times. All these enlightened individuals and great savants have unanimously accepted the supreme truth that lies hidden in the divine words of the Upanishads and they have done much to propagate the knowledge contained in these texts. In fact the realised souls all over the world have known the great knowledge that is hidden in the Upanishads.
Upanishads and the Indian Culture
It is a very special feature of the Indian Culture that it is based on the knowledge of the Sadhanas and on the realisation of the Supreme. All its literature, sciences, philosophy, religions, castes, social structure, policies have been based on this very knowledge contained in the Upanishads.
Upanishads are in fact the soul of the Indian culture or the Aryan culture. The very essence of the Vedas, the very highest knowledge appears in the Upanishads.
That is why Upanishads are known as Vedaant i.e. conclusion to the Vedas. All Sadhanas are in fact based on the Upanishads.
Divine knowledge and the mind
The Supreme that is realised through the means of divine consciousness is called Brahm by the Rishis. Brahm means supreme, and nothing can be more supreme than Brahm. It is not bound by any limits of national boundaries, time or energy and the western scholars call it Infinite, Eternal or the Absolute. We call it Brahm!
It is the most total manifestation of the Intellectual Consciousness, and the most enlightening concept of Philosophical Knowledge. Till the Brahm is not realised the mind cannot be peaceful and one can never attain to totality in life.
Philosophical knowledge can never help one with the realisation of the Brahm. But man has great will power and he can transcend the mind, and all logic and have a glimpse of the Brahm through inner search. The experiences which are beyond the mind and the senses and which occur only when one has realised Brahm have been collected in the Upanishads.
The chief ten Upanishads.
Every text written by some Rishi ha been called Upanishad. But basically there are 10 Upanishads. These are - Eesh, Ken, Katth, Prashna, Mundak, Maandookya, Teitireeya, Eitareya, Chhaandogya and Brihadaarnnyak. According to some scholars there are 108 Upanishads although the above ten are the most famous. Presented here in brief is what these Upanishads contain.
Eesh Upanishad
In its very first verse this Upanishad emphasizes on spiritual oneness and unity of the world that form the centre of focus of all other Upanishads. It highlights several processes of enlightenment and gives proof of the Supreme.
Ken Upanishad
It highlights true knowledge and it introduces the reader to the supreme soul which is present in each human being and in every particle in this universe. It does this by trying to free one of one's limitations.
Katth Upanishad
This text is specially attractive because of its beautiful verses, deep philosophy and explanation of amazing experiences. In comparison with the other Upanishads this one contains a deeper insight into the Vedas. Being in the form of a dialogue between Yama (the Guru) and Nachiketa (the disciple) this text is very interesting to read.
Prashnopnishad
As the name suggests it contains some very vital questions. In its six chapters, six different disciples ask questions related to the different aspects of spiritualism and their Guru Piplaad answers the question with great Yogic wisdom.
Mundak Upanishad
This Upanishad divides all knowledge into two categories - Paraa or the supreme and Aparaa or the base. It includes in the latter category all the knowledge of the sciences, art, literature, politics, economy and all the rest that has been gained by the mankind over the ages and even the knowledge contained in Vedas and other holy texts. It declares that only that knowledge is Paraa or supreme through which the Supreme Element can be realised. The Upanishad seeks true joy through the realisation of absolute unity in the diversity of this world.
Maandookya Upanishad
It contains only twelve verses and yet through them it presents amazing facts. It studies the three states of awakening, dream and Sushupti (trance i.e. when one is neither fully awake nor asleep) and tries to analyse all the experiences of human life. It states that the highest state is that of Tureeya (deep Samadhi) in which one becomes linked to Brahm. It states through a verse - Ayam Aatmaa Brahm i.e. the soul is Brahm. Thus this text introduces one to the infinite potential of the human soul.
Teitireeya Upanishad
This Upanishad declares Brahmvid Aapnoti Param i.e. only a seeker of the supreme is able to realise the Supreme Element. It describes the four bodies that hide the Brahm. It advises freedom from limitation of the mind and senses for having divine experiences. It also gives a scientific definition of the Supreme, from which everything has appeared, through whose powers one lives on and into which one merges after death.
Eitareya Upanishad
It probes into the soul element and tries to explain Brahm in spiritual terms. It does this through the verse Pragyaanam Brahm Brahm Pragyaaswaroopam.
Chhaandogya Upanishad
It introduces the reader to great spiritual seekers like Satyakaam, Shvetketu and Naarad and also to some of the most enlightened Gurus like Aarunni, Sanatkumar and Prajaapati. Through wise dialogues between Gurus and disciples this Upanishad reveals the true form of the Supreme.
Through a simple verse like Tat Tvam Asi i.e. you are He, this text reveals and emphasizes upon the divine nature of a human. It states that the best remedy for all human ailments and problems is the divine knowledge through which Tarati Shorbha Aatmavit i.e. a person becomes free of all sorrows.
Brihadaarnnyak Upanishad
As its name suggests it is the longest of all Upanishads. It is like a huge jungle of spiritual knowledge and inspiration. There are four central figures in this text, two men and two women - Janak a king, Yagyavalkya a realised Rishi, Meitrayi the highly spiritual wife of Yagyavalkya and Gargi an eloquent orator and a realised person who is foremost in asking spiritual question of sage Yagyavalkya.
The interesting conversation between these people proves very effective in revealing the divine nature of a human and his link with the Supreme, the Brahm.
Need of our times: Upanishads
The world is progressing at an ever accelerating rate and man is becoming more and more confused, unable as he is to understand his true worth in life. He finds himself in a situation where his past has slipped out of his hands, where the present is full of uncertainties, and the future looms large like a huge question mark.
It is a strange situation in which we find ourselves and we are not sure what waits ahead for us - a bright day full of hope and contentment or a dark night full of sorrows and tension.
All around we find a false glare of materialism and there exists a profound darkness within, which has not been experienced in any other time of history. Modernisation has led to utter darkness within and today man is struggling to find a ray of light that could show him the right path.
Today every human heart cries out for truth and the true essence of human life. The circumstances prevailing today point to the fact that the entire modern world is looking for spiritual respite. And hence the following Vedic prayer automatically springs to the mind.
Asato Maa Sadgamay,
Tamaso Maa Jyotirgamay,
Mrityormaa Amritam Gamay.
Take me from Falsehood to ultimate Truth,
take me from darkness to light,
take me from mortality to immortality.
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