Episode 01 - Mundaka Upanishad.

MUNDAKA UPANISHAD

 

"Mundaka", as most of us would know, means shear/shave clean. This Upanishad seeks to clean shave the bristles and cobwebs of our mind's understanding that the shadows are the truth and replace those thoughts, the cause of humanity's sufferings, with the actual Ttruth. That is the reason why it bears its name. It is a component of the AtharvaNa Veda.

 

This Upanishad has, like thaithireeya upaniShad as well, three chapters (mundakas); each has two sub-chapters. There are 64 mantras in all.  

 

Apart from Adi Sankara, Sri Madhvachariar and Sri Ranga Ramanujachariar have written vyakyanas for this Upanishad. Among modern day commentators, Klaus D.Witz and K.Narayanaswami Aiyer are noteworthy.  

 

The vidhya that this Upanishad seeks to teach is known as akShara-parA or aksharAkShara vidya.

 

Most of us keen in our nityaanushtaanums would be familiar with the SAnthi Mantra of this Upanishad (as we noted earlier): 

 

"Ombhadhram karNEbih SruNuYaama dEvaah: bhadhram paSyamaakshabir yajathraa: SthirairangaiS thushtuvaagmSaSthanUbi; vyacEma dhEvahitham yathaayu:

SvaSthi na indhrO vrudha Sravaa: SvaSthina: bhooshaa viSwa vEdhaa: SwaSthi waSdhaarkshyO arishtanEmihi; SwaSthinO brahaspathir thadhaathu: 

OmSAnthih.SAnthih.SAnthih. "

 

Now from the Upanishad proper:

 

"YathOrNanaabhih SrujathE gruhNuthE: yathaa prithivyaam Oshadhaya: Sambavanthi: yathaa Satha: Purushaath kEsa sOmaani, thadhaaksharaath SambavadhIha viswam."

 

“As the spider ejects its web and retracts it, as the earth produces medicinal herbs, as hair grow on humans, this Universe is created and withdrawn”.

The commentary proceeds to make a distinction between the three metaphors: the spider uses its web for a purpose i.e. to entice prey. The creation has no such objective. 

Like the earth producing medicinal herbs with no subjective aim. But the earth is inanimate - without a soul for itself. Is the creator also without a soul? No - like a human, that has a soul - in the third metaphor, the Brahmam is the Supreme Soul. 

 

Aim to reach Brahman

 

"dhanugraheeth vowpanishadam mahaasthram; caram hi upaaSaanicidham SandhayIdha; 

Aayamya thathbhaavagadhEna cEthaSaa - lakshyam thadhEvaaksharam SOmya viddhihi.'

 

“My dear Man: Take hold of the supreme bow that the Upanishads commend, lock in the arrow sharpened by your unremitting dhyaana, draw the bowstring filled with the thought of the Brahmam, and shoot the target. That target is the Brahmam, Understand Him, fill your knowledge with this understanding.”

 

"praNavO dhanuh: carO hyaAthmA brahma: apramathEna vEdhavyam caravath dhanmayO bhavEth"

 

It is said: Pranava (OM) shall be the bow, the Athman is the arrow. The Brahmam is the target. The bowman shall have an unwavering mind. Like the arrow his mind shall be filled with the target - i.e. the Brahmam.

 

Allogory of two birds on a tree

 

This is one most widely interpreted mantra in the Vedanta discussions.

 

 "dhwaa SuparNaa Sayujaa Sagaayaa: Samaanam vriksham parishaSvajaathE:

thayOranya: pippalam Sawaadhvaththi - anaSnan anyO abhicaakaSeethi."

 

 Two golden identical birds are perching on the same tree. Of these, one is enjoying the fruits of the tree. The other is just watching - apparently uninterested in the fruits. 

This is interpreted and commented upon in diverse ways by different poorvaacharyas. In viSiShtAdhvaitha, the bird engaged in the pleasure of eating the fruits is likened to Jeevaathma. The onlooker bird is likened to the Paramaathma. But let us see what the succeeding mantra says: 

SamaanE vrikshE purushO nimagnO: nIcayaa SOchathi muhyamaanah:

jushtam yathaa paSyathyanyam ISamasya mahimaanamithi vIthaSOkah:

Here the allegory is interpreted, (by one school i.e. Advaita) as the tree representing the human body; the bird savouring the fruits the jeevan which is subjected to both pains and pleasures; the onlooker bird which is uninterested in the pleasure of eating but looking at the jeevan is the Athman. 

Let us bear in mind this particular part of Vedanta has seen very different interpretations. We mustLet us, each one of us, dwelve a bit deeper on this and find our own inner meanings. 

We shall consider a few other assertions in the Mundaka Upanishad:

 

What is to be hit?

 

Aavih Sanhitham guhaacharam naama

mahathpadham adhraidhat Samarppitham

Ejath praaNan nimishascha yadhEthath jaanatha SadhaSath varENyam

param vigjnaanaath yathvarishtam prajaanaam. 

 

Manifest, near, moving in the cave (of the heart) is the great Being. In it everything is centred which ye know as moving, breathing, and blinking, as being and not-being, as adorable, as the best, that is beyond the understanding of humans/creatures - with the human organ is of perceptions and thought.

 

2. Yatharchimath yathaNubhyO Nucha

yaSmin lOkaa wihithaa lOhinacha

thadhEthadhaksharam brahma Sa praaNaSthadhu vaangmanah

thadhEthadh Sathyam thadhamritham thadhvEdhthavyam SOmya viththi.

 

That which is brilliant, smaller than than the smallest, that on which the worlds are founded and their inhabitants, that is the indestructible Brahman, that is the breath, speech, mind; that is the truth, that is the immortal. That is to be hit (understood/realised). Hit it, O friend!

 

How to hit the target

 

3. dhanurgruheethvowpanishatham mahaaSthram

caram hi upaaSaanicitham Sandhayeeth

Aayamya thathbhaavacuthEna cEthaSaa

lakshyam thadhEvaaksharam SOmya viththi.

 

Having taken the Upanishad as the bow, as the great weapon, let him place on it the arrow, sharpened by devotion! Then having drawn it with a thought directed to that which is, hit the mark, O friend, viz. that which is the Indestructible!

 

4. PraNavO dhanuh carO hyaAthmA Brahma thallakshyamucyathE

apramaththEna vEththavyam caravath thanmayO bhavEth.

 

OM is the bow, the Self is the arrow, Brahman is called its aim.  It is to be hit by a man who is relentless; and then, as the arrow (becomes one with the target), he will become one with Brahman.

 

(The Bow is the Pranava (OM); the chord (of the bow) is the Mind; the arrow is the Athman; the target/goal is the (understanding/realisation of the) Brahmam.)

 

5. yasmin dhyow; prithvee caantharikshamOtham

manah saha praaNaisca Sarvai

thamEvaikam jaanatha aAthmanaam anyaa

vaachO vimunchatha amruthasyaisha Sethu:

 

In Him the heaven, the earth, and the sky are woven, the mind also with all the senses. Know Him alone as the Self, and leave off other words! He is the bridge for the Immortal.

 

Could we comprehend this entreaty? Try we shall, because the prize is the Ultimate

 

Let us go a bit further into this dazzling and mystical poetry:

 

Creation Explained

 

1.       1.8

 

Thapasaa ciyathE Brahma, thadhOnnamabhijaayatE; 

Annaath praaNO manah: Sathyam lOkaah karmasuh. 

 

In one verse the whole of creation is described. Brahman distends, swells – becomes large, as it were – by tapas. Tapas means concentration. Brahman’s concentration is the will to create. It becomes extended in the form of the contemplated shape of creation, as it were. When we think something, the mind takes the form of that thing which we think. Now the Supreme Absolute thinks, wills, concentrates itself upon the shape which creation has to take and that is the swelling or the extending or the enlarging of Brahman in tapas. The swelling or the extension of being in tapas also means the contemplation of the form of the world which has to be created.. In the case of people like us, tapas would mean the intensity of heat generated inside by the concentration of the mind and the prana. 

Tapasā cīyate brahma, tato’nnam abhijāyate. Very mystical are these words. The meanings of the terms in the Upanishads of those times are not to be taken in a dictionary sense. They are highly connotative. Here it is mentioned that when Brahman concentrates itself in tapas, annam is created. From the point of view of ordinary linguistic exposition, annam means food, anything that is eaten. But in the Upanishads, annam does not mean just what we eat. It is the substantive content of consciousness.  The object of thought is the food of thought. Anything that we think is the diet of the psychic process. And here in the case of Brahman, the potential material, the matrix of all creation – we may call it mUla prakriti  – there must be some stuff which has to manifest itself in the form of creation. The concretisation of the will (sankalpa) itself is the stuff; or rather, annam may be taken in the sense of the substantiation of the Sankalkpa of the Brahmam.  

From that annam, the substantive content or objective of the tapas (Sankalpa) appeared praana (the life stream), Manah (the cosmic mind of the Virat Pursha),  Sathyam  (the fundamental principles or laws that opeate  this Universe which appear along with the Universe),  lokaah (the materially perceived worlds or the prakrithi – the Universe) , karmasu (the energized actions) Samrutham (the consequences or fruit of the karmas (actions). 

We should note that while the cosmic laws of this universe are stated to emerge simultaneously with the Universe, in the order in which these two are set in the Upanishad, it looks as if the laws were set out first – like the memorandum and articles of association of a corporate entity or the constitution of a nation.

 

1.       1-9. 

Yah Sarvagnja Sarvavith yaSya njnaana mayam thapah

thaSmaathEdath brahma naama roopa mannam ca jaayathE.

 

Though the literal meaning of both “Sarvagnja” and “Sarvavith” is ‘all - knowing’, the connotative meaning is that being which knows everything in general as also in particular. This is Acharya Sankara’s interpretation. God knows everything in general and also in particular. This is the direct knowledge of even the minutest details of even an atom. But God does not just dissipate Himself in the knowledge of particulars. There is a general control over the whole of creation, and there He has a cosmic generality of knowledge. A great cosmic order is in His mind. This is the sarvajñaḥ or the generality of the knowledge of God. But the particularity is every little detail, even to counting the number of hairs of a person or the breaths that he breathes. That also is known to Him. Can we imagine what kind of knowledge God must have? How many creatures are there in this creation: gods, human beings, demons, subhuman creatures, insects, and what not? How many leaves on the trees? He will count them. Unimaginable power of comprehension! So God knows everything in general as well as in particular. That is the meaning of being Sarvagnjaḥ and sarva-vid. 

 

Yasya jñānamayaṁ tapaḥ. We are told that God concentrated Himself. He was doing tapas. What kind of tapas did He do? Did he perform austerity by starving? His knowledge is His tapas. His wisdom, His knowledge, His consciousness, His intention, His purpose, His sankalpa –that is His tapas. . So His tapas is knowledge. The greatest tapas is the concentration of knowledge, and every other tapas is secondary – yasya jñānamayaṁ tapaḥ. 

Tasmād etad brahma nāma-rūpam annaṁ ca jāyate. From this incomparable Absolute, the Brahmam, emerged: (a) Brahma – here it denotes the energy that created the the Prakriti, the materially perceived worlds; (b) Naama – the nominal characteristics of the materially perceived objects; (c) Roopa – the form characteristics of the materially perceived objects. 

 

We had already considered the second section of this Upanishad. Let us therefore skip to the concluding part of the second section - the last two assertions: 

 

Brilliance Beheld by A Blessed Ffew

 

2.      2.9

HiraNmayE pare kOSE virajam brahma nishkalam 

ThaSSupram jyhOthishaam jyOthiS thathyath Athma vithO vithuh.

 

What is conveyed in this description of the Brahmam must be understood to be defined by the stark limitations of the human mind to perceive It in is true opulence, power and dominance. Jivan mukthas, the rare and finally evolved humans who are blessed by Him to Realise Him during their lifetime on this earth, are the few who could comprehend this.

 

Subject to that caveat,   Light of lights is this Brahman. The Sun and Moon do not shine then. Within the golden sheath of the intellect of the human being, AthmA, this pure consciousness scintillates like a spark which is without smoke and without any kind of limitation or location, the purest of purities, the light of lights. That is beheld by those people who have known the AthmA as identical with the light that they behold in other bodies also. 

 

The whole world will look like a mass of radiance to the Jivanmukta Purusha – one who has attained the Reality during one’s earthly life – a rarity. Just as if we gaze at the Sun for some time we will see dark spots as if the Sun is everywhere because of the effect produced by the force of its light on the eye, likewise is the Jivanmukta Purusha’s perception of the AthmA. It does not mean that he sees the AthmA only within himself and he sees people moving about outside. It is not like that. He sees himself present and moving in all bodies. It is a cosmic experience incapable of articulation in ordinary words of language, 

 

2.2-10 

na thathra SooryO paathi na Chandra thaarakam;

nEmaa vidhyuthO paanthi kuthOyamagnih;

thamEva paanthamanupaathi Sarvam thaSya 

paasaa Sarvamitham vipaathi.

 

In that realm of eternal light the radiance of the Sun is inconsequential. This brilliance of the Sun which is so intolerable to our eyes is like a shadow cast by that eternal light. Like candle flames do not shine before the light of the Sun, the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the lightning, the fire, and all the luminaries of the world do not shed their light in that eternal radiance. There is no Sun or Moon, no stars, no lightning, no fire or any kind of illumination that we can think of. All these illuminations are external, but this great eternal light is internal, and that is the difference. The internal light is incomparably brilliant and glowing than the external light. 

 

Paraa and Aparaa vidhyas

 

True to its nomenclature, the Upanishad uses some very blunt messages that should shake up an uninitiated sadhaka. 

 

thaSmai Sa hOvaacha dhwE vidhyE vEdhidhavyE ithi hasya yath brahmavidhO vadhanthi paraa caivaaparaa ca. 

 

Angiras said to Sounaka:  “Two kinds of knowledge must be known−that is what the knowers of Brahman tell us. They are the Higher Knowledge and the lower knowledge.”

 

thathraaparaa rigvEdO yajurvEdah: SaamavEdO dharvaNah:

cikshaa kalpO vyaakaraNam niruktham chandhO jyOthishmith 

atha paraa yayaa thadhaksharamadhikamyathE.

 

Of these, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Saama Veda, the Atharva Veda and six angas  of the Vedas viz. SikSha (phonetics), kalpa (rituals), vyAkaraNam (gramma) nirukta (etymology - origin of the words) chhandas (metre) and jyotiSham (astronomy) should be understood to be "lower knowledge"  and the Higher Knowledge is that by which the imperishable Brahman (thadhakSharam) is realised. 

 

Bhagwan Sri Krishna resonates this in the Gita: "ThrIguNya vishayaa vedha; nishthrIguNYO bhavaarjuna: (2.45)

 

(Knowledge of the Vedas is knowledge about the three GuNAs (Rajas, Satva & Thamas). Become free of the three GuNAs.)

 

Again in the Gita, Sri Krishna says: "yaavaanarththa udhapaanE Sarvadhah: SampludhOkE; dhaavaan SarvEshu vEdhEshu brahmaNasya vijaanatha: 

(When there is flood of waters everywhere whatever use a pool of water is, such would be the use of the Vedas for those who have realised the Brahman).

We shall presently consider an even more blunt and startling statement on this,  from the Mundaka Upanishad.

 

1. 2-4 

KaaLee karaaLee ca manOjavaa ca SulOhithaa yaasca SudhoomravarNaa

Sphlinginee viSwaruchee ca dhEvee

lElaayamaanaa ithi saptha jihwaa

 

The seven distinct tongues of the sacrificial fire (yagna kunda) are described by their names which really connote the inherent aspects of Fire: KAlee obviously refers to black. KarAlee refers to its frightening awesomeness; manOjavA refers to the speed like that of the mind; sulOhithaa refers to its overall reddishness; sudhoomravarNA refers to the smoke imbedded in it; sphlinginee refers to the sparks imbedded in it; and the seventh is the most beautiful description of all: viSwaruchee - the one with incomparable beauty with an incomparable ability to reach everywhere. 

 

 1. 2-5 

EthEshu yaccarathE prajamaanEshu yathaakaalam SahuthayO hyaadhadhaayan

tham nayandhyEthaah SuryaSya raSmayO yathra dhEvaanaam pathirEkOdhivaaSah

 

Whoever performs the prescribed yagna, offering the prescribed Ahuthis in the prescribed manner at the prescribed time in such a sacrificial fire, that person is carried by those Ahuthis, like the rays of the Sun, to the presence of the Lord of all Devas. (The Lord of all Devas, here connotes Indra).  

 

1. 2-6 

EhyEheethi thamaahudhayah SuvaarchIsha SUryaSya raSmibhiryajamaanam vahanthi;

priyaam vaasam abhivadhanthyOrcayanthya Esha vah puNyaah SukrudhO Brahma lOka;

 

The blazing and brilliant Ahuthis receive such a yajamaana (the one performing the yagna) with welcome slogans: "Come hither! Come hither!" They pay obeisance to him and proclaim to him with praising and sweet-sounding entreaties:  "This Swarga (Heavens) was earned by you as the result of your good and well-performed rituals" and carry him on the rays of the Sun.  

 

(Even as the yagnas are well-prescribed, defining the time, purpose, the materials, the propitiated Gods, etc., the rewards from those are also well-defined. The person performing such rites following all those prescriptions mindfully and carefully, would be entitled to those rewards and shall enjoy them. The very ahuthis he offers in the yagna receive him and carry him to those rewards, paying sweet obeisance to him and welcoming him with very endearing terms.) 

 

NOW THE STUNNING ANTI-CLIMAX!

 

1. 2-7 

plavaa hyEthE adhrutaa yagnaroopaa ashtaadaSadhOktham avaram yEshu karma;EdhacrEyO yEbinandhanthi mootaah jaraa mrithyum thE punarEvaapi yawthi. 

 

The yagna performed with the efforts and dedication of 18 people (ashtAdaSathOktham) is like a boat with a very brittlefrail bottom.

 

The eighteen people mentioned here for performing the agnihOthrA represent the yagna karta or yajamaanan, his patni (wife) and sixteen Brahmins well-versed in the Vedas and the prescription for rituals. Because these yagnas are anchored in material wishes and welfare, the ignorant, brainless people (moodhAh) who think very highly of these and perform them - however much with application and dedication - become subject to ageing and death repeatedly. They induce the man to seek such transient pleasures repeatedly.

 

(As the yagna was alluded to a boat with a brittlefrail bottom, the metaphor is that those who choose to set forth on this boat would sink and drown in the bhava saagara - the very deep and swirling sea of karma). 

 

1. 2-8 

AvidhyaayaamantharE varthamaanaah: Swayam dheeraah paNditham manyamaanaah:janganyamaanaah pariyanthi mootaah andhEnaiva neeyamaanaa yadhaanthaah.

These misguided people who live in the midst of material pain and pleasure (this is described as avidhyaayaamantharE varthamaanaah) ignorantly think they are both learned and brave. With this ignorance they fall into the trap of ageing and death repeatedly. This is like a blind person leading another blind person. (andhEnaiva) 

 

 1. 2-9  

avidhyaayaam bahuthaa varthamaanaah vayam krudhaarthaa ithyabhimanyanthi bhaalaah:

yath karmiNO wa pravEdhayanthi raagaath thEnaadhuraah ksheeNa lOkaath SyavanthE.

 

These ignorant people (who think they are learned and brave) swim and sink in the material world. They think (misguidedly) that they have attained their goals. But they do not realise the Truth. They engage in these karmas (yagnas, etc.) with desire and self-centric goals and objectives. Though they reap the prescribed rewards like swarga, they spend these  merits pretty soon and plunge back into this earth. 

 

1.2-10 

ishtaa poortham manyamaana varishtam; naanyacSrEyO vEdhayanthE pramootaa:

naakaSya brishtE thE sukruthEnu bhoothvaa; imam lOkam heenathaam vaa visanthi.

These distilled fools think that these rituals (like yagnas) are the end-all of everything. They don't know or think about anything beyond these. After enjoying the fruits of these karmas (yagnas, etc.) in the upper worlds like Swarga, they fall back to this earth or even lower worlds (for going through life, ageing and death, again and again.). 

 

1.2-11 

(The Upanishad now proceeds, after deprecating and condemning the selfish, self-centric, materialistic engagement with rituals, to spell out what is the true alternative).

 

thapah srEththE yE hyubhavaSandhyaraNyE, caanthaa vidwamsO bhaikshacaryaam caranthah:

SuryadwaarENa thE virajaa prayaanthi: yathraamrutha: ca purushO hi avyayaAthmA.

 

(On the other hand), sages who have conquered their indriyas (the five sensual organs including the mind), who glow with jgnaana, live ascetic lives in the forests, doing penance and surviving on very meagre alms (bhaikShAcharyam). These elevated souls completely shed their karmas. They, at the end, journey through the uttharAyaNa route and attain unity with the Brahmam, not to be born again.

 

 1.2-12 

pareekshya lOkaan karmacithaan braahmaNO: nirvEdamaayaath naaSyakritha: krithEna;

thath vignaanaartham Sa gurumEvaabikachchEth SamithpaaNi SrOthriyam brahmarishtam.

 

A sincere seeker therefore, should examine, scrutinise and deeply think about the pleasures and experiences he secured through his good karmas. Due to this mindful and deep scrutiny, he should realise that he would not be able to attain the Truth (Brahmam, paramAthmA) through such karmas but only through sacrificing (vanquishing) his attachment to those karmas. After that realisation, he should, in order to attain that state and realise the Truth, seek out, with samith (the sacrificial twig) in hand, a guru who is well-learned in the Vedas but, more importantly, one who has realised the True Brahmam.  

 

2.2-10 

na thathra SooryO paathi na Chandra thaarakam;

nEmaa vidhyuthO paanthi kuthOyamagnih;

thamEva paanthamanupaathi Sarvam thaSya 

paasaa Sarvamitham vipaathi.

 

In that realm of eternal light the radiance of the Sun is inconsequential. This brilliance of the Sun which is so intolerable to our eyes is like a shadow cast by that eternal light. Like candle flames do not shine before the light of the Sun, the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the lightning, the fire, and all the luminaries of the world do not shed their light in that eternal radiance. There is no Sun or Moon, no stars, no lightning, no fire or any kind of illumination that we can think of. All these illuminations are external, but this great eternal light is internal, and that is the difference. The internal light is incomparably brilliant and glowing than the external light

 

SUM-UP:  

 

The summary of this is that the good rewards from engaging in the rituals (like agni hothra and other yagnas) are not to be denied. But those pleasures and rewards, which are the result of an engagement that is selfish, self-centric and materialistic, have a finite longevity and get spent in a scheduled time. After that it is the same cycle of birth, ageing, death and the intermittent pains and pleasures, of a pretty ordinary life. For deliverance from this, there has to be a keen scrutiny and examination of the finite purpose of these rituals and the finite character of the rewards; that the true saadhaka should seek the higher truth and the nature of the Brahmam, through humility and simplicity combined with his "tapas" (penance) towards that goal.  

 

The Upanishad decries seekers of materialistic rewards from rituals (albeit holy and prescribed by the Vedas) as brainless fools.  

 

The Gita does not use such harsh terms, but still conveys the same message thus: 

 

SRI BHAGAVAD GITA - CHAPTER 4.

 

32. Evam bahuvithaa yagnaa vidhathaa brahmaNO mukE;

karmajaan viththi thaan Sarvaan Evam njaathwaa vimOkshyasE.

 

(Like previously spelt out) several yagnas have been prescribed in the Vedas. You should realise that these are all based on materialistic values and objectives. (karmajaan vidhdhi = know that they are materialistic/karma - oriented). Thus realising, try to get relieved of the bonds of karmas. 

 

33. SrEyan dhravyamayaath yagnaath njnaaya yagnya paranthapah:

Sarvam karmaakilam paarthah njaanE pariSamaapyathE.

njnaana yagna (this is an entirely internal ritual, involving only the mind, bhudhdhi and the soul) is far superior to the yagnas performed with material objects and externally. All your karmas, Arjuna, get fulfilled in njnaana. 

 

34. thath viththi praNipaadhEna pariprasnEna SEvayaa:

upadhEkSAnthih thE njaanam njaaninaS thathva darsinah. 

 

That knowledge (how to realise the Truth) should be sought and learnt by seeking out a guru who has realised that knowledge, by paying obeisance to him, by serving and by asking him appropriate questions. Such a guru would give you that knowledge (njaana).