Episode 01 - Upanishads - An Integral Part of the Vedic Corpus.

UPANISHADS – AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE HOLY VEDIC CORPUS

The Vedas (also known as “Sruti” the one that was heard) are not compositions of humans  as we normally understand. These are sourced in the Brahmam Itself and are therefore known as “Sabdhabrahmam”. Sri Aurobindo describes the Vedas thus:, “The language of Veda itself is Sruti, a rhythm not composed by the intellect but heard, a Divine Word that came vibrating out of the Infinite to the inner audience of the man who had previously made himself fit for the impersonal knowledge.” The “Srutis” have no authorship, no time line of composition. They are called ‘apauruSheya’ meaning that they are not authored by any Purusha or human mind. They were revealed to the Rishis or Seers - the mantra draShtA-s, men of wisdom, during the depths of their meditation. These sages were merely the instruments of God to spread His words.

Sage Veda Vyaasa is believed to have collected all the Veda Mantras, codified and organized them into four groups which he taught to his four chief disciples:

Rig Veda was taught to Paila, Yajur Veda was taught to Vaishampaayana, Saama Veda was taught to Jaiminee and Atharva Veda was  taught to Sumantu.

The Vedas are known to be in four broad components: Samhithas (prayers/appellations to the Gods ), Braahmanam - the definition and codification of the different rituals; Aaranyakam - Incisively searching discussions of the Nature of theUltimate - Brahmam - and how the humans and the world relate with them; and Upanishads. This last part, represented by the 100 odd Upanishads, is perhaps so named because these were the result of open air academic laboratories consisting of very learned rishis and maharishis as teachers and highly intelligent and very austere Brahmacharis keen on learning and not hesitant to ask searching questions of their masters. 

1. Samhitas -  are the main part of the Vedas listing out various prayers to Gods, demi-gods and elements of nature. It also enumerates the sacrificial chantings. These are found composed in metrical form (chandas) in Rig Veda while they are in prose order in Yajur Veda. Saama Veda more or less adopts the Rik mantras but is found tuned to pleasing music. Atharva Veda is comprised of mantras dealing with life sciences like medicine, warfare etc.

2. Braahmanam - are like commentaries on the Vedas, prescribing in detail the proper performance of rituals. A total of 19 Brahmanas are extant (at least) in their entirety: two associated with the Rigveda, six with the Yajurveda, ten with the Saamaveda and one with the Atharvaveda. The Brahmanas also speak on the mythology, philosophy  of rituals of the Vedas. The Brahmanas assert that, if expressed correctly, the “Sruti” will never fail. The Brahmanas were seminal in the development of later Indian philosophical, scientific and spiritual thought and scholarship, including the Vedanta (philosophy), societal laws, astronomy, geometry, linguistics, the concept of Karma, or the four ashramas in life i.e. such as brahmacharya, grihastha, vaanaprastha and samnyasa. Some Brahmanas integrate into them sections that are Aaranyakas or Upanishads.

3. Aaranyakam - The Aranyakas are part of the “Sruti”;  they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the upanishads.. "Aranyaka" means "belonging to the wilderness" (araNya), that is, as taithireeya Aranyaka says, "from where one cannot see the roofs of the graama (village)". The term is translated as "Forest Books". The texts contain discussions and interpretations of rituals (to be studied outside the village i.e. in the forests).

4. Upanishads - The Upanishads are the concluding portions of the Vedas which discuss philosophical issues. One probable reason why these are called Vedanta. They contain the knowledge aspects of the Vedas. The philosophy of the Upanishads occupies the highest pedestal in Hindu spiritual realm. They speak about the identity of the Brahman, the individual soul, the Atman, the mutual relationship between the two, the Universe (jagat) and man’s place in it. In short, they deal with jIva, jagat and ISwara – the individual soul, the Universe and  God. Dr. Radhakrishnan puts it like this. “While the hymns or Samhitas are the creation of the poets, the Brahmanas are the work of the priests; the Upanishads are the meditations of the philosophers. The flow of thought from the Samhitas to Brahmanas to Aranyakas to Upanishads is the indication of the process of evolution of Hindu religion over the centuries”

Besides the Vedas, there are six auxillaries that aid to the proper understanding of the Vedas. They are called Vedaangaas.  Each deals with a different function with reference to the study of the “Srutis”: SikSha – phonetics (pronounciation and intonation); vyakarNa – grammer; nirukta – etymology (origin, root, meaning of the words in the “Sruti”; chandas – meter, rhyme, paada, etc. of the mantras – like anuShtup; thriShtup etc; jyothiSha – astronomical determination of the appropriate auspicious time for various rituals;  kalpa – codification of the various rituals.

UNESCO has proclaimed that the tradition of Vedic chant is a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Wayne Howard noted in the preface of his book, “Veda Recitation in Varanasi”, "The four Vedas are not 'books' in the usual sense; they are comprised rather of tonally accented verses and hypnotic, abstruse melodies whose proper realizations demand oral instead of visual transmission. They are robbed of their essence when transferred to paper, for without the human element, the innumerable nuances and fine intonations – inseparable and necessary components of all the four compilations – are lost completely. The ultimate authority in Vedic matters is never the printed page but rather the few who are today keeping the centuries-old traditions alive."