Upanishads : "The cream of Vedas"

Swami Chinmayananda early photo MANDUKYA UPANISHAD INTRODUCTION-4. It  is  also  true  that  in  between  rains  when  the  frogs  together  sit  up  and  croak  their  throats  out,  as  it  were,  in  non-stop  palpitations,  the  folks  of  the  world  have  come  to  expect  a  greater  shower  of  tearful  rains  to  descend  upon  the  melancholy  fields. Similarly,  in  life,  through  conscious  and  unconscious  misdeeds,  when  men  as  a  community  of  misguided  enthusiasts  come  to  slip  down  to  the  morass  of  world  problems,  there  is  always  a  descent   of  God-men...

Children recitation-Satsangam-Chinmaya Mission-California-USA. MANDUKYA UPANISHAD INTRODUCTION-3. The  nearest  to  the  frog,  then,  in  these  aspects  is  a  true  Mahatma  in  his  physical  habit  and  behaviour  in  life. If  he  is  a  true  one,  he  lives  away  from  crowd  in  some  unknown  valley  of  the  Himalaya-s  and  lives  there  in  meditation  reveling  himself  upon  himself; these  men  of  perfection  in  their  self-centred  seclusion  live  all  alone  the  life  meditation : by  themselves  in  themselves. During  the  rainy  season  ( Caturmasya )  they  come  out  into  the  world ...

Very early photo of Swami Cinmayananda MANDUKYA UPANISHAD INTRODUCTION-2. "Mandukya"  is  a  word  in  Samskrtam  meaning  'Frog.' So  Mandukya  Upanishad  would  becomen  'froggish' scripture,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  use  such  a  word. The  reason,  why  of  all  the  creatures,  this  particular  creature,  frog,  has  been  given  this  great  dignity  as  to  be  in  the  very  title  of  the  Upanishad,  was  explained  to  me  by  a    Mahatma,  and  his  words  were,  indeed,  very  appealing  both   to  the  head  and  heart. The  explanation  is  as  follows : - Frog  is  an  ...

Swami Chinmayananda- MANDUKYA UPANISHAD INTRODUCTION-1. The  Mandukya  Upanishad  is  the  shortest  amongst  the  principal  UPANISHAD-S  having  just  12 mantra-s  but  presents  the  quintessence  of  our  entire  UPANISHADIK  teaching. It  analyses  the  entire  range  of  human  consciousness  in  the  three  states  of  waking  ( Jagrat ),  dream  ( Svapna ),  and  dreamless  sleep  ( Susupti ) which  are  common  to  all  men,  women, and  children. It  asserts  unequivocally  that  the  Absolute  Reality  is  non-dual  ( Advaita )  and  attributeless  ( Nirguna ). It  has  a  unique  method  of  approach  to  Truth. It ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-11. { Conclusion of  this  Upanishad } Discussion-4. "that  this  the  Truth"...       Thus,  according  to  Sri Swami  Adi  Sankaracharya,  this  construction  of  the  Rishi-s  is  to  indicate  that  the  theory  of  the  Vedantam  has  been  now  brought  within  the  penumbra  of  the  student's  understanding. The  statement  "that  this  is  the  Truth"  is  only  a  direct  statement  by  the  Rishi  to  indicate  to  the  student  that  he  has  explained  all  that  has  to  be  explained,  and  that  there  is  nothing ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-11. { Conclusion of  this  Upanishad } Discussion-3. Back to "This  and  That"..    So  far  the  theory  and  discussions  were  about  a  goal  of  life,  pointed  at  a  distance,  to  be  achieved  by  the  seeker,  and  so,  naturally,  it  is  to  be  pointed  out  by  the  pronoun"that"  : Here  in  the  Upanishad  we  have  the  statement  that  "this"  meaning  the  goal  that  was  pointed  as  Utopia,  which  has  now  become  so  near  to  us  in  our  intellectual  grasp  as  to  be  pointed  out  by  ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-11. { Conclusion of  this  Upanishad }  Discussion-2. "Tat  Tvam  Asi" ..... Part-2 Seeking  thus for  a  goal  of  life,  that  seeker  reaches  the  steps  of  his  Master's  asramam. Naturally,  his  question  can  only  be,  "Is  there  not,  O  Master,  a  possibility  of  an  existence  which  is  Eternal  and  Infinite,  which  is  divine  and  blissful,  which  is  perfect  and  satisfying?" To  this  query,  the  Master's  answer  throughout  this  Upanishad  is  "Tat  Tvam  Asi" ---  "That  Thou  Art" --- meaning,  that  which  you  are ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-11. { Conclusion of  this  Upanishad } Discussion-2. "Tat  Tvam  Asi" ..... Part-1. A disciple  reaches  a  Master  after  living  a  life  of  perfect  vitality,  intense  appetite,  full  awareness,  and  insatiable  thirst. Inspite  of  his  brilliant  of  his  brilliant  and  full  living  of  the  varied  circumstances  in  life,  he  comes  to  discover  that  among  the  impermanent,  he  cannot  hope  to  gain  a  joyous  state  of  the  permanency  and  peace. . Next : Discussion-2. "Tat  Tvam  Asi" ..... Part-2 To be continued  ..... MATHRU-PUJA -IN CHINMAYA MISSION ( CHILDREN...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-11. { Conclusion of  this  Upanishad } Discussion-1. "That"  and  "This"  ...... "That  and  This" : -   It  is  very  often  a  peculiar  usage  in  the  Upanishads,  which  is  nowhere  else  so  frequently  seen  in  the  entire  Smskrtam  literature. And  whenever  such  a  usage  comes  up  in  the  Upanishads,  Sri  Swami  Adi  Sankaracharya  is  never  tried  of  repeating  the  meaning  in  it  which  is  very  significant,  since  it  declares  in  itself  the  very  technique  of  Vedantham  ---  the  most  practical  religion ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-11. { Conclusion of  this  Upanishad } Tad-etat  satyam-rsir-angirah  purovaca naitad-acirna-vrato-dhite, namah  parama-rsibhyo namah  parama-rsibhyah. tat  =  that; etat  =  this; satyam  =  the  truth; rsih-angirah  =  Rishi  named  Angira; pura   =  in  ancient  times; uvaca  =  said; na  =  not; etat  =  this; acirna-vratah  =  who  has  not  observed  any  vow  ( renunciation ); adhite  =  study, namah  =  salutations; parama-rsibhyo  =    to  the  great  sages; namah  =  ( our )  prostrations ( Sashtanga-namaskaram-s ); parama-rsibhyah  =  to  the  great ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-10. { Instructions  on  transfer  of  this  Supreme  Wisdom}. Discussion-15. "Summation....." A  modern  translator  makes  an  intelligent  guess  that  this  may  be  a  reference  to  the  Sannyasa  ceremony  and  his  guess  seems  to  have  another  support  in  the  suggestive  meaning  of  the  very  name  of  the  Upanishad   ---  Mundaka,  which  indicates  the  shaving  of  the  head.* This  too  is  gross  and  ugly  meaning  read  into  a  beautifully  scientific  statement  of  the  Rishi-s. Thus,  to  all  those  who  have ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD     CHAPTER-3.     SECTION-2.    Mantram-10. { Instructions  on  transfer  of  this  Supreme  Wisdom}. Discussion-14. "an  intellect  that  is  on - fire" .....   This,  in  fact,  can  only  be  a  figurative  expression  to  explain  that  a  student  of  the  Upanishads must  have  a  burning  desire  to  intellectually  grasp  the  meaning  of  the  panorama  of  life. Only  an  intellect  that  is  on-fire,  demanding  to  know  immediately  a  way  out  or  an  escape  from  the  realised  limitations  of  life,  that  can  ever  hope  to  understand  and  live  the ...