MUNDAKA UPANISHAD - 32. Swami Advayananda.

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6 Chapters (64 Mantras)

Chapter-2.

(Mantras - 23-32, 10 no.)

Section-1: THE SUPREME PURUSHA)

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Tuesday, 05 Se2 2023. 06:40.

3. THE SUPREME PURUSHA

(Mantras - 23-32, 10 no.)

Thus begins the first Section of the Second Canto.

32  Mantram -3.10: Brahman & Universe Are One

Post - 32.

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32 Mantram - 3.10: Brahman & Universe Are One

1 

Purusha evedam vishvam,  =  The Purusha alone is this entire Universe 

karma, tapo;  =  the sacrificial works and austerities;

2 

brahma para amritam;   =  This highest and immortal Brahman

3 

etad yo veda   = He who knows It as  

nihitam guhaayaam,  =  seated in the cavity of the heart,

4 

sah avidyaa granthim   =  unties the knot of ignorance 

vikirati iha, somya.  =   even here in this very life, O good-looking son.

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Commentary

1-2 

This concludes the chapter which now brings us to an understanding that the 

Supreme Purusha is most certainly That which not just sits at the “top of the pile”, but is 

verily the whole pile Itself. It was indeed a grand whirlwind tour of the Cosmos and all its 

major sectors and divisions – all in groups of sevens. 

There are two major groups of people, seeking two different sets of desires.

i) 

The Karma Kandis seek pleasure through Karma or actions on earth.

ii) 

The Karma-Upasakas seek a similar but more refined form of pleasure in heaven, 

with a strong basis of Dharma through striving for knowledge, excellence and talent.

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3-4 

However, the higher knowledge is not available through any of these means. 

That requires a very special sacrifice – the sacrifice of one’s Ego and discovering one’s true 

Self in the “cavity of his own heart”. To do that requires one to disentangle himself from the 

“knots” he has got into in attachments in the world.

That is the knowledge we are now ready to move on to.

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iti mundakopanishadi dviteeya mundake prathamah khandah.

Thus in the Mundaka Upanishad, ends the first Section of the Second Canto. 

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Next

4. PENETRATING BRAHMAN

(Mantras - 33-43, 11 no.)

dviteeya mundake dviteeyah khandah –

Here begins the second Section of the second Canto. 

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HERE WE HAVE SOME of the most sublime verses of the Upanishads that direct our 

mind towards union with the Supreme Brahman. The stage has been set in the last three 

Chapters for us to now move onto the runway of Para Vidya. Apara Vidya was extensively 

covered in the earlier Chapters with a view to showing us how inadequate it is in furthering 

our spiritual evolution. The dispassion gained by a study of that Vidya gives us an entry point 

into the Para Vidya which we are about to begin.

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Next

33 Mantram - 4.1: Brahman’s “Business Card

To be continued

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