AITAREYA UPANISHAD - “By a Peasant for the Peasant” : Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya

 

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Tuesday 30, Sep 2025, 20:11.
AITAREYA UPANISHAD: 
“By a Peasant for the Peasant” :  
Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya 

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Series of 10 Lectures:
Acharyaji, 15th Batch Vedanta Course  

 SWAMI ADVAYANANDAJI 
February 15th – February 23rd,  2013 

Reflections: 

SWAMI GURUBHAKTANANDA

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AITAREYA UPANISHAD 
3 Parts, 6 Chapters, 33 No. Mantras 
“By a Peasant for the Peasant” 
by Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya 

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Note: The Peace Invocation which is usually chanted at the start of a text has been placed at the end as Chapter Six, in accordance with the manner in which Sri Shankaracharyaji has placed it; it is thus considered to be part of the Upanishad itself. 

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INTRODUCTION: The Source of Aitareya Upanishad: 

THIS UPANISHAD IS FROM one of the Rig Vedic Brahmanas. It is an Aranyaka (an introductory Upanishad) composed within the Aitareya Brahmana. The first three chapters of this Brahmana deal with the Karma Kanda. The next three chapters (4, 5 and 6), dealing with knowledge of the Self or the Jnana Kanda, form this Upanishad.  

These three chapters are referred to here as Parts 1, 2 and 3. Part 1 is sub-divided into three chapters, namely, Chapters 1 to 3. Parts 2 and 3 have just one chapter each, namely, Chapters 4 and 5. Sri Shankaracharyaji considers the Shanti Mantra sufficiently important to warrant being called another chapter, i.e. Chapter 6. Putting these six chapters together, he calls this text “Atma Shatka” (Shat = six). 

The Author of Aitareya Upanishad:

This is one of the few Upanishads whose author is known to us. The Rishi’s name is Rishi Maheedasa Aitareya. The Rishi’s mother was Itara, which means “the other one”, presumably because she was the ‘other’ wife of the Brahmana, Vishaala. There is an anecdote concerning this circumstance in the life of the young Maheedasa.

The 5-year old boy was not allowed to sit on his father’s lap during a Havan ceremony, presumably because his mother was the ‘other’ wife. This disturbed the mother, a potter-woman, who then prayed to Goddess Earth for a solution. The Goddess appeared, placed the boy in a celestial seat, probably intending to show that it was superior to the father’s lap. Not only did the Goddess elevate the boy’s physical status in this manner, but She also elevated his mind by teaching him Divine Wisdom. The boy grew up to become a great Rishi, and acquired the name ‘Maheedasa’ meaning “servant of Mother Earth”.

The Rishi (Seer) Maheedasa did not forget his humble origin. He had a great love for the common people. He served the cause of his downtrodden community within which he had grown up. This Upanishad is recognized for its special appeal to the common man. Thus the Rishi promoted Vedic culture ‘from his hut in the slum’ to the peasants in his poor, sidelined community. 

The Style of Aitareya Upanishad:

A word has to be said about the unique style of this Upanishad when compared to the others. Due to the bakground of its author, it is described as the “scripture for the common man”. The scripture is intimately related to life, bringing life to a philosophy that may have appeared as ‘dead’ to many who could not grasp the intricacies of Upanishadic wisdom as expressed by more scholarly writers of the time. There is a note of dynamism in it, there is 

tenderness and love in its lines, and it is woven around a theme common to all people. The essence of the style is to allow the reader freedom to interpret the text in his own manner. There is no rigidity in the statements. As it appeals to one’s emotions to a large extent, it lends itself to a wide range of interpretations. There is a tinge of humour in the narration of some parts. There is also an appeal to our sense of wonder and amazement when portions on how creation proceeded are narrated. 

The style is entertaining, indeed, and the student may wonder at times whether he has drifted away somehow from its serious purpose or not. But soon and suddenly he gets jolted back into the spiritual realm in the midst of the most divergent of thought chains. We need to have an open mind, a flare for imagination, a good sense of humour and be able to think “out of the box”. Depending on these we can make the intellectual leap with the Rishi, as well as enjoy the ride with him!

The Theories on Creation:

There are many “Theories of Creation”. As far as the Upanishads are concerned, all of them are encouraged, the more the merrier. None of them are claimed to be the “only true” theory. The Upanishadic view, after all, is that it is an unreal world. How can there be a true theory for a false world? The purpose of all creation theories in the Upanishads is to point to the Ultimate Reality beyond the unreality of this world. That is where theUpanishads are trying to take us. They are not interested in teaching us more about the world.

In the light of this, the theory presented here is ‘yet another one’ – perhaps a rather unusual one. The whole approach is very subtle and probing all the time. It makes the reader think and imagine at every moment. It may be correct to say that the theory put forward in this Upanishad is the most flexible of all, totally different from others we have come across so far, and very entertaining indeed. 

The Tattwa Bodha and Vedanta Sara theories, based as they are on Tanmatras, elements and complex Panchikarana reactions, create a picture in our mind of a Cosmic Chemical Plant in which the atoms and molecules for this world are manufactured. In contrast to these ‘Industrial’ theories, the one given here has a more homely atmosphere. It gives the picture of creation emerging out of a Cosmic Maternity Ward, with objects being born out of sheer imagination, intention and passion. 

The theory presented here will greatly appeal to mothers in society, who must be feeling very left out in the rather ‘masculine’ theories given elsewhere. In Aitareya Upanishad parents are at the heart of the creation process; not ‘hard hat’ industrial workers! Here we have something more familiar to us, something we can relate to. We feel much more comfortable at home than in a chemical factory.

So much only in the Introduction; the taste has to be experienced in the text itself!

A Note on the Lengthy Introduction in the Shankara BhashyaThe Shankara Bhashya for this smallest of Upanishads is the lengthiest. Acharyaji helped us by giving us the gist of it:

The Karma and Upasana portions that precede this Upanishad (in the Aitareya Brahmana mentioned above), hold out certain goals for those who practice them. In order to correct the error that those goals are the ultimate goal of life and that the Jnana Path can thus be avoided, the Bhashya presents a number of arguments from the standpoint of a Poorvapakshi (an objector or opponent), refuting each one with clearcut logic. 

For instance, the first objector asks how is it known that the Jnana Vidya holds out a goal that is superior to the Karma Kanda. Sri Shankaracharyaji deals with this by saying that the phenomenal world is subject to hunger and thirst, the appeasement of which is one of the fruits of the earlier Karma Kanda. The supreme Brahman transcends these needs of hunger and thirst, so it is a higher goal. 

That is just the start. The objectors go on to argue that the two portions should be kept together. Not only that, they even argue that to pre-qualify for the knowledge of the Self, one has to go via the Karma and Upasana Kanda, making it compulsory to practice the rituals prescribed by them. This would be very good ‘business’ for the pundits. 

Sri Shankaracharyaji is very strong on the need to separate them. The key factor that separates the two paths is renunciation,and Sri Shankara adheres to the Shruti which says, “The day you have true Vairagya, that very day you should renounce.” He is explicit in saying that one need not go through Karma Kanda in order to pre-qualify for knowledge. 

The objectors’ main argument is: “Why can Sannyasa (renunciation) not be practised from home?” To this Sri Shankara makes a counter suggestion: “If it makes no difference to you then why not go to the forest to practice it?” 

Realising that at the root of the objectors’ mind is the fear of losing their hold on worldly pleasures and worldly ‘customers’, Sri Shankara argues directly with them: “It is totally useless for a Vairagi to remain at home. It serves no purpose. The man has gone beyond the needs of the flesh. Why should he stay on at home? You are merely afraid that you will lose all the comforts to which you are attached.” 

Sri Shankara’s stand comes from his own life’s experience. He was exceptionally fearless. He abandoned home at the age of seven, and plunged into the Unknown. His mother had reluctantly allowed it.  By the age of twelve he had begun writing his commentaries. He knew exactly what was going through the objector’s mind. They could not fool him. 

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Next

PART 1: Chapter - 1,   4 mantras 

The Theory of CREATION:

continue

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