KAIVALYA UPANISHAD: “The Homogeneity of Brahman” -3. Reflections: Swami Gurubhaktananda:

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Monday 20, October 2025, 19;39.           
KAIVALYA UPANISHAD: “The Homogeneity of Brahman” 
from the Atharva Veda: 

26 Mantras: 

Reflections:  Swami Gurubhaktananda: 

Swami Advaitananda on the Series of 8 Lectures:  . of the 15th Batch Sandeepany Vedanta Course held at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai, Mumbai: From 23rd November – 30th November 2012.

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Mantram - 2:  Equipment For the Journey: 

7. 

tasmai sa hovaacha pitaamahashcha = To him the Grandsire, Brahma, said:

8.

shraddhaa-bhakti-dhyaana = Faith, devotion and meditation,

yogaad avaihi. = by a combination of these you may know (the goal).

7. 

Pitaa-Mahaa: Brahmaji is called “Grandfather” due to the following reason: Welive in a world of subtle and gross objects. Our father, whence we came, is Hiranyagarbha,the first born among all created things and beings. His father is Ishwara or Brahmaji.

Brahmaji, seeing the intense desire for knowledge and the evident humility of thegreat Aashvalaayana, is obliged by the scriptural injunctions to relieve his anxietyimmediately by teaching him the divine knowledge.

8. 

To this end, Brahmaji begins with the threefold equipment needed to make thisdifficult spiritual journey:

i) Shraddha: “faith”. 

Its formal definition is “that faculty of the human intellect whichpermits on trust the absorption of the Guru’s or scriptural declarations for further reflectionand understanding of their deeper imports; till such time when they are assimilated into thevery texture of the intellect.”

On the first leg of the journey, namely, Sravana or listening to the instructions fromone’s Guru, Shraddha is the most essential equipment needed.

Faith is Astika Buddhi or a positive receptivity towards the knowledge desired. Itwants to know and build on the knowledge being received. It is a willingness to give one’sfull co-operation towards making the knowledge come to fruition in oneself. There is noinclination to reject the knowledge on any grounds whatsoever, but to take it faithfully andpursue it honestly to the very end. What the Guru says is taken as being the truth; anyshortcoming is considered by the student to be in himself, not in the knowledge received.

That is the spirit needed to begin the journey.

ii) Bhakti:  “devotion”. 

This is love that is directed towards the higher ideal strived for. “The temple of love is ever in the heart,” says Pujya Gurudev. The disciple cherishes and loves, relishes and values what comes from the Guru. He repeatedly ponders over and treats with great care what he hears from his Guru. It is in this context that love for the person of the Guru develops automatically. Devotion to the ideal is seen in devotion to the representative of that ideal. On the second leg of the journey, namely, Mananaor reflecting on the teachings, Bhakti is the most essential equipment needed. In this stage, the student gets all the nuts and bolts of his intellect checked out. All his doubts are cleared by doing Self-enquiry, and loving application to this task is the most essential means to do so. 

iii) Dhyana: 

This is meditation on the teachings. The student, having thoroughly checked and overhauled all the parts of his intellect and made it roadworthy for his spiritual journey, is now ready to ‘hit the road’ by practicing meditation. The actual journey starts at this point, with a good roadworthy vehicle – the intellect – at his disposal. 

On this third leg of his journey, called Nididhyasana, or contemplation of the Self, Dhyana is the most important equipment needed. 

The ability to focus one’s mind and bring to bear upon it all its energy singlepointedly is called Dhyana. It is an absorbing practice and requires total focus of mind from the practitioner. 

Yoga: “union”. 

This is the Destination of the journey. The student is heading for Yoga or complete union with the Self, unbroken abidance in the Self, dissolution of the Triputis or the triad of knower-known-knowledge. This goal is called Samadhiin general, although it has many specifics when looked at in detail. 

By asking his disciple to “know this”, the Guru summarises the whole journey to disciple at the very outset. The disciple is left in no doubt as to what is required of him. The ball is now in the disciple’s court. The knowing has to be done by the student. There is no short-cut to it. It is not just listening that will get us there; actual ‘spiritual travelling’ is needed to reach it.  

How is that to be done? More directions as to this follow...

9. 

na karmanaa na prajayaa dhanena = Not by work, nor by progeny, nor by wealth, but

10.tyaagena eke amritatwam aanashuh; = by renunciation alone, Immortality is attained. 

9-10

 The usual means by which we get things done in the world – namely, through work, through family members and through wealth – are eliminated here for the attainment spiritual goals. For both the paths that are listed in the next section, the common accepted means is RENUNCIATION. Only the degree of renunciation varies in the two paths.

The practice of renunciation for each goal is different. This is explained clearly in the next section. The two pathways to make the spiritual journey to the Ultimate are now given. 

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Next

2.  ATTAINMENT OF GOALS:  (Mantras 3b-7,  4 no.) 
Continues

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