Upanishads : "The cream of Vedas"

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2.  MANTRAM-6. { Liberation  is  their's  who  gain  clear  understanding}  Discussion-2. "a  matter  of  experience  ( nishta )  is  needed  to  complete  the  study  of  the  Upanishads....." Hence,  a  personal  study  of  the  scripture   may  not  be  always   sufficient  to  help  the   Sadhaka to  go  beyond  the  literary  meaning  of  the  language  used,  and  reach  the  realms  of  Truth  indicated  by  the  language  texts. To  a  large  extent,   a  matter  of  experience  ( nishta )    is  needed  to  complete  the  study  of  the Upanishad-s. Hence  it...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2.  MANTRAM-6. { Liberation  is  their's  who  gain  clear  understanding} Discussion-1. "Suniscit-arthah -( Having  well  ascertained )".... : - There  is  a  difficulty  in  understanding  correctly  the  scriptures. Though  many  of  the  mantra-s  are  obviously  clear,  the  exact  meaning   is  very  deep  and  naturally,  very  difficult  to  grasp. This  should  be  so,  because  the  Upanishad-s  are  the  best  literature  in  the  world  that  have  successfully   explained  or  defined,  the  inexplicable  or  the  indefinable  Infinite,  it  could  not  have  been  because  of  the ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2.  MANTRAM-6. { Liberation  is  their's  who  gain  clear  understanding} Vedanta-vijnana-sunischit-arthah sannyasa-yogad  yatayah  suddha-sattvah, te  brahma-lokeshu  paranta-kale paramartah  pari-mucyanti  sarve. vedanta-vijnana  =  knowledge  of  Upanishads; sunschit-arthah  =  having  well  ascertained; sannyasa-yogat  =  with  yoga  of  renunciation  ( i.e,  by  a  life  of  striving  and  renunciation); yatayah  =  all  anchorites,  renunciates  i.e,  sages; suddha-sattvah  =  purified; te  =  they; brahma-lokeshu  =  in  the  world  of  Brahmam; paranta-kale  =  at  the  tie  of  death  ( i.e,  of  illumination) pa...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-5. { Description  of  attaining  Brahmam.} Discussion-5. "Seeker  rediscovers  himself  as  PURE  AWARENESS"... In  the  world  of  pots  the  spittoon-pot-space  covets  the  luck  and  glory  of  the  sugar-pot-space! On  realizing,  "I  am  Pure  Space"  even  the  very  stuff  of  the  spittoon-pot  and  sugar-pot  are  realized  to  exist   but  "In  Me,  the  Eternal  Space." Even  the  wretched  spittoon-pot-space   can  come  to  experience  the  contact  its  immediate  oneness  with  the  Space  everywhere! Similarly,  when  the  seeker  by  rejecting  his  identification...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-5. { Description  of  attaining  Brahmam.} Discussion-4. "Supreme  awareness...." Naturally,  in  that sense  of  complete  fulfilment  there  cannot  be  any  desire;  and  when  desires  have  subsided,  there  in  that  bosom,  peace  must  necessarily  come  to  reign!! Supreme  Awareness,  when  it  gets  identified  with  a  particular  body,  mind  and  intellect,  becomes  in  its  new  born  vanity  a  finite  and  suffering  mortal-soul  called  the  Ego. When  the  ego  renounces  all  its  identifications  with  its  enveloping  wrappers  of   matter,   it  regains ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-5. { Description  of  attaining  Brahmam.} Discussion-3. "State  of  krt-akrtyata" ...... Krt-akrtyata,  meaning  "Their  purpose  is  fulfilled": ( second line first term of this mantram ) - Life  is  a  struggle  and  an  agitation,  because,  each  one  of  us  haas  at  every  moment  an  honest  regret  at  not  having  fulfilled  ourselves  in  one  or  the  other  of  our  endless  desires  and  plans. A  complete  sense  of  fulfilment  would  be  reached  when  all  our  desires  dry  up  and  all  our  plans  end. This  state  of  "Krt-akrtyaya" ---  yielding  for  us  a ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-5. { Description  of  attaining  Brahmam.}  Discussion-2. "Herein  the  beggar  is  satisfied  in  the  very  knowledge  of  his  new  identity  and  its  corresponding  status  in  life." The  seeker  having  realized  the  Self  becomes  completely  satisfied  in  his  own  knowledge  of  his  rediscovered  Self-hood. A  beggar  in  the  street  was  by  accident  discovered  to  be  the  only  surviving  member  of  a  family  of  chieftains  who  ruled  a  neighbouring  tribe. The  mere  discovery  of  himself  to  be  no  more  the  beggar,  homeless  a...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-5. { Description  of  attaining  Brahmam.} Discussion-1. "Last two  mantra-s  explained  that  realisation of Self  is  very  difficult- if  so  why  go  for  that  .... this  is  answered  in  this  mantram" If,  as  we  have  been  told  in  the  last  two  mantra-s,  the  realisation  of  the  Self  is  so  very  difficult  and  the  technique  of  accomplishing  it  is  so  delicate  and  exacting,  a  doubt  may  arise  in  the  minds  of  the  uninitiated  as  to  why  they  should,  after  all,  launch  themselves  into  such  a  danger-ridden  pilgr...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-5. { Description  of  attaining  Brahmam.} "Sampra-pyainam-rsayo  jnana-trptah krtatmano  vita-ragah  prasantah, te  sarvagam  sarvatah  prapya  dhira yuktat-manah  sarva-mava-visanti." samprapya  =  having  attained; enam  =  this  ( the Self ); rsayah  =  sages; jnana-trptah  =  satisfied  with  knowledge  (  and  not  left  with  longing  for  anything  else ); krt-atmanah  =  with  their  purposes  fulfilled; vita-ragah  =  free  from  attachment; prasantah  =  peaceful; te  =  they; sarvagam  =  all  pervading  ( Brahmam ); sarvatah  =  everywhere; prapya  =  having  attained; dhirah  =  the  wise; yukta-atmana...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-11. "Summation  ..." Just  as  in  the  previous  mantram,  the  scripture  here  not  only  denies  and  refutes  any  succee  to  foolish  and  stupid  methods  but  also  at  the  same  time  in  all  kindness  points  out  the  right  path  and  the  correct  methods  of  Self-Perfection. Here  Mother  Sruti  promises  sure  success  to  all  those  who  are  healthy  in  body,  intellect  and  spirit,  and  who  have  the  necessary  amount  of  discriminative  understanding  to  differentiate  the ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-10. "linga  ....continued )" Every  intelligent  young  man  today,  who  has  a  wide-awakened  discriminative  intellect,  and  who  lives  the  world  of  his  circumstances  and  imotions  intelligently,  has  all  the  equipments  necessary  for  being  taught  the  ideal  way  of  living  in  self-control  and  healthy  self-denial. When  such  awakened  intellects  pursue  a  life  of  renunciation  and  self-sacrifice,  with  a  view  to  gaining  a  greater  amount  of  self-mastery,  their   'tapas'   becomes  certainly ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-9. "linga  ....continued )" The   linga    here  does  not,  therefore,  mean  the  colour  of  the  robes  or  the  condition  of  hair  on  the  head  or  the  kind  of  utensils  or  the  mattress  used. In  short,  it  is  not  the  external  symbols  of      'Sanyasin'   ,  as  some  would  have  it. In  the  days  of  the  scriptures,  the  Rishi-s  placed  a  greater  emphasis  upon  the  mental  and  intellectual  conditions  and  qualities  in  a  seeker  than  upon  the  mere ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-8. "linga  ....continued )" 'Sruti'  here  is  thus  using  the  term  'linga'  in  its  largest  scope  of  its  implication. Or  else,  we  will  have  to  accept  the  modern   brahmanik  interpretation  and  understand  the  mantram  to  mean  that  even  intelligent   tapascharya  has  no  spiritualizing   force  unless  the  one  performing  the  austerities  is  clothed  in  the  ochre  robes  or  has  a   shaven  head   or  carries  a  kamandalu  or  conversely,   it  would  mean  that  if  one ...

                                                                     Sivalingam MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion - 7. "linga  .... to  be  continued " "Linga"  means,  in  fact,  a  symbol  or  sign  at  the  sight  of  which  an  awakened  intelligence  can  deduce  certain  reliable  truths. Seeing  some  smoke  rising  from  the  valleys  of  a  distant  hill  any  sensible  man  will  deduce  that  there  is  fire. Here  smoke  is  the   "linga"     from  which ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-6. "unintelligent  Pandita-s....." "Alingat"  : - { Second line last term of  this  mantram }   On  this  term,    "without  proper   'linga' -" a  massive  structure  of  ugliness  has  come  to  be  built  upon  in  our  culture  by   'unintelligent  pandita-s'   who  has  come  to  prepare  in  it  the  very  'tomb'  of  true  Hinduism !! Recently  I  had  received  a  mail  from  a  pandita   some  where  in  UP,  who,  of  course,  had  not  the  guts  to  give  his  true  profile  himself,  but  raised ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-5. "Excessive  austerity  ...." Again,  excessive  austerity  such  as  too  many  fasts, too  many  sleepless  nights , very  long  and  painful  pilgrimages, endurance-feats  in  the  puja-rooms  etc., are  all  undertaken  and  diligently  pursued  by  some  aspirants  in  the   hope  of  gathering  a  large  return  of  spiritual  development,   in  a  very  short  period,  at  compound  interest! The  Science  of  Self-Perfection   denies  all  such  blitz  movements  any  chance  at  all  in  storming  the  citadel...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-4. "Neither  by  mere  excitement ....." "Neither  by  mere  excitement  nor  by  tapas  without  *linga*  can  one  hope  to  climb  the  ladder  of  Spirituality." : - After  meeting  a  great  Master  or  soon  after  listening  to  great  discourse,  one  may  get  his  enthusiasm  fired  up  to  take  certain  hasty  decisions   on  renunciation  and  sacrifice.   But  this  temporary  warmth  of  Spirituality  cannot  sustain  itself,  but  will  soon  cool  itself  down  to  an  ineffectual  luke-warm  ...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." }  Discussion-3. "Weak  in  spirits..... "Weak  in  Spirit" means  weak  in  the  steady  pursuit  and  faith. He  who  is  still  in  delusions  and  yet  seeking  spiritual  progress  only  to serve  as  a  handle  to  life,  certainly  would  be  weak  in  intellect,  mind  and  body  judged  from  the  spiritual  standards  of  perfection. Again  in  a  blind  over-enthusiasm,  if  any  fool  hopes  to  scramble  up  the  alters  of  Spiritual  perfection  through  self-persecution  and  severe  tapascarya,  he  agai...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion-2." Some  more  misconceptions ..."" READ CAREFULLY  AND  ASSIMILATE  CLEARLY VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE! "The  majority  of  seekers  have  a  great  belief  that  a  seeker  should  be  an  almost  useless  individual  in  society,  an  utter  failure  in  life, and  a  cursed  desperado,  who  had  more  disappointments  in  life  than  successes!" Again,  they  have  an  idea  that  any  amount  of  spasmodic,  irregular,  unintelligent  and  excessive  austerities  are  good  for  spiritual  progress. 3. "There  is  yet  another  ver...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Discussion : 1. The  technique  of  negation  used...... The  technique  of  negation  used  in  the  previous  mantram  is  continued  here  also. Earlier,  in  removing  some  of  the  ordinary  misconceptions,  the  scripture  declares  that  the   Supreme  Truth  cannot  be  realised  by  mere  discourses  nor  by  memorising,  nor  by  repeated  hearing. Here,  the  Sruti  again  denies  some  more  of  the  ordinary  misconceptions  about  the  Life  Divine. Next : Discussion-2." Some  more  misconceptions ..." To be continued ....

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-4.  { "Other  means  of  Self-realisation." } Nayam-atma  bala-hinena  labhyo na  ca  pramadat  tapaso  va' py-alingat, etair-upayair-yatate  yastu  vidvan tasyaisa  atma  visate  brahma-dhama. na  =  not; ayam  =  this; atma  =  Paramatma; bala-hinena  =  by  the  weak  ( in  spirit ); labhyah  =  is  attained; na  =  not; ca  =  and; pramadat  =  insincerity,  careless-ness; tapasah  =  from  penances,  austerities; va  =  or; api  =  and; alingat  = ( literal  meaning - without  proper  sign ),  improper,  unintelligent; etaih  =  by  these; upayaih  =  practices,  means; yatate  =  strives; y...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-3.{ "Foremost  means  of  Self-realisation  seeking  the  Self  alone." } Discussion- 6. "Summation"... 1. "To  Swami Adi  Sri  Sankaracharya,  Godhood  is  an  ascent  of  human  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  his  revolutionizing  possibility!" 2. "To  Sri  Ramanujacharya  and  Sri  Madhvacharya,  God  descends  into  the  human  and  by  His   Divine  Touch   of  Grace  divinizes  the  individual  devotee!"  In  fact,  whether  the  river   "reaches"   the  ocean  or  the  ocean " receives"      the  river,  the  effect  is  the  same. Truth  remains  uncontradicted. {...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-3.{ "Foremost  means  of  Self-realisation  seeking  the  Self  alone." } Discussion-5. "In  order  to  make  it  clear  the  details  are  given  below"   Meaning  interpreted  by : 1. Word :- Yam - Advaitin interprets -"Which Atma" & Dvaitin  interprets -"Whom," 2.   "       - Yesa -            "                   - "This  aspirant"   &            "             - "God." Thus  according  to  the  Advaitin,  "which  Atma  this  aspirant  longs  to  gain,"  and  according  to  Dvaitin,  it  would  mean,  "The  aspirant  whom  the  Go...

MUNDAKOPANISHAD CHAPTER-3. SECTION-2. MANTRAM-3.{ "Foremost  means  of  Self-realisation  seeking  the  Self  alone." } Discussion-4. "The  Rishi-s  say  that  the  Self  can  be  gained  ....." If  none  of  these  accredited  methods  of  knowledge -- such  as  extensive  reading,  intense  study,  and  perfect  tution  --- can  make  us  realise  this  Supreme  Knowledge  and  take  us  to  the  spiritual  perfection,  does  it  amount  to  saying  that  Sruti - declarations  are  but  beautiful  paintings  of  an  unrealisable,  though  perfect  utopia? **"In  the  second  part  of  the  mantram  this  doubt  comple...