The Essence of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad : 3. - Swami Krishnananda.

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Monday, May 05, 2021. 08:26. AM.
1.Introduction -3.
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The seers of the Upanishads were bent upon entering into the kernel of Reality by casting off all vestures which condition human life, and attaining a kind of attunement with it. The unconditioned was plumbed and experienced. So, in a way, we may say that the Upanishadic texts are records of exclamations and experiences of Masters who set themselves in tune with the ultimate Truth. Such are the Upanishads.

It is a very strange word, —‘Upanishad,’—which is supposed to mean a secret knowledge, not to be imparted to uninitiates or the common public who are wedded to the exoteric approach only, who are totally conditioned in their life, and who cannot rise above the bias of sense-life and social regulations. Hence, the Upanishadic wisdom was kept very secret. It was never given to anyone except the near disciples who went to the Masters for training and underwent discipline for a protracted number of years, and made themselves fit to receive this knowledge which is unconditioned. That was the greatness of it, and that was also the danger of it—because it is unconditioned.

The Upanishads, therefore, are mystical revelations, secret wisdom; and, as the word denotes, they are supposed to be listened to, heard about, or learnt from a Master by one’s being seated in front of him, beside him, near him—Upa-ni-shad. When the word Upa-ni-shad is split into its components, it is supposed to give the meaning: “A knowledge that is secretly obtained from a Master by one’s being seated near him in holy reverence and obedience.” “Sit near” ;—that is the literal meaning of the term, Upanishad. Sit near the Guru, the Master and receive the wisdom by attunement, at-one-ment of ‘being’. 

This is the peculiarity of Upanishadic knowledge. It is not like science or art or any other exoteric learning that one can have in a College or a University. It is not a lecture that is delivered, but a wisdom that is communicated to the soul by the soul. That is the speciality of Upanishadic wisdom. It is a communication between soul and soul, and not merely a discourse given by a professor to students in a College. It is a Light that is made to commingle with another Light. So, the Upanishads were kept as greatly guarded secrets.

The texts, known as the Upanishads, are spread out throughout the range of Vedic literature, and each section of the Veda has its own Upanishad or Upanishads. The Brihadaranyaka is the most important of them; it is very rarely studied by people and rarely discussed about. The ‘Brihadaranyaka Upanishad’ means the great forest of knowledge’. It is really a forest of every aspect of spiritual knowledge. One can find everything there, as one finds in a forest.

 And this Upanishad, particularly, is never studied by students, nor is it taught by tutors, because of its complicated structure, difficult to grasp, and not safe also to communicate if its meaning is not properly rendered. If its meaning is properly grasped, it would be the ultimate, unfailing friend of a person till death. It will guard you, protect you and save you, and provide you with everything, at all times. But if it is not properly understood, it can be like a sword in the hands of a child. 

So, this Upanishad has to be studied with great reverence and holiness of attitude, not as some book that you study in a library. It is not a book at all. It is Spirit that manifests itself, and not merely a word that is spoken. Such is the Upanishad, the Brihadaranyaka.

To be continued ,,,,

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