The Bhagavad Gita is among the world's greatest works of sacred literature. It is a portion of the larger Sanskrit work, The Mahabharata which tells the story of the dynastic struggle between the Kaurava and Pandava princes, all members of an extended family. The Gita recounts a critical episode in that struggle in which he two dynasties are preparing to face one another in an epic battle. It recounts the dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna. Arjuna, seeing his family members -- on both sides -- arrayed for battle becomes paralyzed with grief and foreboding of the senseless carnage that is about to occur. Whereupon, Krishna excoriates him for his weakness. In the course of the dialogue, Krishna discusses three forms of yoga: jnana (wisdom), karma (action), and bhakti (devotion). His message is essentially that Arjuna duty is to perform the actions that are appropriate to his station as a warrior and that the death and suffering that is about to occur does not touch the true self or selves of the warriors. What is essential about us is eternal. The climax of the dialogue comes in the eleventh chapter when Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna as God. This chapter is, to me, the very highest expression of mystical monotheism ever set down in verse.
There are countless English translations of The Gita. The translation contained in this volume is by Edwin Arnold, the illustrious English journalist/orientalist. His most famous work is The Light of Asia, a biography of the Buddha. Originally published in 1885, Arnold's Gita is a fine example of Victorian poetry. It is perhaps not the most literal translation of the original Sanskrit Gita, but it's poetic sensibility makes for exhilarating reading.
There is much that is contradictory in The Gita. So much so, that an unguided reading can be quite confusing. Here is where Franklin Edgerton's introductory essay on The Gita, included in this volume, provides excellent help. Edgerton is at pains to explain that The Gita is first and foremost a poetical work and that the requirements of consistency that we expect from an academic treatise do not apply. Consequently, we read Krishna's praise of all three types of yoga, with only a general sense that karma yoga is thought by the author to be the highest form of yoga; however, this may only be due to the fact that Arjuna, the primary audience of the treatise, is a warrior who, as a warrior, is expected to act.
For Edgerton, The Gita offers us an opportunity to compare the virtues of all three types of yoga. Jnana yoga is the path to spiritual liberation that involves a thorough intellectual understanding of reality. It is usually practiced by those who retire into meditation and religious study. In contrast, karma yoga is the path to spiritual liberation that involves embracing an active role in the great unfolding of worldly affairs. There is, however, an important cautionary message in Krishna's advice. While jnana yoga fails -- for Arjuna -- to fulfill his proper role in life and lead to liberation, one can easily mis-tread the path of karma yoga by becoming to passionately involved in the results of action. Karma yoga requires that the actor perform his or her duty without regard to the results. One must act of the sake of the proper action and not for a practical end. Karma yoga, properly pursued, includes the kind of dispassion that is characteristic of the reclusive jnana yogi. There are passages in The Gita which also praise bhakti yoga which has become the predominate form of Hindu worship. It involves an unrestrained love and devotion to God, in this case Vishnu or Krishna as he is manifested in The Gita.
Anyone interested in the religious tradition(s) of India must, by all means, read and become familiar with The Bhagavad Gita. It is a short and easily finished work, replete with astonishingly poetic visions of God. It will be puzzling, however, to anyone not already quite familiar with the yogic traditions of India. Here is where Edgerton can provide excellent guidance.
Showing posts with label Hinduism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hinduism. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Monday, March 14, 2016
American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation--How Indian Spirituality Changed the West / Philip Goldberg -- N.Y.: Harmony Books, 2010
In 1981, Rick Fields published a book entitled, How the Swans Came to the Lake which was a history of how Buddhism made its way to the United States. In American Veda, Philip Goldberg presents a similar history for Hinduism or what he calls "vedanta-yoga." While the subtitle suggests that the story of Hinduism transmission would cover Europe and North America, Goldberg mostly describes its transmission to the U.S. Early on, he makes the rather bold claim that vedism, the idea that we, as individuals, participate in a larger consciousness that constitutes the universe, is a "perfect fit" for the American ethos, at least insofar as vedism permits "personalized pathways to the divine." He goes on, then, to describe to growing impact of Vedic philosophies and yogic practices on Americans. Beginning with Emerson's acceptance of an "over-soul," passing through Thoreau's paeans to nature, Goldberg describes the foundation of vedism in American literature.
The real launch of American vedism begins, however, with the World's Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. From this point on, Americans began hosting a number of gurus from India who introduced the intelligentsia to vedism. Goldberg recounts the impression these gurus had on such figures as Huston Smith, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, and Gerald Heard. This period is perhaps the first phase of serious examination of the vedic philosophy in America.
It is followed, however, by a much larger influx of gurus following the elimination of immigration restriction from Asia in 1965 and the journey to India by the Beatles, Mick Jagger, and Marianne Faithful in 1968. The list of celebrities who were influenced by various gurus during the 1960s and 1970s is impressive; however, the scandals associated with many high profile gurus casts doubt on the legitimacy of this paroxysm of interest. To his credit, Goldberg does not shy away from a fair-minded account of this period. What he finally concludes, though, is that despite the appearnce of charlatans, the Western seekers gained a genuine appreciation for vedanta-yoga. In the final chapters he discusses ways in which vedanta-yoga has influence the arts, psychology, and physics.
American Veda is a fine account of the coming of vedanta-yoga to the U.S. It provides a sympathetic, but honest assessment of that history. It does, however, overstate the extent to which vedanta-yoga has permeated American culture. While the trappings of vedanta-yoga might well be increasingly common and more Americans than ever before may be signing up of Hatha yoga classes, an accurate awareness of the vedic world view is still hardly known in America. Goldberg's points out that a significant number of Americans describe themselves as "spiritual, but not religious," and he suggests that this is a product of the transmission of vedanta-yoga to the America. It might, however, be more likely a consequence of the success of science made consistent with a reluctance on the part of people to completely abandon their ancestral beliefs. Goldberg also suggests that the increased interest in vedic (and Buddhist) spirituality represents a kind of Great Awakening of the 21st century. Only time will tell about that.
The real launch of American vedism begins, however, with the World's Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. From this point on, Americans began hosting a number of gurus from India who introduced the intelligentsia to vedism. Goldberg recounts the impression these gurus had on such figures as Huston Smith, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, and Gerald Heard. This period is perhaps the first phase of serious examination of the vedic philosophy in America.
It is followed, however, by a much larger influx of gurus following the elimination of immigration restriction from Asia in 1965 and the journey to India by the Beatles, Mick Jagger, and Marianne Faithful in 1968. The list of celebrities who were influenced by various gurus during the 1960s and 1970s is impressive; however, the scandals associated with many high profile gurus casts doubt on the legitimacy of this paroxysm of interest. To his credit, Goldberg does not shy away from a fair-minded account of this period. What he finally concludes, though, is that despite the appearnce of charlatans, the Western seekers gained a genuine appreciation for vedanta-yoga. In the final chapters he discusses ways in which vedanta-yoga has influence the arts, psychology, and physics.
American Veda is a fine account of the coming of vedanta-yoga to the U.S. It provides a sympathetic, but honest assessment of that history. It does, however, overstate the extent to which vedanta-yoga has permeated American culture. While the trappings of vedanta-yoga might well be increasingly common and more Americans than ever before may be signing up of Hatha yoga classes, an accurate awareness of the vedic world view is still hardly known in America. Goldberg's points out that a significant number of Americans describe themselves as "spiritual, but not religious," and he suggests that this is a product of the transmission of vedanta-yoga to the America. It might, however, be more likely a consequence of the success of science made consistent with a reluctance on the part of people to completely abandon their ancestral beliefs. Goldberg also suggests that the increased interest in vedic (and Buddhist) spirituality represents a kind of Great Awakening of the 21st century. Only time will tell about that.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Vedanta Philosohy: Self-Knowledge (Atma-Jnana) / Swami Abhedananda -- N.Y.: Vedanta Society, 1905
Perhaps the central concern of Hindu philosophy is attaining a spiritual union with the divine. This is sometimes understood theistically and other times not. What is common in both traditions is the idea that we ourselves must find a path to union with the divine. To do this, we must first understand who (or what) we are. In the West, we often seek self-understanding through introspection and psychoanalysis to uncover an authentic identity as opposed to one that has been created for us by our family and social conditions. "Finding one's self" is about understanding our true values, true passions, or true life projects. One should contrast this self knowledge with the self knowledge that Swami Abhedananda calls upon us to discover in his book Vedanta Philosophy: Self-Knowledge (Atma-Jnana).
The self knowledge at issue here is less a question of "who am I" and more a question of "what am I." It is a more fundamental inquiry. Abhedananda begins this inquiry by examining the concepts of mind and matter (especially matter). He asserts that three relationships have been posited between these ideas: (1) that mind exists only as a product of matter (materialism), (2) that matter exists only as a product of mind (idealism), and (3) that each is dependent upon the other as two poles of a magnet (monism). Abhedananda presents a number of arguments against materialism. He goes on to simply assert that idealism is "as erroneous as the materialistic theory." His preference is for monism.
The true self or "atman" is then equated with God. This is Advaita Vedantism. By understanding that the true self is neither the ephemeral material self nor the individual mind, one comes to know that one's true self is an eternal, cosmic, universal "Soul of our souls" and that "those who do not realize this true Self, dwell in the darkness of ignorance and go through the misery and sufferings which exist in that darkness." Critical to understanding one's true self is to recognize that at the base of all experience is "prana" or the life-force which animates the world and makes all experience possible. It is "inseparable from intelligence and self consciousness." Later, Abhedananda employs the traditional analogy for the true self saying that it is like the sun, creating the possibility that all things can be visible.
Perhaps the most critical idea here is that the question that vexes the materialist and the idealist is that the relationship between the self and the world, the subject and the object, Atman and Brahman, is obscure. Abhedananda, in line with the Advaita Vedanta tradition draws the conclusion that Atman is Brahman and that recognizing this allows us to escape our suffering and become fully actualized.
The self knowledge at issue here is less a question of "who am I" and more a question of "what am I." It is a more fundamental inquiry. Abhedananda begins this inquiry by examining the concepts of mind and matter (especially matter). He asserts that three relationships have been posited between these ideas: (1) that mind exists only as a product of matter (materialism), (2) that matter exists only as a product of mind (idealism), and (3) that each is dependent upon the other as two poles of a magnet (monism). Abhedananda presents a number of arguments against materialism. He goes on to simply assert that idealism is "as erroneous as the materialistic theory." His preference is for monism.
The true self or "atman" is then equated with God. This is Advaita Vedantism. By understanding that the true self is neither the ephemeral material self nor the individual mind, one comes to know that one's true self is an eternal, cosmic, universal "Soul of our souls" and that "those who do not realize this true Self, dwell in the darkness of ignorance and go through the misery and sufferings which exist in that darkness." Critical to understanding one's true self is to recognize that at the base of all experience is "prana" or the life-force which animates the world and makes all experience possible. It is "inseparable from intelligence and self consciousness." Later, Abhedananda employs the traditional analogy for the true self saying that it is like the sun, creating the possibility that all things can be visible.
Perhaps the most critical idea here is that the question that vexes the materialist and the idealist is that the relationship between the self and the world, the subject and the object, Atman and Brahman, is obscure. Abhedananda, in line with the Advaita Vedanta tradition draws the conclusion that Atman is Brahman and that recognizing this allows us to escape our suffering and become fully actualized.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Yoga and the Quest for the True Self / Stephen Cope -- N.Y.: Bantam Books, 1999
Stephen Cope's book Yoga and the Quest for the True Self is a combination of memoir and an account of Cope's understanding of the essence of yoga, particularly the form of yoga that he experienced in his ten-year residence at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. The result is an idiosyncratic interpretation of yoga, shaped by Cope's history as a psychotherapist. On the whole, the work is well-written, presenting composites of characters from his years as a therapist and yoga practitioner.
Cope decided to take up residence at the Kripalu Center for a one year "sabbatical" shortly after his partner of fifteen years left him for a very much younger man. It appears his own motivation was less spiritual and more psychotherapeutic. Consequently, it is no surprise that he interprets yogic practice (his own and others) as a means to deal with personal psychological turmoil. It is only at the end of the book that he gives any indication that the "true self" for which he is searching is without the empirical characteristics that are the objects of psychotherapy.
Much of the book describes various residents and visitors at the Kripalu Center and the psychological motives behind their yogic practice. Cope at least initially presents yoga to be the effort to recall the self from exile and create a "royal road home." Search for the "true self" often means coming to terms with unconscious motivations and psychic states that make one's life painful, unfulfilling, inauthentic, or simply lacking in some respect. Among the insights that Cope finds helpful is that one's mind and body are importantly connected. The practice of yoga allowed Cope to understand that his false constructions of his identity were reflected in how he experienced his body. He often makes much of how yoga practitioners will find a pain or tension in some specific part of the body and draw the conclusion that it is there because of some mental or psychological unease. Undoubtedly, there are connections between ones mental states and physical states, but the connections that Cope often asserts seem highly speculative.
Cope admirably recognizes that one should approach claims made by yogis with not only an open mind, but also with a skeptical mind, and true to a pragmatic approach to psychotherapy (and spiritual liberation), whatever succeeds for the practitioner/patient should not be denigrated; however, for anyone steeped in 20th century scientific realism or pretty much any moderately exacting criterion for the justification of beliefs, much of what is "successful" seems a bit like so much snake oil. It's great if a placebo works, but if it involves accepting unfalsifiable claims about the empirical world, it's hard not to listen to one's skeptic mind.
Toward the end of the book, Cope provides an account of a crisis within the Kripalu Center, when the Center's spiritual leader is discovered to have been having sexual relations with some of its residents. Cope's account of the explosive anger among the residents indicates that the submissive guru-follower relationship that often characterizes spiritual seekers could not contain the individualist, egalitarian, and free-thinking attitudes among the Center's residents and visitors.
By the end of the book, Cope comes to resolve for himself a question that he raises throughout the book. In the face of the trials and tribulation of the world, how can the assertion by his guru that "everything is OK" be correct. The answer comes from Cope's realization that his true self is not the empirical self that experiences trials and tribulations. It is an eternal self that embraces all the universe, or at least all consciousness. He writes, "For several sublime moments, the boundaries that separated us [Cohen and his friends], our complicated personalities, our struggles, our tragedies, all receded into the stillness of Lake Mahkeenac. We were together on the ladder, in the meditation hall, on the mountaintop. We were young. We were old. We were successful. We were failures. We were at the end of our lives. We were at the beginning of our lives. And everything was absolutely OK....In the shimmering stillness, the world of space and time became transparent, revealing a hidden world in which we were all parts of one another." It is this identification with a transcendental self that is different from, or at least indifferent to, the self that suffers the trials and tribulation of the empirical world that offers spiritual liberation and one is pleased that Cope appears to have reached beyond his fixation with psychotherapy to understand this.
Yoga and Quest for the True Self concludes with an informative appendix on the "metaphysics of yoga" which describes a number of important ideas in various schools of the Indian philosophical tradition. Many of these ideas are divergent, even contradictory. Consequently, Cohen calls it a "stew." According to Cohen, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health synthesizes many of the elements of the stew. He notes, however, that it is heavily influenced by the nondualism of the Vedanta and Tantric traditions, the eight-limbed path of Patanjali, and hatha yoga techniques, a raja yoga context. Most of all, Cohen is impressed with the idea of the "sacredness of the moment."
In all, Yoga and Quest for the Ture Self is a worthwhile account of one man's experience with yoga, but the reader will need to have a high tolerance for reading about the psychological trials of Cohen's characters, not all of whom are well enough drawn to earn one's sympathy and sustain one's interest.
Cope decided to take up residence at the Kripalu Center for a one year "sabbatical" shortly after his partner of fifteen years left him for a very much younger man. It appears his own motivation was less spiritual and more psychotherapeutic. Consequently, it is no surprise that he interprets yogic practice (his own and others) as a means to deal with personal psychological turmoil. It is only at the end of the book that he gives any indication that the "true self" for which he is searching is without the empirical characteristics that are the objects of psychotherapy.
Much of the book describes various residents and visitors at the Kripalu Center and the psychological motives behind their yogic practice. Cope at least initially presents yoga to be the effort to recall the self from exile and create a "royal road home." Search for the "true self" often means coming to terms with unconscious motivations and psychic states that make one's life painful, unfulfilling, inauthentic, or simply lacking in some respect. Among the insights that Cope finds helpful is that one's mind and body are importantly connected. The practice of yoga allowed Cope to understand that his false constructions of his identity were reflected in how he experienced his body. He often makes much of how yoga practitioners will find a pain or tension in some specific part of the body and draw the conclusion that it is there because of some mental or psychological unease. Undoubtedly, there are connections between ones mental states and physical states, but the connections that Cope often asserts seem highly speculative.
Cope admirably recognizes that one should approach claims made by yogis with not only an open mind, but also with a skeptical mind, and true to a pragmatic approach to psychotherapy (and spiritual liberation), whatever succeeds for the practitioner/patient should not be denigrated; however, for anyone steeped in 20th century scientific realism or pretty much any moderately exacting criterion for the justification of beliefs, much of what is "successful" seems a bit like so much snake oil. It's great if a placebo works, but if it involves accepting unfalsifiable claims about the empirical world, it's hard not to listen to one's skeptic mind.
Toward the end of the book, Cope provides an account of a crisis within the Kripalu Center, when the Center's spiritual leader is discovered to have been having sexual relations with some of its residents. Cope's account of the explosive anger among the residents indicates that the submissive guru-follower relationship that often characterizes spiritual seekers could not contain the individualist, egalitarian, and free-thinking attitudes among the Center's residents and visitors.
By the end of the book, Cope comes to resolve for himself a question that he raises throughout the book. In the face of the trials and tribulation of the world, how can the assertion by his guru that "everything is OK" be correct. The answer comes from Cope's realization that his true self is not the empirical self that experiences trials and tribulations. It is an eternal self that embraces all the universe, or at least all consciousness. He writes, "For several sublime moments, the boundaries that separated us [Cohen and his friends], our complicated personalities, our struggles, our tragedies, all receded into the stillness of Lake Mahkeenac. We were together on the ladder, in the meditation hall, on the mountaintop. We were young. We were old. We were successful. We were failures. We were at the end of our lives. We were at the beginning of our lives. And everything was absolutely OK....In the shimmering stillness, the world of space and time became transparent, revealing a hidden world in which we were all parts of one another." It is this identification with a transcendental self that is different from, or at least indifferent to, the self that suffers the trials and tribulation of the empirical world that offers spiritual liberation and one is pleased that Cope appears to have reached beyond his fixation with psychotherapy to understand this.
Yoga and Quest for the True Self concludes with an informative appendix on the "metaphysics of yoga" which describes a number of important ideas in various schools of the Indian philosophical tradition. Many of these ideas are divergent, even contradictory. Consequently, Cohen calls it a "stew." According to Cohen, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health synthesizes many of the elements of the stew. He notes, however, that it is heavily influenced by the nondualism of the Vedanta and Tantric traditions, the eight-limbed path of Patanjali, and hatha yoga techniques, a raja yoga context. Most of all, Cohen is impressed with the idea of the "sacredness of the moment."
In all, Yoga and Quest for the Ture Self is a worthwhile account of one man's experience with yoga, but the reader will need to have a high tolerance for reading about the psychological trials of Cohen's characters, not all of whom are well enough drawn to earn one's sympathy and sustain one's interest.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor Religious Systems / Sir R.G. Bhandarkar -- Strassburg: Verlag von Karl J. Trubner, 1913
Religion in India is significantly different from Christianity. By the fourth century, Christianity had established a fairly stable canon of sacred literature. Not long after that, two institutional churches, the Catholic and Orthodox churches, came to dominate all Christian doctrine. There were, of course, heterodoxies that arose and variations within these churches, but they were, by and large, insignificant variations that never took hold. The Protestant Reformation did manage to create new, lasting theological doctrines, but again, the differences were slight, at least in comparison to the differences that one finds in the religious experience of India.
In Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor Religious Systems, Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar gives a dense account of a huge number of religious systems that arose in the course of India's long history. Indian religion has its roots in the ancient Vedas and came to a philosophical apex with the Upanishads. These texts were filled with numerous and contradictory theological and cosmological doctrines. They simultaneously portray a pantheon of countless gods along with views of God as both transcendent and immanent in the world. The concept of incarnations and avatars helped to make sense of these contradictions, but one must see the Vedas and the Upanishads as a collection of contradictory religious and spiritual insights written by numerous authors over many centuries. They are early drafts of the religious and spiritual insights that India has been interpreting and revising to this day. Two strands of thinking have, however, gained prominence: Vaisnavism and Saivism.
Bhandarkar's account of the history of Vaisnavism begins in the latter half of the first millennium B.C.E. During this time, Buddhism and Jainism arose in the east, while in the west theistic systems became popular, particularly one devoted to the worship of Vasudeva. Bhandarkar highlights references to Vasudeva in the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagavadgita. In time, Vasudeva became identified with a Narayana, a supreme being that evolved from the early concept of Nadayana, the "resting place or goal of men." Vasudeva also came to identified with Vishnu, a rather minor god in the Vedas that appears supreme in later literature. Thus Vaisnavism came about as a combination of "streams of religious thought, namely the one flowing from Vishnu, the Vedic god at its source, another from Narayana, the cosmic and philosophic god, and the third from Vasudeva, the historical god." From that time, a wide variety of systems have emerged, among the most important is the worship of the Cowherd God, Gopala-Krishna.
In the eighth century, Samkaracarya and his followers began promoting a doctrine of spiritual monism and world-illusion. This was seen to be in conflict with Bhakti, or the love of God, which Vaisnavism required. In succeeding centuries, more pronounced and fanatic version of Bhakti evolved in which a "single-minded and devoted love of God" became necessary for attaining eternal bliss.
Bhandarkar observes that Vaisnavism celebrated God in his beneficent form, "The lovableness of the works of God, his greatness and majesty and his mysterious nature are...matters that strike the mind of man; and these appear to have operated in bringing Vishnu into prominence. What contributed to the formation of Vaisnavism were the appearances and occurrences which excited love, admiration and a spirit of worship," but these are not the only sources for the theological inspiration. Bhandarkar also writes, "Many are the occasions in the life of man, which excite fear; there are epidemics and other diseases, poisons, serpents, storms, thunderbolts and wild and awful scenes, and consequently the god who brings on these occasions and protects when appeased will be thought of oftener then other gods." Fear is the sentiment behind this theology and it is the god Rudra-Shiva and Saivism that evolved from it.
Rudra makes appearances in the earliest of the Vedas, the Rig Veda, and unlike Vishnu, is a relatively important god. There and in subsequent literature, he is given additional names including Shiva. According to Bhandarkar, the Saiva system has three principles and four parts. The principles are the lord (Pati), the individual soul (Pasu), and fetters (Pasa). The parts knowledge (Vidya), action (Kriya), meditation (Yoga), and conduct (Carya). Vidya provides an account of the three principles and amounts to a set of theological and metaphysical doctrines, along with a description of the fetters which inhibit us from salvation. The actual spiritual path of Saivism involves the religious ritual and yogic practices, and moral discipline outlined in the last three parts. Much of the section on Saivism includes descriptions of the practices of various Saiva sects.
In the final pages of Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor Religious Systems, Bhandarkar revisits the debate over the immanence or transcendence of God. His conclusion is that the distinction is not relevant to Indian religions. For both Vaisnavism and Saivism, God is understood to be both immanent and transcendent. His explanation as to how both can be true is cryptic; however, one might begin to understand this by thinking of the individual self as a deluded and alienated fragment of the Godhead. Our delusion and alienation is what makes God transcendent relative to our earthly circumstance. Our task in life is to overcome the fetters that separate us from the Godhead and realize its immanence.
In Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor Religious Systems, Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar gives a dense account of a huge number of religious systems that arose in the course of India's long history. Indian religion has its roots in the ancient Vedas and came to a philosophical apex with the Upanishads. These texts were filled with numerous and contradictory theological and cosmological doctrines. They simultaneously portray a pantheon of countless gods along with views of God as both transcendent and immanent in the world. The concept of incarnations and avatars helped to make sense of these contradictions, but one must see the Vedas and the Upanishads as a collection of contradictory religious and spiritual insights written by numerous authors over many centuries. They are early drafts of the religious and spiritual insights that India has been interpreting and revising to this day. Two strands of thinking have, however, gained prominence: Vaisnavism and Saivism.
Bhandarkar's account of the history of Vaisnavism begins in the latter half of the first millennium B.C.E. During this time, Buddhism and Jainism arose in the east, while in the west theistic systems became popular, particularly one devoted to the worship of Vasudeva. Bhandarkar highlights references to Vasudeva in the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagavadgita. In time, Vasudeva became identified with a Narayana, a supreme being that evolved from the early concept of Nadayana, the "resting place or goal of men." Vasudeva also came to identified with Vishnu, a rather minor god in the Vedas that appears supreme in later literature. Thus Vaisnavism came about as a combination of "streams of religious thought, namely the one flowing from Vishnu, the Vedic god at its source, another from Narayana, the cosmic and philosophic god, and the third from Vasudeva, the historical god." From that time, a wide variety of systems have emerged, among the most important is the worship of the Cowherd God, Gopala-Krishna.
In the eighth century, Samkaracarya and his followers began promoting a doctrine of spiritual monism and world-illusion. This was seen to be in conflict with Bhakti, or the love of God, which Vaisnavism required. In succeeding centuries, more pronounced and fanatic version of Bhakti evolved in which a "single-minded and devoted love of God" became necessary for attaining eternal bliss.
Bhandarkar observes that Vaisnavism celebrated God in his beneficent form, "The lovableness of the works of God, his greatness and majesty and his mysterious nature are...matters that strike the mind of man; and these appear to have operated in bringing Vishnu into prominence. What contributed to the formation of Vaisnavism were the appearances and occurrences which excited love, admiration and a spirit of worship," but these are not the only sources for the theological inspiration. Bhandarkar also writes, "Many are the occasions in the life of man, which excite fear; there are epidemics and other diseases, poisons, serpents, storms, thunderbolts and wild and awful scenes, and consequently the god who brings on these occasions and protects when appeased will be thought of oftener then other gods." Fear is the sentiment behind this theology and it is the god Rudra-Shiva and Saivism that evolved from it.
Rudra makes appearances in the earliest of the Vedas, the Rig Veda, and unlike Vishnu, is a relatively important god. There and in subsequent literature, he is given additional names including Shiva. According to Bhandarkar, the Saiva system has three principles and four parts. The principles are the lord (Pati), the individual soul (Pasu), and fetters (Pasa). The parts knowledge (Vidya), action (Kriya), meditation (Yoga), and conduct (Carya). Vidya provides an account of the three principles and amounts to a set of theological and metaphysical doctrines, along with a description of the fetters which inhibit us from salvation. The actual spiritual path of Saivism involves the religious ritual and yogic practices, and moral discipline outlined in the last three parts. Much of the section on Saivism includes descriptions of the practices of various Saiva sects.
In the final pages of Vaisnavism, Saivism and Minor Religious Systems, Bhandarkar revisits the debate over the immanence or transcendence of God. His conclusion is that the distinction is not relevant to Indian religions. For both Vaisnavism and Saivism, God is understood to be both immanent and transcendent. His explanation as to how both can be true is cryptic; however, one might begin to understand this by thinking of the individual self as a deluded and alienated fragment of the Godhead. Our delusion and alienation is what makes God transcendent relative to our earthly circumstance. Our task in life is to overcome the fetters that separate us from the Godhead and realize its immanence.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Hindu Mysticism / S. N. Dasgupta -- Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1927, 1983
Hindu Mysticism is a collection of six lectures presented by S. N. Dasgupta at Northwestern University in 1926. The lectures cover six types of mysticism that grew up in India during the course of its history. Dasgupta defines "mysticism" as "the belief that the highest reality or the ultimate realisation and fulfilment...cannot be attained by reason alone, but...[by] the firm and steady control of will, the development of right emotions, or both combined, or by them both along with the highest functioning of reason....It is directed to the liberation of the spirit and the attainment of the highest bliss." This is distinct from what Dasgupta calls the popular notion that mysticism is "some kind of superstitious awe or reverence." Mysticism "is fundamentally an active, formative, creative, elevating and ennobling principle of life." It is "a spiritual grasp of the aims and problems of life in a much more real and ultimate manner than is possible to mere reason."
With this definition, most everything that can be understood as religion in India would be mystical and indeed that pretty closely describes the scope of Dasgupta's book. Its six chapters cover sacrificial mysticism, the mysticism of the Upanishads, Yoga mysticism, Buddhistic mysticism, classical devotional mysticism, and popular devotional mysticism.
Sacrificial mysticism is expressed in the ancient Vedas which describe how rituals can be performed that will prompt the gods to bestow benefits on those conducting the ritual. It is critical that the ritual be performed in exactly the right way or it will not be effective. Furthermore, if it is performed effectively, the gods have no choice but to bestow the benefit; that is, in response to a properly conducted sacrifice, the god's actions are not free. The Vedas are not seen to be true or effective because of a sagacious author or even as revelations from a god, but are "eternal truths, beginningless and immortal" and importantly, they cannot be challenged or justified by reason.
Upanishadic mysticism seems a bit more consistent with a European notion of mysticism, namely, a recognition of a monistic reality that lies behind the pluralistic appearances of the phenomenal world, which can be understood neither rationally nor empirically. Yogic mysticism, while it may in some practices deny the monism of the Upanishads, is a practical development of the Upanishadic mysticism. It clearly falls within Dasgupta's definition in that it is a practice that involves controlling one's will and actions, and ultimately one's mind to achieve an understanding of the ultimate reality that is not accessible through experience or reason alone.
Of all of the forms of mysticism described in Hindu Mysticism, Buddhistic mysticism might least fit with Dasgupta's definition. While it is true that achieving the highest understanding involves a practice rather like Yoga, Buddhism is a highly rational and practical system of thought. The fundamental principles of Buddhism should be apparent to anyone who follows the reasoning of the Four Noble Truths. The practice that is involved in following the Eightfold Path merely confirms those truths in one's experience. Nonetheless, it does not seem inappropriate to describe Buddhism as a mystical philosophy in that by following the Eightfold Path, one arrives at a state of consciousness that transcends normal experience.
The final two forms of mysticism, classical and popular devotional mysticism are closely related. Both embrace bhakti or devotion to God and in both cases one is not expected to denounce one's desires. Instead, one embraces the euphoria that comes in one's surrender to God. In the classical version, God is conceived of abstractly. The ecstasy that comes to the worshiper is similar to that experienced by Moslems, particularly, Sufis. In the popular version, one conceives of God in the form of an individual, e.g., Krishna, and the ecstasy is similar to that experienced in a human love relationship. As Dasgupta describes it, it seems similar to the mysticism of medieval Carmelites in their relationship to Jesus.
If there is a shortcoming to Hindu Mysticism it is its title. While there is nothing wrong with establishing definitions for the purpose of describing a conceptual realm, Dasgupta's definition appears contrived to capture every religious movement that ever came out of India and may capture most every religion there ever was. Had Dasgupta placed greater stress on the concept of gaining knowledge or understanding apart from experience or reason, the title would have been better justified. As it is Hindu Mysticism is simply a serviceable introduction to six religious traditions in India.
With this definition, most everything that can be understood as religion in India would be mystical and indeed that pretty closely describes the scope of Dasgupta's book. Its six chapters cover sacrificial mysticism, the mysticism of the Upanishads, Yoga mysticism, Buddhistic mysticism, classical devotional mysticism, and popular devotional mysticism.
Sacrificial mysticism is expressed in the ancient Vedas which describe how rituals can be performed that will prompt the gods to bestow benefits on those conducting the ritual. It is critical that the ritual be performed in exactly the right way or it will not be effective. Furthermore, if it is performed effectively, the gods have no choice but to bestow the benefit; that is, in response to a properly conducted sacrifice, the god's actions are not free. The Vedas are not seen to be true or effective because of a sagacious author or even as revelations from a god, but are "eternal truths, beginningless and immortal" and importantly, they cannot be challenged or justified by reason.
Upanishadic mysticism seems a bit more consistent with a European notion of mysticism, namely, a recognition of a monistic reality that lies behind the pluralistic appearances of the phenomenal world, which can be understood neither rationally nor empirically. Yogic mysticism, while it may in some practices deny the monism of the Upanishads, is a practical development of the Upanishadic mysticism. It clearly falls within Dasgupta's definition in that it is a practice that involves controlling one's will and actions, and ultimately one's mind to achieve an understanding of the ultimate reality that is not accessible through experience or reason alone.
Of all of the forms of mysticism described in Hindu Mysticism, Buddhistic mysticism might least fit with Dasgupta's definition. While it is true that achieving the highest understanding involves a practice rather like Yoga, Buddhism is a highly rational and practical system of thought. The fundamental principles of Buddhism should be apparent to anyone who follows the reasoning of the Four Noble Truths. The practice that is involved in following the Eightfold Path merely confirms those truths in one's experience. Nonetheless, it does not seem inappropriate to describe Buddhism as a mystical philosophy in that by following the Eightfold Path, one arrives at a state of consciousness that transcends normal experience.
The final two forms of mysticism, classical and popular devotional mysticism are closely related. Both embrace bhakti or devotion to God and in both cases one is not expected to denounce one's desires. Instead, one embraces the euphoria that comes in one's surrender to God. In the classical version, God is conceived of abstractly. The ecstasy that comes to the worshiper is similar to that experienced by Moslems, particularly, Sufis. In the popular version, one conceives of God in the form of an individual, e.g., Krishna, and the ecstasy is similar to that experienced in a human love relationship. As Dasgupta describes it, it seems similar to the mysticism of medieval Carmelites in their relationship to Jesus.
If there is a shortcoming to Hindu Mysticism it is its title. While there is nothing wrong with establishing definitions for the purpose of describing a conceptual realm, Dasgupta's definition appears contrived to capture every religious movement that ever came out of India and may capture most every religion there ever was. Had Dasgupta placed greater stress on the concept of gaining knowledge or understanding apart from experience or reason, the title would have been better justified. As it is Hindu Mysticism is simply a serviceable introduction to six religious traditions in India.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Maitri Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
Besides the Brihadaranyaka and the Chandogya Upanishads the Maitri Upanishad is the longest of the principle Upanishads. Consequently, it is able to cover a great number of philosophical and religious topics common to the Upanishads. Of course, central to the work is a discussion of the soul in which the individual soul is described as an extension or manifestation of the universal soul.
A significant amount of text is devoted to describing the relationship of the soul to the body. The soul is characterized as the "driver" of the otherwise unintelligent body and the body is further described in most unpleasant terms, "It comes forth through the urinary opening. It is built up with bones; smeared over with flesh; covered with skin; filled full with feces, urine, bile, phlegm, marrow, fat, grease, and also with many diseases, like a treasure-house with wealth." The point, of course, is to frame one's perception of the body (or the material world in general) in a way that invites escape into a purified world of the unembodied, undifferentiated universal soul. This escape is described in the fate of the soul after death, specifically not reincarnation, but release from the cycle of rebirth and repeated death.
A large section of the Maitri Upanishad is devoted to yoga -- the practice of austerity and meditation, including breath control, but it also highlights other topics within the Upanishadic tradition: the significance of the word "Om," the place of sacrifices in efforts toward liberation, and the symbolism of the sun as Brahma. Among the more intriguing topics is food. Much is said here and in other Upanishads about food that is sometimes puzzling. Sometimes it is discussed metaphorically and sometimes literally. In the Chandogya Upanishad it is used to mean earth, one of three divinities: fire, water, and earth. Elsewhere, it appears to mean whatever is necessary to support or nourish something; hence fuel for fire is food. Food is also used to connect all things in the material and non-material world, creating a kind of ecosystem:
From food, verily, creatures are produced,
Whatsoever [creatures] dwell on the earth.
Moreover by food, in truth, they live.
Moreover into it also they finally pass.
The Upanishad ends with several sections warning against false teachers, ignorance, perverted doctrines, and devilish, false, non-Vedic doctrines.
In all, the Maitri Upanishad offers a fairly comprehensive presentation of many of the central doctrines of the Upanishads and should be one's short reading list to understand the Upanishads.
A significant amount of text is devoted to describing the relationship of the soul to the body. The soul is characterized as the "driver" of the otherwise unintelligent body and the body is further described in most unpleasant terms, "It comes forth through the urinary opening. It is built up with bones; smeared over with flesh; covered with skin; filled full with feces, urine, bile, phlegm, marrow, fat, grease, and also with many diseases, like a treasure-house with wealth." The point, of course, is to frame one's perception of the body (or the material world in general) in a way that invites escape into a purified world of the unembodied, undifferentiated universal soul. This escape is described in the fate of the soul after death, specifically not reincarnation, but release from the cycle of rebirth and repeated death.
A large section of the Maitri Upanishad is devoted to yoga -- the practice of austerity and meditation, including breath control, but it also highlights other topics within the Upanishadic tradition: the significance of the word "Om," the place of sacrifices in efforts toward liberation, and the symbolism of the sun as Brahma. Among the more intriguing topics is food. Much is said here and in other Upanishads about food that is sometimes puzzling. Sometimes it is discussed metaphorically and sometimes literally. In the Chandogya Upanishad it is used to mean earth, one of three divinities: fire, water, and earth. Elsewhere, it appears to mean whatever is necessary to support or nourish something; hence fuel for fire is food. Food is also used to connect all things in the material and non-material world, creating a kind of ecosystem:
From food, verily, creatures are produced,
Whatsoever [creatures] dwell on the earth.
Moreover by food, in truth, they live.
Moreover into it also they finally pass.
The Upanishad ends with several sections warning against false teachers, ignorance, perverted doctrines, and devilish, false, non-Vedic doctrines.
In all, the Maitri Upanishad offers a fairly comprehensive presentation of many of the central doctrines of the Upanishads and should be one's short reading list to understand the Upanishads.
Svetasvatara Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Svetasvatara Upanishad is a relatively brief theological section describing the god Rudra. As with other Upanishads, the Svetasvatara Upanishad focuses on Braama and the Atman as the fundamental cosmic reality. Its fundamental nature is underlined by stating that it is higher than the supreme god, Rudra, who is described in nearly Yahwehistic terms.
To start, however, the Svetasvatara Upanishad describes Brahma as the first cause of everything in the universe and assures the reader that knowledge of Brahma is the path to liberation. This is accomplished through performing sacrifices and by abiding by the rules of yoga. The discussion of Rudra then appears abruptly and dramatically. He is "The One spreader of the net...Who rules all the worlds....Rudra (the Terrible) is the One....He, the Protector, after creating all beings, merges them together at the end of time." He is the creator of heaven and earth and all the gods.
But having exalted Rudra, the Svetasvatara Upanishad goes on to say that Brahma is higher than this. While using some terminology that appears to personify Brahma, Brahma is described as immanent in all things. The distinction is critical in comparing Hinduism with the monotheistic religions of the West. Through Zoroastrianism and then Judaism, Western religions have more or less discarded polytheism and establish monotheism as the core of their dogma. Of course, there are strands within Western religions which conceive of God as a personal god and other strands which do not; however locating creation and gods within a cosmos where the divine ground is supremely venerated has little parallel in Western religions. In contrast, the Svetasvatara Upanishad would suggest that the while the world might be composed of many gods (with Rudra their ruler), the fundamental point of religion is not the veneration of a god or gods, but the recognition of the supreme reality. Liberation for us is no different than liberation for the gods; that is, we all must seek understanding of the world that lies behind (or beyond) the apparent world of our thoughts and senses.
To start, however, the Svetasvatara Upanishad describes Brahma as the first cause of everything in the universe and assures the reader that knowledge of Brahma is the path to liberation. This is accomplished through performing sacrifices and by abiding by the rules of yoga. The discussion of Rudra then appears abruptly and dramatically. He is "The One spreader of the net...Who rules all the worlds....Rudra (the Terrible) is the One....He, the Protector, after creating all beings, merges them together at the end of time." He is the creator of heaven and earth and all the gods.
But having exalted Rudra, the Svetasvatara Upanishad goes on to say that Brahma is higher than this. While using some terminology that appears to personify Brahma, Brahma is described as immanent in all things. The distinction is critical in comparing Hinduism with the monotheistic religions of the West. Through Zoroastrianism and then Judaism, Western religions have more or less discarded polytheism and establish monotheism as the core of their dogma. Of course, there are strands within Western religions which conceive of God as a personal god and other strands which do not; however locating creation and gods within a cosmos where the divine ground is supremely venerated has little parallel in Western religions. In contrast, the Svetasvatara Upanishad would suggest that the while the world might be composed of many gods (with Rudra their ruler), the fundamental point of religion is not the veneration of a god or gods, but the recognition of the supreme reality. Liberation for us is no different than liberation for the gods; that is, we all must seek understanding of the world that lies behind (or beyond) the apparent world of our thoughts and senses.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Mandukya Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
The Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of all the principle Upanishads. It is a prose work composed of less than 500 words. It begins by defining the word Om as "this whole world...the past, the present, the future...and whatever else that transcends threefold time." It goes on to explain that this self (atman) is Brahma and is exists in four states: waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and a mysterious fourth state that is without any distinctive description, but is the state of being one with the Self (the atman.) The word Om (Aum) is then described as representing these four states: A is the waking state, U is the dream state, M is the state of deep sleep, and the silence which follows the utterance of the word is the final state of being one with the Self.
Prasna Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
I count the Prasna Upanishad among the most puzzling of all the principle Upanishads. It is a mixture of prose and verse, structured as a set of questions and answers. The questions are posed by six Brahmans to the "honorable Pippalada" and are typically staight-forward and interesting; however, the answers are often couched in obscure metaphors. One might make very little of this Upanishad without a significant background in the philosophy expressed in the broadeer Upanishadic tradition. Much of the language seems to harken back to earlier Upanishads.
There is a mildly comical passage in the third section, when one of the questioners asks six questions at once. Pippalada replies, "You are asking question excessively. But you are pre-eminently a Brahman -- methinks. Therefore I tell you."
There is a mildly comical passage in the third section, when one of the questioners asks six questions at once. Pippalada replies, "You are asking question excessively. But you are pre-eminently a Brahman -- methinks. Therefore I tell you."
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Mundaka Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
Like the Katha Upanishad, the Mundaka Upanishad is a short, clear presentation of some the central ideas of the Upanishads. It contains some of the most beautiful poetry of the Upanishads.
The first section describes the ritual preparations for understanding Brahma and the effects of ceremonial observances. The second section appears to owe much to the earliest Upanishads, metaphorically describing Brahma as the body of the universe. Many of its passages suggest a pantheistic understanding of the world; however, it also beautifully describes the origin of particulars:
As, from a well-blazing fire, sparks
By the thousand issue forth of like form,
So from the Imperishable, my friend, beings manifold
Are produced, and thither also go.
The final section describes the method by which salvation is achieved, expressing views and practices that are consonant with Buddhism. There is a recognition that desire is the cause of rebirth and that this can be avoided through practicing austerity. Certainly there is an element of self-denial, sacrifice and asceticism here; however, this should not be over emphasized. More certainly exercising discipline is more to the point, such that one does not become distracted and so lost in the pursuit of the ephemeral events and pleasures of the illusory world.
The first section describes the ritual preparations for understanding Brahma and the effects of ceremonial observances. The second section appears to owe much to the earliest Upanishads, metaphorically describing Brahma as the body of the universe. Many of its passages suggest a pantheistic understanding of the world; however, it also beautifully describes the origin of particulars:
As, from a well-blazing fire, sparks
By the thousand issue forth of like form,
So from the Imperishable, my friend, beings manifold
Are produced, and thither also go.
The final section describes the method by which salvation is achieved, expressing views and practices that are consonant with Buddhism. There is a recognition that desire is the cause of rebirth and that this can be avoided through practicing austerity. Certainly there is an element of self-denial, sacrifice and asceticism here; however, this should not be over emphasized. More certainly exercising discipline is more to the point, such that one does not become distracted and so lost in the pursuit of the ephemeral events and pleasures of the illusory world.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Isa Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
The Isa Upanishad is a short verse exposition of some of the central ideas of the Upanishads. The nature and the incomprehensibility of Brahma in particular are described. The following two verses exemplify these ideas.
It moves. It moves not.
It is far, and it is near.
It is within all this,
And it is outside of all this.
And later:
Into blind darkness enter they
That worship ignorance;
Into darkness greater than that, as it were, they
That delight in knowledge.
It moves. It moves not.
It is far, and it is near.
It is within all this,
And it is outside of all this.
And later:
Into blind darkness enter they
That worship ignorance;
Into darkness greater than that, as it were, they
That delight in knowledge.
Katha Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
The Katha Upanishad is among the most popular of all Upanishads. It records an encounter between Naciketas and Yama (death) in which Yama reveals to Naciketas the mysteries of life after death. The conversation begins with Yama agreeing to grant Naciketas three wishes: (1) to see his dead father again, (2) to understand the ritual fire that leads one to immortality in the heavenly world, and finally, (3) knowldege of whether there is life after death. Yama resists granting this last wish, encouraging Naciketas to choose a host of worldly things: cattle, elephants, gold, horses, a magnificent house, etc. Naciketas turns it all down, choosing the preferable over the pleasurable.
Yama's answer is a clear outline of the doctrine of reincarnation and ultimate liberation, based on the identity of the universal and the individual soul. As long as the individual soul is bound to the world by desires and attachments, the soul is doomed to suffer an unending cycle of death and rebirth, leading only to death again and again; however, by employing the method of yoga one can suppress one's desires and attachments and walk the path to liberation. This is described in one of the Upanishads' most famous passages:
Arise ye! Awake ye!
Obtain your boons and understand them!
A sharpened edge of a razor, hard to traverse,
A difficult path is this -- poets declare!
By walking this path -- this razor's edge -- one can finally set aside the distraction of mortal life and understand the mystical doctrine that the individual soul is nothing other than the unborn and undying universal soul. Understanding this, one becomes free of the cycle of rebirth.
While not presenting the deep cosmological and theological insight of the Brihadaranyaka and the Chandogya Upanishads, the Katha Upanishad present perhaps the clearest eschatology of all the principle Upanishads. It is also noteworthy for its introduction of the method of yoga for achieving final liberation. Its brevity and depth recommend to the beginning student above all other Upanishads.
Yama's answer is a clear outline of the doctrine of reincarnation and ultimate liberation, based on the identity of the universal and the individual soul. As long as the individual soul is bound to the world by desires and attachments, the soul is doomed to suffer an unending cycle of death and rebirth, leading only to death again and again; however, by employing the method of yoga one can suppress one's desires and attachments and walk the path to liberation. This is described in one of the Upanishads' most famous passages:
Arise ye! Awake ye!
Obtain your boons and understand them!
A sharpened edge of a razor, hard to traverse,
A difficult path is this -- poets declare!
By walking this path -- this razor's edge -- one can finally set aside the distraction of mortal life and understand the mystical doctrine that the individual soul is nothing other than the unborn and undying universal soul. Understanding this, one becomes free of the cycle of rebirth.
While not presenting the deep cosmological and theological insight of the Brihadaranyaka and the Chandogya Upanishads, the Katha Upanishad present perhaps the clearest eschatology of all the principle Upanishads. It is also noteworthy for its introduction of the method of yoga for achieving final liberation. Its brevity and depth recommend to the beginning student above all other Upanishads.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Kena Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
The Kena Upanishad is among the shortest of the principle Upanishads. It asserts that the highest knowledge is the mystical knowledge of Brahma. The first section describes the nature of Brahma as that which is not of the empirical world, but instead "that which is the hearing of the ear, the thought of the mind, the voice of speech, as also the breathing of the breath, and the sight of the eye." From this, one understands the Brahma is inscrutable which is made clear in the second section of the Upanishad.
In the third section, Brahma is described as greater than all the gods through a charming account of challenges set before the gods. Agni (fire) is unable to burn straw, while Vayu (wind) is unable to carry it away. Finally, Indra, attempts to approach Brahma, but it eludes him; however, the beautiful woman, Uma (knowledge), informs him of Brahma's nature. The final section reveals that knowledge of Brahma is a mystical doctrine that comes to one as a flash of lightening.
In this Upanishad the three central ideas of the Upanishads are presented: (1) Brahma (or the Atman) is the knowing subject within us, (2) Brahma (or the Atman) is unknowable, and (3) Brahma (or the Atman) is the sole and supreme reality.
In the third section, Brahma is described as greater than all the gods through a charming account of challenges set before the gods. Agni (fire) is unable to burn straw, while Vayu (wind) is unable to carry it away. Finally, Indra, attempts to approach Brahma, but it eludes him; however, the beautiful woman, Uma (knowledge), informs him of Brahma's nature. The final section reveals that knowledge of Brahma is a mystical doctrine that comes to one as a flash of lightening.
In this Upanishad the three central ideas of the Upanishads are presented: (1) Brahma (or the Atman) is the knowing subject within us, (2) Brahma (or the Atman) is unknowable, and (3) Brahma (or the Atman) is the sole and supreme reality.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Philosophy of the Upanishads / Paul Deussen -- A.S. Geden, Trans. -- NY: Dover Publications, 1966
The Upanishads are second to none among the world's most important sacred scriptures. Most were written during the first millennium B.C.E., but some are as recent as the Modern period. They are the culmination of the Vedic tradition and serve as ritual text-books. The oldest Upanishads are associated with three of the four main classifications of the Vedas: the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Sama Veda. More recent Upanishads are associated with the Arthavada Veda.
It is out of the ritualistic and allegorical earlier writings of the Vedic tradition that the more philosophical writings of the Upanishads emerged. The oldest Upanishads are the Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Aitareya, Kaushitaka, and Kena Upanishads with the Kena standing on the border with later Upanishads. These later ones are the Kathaka, Is'a, S'vetas'vatara, Mundaka, and Mahanarayana Upanishads. Later still are the Pras'na, Maitrayaniya, and Mandukya Upanishads. Two or three more are sometimes included in this list of the "principle" Upanishads. As with any large collection of sacred writings that were composed over centuries, the Upanishads include numerous philosophical views, many of which are contradictory; but in general, they present a broad and roughly coherent current of thinking regarding the fundamental nature of reality, the soul, and right action leading to salvation or emancipation from delusion and suffering.
To the neophyte, the Upanishads present a thicket of confusing, but thoroughly engaging prose and verse. One needs a guide to make good sense of them and Paul Deussen's landmark work The Philosophy of the Upanishads offers excellent guidance. First published in 1906, Deussen's work remains valuable today. By reading it in conjunction with the principle Upanishads, one can better grasp both the substance of the Upanishads and the basis upon which Deussen makes his arguments regarding the philosophical thrust of the Upanishads. A convenient anthology of the principle Upanishads is The Thirteen Principle Upanishads, translated from Sanskrit by Robert Ernest Hume.
Deussen's The Philosophy of the Upanishads is divided into five main sections, beginning with a general introduction followed by expositions of the theology, cosmology, psychology, and eschatology of the Upanishads. The central doctrine that lies behind all of these topics can be reduced to three propositions. (1) The atman is the knowing subject within us, (2) The atman, as the knowing subject, is unknowable, and (3) The atman is the sole reality. From these three proposition, the Upanishads spin out sublime doctrines regarding, life, death, illusion, knowledge, consciousness, right action, and numerous other metaphysical and epistemological questions.
Many of these doctrines express ideas similar to those of Western philosophy, particularly -- according to Deussen -- Plato and Kant, but on the whole the philosophic approach is at odds with the empirical realism that dominates Western scientific thinking. Furthermore, the Upanishad's general approach to religion is starkly different from the main currents of Islam, Judaism, and especially Christianity, where right action, or right intention, is central to salvation. Instead, the Upanishads call us to see beyond the delusions that are natural to human experience and intuit the empirically unknowable reality that is embedded in our consciousness. The salvation that this offers is akin to the relief that one might feel after waking from a nightmare and repeating the assurance, "it was only a dream, only a dream."
Deussen's book is dense and expansive, but it is worth all the attention one might give it, including repeated readings.
It is out of the ritualistic and allegorical earlier writings of the Vedic tradition that the more philosophical writings of the Upanishads emerged. The oldest Upanishads are the Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Aitareya, Kaushitaka, and Kena Upanishads with the Kena standing on the border with later Upanishads. These later ones are the Kathaka, Is'a, S'vetas'vatara, Mundaka, and Mahanarayana Upanishads. Later still are the Pras'na, Maitrayaniya, and Mandukya Upanishads. Two or three more are sometimes included in this list of the "principle" Upanishads. As with any large collection of sacred writings that were composed over centuries, the Upanishads include numerous philosophical views, many of which are contradictory; but in general, they present a broad and roughly coherent current of thinking regarding the fundamental nature of reality, the soul, and right action leading to salvation or emancipation from delusion and suffering.
To the neophyte, the Upanishads present a thicket of confusing, but thoroughly engaging prose and verse. One needs a guide to make good sense of them and Paul Deussen's landmark work The Philosophy of the Upanishads offers excellent guidance. First published in 1906, Deussen's work remains valuable today. By reading it in conjunction with the principle Upanishads, one can better grasp both the substance of the Upanishads and the basis upon which Deussen makes his arguments regarding the philosophical thrust of the Upanishads. A convenient anthology of the principle Upanishads is The Thirteen Principle Upanishads, translated from Sanskrit by Robert Ernest Hume.
Deussen's The Philosophy of the Upanishads is divided into five main sections, beginning with a general introduction followed by expositions of the theology, cosmology, psychology, and eschatology of the Upanishads. The central doctrine that lies behind all of these topics can be reduced to three propositions. (1) The atman is the knowing subject within us, (2) The atman, as the knowing subject, is unknowable, and (3) The atman is the sole reality. From these three proposition, the Upanishads spin out sublime doctrines regarding, life, death, illusion, knowledge, consciousness, right action, and numerous other metaphysical and epistemological questions.
Many of these doctrines express ideas similar to those of Western philosophy, particularly -- according to Deussen -- Plato and Kant, but on the whole the philosophic approach is at odds with the empirical realism that dominates Western scientific thinking. Furthermore, the Upanishad's general approach to religion is starkly different from the main currents of Islam, Judaism, and especially Christianity, where right action, or right intention, is central to salvation. Instead, the Upanishads call us to see beyond the delusions that are natural to human experience and intuit the empirically unknowable reality that is embedded in our consciousness. The salvation that this offers is akin to the relief that one might feel after waking from a nightmare and repeating the assurance, "it was only a dream, only a dream."
Deussen's book is dense and expansive, but it is worth all the attention one might give it, including repeated readings.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Kaushitaki Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
The significance of the Kaushitaki Upanishad is not easy to understand. There are at least two important themes: the transmigration of souls and an attempted determination of Brahma. The first theme is interlaced with passages remarking on consequences of moral (usually sacrificial) actions. It is in these passages that one can find expressions of the famous doctrine of karma. Interestingly, the transmigration of souls from one life to the next includes passage of the soul to the sun and then to the moon before returning to its next incarnation.
One is reminded of Plato's description of reincarnation in the Myth of Er where souls are allowed to choose their next existence, but their choices are usually determined by what they did or experienced in their previous existence. Furthermore, if one had been dedicated to sound philosophy in one's previous life, one had a better chance at making an auspicious choice. The parallel with the transmigration of souls as expressed in the Kaushitaki Upanishad lies in the karmic consequences of one's actions and the soul's ability to escape these consequences through a proper understanding of Brahman.
The determination of Brahma is expressed in a dialog between a brahman named Balaki and a kshatriya named Ajatasatru. Balaki begins by attempting to explain the nature of Brahma, but after each attempt, Ajatasatru refutes him. Humbled, Balaki presents himself to Ajatastru as a pupil; whereupon Ajatastru reveals the truth to Balaki, explaining that Brahma is the Atman (or the soul with us) that is "minute as a hair subdivided a thousandfold" and which when awakened is like a blazing fire sending sparks in all directions. The force of this metaphor is that the Atman is Brahman, but that the individual soul is to Brahman as sparks are to a blazing inferno.
While not the most fascinating of the Upanishads, the Kaushitaki Upanishad's themes are unquestionably among the most important in the canon.
One is reminded of Plato's description of reincarnation in the Myth of Er where souls are allowed to choose their next existence, but their choices are usually determined by what they did or experienced in their previous existence. Furthermore, if one had been dedicated to sound philosophy in one's previous life, one had a better chance at making an auspicious choice. The parallel with the transmigration of souls as expressed in the Kaushitaki Upanishad lies in the karmic consequences of one's actions and the soul's ability to escape these consequences through a proper understanding of Brahman.
The determination of Brahma is expressed in a dialog between a brahman named Balaki and a kshatriya named Ajatasatru. Balaki begins by attempting to explain the nature of Brahma, but after each attempt, Ajatasatru refutes him. Humbled, Balaki presents himself to Ajatastru as a pupil; whereupon Ajatastru reveals the truth to Balaki, explaining that Brahma is the Atman (or the soul with us) that is "minute as a hair subdivided a thousandfold" and which when awakened is like a blazing fire sending sparks in all directions. The force of this metaphor is that the Atman is Brahman, but that the individual soul is to Brahman as sparks are to a blazing inferno.
While not the most fascinating of the Upanishads, the Kaushitaki Upanishad's themes are unquestionably among the most important in the canon.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Aitareya Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the shortest of the thirteen principle Upanishads. It is a concise mythological account of the creation of the world. "In the beginning, Atman (Self, Soul), verily, one only, was here -- no other winking thing whatever. He bethouhght himself: 'Let me now create worlds,'" and out of Atman, the elements of the world separate. Thus it begins as a theistic treatise.
From the creation of the worlds, Atman creates world-guardians and to nourish them, food; however, the food he offers them is not sufficient until he offers them a person. At least this is how section 1.2 describes it. Section 1.3 describes the food of the guardians as fleeing from him, until "this one living food," the wind, is consumed. The centrality of food is a bit puzzling; however, understood as that which is consumed and which is necessary for a thing's existence, makes it critical to understanding creation and being while indicating the ephemeral, constantly changing nature of creation.
Having created the worlds and all that is in them, Atman enters the body of the world as the self; hence, the distinction between the creator and the creation is blurred. The final section expands the return of the Atman into its creation to all things "born from an egg,..."born from a womb,...born from sweat, and...born from a sprout."
While the Aitareya Upanishad is almost exclusively cosmological in subject, it does makes brief mention of righteous actions as a final "birth" of the self, suggesting a naturalistic basis for morality and indicating the expansiveness of the what is born of and returns to the Atman.
From the creation of the worlds, Atman creates world-guardians and to nourish them, food; however, the food he offers them is not sufficient until he offers them a person. At least this is how section 1.2 describes it. Section 1.3 describes the food of the guardians as fleeing from him, until "this one living food," the wind, is consumed. The centrality of food is a bit puzzling; however, understood as that which is consumed and which is necessary for a thing's existence, makes it critical to understanding creation and being while indicating the ephemeral, constantly changing nature of creation.
Having created the worlds and all that is in them, Atman enters the body of the world as the self; hence, the distinction between the creator and the creation is blurred. The final section expands the return of the Atman into its creation to all things "born from an egg,..."born from a womb,...born from sweat, and...born from a sprout."
While the Aitareya Upanishad is almost exclusively cosmological in subject, it does makes brief mention of righteous actions as a final "birth" of the self, suggesting a naturalistic basis for morality and indicating the expansiveness of the what is born of and returns to the Atman.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Taittiriya Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
Compared to the Brihad-Aranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, the Taittiriya Upanishad is a succinct little meditation on a few moral and metaphysical concepts. The first section primarily valorizes the relationship between a teacher and student, praising the wisdom that can be acquired in such a relationship. This conforms to a common interpretation of the word "upanishad," thought to mean to sit at the feet of, which also has led some to understand the upanishads as teaching an esoteric doctrine. Such an understanding is easy to accept today, when so much learning takes place through texts and other audio and video media; however, when the Taittiriy Upanishad was written, word of mouth teaching was the norm and did not necessarily imply an esoteric teaching.
At the same time, the teaching of the upanishads might very rightly be thought of as esoteric and necessarily requiring instruction from a "seer." The doctrines of the Upanishads themselves would suggest that not everyone is able to grasp their truth without the aid of a seer. Without initiation into the doctrines, most people would not question the reality of their perceptions. It is the rare person who will see beyond the empirical world and into the truth that lies behind it without the guidance of someone who has tread the path before.
The second section explains how knowledge of Brahman (or the divine reality) is bliss. Based first of all on a metaphysical idealism, the section asserts that the contents of the consciousness that constitutes reality is bliss. Here, one is reminded of Meister Eckhart's concept of god as love. Instead, reality is bliss.
The third section describes the Brahman as food. The overall impression is one of the ecological interrelated of nature and ultimately all of being.
At the same time, the teaching of the upanishads might very rightly be thought of as esoteric and necessarily requiring instruction from a "seer." The doctrines of the Upanishads themselves would suggest that not everyone is able to grasp their truth without the aid of a seer. Without initiation into the doctrines, most people would not question the reality of their perceptions. It is the rare person who will see beyond the empirical world and into the truth that lies behind it without the guidance of someone who has tread the path before.
The second section explains how knowledge of Brahman (or the divine reality) is bliss. Based first of all on a metaphysical idealism, the section asserts that the contents of the consciousness that constitutes reality is bliss. Here, one is reminded of Meister Eckhart's concept of god as love. Instead, reality is bliss.
The third section describes the Brahman as food. The overall impression is one of the ecological interrelated of nature and ultimately all of being.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Chandogya Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
Along with the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad is perhaps the oldest of the Upanishads. The Upanishads make up the literary form that completes the sacred literature known as the Vedas. They express the general philosophical and theological positions that are implicit within the earlier Vedic literature.
The Vedas are divided into four groupings, the Rigveda, the Samaveda, the Yajurveda, and the Atharvaveda. Each of these are associated with Vedic schools which preserved the literature. Some of these schools also preserved Upanishads that express ideas consonant with their pariticular Veda. The Tandins preserved the Samaveda and the associated Chandogya Upanishad.
Perhaps the most famous passage from the Chandogya Upanishad is "that art thou." This expresses one of the most significant ideas in all of the Vedas, that there is no distinction between subject and object. The Chandogya Upanishad clearly stakes out an answer to the problem of the one and the many which asks whether the universe is most fundamentally a unity or a plurality. Not only does the Chandogya Upanishad come down on the side of monism, it identifies the substance of that monism as mind.
Of course, there is a sense that the mind is separate from the external world and that it is an individual among other minds; however, the truth, according to the Chandogya Upanishad is that this is an illusion masking reality. Famously, that reality is betokened by the word or symbol "om."
The content of the Chandogya Upanishad is similar to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. It is, however, less cohesive and direct than the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and seems to emphasize the esoteric, apostolic character of the Upanishads. The word "upanishad" is often translated two ways: first, as "secret knowledge," but also as something like "to sit at the feet of." The Chandogya Upanishad contains numerous stories of secret knowledge being passed on from teacher to pupil and in this respect is a literary enactment of upanishadic teaching.
The Vedas are divided into four groupings, the Rigveda, the Samaveda, the Yajurveda, and the Atharvaveda. Each of these are associated with Vedic schools which preserved the literature. Some of these schools also preserved Upanishads that express ideas consonant with their pariticular Veda. The Tandins preserved the Samaveda and the associated Chandogya Upanishad.
Perhaps the most famous passage from the Chandogya Upanishad is "that art thou." This expresses one of the most significant ideas in all of the Vedas, that there is no distinction between subject and object. The Chandogya Upanishad clearly stakes out an answer to the problem of the one and the many which asks whether the universe is most fundamentally a unity or a plurality. Not only does the Chandogya Upanishad come down on the side of monism, it identifies the substance of that monism as mind.
Of course, there is a sense that the mind is separate from the external world and that it is an individual among other minds; however, the truth, according to the Chandogya Upanishad is that this is an illusion masking reality. Famously, that reality is betokened by the word or symbol "om."
The content of the Chandogya Upanishad is similar to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. It is, however, less cohesive and direct than the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and seems to emphasize the esoteric, apostolic character of the Upanishads. The word "upanishad" is often translated two ways: first, as "secret knowledge," but also as something like "to sit at the feet of." The Chandogya Upanishad contains numerous stories of secret knowledge being passed on from teacher to pupil and in this respect is a literary enactment of upanishadic teaching.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads -- London: Oxford University Press, 1954
The Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad is among the oldest of all the Upanishads and at 105 pages in translation, it is the longest. Anyone not familiar with its philosophical and religious tradition will find it rather curious, though a number of passages will stand out for their profound expression of a clear theological or cosmological concept. Its deeper value is in its expression of a metaphysical monism that characterizes Hinduism to this day.
The monism is the Upanishad’s answer to a deep philosophical question sometimes known as "the problem of the one and the many" which asks what is the fundamental nature of being – a multiplicity of ephemeral individual things or a permanent and unchanging single thing. The Upanishad describes the world metaphorically as the body of a person and by this metaphor, alludes to the idea that each component of the world exists primarily as a dependent element of the whole. As the heart would have no existence were it not developed as a part of a body, similarly, each component of the world exists only in its interdependence with all other parts of the world.
One is tempted to think of this as an early expression of the Gaia thesis which asserts that the world is a single living being; however, the Gaia thesis tends to describe the world in materialist terms. In contrast, a second strand of thought in the Upanishad clearly comes down on the side of a non-material reality. This is presented by describing objects in connection with, and as dependent upon, our senses. Bringing these strands together, the Upanishad understands the world as a whole that is a manifestation of a perceiver.
Finally, the interconnectedness of being and its origin in the perceiver leads to the conclusion that what appears to us as our individuate soul is in fact an illusion and that the basis of reality is a single universal soul or Brahma.
With a basic understanding of these concepts, a reader can experience the Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad is an exhilarating piece of poetry, laced with beautiful imagery, and drawing inspiring conclusions about such things as the fate of the soul after death and the working out of karmic relations.
The monism is the Upanishad’s answer to a deep philosophical question sometimes known as "the problem of the one and the many" which asks what is the fundamental nature of being – a multiplicity of ephemeral individual things or a permanent and unchanging single thing. The Upanishad describes the world metaphorically as the body of a person and by this metaphor, alludes to the idea that each component of the world exists primarily as a dependent element of the whole. As the heart would have no existence were it not developed as a part of a body, similarly, each component of the world exists only in its interdependence with all other parts of the world.
One is tempted to think of this as an early expression of the Gaia thesis which asserts that the world is a single living being; however, the Gaia thesis tends to describe the world in materialist terms. In contrast, a second strand of thought in the Upanishad clearly comes down on the side of a non-material reality. This is presented by describing objects in connection with, and as dependent upon, our senses. Bringing these strands together, the Upanishad understands the world as a whole that is a manifestation of a perceiver.
Finally, the interconnectedness of being and its origin in the perceiver leads to the conclusion that what appears to us as our individuate soul is in fact an illusion and that the basis of reality is a single universal soul or Brahma.
With a basic understanding of these concepts, a reader can experience the Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad is an exhilarating piece of poetry, laced with beautiful imagery, and drawing inspiring conclusions about such things as the fate of the soul after death and the working out of karmic relations.
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