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Original in Telugu
This Upanishat begins with an invocation, praying that the eye may see auspicious things, the ear may hear auspicious sounds, and that life may be spent in the contemplation of the Lord. The teaching of this Upanishat is referred to as Brahmavidya, either because it describes first the message of Hiranyagarbha, the causal Brahma, or because the message relates the glory of Brahmam. This Upanishat speaks of Brahmavidya as the mystery which only those with shaven heads and those who go through a rite of having Fire on the shaven head can understand. So, it is called Mundaka, or Shaven Head. Apart from this, this Upanishat is honoured as the crest of all, since it expounds the very essence of Brahmajnanam. It is assigned to the Fourth Veda, the Atharvana.
This knowledge has been handed down from teacher to pupil by word of mouth, enriched and confirmed by experience. It is also called Paravidya, the knowledge of the Other when it deals with the attributeless principle. When it deals with the attribute-full, the Saguna, the materialised principle, it is called Aparavidya, the knowledge of the immanent, not the transcendent aspect. These are the two that are found in this Upanishat. They were taught by Shaunaka to Angirasa. That is what the text announces. The Vedas and the Vedangas deal with Aparavidya. The Upanishats deal specifically with Paravidya. But the interesting thing is: the Aparavidya leads on to the Para, the knowledge of Brahmam, which is the goal.
The spider evolves out of itself the magnificent manifestation of the web. So too, this jagat (moving, changing world) is manifested from the causative Brahmam. The jagat or samsara is the product of creator-creation complex. It is true and factual and useful, so long as one is unaware of the Reality. The utmost that one can gain by activity, that is to say holy or sacred activity, is heaven or Svarga, which has a longer lease of life, but which has an end in spite of it. So, the seeker loses all yearning for Heaven. He approaches an elderly teacher full of compassion, who instructs him in the discipline for realising the Brahmam.
All beings are Brahmam and no other. They all do emanate from Brahmam. As sparks emanate from fire, as hair grows on the skin but is different from it, so too beings originate from Brahmam. Brahmam causes the sun, moon, stars, and planets to revolve in space. Brahmam grants the consequence of all the acts of beings. The Jeevi and the Eeshwara, the individual and the universal are two birds sitting on the same tree i.e., the human body. The Jeevi acts and suffers the consequences of those acts. The Eeshwara sits quiet, as a witness of the other bird. When the Jeevi looks at the Eeshwara and realises that it is but an image, it escapes from grief and pain. When the mind is drawn by yearning to know the Eeshwara, all other low desires diminish and disappear. Then, knowledge of Atma is attained. The last mantra of this Upanishat declares that its aim is to make man attain that Jnana. Munda means head. This Upanishat is the Head of all Upanishats, we can say. So even the Brahmasutra devotes two chapters to elaborate the inner meaning of the Mantras of this Upanishat.
It has three sections, with two chapters in each. In the first section, the Aparavidya, and in the second, the Paravidya and the means of mastering it are dealt with. In the third, the nature of the reality and of the release from bondage, is defined. The Karma that helps attain the Brahmam is denoted in the Mantras. That is why this Upanishat is respected as very sacred.
The spider, as already indicated, spins out the web from itself without any extraneous agency. It also takes in the web it has spun. So too, creation was effected without an agent and the universe emanated. This nature or Prakriti is but a transformation of the basic Brahmam, like pot from mud, cloth from cotton, jewels from gold. So Brahmam is called the Upadana cause of Prakriti. It is also the Nimittakarana (predetermined cause), or the Nimitta (efficient) cause. For, this universe can only be the result of a high intelligence, an intelligence that is all-comprehensive, a Sarvagna. Heaven is the highest attainable stage through Karma. Of such Karmas or rites, the worship of Fire called Agnihotra is the chief. The performance of such rites contributes to the cleansing of the mind. Such cleansing is a necessary preliminary to Paravidya. The flames that rise high from the sacrificial altar of fire appear to the performer as if they are hailing him to realise the reality or Brahmam. He who does the rite with full awareness of the significance of the mantra is able to reach the solar splendour, through the offerings made. They take him to the region of Indra, the Lord of the gods.
The Vedas recommend two types of obligatory Karmas: Ishta and Purta. The rite of Agnihotra, adherence to Truth, Tapas or Asceticism, Vedadhyanam or study of the Vedas, the service offered to guests in one’s home—these are Ishta-karmas; construction of temples, caravanserais, rest-houses, tanks, planting of avenue trees—such acts are Purta-karmas.
These give consequences that are beneficial; but all such cause-effect chains are transient. They are fundamentally defective.
The entire Creation is bound up with name and form and so, unreal. It can be described in words and so, limited and circumscribed by the intellect and the mind. The Parama-Purusha, the Supreme Person alone is eternal, real, and pure. He is the prompter of activity and the dispenser of consequence. But He is beyond the eye, beyond the intellect. Like the spokes of a wheel that radiate from the hub, that lead from all directions to the centre, all creation radiates from Him.
To reach the central hub and know that all spokes radiate from it, the mind is the instrument. Brahmam the target is to be reached by the arrow-mind. Have your mind fixed on the target and using the Upanishadic teaching as the bow, shoot straight and hard, to hit the Brahmam and master. That is to say, the Pranava or the OM is the arrow. Brahmam is the target.
The Brahmam illumines the Jeevi by getting reflected in the inner consciousness or Antahkarana. One has only to turn that consciousness away from the objective world, contact with which contaminates the mind. Now, train the inner consciousness to meditate on the OM with single-pointed attention. Meditate on the Atma as unaffected by the Jeevi, though in him and with him and activating him. Meditate on Him in the heart, from which radiate countless nadis, subtle nerves, in all directions. If this process is followed, one can attain Jnana or Wisdom.
The universe is an instrument to reveal the majesty of God. The inner firmament in the heart of man is also equally a revelation of His Glory. He is the breath of one’s breath. Since He has no specific form, He cannot be indicated by words. Nor can His mystery be penetrated by the other senses. He is beyond the reach of asceticism, beyond the bounds of Vedic rituals. He can be known only by an intellect that has been cleansed of all trace of attachment and hatred, of egoism, and the sense of possession.
Jnana alone can grant self-realisation. Dhyana (meditation) can confer concentration of the faculties. Through that concentration, Jnana can be won, even while in the body. The Brahmam activates the body through the five vital airs or Pranas. It condescends to reveal itself in that same body as soon as the inner consciousness attains the requisite purity. For the Atma is immanent in the senses, inner and outer, as heat in fuel and as butter in milk. Now, the consciousness is like damp fuel, soaked in the foulness of sensory desires and disappointments. When the pool in the heart becomes clear of the slimy overgrowth, the Atma shines in its pristine splendour. He who acquires the knowledge of this Atman is to be revered. For, he is liberated. He has become Brahmam, that which he strove to know and be.
Original in Telugu
This Upanishat begins with an invocation, praying that the eye may see auspicious things, the ear may hear auspicious sounds, and that life may be spent in the contemplation of the Lord. The teaching of this Upanishat is referred to as Brahmavidya, either because it describes first the message of Hiranyagarbha, the causal Brahma, or because the message relates the glory of Brahmam. This Upanishat speaks of Brahmavidya as the mystery which only those with shaven heads and those who go through a rite of having Fire on the shaven head can understand. So, it is called Mundaka, or Shaven Head. Apart from this, this Upanishat is honoured as the crest of all, since it expounds the very essence of Brahmajnanam. It is assigned to the Fourth Veda, the Atharvana.
This knowledge has been handed down from teacher to pupil by word of mouth, enriched and confirmed by experience. It is also called Paravidya, the knowledge of the Other when it deals with the attributeless principle. When it deals with the attribute-full, the Saguna, the materialised principle, it is called Aparavidya, the knowledge of the immanent, not the transcendent aspect. These are the two that are found in this Upanishat. They were taught by Shaunaka to Angirasa. That is what the text announces. The Vedas and the Vedangas deal with Aparavidya. The Upanishats deal specifically with Paravidya. But the interesting thing is: the Aparavidya leads on to the Para, the knowledge of Brahmam, which is the goal.
The spider evolves out of itself the magnificent manifestation of the web. So too, this jagat (moving, changing world) is manifested from the causative Brahmam. The jagat or samsara is the product of creator-creation complex. It is true and factual and useful, so long as one is unaware of the Reality. The utmost that one can gain by activity, that is to say holy or sacred activity, is heaven or Svarga, which has a longer lease of life, but which has an end in spite of it. So, the seeker loses all yearning for Heaven. He approaches an elderly teacher full of compassion, who instructs him in the discipline for realising the Brahmam.
All beings are Brahmam and no other. They all do emanate from Brahmam. As sparks emanate from fire, as hair grows on the skin but is different from it, so too beings originate from Brahmam. Brahmam causes the sun, moon, stars, and planets to revolve in space. Brahmam grants the consequence of all the acts of beings. The Jeevi and the Eeshwara, the individual and the universal are two birds sitting on the same tree i.e., the human body. The Jeevi acts and suffers the consequences of those acts. The Eeshwara sits quiet, as a witness of the other bird. When the Jeevi looks at the Eeshwara and realises that it is but an image, it escapes from grief and pain. When the mind is drawn by yearning to know the Eeshwara, all other low desires diminish and disappear. Then, knowledge of Atma is attained. The last mantra of this Upanishat declares that its aim is to make man attain that Jnana. Munda means head. This Upanishat is the Head of all Upanishats, we can say. So even the Brahmasutra devotes two chapters to elaborate the inner meaning of the Mantras of this Upanishat.
It has three sections, with two chapters in each. In the first section, the Aparavidya, and in the second, the Paravidya and the means of mastering it are dealt with. In the third, the nature of the reality and of the release from bondage, is defined. The Karma that helps attain the Brahmam is denoted in the Mantras. That is why this Upanishat is respected as very sacred.
The spider, as already indicated, spins out the web from itself without any extraneous agency. It also takes in the web it has spun. So too, creation was effected without an agent and the universe emanated. This nature or Prakriti is but a transformation of the basic Brahmam, like pot from mud, cloth from cotton, jewels from gold. So Brahmam is called the Upadana cause of Prakriti. It is also the Nimittakarana (predetermined cause), or the Nimitta (efficient) cause. For, this universe can only be the result of a high intelligence, an intelligence that is all-comprehensive, a Sarvagna. Heaven is the highest attainable stage through Karma. Of such Karmas or rites, the worship of Fire called Agnihotra is the chief. The performance of such rites contributes to the cleansing of the mind. Such cleansing is a necessary preliminary to Paravidya. The flames that rise high from the sacrificial altar of fire appear to the performer as if they are hailing him to realise the reality or Brahmam. He who does the rite with full awareness of the significance of the mantra is able to reach the solar splendour, through the offerings made. They take him to the region of Indra, the Lord of the gods.
The Vedas recommend two types of obligatory Karmas: Ishta and Purta. The rite of Agnihotra, adherence to Truth, Tapas or Asceticism, Vedadhyanam or study of the Vedas, the service offered to guests in one’s home—these are Ishta-karmas; construction of temples, caravanserais, rest-houses, tanks, planting of avenue trees—such acts are Purta-karmas.
These give consequences that are beneficial; but all such cause-effect chains are transient. They are fundamentally defective.
The entire Creation is bound up with name and form and so, unreal. It can be described in words and so, limited and circumscribed by the intellect and the mind. The Parama-Purusha, the Supreme Person alone is eternal, real, and pure. He is the prompter of activity and the dispenser of consequence. But He is beyond the eye, beyond the intellect. Like the spokes of a wheel that radiate from the hub, that lead from all directions to the centre, all creation radiates from Him.
To reach the central hub and know that all spokes radiate from it, the mind is the instrument. Brahmam the target is to be reached by the arrow-mind. Have your mind fixed on the target and using the Upanishadic teaching as the bow, shoot straight and hard, to hit the Brahmam and master. That is to say, the Pranava or the OM is the arrow. Brahmam is the target.
The Brahmam illumines the Jeevi by getting reflected in the inner consciousness or Antahkarana. One has only to turn that consciousness away from the objective world, contact with which contaminates the mind. Now, train the inner consciousness to meditate on the OM with single-pointed attention. Meditate on the Atma as unaffected by the Jeevi, though in him and with him and activating him. Meditate on Him in the heart, from which radiate countless nadis, subtle nerves, in all directions. If this process is followed, one can attain Jnana or Wisdom.
The universe is an instrument to reveal the majesty of God. The inner firmament in the heart of man is also equally a revelation of His Glory. He is the breath of one’s breath. Since He has no specific form, He cannot be indicated by words. Nor can His mystery be penetrated by the other senses. He is beyond the reach of asceticism, beyond the bounds of Vedic rituals. He can be known only by an intellect that has been cleansed of all trace of attachment and hatred, of egoism, and the sense of possession.
Jnana alone can grant self-realisation. Dhyana (meditation) can confer concentration of the faculties. Through that concentration, Jnana can be won, even while in the body. The Brahmam activates the body through the five vital airs or Pranas. It condescends to reveal itself in that same body as soon as the inner consciousness attains the requisite purity. For the Atma is immanent in the senses, inner and outer, as heat in fuel and as butter in milk. Now, the consciousness is like damp fuel, soaked in the foulness of sensory desires and disappointments. When the pool in the heart becomes clear of the slimy overgrowth, the Atma shines in its pristine splendour. He who acquires the knowledge of this Atman is to be revered. For, he is liberated. He has become Brahmam, that which he strove to know and be.