Mundakopanishad : ( 12/12/2012. )

23/11/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-13. (Mundakopanishad : Chapter-1 : Section-1 :Mantram-9) But God does not just dissipate Himself in the knowledge of particulars. There is a general control over the whole of creation, and there He has a cosmic generality of knowledge. The great cosmic order is in His mind. This is the sarvajñah, or the generality of the knowledge of God. But the particularity is every little detail, even to counting the number of hairs of a person or the breaths that he breathes. That also is known to Him. Can we imagine what kind of knowledge God must have?  How many creatures are there in this creation: gods, demons, human beings, subhuman creatures, insects, and so on? How many leaves on the tree? He will count them. Unimaginable power of comprehension! So God knows everything in general as well as in particular. That is the meaning of being sarvajñah and sarva-vid. Yasya jñanamayam tapah. We are told...

23/11/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-12. (Mundakopanishad : Chapter-1 : Section-1 :Mantram-7) Thus, how many things are there? Firstly, there is the Supreme Absolute. Secondly, there is anna, or the potential for the future manifestation in the form of tapas. Thirdly, there is Hiranyagarbha, the vibratory cosmic prana. Fourthly, there is thinking, which is the cosmic thought identifiable with Virat. Fifthly, there is law and order. Sixthly, there is the manifestation of the fourteen worlds. Seventhly, there is individuality, the individuals or jivas, who are propelled towards action, karma. Eighthly, there is the fruit of action. So there are eight degrees : - 1.Brahman, 2. prana, 3.manas, 4.satya, 5.loka, 6.karma, 7.manifestation,8.amrita. Look at this wonderful mantram. It is like a sutra, one thirty-two lettered verse giving us the whole scheme of creation from Brahman to dust. Look at the power of the composer of this m...

31/10/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-11. (Mundakopanishad : Chapter-1 : Section-1 :Mantram-7) 1. Then there is prana, the vibration. The painter’s mind vibrates in the form of the outline of the picture that he is intending to draw. But we do not bring the question of the painter in the case of Brahman, because Brahman itself is the painter here; Brahman itself visualises, in the form of the vibratory process of its will, the outline of the creation that is to take place. After the outline is drawn, it is filled with ink. Then the creation is complete. Likewise, there is, first of all, a will or an idea wherein the painter—or Brahman, in the case of this mantram—has the idea of what it has to become, and then it stiffens itself into the will by tapas, concentration, as a painter would concentrate on the painting that has to be done, and then there is a vibratory force of prana.  Here the word ‘prana’ indicates the cosmic prana,...

13/10/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-10. (Mundakopanishad : Chapter-1 : Section-1 :Mantram-7) Tapasa ciyate brahma tato’nnam abhijayate, annat pra?o mana? satya? loka? karmasu cam?tam (1.1.8). In one verse, the whole of creation is described. Brahman, the Supreme Absolute, distends, swells—becomes large, as it were—by tapas. Tapas means concentration. Brahman’s concentration is the will to create. It becomes extended in the form of the contemplated shape of creation, as it were. When we think something, the mind takes the form of that thing which we think. Now, the Supreme Absolute thinks, wills, concentrates itself on the shape which creation has to take, and that is the swelling, or the extending, or the becoming large of Brahman in tapas. The swelling, or the extension of being in tapas, also means the increase in the potentiality of the one that concentrates. In the case of Brahman, it would mean the contemplation of the form of the world...

21/09/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-9 (Mundakopanishad : Chapter-1 : Section-1 :Mantram-7) "Yathorna-nabhih srjate grhnate ca, yatha prthivayam-osadhayah sambhavanti, yatha satah purushat kesalomani tatha-ksharat sambhavatiha visvam." From this Eternal Being this world, this universe, has emanated. How does the world come from God? We have seen a spider spitting threads from its own body. Threads come out, and it weaves a web around itself. We have seen trees spontaneously growing from under the earth, and we have seen hair growing on the head. In some such way is the manner of the creation of this world. "Tatha-ksharat sambhavatiha visvam." These analogies have some significance of their own. The spider does not create the web from external material. The upadana is the same as the nimitha, as they say. The instrumental cause is the same as the material cause in the case of the spider weaving a web. In the case of the ...

02/09/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-8 Mantram -5. We cannot go to the Veda directly and understand anything out of it unless we are proficient in these six auxiliary shastras, or scriptures, called "siksha kalpo vyakaranam niruktam chando jyotisham." All these, says the great Master, together with the original Vedas—the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda—should be considered as lower knowledge. They purify our minds and enlighten us into the mysteries of the whole of creation. They purify our minds because of the power that is embedded in the mantras and the emotional or religious awareness that is stimulated within us on account of the meaning that we see in the mantras, the blessing that we receive from the sages who composed the mantras, and also the special power that is generated by the metre. All these put together create a religious atmosphere in the person who takes to the study of the Veda. It is great and grand, wor...

07/08/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-7 Mantram -5. The Kalpa Sutras are of four types: Shrauta Sutras, Grihya Sutras, Dharma Sutras and Shulba Sutras. The Shrauta Sutras describe the manner of the performance of sacrifices according to Vedic injunctions. The Grihya Sutras are connected with sacrifices and performances to be undertaken in one’s own house, and not in some big yajnashala. The Dharma Sutras give us the rules and regulations of social and ethical life, such as Varnashrama dharma, etc. The Shulba Sutras describes the length, measurement, etc., of certain articles that are to be used in Vedic sacrificial methods. These are the four types of Kalpa Sutras. Vyakarana is grammar. There are two types of grammar: classical grammar and Vedic grammar. In Panini’s method, both types of grammar are found. Vedic grammar is studied only in advanced stages. Students of Sanskrit usually study only classical works and the well-known Vyakarana. Unl...

09/07/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-6 Mantram -5. You may be wondering what the great point is in intonating the mantra. “O God, protect me.” I can say that in any way I like. Why should I sing it in a particular tone? The reason is, the Veda mantras are composed in such a way that different intonations give them different suggestions. Even when we speak, our mode of speaking gives a special significance to the words. We can utter a sentence with different voice formations which may mean different things depending on the different ways of expression. Sometimes we gesticulate, and sometimes we change the tone of voice by raising, lowering or modulating it in such a way that conveys different meanings. For instance, when we say something when we are happy or unhappy, or when we are angry or want to abuse somebody, we know how our voice changes. Likewise, a special kind of technique has been adopted by the science of Siksha, attributed to Panini...

19/06/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-5 Mantram -5. Tatrapara Rg-vedo yajur-vedah sama-vedo’tharva-vedah siksha kalpo vyakaranam niruktam chando jyotisham-iti atha para, yaya tad-aksharam-adhigamyate (1.1.5). Very interesting! It gives a blow at the very root of our imagination that the Vedas are the highest knowledge. The Rigveda Samhitas, and everything connected to the Rigvedam, such as the Brahmanas, and the Yajurvedam, Samavedam and Atharvavedam, are all lower knowledge only, my dear friend. There are four Vedas. The Rigvedam consists of hymns, prayers, mantras. The Yajurvedam consists of certain invocations necessary for the performance of sacrifice. The Samavedam is Rig-verses set in music. The Atharvavedam contains such material that may be regarded as a sequel or an appendix to the threefold Vedas—the Rigvedam, Yajurvedam and Samavedam. These four Vedas are not easy to understand. Their language is difficult, their grammar is v...

01/06/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 :  Discussion-4 All knowledge is a graduated training of the mind in the process of enlightenment. From the perceptible, visible, gross, tangible and acceptable reality, we gradually move the mind to that which is not easily acceptable and cannot be understood as quickly as we can understand that which is seen with the eyes directly. That the Sun is giving light to us, that it is now daytime, and that the Sun rose at a particular hour in the morning, is something acceptable. But that the Sun gives light to all parts of the world at different times, in a very systematic manner, is something that cannot be seen with the eyes directly. It requires a little imagination and intensive study to know this other fact involved in the illumination given by the Sun on the Earth, as it is not actually physically accessible to vision. There are degrees of knowledge, and there are as many degrees of knowledge as there are degrees of t...

19/04/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 : Mantram-3, Saunako ha vai mahasalo’ngirasam  vidhivad - upasannah papraccha, kasmin nu bhagavo vijñate sarvam - idam vijñatam bhavati iti (1.1.3) Discussion :  “Great Master, holy Sage, what is that, by knowing which, one can know everything else also?” Is it possible to know something which can lead to the knowledge of all things at the same time? Generally, such a thing is not possible. If you know one thing, you know only that thing. The knowledge of A does not involve the knowledge of B, because A cannot be B. One thing cannot be another thing; it is the law of contradiction in logic. So what is this question? A supernatural question is raised by Saunaka Mahashala: “What is that thing, the knowledge of which will, at the same time, mean the knowledge of all things?” It was a simple question, leading to an answer which is the entire Upanishad. To the sage Saunaka, who queried in this manner, Angir...

25/03/2018 Mundaka Upanishad : Chapter 1: Section 1 : Mantram-s 1,2 Continued ... Janamejaya performed a Sarpa Yaga, a yajna which he undertook to vindicate the death of his father Parikshit, who died on account of a snakebite. Janamejaya’s anger over the snakebite was such that, when he heard that his father died in that way, he determined to end the species of snakes completely, and conducted a yajna called Sarpa Yaga, which did not succeed in the end on account of some interference. At that time Vyasa was present, and he told his disciple Vaisampayana to tell the whole story of the Mahabharata to Janamejaya, who was eager to know exactly what happened to his forefathers, the Pandavas, whose progeny was Parikshit, his father. Similarly, the Puranas were recited by Suta, a learned sage in the Naimisha forest, which is near Neemsar, somewhere around Sitapur. Saunaka, the great sage, the Mahashala, the performer of large sacrifices, stood up in the assembly and queried the ...

24/02/2018 Mundaka Upanishad Chapter 1: Section 1 : Mantram-s 1,2. 1. Om Brahma devanam prathamah sambabhuva visvasya karta bhuvanasya gopta, sa brahma-vidyam sarva-vidya-pratistham  arthavaya jyestha-putraya praha. 2. Artharvane yam pravadeta brahma-tharva tam purova-cangire brahma-vidyam, sa bharadvajaya satyavahaya praha bharadvajo’ngirase paravaram. Sum of mantram-1. Brahma, the Creator, who was the first born among all evolutes in the process of the manifestation of God Almighty, the Creator of this world and the Protector of all beings, taught Brahma Vidya—the science of Brahman, which is the origin, the support and the foundation of every other learning, every other vidya or science or art—to his eldest son Atharvan, a great sage. Sum of mantram-2. Atharvan taught this knowledge that he received from Brahma to another sage, called Angi. This great sage Angi, who received it from Atharvan, who received it from Brahma, gave this knowledge to ...