Readings from Upanishads

All religions are agreed upon the fact that some, invisible higher power controls the workings of the cosmos.

This being an abstract concept, man has found it necessary to give this abstract entity a physical form on which to concentrate his energies and devotion.

As man progresses on his spiritual journey, it gradually dawns upon him that spirituality is something that goes beyond mere idol worship and that understanding the real nature of what he calls as ‘God’ is the key to upliftment.

  The Upanishads are the source of enlightenment on this subject in Indian philosophy, with each Upanishad working around the core concept of ‘Brahman or Self’ as the substratum of everything.

The Isavasya Upanishad declares that this ‘power’, the ‘Lord’ encompasses everything in this world. It is all pervasive, it is inside everything, yet, outside of all. It is far, yet near(resides in the very being of man), it moves, yet it moves not.

It is the one and only goal to be sought after. The Kenopanishad says that ‘the Self’ enlivens the senses of man. Yet, it cannot be grasped by the senses.

“There the eye does not go, nor speech, nor the mind. It cannot be understood by intellectual reasoning. It is only to be experienced. What cannot be contemplated with the mind, but because of which, the mind functions, what cannot be expressed through speech, but because of which speech is expressed, that is Brahman” says this Upanishad.

It is the source of vitality, due to which all other sense organs function. The Kathopanishad scathingly says that many men, let alone attaining knowledge of Brahman, cannot even understand about Brahman when they hear about this.

The ‘Self’ is neither born, nor does it die. It is eternal, everlasting. It sprang from nothing. It is ancient, not being destroyed when this body is destroyed.  The ‘Self’ exists in the heart of beings, being subtler than the subtle, grosser than the gross.

It can be perceived only by those who are pure in mind and senses. It is the one abiding force, great and unimaginably powerful.

It is to be attained only by those whom it accepts. It is devoid of form, un-decaying, beginningless, manifesting in countless forms, the intelligent among the intelligent. It is the one effulgence, which illuminates all other things.

Nature, as seen in the sun, waters, fire and so on, all function under the control of ‘Brahman’. The Kathopanishad gives a telling guideline to understanding all these seemingly high sounding abstractions. “Brahman is only to be comprehended as ‘it is’.

That is, just accept that it exists. Intellectual reasoning will only confound you further. Accept, obey and thrive”.

The Prashnopanishad says, “just as the shadow is inseparable from a man, so is the ‘Self’, which manifests itself as life. Just as the rays emanate and merge into the orb of the sun, everything originates and dissolves into the Self, like birds settling on tree branches.”