Upanishad Series - Ep. 11 (Chhandogya Upanishad)

If you constantly keep asking “Who am I?” & “How do I become my truest version?” - this book has interesting answers for you.

You’re watching Episode 11 of Vedanta Thursdays, in which I break down Bharat’s most complex & ancient philosophies for you in just 3 minutes.

And today, we’re reading the Chhandogya Upanishad.

Sitting inside the Sama Veda, the book of Sounds, this text has 627 mantras, broken into 8 major chapters, making it one of the longest & also oldest principle Upanishad.

Its name comes from the Chandogas, a class of priests who were technically the sound producers of our Vedic playlist, designing the Chhandas or metres & other audio-rules of how to pronounce & sing the powerful mantras to activate & unlock their power.

Because its so vast, the Chhandogya is usually studied not directly but through commentaries on it, the most famous one being Adi Shankaracharya’s version from the 8th century CE.

It starts by establishing the most well-known Hindu sound, Aum, as the Udgitha, the first & universal sound & state of the universe, telling us to meditate on it to realise our true nature.

Which brings us to its biggest mic-drop moment - through the story of Uddālaka Aruni & his son, Śvetaketu, we’re taught the deepest idea of Sanatani philosophy = TAT TVAM ASI.

You Are That which is the Infinite, Timeless Truth, you are that which has always existed. You are basically immortal, divine, complete & whole.

The Hindus call it The Brahman. The Sat. Through 9 analogies, like bees from honey, and rivers from the ocean, we’re shown how all of this universe emerges or comes out of this Brahman and is again absorbed into it.

To support & expand on this grand revelation, the Chhandogya gives us many different types of Vidyas or knowledge capsules, such as Madhu Vidya, Sandilya Vidya, Samvarga Vidya, Bhuma Vidya, Dahara Vidya.

The Chhandogya is so fascinating that it not only inspired the other Upanishads but influenced Sufi & Persian ideas, along with German philosophers like Schopenhauer.