Upanishad Series - Ep. 12 (Brihadaryanka Upanishad)
If you want to be mind-blown by how deep Indian philosophy can go, you can’t skip this book at all.
Welcome to Episode 12, the final chapter, of our series “Vedanta Thursdays” & today we’re ending our journey with the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
This scripture gets its name from Brhat, which means great or vast, and Aranyaka, which means forest.
Belonging to the Satapatha Brahmana of the Shukla Yajur Veda, it was read by old hermits who had left behind their worldly lives & retired to the forests for their final deep meditations.
The 6 major chapters, containing 400+ verses, are divided into 3 major parts or kands, with the hero behind the ideas being Rishi Yajnavalkya (याज्ञवल्क्य).
The first kand, Madhu Kand, gives the basics of Advaita thinking, explaining the idea of “Aham Brahmasmi” - Meaning, I am not my individual body & ego but the entire Universal consciousness.
In the second Kanda, Khila Kand, we see this idea being pitted against other ideas through a debate competition in which Yajnavalkya defends his thinking in front of other philosophers, including Gargi Vachaknavi.
We also see a beautiful explanation of our 3 states of existence - jagrat (awake), svapna (sleeping) & sushupti (deep REM sleep).
In the final short Kanda, Khila Kanda, we witness the gorgeous Pavmana Mantra, “Asato Ma Sadgamaya, Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya, Mrtyorma amrtam gamaya, om shanti shanti shanti” - lead me from darkness to light, from the false world to the reality, from death to immortality.
In essence, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad simply explains that although we move from body to body, but our true inner self is always complete & infinite.
This is summarised in its Shanti Mantra - Purnamadah, Purnamidam, Purnat Purnamudachyate, Purnasya, Purnamadaya, Purnamevava Shishyate.”
The mantra literally translates to: “This is Complete. That is Complete (Infinite). The Complete emanates from the Complete. If you take a Complete away, it will still always be Complete & Infinite.”