Post by jash on Feb 12, 2013 13:40:43 GMT
I'm studying the Upanishads, which are Hindu religious texts that are classed as sruti, or revealed by God. There are over a hundred Upanishads, but the twelve oldest are considered the main (mukhya) Upanishads and are related to the four Vedas. The Upanishads talk about the nature of ultimate reality (brahman), and how to achieve salvation (moksha).
The oldest of these is the Isha Upanishad, or the Inner Ruler. It begins with an invocation:
"Om. That is full; this is full. This fullness has been projected
from that fullness. When this fullness merges in that fullness,
all that remains is fullness.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!"
Mohandas Gandhi said that if all the Hindu scriptures were destroyed, save for this first verse, Hinduism would live in the minds of its followers forever. It is about the nature of the one God, who is perfect and complete, and even though everything emanates from God, God is still perfectly complete.
The Isha goes on to say:
"1. Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe
is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only
those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota,
and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they
belong."
Everything is created and sustained by God. We should only take what we need, and not be greedy. This is because this world is only temporal, and lasting happiness is found in devotion to the eternal God.
"2. If a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should
live performing action. For you, who cherish such a desire and
regard yourself as a man, there is no other way by which you
can keep work from clinging to you."
This is the introduction to the idea of karma. If you cling to a desire for a long life of earthly pleasures, karma is the way to do this. But if you renounce earthly desires and do everything for the sake of God alone, this will lead to liberation. This suggests to me that liberation takes one beyond morality. Of course, it's difficult to give up our selfish desires, but it's easier if we do good works to become less selfish.
"3. The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets
known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance."
If you do evil deeds, then the opposite occurs. You go to a world of darkness and ignorance. If you act like an angel, you become an angel. If you act like an animal, you become an animal.
"4. That One, though motionless, is swifter than the mind. The senses can never overtake It,
for It ever goes before. Though immovable, It travels faster than those who run. By It the
all–pervading air sustains all living beings.
5. It moves and It moves not. It is far and also It is near. It is within and also It is without all
this."
God cannot be completely understood by the mind, or perceived by the senses. Like air, God is all pervading, but cannot be caught. God is transcendent and also imminent.
"6. He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all
living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord
within everything never hates anything or any being.
7. One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality
one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be
illusion or anxiety for him?"
If you see God in all beings, how can you hate them? If you see that God is in all things, you know the most important fact about the world, and have nothing to fear from either truth or illusion.
"8. He (the Self) is all–encircling, resplendent, bodiless, spotless, without sinews, pure,
untouched by sin, all–seeing, all–knowing, transcendent, self–existent; He has disposed all
things duly for eternal years."
This is the nature of God, the absolute self.
"9. They enter into blind darkness who worship Avidya (ignorance and delusion); they fall, as
it were, into greater darkness who worship Vidya (knowledge).
10. One thing, they say, is obtained from knowledge; another, they
say, from ignorance. Thus we have heard from the wise who
have taught us this."
This could be seen as meaning that ignorance of God is bad, while incorrect knowledge of God is worse. Or that knowledge of God alone is insufficient without devotion. Or that worshiping one's knowledge above God is idolatrous. Either way, true knowledge of God is vital.
"11. He who is aware that both knowledge and ignorance should be
pursued together, overcomes death through ignorance and
obtains immortality through knowledge."
I think this means that one can only be liberated by both engaging with the world by doing good works, and knowing God through devotion.
"12. Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest
region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the
impersonal Absolute.
13. Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest
region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the
impersonal Absolute.
14. He who knows at the same time both the Unmanifested and
the destructible or manifested, he crosses over death through knowledge of the
destructible and attains immortality through knowledge of the First Cause."
God is neither a pantheon of persons nor the personal absolute. We should view God as a being with which we can have a relationship.
"15. O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by
Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit
Yourself to Your pure devotee.
16. O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O
regulating principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of
the progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your
transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss. You are the
eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I.
17. Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be
merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my
sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please
remember all that I have done for You.
18. O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I offer You all
obeisances, falling on the ground at Your feet. O my Lord, please lead
me on the right path to reach You, and since You know all that I have
done in the past, please free me from the reactions to my past sins so
that there will be no hindrance to my progress."
God is the source of everything To the extent that we love anything, we should love God as the creator and sustainer of it.
I have drawn on three different translations and commentaries of this dazzling and thought provoking text. The links are here:
The quotes in bold are drawn from these sites, but the thoughts and commentaries are my own understanding. If you think I'm incorrect, or that there is more to say, please comment.
Peace
The oldest of these is the Isha Upanishad, or the Inner Ruler. It begins with an invocation:
"Om. That is full; this is full. This fullness has been projected
from that fullness. When this fullness merges in that fullness,
all that remains is fullness.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!"
Mohandas Gandhi said that if all the Hindu scriptures were destroyed, save for this first verse, Hinduism would live in the minds of its followers forever. It is about the nature of the one God, who is perfect and complete, and even though everything emanates from God, God is still perfectly complete.
The Isha goes on to say:
"1. Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe
is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only
those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota,
and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they
belong."
Everything is created and sustained by God. We should only take what we need, and not be greedy. This is because this world is only temporal, and lasting happiness is found in devotion to the eternal God.
"2. If a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should
live performing action. For you, who cherish such a desire and
regard yourself as a man, there is no other way by which you
can keep work from clinging to you."
This is the introduction to the idea of karma. If you cling to a desire for a long life of earthly pleasures, karma is the way to do this. But if you renounce earthly desires and do everything for the sake of God alone, this will lead to liberation. This suggests to me that liberation takes one beyond morality. Of course, it's difficult to give up our selfish desires, but it's easier if we do good works to become less selfish.
"3. The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets
known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance."
If you do evil deeds, then the opposite occurs. You go to a world of darkness and ignorance. If you act like an angel, you become an angel. If you act like an animal, you become an animal.
"4. That One, though motionless, is swifter than the mind. The senses can never overtake It,
for It ever goes before. Though immovable, It travels faster than those who run. By It the
all–pervading air sustains all living beings.
5. It moves and It moves not. It is far and also It is near. It is within and also It is without all
this."
God cannot be completely understood by the mind, or perceived by the senses. Like air, God is all pervading, but cannot be caught. God is transcendent and also imminent.
"6. He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all
living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord
within everything never hates anything or any being.
7. One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality
one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be
illusion or anxiety for him?"
If you see God in all beings, how can you hate them? If you see that God is in all things, you know the most important fact about the world, and have nothing to fear from either truth or illusion.
"8. He (the Self) is all–encircling, resplendent, bodiless, spotless, without sinews, pure,
untouched by sin, all–seeing, all–knowing, transcendent, self–existent; He has disposed all
things duly for eternal years."
This is the nature of God, the absolute self.
"9. They enter into blind darkness who worship Avidya (ignorance and delusion); they fall, as
it were, into greater darkness who worship Vidya (knowledge).
10. One thing, they say, is obtained from knowledge; another, they
say, from ignorance. Thus we have heard from the wise who
have taught us this."
This could be seen as meaning that ignorance of God is bad, while incorrect knowledge of God is worse. Or that knowledge of God alone is insufficient without devotion. Or that worshiping one's knowledge above God is idolatrous. Either way, true knowledge of God is vital.
"11. He who is aware that both knowledge and ignorance should be
pursued together, overcomes death through ignorance and
obtains immortality through knowledge."
I think this means that one can only be liberated by both engaging with the world by doing good works, and knowing God through devotion.
"12. Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest
region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the
impersonal Absolute.
13. Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest
region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the
impersonal Absolute.
14. He who knows at the same time both the Unmanifested and
the destructible or manifested, he crosses over death through knowledge of the
destructible and attains immortality through knowledge of the First Cause."
God is neither a pantheon of persons nor the personal absolute. We should view God as a being with which we can have a relationship.
"15. O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by
Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit
Yourself to Your pure devotee.
16. O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O
regulating principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of
the progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your
transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss. You are the
eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I.
17. Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be
merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my
sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please
remember all that I have done for You.
18. O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I offer You all
obeisances, falling on the ground at Your feet. O my Lord, please lead
me on the right path to reach You, and since You know all that I have
done in the past, please free me from the reactions to my past sins so
that there will be no hindrance to my progress."
God is the source of everything To the extent that we love anything, we should love God as the creator and sustainer of it.
I have drawn on three different translations and commentaries of this dazzling and thought provoking text. The links are here:
The quotes in bold are drawn from these sites, but the thoughts and commentaries are my own understanding. If you think I'm incorrect, or that there is more to say, please comment.
Peace
