26 UPANISHAD VAHINI

MUNDAKOPANISHAD

T
his Upanishad begins with an Invocation,
praying that the eye may see auspicious
things, the ear may hear auspicious sounds,
and that life may be spent in the contemplation of the
Lord. The teaching of this Upanishad is referred to as
Brahma Vidya, either because it describes first the
message of Hiranyagarbha, the causal Brahma, or because
the message relates the glory of Brahmam. This Upanishad
speaks of Brahma Vidya as the mystery which only those
with shaven heads and those who go through a rite of
having Fire on the shaven head can understand. So, it is
called Mundaka, or Shaven Head. Apart from this, this
Upanishad is honoured as the crest of all, since it
expounds the very essence of Brahma Jnana. It is
assigned to the Fourth Veda, the Atharvana.
UPANISHAD VAHINI 27

This knowledge has been handed down from

teacher to pupil by word of mouth, enriched and
confirmed by experience. It is also called Paravidya, the
knowledge of the Other when it deals with the attributeless
Principle. When it deals with the attribute-full, the Saguna,
the materialised Principle, it is called Aparavidya, the
knowledge of the Immanent, not the Transcendent aspect.
These are the two that are found in this Upanishad. They
were taught by Saunaka to Angirasa. That is what the
text announces. The Vedas and the Vedangas deal with
Aparavidya. The Upanishads deal specifically with
Paravidya. But the interesting thing is: the Aparavidya
leads on to the Para, the knowledge of Brahmam, which
is the goal.
The spider evolves out of itself the magnificent
manifestation of the web. So too, this jagath (moving,
changing world) is manifested from the causative
Brahmam. The jagath or samsar is the product of creator-
creation complex. It is true and factual and useful, so
long as one is unaware of the Reality. The utmost that
one can gain by activity, that is to say holy or sacred
activity, is Heaven or Swarga, which has a longer lease
of life, but which has an end in spite of it. So, the seeker
loses all yearning for Heaven. He approaches an elderly
teacher full of compassion, who instructs him in the
discipline for realising the Brahmam.
28 UPANISHAD VAHINI

All beings are Brahmam and no other. They all do

emanate from Brahmam. As sparks emanate from fire,
as hair grows on the skin but is different from it, so too
beings originate from Brahmam. Brahmam causes the sun,
moon, stars and planets to revolve in space. Brahmam
grants the consequence of all the acts of beings. The Jivi
and the Easwara, the Individual and the Universal are two
birds sitting on the same tree i.e., the human body. The
Jivi acts, and suffers the consequences of those acts.
The Easwara sits quiet, as a witness of the other bird.
When the Jivi looks at the Easwara and realises that it is
but an image, it escapes from grief and pain. When the
mind is drawn by yearning to know the Easwara, all other
low desires diminish and disappear. Then, knowledge of
Atma is attained. The last manthra of this Upanishad
declares that its aim is to make man attain that Jnana.
Munda means head. This Upanishad is the Head of all
Upanishads, we can say. So even the Brahma Suthra
devotes two chapters to elaborate the inner meaning of
the manthras of this Upanishad.
It has three sections, with two chapters in each. In
the first section, the Aparavidya, and in the second, the
Paravidya and the means of mastering it are dealt with. In
the third, the nature of the Reality and of the release from
bondage, is defined. The Karma that helps attain the
Brahmam is denoted in the manthras. That is why this
Upanishad is respected as very sacred.
UPANISHAD VAHINI 29

The spider, as already indicated, spins out the web

from itself without any extraneous agency. It also takes
in the web it has spun. So too, Creation was effected
without an agent and the Universe emanated. This Nature
or Prakrithi is but a transformation of the basic Brahmam,
like pot from mud, cloth from cotton, jewels from gold.
So Brahmam is called the Upadana cause of Prakrithi. It
is also the Nimiththakarana (predetermined cause), or
the Nimiththa (efficient) cause. For, this Universe can
only be the result of a High Intelligence, an Intelligence
that is all-comprehensive, a Sarvajna. Heaven is the
highest attainable stage through Karma. Of such Karmas
or rites, the worship of Fire called Agnihotra is the chief.
The performance of such rites contributes to the cleansing
of the mind. Such cleansing is a necessary preliminary to
Paravidya. The flames that rise high from the sacrificial
altar of fire appear to the performer as if they are hailing
him on to realise the Reality or Brahmam. He who does
the rite with full awareness of the significance of the
manthra is able to reach the Solar Splendour, through the
offerings made. They take him to the region of Indra, the
Lord of the gods.
The Vedas recommend two types of obligatory
Karmas: Ishta and Poortha. The rite of Agnihotra,
adherence to Truth, Thapas or Asceticism,
Vedaadhyayanam or study of the Vedas, the service
offered to guests in one’s home—these are Ishta;
30 UPANISHAD VAHINI

construction of temples, caravanserais, rest-houses, tanks,

planting of avenue trees—such acts are Poortha. These
give consequences that are beneficial; but all such cause-
effect chains are transient. They are fundamentally
defective.
The entire Creation is bound up with name and
form and so, unreal. It can be described in words and so,
limited and circumscribed by the intellect and the mind.
The Paramapurusha, the Supreme Person alone is
eternal, real, and pure. He is the prompter of activity and
the dispenser of consequence. But He is beyond the eye,
beyond the intellect. Like the spokes of a wheel that
radiate from the hub, that lead from all directions to the
centre, all creation radiates from Him.
To reach the central hub and know that all spokes
radiate from it, the mind is the instrument. Brahmam the
target is to be reached by the arrow-mind. Have your
mind fixed on the target and using the Upanishadic
teaching as the bow, shoot straight and hard, to hit the
Brahmam and master. That is to say, the Pranava or the
OM is the arrow. Brahmam is the target.
The Brahmam illumines the Jivi by getting
reflected in the inner consciousness or Antahkarana. One
has only to turn that consciousness away from the
objective world, contact with which contaminates the
mind. Now, train the inner consciousness to meditate on
UPANISHAD VAHINI 31

the OM with single-pointed attention. Meditate on the

Atma as unaffected by the Jivi, though in him and with
him and activating him. Meditate on Him in the heart,
from which radiate countless nadis, subtle nerves, in all
directions. If this process is followed, one can attain Jnana
or Wisdom
The Universe is an instrument to reveal the majesty
of God. The inner firmament in the heart of man is also
equally a revelation of His Glory. He is the Breath of
one’s breath. Since He has no specific form, He cannot
be indicated by words. Nor can His mystery be penetrated
by the other senses. He is beyond the reach of asceticism,
beyond the bounds of Vedic rituals. He can be known
only by an intellect that has been cleansed of all trace of
attachment and hatred, of egoism and the sense of
possession.
Jnana alone can grant self-realisation. Dhyana
(meditation) can confer concentration of the faculties.
Through that concentration, Jnana can be won, even while
in the body. The Brahmam activates the body through
the five vital airs or Pranas. It condescends to reveal
itself in that same body as soon as the inner consciousness
attains the requisite purity. For the Atma is immanent in
the senses, inner and outer, as heat in fuel and as butter in
milk. Now, the consciousness is like damp fuel, soaked
in the foulness of sensory desires and disappointments.
32 UPANISHAD VAHINI

When the pool in the heart becomes clear of the slimy

overgrowth, the Atma shines in its pristine splendour.
He who acquires the knowledge of this Atman is to be
revered. For, he is liberated. He has become Brahmam,
that which he strove to know and be.