Talk:Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Introduction

Among the six traditional systems of philosophy known as Ṣad-darśanas, the Vedānta system owns a place of honor. This system is quite popular and alive even in the modern times. It is entirely based on the Upaniṣads which are considered as the predominant philosophical sections of the Vedas.

Significance of Chāndogya Upaniṣad

The Chāndogya Upaniṣad is one of the ten Upaniṣads considered to be ancient and authoritative. Śaṅkara (A. D. 788-820) has written a voluminous commentary on this Upaniṣad. It's significance is clearly stated by the point that the work Brahmasutras has taken a lot of reference from it for the topics of discussion.

Inception of Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Though the word ‘chandas’ (‘that which exhilarates’) is one of the names of the Vedas in general, it is more particularly applied to the Sāmaveda. Sāmaveda is the third of the four Vedas wherein the mantras, known as ‘sāmans,’ are set to music and sung. Those who have specialized in the singing of these sāmans are called ‘Chandogas’. The Brāhmaṇa (liturgical section) pertaining to Chandogas is designated as Chāndogya Brāhmaṇa. Chāndogya Brāhmaṇa itself forms a part of the Tāndya branch of the Sāmaveda. This Brāhmaṇa contains ten prapāṭhakas or sections out of which the first two form the Mantra Brāhmana and the rest of them forms Chāndogya Upaniṣad.

Sections of Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Chāndogya Upaniṣad comprises of eight chapters. Each chapter is subdivided into ‘khaṇḍas’ or sections (total number of khaṇḍas being 154). It contains 628 kaṇḍikas or mantras all written in prose.

First Chapter

The specialty of this Upaniṣad is that it describes number of ‘upāsanās’ or ‘vidyās’ or meditation generally based on Vedic rituals. Since the average spiritual aspirant devotes the major part of his life in performing these rituals, it is rather difficult for him to straight away take to meditation on God. Hence he is gradually led to this meditation by a series of graded meditations on the rituals. Each meditation is focused on the parts which are being substituted by the appropriate symbols. This technique elevates the whole process to spiritual levels.

• The entire first chapter is devoted to the meditation on the ‘udgītha,’. It is the principal part of a sāman chant. The udgītha starts with the chant Om. Om is the best symbol of Paramātman, the Supreme Self or God. The Upaniṣad begins with its upāsanā.
• With the help of ancient anecdote, the second section stresses the importance of meditation on the udgītha. It has identified it with the mukhyaprāṇa. Mukhyaprāṇa is the primary life force within the body. At the cosmic level it has manifested itself as the sun. Meditation on Om in various aspects is continued till the 7th section.
• The twelfth section gives an amusing incident of dogs singing udgītha (hence called ‘śauva-udgītha,’ śauva = related to dogs) for obtaining food. Saṅkara opines that some supernatural deities assumed the forms of dogs to reveal this udgītha to the sage Baka-Dālbhya. It helps a hungry person in securing food.

Second Chapter

The second chapter is devoted to meditations on the whole sāman.

• Sections 2 to 10 mainly deal with the meditations on sāman.
• Sections 11 to 21 deal with the meditations on certain special sāmans like:

1. The gāyatrasāman
2. The rathantarasāman
3. The revatisāman
4. Etc.

• The twenty-third section mentions the four āśramas or stages of life. It deals with the results obtained from meditating purely on Oih. It results in the attainment of immortality.

Third Chapter

In this chapter the sun is personified as the result of all the sacrifices. Even all the karmas of the beings are washed out by practicing meditation.

• The first eleven sections of the third chapter deal with the meditation on the Āditya or the sun. The whole series of meditations are called Madhuvidyā, since Āditya has been compared to ‘madhu’ or honey.
• Sections 12 and 13 deal with meditation on Brahman through the gāyatrī. Gāyatrī is the best among the Vedic meters. Meditation on Brahman in and outside the space or ether of the heart has also been described.
• The 14th section gives the famous Śāndilyavidyā. It prescribes meditation on the Ātman in the lotus of one’s heart. It is identified with Brahman called as ‘tajjalān.’ This leads to the attainment of Brahman after the fall of the body.
• Sections 15 deal with Kośavidyā for the longevity of one’s son.

1. Section 16 deal with Puruṣavidyā for one’s own longevity. The sage Mahidāsa Aitareya discovered the Puruṣavidyā. He is said to have lived for 116 years.

Fourth Chapter

The fourth chapter describes the four important vidyās:

1. Sarhvargavidyā
2. Sodaśa-kalāvidyā
3. Upakośalavidyā
4. Akṣi-puruṣavidyā

• Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa was a king. He was well-known for his generosity. He becomes aware of the spiritual eminence of the sage Raikva accidentally by hearing a conversation between the two swans flying over his palace. After a thorough research he finds Raikva resting in the shade under a cart. Honoring him suitably with presents, the king seeks spiritual wisdom from him. Raikva teaches him to meditate upon Vāyu (cosmic wind) outside and the mukhya-prāṇa (chief life-force) inside as ‘sarīvarga’. By obtaining it one can absorb and dissolve everything within itself. ‘Sarīvarga’ is Prajāpati, the Self of all gods. This is the subject-matter of the first three sections.
• In section 4 to 9 the touching story of the young boy Satyakāma Jābāla and the Sodaśakalāvidyā he received directly from supernatural deities has been described. The focus of this particular meditation is on two important aspects:

1. The 16 ‘kalās’ facets of the Brahman.
2. Brahman being the final cause of this world.

• Sections 10 to 14 deal with the story of Upakoṣala, a disciple of Satyakāma. It shows how he obtains the knowledge of Brahman from the three sacred fires from gurukula. This has been called Upakoṣalavidyā. The fires taught that prāṇa or the chief life-force manifesting in the heart as bliss is Brahman. Satyakāma completed his teachings by imparting the knowledge of the ‘akṣipuruṣa,’ also called as the power behind the senses known as the ātman. One who realizes this ātman goes to the abode of Brahman after death and does not return to transmigratory existence.

Fifth Chapter

The fifth chapter describes three kinds of destination for a soul after the death of the body:

1. People who are practicing Pañcāgnividyā (‘meditation on the five fires’) and similar other upāsanās will go by the ‘arcirādi-mārga’ or the path of light to Brahmaloka, the abode of Brahman, and will not return to transmigratory worlds.
2. People who perform only rituals without enlightenment will travel by the ‘dhumādi-mārga,’ the path of smoke, and attain the worlds like pitṛloka or the world of manes. From this they can return to the human world after some time.
3. People who lead a beastly life without practicing either upāsanās or ritualistic karmas, will constantly go through the rounds of birth and death.

• The first two sections of this chapter prescribes meditation on the mukhya-prāṇa, the chief life-force. It emphasizes on this meditation after establishing its superiority over other prāṇas (the sense-organs) through an anecdote.
• Sections 3 to 10 deal with the famous Pañcāgnividyā (‘the doctrine of the five fires’) and eschatology. It summarizes the story of young Śvetaketu puffed up with the pride of learning. He goes to the court of the king Pravāhaṇa Jaivali with a view to establish the superiority of his learning. But he is rebuffed by the king who had more knowledge comparatively. He returns angry and crestfallen to his father, the sage Gautama. In humility, the sage Gautama approaches the king Pravāhaṇa Jaivali and requests him to teach the Pañcāgnividyā. In this vidyā, heavenly world, rains, earth, man and woman are to be contemplated upon. It is related to the fire into which the oblations of faith, subtle body (of the sacrificer), rain, food and semen are poured. This final oblation is responsible for the rebirth of the sacrificer. Those who know this science go to the world of Brahman after death.
• The rest of the sections (sections 11 to 24) deals with the Vaiśvānaravidyā. Six sages under the leadership of the sage Uddālaka Āruṇi obtain this vidyā from the king Aśvapati Kaikeya. Kaikeya was an adept in it. Vaiśvānara Ātman is īśvara or the Cosmic Being pervading the universe. He is also inside us as the chief life-force, mukhya-prāṇa. Hence the act of eating food should be contemplated upon as Agnihotra sacrifice. One who achieves perfection in this will be identified with the Cosmic Being. This is the gist of this vidyā.

Sixth Chapter

The purport of the whole chapter is to teach the identity of the jīvātman or the individual self with Brahman, the Cosmic Soul. The last three chapters of this section contains the quintessence of the Vedānta philosophy.

• The sixth chapter is devoted to the delineation of the Sadvidyā, knowledge and meditation pertaining to Sat (the eternal Truth) or Brahman. It is in the form of a dialogue between the son Śvetaketu and his father Uddālaka Āruṇi. When Svetaketu returns home after completing twelve-years course in Vedic studies, the father Uddālaka Aruṇi notices bis conceit born out of that learning. He questions him whether he has learned that by knowing which everything will be known. As Śvetaketu had not known it, he requests his father himself to teach it to him. By citing the examples of clay, gold and iron and their products (like pot, ornament and nail-cutter), the father first draws the attention of his son to the identity between the cause and its effects. He points out that the names and forms are unreal. The substance alone is real. Applying this principle he states that before creation, only Sat (the eternal Truth) existed. It evolved into this world of names and forms through the three primary elements:

1. Tejas - Fire
2. Ap - Water
3. Anna - Earth

• All objects of creation including the bodies of living beings also, have come out of these elements through permutation and combination. This is the gist of the teachings of the first seven sections.
• Sections 8 to 10 deal with the merging of the individual self, the jīva, into Sat during the state of deep sleep. Since ignorance persists, he came back to his original state. The same logic applies in the case of rebirth after death also. But those who attain knowledge will get liberated. The famous Vedāntic dictum tattvam asi, ‘That thou art’ appears for the first time in the eighth section. It is even repeated later for nine times.
• Sections 12 and 13 teach that Sat is the primary Cause of the universe. Sat is too subtle to be perceived just like the seed of the banyan tree in which the whole tree exists in an involved state. It pervades the entire creation like the lump of salt dissolved in a jar of water.
• To know this Sat the help of a teacher, guru or guide, is necessary. It is like a blindfolded traveler let off in a forest having robbers and finding his way out with the help of a kind soul. This is the teaching of the 14th section.
• Though the mode of death is similar in the ignorant and the enlightened souls, the latter will not transmigrate whereas the formers do. This is explained in the last two sections with the help of an anecdote of the police catching a thief.

Seventh Chapter

The seventh chapter teaches Bhuma-vidyā. It is also known as the knowledge of the Infinite. Nārada, though himself being a great sage and a man of considerable erudition, approaches the distinguished sage Sanatkumāra with a heavy heart seeking peace and joy. Step by step Sanatkumāra teaches him meditation on fifteen objects like name, speech, mind and so on, to Bhuman, the Infinite.

The Bhuman is everywhere and established in its own glory. By knowing it nothing else remains to be known. It is the Self of all beings. One who realizes it, becomes ‘svarāṭ.’ Like a king, he will have full freedom in all the worlds. This knowledge can be obtained through:

1. Purity of the mind obtained through pure food.
2. Purity of sense-experience

It is only a pure mind that can retain and realize spiritual truths.

Eighth Chapter

It is difficult to comprehend and contemplate upon Brahman without qualities. He can be described as Sat and Bhuman also. It is easier to meditate upon the saguṇa or qualified aspect of Brahman possessing the blessed qualities. The eighth chapter prescribes that meditation on Brahman is related to disciplines like brahmacarya.

• The first two sections deal with Daharavidyā. This vidyā is the meditation on Brahman in the ‘daharākāśa,’ the little space in the region of the heart. This ākāśa or space in the heart is the Brahman itself. It is not limited to that spatial area nor does it gets destroyed with the destruction of the body. One who realizes this obtains whatever he wants in whichever world he contemplates.
• The next three sections extol and prescribe brahmacarya or celibacy and other related disciplines for realizing the Ātman-Brahman. This Ātman-Brahman is like a dyke protecting all the worlds.
• The sixth section describes the various nāḍīs or passages for the flow of prāṇic energy. It also describes how the soul of a man of knowledge enters into suṣumnā nāḍī during the time of his death. Soul departs through the aperture on the top of the head and reaches Brahmaloka, the abode of Brahman. There is no return from there.
• Sections 7 to 12 deal with the teachings of Prajāpati to Indra and Virocana. Prajāpati is the father of the creation. He propagated that one who realizes the ātman, the Self, becomes sinless. He is beyond all the limitations like hunger and thirst, old-age and death of a body. On hearing this Indra, the king of gods, and Virocana, the king of demons, decided to get that knowledge of the ātman. After undergoing brahmacarya (disciplines necessary for spiritual studies) for 32 years they both approached him for the teaching. Prajāpati preached that the ‘person seen in the eye’ is the ātman. Virocana understood it as the reflection seen in the eyeball. This reflection is the body. Fully satisfied with this understanding that the body is itself the ātman, he returned to his tribe and taught it to them. Indra also took it that way but very soon he started having doubts. He was doubtful whether the body seen in the reflection is subject to mutilation, disease and death. He was even ambivalent regarding the ātman undergoing this or not. He returned and expressed his doubts to Prajāpati. Prajāpati further sermonized after a further period of brahmacarya for 32 years. He told that the ‘person who moves about in the dream is the ātman.’ When Indra discovered the limitations of the Prajāpati's first and second doctrine,’ he observed brahmacarya for some other years totaling to 101 years. He then realized that the ātman is the ‘seer’ behind all the sense organs. Ātman is the witness of all the states. It is also the immortal spirit different from the mortal body.
• The last section gives the list of teachers of spiritual wisdom. It also adds that one who leads a life in accordance with dharma and meditates on Brahman in the heart, will reach Brahmaloka after death and will not return.

Epilogue

Chāndogya Upaniṣad is the second longest and one of the most ancient scriptures of the religion. It throws an interesting light on contemporary history and customs. It mentions many geographical names like:

1. Pāñcāla
2. Kuru
3. Naimiṣa
4. Gāndhāra
5. Kekaya

References of many things mentioned below indicate a fair degree of civilization:

1. Arts and sciences
2. Villages and towns
3. Buildings and parts of buildings
4. Tools of iron and other implements
5. Different kinds of articles of food and drink
6. Musical instruments
7. Minerals and metals
8. Carts and chariots
9. Keepers of cows and horses
10. Kings and law enforcing agencies
11. Several calendar terms

Family life was highly valued and social life was generally peaceful. Truth and righteousness were given the place of pride. For acquiring knowledge from competent teachers no sacrifice was considered too great. The teachers also enforced discipline strictly. Though ritualistic religion was very much in vogue, philosophical inquiry was considered a superior pursuit. Thus, the Chāndogya Upaniṣad is a unique text of the Vedānta system giving an insight into a philosophical inquiry of the highest kind.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore