Mahavakya Upanishad
| Mahavakya Upanishad | ||
|---|---|---|
Veda Atharvaveda[5] | | |
| Chapters | 1 | |
| Verses | 12 | |
| Philosophy | Yoga, Vedanta[6] | |
The Mahavakya Upanishad (
, and is classified as one of the 20 Yoga Upanishads. [1][5] The text describes the nature ofHistory
The title of the text refers to Mahavakya, which refers to great summary sentence or sacred utterances found in the Upanishads.[4][10]
Contents
The Mahavakya Upanishad is a short text that discusses nature of Atman (self, soul) and Brahman (metaphysical reality), their oneness, and the nature of knowledge and ignorance.
What is darkness? what isn't?
Addiction to observing Vedic rituals,
with the objective to fulfill cherished desires,
is darkness.
Atman is not this darkness.
The Upanishad asserts that Samadhi while being a yogic accomplishment is not Self-knowledge and moksha,[2] nor is it the dissolution of mind to external objects.[14] The highest state is, translates Ayyangar, oneness with the inmost Brahman.[14] This is when, asserts the text, the yogin fully feels and understands "the radiant knowledge of sun is in me, Shiva is within me, this transcendent radiance in the universe is in me", and such is the conviction with which he attains the union with Mahavishnu within.[2][15] This is liberation, nothing less, states the Mahavakya Upanishad.[14]
The state of singular self-awareness and consciousness described in Mahavakya Upanishad, states Laurence Rosan, is similar to those found in Chandogya Upanishad, Atmabodha Upanishad, Maitreya Upanishad, Maha Upanishad, Subala Upanishad, Adhyatma Upanishad, Brahmavidya Upanishad and Tejobindu Upanishad.[16] These ideas are also found in Greek Neoplatonic philosophy, states Rosan, particularly the works of 5th-century Proclus.[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Ayyangar 1938, pp. 246–250.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Larson & Potter 2011, p. 614.
- ISBN 978-8120831056, page 800
- ^ ISBN 978-81-208-2027-2.
- ^ a b c Tinoco 1997, pp. 88–89.
- ^ Ayyangar 1938, pp. vii, 246–250.
- ^ a b c Vedic Literature, Volume 1, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. PA497, at Google Books, Government of Tamil NaMNok jpa , Madras, India, page 497
- ^ Flood 1996, p. 96.
- ^ Deussen 1997, p. 557.
- ^ Coward 2012, p. 130.
- ^ Ayyangar 1938, p. 246.
- ^ a b Ayyangar 1938, p. 247.
- ^ a b c Ayyangar 1938, p. 248.
- ^ a b c d Ayyangar 1938, p. 249.
- ^ a b Hattangadi 2000.
- ^ Rosan 1981, pp. 51–52.
- ^ Rosan 1981, pp. 46–47, 51–52.
Bibliography
- Ayyangar, TR Srinivasa (1938). The Yoga Upanishads. The Adyar Library.
- Coward, Harold G. (2012). The Perfectibility of Human Nature in Eastern and Western Thought. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7885-1.
- Deussen, Paul (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
- Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521438780.
- Hattangadi, Sunder (2000). "महावाक्योपनिषत् (Mahavakya Upanishad)" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- Larson, Gerald James; Potter, Karl (2011). The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-8120833494.
- Rosan, Laurence (1981). Neoplatonism and Indian Thought (Editor: R Baine Harris). State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0873955461.
- Tinoco, Carlos Alberto (1997). Upanishads. IBRASA. ISBN 978-85-348-0040-2.