Niralamba Upanishad
| Niralamba Upanishad | |
|---|---|
Shukla Yajurveda[3] | |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Verses | 41 |
| Philosophy | Vedanta |
The Niralamba Upanishad (
Niralamba Upanishad defines and explains 29 Upanishadic concepts.[4] It is notable for stating that men, women, all living beings, Hindu gods such as Vishnu and Rudra (Shiva), are in their essence just the same ultimate reality that is Brahman.[5][6] It is also notable for describing "bondage" as doing sacrifice rituals and selfishness of any form, and for defining "demoniacal" as the life of performing fasts or muttering prayers while harboring "cruel desire, hatred and hypocrisy".[6][7]
The text presents answers resonant with the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism.[8]
History
The Niralamba Upanishad's authorship and date of writing is not known, but it is likely a late medieval text similar to the
Manuscripts of this text are also found titled as Niralambopanisad.
Contents
The Niralamba Upanishad is a glossary of
What is Brahman?
Without divisions or classification, without beginning and without end. Pure, Peace, without qualities, Formless, Eternal Bliss, Indivisible, one and only without a second, Supreme Consciousness.
—Niralamba Upanishad 1,
Transl: Mahasaya[14]
The text is notable for giving the same answer to sixteen questions. It states all of the following is just one and the same identity called Brahman (ultimate reality), divisions are false – Paramatma, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Indra, Yama, Surya, Chandra, Devas, Asuras, Pisachas, men, women, all life creatures, fixed matter, Brahmins and others.[5][6] The Ishvara and the Jiva are both explained by the Upanishad to be manifestation of Brahman, while Prakriti is explained as Shakti (potency, energy, power) of the Brahman.[5][6]
Jnana in verse 24, says B. R. Rajam Lyer, means knowledge of the truth that the unchanging existence in the Universe is Brahman, who is Chaitanya or consciousness.[15] It is that, asserts the text, which is seer and the seen, all pervading, the realization of the Self that is same in everyone, realized by subduing the senses, by serving the Guru (teacher), and by learning and meditating on Vedantic doctrines.[13][16]
Ajnana is contrasted by the text in verse 25, as the illusion that the Atman (soul, self) within oneself is different from the soul in angels, other living beings, men, women, or because of castes or orders of life, or because something moves and something is fixed, and it is the ignorance that the Atman is different from the all-pervasive Brahman that is the nature of everything.[13][16]
Sukha (happiness) is defined by the text as the state of realizing one's innate bliss, experiencing
What is Jati (caste)?
जातिरिति च । न चर्मणो न रक्तस्य न मांसस्य न चास्थिनः । न जातिरात्मनो जातिर्व्यवहारप्रकल्पिता ।
What is Jati? It cannot refer to the skin, or the blood, or the flesh or the bone. There is no Jati forAtman(soul). It is made up behavior.
The verse 30 of this Upanishad, defines Bandha, literally bondage.
Moksha is defined by the text in verse 31, as abandoning bondage, knowing what is eternal and what is transient, and being in the eternal.[6][17] The Vidwan, or the learned, states the text, is one who has cognized the unchanging reality of his consciousness that is latent in everyone.[13][19] The Mudha, literally the ignorant, is one who egoistically conceives that the body or caste or Ashrama or actor or enjoyer or such is what matters.[6][19]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ "Niralamba". Spoken Sanskrit Dictionary. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ a b Deussen 2010, p. 27.
- ^ a b Tinoco 1996, p. 89.
- ^ a b Deussen 1997, p. 657.
- ^ a b c Aiyar 1914, p. 19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hattangadi 2000.
- ^ Aiyar 1914, p. 19-22.
- ^ a b Vedic Literature, Volume 1, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. PA436, at Google Books, Government of Tamil Nadu, Madras, India, pages 436–437
- ^ Deussen 1997, pp. 556–557.
- ^ Van Boetzelaer 1997, p. 94.
- ^ Aiyar 1914, pp. 18–23.
- ^ Aiyar 1914, pp. 18–19.
- ^ a b c d e f g Albrecht Friedrich Weber 1885, pp. 136–158.
- ^ Niketan 2005, p. 217.
- ^ Lyer 1996, p. 287.
- ^ a b c d e Aiyar 1914, p. 20.
- ^ a b c d e f Aiyar 1914, p. 21.
- ^ Fellow & Row 1884, pp. 228, 230.
- ^ a b c Aiyar 1914, p. 22.
- ^ Kenneth S. Cohen 1981, p. 58.
- ^ Aiyar 1914, p. 23.
Bibliography
- Aiyar, Narayanasvami (1914). Thirty minor Upanishads. Archive Organization. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- Deussen, Paul (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
- Deussen, Paul (2010), The Philosophy of the Upanishads, Oxford University Press (Reprinted by Cosimo), ISBN 978-1-61640-239-6
- Fellow, M.C.; Row, P. Sreenivas (1884). The Theosophist. Theosophical Publishing House.
- Hattangadi, Sunder (2000). "निरालम्बोपनिषत् (Niralamba Upanishad)" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- Kenneth S. Cohen (October 1981). Yoga Journal. Active Interest Media. p. 58.
- Lyer, B. R. Rajam (30 September 1996). Rambles in Vedanta. Motilal Banarsidass Publisher. ISBN 978-81-208-0912-3.
- Niketan, Yoga (May 2005). The Scriptural Commentaries of Yogiraj Sri Sri Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya. iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-35181-7.
- Tinoco, Carlos Alberto (1996). Upanishads. IBRASA. ISBN 978-85-348-0040-2.
- Van Boetzelaer, JM (1997). Sureshvara's Taittiriyopanisadbhasyavartikam. BRILL Academic. ISBN 978-9004016682.
- Albrecht Friedrich Weber (1885). Indische Studien, herausg. von A. Weber, Volume 17. Leipzig: FA Brockhaus (in German language).