THE UNCOMMON WISDOM OF UPANISHADS DR. SIDDHARTHA GAUTAM AT HINDU TEMPLE, KANSAS CITY, MAY 8,

Saints Highlight Them Go back to your Upanishads – the shining, strengthening, bright philosophy, and part from all these weakening things. Swami Vivekananda, Hindu monk ( 1863 – 1902 ) 2

UPANISHADS AND VEDAS ◦ Four are the Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva. ◦ Each of the four Vedas contains several Upanishads. ◦ Aitareya Upanishad, among others, is from Rig-Veda ◦ Ishāvāsya Upanishad, among others, is from Yajur-Veda ◦ Kena Upanishad, among others, is from Sāma Veda and ◦ Mundaka Upanishad, among others, is from Atharva Veda 3

THINKERS RECOGNIZE THEM The Vedas..are the royal road to the attainment of the Great Knowledge. When I am at it, I feel I am under the spangled heavens of a summer night. Henry David Thoreau, American philosopher and writer (1817 – 1862) Note: The Vedas contain the Upanishads. 4

THE ULTIMATE VISION ◦ Upanishads, by number, are less than 5% of the Vedic mantras ◦ By gravity of their message, they are above the 95% ◦ Therefore they are Vedānta = the final teachings of the Vedas. ◦ Upanishads = Vedānta = Vedānām Antah ◦ The 95% (Veda-Poorva) prepares us for the 5% (Veda-anta) 5

The messages contained in the Upanishads, like some eternal source of light, still illumine and vitalize the religious mind of India. Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate 6 EVER RELEVANT

DHARMA AND BRAHMA ◦ Thousands of scriptures guide us on DHARMA, righteous living. ◦ Merit (punya) and relative happiness (sukha) are the rewards of dharma. ◦ The small number of Upanishads (108 or maybe 400) teach us Brahma. ◦ Liberation (moksha) and absolute happiness (paramānanda) are uncovered in Brahma. 7

SCHOLARS ADORE THEM Upanishads are the solace of my life; they are the solace of my death. Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher and writer ( 1788 – 1860 ) 8

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ All else gives happiness that comes and goes. ◦ This wisdom puts an end to sorrow once for all. ◦ The very purpose of Vedānta study is: ātyantika-duhkha-nivritti, paramānanda-prāpti ENDING OF SORROW SELF-KNOWLEDGE TAKES ONE BEYOND SORROW. Nārada in Chāndogya Upanishad (7.1) 1 9

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ Usually, more we know, more there is to know! ◦ Knowledge, however glorious, does not eliminate the sense of incompleteness. ◦ The insecure self disappears in this wisdom. ◦ We discover our ‘ever-free’ nature. ENDING OF SEARCH KNOWING WHAT, DOES EVERYTHING BECOME KNOWN? Shaunaka in Mundaka Upanishad (1.1.3 ) 2 10

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ Our common understanding: the world is divided in numerous ways. ◦ Nationality, race, religion, language etc. divide us. ◦ Wealth, power, position, privileges divide us. ◦ Here we discover absolute oneness of all existence. ENDING OF DIVISION SEE YOURSELF IN ALL; SEE EVERYONE IN YOURSELF. Ishavasya Upanishad (mantra 6) 3 11

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ Though “thought” is mighty, it is not the highest power. ◦ Upanishads point to the deepest DIMENSION of our existence. ◦ The Pure Self (ātmā) can see what the mind cannot. ◦ This intelligence is not bound by space, time and causation. INTELLIGENCE BEYOND MIND NOT GRASPED BY MIND, IT DRIVES THE MIND! Kena Upanishad (mantra 1.6) 4 12

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ Virtue and vice (punya and pāpa), good and bad, etc. are polarities in which our mind is caught. ◦ Compassion rooted in Self-realization rises above judgmentalism. ◦ The sun knows not ‘night and day’. Pure love embraces saints and sinners alike. SEEING BEYOND RIGHT AND WRONG INSTRUCT ME ON THAT WHICH IS BEYOND DHARMA AND ADHARMA. Katha Upanishad (mantra ) 5 13

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ Much of our life revolves around sense gratification, emotional satisfaction and intellectual indulgence. ◦ Pure Consciousness (prajnānam / pragyān) remains behind the curtain! ◦ If we know our true nature to be CONSCIOUSNESS, we conquer disease, old age and death. HIGHLIGHTS CONSCIOUSNESS CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE SUPREME TRUTH. Aitareya Upanishad (mantra 3.3) 6 14

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ Thought creates the ideas of “others” and “us”. ◦ Self-knowledge erases this division of “he, she, you, me”. ◦ Whom do we fear when there is no ‘other’? ◦ Why fear our own shadow? ENDING OF FEAR AND INSECURITY HE GETS ESTABLISHED IN FEARLESSNESS. Taittiriya Upanishad (mantra 2.7) 7 15

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ This universe is just one third of what we experience. ◦ The dream world is another vast domain. ◦ Deep sleep – without dreams – is the third field. ◦ The Upanishads point to the FOURTH (turiya), the essence of the waker, the dreamer and the deep-sleeper. GOING TO THE BASIS OF ALL EXPERIENCES THE WHOLE WORLD DISSOLVES INTO THE FOURTH. Māndukya Upanishad (mantra 12) 8 16

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ Great are the heights of spiritual growth, which we can reach in human life. ◦ The mystic sound Om is the means to climb up. ◦ Om is the ladder to go up – towards excellence in the relative world (apara brahma). ◦ Om is the ladder to go beyond – towards the transcendental truth (para brahma). INSTRUCTION ON MYSTIC SOUND OM OM IS EVERYTHING – THE ABSOLUTE AND THE RELATIVE. Prashna Upanishad (mantra 5.2) 9 Vedas merge in Gāyatri. Gāyatri merges in Om. Sri Rāmakrishna 17

What is UNCOMMON about them? ◦ In the relative world, we “conceive” and then “achieve”. ◦ In the realm of the absolute, we drop concepts. ◦ The supreme truth shines forth when all ideas fall. ◦ The sun is evident when clouds move away. POWER OF NEGATION THE WAY TO REALIZATION IS – NOT THIS, NOT THIS. Brihadāranyaka Upanishad (mantra ) 10 neti, neti na iti, na iti. 18

The Upanishads, though remote in time from us, are not remote in thought. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Second President of India 19 GUIDING US NOW TOO

May we find in the Upanishads the key to holistic health and right living in today’s world. VISIT upanishad.info THANK YOU 20