INTRODUCTION

• The word ‘philosophy’ etymologically means ‘love of learning’, reflecting the human urge to understand oneself and the world.
• Aldous Huxley suggests the choice isn’t between having or lacking metaphysics but between good and bad metaphysics.
• Western Philosophy primarily seeks truth intellectually, while Indian Philosophy emphasizes spiritual realization alongside practical truth.
• Indian Philosophy, often religious, aims for direct perception of Reality, focusing on annihilating various pains and achieving supreme happiness.
• The Vedas are the oldest texts of the Aryan mind, and Indian Philosophy finds its roots in them, developing independently.
• Limited knowledge of the Vedic period exists due to factors like lack of chronology, ancient Indians’ disinterest in personal histories, and biased interpretations.
• The Vedas comprise Mantras (hymns) and Brâhmanas (prose), serving the ritualistic needs of Vedic sacrifices.
• Four Samhitäs – Rk, Säma, Yajuh, Atharva – cater to the requirements of different priests in Vedic sacrifices.
• The Rsis of the Vedas are ‘seers’ of the Mantras, not authors. Brâhmanas elaborate Vedic ritualism in prose.
• Aranyakas, composed in the tranquility of forests, mark a shift from ritualistic to philosophical thought.
• Upanishads, concluding parts of Aranyakas, are highly philosophical and spiritual, representing the essence of Vedic philosophy.
• Mantras and Brâhmanas constitute Karma-Kända (dealing with sacrificial actions), while Aranyakas and Upanishads form Jnanä-Kända (dealing with knowledge), also known as Vedänta.

THE VEDAS

• Pre-Upanishadic thought shows little explicit philosophy, but foundational trends are discernible.
• Philosophical development progresses from naturalistic and anthropomorphic polytheism to transcendent monotheism and immanent monism.
• Max Müller’s concept of ‘henotheism’ as a transitional stage is challenged as inadequate by some scholars.
• Vedic seers were intellectual and spiritual, not merely primitive wonderers, as suggested by some interpretations.
• The key theme of Vedic hymns is spiritual monism, emphasizing the immanent and transcendent aspects of Reality.
• Polytheism, henotheism, and monotheism interpretations are critiqued; instead, the emphasis lies on the manifestation of the Supreme God.
• Illustrations from Vedic texts highlight the unity of the Real, the all-encompassing nature of Purusa, and the immanence of the divine in the universe.
• The Vedic conception depicts the Supreme Soul as the guardian of Truth and the source of all existence, emphasizing its immanence and transcendence.
• Descriptions of the Supreme Soul in Vedic verses underscore its eternal, blissful, and indescribable nature.
• Vedic hymns depict the primordial state before creation, where the Indescribable exists beyond all duality.
• The Indescribable is portrayed as the foundation of all names and forms, immanent in creation yet transcending it.

THE UPANISADS

• Upanishads are the concluding and most profound part of the Vedas, also known as Vedanta.
• The term ‘Upanishad’ denotes sitting down near a teacher in a devoted manner to receive instruction about the highest Reality, which dispels doubts and ignorance.
• While the Muktikopanisad lists 108 Upanishads, only about ten or eleven are considered important and authentic.
• Upanishadic teachings were imparted privately to qualified disciples due to their profound nature.
• Interpretations of the Upanishads vary widely due to the complexity of the problems discussed and their unique style.
• Despite diverse interpretations, the Upanishads emphasize a fundamental doctrine of monistic idealism or idealistic monism.
• These texts are characterized by grand imagery, lucid expression, and crystal clarity, offering philosophical doctrines to the mind and peace to the heart.
• The Upanishads express a passionate yearning for knowledge and a ceaseless search for Reality.
• Scholars like Deussen and Wintemitz praise the philosophical depth and fervor of the Upanishads, likening them to Platonic Dialogues.
• The Upanishads expand on monistic ideas found in the Samhitas, shifting the emphasis from ritualistic sacrifices to philosophical thought.
• They regard the Karma-Kanda (portion dealing with rituals) as secondary, emphasizing the importance of knowing Brahman.
• Some Upanishads employ symbolism and spiritual interpretation of rituals to convey deeper truths to the initiated.
• Criticisms in the Upanishads are directed towards ritualism and ceremonialism, not the lofty philosophical concepts found in the Mantras.

ATMAN

• The individual self is immediately felt and known, with absolute certainty about its existence.
• It is the highest thing known, approaching the Absolute but not identical with it.
• The individual self is a mixture of the real and unreal, a product of Ignorance, but its essence is the light of the Absolute.
• Referred to as the ultimate witness or Saksi, it is one with the Absolute, transcending the senses, mind, intellect, feeling, and will.
• The term ‘Atman’ originally meant life-breath and evolved to signify feeling, mind, soul, and spirit.
• Upanishads extensively investigate the true self, advocating the dictum “Know Thyself,” akin to Socrates’ teachings.
• The Chhandogya Upanishad illustrates a dialogue between Prajapati and Indra, tracing the self from waking to deep sleep to the Absolute Self.
• Indra’s doubts and Prajapati’s teachings anticipate various philosophical positions, including empiricism, skepticism, pragmatism, and Idealism.
• Prajapati emphasizes that the true self is the ultimate subject, self-luminous, and transcendent, grounding all knowledge.
• The Mandukya Upanishad explores consciousness through the waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and Turiya states, highlighting the self as the foundation of existence.
• The Katha Upanishad describes the self as the ultimate reality, transcending objects, senses, mind, intellect, and reason.
• Objects and faculties exist for the self’s purpose but cannot be identified with it, as it transcends them all.
• Yama imparts to Nachiketa the teaching that the self is immortal, self-proved, self-luminous, and can only be realized by transcending empirical subject-object duality.

BRAHMAN

• Brahman is the ultimate reality, derived from the root “Brh” meaning to grow or evolve, initially signifying sacrifice and prayer before acquiring its present meaning.
• Described as “Tajjalan” in the Chhandogya Upanishad, Brahman is the ultimate cause of the universe, from which it arises, into which it returns, and by which it is supported.
• The Taittiriya Upanishad defines Brahman as the source of all beings, their sustainer, and their ultimate destination.
• The theory of evolution in the Upanishads is elaborated through the doctrine of the five sheaths (koshas) in the Taittiriya, progressing from matter to life, mind, self-conscious reason, and non-dual bliss.
• Matter (annamaya) is the lowest level, followed by life (pranamaya), then mind or perceptual consciousness (manomaya), self-conscious reason (vijnanamaya), and finally non-dual bliss (anandamaya).
• Human beings attain self-conscious reason, distinguishing them from lower animals, allowing for arts, sciences, philosophy, and religion.
• The ultimate state of evolution is non-dual bliss, where the empirical trinity of knower, known, and knowledge merges into a transcendental unity, and philosophy finds its termination.
• Brahman transcends all yet underlies all as their background, acting as the immanent inner controller (antaryamin) and the self of all (sarva-bhutantaratma).
• All beings, gods, worlds, and organs are contained in the Universal Self, Brahman, which is self-luminous, immortal, and the support of all worlds.
• Matter and individual souls are manifestations of Brahman, which transcends both the self and the not-self.

BRAHMAN AND ATMAN

• Atman and Brahman are synonymous terms representing the subjective and objective aspects of the ultimate reality in the Upanishads.
• The Upanishadic sages recognized the Atman as Brahman, blending subjectivity with objectivity and transcending both.
• The teaching “Tat tvam asi” (That thou art) emphasizes the identity between individual self (Atman) and universal reality (Brahman).
• The Absolute combines infinitude and certitude, blending the self and the not-self into a unified whole.
• The microcosm (individual) mirrors the macrocosm (universe), with waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and the fourth state corresponding to different aspects of reality.
• Brahman is described as Sachchidananda, representing Pure Existence, Pure Knowledge, and Pure Bliss.
• The cosmic Brahman is the cause of the universe’s creation, maintenance, and destruction, while the acosmic Brahman is the transcendental Absolute, beyond description or limitation.
• The Absolute is the foundational consciousness underlying all knowledge, holding the subjective and objective worlds in unity.
• Descriptions of Brahman often involve negation (neti neti) to transcend finite conceptions and reach the realm of the indescribable.
• Realizing Brahman leads to liberation from the cycle of birth and death, merging the individual with the Absolute.

MÄYÄ OR AVIDYÄ

• The doctrine of Māyā or Avidyā is not borrowed from Buddhism but is present in the Upanishads.
• Shankara elaborated on the concept of Māyā, building upon its foundation in the Upanishads.
• Prof. R. D. Ranade in “A Constructive Survey of Upanishadic Philosophy” traces the origin of the doctrine to the Upanishads.
• Various Upanishads contain references to ignorance and illusion:
  • Isha describes the veil covering truth as golden, distracting observers from inner contents.
  • Katha compares people living in ignorance to blind men following the blind.
  • Mundaka likens ignorance to a knot that must be untied to realize the self.
  • Chhändogya emphasizes knowledge as power and ignorance as impotence.
  • Brhadäranyaka equates unreality to not-being, darkness, and death.
  • Prashna asserts the need to shake off falsehood and illusion to reach the world of Brahman.
  • Brhadäranyaka suggests duality is only apparent, implying the reality of non-duality.
  • Chhändogya states Atman as the sole reality, with everything else being a mere word, mode, or name.
  • Shvetäshvatara describes God as a Māyin who creates the world through His power.

UPANISADS, THE SOURCE OF INDIAN PHILOSOPH Y

• The Upanishads are considered the fountainhead of all Indian philosophy.
• They influence Hindu thought and even heterodox traditions like Buddhism and Jainism.
• Bloomfield notes that no significant form of Hindu thought, including Buddhism, is not rooted in the Upanishads.
• Dr. S. Radhakrishnan highlights the efforts of later philosophies to align with Upanishadic views.
• Prof. R. D. Ranade describes the Upanishads as a lofty eminence of philosophy, giving birth to various streams of thought.
• The Brahma-sutra claims to be a summary of the Upanishads in aphoristic form.
• The Bhagavad Gita is considered the essence of the Upanishads, particularly influenced by the Katha and Isha.
• Various Acharyas of Vedanta, including Shankara, Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Madhva, and Vallabha, interpret the Upanishads to suit their philosophies.
• Heterodox traditions like Jainism and Buddhism derive many doctrines from the Upanishads, such as idealism, monism, karma theory, and the concept of ignorance.
• Sankhya philosophy takes concepts like Prakriti, Gunas, Purusha, and the relation between mind, intellect, and soul from the Upanishads.
• Yoga philosophy is rooted in the Upanishads, with references to Dharana and the soul as a mere observer.
• The Upanishads discuss the combination of Karma and Jnana, with Mimamsa focusing on Karma and Vedanta on Jnana.