The Spirit of True Enquiry
Prashnopanishad: Upanishad is a conversation between the Guru Pippalada, who was approached by six disciples. These six disciples ask six questions, and the master answers them. In the Vedic tradition, knowledge has always been delivered through a dialogue. “Knowledge is always sought and never taught.” The onus is on the student to draw the knowledge from the Guru. The Guru does not take the responsibility of teaching the knowledge unasked for, as it loses its respect and value. The fundamental condition of any Guru is to impart this sacred, precious knowledge to a true adhikari, a qualified and worthy student.
There are four Vedas – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharvana Veda. This Upanishad appears in the Atharvana Veda. This is said to be a Brahmanopanishad, an explanatory text contrary to Mantropanishad, which are declarations, authoritative texts. These authoritative texts could not be understood by all the students so the masters started explaining, it became a Brahmanopanishad. Mantropanishads are statements of fact and are short, like the Isavasya Upanishad, which has only 18 mantras. The Prashnopanishad is explanatory and has 67 mantras.
Each Veda has four sections. The end portion of the Veda contains the Upanishadic truths. The Upanishads are the philosophical kernel, essence of the Vedas. It is like the Mahabharata, which runs into 100 thousand verses. Out of these, 700 verses are the Bhagavad Gita, which gives the philosophical message, the quintessential of the text Mahabharata. Similarly, the other three parts of the Vedas deal with rituals, karma khanda, parables, yajnas, forms of worship… Being a true Vedantic student, instead of talking of the first three portions of the Vedas, we have directly embarked on the study of the Upanishads.
There are 286 Upanishads, out of which 108 are considered to be orthodox. Out of 108 Upanishads, 11 are considered very important. These 11 Upanishads have been commented by the great three acharyas, Shankaracharya, Madhavacharya, and Ramanujacharya. They are considered as the stalwarts’ authority on Advaita, Dwaita, and Visishta Adwaita schools of thought. These three acharyas have chosen 11 Upanishads and hence they have gained prominence over the other 108 or 286 Upanishads. The eleven Upanishads are
- Isavasya Upanishad
- Kenopanishad Upanishad
- Mundaka Upanishad
- Mandukya Upanishad
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
- Chandokya Upanishad
- Taitreya Upanishad
- Aitreya Upanishad
- Kathopanishad
- Prashnopanishad
- Shvetashvakara Upanishad
The essence of the Vedas is the Upanishads, and these Upanishads were transmitted orally over the years. Since it was spoken by the Guru, the shishya heard and attained moksha. There were no written scriptures. Since it was heard only through the transmission of speech, they are called Shruthi; Shru means to hear. Shruthi are authorless and have been preserved and transmitted through generations of agami the tradition of Guru Shishya Parampara. So there are no textbooks to refer to when they were spoken, and we do not know who authored these textbooks.
The word Upanishad can be split into three words – Upa – Ni – Shad.
Upa means to sit very near to the teacher. When you are sitting near to a teacher, you are tuned in, and it triggers your receptacles.
Ni means to sit below a teacher. Traditionally, a teacher sits at a higher pedestal and students at a lower pedestal. When you sit below, you have to look up to a teacher, guru, and you develop an attitude of devotion.
Shad means to sit. When you sit, it develops a quality of introvertedness. You must sit in a conducive environment. On the contrary when you are extroverted, you are using your organs of action, interacting with the world; you are unfit to listen to the Upanishadic knowledge. So you need to be introverted to receive this knowledge.
So, the three qualities required to receive the Upanishad are:
Upa – sit near to have receptivity
Ni – you must be devoted
Shad – you must be introverted.
These qualities are essential for the teacher and student.
Q: What is Vedanta?
A: Vedanta is the end portion of the Vedas, which are the Upanishads. The word Vedanta is derived from two words –
Veda – knowledge
Anta – end portion of the Vedas.
Vedanta is the highest knowledge contained in the Upanishads or Vedas, ever known to mankind. Vedas are the authority, and Vedanta is the philosophy, the very essence of life. Unadulterated knowledge in its purest form, without the element of rituals.
Vedanta takes the quintessence from all Upanishads in its purest form. To understand Vedanta, you need not study all the Upanishads because the essence of one Upanishad is the essence of all 286 Upanishads. Each Upanishad comes with its own flavour of the master, but the essence remains the same. It is the exposition of the philosophy contained in the Vedas at large. One can go through various Upanishads to reach the destination. The journey itself can be fascinating.
Let’s have the grace of the Rishis before we embark on this study of Prashnopanishad.
Invocation
ॐ भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवा
भद्रं पश्येमाक्षभिर्यजत्राः ।
स्थिरैरङ्गैस्तुष्तुवाꣳसस्तनूभिर्व्यशेम देवहितं यदायुः ॥
स्वस्ति न इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवाः
स्वस्ति नः पूषा विश्ववेदाः ।
स्वस्ति नस्तार्क्ष्यो अरिष्टनेमिः
स्वस्ति नो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
oṃ bhadraṃ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devā
bhadraṃ paśyemākṣabhiryajatrāḥ
sthirairaṅgaistuṣtuvāgͫ sastanūbhirvyaśema devahitaṃ yadāyuḥ ..
svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ .
svasti nastārkṣyo ariṣṭanemiḥ
svasti no bṛhaspatirdadhātu
oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ .
Om, may we hear the auspicious with our ears O Gods! May we behold the auspicious with our eyes, O worshipful ones. May we live the God-given span of life with firm limbs and bodies, singing your praises. May the traditionally glorified Indra bless us. May the all-knowing Sun bless us. May Vayu, protector from harm, bless us. May Brhaspati bless us.
Om Peace Peace Peace
bhadraṃ – auspiciousness
karṇebhiḥ – with our ears
śṛṇuyāma devā – May we hear O Gods
bhadraṃ paśyemākṣabhiryajatrāḥ – May we behold the auspicious with our eyes
yajatrāḥ – O worshipful ones
devahitaṃ yadāyuḥ – May we live God-given span of life
sthirairaṅgai – with firm limbs and bodies
stuṣtuvāgͫ – singing your praises
svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ – Traditionally glorified Indra bless us
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ – all-knowing Sun bless us
svasti nastārkṣyo ariṣṭanemiḥ – May Vayu bless us
svasti no bṛhaspatirdadhātu – May Brihaspati bless us
Every Upanishad has its own invocatory prayer. Traditionally, an invocatory prayer is chanted both by the teacher and the taught, disciples.
Purpose of an invocatory prayer:
- The invocation breaks the routine, monotony of the mundane worldly terrestrial activity that you are engaged in. So, when you chant the invocation, it gives you a jerk. It alerts you that the activity you are going to get into is not yet another mundane terrestrial activity. Worldly transactions agitate your mind. The receptacles are not in their optimum state. Intellect is caught up in various emotions and activities. In order to differentiate from worldly activities to transcendental ones, one has to chant the invocation. It is an auspicious activity of the highest order. It has to be accorded with due respect and due preparation. The chant prepares both the teacher and the student for the highest knowledge.
- Chanting of the invocation also tunes in the receptacles which are necessary for you to be receptive to seek the knowledge. The receptacles are the head and heart. The invocation calms the heart (mind), alerts and sharpens the head (intellect).
The invocation always starts with the mantra OM. It is the first syllable chanted before the invocation. OM is the subtlest symbol, the highest idol representing Brahman. When OM is chanted before any text, it caters to the highest bracket of the student. It may happen that when the guru chants OM at the start of a class, the highest order of students would have moved out of the class as he must have realised the Self and attained moksha. They do not need any more knowledge. That little prop was required for them to realise. The mere chant of OM when chanted with utmost preparation in the right bhavana, can give moksha. While you are meditating and chanting the mantra OM, a step before realisation, the last thing that drops is the mantra OM. Vedanta is also a symbol of Brahman.
The invocation prayer is invoking the blessings of the gods, which represent different aspects of the personality. Everything is divinised by gods. So we are invoking these gods and seek their blessings.
May we hear and see what is auspicious – Hearing and seeing refer to two organs of perception, but we can consider all sense perceptions. Hearing and seeing is referred because the intake of raw materials is the first step for any process of life. The world enters into us through organs of perception, and so what we receive must be most auspicious. It is possible through Satsang. Sang is company; Sat is that which is beneficial, instrumental for your transformation. Any transformational input is called satsang.
Throughout the day, may we hear and see auspiciousness. When we are entertaining the negativity of others, we are in dussang. If you receive negativity, you are not in the right environment for your growth. Our transformation starts when we hear only what is good from the world and take input of the highest order. Satsang is to take in the best input.
May we live God-given span of life with firm limbs and bodies – God is not responsible for our life and its longevity. What determines the span of life is the vasana. Longevity is determined by the prarabdha vasanas you are born with.
Singing your praises – means leading a spiritual life. Use the opportunity of this life to glorify the higher.
Firm limbs and body – We have to keep the body fit and in proper condition. Those people who neglect the body are tamasic. Those who worship the body are rajasic. To keep yourself conscious of the imperfection at the physical level, to keep the body strong and fit so that it serves in the journey to praise the Lord is sattva.
May the traditionally glorified Indra bless – Indra is the Lord of gods. Gods represents the senses, and the Lord of senses is the mind. Hence, the mind is referred to as Indra. It is your mind which keeps your life going. Your mental state and physical health is determined how healthy your mind is. We are praying that the mind should support our effort. A disturbed mind becomes an impediment.
Sun is all-knowing – Sun is glorified, and it dispels darkness.
Protect from Vayu – Vayu represents the pranas. Of the pranas, it is the vital air sheath, Pranamaya kosha. Where there is vayu wind, it saves us from harmful diseases. If there is no circulation of air, it become stuffy. Vayu is worshipped so that the obstacles of impurities are cleansed. When we do pranayama, conscious breathing, it revitalises our body.
May Brihaspati bless us – Brihaspati symbolises the teacher of the gods in the heaven. So, we are seeking his blessings. Brihaspati symbolises the subtle intellect. We are seeking the support of subtle intellect.
The entire invocatory prayer is seeking blessings and support so that every cell of the teacher and student are settled for this knowledge. The teacher is eager to teach, and the student has an ardent desire to learn and this combination is an ideal set up for an upanishadic study.
Q: Why is Shanti chanted thrice after every prayer?
A: The three shanti are the three obstacles that could come and interfere in this journey.
First Shantih is chanted aloud to address the cosmic disturbances, adhidaivikam. It could be thundering, lightning, or weather that could disturb. May there not be any such disturbance.
Second Shantih is in a medium tone. It is to take care of external disturbances, adhibhoutikam, like internet disconnection, phone, etc.
Last Shantih is chanted in whispers – adhyatmikam, the internal disturbances. May my receptacles cooperate in this endeavour. My body should not be an impediment.
The three chants of Shantih are adhidaivikam, adhibhoutikam and adhyatmikam; may you please cooperate and not disturb me, for I have embarked on such an extraordinary auspicious journey to invoke Brahman within me.
When you chant this invocation with right intent and bhavana, it has extraordinary impact in preparing you for the spiritual, scriptural study.
