Upanishad - What Does It Mean
2. Upaniṣad - What Does It Mean
The Upaniṣads are called the Vedanta, as most of them constitute the concluding portions of the Veda, and as also their teaching represents the aim or goal of the Veda.
The Sanskrit word anta, like the English end, may be used to mean both “terminus” and “aim.” The later Vedāntic Schools derive their name Vedanta or Veda-anta from the fact that they claim to interpret the Upaniṣads.
The etymological meaning of the term “Upaniṣad” is “to sit (sad) close by (upa) devotedly (ni),” and is indicative of the manner in which the doctrines embodied in the Upaniṣads were learnt at first by pupils in small conclaves sitting near their respective teachers.
The expression which thus means “a session” came to be applied in course of time to what was taught at such sessions.
Since the Upaniṣads are regarded as teaching the highest truth, they could be imparted only to those who were competent to receive and benefit by them; and such competent pupils could be only a few at any given time.
So the meaning “secret” came to be attached to the term “Upaniṣad”; and it is in this sense that we find the expression used in the Upaniṣads themselves.
When, for instance, some important formula is given in the Upaniṣads, it is characterized as the Upaniṣad. Thus in the Brihadāraṇyaka, the formula “the Real of the real” (satyasya satyam) is described as the Upaniṣad of the universal soul.
We also come across such expressions as “the secret teaching” (guhyā ādeśaḥ), “the “supreme secret” (paramam guhyam) applied to what may be considered to be the key-passages in the Upaniṣads.
Commentators like Śankara interpret the expression “Upaniṣad” to mean what “destroys” ignorance, or what “leads” to Brāhman—a meaning which may be etymologically incorrect, but which, nevertheless, correctly defines the scope and aim of the Upaniṣads.
The Upaniṣads are mostly the concluding portions of the Brāhmaṇas and usually the transition from the Brāhmaṇa to the Upaniṣad is effected through what is known as the Āraṇyaka.
The Brāhmaṇas lay down rules and directions concerning the performance of rituals. The Upaniṣads contain the teachings about the ultimate Reality.
In the Āraṇyakas the rituals are given an allegorical interpretation and certain meditations are prescribed, which prepare the way for the philosophy of the Upaniṣads.
It is difficult to say at this distance of time how exactly the Upaniṣads came to be evolved.
Probably the term “Upaniṣad” originally referred to what we have called the key-passages like the “the Real of the real” and “That thou art” (tat tvam asi). These texts, when they were taught to the pupils, were naturally accompanied by explanations.
Later on these explanations together with the central texts may have been reduced to the form in which the Upaniṣads have come down to us.
The texts that bear the name “Upaniṣad” are now known to be more than two hundred. One of the Upaniṣads, Muktikā, gives the names of one hundred and eight Upaniṣads.
Many of these texts, however, are late compositions, distant imitations of the ancient canonical Upaniṣads.
One of the criteria by which the canonical nature of an Upaniṣad may be judged is the fact that it has been commented upon or is quoted from by a thinker like Śankara.
Judged by this test, the first ten Upaniṣads mentioned in the Muktikā, along with a few from the rest, may be regarded as ancient and genuine. They are:
Īśāvāsya, Kena, Kaṭha, Praśna, Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya, Brihadāraṇyaka, Kauṣītaka, Maitrāyaṇīya and Śvetāśvatara.
Even of these, the Brihadāraṇyaka and the Chāndogya are the most important, as they are not only old and comprehensive texts, but also represent the two main, but not exclusive, traditions of thought in the Upaniṣads, the acosmic (niṣ-prapañca) and the cosmic (sa- prapañca) respectively.
It is not possible to state definitely the chronological order of the canonical Upaniṣads. Most of them were composed earlier than the time of the Buddha.
About the thinkers of the Upaniṣads too nothing much can be said. A few like Yājñyavalkya and Uddālaka figure prominently, each with a definite set of teachings influencing a group of pupils.