Transcription
1THE MAHAVAKYASOf theUPANISHADS(The Great Spiritual & UniversalTruths)English Exposition by:Ajai Kumar ChhawchhariaAyodhya (Faizabad, U.P.)Full address of Author—36-A, Rajghat Colony, Parikrama Marg,P.O.—Ayodhya, Pin—224123Distt.—Faizabad, U.P. India.Mobile: 919451290400, 919935613060Website: www.tulsidas-ram-books.weebly.com Email of Author: (i) ajaichhawchharia@gmail.com (ii) ajaikumarbooks@gmail.com Facebook ID www.facebook.com/ajaikumarchhawchharia8 Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/AjaiKumarChhawchhariaArchive.org: https://archive.org/details/@ajai kumar thor/show/991710.Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia**
2 By Author—All rights reserved by the author. No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by any means without permission of the author-Ajai KumarChhawchharia.NOTE: Author’s Books are available at:-(1) www.amazon.com in its Kindle Paper-Back Print Editions.(2) www.pothi.com in a Print edition.(3) www.draft2digital.com and its various vendors’ platforms in E-Book edition.(4) www.tulsidas-ram-books.weebly.com(5) www.archive.org : at following URL:https://archive.org/details/@ajai kumar chhawchhariaLanguage: English.
3CONTENTS1. Dedication: Page 62. Preface: Page 73. Chapter 1: What is the Upanishad? Page 104. Chapter 2: The MAHAVAKYAS Page 20—116Section 2(A):- Page 20Mahavakyas of the Rig Veda Upanishads:2(A)(i) Atmabodha Upanishad, Canto 1, verse nos. 2, 4 Page 222(A)(ii) Mudgal Upanishad, Canto 3, verse nos. 1-3 Page 22Section 2(B):-Mahavakyas of the Sam Veda Upanishads:2(B)(i) Chandogya Upanishad, Canto 6,section 16, verse no. 32(B)(ii) Sanyas Upanishad, Canto 2, verse no. 482(B)(iii) Yogchudamani Upanishad, verse nos. 82-83 Page 24 Page 24 Page 25 Page 25Section 2(C):- Page 27Mahavakyas of the Shukla Yajur Veda Upanishads:2(C)(i) Paingal Upanishad, Canto 3, verse no. 2-5,and Canto 4, verse nos. 23-28 Page 272(C)(ii) Mandal Brahmin Upanishad,Brahman 2, section 2, verse no. 5;Brahman 2, section 4, verse no. 4;Brahman 3, section 1, verse no. 6;Brahman 3, section 2, verse no. 2 Page 332(C)(iii) Adhyatma Upanishad, verse nos. 2, 10, 30-31 Page 342(C)(iv) Subaal Upanishad, Section/Canto 6, verse nos. 2-7 Page 362(C)(v) Ishavasya Upanishad, verse nos. 4-6 Page 402(C)(vi) Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad,Canto 4, Brahman 4, Verse nos. 22, 24-25 Page 43Section 2(D):- Page 47Mahavakyas of the Krishna Yajur Veda Upanishads:2(D)(i) Shuk-Rahasya Upanishad, verse no. 22 Page 472(D)(ii) Kaivalya Upanishad, verse nos. 16, 18-19 Page 482(D)(iii) Sarwasaar Upanishad, verse no. 12-14 Page 492(D)(iv) Varaaha Upanishad, Canto 4, verse nos. 32, 37 Page 512(D)(v) Avadhut Upanishad, verse no. 2 Page 572(D)(vi) Tejobindu Upanishad, Canto 3, verse nos. 60-74 Page 58
42(D)(vii) Tejobindu Upanishad, Canto 5, verse no. 5 Page 632(D)(viii) Panch Brahm Upanishad, verse no. 28 Page 632(D)(ix) Brahm Bindu Upanishad, verse no. 8 Page 642(D)(x) Brahm Vidya Upanishad, verse no. 34, 78-79 Page 652(D)(xi) Yogshikha Upanishad, Canto 1, verse nos. 131-133 Page 662(D)(xii) Katha Upanishad, Canto 1, Valli 3, verse nos. 14-15;Canto 2, Valli 3, verse no. 9 Page 67Section 2(E):- Page 69Mahavakyas of the Atharva Veda Upanishads:2(E)(i) Atma Upanishad, especially verse no. 1-C, 1-D,1-E, 2-3, 8, and 22-25 Page 692(E)(ii) Tripadvibhut Maha Narayan Upanishad,Canto 5, paragraph no. 15; Canto 6, paragraph no. 22;Canto 8, paragraph no. 5 Page 752(E)(iii) Ram Rahasya Upanishad, Canto 5, verse nos. 13-14 Page 772(E)(iv) Ram Purva Tapini Upanishad, Canto 3, verse no. 2 Page 792(E)(v) Ram Uttar Tapini Upanishad, Canto 3, verse no. 9 Page 812(E)(vi) Annapurna Upanishad, Canto 5, verse nos. 2, 8,20-21, 57, 65, 74, 95 Page 832(E)(vii) Mahavakya Upanishad, verse nos. 6-9, 11 Page 862(E)(viii) Hayagriva Upanishad, verse no. 15 Page 892(E)(ix) Narad Parivraajak Upanishad,Canto 6, paragraph nos. 3-4 Page 892(E)(x) Narad Parivraajak Upanishad, Canto 7, verse no. 8 Page 972(E)(xi) Param Hans Parivraajak Upanishad,paragraph nos. 3-4 Page 992(E)(xii) Tripura Tapini Upanishad, Canto 5, verse no. 20 Page 1022(E)(xiii) Manduk Upanishad, verse nos. 1-7 Page 1022(E)(xiv) Mundak Upanishad,Mundak 2, Section 1, verse nos. 1-10;Mundak 3, Section 2, verse nos. 6-9 Page 1105. Chapter 3: Thoughts of a Spiritually Enlightened& Self-realised PersonSection 3(A):-Upanishads of the Rig Veda:3(A)(i) Atmabodha Upanishad, Canto 2, verse nos. 1-31 Page 117—200 Page 117 Page 117Section 3(B):- Page 123Sam Veda Upanishads:3(B)(i) Sanyas Upanishad, Canto 2, verse nos. 47-54, 63-73 Page 1233(B)(ii) Maitreyu Upanishad, Canto 1, verse nos. 15-18;
5Canto 3, verse nos. 1-25Section 3(C):-Shukla Yajur Veda Upanishads:3(C)(i) Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad,Canto 4, Brahman 4, verse no. 233(C)(ii) Ishavasya Upanishad, verse no. 7Section 3(D):-Krishna Yajur Veda Upanishads:3(D)(i) Kaivalya Upanishad, verse nos. 19-233(D)(ii) Varaaha Upanishad, Canto 2, verse no. 383(D)(iii) Varaaha Upanishad, Canto 3, verse nos. 3, 8, 103(D)(iv) Tejobindu Upanishad,Canto 3, verse nos. 1-51, 60-743(D)(v) Tejobindu Upanishad,Canto 4, verse nos. 2, 12-30, 453(D)(vi) Tejobindu Upanishad, Canto 6, verse nos. 31-34,44-45, 58-64, 68-72, 1073(D)(vii) Avadhuta Upanishad, verse nos. 24-253(D)(viii) Kaivalya Upanishad, verse nos. 19-233(D)(ix) Katho-panishad, Canto 2, Valli 3, verse no. 10Section 3(E):-Athara Veda Upanishads:3(E)(i) Atma Upanishad, verse nos. 2, 8, 10-13, 19-223(E)(ii) Pashupat Brahm Upanishad, Canto 2,verse nos. 21-25, 31-463(E)(iii) Mahavakya Upanishad, verse no. 113(E)(iv) Annapurna Upanishad,Canto 5, verse nos. 59-61, 91-933(E)(v) Mundak Upanishad,Mundak 3, Section 2, verse nos. 3-46. About the Author: Page 127 Page 135 Page 135 Page 136 Page 138 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 162 Page 168 Page 174 Page 175 Page 176 Page 177 Page 177 Page 182 Page 195 Page 195 Page 198 Page 201-------------**********-----------
6DEDICATIONTHIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY BELOVED LORD RAMI dedicate this Book to Lord Sri Ram who is my dearest of dear, most beloved, theessence of my life and being, and for whom, and for whose pleasure, and on whosebehest, and on whose divine mission, this book is dedicated.Nothing that I write is of my own creation. It is the Lord who is getting it done.So I deserve no credit. However, being an ordinary man like the rest of us, I may havecommitted errors, and for those I beg forgiveness. I hope this book will help to continuethe great tradition of singing the glories of the different aspects of same indivisible oneDivinity in order to meet diverse needs of the Soul, the Spirit, one such being to findpeace and happiness amidst the surrounding turmoil of the world by being able to spendsome time in the thoughts of the Divine Being, the same ‘Parmatma’, the same Lordknown by different names in different tongues.No creature is perfect; it’s foolhardy to claim so. The best of paintings cannotreplace the original; the best of words cannot express the original emotions andsentiments. Even the Lord was not satisfied by one flower or one butterfly—he went onendlessly evolving and designing newer forms. So, I have done my best, I have pouredout my being in these books. Honestly, I am totally incompetent—it was the Lord whohad done the actual writing and had moved my fingers as if they were merely aninstrument in his divine hands. But nonetheless, it’s a tribute to the Lord’s glory that hedoes not take the credit himself, but bestows it to them whom he loves as his very own.And to be ‘his very own’ is indeed an unmatched honour. However, I still begforgiveness for all omissions, commissions and transgressions on my part that I may haveinadvertently made. It’s the Lord’s glories that I sing, rejoice in, write on and think of tothe best of my ability. I hope my readers will also absorb the divine fragrance effusingfrom the flowers representing the Lord’s books, enjoy the ambrosia pouring out of themand marvel at the Lord’s stupendous glories.I submit this effort at the holy feet of my beloved Lord Ram whom even LordShiva had revered and worshipped. And surely of course to Lord Hanuman who was amanifestation of Shiva himself. Finding no words to express my profound gratitude toRam, I just wish to remain quiet, and let my silence do the speaking and praying on mybehalf.I hope the reader will find my book useful and interesting. Since English is aninternational language, this book will help the English speaking world to access thismasterpiece of classical Indian scriptural text.“He leadeth me! O blessed tho't!O words with heav'nly comfort fraught!What-e'er I do, wher-e'er I be,Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me!” [A Hymn]Ajai Kumar ChhawchhariaAuthor
7THE MAHAVAKYAS of the UPANISHADS(The Great Spiritual & Universal Truths)PREFACEIn this book we shall read about the great Spiritual Truths, known as the‘MAHAVAKYAS’ (pronounced as “MAHĀVĀKYA”; Mahaa-vaakyaas), that areenunciated, expounded, elucidated and proclaimed by the magnificent great scriptures ofIndia known as the Upanishads which have been inspiring the seekers of the Truth andthe Reality of life and existence since the dawn of civilization.“Mahaa” means ‘great’, and “Vakya” means a ‘word’ or ‘saying’. Hence, ‘Mahavakya’ isa “Great Spiritual Absolute Truth that is universal and irrefutable”, or a “Great Saying”that has been proclaimed in a given Upanishad. These Mahavakyas are not exclusivelypresent in any one Upanishad, but are spread over different Upanishads belonging todifferent Vedas.In this book we shall be reading all the Mahavakyas as they appear in differentUpanishads. I had been diligently collecting and noting them down during the course ofmy doing of English commentary on the all 108 Upanishads which belong to the Vedas.When I was finished I decided to present this collection as an independent book becausethe Mahavakya is the essence of the Upanishad, and is therefore like its nectar. TheseMahavakyas have been collected and explained in as simple English as was possible.The main text of this Book is in three Chapters, and each chapter has many sections. Eachof these sections is dedicated to the Upanishads of a particular Veda, and its sub-sectionsnarrate the Mahavakyas of these individual Upanishads. This layout plan for this Bookwill be very clear by perusal of the Contents page.Since the ‘Mahavakyas’ are incorporated in the main text and body of theUpanishads and are an integral and inseparable part of the latter, it is very essential tofirst know what these Upanishads are. Hence, Chapter 1 is exclusively dedicated toexplaining the meaning, the importance and the significance of the Upanishads.This is followed by Chapter 2 which constitutes the main body of this Book. It istitled THE MAHAVAKYAS. As these Mahavakyas are an integral part of theUpanishads, and since these Upanishads are themselves an integral part of the Vedaswhich incidentally are in five divisions, this chapter no. 2 is divided into five Sections,viz. sections 2(A)—to section 2(E). Each section deals with the Upanishads of aparticular Veda. Further, under each ‘section’ there are a number of sub-sections, eachquoting the Mahavakyas as they are proclaimed and enunciated in a particular Upanishadof the relevant Veda.
8For instance, Chapter 2 has five Sections, from section 2(A)—to section 2(E).Section 2(A) has the Upanishads of the Rig Veda, and there are two sub-sections in thissection, viz. (i) and (ii). Each of this sub-section has the Mahavakyas of a particularUpanishad of the Rig Veda which has been quoted in full.Since this Book is primarily aimed for the common English reader who is moreinterested to be acquainted with these great spiritual and metaphysical Truths and Sayingas enunciated and proclaimed by the timeless and ageless Upanishads, rendered in asimple language that is free from intriguing complexities of the original texts, and isunable to read the Sanskrit of the texts nevertheless, only English has been used in thisBook.It ought to be noted here that all due diligence, effort and care has been taken byme, the Book’s author, to ensure that the English rendering is as near and close to theoriginal text, and it faithfully and truly conveys the original message of the Mahavakyasas was envisioned by the ancient seer who propounded them.Since my aim was not simply to present an English translation of the Mahavakyasbut to explain the text elaborately simultaneously in simple language so that the commonand lay reader can also benefit from its reading, as would be noted by any causal readeras well, not only too much of concern with strict technicalities and literal meaning isavoided but the verses that are quoted in this Book are also bit long and in a narrativestyle. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to make an abstract theme comprehendiblefor the uninitiated. [It ought to be noted also that all the Upanishads quoted or cited hereare part of this author’s magnum opus on the 108 Upanishads that have been published inbook form by a reputed Indian publisher in five thick volumes which run into about 1617 parts. All these traditional format of the author’s books have the original Sanskrit text,followed by their Roman Transliteration and then full English rendering in smoothlanguage.]Chapter 3 is titled ‘Thoughts of a Spiritually Enlightened & Self-realised Person’.As the name itself suggests, this chapter describes, again by direct quotes from theUpanishads, how a person who has understood the true meaning of the Mahavakyas,feels, thinks and behaves in life. This chapter no. 3, like its predecessor chapter no. 2,once again has five sections, and many sub-sections. Each section deals with theUpanishads of a particular Veda, and the various sub-sections quote the individualUpanishads.Finally, at the end is an Appendix that gives a brief introduction of the author ofthis Book “Mahavakya” and the other books of his that
2(D)(xii) Katha Upanishad, Canto 1, Valli 3, verse nos. 14-15; Canto 2, Valli 3, verse no. 9 Page 67 Section 2(E):-- Page 69 Mahavakyas of the Atharva Veda Upanishads: 2(E)(i) Atma Upanishad, especially verse no. 1-C, 1-D,
