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| {{short description|Vedic sage}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Uddālaka Āruṇi]] |
| {{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
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| {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
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| {{Infobox religious biography
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| | religion = [[Hinduism]]
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| | children = [[Svetaketu]]
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| | disciples = [[Yajnavalkya]], [[Janaka]], Kahoda
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| | birth_place = [[Panchala kingdom|Kuru-Panchala]], [[India]]
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| |notable_ideas=*Theory of three elements
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| *[[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]]-[[Brahman]] Doctrine|main_interests=* [[Metaphysics]]
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| * [[Science]]
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| }}'''Aruni''' (fl. c. 8th century BCE), also referred to as '''Uddalaka''' or '''Uddalaka Aruni''' or '''Uddalaka Varuni''', is a revered [[Vedic]] sage of [[Hinduism]].<ref name=benami9>Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), ''A comparative history of world philosophy: from the Upanishads to Kant'', Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 9-11</ref><ref>[[Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri|H. C. Raychaudhuri]] (1972), ''Political History of Ancient India'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp. 8-9, 21–25</ref> He is mentioned in many Vedic era Sanskrit texts, and his philosophical teachings are among the center piece in the ''[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]'' and ''[[Chandogya Upanishad]]'', two of the oldest Upanishadic scriptures.<ref name=lochtefeld717/><ref name="Glucklich2008p65"/> A famed Vedic teacher, Aruni lived a few centuries before the [[Buddha]],<ref name=benami9/> and attracted students from far regions of the [[Indian subcontinent]]; some of his students such as [[Yajnavalkya]] are also highly revered in the Hindu traditions.<ref name="Glucklich2008p65">{{cite book|first=Ariel|last=Glucklich|title=The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KtLScrjrWiAC&pg=PA65| year=2008|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-971825-2|pages=65–66}}</ref> Both Aruni and Yajnavalkya are among the most frequently mentioned Upanishadic teachers in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book|first=Klaus K.|last=Klostermaier|title=Survey of Hinduism, A: Third Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CVviRghVtIC&pg=PA158|year=2010|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-8011-3|page=158}}</ref>
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| According to Ben-Ami Scharfstein, a professor emeritus of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University, Uddalaka Aruni was one of the [[History of philosophy|first philosophers]] in [[recorded history]].<ref name="benami9" /> [[Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya|Debiprasad]] established Uddalaka Aruni as the first ‘[[Natural science|natural scientist]]’ in the intellectual history of mankind.In the ''[[Chandogya Upanishad]]'' Aruni asks metaphysical questions concerning the nature of reality and truth, observes constant change, and asks if there is something that is eternal and unchanging. From these questions, embedded in a dialogue with his son, he presents the concept of [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]] (soul, Self) and [[advaita|universal Self]].<ref name="benami56">{{cite book|author=Ben-Ami Scharfstein|title=A Comparative History of World Philosophy: From the Upanishads to Kant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZQy2lu70bwC |year=1998|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-3683-7|pages=56–61}}</ref>
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| == Life ==
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| Although nothing is known about his parentage and life, we know that he was born in modern-day [[Bihar]]. He was a very learned [[rishi]]. He had a daughter named Sujata and son named [[Shvetaketu|Shwetketu]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2009-04-12|title=Uddalaka, Uddālaka: 14 definitions|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/uddalaka|access-date=2021-05-19|website=www.wisdomlib.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Scharfstein|first=Ben-Ami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZQy2lu70bwC&pg=PA56|title=A Comparative History of World Philosophy: From the Upanishads to Kant|date=1998-01-01|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-3683-7|pages=56–57|language=en}}</ref>
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| == History ==
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| {{Hindu philosophy}}
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| The name Aruni appears in many of the [[Principal Upanishads]], in numerous verses. For example:
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| *In sections 3.7 and 6.2 of the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'', in a dialogue where Aruni is relatively a minor participant.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Deussen|title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC |year=1980|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1468-4|pages=457, 526}}</ref>
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| *In sections 6.1–16 and 5.3 of the ''Chandogya Upanishad'', as a major dialogue between Aruni and his son [[Shvetaketu|Svetaketu]], a dialogue about [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] and [[Brahman]] that contain ideas foundational to the [[Vedanta]] school of [[Hindu philosophy]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Deussen|title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC |year=1980|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1468-4|pages=142–155, 156–164}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/faith/faith-column-mk-srinivasans-discourse-on-chandogya-upanishad/article17763329.ece|title=Special kind of union|date=2017-04-02|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-01-08|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The dialogue sets the context of the son, who goes to a Vedic school for twelve years of studies, is conceded that he has learnt the books (Vedas). Aruni, the father enquires and presses Svetaketu whether at school, he pondered and understood the nature of existence, what is truth, what is reality, the meaning of life and self-knowledge,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/Learning-proper-lesson/article14958530.ece|title=Learning proper lesson|date=2011-03-23|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-01-08|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> and the relationship between oneself, other beings and the universal self.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Deussen|title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC |year=1980|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1468-4|pages=156–172}}</ref><ref name=benami56/><ref>{{cite book|first=Julius|last=Lipner|author-link=Julius Lipner|editor=Richard V. De Smet and Bradley J. Malkovsky|title=New Perspectives on Advaita Vedānta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JugqR3unjB4C&pg=PA55 |year=2000|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-11666-4|pages=55–66}}</ref>
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| *In verse 1.1 of the ''[[Kaushitaki Upanishad]]'', where the scion of Gangya invites Aruni, but he sends his son to the event. This verse is notable for the conversation therein that suggests the full name of Aruni to be Uddalaka Aruni Gautama, and the mention of him as one of the characters in a group event that hosted "Vedic studies in the hall of sacrifice" (''[[yajna]]'').<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Deussen|title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC |year=1980|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1468-4|pages=25–26}}</ref>
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| *In the ''[[Katha Upanishad]]'', which opens with the story of Vajasravasa, also called ''Aruni Auddalaki Gautama''. According to [[Max Muller]] – an Indologist at Oxford University, assuming the manuscripts have been correctly reproduced over their history, there may be a difference between "Auddalaki" (grandson) and "Uddalaki" (son), but he adds [[Adi Shankara]] considered them to be same Aruni, in his commentaries on the Upanishads.<ref>Max Muller (1962), [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/n57/mode/2up Katha Upanishad], in The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, {{ISBN|978-0486209937}}, page 1 with footnote 1</ref> The theme discussed in the dialogues of the ''Katha Upanishad'' is also Atman and Brahman. [[Paul Deussen]], an Indologist at University of Kiel, states that there are inconsistencies about his full name in the Hindu traditions.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Deussen|title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda, Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC |year=1980|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1467-7|pages=982 (Uddalaka Aruni), 953 (Aruni, Auddalaki Aruni)}}</ref>
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| ==Texts==
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| Sage Aruni is revered in the Hindu tradition, and like many of its revered ancient scholars, later era scholars from the earliest times attributed or named their texts after him. Some of these treatises include:
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| * ''Arunisruti'', also called ''Uddalaka Sruti'', likely a medieval era theistic text that has been lost to history, and one cited by [[Madhvacharya]].<ref>{{cite book|author=B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma|title=History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature: From the Earliest Beginnings to Our Own Times|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FVtpFMPMulcC&pg=PA567 |year=2000 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1575-9| pages=567 note 16}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Bādarāyaṇa|title=The Vedanta-sutras| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WO4oAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA288| year=1904| publisher=Thompson and Company| page=288}}</ref>
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| * ''[[Aruneya Upanishad|Aruni Upanishad]]'', also called ''Aruneya Upanishad'', is one of the oldest renunciation and monk life-related [[Sannyasa Upanishads]] of Hinduism.<ref name=olivelle5/> The text was likely completed in or after 4th-century BCE but before the start of the common era, according to Joachim Sprockhoff, the German scholar of Upanishads and according to [[Patrick Olivelle]].<ref name=olivelle5>{{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1992|title= The Samnyasa Upanisads| publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0195070453| pages= 5, 8–9, 60}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Joachim F|last=Sprockhoff|year=1976|title=Samnyasa: Quellenstudien zur Askese im Hinduismus|publisher=Wiesbaden: Kommissionsverlag Franz Steiner|language=de| isbn=978-3515019057}}</ref> The ''Aruni Upanishad'' states that bookish and ritual knowledge is irrelevant, the true pursuit of knowledge is the meaning, the essence and the import of Vedic ideas, one has the right and duty to abandon the worldly life in the singular pursuit of spirituality.<ref>{{cite book|first=Patrick|last=Olivelle|author-link=Patrick Olivelle|title=The Āśrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v3zmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA118 |year=1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-508327-9|pages=118–119, 178}}</ref>
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| == Philosophy ==
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| One very important work of [[Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya|Debiprasad]] ‘''Science and society in ancient India''’. In this book he established Uddalaka Aruni as the first ‘[[Natural science|natural scientist]]’ in the intellectual history of mankind. He wrote, ‘Uddalaka collected observations as far as his historical conditions permitted him and even went on diligently to make experiments to understand nature and man.’<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chattopadhyaya|first=Debiprasad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBIKAQAAIAAJ|title=Science and Society in Ancient India|date=1977|publisher=Research India Publications|language=en}}</ref>
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| === Theory of three elements ===
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| According to his [[theory]], there are three elements which make up the living things, each of it is a power. The elements are heat(also heat),water and food(meaning plant).He believed the primal creation due to desire emanated hear/light, light having same desire emanated water from itself, then water having the same desire emanated food from itself, which according to him explains why there is plenty of food when it rains .Aruni explained that the existent entered these three elements and when it entered, it caused the elements to contain something of other two .Fire, for example not only contains heat but also other two elements.<ref>{{Cite book|last=COLLINS|first=Randall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2HS1DOZ35EgC&pg=PA963|title=THE SOCIOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHIES|date=2009-06-30|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02977-4|pages=963 note 15|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Scharfstein|first=Ben-Ami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZQy2lu70bwC&pg=PA56|title=A Comparative History of World Philosophy: From the Upanishads to Kant|date=1998-01-01|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-3683-7|pages=58–59|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pereira|first=José|date=1986|title=Bādarāyaṇa: Creator of Systematic Theology|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20006275|journal=Religious Studies|volume=22|issue=2|pages=193–204|doi=10.1017/S0034412500018205|jstor=20006275|issn=0034-4125}}</ref>
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| === Atman-Brahman doctrine ===
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| One of the most well-known teachings of Atman appears in [[Chandogya Upanishad]] as the instruction of the Uddalaka Aruni to his son [[Shvetaketu]]. Uddalaka begins his explanation that one can know about the universal of a material substance from a particular object made of that substance. For example, by means of something made of clay, one can know clay; by means of an ornament made of copper, one can know copper.<ref>http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/64788/1/Unit11.pdf</ref> He gives an example for [[Ātman (Hinduism)|atman]]-[[brahman]] doctrine :Just as bees collect nectar from different sources, but when gathered together they form an undifferentiated mass; just as different rivers after flowing into the ocean become one with the ocean, similarly [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] resides individually in every being but merges with the [[Brahman]] and becomes one with it. Uddalaka next asks his son to put some salt in a glass of water. Shvetaketu does so. Upon being asked by his father to fetch the salt, Shvetaketu could not find it as it had dissolved in the water. Next, Aruni asks his son to taste the water. Upon being found salty, Aruni preaches [[Shvetaketu]] instruction on the Ultimate Reality. <blockquote>He says, ‘You don’t perceive that one Reality (sat) exists in your body, my son, but it is truly there. Everything which is has its being in that subtle essence. That is Reality! That is the Soul! And you are that, Shvetaketu!"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dayal|first=S|title=Unit-11 Intellectual developments and asceticism|url=http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/64788/1/Unit11.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.egyankosh.ac.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Paul Deussen|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.191073|title=Sixty Upanisads Of The Veda -part- Ist|date=1905}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Humphrey|first=Robert|title=COSMOGENESIS IN ANCIENT HINDU SCRIPTURES AND MODERN SCIENCE|url=https://www2.rivier.edu/journal/roaj-spring-2015/j904_humphrey_revised.pdf|journal=Rivier Academic Journal|volume=|pages=8–10}}</ref></blockquote>
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| == Influence ==
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| Uddalaka Aruni is said to have systematized the Vedic and Upanishadic thoughts. Many [[Mahavakya]]s are ascribed to sage Uddalaka Aruni. Among those, "Tat Tvam Asi" (That thou art) of the ''[[Chandogya Upanishad]]'' is an oft-quoted thought in [[Hinduism]]. Its teacher is Uddalaka Aruni and the student his son Svetaketu.<ref name=lochtefeld717>{{cite book|first=James G.|last=Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/717 717]}}</ref>
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| His teachings extend beyond metaphysical speculations and philosophy. Parts of his works contain the seeds of [[Atomism#Indian atomism|Indian atomism]], because of his belief that "particles too small to be seen mass together into the substances and objects of experience".<ref>Thomas McEvilley (2012), ''The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies.'' New York: Constable & Robinson</ref> Some scholars such as [[Hermann Jacobi]] and [[Randall Collins]] have compared Aruni to [[Thales of Miletus]] in their scientific methodology, calling them both as "primitive physicists" or "proto-materialist thinkers".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Amiya Kumar Bagchi|first2=Amita|last2=Chatterjee|title=Marxism: With and Beyond Marx|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nx3ICQAAQBAJ&pg=PT143 |year=2015|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-56176-7|page=143}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Randall|last=Collins|title=The Sociology of Philosophies |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2HS1DOZ35EgC&pg=PA963| year=2009| publisher=Harvard University Press| isbn=978-0-674-02977-4|pages=963 note 15}}</ref>
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| ==In the Mahabharata==
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| The [[Adi Parva]] describes Aruni as a disciple of [[Glossary of Hinduism terms|Sage Ayoda-Dhaumya]]. Once a flood took place in the fields of the ashram. A breach was formed in the embankment. Dhaumya sent Aruni to stop the water from entering the embankment. After a long time, Aruni had not returned. So, Dhaumya went out to find Aruni. The latter lying in the breach of the embankment to prevent the water from entering it. Because of his loyalty, Aruni is also known as Uddalaka Aruni as a mark of his preceptor's respect.<ref>Parthasarathy Rengaswami (2013), ''[http://mahabharata-stories.blogspot.com/2013/10/three-disciples.html Stories From the Mahabharata: 5. Three Disciples]''.</ref>
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| ==See also==
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| *[[Yajnavalkya]]
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| *[[Svetaketu]]
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| *[[Janaka]] of [[Videha]]
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| *[[Empedocles]] and [[atomism#Greek atomism|Greek atomism]]
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| *[[Agastya]]
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| *[[Adi Parva]]
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist|30em}}
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| ==External links==
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| *[http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/chhand/ch_2.html/ Swami Krishnananda.org]
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| *[https://books.google.pl/books?id=3hcEr_UssvsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+History+of+Pre-Buddhistic+Indian+Philosophy+By+Benimadhab+Barua&hl=pl&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq7_qi3ajoAhVktIsKHdA5DowQ6AEILDAA#v=onepage&q=Uddalaka&f=false A History of Pre-Buddhistic Indian Philosophy By Benimadhab Barua, p. 124-142]
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| *[https://books.google.com/books?id=0U2QRpDv2KMC&pg=PA649&lpg=PA649&dq=uddalaka+wiki&source=bl&ots=k-OiFvXVy0&sig=-9atiESR41O1LnSOQx7SqLkNwP8&hl=en&ei=TdpdS92ZIc2HkAWLmaGhAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CBgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false/ Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world By Gaṅgā Rām Garg]
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| {{Hindudharma}}
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| {{Rishis of Hindu mythology}}
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| {{Authority control}}
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| [[Category:7th-century BC people]]
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| [[Category:8th-century BC people]]
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| [[Category:Rishis]]
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| [[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
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| [[Category:Ancient Indian philosophers]]
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| [[Category:7th-century BC Indian philosophers]]
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| [[Category:8th-century BC Indian philosophers]]
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