m
→Contents
imported>Subhobrata Chakravorti m (→Contents) |
|||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
The Kena Upanishad was probably composed sometime around the middle of the 1st millennium BCE. It has an unusual structure where the first 13 are verses composed as a metric poem, followed by 15 prose paragraphs of main text plus 6 prose paragraphs of epilogue.<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> [[Paul Deussen]] suggests that the latter prose section of the main text is far more ancient than the poetic first section, and Kena Upanishad bridged the more ancient prose Upanishad era with the metric poetic era of Upanishads that followed.<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> | The Kena Upanishad was probably composed sometime around the middle of the 1st millennium BCE. It has an unusual structure where the first 13 are verses composed as a metric poem, followed by 15 prose paragraphs of main text plus 6 prose paragraphs of epilogue.<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> [[Paul Deussen]] suggests that the latter prose section of the main text is far more ancient than the poetic first section, and Kena Upanishad bridged the more ancient prose Upanishad era with the metric poetic era of Upanishads that followed.<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> | ||
Kena Upanishad is notable in its discussion of [[Brahman]] with attributes and without attributes, and for being a treatise on "purely conceptual knowledge".<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> It asserts that the [[four causes#Efficient cause|efficient cause]] of all the gods, symbolically envisioned as forces of nature, is Brahman.<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> This has made it a foundational scripture to Vedanta school of Hinduism, both the theistic and monistic sub-schools after varying interpretations. The Kena Upanishad is also significant in asserting the idea of "Spiritual Man", " | Kena Upanishad is notable in its discussion of [[Brahman]] with attributes and without attributes, and for being a treatise on "purely conceptual knowledge".<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> It asserts that the [[four causes#Efficient cause|efficient cause]] of all the gods, symbolically envisioned as forces of nature, is Brahman.<ref name=pauldeussenintro/> This has made it a foundational scripture to Vedanta school of Hinduism, both the theistic and monistic sub-schools after varying interpretations. The Kena Upanishad is also significant in asserting the idea of "Spiritual Man", "Self is a wonderful being that even gods worship", "Atman (Self) exists", and "knowledge and spirituality are the goals and intense longing of all creatures".<ref name=pauldeussenintro/><ref>Charles Johnston, The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (1920-1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, {{ISBN|978-1495946530}} (Reprinted in 2014), [http://www.universaltheosophy.com/pdf-library/Kena%20Upanishad_Johnston.pdf Archive of Kena Upanishad]</ref> | ||
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
| Line 66: | Line 66: | ||
In verse 4, Kena Upanishad asserts that Brahman cannot be worshipped, because it has no attributes and is unthinkable, indescribable, eternal, all present reality. That what man worships is neither Atman-Brahman nor the path to Atman-Brahman. Rather, Brahman is that which cannot be perceived as empirical reality. It is that which "hears" the sound in ears, "sees" the view in eyes, "beholds" the words of speech, "smells" the aroma in breath, "comprehends" the meaning in thought. The Atman-Brahman is in man, not that which one worships outside.<ref name=pauldeussen11/> | In verse 4, Kena Upanishad asserts that Brahman cannot be worshipped, because it has no attributes and is unthinkable, indescribable, eternal, all present reality. That what man worships is neither Atman-Brahman nor the path to Atman-Brahman. Rather, Brahman is that which cannot be perceived as empirical reality. It is that which "hears" the sound in ears, "sees" the view in eyes, "beholds" the words of speech, "smells" the aroma in breath, "comprehends" the meaning in thought. The Atman-Brahman is in man, not that which one worships outside.<ref name=pauldeussen11/> | ||
Woodburne interprets the first ''khanda'' of Kena Upanishad to be describing Brahman in a manner that "faith" is described in [[Christianity]].<ref name=aswoodburne/> In contrast, Shankara interprets the first khanda entirely as monistic.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/KenaUpanishadWithShankaraBhasyaAndAnandagiriTika/KenaUpanishad-shankaracharyaBhashya-AnandagiriTika#page/n1/mode/2up Kena Upanishad with Shankara Bhasya and Anandagiri Tika], Anandashrama Sanskruta Grantavali, New Delhi (in Sanskrit), pages 1-94</ref> | Woodburne interprets the first ''khanda'' of Kena Upanishad to be describing Brahman in a manner that "faith" is described in [[Christianity]].<ref name=aswoodburne/> In contrast, [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] interprets the first khanda entirely as monistic.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/KenaUpanishadWithShankaraBhasyaAndAnandagiriTika/KenaUpanishad-shankaracharyaBhashya-AnandagiriTika#page/n1/mode/2up Kena Upanishad with Shankara Bhasya and Anandagiri Tika], Anandashrama Sanskruta Grantavali, New Delhi (in Sanskrit), pages 1-94</ref> | ||
===Self-awakening is the source of inner strength - Second khanda=== | ===Self-awakening is the source of inner strength - Second khanda=== | ||
| Line 126: | Line 126: | ||
[[Edward Washburn Hopkins]] states that the aphoristic mention of "tapo dammah karma" in closing prose parts of Kena Upanishad suggests that ethical precepts of Yoga were well accepted in Indian spiritual traditions by the time Kena Upanishad was composed.<ref>E. Washburn Hopkins, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/592436 Yoga-Technique in the Great Epic], Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 22 (1901), pages 333-379</ref> Similarly, Shrimali cites Kena Upanishad, among other ancient Sanskrit texts, to state that knowledge-seeking and education system was formalized by 1st millennium BCE in India, highlighting among many examples, the question-answer structure of first ''khanda'' of Kena Upanishad.<ref>Krishna Mohan Shrimali (2011), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41289405 Knowledge Transmission: Processes, Contents and Apparatus in Early India], Social Scientist, Vol. 39, No. 5/6 (May–June 2011), pages 3-22</ref> | [[Edward Washburn Hopkins]] states that the aphoristic mention of "tapo dammah karma" in closing prose parts of Kena Upanishad suggests that ethical precepts of Yoga were well accepted in Indian spiritual traditions by the time Kena Upanishad was composed.<ref>E. Washburn Hopkins, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/592436 Yoga-Technique in the Great Epic], Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 22 (1901), pages 333-379</ref> Similarly, Shrimali cites Kena Upanishad, among other ancient Sanskrit texts, to state that knowledge-seeking and education system was formalized by 1st millennium BCE in India, highlighting among many examples, the question-answer structure of first ''khanda'' of Kena Upanishad.<ref>Krishna Mohan Shrimali (2011), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41289405 Knowledge Transmission: Processes, Contents and Apparatus in Early India], Social Scientist, Vol. 39, No. 5/6 (May–June 2011), pages 3-22</ref> | ||
Fred Dallmayr<ref name=fred/> cites Kena Upanishad's opening lines to state that Upanishads' primary focus is Atman-Brahman ( | Fred Dallmayr<ref name=fred/> cites Kena Upanishad's opening lines to state that Upanishads' primary focus is Atman-Brahman (Self), in Hindu theosophy. These opening lines state, | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote| | ||