Monday 25 March 2013

Bandhu in the Upanishads: Background note for Twitter session 25/03/2013

When we hear the word, upaniṣad our most immediate response is "ātman=brahman" because that is indeed the central and most powerful philosophical idea of the upaniṣad. This idea is so overpowering that it eclipses everything else recorded in the  upaniṣads. The  upaniṣads are in fact complex, varied texts that address even the everyday concerns of human beings, like how to attract the affection of a woman you like and observations about the cosmic fire within us which we can hear if we press our ears closes with our fingers. (Try it!) 

They were composed at a time of tremendous social, economic and religious upheaval, and they document the transition of Hinduism from the ritualism of the early Vedic era to the emergence of central religious concepts that define the religion as we know it today. Ideas such as the law of karma regulating the rebirth process, and the techniques of liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Generally, the early Vedic corpus comes to be called karmakāṇḍa (ritual) and the upaniṣads are called the jñānakāṇḍa (salvific knowledge).

The earliest upaniṣads are generally regarded as pre-buddhistic and are written in prose. Later texts are written in verse and display distinct theistic tendencies. But the overwhelming theme is the rejection of external ritual as a path to salvation. Composed over a period of nearly 600 years, these texts are considered the most fundamental religious texts by almost all Hindus. Like the samhitas and the brāhmaṇas before them, the  upaniṣads belong to specific Vedic śākhās (lit. branches) like so*:


In today's Twitter session we will be looking at a text that exemplifies a key upaniṣadic concept - that of 'bandhu' or equivalence. How do we get 'from me and you' to a single universal substratum? Let's find out in #SanksritAppreciationHour. Join me at 3pm GMT today on Twitter.

* Table is taken from the Wikipedia page on Upanishads.

13 comments:

Nithin.S said...

I disagree with the assessment that Upanishads mark a transition stage from ritualism to Philosophy.

The Whole Vedic corpus-Samhitas, Brahmans, Aranyakas and Upanishads can be taken as one phase. The Samhitas representing Spiritual Realizations of the Rishis, Brahmanas the ritualistic aspect (Karma Khanda) needed to achieve Chitta Shuddhi and finally the Upanishads being teachings of Guru to Shishya who has achieved Chitta Shuddhi about the Highest Truth. So, it is not a rejection of one and transition into another. That is the view of modern scholarship but rejected by the tradition.

Nithin.S said...

You may like to read this old article of mine "Evolution of Hinduism" (http://www.merinews.com/article/spiritual-evolution-of-hinduism/15797852.shtml). It is NOT an in-depth article, and there are certain portions which Now, i feel i should re-consider, but broadly I still stand by those analysis.

SLM said...

Upa = near or close; Nishad = Approach or witness. The seers and rishis having undergone the seven chakras and the culmination of the journey at the Sahasrara Chakra found the "veil of Maya" part, revealing Truth. To disseminate the same, they took it upon themselves to narrate the Upanishads- a symbolism of Truth to lesser folk for their spiritual upliftment.

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ottolineB said...

Could you please give me references to where I can find "bandhu" in the Upanishads?
Thank you very much.

ottolineB said...

Could you please give me references to where I can find "bandhu" in the Upanishads?
Thank you very much.