This Upanishad begins with an Invocation, praying that eye may
see auspicious things, the ear may hear auspicious sounds, and
that life may be spent in the contemplation of the Lord. The
teaching of this Upanishad is referred to as Brahmavidya, either
because it describes first the message of Hiranyagarbha, the
casual Brahma, or because the message relates the glory of
Brahmam. This Upanishad speaks of Brahmavidya as the mystery which
only those with shaven heads and those who go through a rite of
having Fire on the shaven head can understand. So, it is called
Mundaka, or shaven Head. Apart from this, this Upanishad is
honoured as the crest of all, since it expounds the very essence
of Brahma Jnana. It is assigned to the Fourth Veda, the Atharvana.
This knowledge has been handed down from teacher to pupil by
word of mouth, enriched and confirmed by experience; it is also
called Paravidya, the knowledge of the Other when it deals with
the attributeless Principle; when it deals with the
attribute-full, the Saguna, the materialised principle, it is
called A-paravidya, the knowledge of the Immanent, not the
Transcendent aspect. These are the two that are found in this
Upanishad. They were taught by Saunaka to Angirasa; that is what
the text announces. The Vedas and the Vedangas deal with
A-paravidya. The Upanishads deal specially with Para-vidya. But,
the interesting thing is: the A-para-vidya leads on to the Para,
the knowledge of Brahmam, which is the goal.
The spider evolves out of itself the magnificent manifestation
of the web; so too, this jagath (moving, changing world) is
manifested from the causative Brahmam. The jagath or samsar is the
product of creator-creation complex. It is true and factual and
useful, so long as one is unaware of the Reality. The utmost that
one can gain by activity, that is to say, holy or sacred activity
is Heaven or Swarga, which has a longer lease of life, but, which
has an end in spite of it. So, the seeker loses all yearning for
Heaven; he approaches an elderly teacher full of compassion, who
instructs him in the discipline for realising the Brahmam.
All beings are Brahmam and no other. They all do emanate from
Brahmam. As sparks emanate from fire, as hair grows on the skin
but is different from it, so too beings originate from Brahmam.
Brahmam causes the sun, moon, stars and planets to revolve in
space; Brahmam grants the consequence of all the acts of beings.
The Jivi and the Iswara, the Individual and the Universal are two
birds sitting on the same tree i.e., the human body. The Jivi
acts, and suffers the consequences of those acts. The Iswara sits
quiet, as a witness of the other bird. When the Jivi looks at the
Iswara and realises that it is but an image, it escapes from grief
and pain. When the mind is drawn by yearning to know the Iswara,
all other low desires diminish and disappear. Then, knowledge of
Atma is attained. The last manthra of this Upanishad declares that
its aim is to make man attain that Jnana. Munda means head; this
Upanishad is the Head of all Upanishads, we can say. So even the
Brahma suthra devotes two chapters to elaborate the inner meaning
of the manthras of this Upanishad.
It has three sections, with two chapters in each. In the first
section, the A-paravidya, and in the second, the Paravidya and the
means of mastering them are dealt with. In the third, the nature
of the Reality and of the release from bondage, is defined. The
Karma that helps attain the Brahmam is denoted in the manthras.
That is why this Upanishad is respected as very sacred.
The spider, as already indicated, spins out the web from itself
without any extraneous agency; it also takes in the web it has
spun. So too, Creation was effected without an agent and the
Universe emanated. This Nature or Prakrithi is but a
transformation of the basic Brahmam, like pot from mud, cloth from
cotton, jewels from Gold. So Brahmam is called the Upadana cause
of Prakrithi. It is also the Nimiththakarana, or the Nimiththa
cause. For, this Universe can only be the result of a High
Intelligence, an Intelligence that is all-comprehensive, a
Sarvajna. Heaven is the highest attainable stage through Karma. Of
such Karmas or rites, the worship of Fire called Agnihotra is the
chiefest. The performance of such rites contributes to the
cleansing of the mind. Such cleansing is a necessary preliminary
to Paravidya. The flames that rise high from the sacrificial altar
of fire appear to the performer as if they are hailing him on to
realise the Reality or Brahmam. He who does the rite with full
awareness of the significance of the manthra is able to reach the
Solar Splendour, through the offerings made; they take him to the
region of Indra, the Lord of the Gods.
The Vedas recommend two types of obligatory Karmas: Ishta and
Poortha. The rite of Agnihotra, adherence to Truth, Thapas or
Asceticism, Veda-adhyayanam or study of the Vedas, the service
offered to guests in one's home - these are Ishta; construction of
temples, caravan-serais, rest-houses, tanks, planting of avenue
trees - such acts are Poortha. These give consequences that are
beneficial but, all such cause-effect chains are transient, they
are fundamentally defective.
The entire Creation is bound up with name and form and so
unreal. It can be described in words and so, limited and
circumscribed by the intellect and the mind. The Paramapurusha,
the Supreme Person alone is eternal, real, and pure. He is the
prompter of activity and the dispenser of consequence. But, He is
beyond the eye, beyond the intellect. Like the spokes of a wheel
that radiate from the hub, that lead from all directions to the
centre, all creation radiates from Him.
To reach the central hub and know that all spokes radiate from
it, the mind is the instrument. Brahmam the target is to be
reached by the arrow-mind. Have your mind fixed on the target and
using the Upanishadic teaching as the bow, shoot straight and
hard, to hit the Brahmam and master. That is to say, the Pranava
or the OM is the arrow; Brahmam is the target.
The Brahmam illumines the Jivi by getting reflected in the
inner consciousness or Anthah-karana. One has only to turn that
consciousness away from the objective world, contact with which
contaminates the mind. Now, train the inner consciousness to
meditate on the OM, with single-pointed attention. Meditate on the
Atma as unaffected by the Jivi, though in him and with him and
activating him. Meditate on Him in the heart, from which radiate
countless nadis, subtle nerves, in all directions. If this process
is followed, one can attain Jnana or Wisdom.
The Universe is an instrument to reveal the majesty of God. The
inner firmament in the heart of man is also equally a revelation
of His Glory. He is the Breath of one's breath. Since He has no
specific form, He cannot be indicated by words. Nor can His
mystery be penetrated by the other senses. He is beyond the reach
of asceticism, beyond the bounds of Vedic rituals. He can be known
only by an intellect that has been cleansed of all trace of
attachment and hatred, of egoism and the sense of possession.
Jnana alone can grant self-realisation. Dhyana can confer
concentration of the faculties; through that concentration, Jnana
can be won, even while in the body. The Brahmam activates the body
through the five vital airs or Pranas. It condescends to reveal
itself in that same body as soon as the inner consciousness
attains the requisite purity. For the Atma is immanent in the
senses, inner and outer, as heat in fuel and as butter in milk.
Now, the consciousness is like damp fuel, soaked in the foulness
of sensory desires and disappointments. When the pool in the heart
becomes clear of the slimy overgrowth, the Atma shines in its
pristine splendour. He who acquires the knowledge of this Atman is
to be revered. For, he is liberated. He has become Brahmam, that
which he strove to know and be.