The Spirit of the Upanishads E-Book

Yogi Ramacharaka

• Herausgeber: Andura Publishing
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Experience the life-changing power of Yogi Ramacharaka with this unforgettable book.

Leseprobe

The Spirit of the Upanishads

Yogi Ramacharaka

Contents

Preface

Preface

This volume is a collection of texts; aphorisms, sayings; proverbs; etc., from “The Upanishads,” or Sacred Writings of India; compiled and adapted from over fifty authorities, expressing the Cream of the Hindu Philosophical Thought.

The adapter of the book acknowledges his appreciation of the work of Dr. Manil N. Dvivedi, of Bombay, India, the original translator of many of these aphorisms, etc., the general form of whose translation has been followed in the majority of cases, subject to such supplementary changes and rearrangement as have seemed desirable in the present work.

The contents of this book are self-explanatory, and need little introduction. The wonderful philosophy of “The Upanishads,” is so generally recognized that words of praise would be superfluous. Many can say with the German philosopher, Schopenhauer: “In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of ‘The Upanishads.’ It has been the solace of my life; it will be the solace of my death.”

One word of caution we would give to the reader who may not be grounded in the fundamental thought of the Hindu Philosophies. We allude to the frequent use of the words: “The Self,” or “Self,” in many of the aphorisms. The student of the Oriental Teachings will, of course, recognize the fact that the word “Self,” so used, implies the “One Self,” or “Infinite One,” whose Essence permeates the Universe, and in whom all living forms, “live, and move and have their being”—and which “Self” is the Essence of the countless personal “selves.” We have used the Capital “S,” in the word, when so used; the word “self,” meaning the personal self, being printed in the usual way.

The thought and teachings underlying this entire book, is that of this One Self—the only Reality. The personal self is a thing of the moment—being born; growing old; and dying— but the Real Self, endureth forever. The Real Self, in each of us, is the Spirit in each of us, which is at One with the Father. Nearly every aphorism in the book emphasizes this Truth, in various words and forms of expression, and many of them are intended to lead the reader to a Realization of The Truth.

Some of these seed-thoughts will appeal to one, and others to another each will draw to himself that which is his, and will let the rest pass him by. This is the Law of Learning: Accept only that which appeals to your Heart, as Truth—let the rest pass you by, for the time being—for to each comes his own; and none can gain his own, until he is prepared for it. The words of the Yogavasishtha, quoted on our title page, intended to convey this same truth. Listen to this Aphorism of the Wise:

“Hear thou even the little child, and from his words accept thou that Truth that goeth straight to thy heart. But reject all that doth not so go to thy heart as Truth—no matter how high the authority—yea, even though the lotus-born creator, Brahma, himself, be the speaker.”

Therefore, accept the pearl of Truth, even though it lie in the mud of the gutter—and reject that which does not seem to be the real Truth, even though it be offered you from the hand of one of the gods. Test all statement of Truth, by the light of the Spirit within you, and you can not stray far from The Path.

We would call the attention of our readers, to the edition of “The Bhagavad Gita,” or “Message of the Master,” published simultaneously with the present volume. This first mentioned book, should be read by all who enjoy the present one, for it contains the key to the Higher Teachings, which the writers of these Aphorisms wished to express.

We trust that this little book will cause the minds of many to unfold to the light.

The Yogi Publication Society.

Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.,

January 12, 1907.

Part I – The Threshold

That wherein disappears the whole of that which affects the mind, and that which is also the background of all;—to That I bow,—the all eternal consciousness, the witness of all exhibitions of the Intellect.

Upadesasahasri.

As is the sight of the sweetest Honey to the traveller in the Desert, so is the perception of the ever-effulgent.

Brhadaranyakopanishad.

I expound in half a verse what has been told in a million volumes;—That is the Truth, the world is illusion, the soul is none other than That.

Upadesasahasri.

Action leads to incarnation, and incarnation to pleasure and pain. Hence arise all likes and dislikes which again propel to action resulting in merit and demerit. These put the ignorant wanderer, again, into the bonds of incarnation;—and so on and on, for ever, rolls the wheel of this world. Nothing but ignorance is the cause of all this; the remedy lies in the destruction of ignorance. Knowledge of Brahman is the way to find final beatitude in the destruction of this ignorance. For knowledge alone, not action which is only a part of ignorance, is competent to accomplish this result. Nor is it possible to do away with likes and dislikes so long as ignorance is not done away with. This is therefore undertaken with the object of destroying ignorance as well as its effects—this world,—and also of explaining the real philosophy of Brahman.

Upadesasahasri.

From the senses finding each its own gratification in the objects peculiar to each, there arises no real happiness, but only a temporary allaying of the fever of the mind. It is vain, therefore, to grope for any real happiness in the world of objects. The deluded deceive themselves by imagining every experience of evil to be so much good; but in birth, death, and limitation, the wise never fail to perceive the evil that conceals itself under the inviting form of objects. They find no happiness in things subject to such results. The smallest happiness, in the real sense of the word, is no way possible in any thing;—oh! I should become that Self which is all bliss, all existence, all enlightenment.

Atmapurana.

Knowledge of the Divine dissolves all bonds, and gives freedom from every kind of misery including birth and death.

Svetasvataropanishad.

The Creator (Brahma), the Protector (Vishnu), the Destroyer (Siva); the Consumer, the Sun, the Moon, the Thunder, the Wind, the Sacrifice, and so on, are terms used by the sages to describe the One Eternal, as they look at It through the multifarious forms of the intellect;—all my best worship to that Divine Essence, the destroyer of that ignorance whose form is this world.

Sankaracharya.

Part II – The Absolute

That should be known as Brahman, which, beyond the gaining whereof, there remains nothing to gain; beyond the bliss whereof there remains no possibility of bliss; beyond the sight whereof there remains nothing to see; beyond becoming which there remains nothing to become; beyond knowing which there remains nothing to know.

Atmabodha.

This is All, and so is that;—All comes out of the All,—taking away the All from the All, the All remains for ever.

Isopanishad.

He is eternal among the eternal, conscious among the conscious; He, ever one, produces the variety of ideas in the many; knowing that Divine One, as the Supreme Cause, all bonds dissolve themselves into nothing.

Svetasvataropanishad.

That which, in the beginning, sent forth the Creator (Brahma) and favoured him with the storehouse of all knowledge, the Veda;—I, desirous of liberation, betake myself to It, the ever-effulgent light, revealing Its eternal Self through the intellect.

Svetasvataropanishad.

As in the sun, all light, there is neither day nor night, so in The Absolute, all light, there is neither knowledge nor ignorance.

Upadesasahasri.

The ever unchangeable is devoid of sound, touch, form, taste or smell. It is without beginning or end, ever beyond the prime cause of all evolution;—knowing that, one escapes the all-devouring jaws of death.

Kathopanishad.

The eye has no access there, nor has speech nor mind; we do not know It (The Absolute), nor the method whereby we can impart It. It is other than the known as well as the unknown; so indeed do we hear from the sages of old who explained It thus to us.

Kenopanishad.

Try to realize (within thyself) That whence arise these beings, by which they stand sustained, and unto which they return and become naught;—that indeed is The Absolute.

Taittiriyopanishad.

To the emperor (Janaka) thus explained Yajnavalkya; When there is, as it were, a second, there alone does one see, smell or taste something other (than Self); there alone does one speak to or hear, think of or touch or know something other (than Self). But when the seer is all alone with That, he is as still as an undisturbed body of water,—this indeed is Spiritual Consciousness, the condition of universal empire. This to the self, is the highest end, the best riches, the supremest world, the greatest joy;—the rest of beings live only by a particle of this bliss.

Brhadaranyakopanishad.

Father, son, mother, nay even the worlds, the Gods, the Vedas are all naught in The Absolute; the thief is no-thief, the ascetic no-ascetic;—It has no relation with good or evil. One who has become It is beyond all desires of the heart. It should not be supposed that (even in sleep) It does not see, for It does not see though ever seeing; the sight of the seer is never lost, being eternal, there is nothing other than Itself which It can make the object of Its seeing.

Brhadaranyakopanishad.

The Absolute is described as “not this,” “not that,” and so on by negatives only.

Brhadarnyakopanishad.

That is real bliss which has no conditions; in the conditioned there can be no happiness;—the Unconditioned alone is bliss; try to realize the Unconditioned (in thyself.)

Chhandogyopanishad.

That is the Unconditioned wherein one does not see another, one does not hear another, one does not know another; that wherein one sees another, hears another, knows another, is the Conditioned. The Unconditioned is immortal, the conditioned is mortal. Oh master! where is this Unconditioned to be found? Everywhere or nowhere!

Chhandogyopanishad.

Hence is described the Real Self; This Self alone stands above, below, west, east, south and north; everywhere all is this Self! He who thus sees, thinks and knows, enjoys this Self, plays with this Self, has this Self alone even for a second, finds perfect bliss in this Self, becomes the lord of all, gains access to all worlds and beings. Those who understand otherwise, betake themselves to other masters, enjoy only the mortal world of conditions, find no access to all beings and all worlds.

Chhandogyopanishad.

That which is ever awake even in sleep, sending forth the variety of ideas, is the Real Self, and all immortality;—all the worlds are held in it (as it were, in suspension), there is nothing which transcends it. It is this. As the one fire pervading the universe appears in so many forms in the variety of objects, so the Inner Self of all, ever one, appears to take on so many forms, but it is ever beyond them. As the sun who enlightens everything has nothing whatever to do with the numerous ills the eye may perceive, so the Inner Self of all, ever one, has no connection whatever with the joys and sorrows of the world, being ever beyond them.

Kathopanishad.

That is the real Witness, all consciousness, who unites in one grasp, the actor, act and the variety of objects apart one from the other. I see, hear, smell, taste and touch,—in this form does the Witness unite all in one continuous consciousness, even like the lamp suspended in a theatre. The lamp in the theatre takes in the master, the audience, the actors and all, without distinction, in one sweep of light, and continues to shed the same light even when all these are not there.

Panchadasi.

The Seer of thy sight thou shalt not see; the Hearer of thy ear thou shalt not hear; the Thinker of thy thoughts thou shalt not think; the Knower of thy knowledge thou halt not know this is thy Real Self, all-pervading, everything besides is but mortal.

Brhadaranyakopanishad.

The Absolute.

Without the glass there is no possibility of a sight of the reflection; whence then could there be any possibility of the knowledge of name and forms without assuming that which is Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss?

Panchadasi.

He pervades the earth and yet transcends it; the earth knows Him not; the earth is His body: He controls the earth from within;—He is thy inner Self ever immortal. He pervades water and yet transcends it; water knows Him not; water is His body: He controls water from within;—He is thy inner Self ever immortal…. He is the unseen Seer; the unheard Hearer; the unthought Thinker; the unknown Knower. There is no Seer other than this; no Hearer other than this; no Thinker other than this; no Knower other than this. That is thy inner self, ever immortal; all beside is mortal.

Brhadaranyakopanishad.

That which is not spoken in speech but that whereby all speech is spoken. That which does not think in the mind but that whereby the mind proceeds to think. That which does not perceive with the eye but that whereby the eye receives its sight. That which does not hear with the ear but that whereby the ear hears. That which does not breathe the breath of life but that whereby life itself is kept up. Know thou that That is The Absolute, not this that people worship.

Kenopanishad.

Immortal Spirit alone is That; the east, west, south and north is all That: This wide expanse of the universe above and below is indeed all That.

Mundakopanishad.