On November 8, 2015, the Vedantic Study Group of HTGC started to listen to Prasna Upanishad by Swami Paramarthananda.

Swamiji started the class with the meaning of Vedanta:

• Vedantaha: Because this comes at the end portion of vedas,
• brahma vidhya because this deals with the knowledge of Brahman
• gyana kandaha: In this part of vedas only knowledge is discussed and not karma

Then Swamiji discussed different meanings of the word Upanishad :

1. Destroyer of samsra or sorrow;
2. Upani means taking Jivatma near Brahman; Shath means destroys ignorance that causes division between jivatma and paramatma as well as anything born out of ignorance: samsara, (ahangakra, karthrutwam, kama, karma, karma palam punarjenma and suga dhukkam )
3. That which unites paramatma and jivatma and destroys samsara.
4. The word Upanishad or vedanata can refers to the book or the knowledge that born out of the book is also Upanishad. Upanishad as sabtha or sound is Pramanam (means); Upanishads as knowledge is praman (result); the literature or the sound is pramanam and praman the result is gyanam. The knowledge born out of the Upanishad is the primary meaning of the Upanishad.

Prasna upanishad belongs to Atharvana Veda and one of the upanishads commented by Sankarachariyar.

This upanishad is a commentary on Mundaka Upanishad. Apara Vidya and apara vidya is mentioned in Mundaka Upanishads will be elaborated in Prasna upanishad. Condensed version in Mundaka Upanisahds are manthro upanishad and elaborated versions in Prasna upanisahds are brahmano Upanishads.   Brahmno portions in Mundaka Upanishads are elaborated in Prasna upanishads. Chapters elobarated in Prasna Upanishad are:

1. Krishna and chukla Gathi
2. Upasana prana or hiranyagarba
3. Upasana
4. Brahama Vidya through susukthi
5. Om Kara upasana
6. Brahma Vidya through param Brahman

Prasnaha means question; each chapter begins with question and each chapter is answer to that question. Each question is asked by six different students.

Shanthi Pada: My sthula, shuksma sareeram should function in a fitting manner so that I can absorb the teaching. This shanthi pada is same as the one in Mundaka Upanishads and as a result, Swamiji did not elaborate the meaning.

Verse 1

The first two mantras are introductions by way of bringing the teacher and student together. In this mantra six students are introduced. Each student has two names. The first name is an original name and second is based on parampara. They are: Sukesa Bharadvaja, Satyakama Sibi, Surya Garga, Kausalya Asvalayana, Bhargava Vidharbha, and Kabandhin Katya. The names tell us of their great parentage. It informs us that they had good Samskara. Samskaras are there to create Shraddha in Vedas. All of them are well qualified. They are all Gyani’s. They have now come for higher knowledge. This mantra also teaches us:

• Upanishads should always be learned from a Guru
• Unlike Science where new or fresh information is constantly sought after, in the area of spirituality, the old and traditional knowledge is prized more. The teacher is thus following tradition. There is no new topic or new method. Thus the glory of Sampradaya is emphasized. While in most sciences, a scholar is recognized by their new contribution, in Vedanta it is important to follow the teachings of previous guru’s and teachers.

An Excellent summary by Ram Ramaswamy.

Moving on to Part 2, Cantos 3, Mantra Swamiji says this third and final section of Katho Upanishad deals with Atmavidya, Brahmavidya Sadhanani and preparation for Brahmavidya.

Mantra #1: This is an important mantra. It deals with nature of Brahman. Yama now compares Creation to the Ashwatha Vriksha or Pipal Tree. Shankara in his commentary says there are many things common between the two. Describing them, he says:

1. Both are vast in size.
2. Both do not have a beginning or end. Thus, the tree was from the seed of another tree and so on and on until we do not know when it started. So also with Creation. It came into being due to Karma. Karma came into being because of creation. This endless paradox has been going on and knows one knows what started it all. The same is true of Creation itself. One creation after another keeps coming in an endless parade.
3. It is inexplicable. We cannot say which is the cause and which is the effect. Is the tree the cause or the seed? Same with free will and fate, they are all mutually dependent.
4. There is an invisible root underneath the tree that nourishes it. It is also the cause of the tree. It is same for Creation. There is one invisible root called Ishwara.
5. Both have branches spreading widely.   Some are upper, some middle and some lower. So also with Creation; you have Bhu-loka, Patal-loka etc.
6. Both bear fruit, called Phalatwam. Every tree bears fruit. Some are sweet, some sour and some a combination. So also with Creation, we have Sukha, Dukha and Mishraphalam.
7. Because of the fruits, many birds nest on the branches that support them. It is a very noisy tree. Thus also with Creation that provides Jivatma (birds in the body) to nest in the Bhu-Loka branch.  Sometimes the nest changes to another higher or lower branch or Lokas.The worl d is a very noisy place says, Shankara, full of music, laughter and wailing.
8. Even this large and powerful tree is moved by powerful winds. So also Samsara is moved by Prarabhda Karmas. Swamiji clarified that Prarabhda Karma includes my karma as well as karma of my surroundings.)
9. Swamiji says, even this large endless tree can be uprooted. Cut off the branch, trunk and root and it permanently destroy the tree. So also the sword of Knowledge can destroy this Samsara. The aadhara of Samsara is the Atman, says Swamiji. Just as one holds on to the chain link when taking a dip in the fast moving river, so also hold on to Brahman even as you dip into this fast moving Life, says Swamiji. There is nothing that can exist outside the Brahman.

Elaborating further, even the biggest dream is in the Waker. Nachiketas asks Yama why are you talking about Brahman when I wanted to know about Atman. Yama tells him: You are everything. You are Brahman.

Mantra # 2:

Providing further clarification Swamiji says, Brahman is the intelligent cause of life. Just as dream world emerges from the Waker, everything emerges and functions in presence of Brahman. He is the creator and maintainer of everything.

Swamiji says Brahman also polices this Creation ensuring the Universe functions in an orderly manner. This policing intelligence is also called Ishwara. Those who know this achieve immortality.  Swamiji adds every suffering we undergo is a punishment for some violation. Every violation of Dharma results in sorrow.

Suggested Practice:

Mr. and Mrs. Narayan recently visited Swamiji during their trip to Chennai.  They informed him of our group’s activities. Swamiji was very happy. He suggested that the Vedanta group read and practice the teachings of Chapter 17 of the Geeta. This chapter deals with the Gunas or our qualities.

Here are the instructions to build a five step golu padi that is five feet wide.  You need 100 feet of 3/4″ pvc pipe, 16 Tees and 16 side elbows.  For assembly, you need a hammer or mallet, PVC pipe cutter, tape measure and level finder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut the 120 foot pipe into the following pieces:

• 51 Inch – Ten pieces  (these will be used for the bottom frame as well frames for the steps.
• 57 Inch – 2 pieces (Back of the first step – tallest step)
• 45 Inch – 4 Pieces (front of the first step and back of the second step)
• 33 Inch – 4 Pieces (front of the second step and back of the third step)
• 21 Inch – 4 pieces (front of the third step and back of fourth step)
• 10 Inch – 20 pieces
• 9 Inch – 8 pieces

These cuttings allow for a gain of  1.5″ for each fixture used.  This 1.5″ can be used to compensate for minor cutting errors.  Do not cut them all at the beginning;  Cut the pieces as you go along when you need them.  These measurements will result in the support for steps at 4’6″ – allowing for 6″ over hang on either side and a 6″ overhang in front for each step.