KAUSHITAKI UPANISHAD

MAHAAVAAKYA MANJOOSHA

ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः। ॐ श्री भवानिशङ्कराय नमः।
ॐ श्री मात्रे नमः।

JAI SHANKAR – KAUSHITAKI UPANISHAD

Its Shanti Mantra is: वाङ् मे मनसि प्रतिष्ठिता मनो मे वाचि प्रतिष्ठितम्……(Already explained in an earlier series).

This is also called Kaushitaki BraahmaNopanishad. It has four chapters. It is entirely in prose. The first chapter deals with the two well-known paths – Devayaana and
Pitriyaana – the journey to the world of gods and the departed ancestors.

The second chapter gives a detailed account of PraaNa Vidyaa – Upaasanaa of PraaNa as Brahman. प्राणो ब्रह्म इत्याह कौषीतकी – Kaushitaki is a revered Teacher, it appears.

The third chapter contains a long discourse by Indra(who has realised the Supreme Brahman)
to the king Pratardana. Indra advises the king
to meditate on him(identified with Brahman) as
PraaNa. PraaNa is also identified with Prajnaa.

The last chapter is a dialogue between the king Ajaatashatru and the learned Gaargya Balaaki.
It is almost a repetition of 2.1 of BrihadaaraNyaka Upanishad,.

In the entire Upanishad many themes come up again and again – like the eulogy of PraaNa for example – dealt with at length in Chhandogya and BrihadaaraNyaka Upanishad.

KAUSHITAKI UPANISHAD

ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः। ॐ श्री भवानिशङ्कराय नमः।

ॐ श्री मात्रे नमः।

JAI SHANKAR – KAUSHITAKI UPANISHAD

This is also called Kaushitaki BraahmaNopanishad. It has four chapters. It is entirely in prose. The first chapter deals with the two well-known paths – Devayaana and

Pitriyaana – the journey to the world of gods and the departed ancestors.

The third chapter contains a long discourse by Indra(who has realised the Supreme Brahman)

to the king Pratardana. Indra advises the king

to meditate on him(identified with Brahman) as

PraaNa. PraaNa is also identified with Prajnaa.

The last chapter is a dialogue between the king Ajaatashatru and the learned Gaargya Balaaki.

It is almost a repetition of 2.1 of BrihadaaraNyaka Upanishad,.

In the entire Upanishad many themes come up again and again – like the eulogy of PraaNa for example – dealt with at length in Chhandogya and BrihadaaraNyaka Upanishad.

01. प्रतर्दनो ह वै दैवोदासिः इन्द्रस्य प्रियं धाम उपजगाम युद्धेन
पौरुषेन च तं हे इन्द्र उवाच प्रतर्दन वरं ते ददानीति।

01. Pratardana, son of Divodaasa, came to the favourite abode of Indra after a valiant battle(against demons). Indra told : Pratardana,
Let me give you a boon (of your choice).

02. स होवाच प्रतर्दनः त्वमेव वृणीष्व यं त्वं मनुष्याय हिततमं मन्यस इति।

02. Pratardana replied: (O Indra) You only choose for me a boon that is most beneficial to
man.

03. इन्द्र उवाच न वै वरं परस्मै वृणीते, त्वमेव वृणीष्व इति।

03. Indra said: None chooses for another. You
choose yourself.

04. अवरो वै तर्हि किल स इति होवाच प्रतर्दनः।

04. If I were to choose, it will be inferior indeed.

05. अतो खल्विन्द्रः सत्यादेव नेयाय सत्यं हि इन्द्रः स होवाच
मामेव विजानीहि एतदेवाहं मनुष्याय हिततमं मन्ये।

05. Indra is Truth. He wouldn’t swerve from truth. He told Pratardana: (You strive to) Know me only. This alone I deem most beneficial to man.

NOTE: God is One(एकं सत्), but is named variously. Indra is one such name. God is Truth
– सत्य is नारायण. So, Indra is refered to as Truth in the above Mantra.

Saints who discourse on Bhakti quote the example of Pratardana as the model approach
while praying. We shouldn’t go to God with a shopping list. Like Pratardana we should pray to God to confer on us WHAT HE DEEMS BEST
FOR US. Our projections may go haywire, but not His. Again, what did Indra recommend?
KNOW ME – He said and added: this is most
beneficial to man. God-Realization is the ultimate पुरुषार्थ.

06. Indra said: स होवाच प्राणोऽस्मि प्रज्ञात्मा तं माम् आयुः अमृतम् इति उपास्व। आयुः प्राणः प्राणो वा आयुः प्राण अमृतम्।
यावत् अस्मिन् शरीरे प्राणः वसति तावदायुः प्राणेन हि एव
आमुष्मिल्लोके अमृतत्वमाप्नोति।

06. Indra told Pratardana: I am praaNa. I am pure Consciousness. Worship Me as span of life; worship Me as immortality. Span of life is PraaNa, PraaNa is span of life. As long as PraaNa dwells in the body, so long is the span of life. In this world one attains immortality aided by PraaNa.

07. Indra says: जीवति वागपेतो मूकान् विपश्यामो जीवति
चक्षुरपेतो अन्धान् विपश्यामो जीवति श्रोत्रापेतो बधिरान् विपश्यामो जीवति बाहुच्छिन्नो जीवति ऊरुच्छिन्नौ इत्येवं हि
पश्याम इत्यथ खलु प्राण एव प्रज्ञात्मा इदं शरीरं परिगृह्य
उत्थापयति तस्मादेतमेव उक्थमुपासीत।

07. Indra says: One lives though deprived of speech, we see those who are dumb. One lives though deprived of eyes, we see those who are blind. One lives though wanting in hearing, we see the deaf around. We see living those lacking arms and thighs. It is PraaNa which takes hold of the body and makes it rise up.
PraaNa is the intelligent Self. So you should adore this Vital Force.

08. यो वै प्राणः सा प्रज्ञा या वा प्रज्ञा स प्राणः सह एव एतौ अस्मिन् शरीरे वसतः सहोत्क्रामतः तस्यैव एतद् विज्ञानं यत्रैतत्
पुरुषः सुप्तः स्वप्नं न कञ्चन पश्यति अथास्मिन् प्राण एव एकधा भवति तदैनं वाक् सर्वैः नामभिः सहाप्येति चक्षुः सर्वैः रूपैः
सहाप्येति श्रोत्रं सर्वैः शब्दैः सहाप्येति मनः सर्वैः ध्यातैः सहाप्येति
स यदा प्रतिबुध्यते यथा अग्नेर्ज्वलतो विस्फुलिङ्गाः विप्रतिष्ठेरन्
एवमेव एतस्मादात्मनः प्राणाः यथायतनं विप्रतिष्ठन्ते प्राणेभ्यो देवाः देवेभ्यो लोकाः।

08. PraaNa is Self-Consciousness and vice versa. Together, they dwell in this body and
together they make their exit. Here is the proof:
When one is asleep and has no dreams, he is united with praaNa alone. Then, speech with all names(नाम) unites with praaNa, so does the eye with all the forms(रूप),ear with all sounds and mind with all it dwelt upon. When he wakes up, like sparks flying out of blazing fire, the vital breaths(senses, faculties) fly out together with their objects. From the PraaNa the gods;
From gods the worlds..

09. यो वै प्राणः सा प्रज्ञा या वा प्रज्ञा स प्राणः। प्रज्ञया वाचं समारुह्य वाचा सर्वाणि नामान्याप्नोति, प्रज्ञया घ्राणं समारुह्य
घ्राणेन सर्वान् गन्धान् आप्नोति, प्रज्ञया चक्षुः समारुह्य चक्षुषा
सर्वाणि रूपाणि आप्नोति, प्रज्ञया श्रोत्रं समारुह्य श्रोत्रेण सर्वान्
शब्दान् आप्नोति, प्रज्ञया जिह्वां समारुह्य जिह्वया सर्वान् अन्नरसान् आप्नोति, प्रज्ञया हस्तौ समारुह्य हस्ताभ्यां सर्वाणि
कर्माणि आप्नोति, प्रज्ञया शरीरं समारुह्य शरीरेण सुख दुःखे
आप्नोति, प्रज्ञया उपस्थं समारुह्य उपस्थेन आनन्दं रतिं प्रजातिम् आप्नोति, प्रज्ञया पादौ समारुह्य पादाभ्यां सर्वा इत्या आप्नोति,
प्रज्ञयैव धियं समारुह्य धिया विज्ञातव्यम् आप्नोति।

NOTE: 09. The word Prajnaa means intelligence,wisdom, mindfulness etc. Sometimes it means consciousness. In गीता we have स्थितप्रज्ञ(one with steady wisdom). In the above passage Prajnaa means intelligence as also mindfulness. The sum and substance of the long passage is that intelligence and mindfulness are most essential if any of our organs(indriya) including mind were to perceive what is meant to be perceived or accomplish what is meant to be accomplished.

10. In the following passage which I am not giving in full, it is said that when mindfulness is not there, our organs fail to report what they are meant to report or don’t do what they are meant to do.

10. अन्यत्र मे मनोऽभूत् इति नाहमेतन्नाम प्राज्ञासिषम् .. नाहम् एतद् गन्धं… नाहमेतद् रूपम्… नाहमेतद् रसम्.. शब्दम्.. स्पर्शम्…

10. My mind was elsewhere, so I did not know his name, my mind was elsewhere, so I could not perceive the scent, …. couldn’t see the form,….. couldn’t hear the sound, … couldn’t
feel the touch….

NOTE:
Absent-mindedness is deplored. We are exhorted to be aware, awake, attentive and alert and not say Oh अन्यत्र मे मनोऽभूत् Oh my mind was elsewhere! In Taittiriya Upanishad while the आचार्य gives farewell advice to the departing graduate, he says संविदा देयम् (when a gift or charity is done, it must be a conscious act). “Be aware and mindful in whatever you do. Don’t be a sleepwalker” – this is the message). Our Upanishads are like a holdall –
while philosophy is the staple ingredient, they also give us lessons in psychology, physiology
etc. They constitute a mine of information.
They are like a ज्ञानकोश.

11. न वाचं विजिज्ञासीत वक्तारं विद्यात् , न गन्धं विजिज्ञासीत घ्रातारं विद्यात्, न रूपं विजिज्ञासीत रूपविदं विद्यात्, न शब्दं विजिज्ञासीत श्रोतारं विद्यात्, न अन्नरसं विजिज्ञासीत अन्नरस विज्ञातारं विद्यात्, न कर्म विजिज्ञासीत कर्तारं विद्यात् , न सुख दुःखे विजिज्ञासीत सुखदु:खयोः विज्ञातारं विद्यात्…..न मनो विजिज्ञासीत मन्तारं विद्यात्।

11. Don’t seek to know speech, seek out the speaker. Don’t try to know the odour, seek out the one who smells. Don’t try to understand the form, seek out him who perceives the form.
Don’t seek to know the sound, seek out the
listener. Don’t try to know the food-taste, know
him who tastes it. Don’t seek to know the action, try to know Him who acts. Don’t seek to know happiness and sorrow, seek out him who knows happiness and sorrow. Don’t try to know the mind, seek out him who thinks.

NOTE: Here we are reminded of sage Yaajnavalkya teaching his wife Maitreyi आत्मा वा अरे दृष्टव्यः। We are also reminded of Bhagavan
RamaNa Maharshi whose panacea for all our ills was to probe WHO AM I .

12. अथ प्रतर्दनं आन्तरम् अग्निहोत्रं आचक्षते। यावद् वै पुरुषो भाषते न तावत् प्राणितुं शक्नोति, प्राणं तदा वाचि जुहोति। यावद् वै पुरुषः प्राणिति, न तावत् भाषितुं शक्नोति, वाचं तदा प्राणे जुहोति। एते अनन्ते अमृते आहुतीः जाग्रच्छ स्वप्नं च सन्ततम् अव्यवच्छिन्नं जुहोति। अथ या अन्या आहुतयः अन्तवत्यः ताः कर्ममय्यो भवन्ति। एतद् वै पूर्वे विद्वांसः अग्निहोत्रं जुहवांश्चक्रुः।

12. Now is revealed to Pratardana the internal Agnihotra. While a man is speaking, he is not able to breathe and while he is breathing, he is not able to speak. Thus, he is either sacrificing breath in speech or speech in breath. These two oblations go on perpetually whether one is awake or dreaming or is asleep.(Svapna includes sleep also).The other (external) Agnihotra is time-bound. They entail our doing
(karma) and have an end.

13. यो वै प्राणः सा प्रज्ञा, या वा प्रज्ञा स प्राणः। स एष प्राण एव
प्रज्ञात्मा आनन्दो अजरो अमृत:।

13. This PraaNa is Prajnaa(consciousness, intelligence, wisdom). This Prajnaa is PrasNa.
This PraaNa only is the Atman endowed with
Prajnaa. He is bliss, ageless and deathless
(Immortal).

14. सः न साधुना कर्मणा भूयान् भवति, नो साधुना कनीयान्।
एष हि एव साधु कर्म कारयति तं यम् अन्वानुनेषति एष एव एनम् असाधु कर्म कारयति तं यम् एभ्यः लोकेभ्यः नुनुत्सत एष लोकपाल एष लोकाधिपतिः एष सर्वेश्वरः स म आत्मा इति विद्यात् स म आत्मा इति विद्यात्।

14. He doesn’t grow bigger by a good deed nor
smaller by a bad deed. He makes one do a good deed if He wishes to take him upward from these worlds. He makes one do a bad deed if He wishes to take him downward. He is
the Universal Caretaker, He is the Ruler , He is the Lord. He is my Self – this should one know.

NOTE: This can be understood properly with an
illustration. In sunlight or the light of a tubelight, one may do a good deed(जप, स्वाध्याय, पूजा etc) or a bad deed(forgery, hatching a conspiracy etc). Neither the sunlight not the
tubelight is affected a wee bit. Because the light enables one to perform either way, it is figuratively spoken of that it leads him upward or downward. The Light within is just a Witness,
a साक्षि. He is, as गीता puts it, just an उपदृष्टा – He sees(दृष्टा), being close (उप) to us.

15. तद्यथा क्षुरः क्षुरधाने हितः एवमैव एष प्रज्ञात्मा इदं शरीरं
अनुप्रविष्टः आलोमभ्यः आनखेभ्यः।

25. Just as a razor is within a razor-case, so is this Intelligent Self within this body. He pervades upto the tips of hair and nails.

NOTE: This Upanishad is not among the ten
major Upanishads. But, it has enjoyed a great esteem. This is evidenced by the fact that
बादरायण names one section in Brahma Sootra -s
as प्रतर्दनाधिकरणम् (1-1-11) and has given four
सूत्र -s, the first being प्राणः तथानुगमात् which means PraaNa refers to Brahman(प्राणः परमात्मा एव इति राद्धान्तः). Both praaNa and Indra signify
God.

As I have said earlier, a devotee should emulate Pratardana.The word Pratardana etymologicaly means ‘piercing’.. One who pierces the veil of अविद्या and माया is a प्रतर्दन. Lecturerers on this Upanishad highlight the fact that when Indra told Pratardana to seek a boon, the latter declined the offer and said: You give me what You consider to be for my lasting Good. Then,
Indra, who represents God, tells Pratardana
to meditate on Him(माम् उपास्व). Devotion to God is the highest Good.

GLEANINGS FROM KAUSHITAKI UPANISHAD
CONCLUDED1