A LOOK INTO AITAREYA UPANISHAD

A  LOOK INTO AITAREYA UPANISHAD

Aitareya Upanishad is one of the 'mukhya’ Upanishads and belongs to the Rig Veda. It forms the fourth, fifth, and the sixth chapters of the second book of Aitareya Aranyaka. It is the eighth among the hundred and eight Upanishads. It is a short prose text in three chapters containing thirty three verses. We find three philosophical themes in the Upanishad. In the first, it states that the world and man are the creation of the 'atman’ (Soul, Universal Self). Next the Upanishad explains that Atman undergoes threefold birth.Then it asserts that consciousness is the essence of the Atman---the Self or Brahman! “Prajnanam Brahma”-Knowledge is Brahman  is one of the ‘Mahavakyas’ of the Upanishads. Everything was Atman in the beginning and it created the worlds. Atman then created guardians of the worlds from the waters. The guardian was then given a shape. Having created them, Atman wanted to provide food for their sustenance. When the food, created by the Atman, tried to run away the guardian attempted to catch it with his speech but failed! If he had succeeded, mere speech would have satisfied him!

All attempts to seize the food with breath, sight, hearing, skin and mind failed miserably! If the guardian had succeeded, he would have satisfied himself by merely breathing on food, or seeing food, or merely hearing of food or merely touching food or just thinking of food! At last he seized it with his digestive breath or ‘apana’ that takes and lives on food! “ Is it possible for the person to live without me?” the Atman thought. What exactly is its state if speech, breath, sight, hearing, touch and thinking are done by their organs respectively? Atman wanted to enter and by cleaving the head, he got in through the cleft called ‘vidriti’ which is the place of bliss. The three states of sleep are the abodes of the Atma! The Jiva knew and talked about the created objects. It is not before enlightenment that he could realize the Brahman the All pervading Spirit!  He could say”This have I seen” after enlightenment!

The Upanishad poses the question and asks who this Atman is that we worship and want to realize in the course of our lives. Is it because of Him that we see, hear, smell, speak and know the difference in taste? According to the Upanishad the heart and mind have various qualities which make for intelligence! They are consciousness, perception, discrimination, intelligence, wisdom, insight, steadfastness, thought, acuteness, impulse, memory, volition, decision, life, desire and finally control! All these are different names for 'prajnana’ or intelligence!

The Upanishad asserts with authority that everything​ in the created world is based on intelligence and guided by intelligence. Creator Brahma, Indra, king of Gods and prajapati and all other deities are guided by 'prajnana’. The five elements earth, air, ether, water and fire and other small creatures are based on Intelligence. Every thing born of egg, womb, and sweat and earth follow the same intelligence! All the quadrupeds are no exception to this intelligence! Everything that breathes, flying or stationary- the 'sthavara’ or 'jangama’ is nothing if not for the basis of intelligence or 'Prajnana’

As an illustration, the Upanishad says that by means of this intelligent self Vamadeva soared very high upward from this world! He had fulfilment of all his desires in the far away Heaven and became immortal!