by Roopa Pai
6. Mandukya
7. Taittiriya
8. Aitareya
9. Chandogya
10. Brihadaranyaka
Wait. Stop. Don’t just skim the list! Pause, and actually read the list, saying the words in your head or aloud. Of course the words probably don’t mean anything to you right now, but don’t worry about that. Instead, focus on their sound and cadence, like students did in the old times.
Notice what a nice rhythm the names have when spoken in sequence, and how the number of syllables progresses steadily from two – in Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna – to three – Mundaka, Mandukya – to four – Taittiriya, Aitareya. Then comes the anomaly, the three-syllabled Chandogya, but perhaps that was snuck in there to help you catch your breath, so that you’d have enough left in the tank for the formidable, six-syllabled, final one – the dense and sprawling BRI-HAD-AAR-AN-YA-KA.
Wasn’t that fun? Onward!
Now, each Upanishad – not just these ten here but every other one as well – is part of one Veda or another (as we discussed not so long ago, the Upanishads are the fourth layer of the Vedas). So let’s put down the list again, this time connecting each Upanishad to its Veda.
1. Isha – Yajur Veda (Shukla)*
2. Kena – Sama Veda
3. Katha – Yajur Veda (Krishna)*
4. Prashna – Atharva Veda
5. Mundaka – Atharva Veda
6. Mandukya – Atharva Veda
7. Taittiriya – Yajur Veda (Krishna)
8. Aitareya – Rig Veda
9. Chandogya – Sama Veda
10. Brihadaranyaka – Yajur Veda (Shukla)
*Remember we talked about two versions of the Yajur Veda in Chapter 4? To recap, one version, the one in which the four layers of the Veda are neatly separated and organized, is called the Shukla Yajur Veda, and the other, in which the four layers are all a bit mixed-up, is called the Krishna Yajur Veda.
Moving on. Each Upanishad is not only associated with a particular Veda, but also with a special invocation or prayer called a Shanti Mantra, which is essentially a prayer for peace. Before you start reading an Upanishad – or, more correctly, ‘listening’ to a teacher explain its essence to you – it is recommended that both of you chant the peace prayer associated with it.
Right, now let’s put down our list of Upanishads yet again, this time tagging each with its respective Shanti Mantra. You can skip this list if it feels like too much information for now, but you will be able to come back to this ready reckoner any time you need to.
1. Isha – Yajur Veda (Shukla) – Aum poornamadah poornamidam
2. Kena – Sama Veda – Aum aapyayantu mamaangaani
3. Katha – Yajur Veda (Krishna) – Aum sahanaavavatu
4. Prashna – Atharva Veda – Aum bhadram karnebhih
5. Mundaka – Atharva Veda – Aum bhadram karnebhih
6. Mandukya – Atharva Veda – Aum bhadram karnebhih
7. Taittiriya – Yajur Veda (Krishna) – Aum sahanaavavatu
8. Aitareya – Rig Veda – Aum vaang me manasi pratishtithaa
9. Chandogya – Sama Veda – Aum aapyayantu mamaangaani
10. Brihadaranyaka – Yajur Veda (Shukla) – Aum poornamadah poornamidam
PSALMS FOR CALM
How to Peace Out, the Upanishadic way
What is the point of the Shanti Mantras? And why should they be recited before the study of an Upanishad? Simply because the sounds and words of these mantras are believed to create an atmosphere that quietens the mind and facilitates learning. As a collateral benefit, they also help calm the community and the environment around the student. Which isn’t that hard to believe, considering that all of them end with that most calming of calming phrases – ‘Aum Shantih Shantih Shantih’.
Why three Shantihs? One explanation is that it is because the mantra invokes three kinds of peace – peace in the mind (easy enough to understand), peace in speech (i.e., an absence of extreme emotions like anger, fear, hate, great joy or excitement when one speaks, because it is only then that the mind can think – and the tongue can speak – clearly and rationally) and peace in the body (a steady pulse, a deep rhythmic breath, a happy gut). Another explanation is that the triple Shantih calls for peace within oneself, peace in the community and environment, and peace in the universe. Both theories are quite lovely, don’t you think?
The other nice thing about the Shanti Mantras is of course, their aspiration. Seriously, who could have a problem with prayers that ask for nothing other than peace, not only for oneself but for everyone else as well? (FYI, you don’t have to restrict yourself to chanting these mantras only before you study the Upanishads, you can chant them at any old time at all – when you’re feeling stressed and want to calm yourself down, just before you begin a particularly challenging music or maths lesson, when your two best friends are mad at each other, when you have just had a huge family row, or simply when you are feeling wonderful and calm and want to share your bliss with the world!)
The third thing (everything related to the Upanishads seems to come in threes!) is that these mantras aren’t the I’ve-never-heard-them-before kind of verses. Many of you are probably familiar with at least a couple of them and may even have chanted them at home or at school, without ever knowing that they had such a deep connection with the Upanishads.
Time now to take a closer look at the Shanti Mantras – how many do you recognize?
Shanti Mantra of the Rig Veda Upanishads
(To be chanted before studying the Aitareya)
Aum vaang me manasi pratishtithaa
Mano me vaachi pratishtitham
Aavira-avir-ma edhi
Vedasya ma aaneesthah
Shrutam me maa prahaaseeh
Anena-adheetena-ahoraatraan-san-dadhaami
Ritam vadishyaami satyam vadishyaami
Tan-maam-avatu tad-vaktaaram-avatu
Avatu maam avatu vaktaaram
Aum Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Aum!
I pray
That my words make their home in my mind,
That my mind makes its home in my words,
That the knowledge of my true self reveals itself to me,
That my mind and my speech work in harmony to help me understand,
That I do not just hear the lesson, but understand it,
That what I learn and practise night and day is never lost to me.
May this Divine Truth that I speak today
Protect my teacher
And protect me.
Aum Peace Peace Peace.
Simple enough to understand, this prayer asks for mind and speech to work harmoniously, as one unit. What are you really asking for here? That your monkey-mind doesn’t jump around, completely distracted, thinking about the fun party you have been invited to this evening, while your mouth repeats words after the teacher. (Remember, ‘repeating after the teacher’ was a HUGE part of learning in the days of oral transmission – today, you would probably pray for your eyes and mind to be in harmony – so that you are not just looking at the teacher, your mind is actually processing what she is saying as well – or for your fingers and mind to be in harmony – so that you are not playing Hangman with your seat partner but actually making notes about the lesson.)
The part where the chanter prays for knowledge to be retained is also important – please, God, I’ve done my bit and studied hard, now can you please, pretty please, help me remember all of it in the exam hall? The prayer ends with a lovely wish for the teacher – now that’s something you probably don’t think about doing, but should!
Shanti Mantra of the Sama Veda Upanishads
(To be chanted before studying the Kena and the Chandogya)
Aum aapyaayantu mamaangaani
Vaak-praanas-chakshuh-shrotram
Atho-balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani
Sarvam brahma upanishadam
Maaham brahma niraakuryaam
Maa maa brahma niraakarod
Aniraakara
nam astu aniraakaranam me astu
Tadaatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaah
Te mayi santu, te mayi santu
Aum Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Aum!
I seek blessings
That my limbs, speech, breath, eyes, ears, strength
And all my senses be nourished;
I pray
That I may never deny Brahman or be disloyal,
That Brahman may never forsake or reject me;
I, the seeker, ask
That all the wisdoms of the Upanishads
Shine in me,
That they all shine in me.
Aum Peace Peace Peace.
If you substitute the word Upanishads with whatever skill or lesson or craft you are trying to master, this simple, heartfelt prayer for strength and health of all kinds – mental, physical, emotional and spiritual – is a mantra that works well. After all, no quest – whether it is summiting Everest or mastering quantum mechanics – can be undertaken unless the mind, body and spirit are at peace, and in perfect harmony with one another.
It’s important to note that while the seeker hopes fervently that Brahman never forsakes him, he is careful enough to put in a little reminder for himself as well – he asks that he may never deny Brahman either. Imagine if we always did that with our prayers as well – ‘Please, God, make Dad get me that new device I’ve been longing for, but make sure too that I am never rude to Dad.’ Or ‘Oh, I hope-hope-hope that the girl/boy I really like talks to me in school today, but I equally hope-hope-hope that I will not spread awful rumours about her/him if she/he chooses to not like me back as much.’ That would totally make for a world full of Shantih-Shantih-Shantih, don’t you think?
Shanti Mantra of the Shukla Yajur Veda Upanishads
(To be chanted before studying the Isha and the Brihadaranyaka)
Aum poornamadah poornamidam poornaat poorna-mudachyate
Poornasya poornamaadaaya poornamevaavashisyate
Aum Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Aum!
That is complete, and This is complete,
From That completeness comes This completeness;
If you take completeness away from completeness,
Only completeness remains.
Aum Peace Peace Peace.
Say what? Uh-hunh, this particular Shanti Mantra is a bit mind-boggling, and you wonder if it is deliberately meant to confuse. Logically speaking, if you take something away from something – completeness from completeness in this case – how can the original thing, even if that thing is ‘completeness’, remain? But as we discussed in an earlier chapter, this kind of paradox is typical of the Upanishads, especially when Brahman or God is being described, as he is in this case.
Completeness – a quality of being whole, unified, and independent of anything and anyone else – is something human beings see as superhuman. After all, we are all deeply dependent, in one way or another, on something or someone. We constantly seek completeness – a best friend, a soulmate, a passion to follow, likes on Instagram, success, approval from others and a tonne of other things to feel complete, to feel happy. But we realize very quickly that this kind of completeness is transient. It departs quickly, and we are soon on the streets looking for it again.
Brahman, on the other hand, is the epitome of completeness. This mantra is a prayer asking him to guide us towards that completeness. And where may we find this completeness? Right within us! As the mantra says, ‘That completeness’ , i.e., Brahman, is ‘This completeness’, i.e., Atman, your individual soul. Once we find it, we will be blissfully happy.
And what of taking completeness away from completeness? Brahman, says the mantra, does not become diminished, not even a tiny little bit, by splitting Himself into a million creatures in a million ways, just as the flame of a candle burns just as bright even after lighting a hundred other candles. In exactly the same way, you will not become diminished by giving of yourself – your love, your attention, your compassion, your respect – to every other creature in the world. Therefore, advise the sages of the Upanishads, give! Give recklessly, prodigally, unabashedly, and don’t be afraid – for when you take completeness away from completeness, only completeness remains.
What a beautiful message, right? Remind yourself of it every time you chant this Shanti Mantra.
Shanti Mantra of the Krishna Yajur Veda Upanishads
(To be chanted before studying the Taittiriya and the Katha)
Aum saha naavavatu
Saha nau bhunaktu
Saha veeryam karavaavahai
Tejasvinaavadhitamastu maa vidvishaavahai
Aum Shantih Shantih Shantih ||
Aum!
May He in the Highest Heaven
Protect both of us, teacher and student;
Nourish both of us together
So that we may work together with great energy,
So that we may learn from each other,
So that our learning is effective,
So that we steer clear of dispute and discord.
Aum Peace Peace Peace.
With its strong message that learning is a two-way process in which both teacher and student are mutually benefited, this is a great prayer to put up in classrooms and school corridors. If the part about ‘learning from each other’ is something you may want to draw your teachers’ attention to, the part petitioning for an absence of dispute and discord is probably something your teachers wish you would keep in mind. The plea that both teacher and student be protected and nourished is important too – it tells us that learning is not effective unless both parties are equally committed to the task and participate in it with a healthy respect for each other.
PS: This may also be a great way to approach conversations in general, even when, say, you are in the middle of an argument with a friend. Treating the other person as your teacher (since you don’t know his point of view and are trying to ‘learn’ it from him), giving him your full attention and respect, and listening with an open mind may be the shortest and most sure-shot route to resolving conflict.
Shanti Mantra of the Atharva Veda Upanishads
(To be chanted before studying the Prashna, the Mundaka and the Mandukya)
Aum bhadram karnebhih shrinuyaama devaah
Bhadram pashyem-aakshabhir-yajatraah
Sthirair-angais-tushtuvaamsas-tanoobhih
Vyashema devahitam yadaayooh
Svasti na indro vriddhashravaah
Svasti nah pooshaa vishvavedaah
Svasti nastaarkshyo arishtanemih
Svasti no brhaspatir-dadhaatu
Aum Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Aum!
Ye gods, bless us
That we may hear words that are pleasant
And see things that are blessed,
That we may live our lives in ways that nourish you.
O great Indra, O All-Knowing Poosha,
O Garuda, destroyer of evil, O great teacher Brihaspati,
Take care of us, blessed ones!
Aum Peace Peace Peace.
This prayer is straightforward enough, a nice general-purpose bless-us-with-everything prayer that can be pulled out on any occasion at all. But if you look carefully, it isn’t all gimme-gimme-gimme. The chanter is also promising to play his part in the universal cycle of give-and-take by promising to live his life in a way that nourishes the gods. How can one do that? Simply by doing his or her duty without fear or malice or love or hate, by fulfilling responsibilities calmly and cheerfully, and by remembering, always, to be grateful.
ADI SHANKARA
The boy saint who restored the Vedanta
Some 1,500 years after the oldest Upanishads had been composed, and over a thousand years (give or take a few centuries) after the clearest, most concise and most creative compilations of their wisdoms – the Brahmasutra and the Bhagavad Gita – had been put together in the north of India, a baby boy was born in the little town of Kaladi in what is now Kerala, in the deep
south. His fond parents named him Shankara, but more about him in a bit.
Let’s first look at what had transpired in the country after the ten great Upanishads had been composed. The Vedic religion, which had receded somewhat from centre stage under Emperor Ashoka – who had embraced Buddhism – was seeing a resurgence, thanks to the generous patronage of the Hindu kings of the mighty and long-lived Gupta empire. On the ground, however, things had gotten pretty chaotic among the inheritors of the ancient texts. Scores of contradictory and downright confusing interpretations had sprung up, and dozens of popular sects had mushroomed under the broad umbrella of the religion we call Hinduism today.
Among these sects were atheistic ones like the Charvaka; ritual-loving ones like Mimamsa, which embraced the Vedas and rejected the revelations of the Upanishadic sages as a bunch of mystical mumbo-jumbo; and others like the Samkhya, which believed that while it was quite possible that a God existed, we shouldn’t waste time over Him because our lives, our actions and our choices were guided only by our own free will. This diversity of thought and belief was wonderful, and the debates they generated mind-expanding; the only shame was that the followers of these sects fought so much with each other.
A lot of other action had also happened over the same thousand years. The practitioners of the Vedic religion had crossed the Vindhyas and travelled south, taking their gods and their philosophical ideas with them. The no-longer-new religions of Buddhism and Jainism had travelled too and won themselves a country’s worth of new recruits while the Hindu sects squabbled. Meanwhile, Christianity and the brand-new religion of Islam had made a quiet but definite entry via the south-western coast.
Fortunately for Hinduism, splintered and anxious with this bubbling of sects and opinions, a new and charismatic sage – a towering intellectual who not only knew the original, liberal core of the scriptures like the back of his hand but could also present them simply and lucidly – showed up around the 8th century.
No one realized at first that the messiah had arrived. Far from the matted dreadlocks and snow-white beards of the old sages, this one had a shaven head and no facial fuzz – he had, in fact, barely begun to shave. He was sixteen years old, and his name was Shankara.
Who was this boy Shankara? When was he born? Where did he get his spiritual inspiration from? What was his life like? When did he die? Sadly, we simply don’t know. All we have on Shankara today is the stuff of legend and folklore, so we cannot be sure of any of it. But that doesn’t really matter, because there are some really lovely stories there, like this one about how the eight-year-old Shankara arm-twisted his widowed mother into letting him become a monk.