ARANI SERIES
Spark 47
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
TEN SIPS OF VEDĀNTA
Single-liners from Upanishads
People often ask what these Upanishads are all about. Those who have not heard Vedanta are especially curious why some of their friends attend the classes endlessly. The following is an attempt to provide samples. Here are ten sips of the nectar – of the wisdom of the Rishis.
1 Win-win is possible: We can see others (and others’ good) in ourselves (in our own good), and we can perceive ourselves (our own good) in others (in others’ well-being).
See all in the Self, and the Self in all.
| yas-tu sarvāni bhootāni ātmani eva anupashyati | Ishāvāsya, mantra 6
2 Do not underestimate your potential: Great abilities – in both material and spiritual fields – reside within you. Tap them.
We get strength from within the Self.
| ātmanā vindate veeryam | Kena 2.4
3 To be able to delay gratification (and attend to duty first) is the secret of success: Pleasure prospect frequently jeopardizes our thought-processes. To put aside temptations and first do meaningful work ensures we keep rising on our chosen path.
They come up in life who choose ‘the good’ over ‘the pleasant’.
| Shreya ādadānasya sādhu bhavati | Katha 1.2.1
4 Honesty is the best policy: If we have to choose one value of a hundred that are praised, it is truthfulness.
Be truthful and attentive; the highest good will be yours.
| satyena labhyah, tapasā hi esha ātmā | Mundaka 3.1.5
5 Unbiased watching is the highest intelligence: Highest praise is given to Awareness, which is greater than the power of thought.
The ultimate truth is Awareness.
| prajnānam brahma | Aitareya 3.1.3
6 Do not be harsh on even those who err: We are advised to be just and fair but not unduly harsh.
Go to them who are not cruel, and who are concerned with doing right things.
| alookshāh, dharma-kāmāh syuh | Taittiriya 1.11.4
7 Have faith in higher values: We must protect our faith in eternal values like truth and nonviolence.
Stay first a year here, spending your days with faith and self-control.
| shraddhayā samvatsaram samvatsyatha | Prashna 1.2
8 There is a truth, knowing which everything is yours: The rishis called it Om, and said Om is everything.
Om, the imperishable, is all this.
| om-ityetad-aksharam idam sarvam | Māndukya, mantra 1
9 Right food, in moderate quantity, leads to purity of mind: They saw, thousands of years ago, the influence of food on our thoughts. Sattvik food in right quantity can help our sadhana a lot.
The inner equipment gets purified upon taking pure food.
| āhāra-shuddhau sattva-shuddhih | Chāndogya 7.26.2
10 You cannot ‘find’ truth; all that you can (and need to) do is to negate the false: In their profound insights, the rishis could see truth is neither a physical object nor a mental construct. Through staying watchful, we can identify the false as the false and give it up.
The way is to see rightly and take the position: not this, not this.
| neti, neti | Brihadāranyaka Upanishad 2.3.6
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As you know, each of the above has vast significance.
Swami Chidananda