Here is a simplified, modern English translation of Raja Rammohun Roy’s treatise, as interpreted by me using Large Language Models.The original work was published in Calcutta -1819.
This does not reflect my personal opinion or idea and in most cases I have tried to retain all of Rammohan Roy's original philosophical ideas and arguments. However , in case you think there is a deviation or a meaning lost in the interpretation, please let me know in the comment box below.
Introduction
During my breaks from debating people who practice and defend idol worship, I translated several of the ten Upanishads. These Upanishads make up the Vedanta, which is the most important part of the Vedas. They are also explained in a work called the Shareeruk-Meemangsa (commonly known as the Vedant-Durshun), written by the famous sage Vyasa. Now that I have some extra free time, I am taking the opportunity to publish a translation of the Mundaka Upanishad.
I trust that if anyone reads this book and the other books of the Vedanta carefully and with an open mind, they will be convinced of a consistent truth: these texts teach that there is only one God. At the same time, they teach humanity the pure way to worship Him in spirit.
It will also become completely obvious that the Vedas only allow idol worship as an absolute last resort. This exception is strictly for people who are completely unable to elevate their minds to think about the invisible God of nature. However, the Vedas repeatedly urge people to abandon idol-worshipping rituals and embrace a purer system of religion. They clearly state that practicing idol worship can never lead to eternal happiness or salvation. These physical rituals are only meant to be practiced by people who, despite constant instruction from spiritual teachers, still cannot clearly see the majesty of God reflected in the natural world.
I hope the public will understand the real reason why the majority of the Hindu community is so devoted to idol worship, which is a direct rebellion against their own sacred books. It is driven by two things: First, ignorant people have a natural tendency to worship physical objects that resemble humans, and they prefer physical rituals they can easily see and feel. Second, fake spiritual guides promote these practices for their own selfish, greedy motives. This idol worship is the root cause of prejudice and superstition. It completely destroys moral principles by encouraging and excusing terrible acts like illicit sexual relationships, suicide, the murder of women, and human sacrifice.
If my hard work helps to reduce the spread of these terrible evils even the slightest bit, I will consider myself fully and perfectly rewarded.
The Mundaka Upanishad of the Atharva Veda
Brahma, the greatest of the heavenly gods and the active creator and preserver of the world, was brought into existence. He taught his eldest son, Atharva, the knowledge of the Supreme Being, which is the foundation of all other sciences. Atharva later passed this knowledge on to Angir. Angir then taught it to Satyavaha (a descendant of Bharadwaja), who handed the teachings down to Angiras.
One day, a wealthy householder named Shaunaka respectfully approached Angiras in the traditional manner and asked him a question: "Is there one single being that, if we truly know it, allows us to instantly understand the entire universe?"
Angiras answered him: "Those who deeply understand the Vedas teach that there are two types of knowledge—a superior kind and an inferior kind.
"The inferior knowledge consists of the four Vedas (the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda) along with their supporting subjects. These supporting subjects include:
Shiksha (the rules of pronunciation)
Kalpa (the exact rules for performing religious rituals)
Vyakaran (grammar)
Nirukta (the explanation of difficult words used in the Vedas)
Chhandas (poetry and meter)
Jyotish (astronomy)
All of these are considered inferior knowledge.
"The superior knowledge, on the other hand, is the spiritual wisdom taught in the Upanishads. This superior knowledge is what allows a person to be fully absorbed into the eternal Supreme Being.
"This Supreme Being, who is the focus of the superior learning, cannot be grasped by our physical senses or bodily organs. He has no beginning, no color, and no physical size. He does not have eyes, ears, hands, or feet. He is eternal, exists everywhere, has absolutely no physical body, and never changes. Wise people recognize Him as the original source of the entire universe.
"The way the eternal Supreme Being produces the universe is completely natural and comes from within Himself. It is just like how a spider spins a web out of its own body and later pulls it back in, or how plants naturally grow out of the soil, or how hair and nails naturally grow out of a living creature.
"Because He knows absolutely everything, the Supreme Being simply decides to create the universe. First, He produces Nature, which appears to us as the physical cause of the world. From Nature comes Brahma, the first conscious spark of the world and the source of all senses and abilities. From these abilities, the five physical elements are created. From these five elements, the seven divisions of the world are formed—and it is within these divisions that humans perform their religious rituals and experience the consequences of their actions.
"Ultimately, it is the Supreme Being—who perfectly knows everything as a whole and in every tiny detail, and whose mere thought and will are enough to make anything happen—who produces Brahma, all names, all shapes, and all living, growing things."
(End of the first Section of the 1st Mundakam)
The Limits of Religious Rituals
(Note: At the beginning of this section, the author discusses "inferior knowledge," which refers to physical rituals. By the end of this section, he introduces the "superior doctrine" or spiritual knowledge, which he continues to discuss throughout the rest of the Upanishad.)
The religious rituals—which wise men like Vashistha and others discovered in the Vedas—truly do produce good results. They have been performed in various ways by three specific groups of Brahmins: the Adharyu (those who know the Yajur Veda perfectly), the Udgata (those who know the Sama Veda thoroughly), and the Hota (those who have perfect knowledge of the Rig Veda). You should all continue to perform these rituals as long as you want to enjoy the specific rewards they bring. Practicing these rituals is the path that leads you to the benefits you expect to earn from your physical actions.
When the sacred fire grows and its flames wave, the person performing the ritual must offer their sacrifices right into the center of the waving flame.
However, simply maintaining the sacred fire is not enough. The ritual must be accompanied by specific ceremonies performed on the days of the new and full moon, during the four months of the rainy season, in the autumn, and in the spring. It must also include hospitality to guests, strict attention to the proper times, the worship of the Vishwadeva gods, and strict adherence to the prescribed rules. If a worshipper fails to do all of these things, the flawed ritual will actually rob them of the heavenly rewards they hoped to enjoy in their seven future lives (or heavenly mansions).
The seven waving points (or tongues) of the flame have specific names: Kali, Karali, Manojava, Sulohita, Sudhumravarna, Sphulingini, and Vishwaruchi.
If a person offers their sacrifices into these bright, waving points of fire at the exact right time, the sacrifices themselves will carry the worshipper up through the rays of the sun to the heaven ruled by Indra, the prince of the celestial gods. As these glowing sacrifices carry the worshipper through the sunbeams, they invite him into heaven, saying, "Come in! Come in!" They entertain him with pleasant conversation, treat him with great respect, and tell him, "This is the highest peak of heaven, which you have earned as the reward for your good deeds."
The Danger of Blind Faith in Rituals
However, the eighteen parts of these rituals and sacrifices are actually weak, fragile, and temporary if they are performed without true spiritual knowledge. Ignorant people who believe these physical rituals are the source of true, lasting happiness will be disappointed. After they enjoy their temporary rewards in heaven, they will be forced to reincarnate and return to the physical world. These fools are drowning in ignorance—meaning they are obsessed with the foolish practice of rituals—yet they proudly consider themselves wise and learned. Because of this, they wander endlessly in the cycle of being reborn, suffering from disease, dying, and experiencing other pains. They are exactly like blind men being led by another blind man.
Ignorant people who obsessively perform these various rituals and sacrifices will definitely get the worldly rewards they want. But because they are so greedy for these temporary rewards, they completely fail to gain any true knowledge of God. As a result, once their time of enjoying heavenly rewards runs out, they are sent back down to this physical world full of sorrow.
These absolute fools believe that the highest good comes from performing the sacrifices required by the Vedas, or from doing the charitable acts required by the Smritis (such as digging public wells). They have no idea that truly knowing and having faith in God is the only real source of eternal happiness. After these fools die and enjoy the temporary results of their rituals at the peak of heaven, they are forced to reincarnate on earth in the form of a human, a lower animal, or even a plant.
The Path to True Knowledge
On the other hand, there are hermits and monks who live in the forests and survive on charity, as well as regular householders who possess a bit of true wisdom. Because these people practice religious discipline, worship Brahma and the gods, control their physical senses, and remain free from sin, they get to travel upwards through the "northern path." This path takes them to the highest part of heaven, where the immortal Brahma—who is as old as the world itself—assumes his supreme glory.
(Note: According to Hindu theologians, there are two distinct roads to two different heavens. The "northern path" leads to the home of Brahma and the superior gods, while the "southern path" leads to the heaven of Indra and the lesser gods.)
A Brahmin should seriously reflect on the fact that every single worldly object gained through human effort will eventually perish and fade away. He must realize that you cannot use temporary, perishable actions (like rituals) to earn an eternal, lasting reward. Once he understands this, he will stop desiring worldly things and ask himself, "What is the point of these rituals?" Then, to gain the "superior knowledge" of the eternal, he must gather a bundle of firewood in his hand and respectfully approach a spiritual teacher who deeply understands the doctrines of the Vedas and has a firm, unwavering faith in God.
When this devoted student arrives—having calmed his mind and freed himself from the nagging desires of his physical senses—the wise teacher must properly instruct him. The teacher must pass on the true spiritual knowledge that will allow the student to truly know the eternal Supreme Being.
(End of the first Mundakam)
The Creator and the Universe
The Supreme Being—who is the focus of the "superior knowledge"—is the only true reality. Just as thousands of identical sparks fly out from a blazing fire, various individual souls come forth from the eternal Supreme Being, and eventually, they all return to Him.
He is immortal and has no physical shape or form. He is everywhere, existing both inside and outside of everything. He was never born, He does not need breath, and He does not have an individual human-like mind. He is completely pure and is far greater than even the highest forces of nature. From Him comes the very first spark of life (the seed of the universe), human intellect, all the physical senses and the objects they perceive, as well as space, air, light, water, and the earth that holds everything together.
The universe is His body: Heaven is His head, the sun and moon are His eyes, space is His ears, and the sacred Vedas are His speech. The air is His breath, the world is His intellect, and the earth is His feet. He is the living soul of the entire universe.
He created the sky, which is lit by the sun. He created the clouds, which are influenced by the moon, gather in the sky, and cause plants to grow on the earth. Men eat these plants, absorbing their life essence, and pass that essence on to women to create new life. Through this chain of physical causes, countless offspring are born from the omnipresent Supreme Being.
He is the source of all the texts in the Vedas, including the verses, the musical songs, and the prose. He also created all religious rituals (like the preliminary Deeksha ceremonies), the sacrifices (whether they use wooden sacrificial posts or not), the fees paid to priests, the concept of time, and the wealthy patrons who pay for these sacrifices. He also created the future heavenly realms where the moon purifies souls and the sun shines.
He created all different kinds of gods, the lesser celestial beings, mankind, animals, and birds. He created the breath of life (inhaling and exhaling), food like wheat and barley, religious discipline (austerity), faith, truth, the duties of monks, and all the rules for living a good human life.
From Him come the seven senses located in the head (the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth). He created their natural desires, the objects they perceive, the ideas they form, and the physical organs they live in. These senses are active in every living creature and never stop working except when we sleep.
He created the oceans, the mountains, and the flowing rivers. He created all plants and the six tastes (sweet, salty, pungent, bitter, sour, and astringent). Through these foods and tastes, the physical body nourishes a tiny "corpuscle" (a subtle seed or essence) located inside the heart. (Note: This corpuscle is made up of all the elements of the physical body. The soul lives inside it, and uses it to control the entire nervous system and body. The soul stays attached to this tiny corpuscle through all reincarnations until it is finally absorbed back into the Supreme Intelligence). The Supreme Being is absolutely everything—He is the religious rituals themselves, and He is the rewards for those rituals. Therefore, He is supreme and immortal. O beloved pupil, whoever truly understands that God lives in the hearts of all living creatures will completely untie the knot of ignorance in this world.
(End of the first section of the 2nd Mundakam)
Meditating on the Supreme Being
Because God is brilliant and intimately close to all creatures, He is known as the active force working inside the heart. He is great and sustains everything. Everything that moves, breathes, blinks, or stays still relies entirely on Him. You must all focus on Him as the foundation of everything visible and invisible, and as the ultimate goal of human life.
He is completely beyond human understanding, and He is the most supreme. He provides light to the sun and all other glowing bodies. He is smaller than an atom, yet larger than the world. He contains all the different realms of the universe and all the beings that live in them. He is the eternal God, the source of breath, speech, intellect, and all the senses. Because He is the source of all senses and is the true, unchanging Supreme Being, you must meditate on Him. O beloved pupil, constantly focus your mind on Him.
The Bow and Arrow Metaphor
Take up the great bow described in the Upanishads, which is the strongest of all weapons. Use your soul as the arrow, and sharpen it by constantly focusing your mind on God.
O pupil, practice this constantly: pull your senses away from worldly distractions, direct your mind entirely toward the Supreme Being, and shoot for the target—which is the eternal God. The sacred word "Om" is the bow, your soul is the arrow, and the Supreme Being is the target. A person with a steady, focused mind must hit this mark. When they do, they will be perfectly united with God, just as an arrow sinks into its target.
Heaven, earth, space, intellect, breath, and all the senses exist within God. You must strive to know only this ONE Supreme Being and abandon all other conversations, because true knowledge of God is the only bridge to eternal happiness.
The veins of the body connect to the heart just like the spokes of a wheel connect to its center hub. There, in the heart, the Supreme Being resides as the true source of your individual identity and life experiences. Contemplate Him using the sacred word "Om." May you be blessed as you cross over the dark ocean of ignorance and find ultimate absorption into God. God, who perfectly knows the universe as a whole and in every detail, and whose majesty is clearly visible in the world, operates actively within the space of the heart, which is His shining home.
He can only be perceived through the intellect. During reincarnation, He is the one who moves the breath and the "corpuscle" (where the soul lives) from one physical body into another. He supports our intellectual abilities and is seated in the heart. Wise people come to know Him—the eternal source of all happiness—through the pure knowledge passed down by the Vedas and spiritual teachers.
When a person truly understands that God is everything and is the source of their intellect and self-awareness, all their worldly desires disappear. All their doubts are removed, and the karmic consequences of their good and bad actions—whether committed in this life or in past lives—are completely wiped away.
The Supreme Being is free from any stain, has no physical shape or form, and is entirely pure. He is the light that illuminates all other lights, and He lives in the heart, His glorious seat. Wise men who recognize Him as the source of their mind and self-awareness possess the true understanding of God.
Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars can shine light on God. Even bright lightning cannot illuminate Him, much less an ordinary earthly fire. Instead, all of these things simply imitate Him and borrow their light from Him. God alone is immortal. He extends in front of us, behind us, to the right, to the left, below, and above. He is the Supreme, and He is everything.
(End of the Second Mundakam)
The Metaphor of the Two Birds
Imagine two birds that share the exact same spiritual essence and live closely together in the exact same tree. The tree represents the physical human body.
The first bird represents the human soul. This bird eats the various tasting fruits of the tree, meaning it actively experiences the good and bad consequences of its earthly actions.
The second bird represents God. This bird does not eat the fruit at all; He simply watches everything that happens as a detached witness.
While trapped inside the physical body, the soul is weighed down by ignorance and feels deeply sad about its own weakness and helplessness. However, when the soul finally recognizes its companion—the glorious, adorable Lord of the Universe who created the soul in the first place—it is instantly freed from all its grief and confusion.
(Note from the original text: The difference between God—the universal mind—and the human soul—the individual mind—only exists as long as the soul clings to its sense of individual identity. It is exactly like the difference between a specific shape drawn in space and infinite space itself; as soon as you erase the boundaries of the specific shape, there is only one unified space).
Overcoming Duality
When a wise person truly perceives the shining God as the Creator, Lord, and original cause of everything, they are able to let go of the karmic consequences of both their good and bad deeds. They become spiritually perfect and are completely absorbed into God. Because this wise person clearly sees that God lives inside every single creature, they abandon all ideas of "duality" (the false belief that anything in the universe exists separately from God). They are completely convinced that there is only one true reality, and that reality is God.
The Path of the Perfect Worshipper
This wise person then focuses all their senses solely on God, who is the original source of consciousness itself. They give all their love exclusively to Him. At the same time, they pull their mind away from all worldly, materialistic objects by keeping their thoughts constantly fixed on God. A person with this level of devotion is considered the most perfect of all worshippers.
To get closer to God—who is full of splendor and perfection, and actively works within the human heart—a person must practice absolute honesty, constantly focus their mind and senses, learn from spiritual teachers, and abstain from sexual desires. Only those worshippers who have completely freed themselves from earthly passions and desires can truly get close to Him.
The Power of Truthfulness
A person who practices absolute truthfulness will prosper, while a liar will not. The path to eternal happiness is only open to those who speak the truth without fail. This perfect honesty is the exact path that holy saints—having freed themselves from all worldly desires—take to reach the Supreme Being. Reaching God is the direct result of living a perfectly truthful life.
The Inconceivable Nature of God
God is so great that He cannot be grasped by our physical senses, and His true nature is entirely beyond human imagination. Even though He is finer and more invisible than empty space itself, He shines in many different ways. For ignorant people who do not know Him, He seems further away than the outer limits of the universe. But for those who truly acquire knowledge of Him, He is closer than anything else. Even though He lives inside all living creatures, people who only vaguely apply their thoughts to Him can only perceive Him dimly.
How to Truly Perceive God
You cannot see God with your eyes, you cannot describe Him with words, and you cannot sense Him with any other physical organ. You cannot even understand Him simply by practicing harsh religious disciplines or performing rituals. The only way to perceive the perfectly pure God is if your mind is cleansed by the light of true knowledge and constant, unbroken meditation.
This invisible Supreme Being must be observed within the heart, which is also where the five types of vital breath reside. Once a person's mind is completely cleansed of all impurity, God—who already surrounds the mind and all the senses—directly reveals the knowledge of Himself to the heart.
The Reward of the Devout
A truly pious, devoted worshipper of God gains the spiritual power to obtain any part of the world or any desirable object they wish for, whether for themselves or for someone else. Therefore, anyone who desires true honor and advantage should deeply respect and revere such a devoted worshipper.
(End of the 1st section of the 3rd Mundakam)
Freedom from Reincarnation and Desire
Wise people who give up all worldly desires and deeply respect a true devotee of God—the perfect God who lights up everywhere and upon whom the entire universe rests—will never be forced to be reborn into this world again.
If a person spends their time thinking about worldly objects (whether visible or invisible) and desires to have them, that person will be reincarnated carrying those exact same desires. However, a person who is completely satisfied by their knowledge of and faith in God is blessed because their ignorance has been totally destroyed. This enlightened person completely abandons all worldly desires while they are still alive.
How to Truly Know God
You cannot gain true knowledge of God (the ultimate goal) simply by studying the Vedas, by having a photographic memory, or by constantly listening to spiritual lectures. Instead, whoever sincerely seeks to know God is given this knowledge as a gift, because God directly reveals Himself to that person.
A person who lacks faith or good judgment cannot possibly know God. Even a wise person cannot know God if their wisdom is polluted by a greedy desire for worldly rewards. However, if a wise person seeks knowledge using strong faith, careful judgment, and pure understanding—without being distracted by worldly desires—their soul will ultimately be absorbed into God.
The Metaphors of Absorption
Holy saints who were wise, emotionally stable, completely satisfied with knowing God, certain of their soul's divine origin, free from earthly passions, and totally peaceful, realized that God is everywhere. After they died, they were fully absorbed into Him. This is exactly like a clay jar breaking: the small, limited pocket of air inside the jar is instantly reunited with the infinite, universal space outside.
All worshippers who place their firm faith in God alone (based on the teachings of the Vedant), who purify their minds by abandoning physical religious rituals, and who spend their entire lives constantly meditating on the Divine, are completely freed from ignorance at the moment of death and are absorbed into God.
When death approaches, the fifteen basic physical elements that make up their bodies dissolve and return to their original natural sources. Their physical senses, such as sight and touch, return to their cosmic origins, like the sun and the air. The karmic consequences of their life's work, along with their souls, merge into the supreme and eternal Spirit. This is just like the reflection of the sun in a puddle of water: when the water dries up, the reflection disappears and returns to the actual sun. Just as rivers flow into the ocean and completely lose their individual names and physical shapes, a person who truly knows and trusts God breaks free from the trap of having a physical shape and a personal name, and is absorbed into the supreme, invisible, and omnipresent God.
The Results of True Doctrine
Anyone who acquires the knowledge of the Supreme Being by following this doctrine will inevitably be absorbed into Him, easily overcoming any obstacles they might face. Furthermore, none of their descendants will ever lack the true knowledge of God. This enlightened person escapes from all mental suffering and evil habits. They are also freed from the ignorance of "duality" (the false belief that anything in the universe exists separately from God).
This is the true doctrine taught throughout all the previous texts. This knowledge should only be taught to people who already perform good deeds, who study the Vedas, who genuinely want to acquire the knowledge of God, who respectfully perform sacred fire rituals, and who consistently practice Shirovrata (a specific vow involving the sacred fire).
This is the true, divine doctrine that the teacher Angiras taught to his student Shaunaka. A person who is not already dedicated to spiritual devotion should not even attempt to study it.
Salutations and praise to those who truly know God!
Comments
Post a Comment