Kaivalya Upanishad

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The Kaivalya Upanishad or Kaivalyopanishad is the twelfth of the 108 Upanishads of the Muktika canon. It belongs to the Shaiva tradition and forms part of the Atharva Veda .

etymology

The designation Kaivalya-Upanishad - कैवल्य उपनिषद् - is derived from the Sanskrit term kaivalya - कैवल्य - which means liberation, separation, detachment, isolation, emancipation .

description

The five-headed Sadashiva is greeted by various gods

The Kaivalya Upanishad consists of a total of 26 verses in addition to a prayer formula placed at the beginning and end of the steep . It deals with a conversation between the seer Ashvalayana and the god Brahma about Kaivalya . Kaivalya can be translated as segregation or isolation leading to emancipation . In a broader sense, it also means absoluteness. The main theme of the Kaivalya Upanishad is renunciation , all of which are known to be repeated. The Upanishad also adds its own ideas to this topic.

Ashvalana asks Brahma to expose the secrets of Brahmavidya in order to come to an understanding of Purusha , the Supreme Being . Brahma then emphasizes the importance of sannyasa (renunciation), as ascetics reach a larger world than Svarga (heaven) and find emancipation within Brahma's realm when the universe is dissolved .

Brahma then goes into the greatness of Lord Shiva and recommends meditating on him. Shiva has many manifestations. He is the Eternal, the All-Pervading One, surrounded by formless Chit-Ananda (consciousness-bliss). Shiva is then briefly described, including his blue throat and three eyes . He is the all-seeing and the origin of the universe. Shiva is then equated with other deities such as Brahma, Vishnu , the king of gods Indra , the fire god Agni , the sun and moon gods, but also with abstract terms such as time , prana (life force) etc.

Brahma further explains that the Atman pervades all living beings and that all living beings in turn rest in the Atman. Whoever realizes this achieves salvation. He also gives the advice to become like an Arani (mixing spoon) and an Om , in order to then " stir out" Ajnana (ignorance - opposite of Jnana ) through meditation . A living being ( Jiva ) that has fallen prey to the illusion ( Maya ) enjoys bodily pleasures such as women, food and drink. Euthanized by Maya, the living being slips into disorder ( tamas ) and feels insane joys. The voicing of the Om that emerged from Brahman can be compared to rubbing two firewoods. The resulting fire kindles awareness in the heart and burns all wrongdoings to ashes.

The Jiva has three body states (waking, dreaming and deep sleep), all of which emanate from the Supreme Brahman , who is equated with Shiva. Brahma then goes into Shiva's speech, in which he describes himself as the Supreme Being ( Sadashiva ). Furthermore, he is consciousness, the eternal Purusha. He is praised as the Guru of Veda and Vedanta , beyond birth and death, the Lord and Light of the universe. He hears without ears and see without eyes. Shiva is beyond the elements and therefore cannot be understood. He is also the Paramatman (Supreme Soul) who resides in all living beings.

Finally, the merits in reciting the Kaivalya Upanishad are mentioned. With simultaneous surrender to Shiva, the reciter should be freed from various sins and be able to end the cycle of samsara (birth-death-rebirth). The highest knowledge will be imparted and Kaivalya will appear.

Comments

Commentaries on the Kaivalya Upanishad were written by Upanishad Brahmayogin (around 1800) and by Osho (1931–1990). Aurobindo wrote an incomplete commentary in 1912 containing only the first verse and it was not published until 1971. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan translated the Kaivalya Upanishad into English in his book The Principal Upanishads in 1953.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Deussen: Sixty Upanishads of the Veda . Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1997, ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7 , pp. 791 .
  2. ↑ a b Swami Parmeshwaranand: Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Upanisads . Sarup & Sons, 2000, ISBN 978-81-7625-148-8 , pp. 283-284 .
  3. ↑ a b Swami Madhavananda: Kaivalya Upanishad . In: Vedanta Spiritual Library .
  4. ^ Osho: Flight of the Alone to the Alone . Penguin Books Limited, 2011, ISBN 978-93-5118443-0 , pp. 438- .
  5. ^ Aurobindo: Kena and Other Upanishads . In: The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo . tape 18 . Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department, 2001, p. 444 .