Two thoughts motivate me to ruminate on the Taittiriya Upanisad. First, that Yajnavalkya did not have a blackberry. And second, a myth is not a lie.
Yajnavalkya, by all readings and accounts, is the giant who bestrides the Vedic age 3000 years ago. This colossus of inspiration who forcefully unites what is in us to what is in the cosmos, explained what he means to King Janaka and his wife Maitreyi and his uncle Vaisampayana in terms that were anchored in the frame of that time. For example, wealth is measured in the number of cows one has. Allrighty then. What was Yajnavalkya getting at and how does one understand that without feeling, ‘I live in a city, I can’t keep a hamster in cage, let alone a thousand cows’.
Alan Watts takes pains to point out that we have all come to regard the word myth as one standing for a falsehood. Take for example the phrase ‘urban-myth’. Etymologically, there is another meaning for the word myth. It could mean metaphor, or a grand arc of accumulated knowledge that conveys it in a form that is understandable. Let us say I want to explain that I enjoyed sushi and you have not had it before, not just sushi, but any fish at all. How do I explain it? Perhaps say, it is soft, it is without taste and is great with rice, soy sauce and wasabi. Other than your pre-conception that fish is smelly (smells fishy!) I would still not make sense to you.
Putting the two thoughts above together, we come to see that whatever it is that the intellectual giant Yajnavalkya said to his peers ought to be understood in our age of the blackberry. However, we still need to accept the limitation that he is describing sushi to folks who have not eaten fish.
I. Say it well and say it right
There is an admonition at the very beginning of the Taittiriya Upanisad about making sure that one says things the right way. I find that appealing for the following reason. Let us say, I tell you, “I came off to see you”. And what I really meant to say was, “I came to see you off”. Same words. Same length of sentence. Yet diametrically opposite meanings. This is what the admonition in the upanisad is about. The conjunction of the words and the sentences are important to get to the meaning of what is being said in the lessons.
This is in the tradition of the great linguistic philosophers like Wittgenstein. I might paraphrase Wittgenstein in Descartes’ famous dictum, “We speak therefore we are”.
However, proper pronunciation needs to be kept in its place. As Sankara has taught, the rules of grammar do not help us on our deathbed.
II. New York State of Mind
When you hear the Billy Joel song, ‘New York State of Mind’, you are transported. You can imagine the shiny Cadillacs and limousines slithering down the highways of the shimmering city. The words accompanied by the melodious notes of the piano cause an emotional resonance. Everything that is true and grand about New York City comes to life in that ballad.
Lesson 3 of the Taittiriya Upanisad has that effect. What are the great combinations that we should contemplate so that one gets into the right ‘state-of-mind’? What are those thoughts that will allow the mind not to dwell on temporal distractions such as a promotion denied, an insult borne, a petty jealousy or the drudgery of laundering your clothes?
This lesson takes your mind way out there. Once you let your mind rest on those great combinations (sagamhitaha) you are ready to take flight.
III. Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down this Wall!
Remember those immortal words that President Reagan uttered when he was in Berlin. Do you have any doubt that those words had power? The full might of the western military, combined with the superior performance of the capitalist economy and the moral authority of individual freedom was building like a tsunami over the soon to be defunct Soviet republic.
Those words, nay those utterances were, to use Malcom Gadwell’s popular phrase, a tipping point. Not to say there are no unintended consequences of the collapse of the bipolar world of superpowers, but the scale did tip after those utterances of President Reagan.
Imagine the power of 50 years of cold war calculus backing up President Reagan’s words in Berlin. In psychological calculus, the words that appear to have equal if not more power are the utterances ‘Bhur Bhuva Suvah Maha”. The words that can ‘tear down this psychological wall’ of being attached to every form that you see, the utterances that let you see behind the veil of name and form. These utterances are taught in lesson 5.
And to help you remember various elements such are earth, sun, fire and other cosmic and physiological elements are attached to them.
IV. You see what I see?
What is Yajnavalkya talking about? My mind is in flight (I am not thinking about the pile of dishes awaiting me in the sink), I am ready to utter the words that apparently have power – but what is this for?
Lesson 10 then expostulates this. This is where the second point I made early on regarding myth not being a falsehood comes in handy. Because we are about to hear what Trisanku has to say about what he sees. And if you don’t be patient with his description, you will think he is pulling an Aldous Huxley on you (although one shouldn’t be surprised if that were indeed the case). Trisanku says he is the stimulator of the ‘tree of the universe’. He is the excellent, the immutable, the immortal and the effulgent. It does not get more esoteric than this. I would like to try what he tried, to see what he saw.
V. Measure of Joy
How do you measure joy? What a funny question! Why put quantification on something that is so sublimely subjective. But we are creatures of measurement. My net worth is this – your net worth is that. My country is this big and your country is that big. And so on. We do measure and equate it to worth.
So, how does one measure joy? Yajnavalkya has a method in lesson 8 of book 2. One of the most stunning passages of Vedic literature, this is both a hypnotic repetition of phrases and a gradation of what it means to be happy. And it starts at a level that we aspire to at the end of our life and shows us joy 100 to the power 10 of that. What genius and astounding daring to put that out there.
I will confess, that this was the passage that drew me to read the entire upanisad in the first place.
VI. Layers, parfait has layers…!
One of the favorite scenes that our son and I enjoy is in the cartoon movie Shrek. In that movie, Donkey and Shrek are off on an adventure to go rescue Princess Fiona from the castle on behalf of the King. On the road, Donkey and Shrek become good buddies. So Shrek, an ogre, opens himself up to Donkey. And he says, ‘Ogres are like onions’. Donkey (played immortally by Eddie Murphy) says, ‘ugh Onion?! They are smelly’.
Shrek gets frustrated and says, “No layers, onions have layers and Ogres have layers’. Donkey, continuing to be thick as a donkey, does not understand why Shrek has to use the analogy of onions. He would rather use a nicer analogy. So he says, “Parfait. Parfait has layers!” And shrek gets completely mad and yells back, “No, onions, ogres are
like onions, end of story”.
We really enjoy that scene and I can’t tell you how many times we have seen that. That brings us to the Taittiriya Upanisad (how is he going to pull this one off, you ask yourself!)
Well, Yajnavalkya, describes the human in terms of layers (kosas). I will say it is difficult to appreciate what he means once he gets past the gross and subtle layers (annamaya and pranamaya kosas). But it gives a conceptual underpinning to how we see ourselves. In the least, think of yourself as a multi-layered complex sentient being (or an onion!)
VII. Father and Son
Book 3 of the Taittiriya Upanisad is a Socratic dialogue between father Varuna and son Bhrigu. I just absolutely love this set-up. If you think of the various Upanisadic dialogues – they are between intimates (in fact that is what the word Upanisad means). Dialogues about between King-Subject, Father-Son, Husband-Wife, Guru-Sisya and so on. These are all relationships of palpitating intimacy. And I feel that the father-son dialogue is the first among equals.
So Bhrigu goes to Varuna and asks him about life. And through a series of meditations, Bhrigu learns by himself (thus anticipating William James’ famous insight into learning). The essence of this learning is back to the layers of the human self and the seat of the soul.
VIII. The shriek of Joy
There is a lot of description about food and the importance of food in this Upanisad (annam). One can metaphorically take everything we take in (idea, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch) as food. What happens when you shriek in joy? Imagine re-uniting with a loved one (perhaps he or she is coming back from a wholly unjustified tour of the battlefield) and you are awaiting his or her return, safely. What are you feeling? And then you unite. Or you are awaiting the results of your applications to college and you get your heart’s desire. Imagine you letting out a shriek (in fact if you are alone and won’t risk someone thinking you have lost it, let a shriek out – see how it feels!).
The Taittiriya Upanisad ends with such a veritable expression of Joy. In which Yajnavalkya through Bhrigu becomes food and as food expresses joy. He goes, “Ha..vu, Ha..vu, Ha..vu. Aham Annam, Aham Annam, Aham Annam” (oh wonderful, oh wonderful, oh wonderful. I am food, I am food, I am food).
IX. Blackberries and Myths
Tomes upon tomes have been written on the Upanisads including the Taittirya. Certainly there is no need for what I have written here. Let me mention a few, where you might get a truly erudite description of the Taittiriya Upanisad.
Heinrich Zimmer (my favorite author, who happens to be Joseph Campbell’s professor), in his two books, “Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization” and “Philosophies of India” gives great context to the Upanisads. Eknath Easwaran in his book “The Upanishads” not only gets to the essence of what the Upanisads mean, but actually does a yeoman’s job of clearly translating them. The Nobel Laureate William Butler Yeats translated the ten Principal Upanisads. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan has done the same. There are a variety of other scholars who have not only faithfully translated and trans-literated the Upanisads but have also translated the various commentaries including those of Sri Sankara and his guru Sri Gaudapada.
The above are the sources for a true learning of the Taittiriya Upanisad. My totally episodic and lightweight take on Yajnavalkya’s inspired outpouring is more a reflection of my context and understanding than a weighty thesis on the same. We live in the age of blackberry and instant messaging.
So this summary of mine can be said, not to be an essay on the Upanisad but rather by it, or of it, to suit our current sensibilities.
 |
| Alan Watts |
Putting the two thoughts above together, we come to see that whatever it is that the intellectual giant Yajnavalkya said to his peers ought to be understood in our age of the blackberry. However, we still need to accept the limitation that he is describing sushi to folks who have not eaten fish.
I. Say it well and say it right
There is an admonition at the very beginning of the Taittiriya Upanisad about making sure that one says things the right way. I find that appealing for the following reason. Let us say, I tell you, “I came off to see you”. And what I really meant to say was, “I came to see you off”. Same words. Same length of sentence. Yet diametrically opposite meanings. This is what the admonition in the upanisad is about. The conjunction of the words and the sentences are important to get to the meaning of what is being said in the lessons.
This is in the tradition of the great linguistic philosophers like Wittgenstein. I might paraphrase Wittgenstein in Descartes’ famous dictum, “We speak therefore we are”.
However, proper pronunciation needs to be kept in its place. As Sankara has taught, the rules of grammar do not help us on our deathbed.
II. New York State of Mind
Lesson 3 of the Taittiriya Upanisad has that effect. What are the great combinations that we should contemplate so that one gets into the right ‘state-of-mind’? What are those thoughts that will allow the mind not to dwell on temporal distractions such as a promotion denied, an insult borne, a petty jealousy or the drudgery of laundering your clothes?
This lesson takes your mind way out there. Once you let your mind rest on those great combinations (sagamhitaha) you are ready to take flight.
III. Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down this Wall!
 |
| "Tear Down This Wall!" |
Those words, nay those utterances were, to use Malcom Gadwell’s popular phrase, a tipping point. Not to say there are no unintended consequences of the collapse of the bipolar world of superpowers, but the scale did tip after those utterances of President Reagan.
Imagine the power of 50 years of cold war calculus backing up President Reagan’s words in Berlin. In psychological calculus, the words that appear to have equal if not more power are the utterances ‘Bhur Bhuva Suvah Maha”. The words that can ‘tear down this psychological wall’ of being attached to every form that you see, the utterances that let you see behind the veil of name and form. These utterances are taught in lesson 5.
And to help you remember various elements such are earth, sun, fire and other cosmic and physiological elements are attached to them.
IV. You see what I see?
What is Yajnavalkya talking about? My mind is in flight (I am not thinking about the pile of dishes awaiting me in the sink), I am ready to utter the words that apparently have power – but what is this for?
V. Measure of Joy
How do you measure joy? What a funny question! Why put quantification on something that is so sublimely subjective. But we are creatures of measurement. My net worth is this – your net worth is that. My country is this big and your country is that big. And so on. We do measure and equate it to worth.
So, how does one measure joy? Yajnavalkya has a method in lesson 8 of book 2. One of the most stunning passages of Vedic literature, this is both a hypnotic repetition of phrases and a gradation of what it means to be happy. And it starts at a level that we aspire to at the end of our life and shows us joy 100 to the power 10 of that. What genius and astounding daring to put that out there.
I will confess, that this was the passage that drew me to read the entire upanisad in the first place.
VI. Layers, parfait has layers…!
One of the favorite scenes that our son and I enjoy is in the cartoon movie Shrek. In that movie, Donkey and Shrek are off on an adventure to go rescue Princess Fiona from the castle on behalf of the King. On the road, Donkey and Shrek become good buddies. So Shrek, an ogre, opens himself up to Donkey. And he says, ‘Ogres are like onions’. Donkey (played immortally by Eddie Murphy) says, ‘ugh Onion?! They are smelly’.
like onions, end of story”.
We really enjoy that scene and I can’t tell you how many times we have seen that. That brings us to the Taittiriya Upanisad (how is he going to pull this one off, you ask yourself!)
Well, Yajnavalkya, describes the human in terms of layers (kosas). I will say it is difficult to appreciate what he means once he gets past the gross and subtle layers (annamaya and pranamaya kosas). But it gives a conceptual underpinning to how we see ourselves. In the least, think of yourself as a multi-layered complex sentient being (or an onion!)
VII. Father and Son
So Bhrigu goes to Varuna and asks him about life. And through a series of meditations, Bhrigu learns by himself (thus anticipating William James’ famous insight into learning). The essence of this learning is back to the layers of the human self and the seat of the soul.
VIII. The shriek of Joy
There is a lot of description about food and the importance of food in this Upanisad (annam). One can metaphorically take everything we take in (idea, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch) as food. What happens when you shriek in joy? Imagine re-uniting with a loved one (perhaps he or she is coming back from a wholly unjustified tour of the battlefield) and you are awaiting his or her return, safely. What are you feeling? And then you unite. Or you are awaiting the results of your applications to college and you get your heart’s desire. Imagine you letting out a shriek (in fact if you are alone and won’t risk someone thinking you have lost it, let a shriek out – see how it feels!).
IX. Blackberries and Myths
Tomes upon tomes have been written on the Upanisads including the Taittirya. Certainly there is no need for what I have written here. Let me mention a few, where you might get a truly erudite description of the Taittiriya Upanisad.
Heinrich Zimmer (my favorite author, who happens to be Joseph Campbell’s professor), in his two books, “Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization” and “Philosophies of India” gives great context to the Upanisads. Eknath Easwaran in his book “The Upanishads” not only gets to the essence of what the Upanisads mean, but actually does a yeoman’s job of clearly translating them. The Nobel Laureate William Butler Yeats translated the ten Principal Upanisads. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan has done the same. There are a variety of other scholars who have not only faithfully translated and trans-literated the Upanisads but have also translated the various commentaries including those of Sri Sankara and his guru Sri Gaudapada.
So this summary of mine can be said, not to be an essay on the Upanisad but rather by it, or of it, to suit our current sensibilities.
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