Mudgala Upanishad
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e.
accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true;
I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I. A SUMMARY OF PURUSHASUKTA
We shall explain the Purusha-sukta: In ‘a thousand-headed’ thousand
means countless; the word ‘ten fingers’, means infinite distance, by the
first stanza Vishnu’s pervasion in space is stated, by the second the
pervasion in time; the third speaks of his giving liberation. The glory
of Vishnu is given in ‘Etavan’ (so much is his greatness). The same
stanza states his four-fold nature. ‘Tripad’ etc., speaks of the glory
of Aniruddha. In ‘from that Virat was born’ has been shown the origin of
Prakriti and Purusha from a quarter of Hari. By ‘Yat Purushena’ the
sacrifice of creation is stated as well as Moksha. In ‘Tasmad’ world
creations are stated. ‘Vedaham’ speaks of Hari’s glory. By ‘Yajnena’ is
stated the end of creation and liberation. One who knows it becomes
liberated.
II. THE SUPREME MYSTERY
In Mudgalopanishad the greatness of Purusha-sukta has been stated in
detail. Vasudeva instructed the knowledge of Bhagavan to Indra; again
imparted to the humble Indra the great mystery with two sections of the
Purusha-sukta. These two are: The Purusha described above gave up the
object which was beyond the scope of name and form, hard for worldly
people to understand and took a form with a thousand parts and capable
of giving Moksha on sight, for uplifting the suffering Devas and others.
In that form, pervading the world he was beyond it by an infinite
distance. This Narayana was the Past, Present and the Future. And was
the giver of Moksha to all. He is greater than the greatest – none is
greater than He.
He made himself into four parts and with three of them exists in the
heaven. By the fourth, the Aniruddha (for of) Narayana, all worlds have
come to be. This (part of) Narayana created Prakriti (Matter) for making
the worlds (Prakriti stands for the four-faced Brahma). In full form the
latter did not know the work of creation – this Aniruddha-Narayana told
him.
Brahman ! Meditate upon your organs as the sacrifice, the firm body of
the sheaths as the oblation, me as Agni, the spring season as ghee,
summer as fuel, autumn as the six tastes of food and make the offering
in Agni and touch the body – this will make the body (strong like) Vajra
(diamond). Thence will appear the products like animals. From the, the
world of moving and unmoving things. It must be understood that the
manner of liberation is stated by the combination of Jiva and Paramatman.
Whoever knows this Creation and Liberation lives a full life.
III. The single God becoming many; unborn, is born as many. The
Adhvaryus worship him as Agni. This as Yajus unites everything. The
Samavedins worship as Saman. All is established in him. The serpents
meditate on his as poison. The knowers of snake-lore as snake, gods as
energy, men as wealth, Demons as Magic, the manes as sustenance. The
knowers of the superhuman as superhuman. Gandharvas as beauty, Apsarases
as perfume. He becomes whatever he is worshipped as; so, one should
think ‘I am the supreme being’ and will become that (who knows this).
IV. ONLY BRAHMAN WITH THE THREEFOLD MISSING IS JIVA
Beyond the threefold misery, free from layers devoid of the six waves,
other than the five sheaths, unaffected by the six transformations is
the Brahman. The three miseries are Adhyatmika (body disease),
Adhibhautika (robbers, wild animals etc.,) and Adhidaivika (rains
etc.,). They relate to agents, action and effect; knower, knowledge and
the known; experiencer, experience and the experienced. The six layers
are skin, flesh, blood, bones, tendons and morrow. The six enemies are
lust etc. The five sheaths are those of food, vital airs, mind cognition
and bliss. The six transformations are: being, birth, growth, change,
decline and destruction. The six waves are hunger, thirst, sorrow,
delusion, old age and death. The six delusions are about family,
lineage, class, caste, stations (ashrama) and forms. Through contact
with the supreme spirit becomes the Jiva – he is none other.
He who studies this is purified in fire, wind and sun; has health and
wealth, becomes rich in children and grandchildren, a scholar, purified
from great sin, drink, improper contact with mother, daughter and
daughter-in-law, stealing gold, forgetting Vedic learning, failure to
serve elders, sacrificing for the unfit, eating what should not be,
wrong gifts, contact with another’s wife, unaffected by lust etc.,
becomes the pristine Brahman in this birth. Therefore one should not
impart to an uninitiated person this Purusha-sukta which is a secret,
nor to one who does not know the Vedas, a non-sacrificer, a non-Vaishnava,
non-Yogin, a talkative person, a harsh talker, one who takes more than a
year to learn, the discontented.
The Guru shall impart this in a pure place, on a sacred star, after
regulating the vital airs to the humble disciple, in the right ear. It
should not be done too often – it would become stale but as often as
needed, in the ear.
Thus both the teacher and the taught will become Purusha in this birth.
This is the Upanishad.
Om! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true;
I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Mudgalopanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda. |