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CROWNING OF THE VEDIC AGE: UPANISHADS

The designation of the Upanishads as "the end of the Veda" (Vedanta) indicates both their place in the temporal sequence of the Vedic literature and their position within the canon of Hindu scripture as the summation of the truth contained in all the previous works. Over a hundred works are given the name of "Upanishad" but only about thirteen of these can be dated with assurance as belonging to the Vedic Age. They do not present any consistent religious or philosophical system, and even within a single work there may be contradictions; nor do they claim to present new truths. It is sometimes suggested that the Upanishads are the product of a religious revolt, a turning away from the rigid ritualistic formulations of the past, but there actually is little within the works themselves to suggest any such origin. There is no attack on the old ways, no demand for reform; at most, there is an indifference to some features of the older Vedic sacrificial tradition. In general, the ideas of the Upanishads can be traced to developments which had already made their appearance in the older texts.

Yet having emphasized their continuity with the tradition, it must be recognized that the spirit and temper of the Upanishads is remarkably different from that of the earlier literature. New questions were asked, and their form determined the answers given to them. One of the most notable transformations that took place in this direction related to the understanding of sacrifice. The interest in ritualistic performance, with fantastic attention to details, was replaced by an interest in attaining the same goals through meditation and concentration, with the physical materials of the old sacrifices being treated in a symbolic fashion. Related to this was a turning inward to examine the nature of reality, rather than studying the external world. The aim of this examination of the self was not, however, psychological understanding; it was motivated by the conviction that "underlying the exterior world of change there is an unchangeable reality which is identical with that which underlies the essence of man."

The Vedic thinkers had been inclined to identify some particular phenomenon - wind or water, for example - as a god, and to see this as the ultimate source of the universe. In the Upanishads this unifying principle is seen to be not a deity or ant physical property but brahman, that mysterious principle that even in early thought is regarded as forming the substratum of the universe. At the same time, the basis of human selfhood was understood to be the atman, the self or soul. One conclusion that the sages of the Upanishads reached was that these two principles, brahman and atman, were identical, and that the essence of being underlying both the self and the external was absolutely undifferentiated. This doctrine is summed up in the famous formula, tat tvam asi, "that art thou," for the individual atman. An exposition of this is given in the selection below entitled "The Identity of Brahman and Atman."

Although this assertion of the ultimate identity of brahman and atman seems to be the dominating theme of the Upanishads, there are other interpretations of the nature of the relationship between the two principles. One of the Upanishads, Svetasvatara, speaks of brahman as God, making a distinction between this and the external world. In addition to this theistic interpretation, there is also a movement towards pantheism, a tendency to think of the natural universe and the individual soul as God.

These varying interpretations could exist side by side because the sages and teachers were not seeking to formulate a statement of belief but something entirely different, "a radical alteration in the mode of consciousness.....with a view to gaining intuitive knowledge of reality." They defined this reality in terms of the brahman-atman equation, but their quest can probably also be understood in western terminology as an attempt to experience a sense of the immortality of the soul, to find a self more permanent than the ego immediately known to consciousness. At this level of the Indian tradition, therefore, the religious concern is not with a relationship between man and God, but with the realization of the nature of the self. This is brought out in the selection, "Atman: The Real Self."

Underlying much of the speculation of the Upanishads are the two closely related concepts, karma and transmigration. Karma, literally "action." is the belief that every act produces an effect which inevitably finds fruition. One of the great unquestioned assumptions of the Indian tradition, this doctrine may have its roots in the idea of rita, the cosmic principle that the early Vedic peoples saw as ordering the whole universe. The prominence of the idea of sacrifice must also have been a contributing factor in the development of the belief in karma, for sacrifice was the supreme action that men could perform, and the performance of the ritual led inevitably to certain results.

Indissolubly linked with the concept of karma is the other great characteristic feature of Indian thought, the belief in transmigration. The idea that the human soul on death finds lodging in another body is widespread, but by being linked with the doctrine of karma it took on special significance. Since every act carries with it an inevitable result, the span of one lifetime may not suffice as a field for the working out of all the implications of action. Transmigration makes possible, therefore, a belief in the strict justice of the universe, with each action reaping its due reward of good or evil fruit. Conversely, the two concepts can be used to explain the seeming injustices and inequities of the world.

The concepts of karma and transmigration have had an enormous influence on every aspect of the Indian tradition, and were accepted in some form not only in Hinduism but also by Jainism and Buddhism, both of which rejected the Vedic scriptures. Readings to illustrate them have been included in this section because they are accepted without question as part of the structure of the universe.