UPANISHADS

24th June, 2023 History

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Context

US President Joe Biden and the First Lady Jill Biden hosted Indian PM Narendra Modi for a private dinner.
Apart from the book mentioned above Indian PM gifted 7.5 carat lab-grown diamond and an exquisite sandalwood box to the first couple.

Other Details

PM Modi is on a visit to USA to hold bilateral talks on various interest areas like jets engine production, semiconductor chip manufacturing, and drones.
Earlier, during his visit to USA, PM Modi received a ceremonial welcome at the White House.
He also gave a welcome speech addressing US Congress.

About The Ten Principal Upanishads book

This book considered to have the best and authentic translated version of the Upanishads.
It is translated in English from Sanskrit by Irish poet WB Yeats along with Shri Purohit Swami, a scholar of Hindu scripture.
It was written in mid-1930s and published in 1937.

WB Yeats

WB Yeats was an Irish origin modern poet in English and was central to the Irish Literary Revival.
He was influenced by the works of John Keats and William Wordsworth.
In 1923, he won Nobel Prize in Literature.
He had an infatuation with Indian philosophy and literature, which lasted a lifetime.
The love towards India has motivated him to translate Upanishads.
His aim was to translate Upanishads in such a manner that they remain true to the original text and hence enhancing their accessibility to a common person.

Inspiration for Translation

Mohini Chatterjee, a recognisable name in Bengal’s burgeoning Theosophical circles influenced him and inclined him towards India initially.
He was most influenced by his friendship with Rabindranath Tagore and particularly with the beauty of Gitanjali, a collection of poems by Tagore.
Afterwards, the poor quality of English translated version of Upanishads underwhelmed him.
Finally he collaborated with a scholar named Shri Purohit Swami for this translation.

Hindu Scriptures

Hindu sacred scriptures are broadly divided in two categories Shruti and Smriti.

Shruti (the revealed)

These are believed to be the most authoritative texts of Hindus.
These include four Vedas namely –
- Rigveda
- Yajurveda
- Samaveda and
- Atharvaveda
These also include other important texts like
- Brahmanas (ritual texts),
- Aranyakas (texts associated with forests) and
- Upanishads (philosophical texts)

Smriti (the remembered)

These are less authoritative text as they are considered to be derived from Shruti.
They include epics like
- Ramayana
- Mahabharata
- Dharmashastras
- Puranas and
- Other post-Vedic scriptures

Upanishads

Believed to be written around 800-500 BC, these are considered one of the most important Hindu religious texts.
These are more popular than Vedas and are fundamental text in in several traditions of study of Hindu religion.
An 8^th century Hindu scholar Adi Shankaracharya contributed to the popularity of Upanishads by focussing on Advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic philosophy, tradition.
In modern times Vedanta philosophy was subscribed by prominent figures of India like Swami Vivekananda and S Radhakrishnan.
These are also known as Vedanta as they are believed to be the end of Veda.
They seek to establish ontological connection between humanity and the cosmos by discussing concepts like transmigration.
For instance Chandogya Upanishad emphasized connection between conduct and birth. For eg birth of human for good conduct and birth of a animal like dog if the conduct is evil.
They believe in the ultimate reality of relation between Atman and Brahman and consider everything around as illusion.
- The Atman, or the distinct, is the unchanging self of an individual, and
- The Brahman is the ultimate reality in the universe.
10 Principal Upanishads are as below -
- Esha
- Kena
- Katha
- Prashna
- Mundaka
- Mandukya
- Taittiriya
- Aitareya
- Chandogya
- Brihadaranyaka