Muktika Upanishad
Muktika Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
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-i-1-6. In the beautiful city of Ayodhya, in the centre of a pavilion set with
gems, together with Sita, Bharata, Lakshmana and Satrughna, was Rama seated,
glorified day and night by sages like Sanaka, Vasistha and Suka as well as other
devotees, unchanging witness of thousands of modifications of the intellect,
delighted in contemplating his own form. At the end of this Samadhi, Hanuman
asked with devotion, ‘O Rama, you are the supreme being, of the nature of Sat,
Chid and Ananda. I desire to know your nature truly for liberation. Please tell
me how I can be released from bondage without strain.
I-i-7-14. Rama: Well asked. I shall tell you. I am well established in Vedanta.
Hanuman: What is Vedanta and where is it?
Rama: The Vedas in all their great extent are my breath, Vedanta is well
grounded in them, like oil in sesamum.
Hanuman: How many are the Vedas and how many branches do they have? Of these
what are the Upanishads?
Rama: Vedas are four, Rig-Veda etc., many branches and Upanishads exist in them.
Rig-Veda has 21 branches and Yajus has 109. Sama has 1000 and Atharva has 50.
Each branch has one Upanishad. Even by reading one verse of them with devotion,
one gets the status of union with me, hard to get even by sages.
I-i-15-17. Hanuman: Rama, sages speak differently: some say there is only one
kind of liberation. Others say it can be got by worshipping your name and by the
Taraka mantra at Kashi. Others speak of Sankhya-Yoga and Bhakti-Yoga, the
enquiry into Vedanta-Vakyas etc.
I-i-18-23. Rama: Liberation is of four kinds: Salokya etc. But the only real
type is Kaivalya. Anybody even though leading a wicked life, attains Salokya,
not other worlds, by worshiping my name. Dying in the sacred Brahmanala in
Kashi, he will get the Taraka-mantra and also liberation, without rebirth. On
dying anywhere (else) in Kashi, Maheshvara will utter the Taraka-mantra in his
right ear. He gets Sarupya with me as his sins are washed away.
The same is called Salokya and Sarupya. Persevering in good conduct, with mind
fixed upon me, loving me as the Self of all, the twice-born gets nearer to me -
This is called the three forms of liberation. Salokya, Sarupya and Samipya.
I-i-24-25. Meditating on my eternal form as prescribed by the Teacher, one will
surely achieve identity with me like the insects changing into the bee. This
alone is the liberation of identity (Sayujya) yielding the bliss of Brahman.
All these four kinds of Mukti will be got by worshiping Me.
I-i-26-29. But by what means is the Kaivalya kind of Moksha got? The Mandukya is
enough; if knowledge is not got from it, then study the Ten Upanishads. Getting
knowledge very soon, you will reach my abode. If certainty is not got even then,
study the 32 Upanishads and stop. If desiring Moksha without the body, read the
108 Upanishads. Hear their order.
I-i-30-39. 1. Isa
2. Kena
3. Katha
4. Prasna
5. Munda
6. Mandukya
7. Taittiri
8. Aitareya
9. Chandogya
10. Brihadaranyaka
11. Brahma
12. Kaivalya
13. Jabala
14. Svetasva
15. Hamsa
16. Aruni
17. Garbha
18. Narayana
19. Paramahamsa
20. Amritabindu
21. Amritanada
22. Atahrvasirah
23. Atharvasikha
24. Maitrayini
25. Kaushitakibrahmana
26. Brihajjabala
27. Nrisimhatapini
28. Kalagnirudra
29. Maitreya
30. Subala
31. Kshurika
32. Mantrika
33. Sarvasara
34. Niralamba
35. Sukarahasya
36. Vajrasuchika
37. Tejobindu
38. Nadabindu
39. Dhyanabindu
40. Brahmavidya
41. Yogatattva
42. Atmabodha
43. Naradaparivrajaka
44. Trisikhi
45. Sita
46. Yogachudamani
47. Nirvana
48. Mandalabrahmana
49. Dakshinamurti
50. Sarabha
51. Skanda
52. Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana
53. Advayataraka
54. Ramarahasya
55. Ramatapani
56. Vasudeva
57. Mudgala
58. Sandilya
59. Paingala
60. Bhiksu
61. Mahat
62. Sariraka
63. Yogasikha
64. Turiyatita
65. Sannyasa
66. Paramahamsaparivrajaka
67. Akshamalika
68. Avyakta
69. Ekakshara
70. Annapurna
71. Surya
72. Akshi
73. Adhyatma
74. Kundika
75. Savitri
76. Atma
77. Pasupata
78. Parabrahma
79. Avadhutaka
80. Tripuratapini
81. Devi
82. Tripura
83. Katharudra
84. Bhavana
85. Rudrahridaya
86. Yoga-kundali
87. Bhasma
88. Rudraksha
89. Ganapati
90. Darsana
91. Tarasara
92. Mahavakya
93. Panchabrahma
94. Pranagnihotra
95. Gopalatapini
96. Krishna
97. Yajnavalkya
98. Varaha
99. Satyayani
100. Hayagriva
101. Dattatreya
102. Garuda
103. Kalisamtarana
104. Jabali
105. Saubhagyalakshmi
106. Sarasvatirahasya
107. Bahvricha
108. Muktika
I-i-40-43. These destroy three kinds of Bhavana (regarding) body, senses and
mind respectively as identified with Atman. The best of Brahmanas will become
Jivanmuktas if they study upto the destruction of Prarabdha, these 108
Upanishads from a Guru along with the Shanti-pada. Then, in course of time they
will get Vedeha-mukti, surely.
I-i-44-52. These 108 are the essence of all Upanishads and can cut away all sins
by merely hearing once. These cause release whether read with or without
knowledge. One may give away a kingdom, wealth etc., to one who asks, but not
these 108 to just anyone - to an unbeliever (nastika), ungrateful, of bad
conduct, one against devotion to me, deluded by wrong scripture or lacking
devotion to the Guru.
But they shall be taught to one devoted to service, devotee, of good conduct,
birth and wisdom. He should be well tested. A Rik verse on this: the goddess of
knowledge came to a Brahmana and said ‘Protect me, I am your treasure, do not
teach me to one who is jealous, dishonest and deceitful - then I shall powerful,
but give it to one who is learned, careful, wise and celibate, after examining
him’.
I-ii-1. Then Maruti asked Sri Ramachandra thus: Please relate to me separately
the Shanti-mantras of the different Vedas, Rig etc.
Sri Rama then said: "My speech rests on my mind .. " [Vanme-Manasi...]. This is
the Shanti-mantra of the following ten Upanishads forming part of the Rig-Veda:
1. Aitareya
2. Kaushitakibrahmana
3. Nadabindu
4. Atmabodha
5. Nirvana
6. Mudgala
7. Akshamalika
8. Tripura
9. Saubhagyalakshmi
10. Bahvricha
I-ii-2. "That (which lies beyond) is full" [Purnamada ...] - and so on: This is
the Shanti-mantra of the following Nineteen Upanishads, forming part of the
Sukla-Yajur-Veda:
1. Isavasya
2. Brihadaranyaka
3. Jabala
4. Hamsa
5. Paramahamsa
6. Subala
7. Mantrika
8. Niralamba
9. Trisikhibrahmana
10. Mandalabrahmana
11. Advayataraka
12. Paingala
13. Bhiksu
14. Turiyatita
15. Adhyatma
16. Tarasara
17. Yajnavalkya
18. Satyayani
19. Muktika
I-ii-3. "May (the Brahman of the Upanishads) protect us both" [Sahanavavatu ..]
- and so on: This is the Shanti-mantra of the following Thirty-Two Upanishads,
forming part of the Krishna-Yajur-Veda:
1. Kathavalli
2. Taittiriyaka
3. Brahma
4. Kaivalya
5. Svetasvatara
5. Garbha
6. Narayana
7. Amritabindu
8. Amritanada
9. Kalagnirudra
10. Kshurika
11. Sarvasara
12. Sukarahasya
13. Tejobindu
14. Dhyanabindu
15. Brahmavidya
16. Yogatattva
17. Dakshinamurti
18. Skanda
19. Sariraka
20. Yogasikha
21. Ekakshara
22. Akshi
23. Avadhuta
24. Katharudra
25. Rudrahridaya
26. Yoga-kundalini
27. Panchabrahma
28. Pranagnihotra
29. Varaha
30. Kalisamtarana
31. Sarasvatirahasya
I-ii-4. "May the unseen powers nourish" [Apyayantu ...] - and so on: This is the
Shanti-mantra of the following Sixteen Upanishads forming part of the Sama-Veda:
1. Kena
2. Chandogya
3. Aruni
4. Maitrayani
5. Maitreya
6. Vajrasuchika
7. Yogachudamani
8. Vasudeva
9. Mahat
10. Sannyasa
11. Avyakta
12. Kundika
13. Savitri
14. Rudrakshajabala
15. Darsana
16. Jabali
I-ii-5. "May we hear with our ears the auspicious truths of the Vedanta" [Bhadram-Karnebhih..]
- and so on: This is the Shanti-mantra of the following Thirty-One Upanishads of
the Atharva-Veda:
1. Prasna
2. Mundaka
3. Mandukya
4. Atahrvasiras
5. Atharvasikha
6. Brihajjabala
7. Nrisimhatapini (Purvottara)
8. Naradaparivrajaka
9. Sita
10. Sarabha
11. Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana
12. Ramarahasya
13. Ramatapini (Purvottara)
14. Sandilya
15. Paramahamsaparivrajaka
16. Annapurna
17. Surya
18. Atma
19. Pasupatabrahmana
20. Parabrahma
21. Tripuratapini
22. Devi
23. Bhavana
24. Bhasmajabala
25. Ganapati
26. Mahavakya
27. Gopalatapini (Purvottara)
28. Krishna
29. Hayagriva
30. Dattatreya
31. Garuda
I-ii-6. Men who are seekers after Liberation and well-equipped with the four
requisite means! Approach properly, with gifts in the hands, a good teacher who
is dedicated, belonging to a good family, well-versed in the Vedas, interested
in the scriptures, of good quality, straightforward, interested in the welfare
of all creatures, compassionate and learn in the prescribed manner the one
hundred and eight Upanishads; study them through listening, reflection and deep
absorption continuously; the accumulated Karmas will be dissolved, the three
kinds of bodies (gross, subtle and causal) are abandoned and like the ether of
the pot when released from its Upadhi, rise to the level of fullness called
Videha-mukti. This indeed is the Absolute Liberation (Kaivalya-mukti). That is
why even those in the Brahma-loka, get identity with Brahman after listening to
the Upanishads from his mouth. And for everyone Absolute Liberation is stated to
be (attainable) only through knowledge; not through Karma rituals, not through
Sankhya-Yoga or worship. Thus the Upanishad.
II-i-1. Then Hanuman asked Ramachandra: What is this Jivanmukti, Videha-mukti?
What is the authority, means of success and purpose? Rama said: For a person
there is bondage from doer-ship, enjoyer-ship, pleasure, pain etc., -- their
prevention is liberation in the body. Videha-mukti (liberation without the body)
is from the destruction of Prarabdha (operative) karma, like the space in a pot
released from the conditioning (enclosing) pot. For both the authority is the
108 Upanishads. The purpose is eternal happiness through the stopping of the
misery of doer-ship etc. This can be achieved by human effort just as a son is
got by putra-kama sacrifice, wealth by trade etc., and heaven by jyotistoma.
II-ii-1-9. There are these verses: Human effort is said to be of the two kinds:
For and against the Shastras - the former gives disaster, the latter the
ultimate reality. True knowledge does not come to one from latent impressions
through the world, Shastras and the body. Such impressions are two-fold: good
and bad; if you are induced by the good, you shall reach me gradually but
quickly; the bad ones involved lead to trouble and should be overcome with
effort. The river of impression flowing through good and bad paths, must be
turned into the good path with human effort - One should fondle the mind-child
with human effort. When by means of practice, good impressions arise, then the
practice has been fruitful. Even when this is in doubt, practice only the good
tendencies - there shall be no fault.
II-ii-10-15. The destruction of impressions, cultivation of knowledge and
destruction of the mind, when practised together for long will yield fruit. If
not practised together, there will be no success even after hundreds of years,
like mantras which are scattered. When these three are practised long, the knots
of the heart surely are broken, like lotus fibre and the stalk. The false
impression of worldly life is got in a hundred lives and cannot be destroyed
without long practice. So avoid desire of enjoyment as a distance with effort
and practise the three.
II-ii-16. The wise know that the mind is bound by the impressions, it is
liberated when released well from them. So, O Hanuman, practice the destruction
of mental impression, quickly.
II-ii-17-18. When impressions die out, the mind becomes put out like a lamp.
Whoever gives up impressions and concentrates on Me without strain, he becomes
Bliss.
II-ii-19-23. Whether he concentrates on actions or not, when he avoids all the
desires of the heart, he is doubtlessly liberated. He has nothing to gain from
action or inaction. If his mind is not freed from impressions even Samadhi and
Japa cannot give fruit. The highest place cannot be got without silence free
from impressions. Sense organs like the eye go towards external objects without
voluntary impression but because of the latent impression just as the eye falls
voluntarily without attachment on external objects, so the man of wisdom
operates in work.
II-ii-24-31. The sages know that Vasana comprises all objects generated by
creative faculty of the mind in attaining or avoiding them. The very unsteady
mind which is the cause of birth, old age and death is generated by desire for
objects in excess. By the influence of Vasana there is the pulsation of Prana,
from it comes Vasana (again) like seed and sprout. For the tree of the human
mind, the pulsation and Vasana are two seeds - when one dies both die. Latent
impressions stop operating through detached behaviour, avoidance of worldly
thought and realization that the body is mortal.
The mind becomes non-mind by giving up Vasanas. When the mind does not think,
then arises mindlessness giving great peace; so long as your mind has not fully
evolved, being ignorant of the supreme reality, perform what has been laid down
by the teacher, Shastra and other sources. Then with impurity ripened (and
destroyed) and Truth understood, you should give up even the good impressions.
II-ii-32-37. In a Jivanmukta the destruction of the mind is with form - in a
Videhamukta it is formless - when you achieve it, the mind with qualities like
friendliness will surely attain peace. The mind of the Jivanmukta has no
rebirth.
The mind is the root of the tree of Samsara which has thousands of sprouts,
branches, fruits etc. I take the mind to be nothing but construction; make it
dry in such a way that the tree also is dried up.
II-ii-38-47. There is only one means for overpowering mind. Shooting up of one’s
mind is one’s undoing, its destruction is good fortune. The mind of the knower
is destroyed, it is a chain for the ignorant. As long as the mind is not
defeated by means of firm practice, the impressions jump in the heart like
ghosts at night.
The impressions of enjoyment die, like lotus in winter, for one whose mental
pride is reduced and the senses - the enemies - are defeated. One should at
first conquer the mind, hands locked in hands, teeth set on teeth and limbs
subdued. The mind cannot be conquered without defectless reasoning (methods) by
merely sitting, just as an elephant in rut without a goad. The reasons (methods)
well-nourished in mind-conquest are knowledge of Vedanta, contact with good
people, giving up impressions and stopping of the pulsation of Prana. Those who
ignore these and control the mind by force, throw away the lamp and search in
darkness by means of soot, also (try to) bind an elephant in rut by lotus fibre.
II-ii-48-50. The tree of mind, bearing the weight of the creepers of thought,
has two seeds: the pulsation of Prana and strong impressions. All pervasive
consciousness is shaken by the pulsation of Prana - In contrast, by means of
concentration the knowledge arises. The Dhyana, its means, is now imparted.
Dissolving thought totally in the reverse order, think only of the remaining
pure consciousness.
II-ii-51-56. After the Apana sets and before Prana arises in the heart, there
exists the state of Kumbhaka (immobility) experienced by Yogins. Kumbhaka in the
external form is the fullness of Prana after in-breath disappears and out-breath
arises. By repeatedly practising meditation of Brahman without ego, Samprajnata
Samadhi will be got. The Asamprajnata Samadhi, loved by Yogins, is (from) the
mind giving great bliss after (all) the mental modifications (thoughts) die
away. It is valued by sages, being the spirit devoid of the light (of ego), of
the mind (of dream) and of the intellect (in deep sleep). This concentration is
other than what is not Brahman. Full above, below and in the middle the essence
of goodness - this state, prescribed by the Upanishads, is the ultimate reality.
II-ii-57-60. Latent impression is that unexamined grasping of objects by
persistent imagination. What one brings into being, through intense dispassion
by one’s self, is realized quickly, devoid of opposite impressions. Influenced
by impressions, a person looks upon those things as reality by the peculiarity
of the impressions, the ignorant person sees the spirit wrongly though it does
not lose its own nature.
II-ii-61-68. The impure impression binds, the pure destroys birth. The impure
one is solid ignorance and ego, causes rebirth. The restful state is like the
roasted seed, giving up the (sprout of) rebirth. Can the inner light be sought
with chewing the cud of many Shastras, uselessly? One who remains alone giving
up perception as well as non-perception is himself the Brahman - A person cannot
know Brahman by merely learning the four Vedas and Shastras, as the ladle cannot
taste the food.
If a person does not get detachment by the bad smell of his own body, what other
cause of detachment can be taught? The body is very impure - the soul is pure.
When one knows the difference, what purification need be prescribed? Bondage is
by impressions, Moksha is their destruction - you give them up as well as the
desire for Moksha.
II-ii-69-71. Give up mental impressions of objects and cultivate pure
impressions like friendship; then, discarding even these while acting according
to them, putting down all desires, have only the impression of consciousness.
Give up these too along with mind and intellect; concentrate only on me.
II-ii-72-77. Contemplate me as devoid of sound, touch, form, taste and smell,
eternal, indestructible, without name and family, destroying all suffering, the
nature of vision like the sky, the one syllable Om, un-smearing though
omnipresent, unique, without bondage, forward, across, above, below, I fill ever
place.
Unborn, ageless, shining by myself, not the cause nor effect, ever contented
when the body dies away, giving up the state of Jivanmukta, one enter the
Videhamukti stage.
So says the Rik: That supreme place of Vishnu the sages see ever - like an eye
extended in heaven. The wise and awakened persons, free from emotions, keep it
alight.
Om - This is the Upanishad.
Om! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
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 Muktikopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.