7/27/2019 Mundaka Upanishad Quotes

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Mundaka Upanishad quotes

The Higher Knowledge

To him he said: Two kinds of knowledge must be known

that is what the knowers of Brahmantell us. They are the Higher Knowledge and the lower knowledge. (1.1.4)

Commentary: The lower knowledge is the knowledge of the phenomenal world. In reality it is

ignorance, for it does not lead to the Highest Good. The seer of the Upanishad asks the aspirant

to acquire both the knowledge of the relative world and the Knowledge of Ultimate Reality.

When by the pursuit of the former he fails to attain true freedom and immortality, he cultivatesthe latter.

Of these two, the lower knowledge is theRig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, theAtharva-Veda,siksha (phonetics), kalpa (rituals), vyakaranam (grammar), nirukta (etymology),

chhandas (metre), andjyotis (astronomy); and the Higher Knowledge is that by which theImperishable Brahman is attained. (1.1.5)

Commentary: The Higher Knowledge refers to the actual realization of the subject matter taught

in the Sruti. It primarily means the experience of the Imperishable Brahman taught in theUpanishads, and not the mere words contained in them. The Vedas generallyand especially in

this contextsignify the mere assemblage of words (sabdarasi) constituting their texts. In order

to attain the Higher Knowledge, a student who has mastered the words of the scriptures must goto a qualified preceptor and cultivate such spiritual disciplines as discrimination and

renunciation. Otherwise he cannot realize the Imperishable Brahman. ... The knower of Brahman

becomes Brahman.

By means of the Higher Knowledge the wise behold everywhere Brahman, which otherwise

cannot be seen or seized, which has no root or attributes, no eyes or ears, no hands or feet; whichis eternal and omnipresent, all-pervading and extremely subtle; which is imperishable and the

source of all beings. (1.1.6)

As the spider sends forth and draws in its thread, as plants grow on the earth, as hair grows on

the head and the body of a living man so does everything in the universe arise from the

Imperishable. (1.1.7)

Commentary: Brahman, through Its own inscrutable power, appears as the universe of name and

form without Itself undergoing any change whatsoever. This is called maya.

Brahman expands by means of austerity, and from It primal matter is produced; from matter,

Prana; from Prana, mind; from mind, the elements; from the elements, the worlds; thence works,and from the works, their immortal fruits. (1.1.8)

For him who knows all and understands everything, whose austerity consist of knowledge - fromHim, the Imperishable Brahman, are born Brahma, name, form, and food. (1.1.9)