Issue

9th Issue (September, 2008)

The Theosophy of Upaniṣads or Vedānta

Madhyama

The collection of Upaniṣads is known as Vedānta. It is the end of the Vedas (Veda means ‘Knowledge or wisdom’). The ‘End of the Vedas’ connotes that it is the conclusion as well as the goal of the Vedas. The goal is the pursuit of wisdom by gaining knowledge of salvation. Vedānta is actually the philosophical exegetical or commentarial literature to the Vedic literature which is a divine revealed literature (Śruti). Upaniṣads are exegetical literature to the Vedic literature uttered by the Upaniṣadic Seers of Truth or Gnostics. They were composed orally by the Seers between 800-300 B.C.E. Some of them appeared before the emergence of Buddhism expounded by Gotama Buddha in the 6th century B.C.E in ancient India. Vedānta is the collection of the utterances of the Upaniṣ̣adic seers as a result of the communion between the inspiration of the Vedic literature and the intuitive self- realization of the absolute or ultimate Truth by the contemplative seers.

Vedānta expounds that the ultimate Reality is Brahman and Brahman equals Ātman at the level of micro-reality of the human personality or microcosm. Mahāyāna also expounds that the ultimate Reality is the Buddha and the mircro-reality of Man is the Buddha-nature. Hence, Brahman is parallel to Buddha and Ātman is synonymous with the Buddha-nature (Buddha-dhātu). The Brahma Sūtra, the recapitulation of Vedānta, expounds that Brahman is the ultimate Truth of Non-duality (Advaita). This further vindicates that Brahman is synonymous with the Buddha. Non-duality is synonymous with the eternal Truth of Unity of contigent beings or conditions. Insubstantiality (Anattā) or Emptiness(Śūnyatā) is synonymous with Non-duality which implies the Truth of Dependently co-arisen Unity. This mirrors that Brahman, God and Buddha are synonymous in terms of the communal Truth of Ultimate Reality - the right worldview of ontology of dynamic becoming.

The Vedānta also unveils that the multiplicity of the universe or the phenomenal world is illusive and unreal in the ultimate analysis. It also reveals that though multiplicity is unreal at the level of ultimate Truth, it is still real at the level of conventional truth. In other words, in the mundane world, the multiplicity with its pragmatic utility can not be rejected or denied. This mirrors the middle path adopted by Vedānta. This middle view is consonant with the middle philosophy of Buddhism that conventional truth is the foundation to understanding of the ultimate Truth and the ultimate Truth supports the conventional truth. The interrelationship is compared to the metaphor of the reflected moons in the water and the real moon in the sky. The reflected moons are the reflected images of the real moon in the sky. There are countless reflected moons but there is always on real moon in the sky. Such metaphor helps one understand the relationship between the phenomena of the empirical world and the God.

Ī’sa Upaniṣad

The relationship between the empirical world and Brahman is expounded in the Ī’sa Upaniṣad. What is expounded in Ī’sa Upaniṣad of the Vedānta differs not from the doctrine of God as the Unity of Being (Waḥdāt al-Wujūd) expounded by Islamic Sufi Ibn ‘Arabī in his treatise known as ‘Seal of Wisdom’ ( ‘Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam’). The Ī’sa Upaniṣad expounds the relationship between the empirical world and God thus:

Whatever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God.
Therefore, find enjoyment in renunciation; do not convet what belongs to others.

Ī’sa Upaniṣad

The Ī’sa Upaniṣad expounds that the contignent beings in the world are constantly changing. This is parallel to Buddhist worldview that all phenomena in the universe is in a constant flux. God is the Totality or Unity of all contigent beings. Hence, everything in the world is encompassed or enveloped by the Totality of God. Such relationship between the world and the Absolute is expounded as the doctrine of Identity and Interdependence in the Avataṃsaka-sūtra of Hua-yen Buddhism. Religious life of renunciation is not the life of asceticism. The life of renunciation is enjoying righteous lives without the sumperimposition of the self-centric ego. Selfless service is the highest level of enjoyment as the bliss experienced is maximal. There is a complete cessation of suffering in renunciation or sacrifice of self-interest and in the promoting and fostering public interests.

Renunciation and Non-greed

God is the essence of dependently co-arisen Unity. Renunciation is non-attachment to the diverge forms of the multiplicity. As self or ego does not exist ultimately and independent entity also does not exit ultimately, nothing in the world is to be privatized and personilized. Renunciation is self-denial or depersonilfication. Renunciation is not the withdrawal of the senses but the extention of the senses to embrace others with altruism and compassion or universal love. It is not the only moving inwardly with long hours of meditation but also moving outward to help others through generous giving of philanthropy and works of welfare. It is the quest of supramundane wisdom to restify the mundane wisdom. The quest for supramundane wisdom is moving inwardly towards mysticism or Gnosticism through meditation. The inward movement is consummated by moving outwardly towards humanism to participate in humanitarian works. The former sees God with the eyes closed in sitting meditation. The latter sees God with the eyes open in daily practices with selfless love for others. The inward or esoteric practice is to develop spiritual wisdom. The outward or exoteric activities of helping others selflessly is the application of wisdom to benefit others. Thus, we find that the exotericism and esotericism of Vedāntan are compatible with Mahāyāna’s Bodhisattva ideal of the ascent to gain enlightenment (bodhi) and the descent with great compassion (mahākaruṇā) to help liberate others from suffering.

This is consonant with the Buddhist doctrine of Insubstantiality (Anattā) of the five aggregates as this is not I; this is not mine; this does not belong to me. Private ownership or individuality in any form is rejected. This message of insubstantiality is very profound. ‘Do not convet what belongs to others’ corresponds to the Gotama Buddha’s advice of not taking what is not given or non-theft. This is, in fact, second moral injunction of the Buddhist Five Precepts (Pañcasīlas). Thus, it is obvious that Vedānta theosophy and Buddhist theosophy are identical in denying individual proprietorship. In fact, Monotheism asserts that any notion of I or mine separates one from God.

Christianity

Jesus Christ also commands the believers thus, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself (Mattew XVI.24). This Word of Jesus Christ connotes that whoever desires to be in communion (non-dual state) with God must first obliterate the self-centric ego in order to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.

Totality or Unity

Totality is dependently co-arisen from the unity of its parts. Totality encompasses the parts and the parts are encompassed by the Totality. Totality or Unity and parts (multiplicity) are inseparable or non-dual. The Unity supports multiplicity. This means God supports or sustains diversity. The multiplicity which is separation does not support Unity or God. Thus, Unity is God and disunity is anti-God. Hence, Non-duality or Unity, which sustains all existents, is the essence God. The mind of Unity is the mind of God. The parts are called the contigent beings or the creatures of God. Since all parts or contignent beings belong to Totality or God, any desire to privatize or personalize any part creates separation manifested in the form self or ego. Self or ego and the God are mutually exclusive. Hence, we perceive that greed or possessiveness rooted in ego is spiritually destructive as it destroys the Unity of God.

 When individuation, privatization or personal proprietorship is rejected, self or ego is dissolved into union with God. This is the complete surrender of self or ego to the God. This is the wisdom of salvation. When the self or ego is surrendered to God, all actions are divine or pure. Consequently, karmas are not committed. Selfless actions are karmaless. Only actions of non-action are committed. In this sense, the essence of Brahman is Tao. So, we perceive that only the various religious pedagogies are dissimilar exoterically or outwardly. As far the communal Truth of Unity or Non-duality is concerned, all esoteric religions are identical esoterically or inwardly.

Immanence and Transcendence

 Since countless diverge micro-unities or necessary existents exist everywhere, the essence of Unity of God is said to be immanent everywhere. This is the notion of One in the many. Since God demands the obliteration of self or ego (individuation or non-ownership of anything), the mind of God is said to be transcendental. This is the notion of the many in the One. Therefore, God is both immanent and transcendental.

Buddhistly put, the immanent dimension is the knowledge of conventional truth (saṃvṛti satya). Immanence is pantheism. It connotes Buddha-nature exists everywhere.The transcendent dimension is the knowledge of ultimate Truth (paramārtha Satya) or the supramundane wisdom. Buddhist notion of immanence is that there exists Buddha-nature innately in every phenomenon. Buddhist notion of transcendence pertains to the supramundane wisdom – the perfection of wisdom. What are dissimilarly expressed actually contains the same Truth. Those with the spiritual eye can discern more lucidly and insightfully. The depth of discernment is contigent upon one’s level of spiritual cultivation and self-realization. Under normal circumstances, the harvest is directly proportional to the effort invested. There is no free lunch in the world. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, the immanence and transcendence are perceived as the interpenetration between the conventional truth and the ultimate Truth or between the phenomena and the principle. When the principle is obstructed, phenomenon is also obstructed. When self-centric ego predominates, phenomena are impeded. When self-centric ego has vanished, the phenomena are unimpdeded. When there is Unity, God preserves the wholeness of mould from falling apart. When there is disunity, God does not sustain the wholeness of mould and it falls apart. The collapse of the mould is a divine punishment. Buddhistly put, it is the natural operation of the law of cause and effect (kamma-vipāka-dhamma)

Hence, we can conclude that Buddhism, Taoism, Vedānta of Hinduism, Sufism and Christianity are theosophically and pantheistically identical. It follows that the Vedānta’s claim of universality of religions are justificable and vindicated.  The above analysis of inter-faith understanding seems to be highly technical, academic and scholastic. Detailed exegesis is helpful to the adept one. Nevertheless, if the analytical exercise is intuitively discerned, what is theoretical may be transformed into practical living knowledge of perfect wisdom or the living truth of God. Mere academic exercise is exoteric. Living the wisdom of God or Buddha is esoteric. The exotericists are intellectual religious learners; the esotercists are intuitive, pragmatic practioners who live in the knowledge of Truth or Wisdom. The latter redeems the innate human dignity and supremacy. Self-redemption is true emancipation. Such a believer is truly saved.