The Causeless Cause: The Eternal Wisdom of Shwetaashwatara Upanishad

By Uttara Nerurkar

We are constantly feeding and dressing and indulging our bodies, but how often do we nourish our soul? Shwetaashwatara Upanishad, the rare gem amongst the Upanishads, teaches us just how to do that. Indeed, it is the priceless oyster in which the pearl of Vaidika philosophy glows with an ethereal light.

What is the cause of this Universe, that is obviously so beautifully ordered? Who is in control of it... since we definitely are not? From where have we arisen? What are we doing here? What is our goal? These are the eternal questions the Upanishad asks. It answers them by scientifically eliminating various possibilities. The final answer, however, is hidden from the rational brain, and requires deep contemplation to ferret out.

We are blessed to have the answers served to us, as if on a platter, by the enlightened Yogi named Shwetaashwatara. While his grounded wisdom flings open the doors and windows of our minds, his devotion overwhelms us with its sheer intensity. The Shwetaashwatara Upanishad is indeed a gem to treasure!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Uttara Nerurkar
• Release date: Dec 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9789385902444

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Upanishads lie at the very core of ancient Indian spiritual thought. They are highly revered by Indians and the rest of the world alike. They contain answers to the deepest mystical questions that have troubled man since the beginning of time. They delve into the mystery of the nature of this Universe, its purpose, the entities that inhabit it, the relationship between them and the ultimate goal of life. Due to this esoteric subject matter, they are considered Upaangas, or a subordinate part, of the Vedas – the supreme revered books of the Hindus. Some even call them ‘the essence of the Vedas’, though this epithet may not be entirely justified.

Their antiquity can only be guessed as it lies in the hoary past. Of the 200-odd Upanishads that are available today, ten Upanishads are considered the most authoritative. They are called the ten principal Upanishads. These include Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Maandookya, Taittareeya, Aitreya, Chhandogya and Brihadaaranyaka, laid down in this mnemonic verse –

ईशकेनकठप्रश्न – मुण्डमाण्डूक्यतित्तिरि ।

ऐतरेयं च छान्दोग्यं बृहदारण्यकं तथा ॥

Shwetaashwatara Upanishad is not one of them. However, it is considered the eleventh due to its importance and clear exposition of spiritual matters. It is also an apt Upanishad for beginners as, firstly, it uses direct language and is not as symbolic as the other Upanishads; and secondly, because it has a lot of Vaidika verses borrowed in toto. This gives a useful introduction to some of the most beautiful Vaidika verses.

The Upanishad is divided into six chapters, with 113 verses in all (16, 17, 21, 22, 14, 23, respectively). The metres of the verses are typically Trishtup and, in a few cases, Anushtup. These are very popular metres in Sanskrit works. Other metres occur in only a handful of verses.

Understanding the following basic concepts of Indian spiritual thought, which are themselves in line with Vaidika precepts, will be very helpful for beginners.

1. There are three eternal entities in this Universe –

a. Inanimate matter, Prakrti, which has a base primordial form at the beginning of the Universe that transforms to yield the whole multipicity of objects we see around us. These transformations are transient, and return to their basic form upon complete destruction.

b. Individual souls, Jeevaatmaas, that reside in each living being and are animate.

c. The one Supreme Soul, Paramaatmaa, or God, who is animate and is the creator, controller and destroyer of the Universe.

2. The Universe comes into existence as Srishti, expands and diversifies over the period of creation, or Kalpa. It ends in Pralaya when everything is reduced to its primordial form. This lasts as long as the Kalpa. The whole period of a Kalpa and Pralaya comprises a ‘Day of Brahma’. The cycle repeats itself ad infinitum. Like a rotating wheel, it has no beginning or end to it. This may be termed a ‘cyclical infinity’.

3. The material body is the abode of the soul. When the body encompassing a soul dies, the soul continues to exist. It moves on to another body made of matter in an eternal cycle of birth, death and re-incarnation. God never occupies a body.

4. Living beings are born as different species, in a hierarchy starting from the plant world, moving on to viruses, bacteria, insects, fishes, amphibians, lower animals and mammals, with man at the top of the pyramid. Human birth is considered the pinnacle, as it has the most discerning intellect and the maximum capacity for well-thought-out action vis-à-vis instinctive behaviour. It also has the maximum capacity for enjoyment of the material world. The soul, particularly in the human birth, is independent in performing its actions.

5. This structure is not unjust. It is based upon the deeds that a soul performs. Actions lead to equal reactions (as opposed to Newton’s Third Law which states that action and reaction are equal and opposite!). Thus, a benevolent deed results in happiness; a sinful deed leads to sorrow. Some deeds affect the soul’s happiness in this birth; others come to fruition in future births. This is the Law of Action (Karma).

6. While the cycle of life and death continues endlessly, it is possible for a soul to exit the cycle by means of salvation, or Moksha This is a non-obvious path that cannot be reasoned out by any available data. Therefore, it forms the subject matter of all the Upanishads in particular, and other spiritual texts in general. They are based on the experiences of enlightened sages, such as Sage Shwetaashwatara himself. The Upanishad under consideration here has been written by his disciples, as is evident from a verse towards the end of the text.

7. In Philosophy, a ‘cause’ does not always refer to a reason. In fact, it usually refers to something that leads to a change, called an ‘effect’. For example, milk transforms into butter. Then, milk is the cause of butter, and butter is the effect of milk. Anything which leads to the transformation of milk to butter is its cause, too.

There are three types of causes identified in Indian Philosophy – the efficient cause (Nimitta Kaarana), the material cause (Upaadaana Kaarana) and the general cause (Saamaanya Kaarana). These can be understood by the time-tested example of a potter making an earthen pot on his wheel. The potter is the efficient cause of the pot, who provides the motivation, the volition and the effort in producing the pot. Without him, the process would not start, nor would it have any direction. The clay provides the material that goes into the pot; hence, it is called the material cause. All the other instruments used by the potter, like the wheel and the stick, are general causes. Time and space are the over-arching general causes for all effects.

EXPLANATORY NOTE ON THE VAIDIKA WORDS

Vaidika words are not fixed in their meaning. They are derived from a root and a combination of prefixes and suffixes. Each of these components has one or more meanings, and influences the meaning of the final word. Thus, the final word itself can have many meanings. Which meaning is applicable at a particular location is determined based on the context, and is left to the experts in the field to decide. We see this on a much smaller scale in our everyday language, like the word ‘well’, that could mean a repository of water, or health, or goodness, or just an interjection.

In the same manner, the word ‘Brahma’, which is used very often in the Upanishads, including the Shwetaashwatara Upanishad, has several meanings depending on the context. Typically, it means the Supreme, i.e., God, but it could have many other meanings as well. Arising from the root ‘Brh’ meaning ‘to be large’ or ‘to expand or ‘to make a sound’, the word can typically have the following meanings –

•   Huge

•   The Supreme because He is huge – larger than the Universe, in fact!

•   The Universe, also called Brahmaanda, because it is huge

•   The Vedas because they transmit the knowledge of large things – the Supreme, the Universe and life, in general

•   The Braahmana, i.e., the knower of the Vedas and/or the Supreme

•   The Jeevaatmaa because it is much greater than inanimate matter.

There are some more words that will be found to have several meanings, sometimes in the same verse, leading to several meanings of the verse itself! I have tried to cover these alternative meanings in my commentary.

In the Vedas, God occurs in all three genders – masculine, feminine and neuter. Sometimes multiple genders are found in the same verse! I have tried to translate the Sanskrit verse truthfully with the gender as given. This makes for some awkward reading in English at times, but I think the readers will appreciate the closeness of the translation to the original. Also, I have tried to make up for it in the ensuing explanation.

EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THIS COMMENTARY.

1. The first paragraph of the commentary following