The Upanishads: The Aitareya Evaluated
After some consideration, I Have decided to write this paper on the Aitareya Upanishad. I have looked at them all briefly, and it seems to be one of the shortest and clearest ones. However, this is not the whole reason I have decided to write a paper on it. I chose this one because it speaks of the process of creation, which has always been a great interest of mine. It has three chapters, and thirty-three verses, which I suspect was intentional. Perhaps repetition of numbers held some meaning?
The three chapters all touch on different subjects. The first chapter has multiple subjects, including the creation of the “worlds”, the process of the creation of humanity, and the creation of food. Relating to the first portion of the chapter, I don't understand why the text uses the word “worlds” to mean the various portions of the earth, or why the various portions are given names. I admit, I looked it up on Google, and I couldn't find any references to the names, so I'm a bit lost on that front. Moving away from the point for a moment, it really seems appropriate, and a little funny, that food would be one of the main points here. Back then, i don't think that they had many concerns about life, aside from their daily worship of the gods, considering all of the sacrifices and prayers, and the required actions to preserve themselves to continue that worship.
Something else that caught my attention is the way that the text describes the creation of humanity. In section two of chapter one, it talks of the guardians coming into the mighty ocean of existence, then talks about how the Self had trouble in giving them a form. Does this mean that we just sort of floated around the world for a while in a sort of ethereal form, until the Self gave us bodies to dwell in? I like the thought of it, just because it's a new perspective on how the human race began, but it still confuses me terribly.
Moving on, the second chapter in the Aitareya is a bit more confusing to interpret, as it speaks about the circle of life and the “three births”, which I think are meant to signify the concept of reincarnation. At the end of the chapter, it has a small story about the sage Vamadeva. It says the even while still in his mother's womb, he understood the birth of all the gods. He says that, “A hundred forms, strong as steel, held me prisoner. But I broke loose from them, like a hawk from the cage, and came out swiftly.” It says that “He emerged from his mother's womb, fully Illumined, to live in abiding joy. And went beyond death. Indeed He went beyond death.” I believe that this means to show that he finally reached enlightenment and escaped the endless cycle of reincarnation.
Last, the third chapter of the Aitareya seems to talk obviously of Brahman, the ultimate god and Ultimate Reality. It says, “Who is this Self on whom we meditate? Is it the Self by which we see, hear, smell, and taste, through which we speak in words? Is Self the mind by which we perceive, direct, understand, know, remember, think, will, desire, and love?” And then it states the answer in a way I think is absolutely perfect. “These are but the servants of the Self, who is pure consciousness. This self is all in all.”
Works Cited
Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions: Eastern Traditions. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2003.
Baird, Forrest E. and Heimbeck, Raeburne S. Philosophic Classics, Volume IV: Asian Philosophy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2006.