Tag Archives: Upanishad

Vedanta

All Seeking is for Self

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Below passage is in the context of sage Yajnavalkya addressing his wife, Maitreyi.

[Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Translation, 2.4.5, Advaita Ashram]

He said: It is not for the sake of the husband, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the wife, my dear, that she is loved, but for one’s own sake that she is loved. It is not for the sake of the sons, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of wealth, my dear, that it is loved, but for one’s own sake that it is loved. It is not for the  sake of the Brahmana*, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Kshatriya, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the worlds, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the gods, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the beings, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of all, my dear, that all is loved, but for one’s own sake – that it is loved. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should  be realised-should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. By the realisation of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known.

*Brahmana here refers to a cast.

Vedanta

What is Vedanta?

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The word Vedanta can be looked at from two angles:

  1. The knowledge that is contained in the texts called Upanishads at the end of each Veda.
  2. The knowledge that ends the quest for the knowledge.

From the perspective of the core source texts (Prasthānatrayī) Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita jointly can be referred to as Vedanta. However, there are very large number of texts that are studied in the tradition of Vedanta.

A teaching tradition has developed out of the work of several sages over a span of last 3000 years or so based on Upanishads which is also known as Vedanta. Vedanta is a proven systematic teaching method of Self Realisation. Since, one can know oneself directly (if qualified) by following the teachings of Vedanta, it is not really a philosophy but is a direct means of Self knowledge.