Moksha Through Meditation

The Mundaka Upanishad: Moksha Through Meditation
The Hindu Realization of Destiny

The Upanishads address important philosophical questions for Hindus today, just as they did in the past. Although many Westerners may tend to see Hinduism as a simplistic “pagan” religion, the Upanishads give light to how complex and sophisticated Hinduism is. Life for Hindus is a complex journey, part of a cycle that each seeks to escape. The final goal of a Hindu is the difficult task of overcoming one’s attachment to this world and performing one’s duty to it in order to escape from a cycle of rebirth that is understood as painful because it is contradictory to one’s true nature.

As Hindus understand this world, it is illusory. What we feel and become attached to is not what is really real, and we therefore create painful existences for ourselves by becoming attached to things that have no real worth. We can see the human condition as one of unnecessary pain because of these attachments. Each person is born again and again, endlessly in the cycle of samsara. The person trapped in samsara is “deluded and grieves on account of his helplessness (p. 76).” Because we are attached to things, we hurt. We find that we cannot manipulate this reality so that it perfectly facilitates our happiness. In order to escape the pain of life being reborn into it, Hindus must free themselves of karma. In order to successfully do so, a Hindu must become unattached to the physical world and realize oneness with Brahman, while still performing the duties required of them in this reality (observing the caste system, performing one’s duty in their stage of life, “worshipping” the gods).

Realizing the oneness of Brahman is very difficult, as it is very difficult to even grasp the concept of Brahman. Brahman composes everything and everything is Brahman. Just as the red on an apple, everything is a characteristic of Brahman, inseparable from it. The Mundaka Upanishad describes Brahman as “being, as non-being, as the supreme object to be desired, as the highest point beyond the reach of man’s understanding (p. 74).” As is made obvious by this passage, Hindus have a difficult task before them. It seems that we can never understand Brahman, but we can realize it. Brahman cannot be understood with the mind, as it is beyond human intellect. Brahman is an eternal presence. It existed before creation and precedes everything. It is frequently described as a light, brighter than all others, existing everywhere. It covers and composes everything, outlasts everything, and is beyond a state of being. It is not tangible or seeable in any way, yet we can know it if we know our true natures, since we are all made up ofBrahman.

Since Brahman is all that is real, our cycle of everyday life is a painful illusion, keeping us from realizing the truth of Brahman. Everything that we think is reality can be understood as prakriti, the “everything but Brahman” category. Prakriti is, essentially, the illusory, temporal world that composes our “reality.” It makes up our minds, physical objects, and personalities. It composes samsara, the life cycle. To achieve moksha, liberation from samsara, one must be able to separate prakriti from purusha, that which is really real. This realization requires a lot of work and understanding, as may be apparent.

The Mundaka Upanishad describes meditation as the way to this realization. By meditating, one sharpens one’s mind and develops the ability to “know [Brahman] alone as the one self [and to] dismiss other utterances (p. 75).” The self can be understood as atman, one’s true nature and the truth that we are all Brahman. Paralleling a human with an arrow, the Upanishads and syllable “aum” with a bow, and Brahman as the target, the scripture says that meditation sharpens the arrow so that it may precisely hit and become one with the target (p. 75). We can see then that in order to achieve Brahman, knowledge of the Upanishad’s teachings and mediation are the most important tools. One who understands Brahman knows one’s atman (atman is Brahman and Brahman is atman).

Atman is “vast, divine, of unthinkable form, subtler than the subtle. (p. 76).” Atman is understood as one’s true nature, as one with Brahman, which is clouded in the illusion of samsara for most. The task of realizing atman is a difficult one to take on. It is for this reason that we are reborn so many times. Atman shines forth, farther than the far, yet here near at hand, set down in the secret place [of the heart] [as such] even here it is seen by the intelligent (p. 76).“ Atman is in every living being, since atman is Brahman and Brahman composes all. It is everywhere, yet specifically inside oneself. Atman is one’s true nature, realized by very few. It cannot be realized by the gaining of knowledge, nor by right action. The realization of atman can only be found, through mediation, when one is able to completely separate it from all else and "attains supreme equality with the lord. (p. 76).” This oneness can be achieved only when one sees the world for what it is and denies it.

The Mundaka Upanishad praises ascetics, who have abandoned their imperfections (p. 76), and hold the truth and life of atman. They achieve this “by truth, by austerity, by right knowledge, by the constant [practice] of chastity (p. 76).” We can see then, that asceticism is an admirable practice that fully demonstrates the ideal of non-attachment. Ascetics not only mentally separate purusha from prakriti, but also remove themselves from prakriti in the way they live their lives. However, the Mundaka Upanishad makes it clear that an ascetic lifestyle alone does not necessitate the realization of atman/Brahman. Brahman is “not grasped by… austerity nor by work, but when one’s [intellectual] nature is purified by the light of knowledge then alone he, by meditation, sees Him who is without parts. (p. 76).” While the text praises asceticism, it makes clear that it is not by action that moksha is achieved. This makes sense, as with this understanding, action is part of samsara. Brahman is beyond being and thus cannot be achieved by being. The Mundaka Upanishad, however, does imply that this kind of complete separation is necessary for the realization of atman.

Renunciation is a stage of life for Hindus, but not one that is reached by all.  Dharma, or duty, is to accept one’s life and do what is required of one given one’s position. One’s dharma is justified by karma, which builds as a result of action.  Karma is carried from previous lives and must be discarded by performing one’s dharma. The first stage of life for a Hindu is that of a student. After this, he becomes a householder. In many cases, this stage is not surpassed. However, after being a householder, one becomes a forest-dweller. This is generally in later years of life and involves increased study and devotion. After this stage is the renouncer stage, when one gives up all acknowledgement of identity and possession, completely devoting their energies to meditation and separating themselves as much as they can from prakriti to facilitate the realization of atman. By doing one’s dharma and meditating, one can realize atman and achieve moksha.

The Hindu tradition is philosophically complex and demanding, and perhaps is beyond philosophy, as we cannot understand Brahman with intellect. A Hindu’s ultimate desired destiny, as portrayed in the Upanishads and specifically in the Mundaka Upanishad, is to escape samsara, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, which Hindus view as painful because of attachments. In order to be liberated, one must understand the illusory nature of the world and separate it from the ultimate reality of Brahman. One does this by meditation, austerity, knowledge, and chastity. When one realizes the oneness of Brahman, and realizes atman (one’s true nature as Brahman), one can then achieve moksha, which is liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of this world. This goal is difficult to achieve, and takes many (understatement) lifetimes. For this reason, this goal is highly respectable and can be viewed, at very least, for its philosophical complexity and beauty.