Lover of the Truth

Here we are with the Mundaka Upanishad of Atharva Veda. The name is interesting: Mundaka Upanishad. It is surmised that ‘muṇdaka’ comes from ‘muṇda’, and ‘muṇda’ points towards the shaven head of the Brahmins who would practice austerity, the disciples of old carrying bald heads. We have seen those images. So, that is called a muṇda. From there comes the name Mundaka.

This Upanishad throws light on the path of knowledge. We call the Upanishads as belonging to the path of knowledge, Jñānamārga, and then we say the Bhaktimārga is the mārga of love, the path of devotion is synonymous with love. One should refuse to buy that distinction. The Upanishads are overflowing with love. If love is real, it can’t be sans discrimination or knowledge. And if you really have knowledge, you would be a very loving person. It’s just that your love would not be of the type you see all around.

After reading Mundaka Upanishad one can say poets are at work here. In fact, the Upanishads several times call the Rishis as kavis, poets. Not without reason: they are bringing to words that which is very abstract, and that is what a poet does; they are giving a face to that which is very conceptual, that is what a painter does. And then, when you give it a face, obviously you also give it a name, and that becomes the name of a god. So, those gods don’t really exist. They are names of something virtuous within.

In this course we will explore following topics in-depth:

The man of knowledge- ‘Man’ here refers to a person. He/she avoids anything that does not bring clarity. That’s the litmus test. He/she is alert all the time. This that I am thinking, this that I am saying, this that I am doing, what is it going to lead to? I am a traveller. Every action is a step. Every uttered word is a step. Every thought is a step. I am a traveller, I must step in the direction of the destination.

The self is for those who love it- If you love the self, you get the self. There is no other way to reach it. Love is the way. Unless love pulsates in your being, no chance. The self is not for those who want knowledge of the self. The self is for those who want nothing but the self. It has to be a fierce love, a fierce yearning.