Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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Svetāūvatara Up. (VI, 22) forbidst to impart it to one who is not of a composed mind, a son or a pupil:
Vedānte paramam guhyam purākalpe pracoditam, năpraūāntāya dātavyaṁ nāputrāyāsisyāya vă punah.
The Chāndogya Upanisad (III, 11,6), further, says that this knowledge is to be imparted to none else, even if the whole of this earth is offered to him, as this is greater than that : nānyasmai kasmai cana, yadyapyasmā imāṁ adbhiḥ parigrhītam dhanasya pūrnāṁ dadyād, etad eva tato bhūya ityetad eva tato bhūya iti.
The Upanisads contain accounts of the mystic significance of the syllable aum and explanations of mystic words like tajjalan (Chand. Up., III.14.i), which are intelligible only to those who belong to the tradition and are initiated. They are guhyā ādeśā (Chāṁd., III,5.2), paramam guhyań (Katha Up., 1,3,17), vedaguhyam, vedaguhyopanisatsu gūdham (Svet.Up., V,6). Yājñavalkya takes his pupil Artabhāga aside and whispers to him the truth (Brh. Up., III,2,13). In a good number of cases the teacher imparts the secret knowledge only after severe testing.
There is a difference of opinion about the total number of the Upanisads. The traditional number is 108 ( 10 from Rg Veda, 19 from Sukla Yajurveda, 32 from Krsna Yajurveda, 16 from Sama Veda, and 31 from Atharva Veda). The Muktikā Upanisad (I, 30-39) says that salvation may be attained by a study of the 108 upanisads. Friedrich Max Müller (1823-1900) translated and published 12 Upanisads in two different editions of The Sacred Books of the East (in 1879 and 1884). The 1896 edition of Nirnaya Sagar Press, Mumbai contains the standard number, i.e., 108. The Adyar Press (Madras) has printed 179 Upanisads including 108. Dr. F. O. Schrader brought out, in 1912, the first volume on the Minor Upanisads. His successor, Pt. A Mahaveva Sastri, came across the commentary of Sri Upanisad-BrahmaYogin of Kanchi Advaita Math on all the 108 Upanisads. He, on his part, edited and published, in the Second Volume of the Adyar Library, 20 Yoga Upanisads (in 1920), and the next volume on the Samanya Vedānta Upanisads (1921) containing 24 Upanisads with the commentary of Sri Yogin. Sri G. Srinivasa Murti edited the saiva Upanisads of the Adyar Library containing fifteen Upanisads. The Upanisad-vākya-mahākośà of Gujrati Printing Press, Mumbai mentions 223 names of the upanisads. However, eleven, commented upon by Sankara, namely, isa, Kena, Katha, Praúna, Mundaka, Mandūkya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Svetāśvatara, Chandogya and Brhadaranyaka are treated to be the standard ones. At times the commentary of Achārya on some of these is doubted. The commentary on the Svetāśvarara Upanişad is
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