Status Updates From Upanischaden Ausgewählte St...

The Upanishads are important pre-cursor to both the four wisdoms of buddha as well as later Indian philosophy.

A Upanishad is a "Verehrung", a worship. It is not a text about an otherworldly god, but rather a worship of trying to uncover the true nature of a thing. The teachings (die "Einheitslehre") show the similarities between the microcosmos, the individual, and the macrocosmos, the rest of the universe (such as the syllable "om" is the universe) - ultimately leading to the understand that the "self" is everyone.

The Isa-Upanisad has some interesting verses:
1) You should only eat what has voluntarily been left (as a beggar, or fruit fallen from a tree)
2) Live without (emotional) attachment
3) Everyone who has killed a live being will join the demonic world after death.

Interesting parts in these pages:
- Love (or hatred for that matter) is revealed to egoistic, rather than altruistic.
- The important Indian stories are the "exhalation" of the knowledge of the self
- The sciences are the "inhalation" of the knowledge of the self and compared with many metaphors: ...wie das Meer die Sammelstätte aller Wasser ist; ...ebenso der Verstand die Sammelstätte aller Vorstellungen

Not enjoying these parts about "Das Brahman als der abfanglose Urgrund..." and "Das Gleichnis vom Baum"

Not enjoying these parts about "Seelenwanderung und Erlösung" and "Antworten des Yajnavalkya"

"Die Verwandlung des bestatteten Toden" explains the physical transformation from the burned body back into the food we eat and ultimately reborn in the family of a brahman or that of an untouchable or dag. Later the journey of the soul is explained. First to the moon where you should identify with everyone, then to the lake Aara where you see your ancestors the to the river of "Alterlos" and finally you meet dancers

The self is the life force (the essence) - such as the salt that is mixed into water, or after thought and breath stops in a dying person, the "glut" (the warmth) of the body remains as self and it will become all (the person losses the past identity.

This description departs from other stories of how souls are reborn. Here the metaphor of rivers running into the ocean, becoming ocean is used.

The three cosmic elements fire, water and nourishment come not in pure form, but blended form. Red is the colour of fire (sun, moon, lightning, etc.), white that of water (rain) and black that of nourishment (also appears in smoke and in burned things). If the colour isn't clear, it is a blending of the elements. It goes on to explain how each of the elements manifest in/through our bodies.

I couldn't gain much sense from the part "Erlösung". The talk between Uddalaka Aruni with his son I find more interesting - how "die Methode der Ersetzung" makes the specific (for example a copper bowl) more general (copper). The purpose of which is to see similarities? I might find out in the next part...

The king of the heavenly returns many times and the second last time he is told "Frei von Trübung, gesammelt" he recognises the self. The author brings the metaphor of the turtle pulling in its limbs or a bowl of water where any particles have settled on the ground. He again returns and now at 101 years old, he is told that as long as he has a body there will be joy and suffering, only in death joy and suffering ends

The king of the heavenly returns many times and the second last time he is told "Frei von Tribune, gesammelt" he recognises the self. The author brings the metaphor of the turtle pulling in its limbs or a bowl of water where any particles have settled on the ground. He again returns and now at 101 years old, he is told that as long as he has a body there will be joy and suffering, only in death joy and suffering ends

Start of "Prajapatis Lehre". Wonderful explanation of "Das Selbst, dessen Wünsche wahr werden (=sich verwirklichen), dessen Vorstellungen wahr sind (=keine Illusionen)" and how the king of the heavenly and the king of the demons strive to understand this knowledge. The king of demons easily accepts the first explanation that one should honour and take care of the own body, however the king of the heavenly returns...

Several sections that I have enjoyed less than the great start. Some highlights have been have soul is being defined (as the sound you hear when you cover your ears or the warmth you feel when you touch the skin of another person) and how truth comes from the life forces (breath, face, hearing, taste, feeling, language and understanding).

The book starts with a wonderful small text about how people speaking truth/untruth will go through life. Another story in the first pages is about the annunciation of truth. Compared to the similarly old text of Gilgamesh (that I recently finished), these texts are wonderfully clear and full of meaning.