Suka rahasyopanishad
As the name
suggests this Upanishads deals with the secret of moksha or salvation. A set of
divine sages approached Brahma and make the following plea: “Hey Bhagavan
kindly impart to us the mysterious Upanishadic principle”. Brahma told them
about how the great sage Vedavyasa approached Lord Siva with a request once.
This is what Vedavyasa conveyed to Lord Siva: “Oh, Lord! the time has come for
my son Sukadeva to begin his study of Vedas. He needs to go into the rituals
related to this. Thou art the Lordof all. So kindly teach me about Brahma and
the Paramatatva (The ultimate principle). This was the reply of Lord Siva: “Oh
great sage! if we teach your son about the eternal Parabrahma, he will discard
everything in this world and will remain as an enlightened being.”
To this Vedavyasa gave the
following reply: “Oh Lord! at this auspicious time let my son become all
knowing and let him attain moksha because of your blessing. Lord Siva was so
pleased to understand the commitment of Vedavyasa and prepared himself to
impart the secrets regarding Paramatatva.
When Suka expressed his
willingness to study the secrets of ‘Tatwamasi’, ‘Prajaanam Brahma’ etc. Lord
Siva divulged the following secrets:
“I will open up ultimate secrets
to you because you are a very committed student. I will teach you Rahasyopanishad
which is the mystery to eternity. This Upanishad is so loftier than all the
other Upanishads. This is better than the learnings and sacrifices of 100
years.
Towards the latter part of this
Upanishad we get a description about the importance of four important concepts,
the understanding of which are crucial to realize the ultimate truth. These
are:
“Ohm prajnaanam
brahma:” (Ithareopanishad)
“Ohm aham
brahmaasmi” (Brihadaaranakopanishad)
“Ohm tatwamasi”
(Chandogyopanishad)
“Ohm ayamanaatma
brahma:” (Mandukyopanishad)
These are called
mahavaakyas (great verses).
We get a detailed description of
all the above mahavaakyas in the following slokas:
“Brahma, Indra,
Devas, people, horse, cow and all such beings are the dwelling place of the
same praana. That ‘prajnaanam Brahma’ resides in me, that is the meaning of
‘Ohm Prajnaanam Brahma:’. It is the same as ‘aham’ that is ‘Parabrahma’. Asmi
denotes that Paramaatma and myself are the same. This super force is depicted
as ‘tat’ and ‘twam’. These are words which are all inclusive. Those who don’t
relalise this great truth will be flowing in the sea of darkness. Both ‘tat’
and ‘twam’ point towards Sachidananda. Stanza XV gives us some important
lessons regarding the nature of education.
Knowledge will become complete only when it is imparted by a real Guru.
After learning from the teacher one has to engage in deep contemplation. All
other information (however big it is) is ephimeral.
Bhagavan Siva again addresses Sukadeva:
“Hey Sukadeva! Your father Veda vyasa is a great Brahmajnani. It is because I
am pleased in him that I have opened my heart to you and taught this secret
Upanishad. It is the Sachidaananda Brahma that is being portrayed in this. You
can daily contemplate on this and become a jeevan muktha.
The last part of this
Upananishad gives us an excellent picture of the revolutionary changes that
happened in the life of Sukadeva and his father Vedavyasa. After gaining immeasurable
knowledge from Lord Siva Sukadeva become an enlightened one who was swimming in
the ocean of eternal bliss. When he began his journey from there, as though he
was immersed in the joy of the world, Vedavyas followed him calling his name.
He did not answer and the response came from all the things around him. Hearing
this Vyaasa realized that his son had become one with the Universe. He also
followed him and attained Paramaananda or moksha himself.
Dr. Karickam
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