Isavasya Upanishad - Introduction

Dedicated to

To my mother – Late - Smt. Shanta Konda Rajaram

To my father – Late - Shri.Rajaram Konda

To my first Guru in Sanskrit – Late.Shri.Shreenath of Mambalam Samskrita Vidyalaya

To my Guru in Sanskrit Certificate Course & Diploma – Shri.Shreekanth of Madras Sanskrit College – Chennai

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD

Isavasya upanishad  :-

Introduction :- The Hindu Scriptural literature is so vast and comprehensive that there is no branch of knowledge left uninvestigated by the great seers of this Country – India.                  Before we go into the study of Isaavaasya Upanishad we have to fully understand what is Upanishad. Who wrote it? When was it written? And who said this to whom and where? What is the significance of this? Why is it considered so important to the Hindus? …. And many more questions.

The ‘Upanishads’ contains the highest of all Philosophical teachings.  ‘Upanishads is a part of the Vedas. The holy book of Hindus is the “VEDAS”.  So before we try to understand ‘Upanishads’ we have to understand what is ‘Hinduism’ and what is ‘Vedas’. Let us start with ‘Hinduism’ first. Since understanding the very basic concepts of Upanishads is difficult, the study of this can be started from school final onwards only.  you can start teaching these philosophical ideas that are present in our Hindu religion, which no other religion has.

What is Hinduism :-

Let us see what swamy Vivekananda has to say about our religion.

Concept of Sanaathana Dharma :-

The holy book of Hindus is the ‘Vedas’, Since, it is the source of all other Hindu scriptures. ‘Vedas’ means ‘Knowledge’.   For our understanding we are dividing the sum of all these knowledge into various segments. On a broader scale the entire knowledge gained can be divided into two namely, Para Vidya (Intuitive knowledge) and Apara Vidya (Intellectual knowledge).  For our study at present we will deal with only Apara Vidya.  This is again divided into Secular and Sacred and for our study we will take only Sacred.  Sacred Knowledge can be divided into 2 namely, Srutis dealing with eternal principles and Smritis dealing with practical applications of eternal principles .

Before we go into further study we have to understand the time factor of these collected knowledge.  From when and from where, were these knowledge gathered.  It is said the during the initial stages of creation, the Supreme Lord Para-Brahman or the Virat Purusha revealed the Vedas to demi-God Brahma Deva the creator. And he in turn revealed it to Swayambhuva Manu who was the first creation.  This year according to the Christian calender is 2014, and this means 2014 years have passed since the crucification of Jesus Christ.  So, what is this year in Hindu Calender?

According to the Hindu calender it is Kaliyabdham 5115. This means 5115 years have passed since the dissapperance of Lord Krishna from the Earth.

Kali yuga is supposed to have been started since the dissappearance of Lord Krishna from this Earth.  The duration of Kali yuga is calculated to be around 4,32,000 years out of which only 5115 years are over. So there is 4,26,885 years more for the Kali Yuga to end and the total annihilation of this world, before creations starts once again. Before Kali Yuga was Dwapara Yuga which lasted for 8,64,000 years.  Krishna’s time was at the end of Dwapara Yuga. Till the end of Dwapara yuga all the Veda were available as a collective lot and hence there were no divisions.  During the end of Dwapara Yuga Maharishi Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa catagorised these Vedas and divided it into 4 divisions namely Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.

And in turn Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa gave these Vedas to his sishyas (pupils) to prapagate it among the people.  Rig Veda        = Maharishi Paila Yajur Veda     = Maharishi Vaisampayana Sama Veda    = Maharishi Jaimini Atharva Veda = Maharishi Sumantu Muni Angirasa.