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Jabala Upanishad

January 01, 1970

The Jabala Upanishad (Sanskrit: जाबाल उपनिषत्, IAST: Jābāla Upaniṣad), also called Jabalopanisad, is a minor Upanishad of Hinduism. The Sanskrit text is one of the 20 Sannyasa Upanishads, and is attached to the Shukla Yajurveda.

Jabala Upanishad
The Jabala Upanishad discusses sannyasi (the ones who have renounced)
Devanagariजाबाल
Title meansNamed after Vedic school[1]
Datebefore 300 CE, likely BCE[2]
Linked VedaShukla Yajurveda[3]
VersesSix chapters with 14 verses
PhilosophyVedanta

The Jabala Upanishad is an ancient text, composed before 300 CE and likely around the 3rd century BCE.[4] It is among the oldest Upanishads that discuss the subject of renouncing the worldly life for the exclusive pursuit of spiritual knowledge. The text discusses the city of Banaras in spiritual terms, as Avimuktam. It describes how that city became holy, then adds that the holiest place to revere is one within – the Atman (soul, self).

The Upanishad asserts that anyone can renounce – this choice is entirely up to the individual, regardless of which Ashrama (stage of life) he is in. The Jabala Upanishad seems to justify suicide as an individual choice in certain circumstances, a view opposed by earlier Vedic texts and Principal Upanishads. Those too sick may renounce the worldly life in their mind. The Jabala Upanishad presents the Vedanta philosophy view that one who truly renounces lives an ethical life, which includes not injuring anyone in thought, word or deed. Such a sannyasi (renunciate) abandons all rituals, is without attachments to anything or anyone, and is one who is devoted to the oneness of Atman and Brahman.

History edit

The Jabala Upanishad is an ancient text, composed before 300 CE and likely around the 3rd century BCE,[4] and among the oldest that discuss the subject of renouncing the worldly life for the exclusive pursuit of spiritual knowledge.[5] The text is also referred to as Jabalopanishad (Sanskrit: जाबालोपनिषत्) or Gabala Upanishad.[6]

The themes of this Upanishad are meditation and renunciation.[7] Sage Yajnavalkya "as the expounder of the precepts of this Upanishad" elaborates on the aspects of renunciation of the worldly life, in the interests of achieving spiritual enlightenment as the "transcendence of attachment to every desire, including the desire for renunciation itself".[4] According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics, this Upanishad seems to justify suicide in certain circumstances, a view opposed by earlier Vedic texts and principal Upanishads.[8] The text discusses the city of Banaras as "one Shiva never leaves", and as a holy place to revere.[9] It also is among the earliest texts which states that the four stages of life are not necessarily sequential in that anyone can renounce their worldly life at any time.[10] The Jabala Upanishad presents the Vedanta philosophy view that the proper life of a sannyasi is not about any rituals, nor wearing any sacrificial thread, but about the knowledge of one's soul (Atman, self).[10]

In the Vedic-era literature, only three ashramas (life stages) were mentioned, with Brahmacharya (student) as the first stage and the Grihastha (householder) as the second stage. The third stage of life, in the Vedic texts, combined Vanaprastha (retired or forest dweller) and Sannyasa (renunciation) as one ashrama. According to Soti Shivendra Chandra, a scholar at the Rohilkhand University, the separation of Vanaprastha and Sannyasa as two different stages of life is first mentioned in the Jabala Upanishad.[11] However, Patrick Olivelle, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, states that the Sannyasa ashrama as a separate stage is mentioned in Aruni Upanishad, which likely is a more ancient Upanishad.[12]

Chronology and anthology edit

It is unclear when the Jabala Upanishad was composed, as is true with most ancient Indian texts.[2] Textual references and literary style suggest that this Hindu text is ancient, composed before the Asrama Upanishad which is dated to 300 CE.[5] Hajime Nakamura, a Japanese scholar of Vedic literature, dates Jabala Upanishad along with Paramahamsa Upanishad to around the start of the common era.[13] The German scholar of Upanishads, Joachim Sprockhoff, assigns it to be from the last few centuries prior to the beginning of the common era,[2] while the German Indologist Georg Feuerstein dates it to around 300 BCE.[4] The text is one of the oldest renunciation-related Upanishads.[4]

In the anthology of 108 Upanishads of the Muktika canon, narrated by Rama to Hanuman, it is listed at number 13.[14] In the Colebrooke anthology of 52 Upanishads, which is popular in North India, the Jabala Upanishad is listed at number 51.[15] In Narayana's anthology of 52 Upanishads, which is popular in South India, the Jabala Upanishad is listed at number 39 or 40 depending on the manuscript.[16] In later compilations brought out in South India, it is part of the 108 Upanishads.[17] In the 30 minor Upanishads published by the 19th-century Sanskrit scholar Ramamaya Tarkaratna in the Bibliothica Indica, the Jabala Upanishad is given the name Gabala Upanishad and listed at number 28.[6]

The Jabala Upanishad is one of the 20 Sannyasa Upanishads.[18] The Sultan Mohammed Dara Shikhoh, in 1656 helped organize and publish a collection of 50 Upanishads translated into the Persian language, with the title of Oupanekhat; in this collection the Jabala Upanishad is listed at number 29 and "Jabala" is spelled "Djabal".[19] This Persian translation was itself translated into Latin by Anquetil du Perron in 1801–02, wherein Anquetil remarked that the Indians are reading this collection of Upanishads all the time "knowing it to be the best book on religion".[19] The Anquetil translation brought the Upanishads to the attention of Arthur Schopenhauer and other western philosophers.[20]

Structure edit

The Sanskrit text of this Upanishad has six chapters.[1] Sage Yajnavalkya answers questions in the first five, wherein the questions are posed by Brihaspati, Atri, students of Brahman-Atman, King Janaka and by Atri again.[21] The last chapter lists the names of famous sages who were model sannyasis (renunciates).[22]

The extant texts are found in two versions. One consists of six chapters structured into 14 verses,[23] while the other version has six chapters with the same content but does not number the 14 verses.[24]

The first three chapters are devoted to defining the place where the seat of all beings and ultimate reality (Brahman) resides, and how to reach it through meditation, the Hindu god Shiva and the city of Varanasi.[25][26] The next three chapters relate to renunciation.[27] They describe the characteristics of a Paramahamsa as one who has reached the highest status of spirituality,[28] who abandons all external signs of asceticism and discards all relationships or worldly comforts to know "Brahman, the nature of the Self".[25]

Contents edit

Holy city of Varanasi edit

 
The Hindu holy city of Varanasi is discussed in the Jabala Upanishad.

The first chapter of the Upanishad opens as a conversation between Brihaspati and Yajnavalkya, where Brihaspati asks Yajnavalkya for information about the place where the seat of all beings, the Brahman, lives.[22] Yajnavalkya states that true Brahman-seat of all beings, or Kurukshetra, is Avimuktam – a place that Shiva never left.[21] This Avimuktam is a part of Varanasi (Banaras).[29] All renouncers, after having wandered places, should stay at this Avimuktam.[22] This is the place, asserts the Upanishad, where Rudra imparts the moksha knowledge just when the last vital breaths of the dying are departing, leading one to videhamukti (salvation after death).[29][22] This place is holy, a place to revere and not leave.[22][23]

In the second chapter, sage Atri asks Yajnavalkya "how can I know this infinite, non-manifested Atman?"[30] The Atman, states Yajnavalkya, can be found in Avimuktam.[31] Atri then asks how to find Avimuktam.[30] The Jabala Upanishad uses wordplay to express a literal and hidden allegorical meaning.[1] Yajnavalkya answers that Avimuktam is to be found between Varana and Nasi, or Varayati and Nasayati.[1]

Geographically, the city of Varanasi is situated on the Ganges river, where two small, mostly dry rivers named Varana and Asi join the Ganges.[1][31] Metaphorically, the text adds, Varana is named as it wards off errors of organs (Varayati), and Nasi is named as it destroys the sins committed by one's organs (Nasayati).[30][31] Atri, after listening to this metaphorical answer, repeats his question, with "but where is this place of Avimuktam?" Yajnavalkya replies that Avimuktam is already within Atri, "where his nose and eye brows meet, for there is the place of the world of heaven and highest world of Brahman."[30][32] This Avimuktam is the "abode of Brahman".[33]

A person who is aware of Brahman reveres it as the Atman in the Avimuktam within him.[30][34] Ramanathan interprets this verse to mean that one who knows the true nature of Avimuktam understands that "the individual Self (soul) is no other than the attributeless Brahman".[23]

In the third chapter, the shortest in the Upanishad, the students of Brahman ask Yajnavalkya to recommend a hymn that guides someone to immortality.[35] Yajnavalkya recommends the Satarudriya, the hymn with the hundred names of the god Rudra.[35] This hymn is found in sections 16.1 to 16.66 of the Vajasaneyi Samhita in Yajurveda,[36] and is conceived as many epithets of Atman.[1]

How to renounce edit

In the fourth chapter of the Upanishad, King Janaka of Videha asks Yajnavalkya, "Lord, explain Sannyasa [renunciation]."[36]

Yajnavalkya answers that one may complete Brahmacharya (the student stage of life), then Grihastha (householder), followed by Vanaprastha (retirement) and finally Sannyasa (pilgrimage as Parivrajaka Bhikshu, renunciation). Or, continues Yajnavalkya, one may renounce immediately after completing the student stage of life, or after the householder stage, regardless of whether or not one has completed the sacred fire ritual or any other rituals.[36][35] Olivelle interprets the sacred fire ritual reference as an indirect reference to marriage, and thus the text asserts that those who have married or never married can both renounce.[36] The Jabala Upanishad herein recommends that a person may renounce on the day he feels detached from the world, regardless of which stage of life he is in, and whether he has completed that stage.[37]

Yajnavalkya states that some people perform the Prajapati ritual[1] when they renounce, but this should not be done.[39] A person should instead make an offering to Agni (fire) that is one's own vital breath.[40] He should make the "three-element offering", namely, to "Sattva [goodness], Rajas [energy] and Tamas [darkness]" within.[40][41][note 1] He should revere Prana (internal life force) because it is the yoni (womb, birthplace) of all fires.[39][40] If he cannot obtain this fire, he should offer the oblation "Om! I offer to all godheads, svaha" with water as he begins the renunciation stage of life.[39] As he offers this oblation, he should learn that the liberating mantra of Om is the three Vedas[note 2] and the Brahman to be revered.[39][48]

Life is sacred, ending it a choice edit

If he is too ill (to observe renunciation), then he may practise the renunciation only mentally and by words.

— Yajnavalkya in Jabala Upanishad Chapter 5[49]

In the fifth chapter, Atri asks Yajnavalkya whether someone pursuing Brahman can be without the sacred thread. According to the translation by Paul Deussen, a professor and German Indologist, Yajnavalkya answers that "this very thing is sacred thread, namely the Atman".[48] A renouncer or Parivrajaka (another term for renouncer) performs a sacrifice to the Atman whenever he feeds himself or rinses his mouth with water.[48] Feeding and dressing his Prana (life force) is the only duty of the renouncer.[50]

Yajnavalkya states that the renouncer can choose a hero's death by dying in a "just war",[51] or abstain from eating any food, or go into water or fire, or start off on the "great journey".[48][52][note 3] This section has led some scholars to believe that this Upanishad may be giving the choice of ending life to the individual and justifying suicide in certain circumstances.[54][note 4] This view is different from Vedic texts and Principal Upanishads which consider suicide to be wrong.[8][57]

According to this Upanishad, the renouncer pilgrim undertakes the journey to the knowledge of Brahman with purity of thought, without belongings, with his head shaved, wearing discoloured garments, free from enmity towards all, and he lives on alms.[48][58] This method is not essential for anyone too sick or in mortal danger – such a person may renounce verbally or mentally.[59][49]

Paramahamsa: the ideal renouncer edit

In the sixth and final chapter, Yajnavalkya lists exemplars of Paramahamsas,[note 5] the highest renouncers: the sages Samvartaka, Aruni, Svetaketu, Durvasa, Ribhu, Nidagha, Jadabharata, Dattatreya and Raivataka.[49] The Paramahamsas do not carry articles or show signs that suggest they have renounced, their conduct is concealed, they may only seem insane.[61][49] They do not carry staves, nor bowl, nor hair tuft, nor sacred thread, but they are the ones who seek after the Atman (self, soul).[49][62]

Naked as he was born, beyond the pair of opposites (joy versus sorrow etc.), without belongings, wholly devoted to the way to truth, the Brahman, with a pure heart, going out, begging alms at a proper time[note 6] only to sustain his life, with the belly as his utensil, even-tempered whether he gets anything or not, staying homeless, whether in a deserted house, in a temple, on a heap of grass, on an ant-hill, at the roots of tree, in a potter's workshop, on a river bank, in a mountain cave, in a ravine, in a hollow tree, at a waterfall, or just bare ground, not striving, free from feeling of "mine", given to pure contemplation, firmly rooted in the supreme Self, eradicating all evil deeds, [...] he is called a Paramahamsa.

— Jabala Upanishad, Chapter 6 (abridged)[49]

The Paramahamsa is the renouncer who seeks his own self, abandons impure acts and evil within, who devotes himself to meditating on the Atman and the Brahman.[61]

Influence edit

Five important Upanishad texts, according to Olivelle – the Jabala plus the Aruni, Laghu-Samnyasa, Kathashruti and Paramahamsa Upanishads – provide different answers to the question of when someone may renounce the worldly life to lead a monastic one.[63] The Laghu-Samnyasa Upanishad, Kathashruti Upanishad and Paramahamsa Upanishad suggest that a man may renounce after sequentially completing the student, householder and retirement stages of life, and then getting the consent of his elders and direct family members. In contrast, the Jabala Upanishad and Aruni Upanishad assert that the choice is entirely up to the individual, without needing to have completed any stage of life nor requiring the consent of anyone else.[63]

If an individual feels Vairagya (detachment from the world), the Jabala Upanishad maintains that no preconditions apply, and the individual has the spiritual right to renounce immediately.[64] This principle in the Jabala Upanishad was cited by medieval-era scholars such as Adi Shankara,[note 7] Vijñāneśvara, Sureśvara, and Nilakantha as the Vedic basis that makes renunciation an individual choice and right. This choice has been referred to as a Vikalpa by the later scholars, which the society and state must respect.[64] The Jabala Upanishad concurred with some Dharmasastras on the right to renounce and lead a monastic life, but its views contradicted others such as those in Manusmriti verses 6.35–37. The text fed a debate on the right of the individual, and medieval Hindu scholars relied on and sided with the Jabala Upanishad.[66]

The Jabala Upanishad influenced other scholarly works as well. The Jivanmukti-viveka, written by the 14th-century Advaita Vedanta scholar and Vijayanagara Empire mentor Vidyaranya, refers to the Jabala Upanishad while describing those who achieve living liberation.[67]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ These are the three Guṇa in the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.
  2. ^ The "Om" is traditionally considered in Hindu texts to be composed of three syllables, "A", "U" and "M".[42] The oldest Upanishads consider these syllables as symbolism for the three Vedas – the Rigveda, the Samaveda and the Yajurveda.[42][43] The "Om" is also asserted in these texts to symbolize Brahman and Atman, the ontological concepts in Hinduism.[42] The Jabala Upanishad mentions only three Vedas, instead of four, which suggests that it is likely an ancient text, because the fourth Veda called the Atharvaveda, though composed around 1000 BCE,[44] gained acceptance as a Veda in ancient India in the centuries around the start of the common era,[45][46] even in Buddhists texts.[47]
  3. ^ The "great journey" refers to the choice of walking north without eating till one dies, while "hero's death" refers to dying in a "just war" that is a war that is morally justified.[53]
  4. ^ Some scholars have translated this verse very differently, adding their own interpretations in brackets. See Paul Deussen,[48] Ramanathan,[23] and Margaret Battin,[55] for examples of different interpretations. The recent translation and interpretation by Olivelle is similar to that of Deussen.[56]
  5. ^ The word Paramahamsa means "highest swan or gander" and refers to an exalted type of renouncer.[60]
  6. ^ The proper time for seeking alms in the Hindu renunciation tradition is late afternoon, when people have already finished their meals and may have leftovers.[61]
  7. ^ Of all the Sannyasa Upanishads, the Jabala Upanishad was the only one Shankara cited in his bhasya on Brahma Sutras, and he did so several times, at 1.2.32, 2.1.3, 3.3.37–41, 3.4.17–18 etc.[65]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 757.
  2. ^ a b c Olivelle 1992, pp. 5, 8–9.
  3. ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 553.
  4. ^ a b c d e Feuerstein 1989, p. 75.
  5. ^ a b Olivelle 1992, pp. 5, 7–9.
  6. ^ a b Müller 1962, p. 11.
  7. ^ Dalal 2010, p. 431.
  8. ^ a b Battin 2015, p. 22.
  9. ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 757–759.
  10. ^ a b Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 757–761.
  11. ^ Chandra 2006, p. 173.
  12. ^ Olivelle 1993, pp. 117–120.
  13. ^ Hajime Nakamura (1989), A History of Early Vedānta Philosophy, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120806511, page 45
  14. ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 556–557.
  15. ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 561.
  16. ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 564.
  17. ^ Keith 2007, p. 501.
  18. ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. x–xi, 5.
  19. ^ a b Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 558–559.
  20. ^ Maurice Bloomfield (1908). The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads). Putnam & Sons. pp. 54–59.
  21. ^ a b Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 757–758.
  22. ^ a b c d e Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 758.
  23. ^ a b c d Ramanathan, Prof. A. A. . Vedanta Spiritual Library. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  24. ^ "जाबालोपनिषत्". sanskritdocuments.org. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  25. ^ a b Dalal 2010, p. 555.
  26. ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 141–143.
  27. ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 759–761.
  28. ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 143–146.
  29. ^ a b Olivelle 1992, pp. 141–142 with footnotes.
  30. ^ a b c d e Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 758–759.
  31. ^ a b c Olivelle 1992, p. 142 with footnotes.
  32. ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 142–143 with footnotes.
  33. ^ Dalal 2010, p. 51.
  34. ^ "जाबालोपनिषत्". sanskritdocuments.org. p. ॥ २ ॥, verse 2. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  35. ^ a b c Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 759.
  36. ^ a b c d Olivelle 1992, p. 143 with footnotes.
  37. ^ Olivelle 1993, pp. 118–119, 178 with footnotes.
  38. ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 144 with footnote 15.
  39. ^ a b c d Olivelle 1992, p. 144 with footnotes.
  40. ^ a b c Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 759–760.
  41. ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 144 with footnotes, Quote: "Let him perform just the Three-Element offering. These are the three elements: goodness, energy, and darkness.".
  42. ^ a b c Dalal 2010, p. 287.
  43. ^ Som Raj Gupta (2001). The Word Speak's to the Faustian Man: Chandogya Upanisad. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-81-208-1797-5.
  44. ^ Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, page 68
  45. ^ Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism, Rutgers University Press, ISBN 978-0813540689, pages 13-14
  46. ^ Laurie Patton (1994), Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: Essays in Vedic Interpretation, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791419380, page 57 with footnote 24
  47. ^ Thomas William Rhys Davids (1903). Buddhist India. Putnam. p. 213.
  48. ^ a b c d e f Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 760.
  49. ^ a b c d e f Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, p. 761.
  50. ^ Deussen, Bedekar & Palsule 1997, pp. 758 note 5, 760.
  51. ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 134.
  52. ^ "जाबालोपनिषत्". sanskritdocuments.org. p. ॥ ५॥, verse 5. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  53. ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 134 with footnote 18.
  54. ^ Battin 2015, pp. 22–23.
  55. ^ Battin 2015, p. 25.
  56. ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 145 with footnotes.
  57. ^ Lee Headley (1994), Suicide in Asia and the Near East, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520048119, pages 211–212
  58. ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 145.
  59. ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 145 with footnote 22.
  60. ^ Olivelle 1993, p. 165.
  61. ^ a b c Olivelle 1992, pp. 145–146 with footnotes.
  62. ^ "जाबालोपनिषत्". sanskritdocuments.org. p. ॥ ६॥, verse 6. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  63. ^ a b Olivelle 1993, pp. 118–119.
  64. ^ a b Olivelle 1993, pp. 178–179 with footnotes.
  65. ^ Olivelle 2011, pp. 220–221 with footnote 38.
  66. ^ Olivelle 1993, pp. 179–181 with footnotes.
  67. ^ Olivelle 1993, p. 171.

Bibliography edit

  • Battin, Margaret Pabst (2015). The Ethics of Suicide: Historical Sources. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-938582-9.
  • Chandra, S.S. (2006). Philosophy of Education. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-7156-637-2.
  • Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
  • Deussen, Paul; Bedekar, V.M.; Palsule, G.B. (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
  • Feuerstein, Georg (1989). Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy. J.P. Tarcher. ISBN 978-0-87477-525-9.
  • Keith, A. B. (2007). The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0644-3.
  • Müller, Max (1962). The Upanishads. Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-20993-7.
  • Olivelle, Patrick (1992). The Samnyasa Upanisads. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507045-3.
  • Olivelle, Patrick (1993). The Asrama System. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-508327-9.
  • Olivelle, Patrick (2011). Ascetics and Brahmins studies in ideologies and institutions. London New York: Anthem Press. ISBN 978-0-85728-432-7.

January 01, 1970
jabala, upanishad, sanskrit, उपन, षत, iast, jābāla, upaniṣad, also, called, jabalopanisad, minor, upanishad, hinduism, sanskrit, text, sannyasa, upanishads, attached, shukla, yajurveda, discusses, sannyasi, ones, have, renounced, devanagariज, लtitle, meansname. The Jabala Upanishad Sanskrit ज ब ल उपन षत IAST Jabala Upaniṣad also called Jabalopanisad is a minor Upanishad of Hinduism The Sanskrit text is one of the 20 Sannyasa Upanishads and is attached to the Shukla Yajurveda Jabala UpanishadThe Jabala Upanishad discusses sannyasi the ones who have renounced Devanagariज ब लTitle meansNamed after Vedic school 1 Datebefore 300 CE likely BCE 2 Linked VedaShukla Yajurveda 3 VersesSix chapters with 14 versesPhilosophyVedanta The Jabala Upanishad is an ancient text composed before 300 CE and likely around the 3rd century BCE 4 It is among the oldest Upanishads that discuss the subject of renouncing the worldly life for the exclusive pursuit of spiritual knowledge The text discusses the city of Banaras in spiritual terms as Avimuktam It describes how that city became holy then adds that the holiest place to revere is one within the Atman soul self The Upanishad asserts that anyone can renounce this choice is entirely up to the individual regardless of which Ashrama stage of life he is in The Jabala Upanishad seems to justify suicide as an individual choice in certain circumstances a view opposed by earlier Vedic texts and Principal Upanishads Those too sick may renounce the worldly life in their mind The Jabala Upanishad presents the Vedanta philosophy view that one who truly renounces lives an ethical life which includes not injuring anyone in thought word or deed Such a sannyasi renunciate abandons all rituals is without attachments to anything or anyone and is one who is devoted to the oneness of Atman and Brahman Contents 1 History 2 Chronology and anthology 3 Structure 4 Contents 4 1 Holy city of Varanasi 4 2 How to renounce 4 3 Life is sacred ending it a choice 4 4 Paramahamsa the ideal renouncer 5 Influence 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 8 1 BibliographyHistory editThe Jabala Upanishad is an ancient text composed before 300 CE and likely around the 3rd century BCE 4 and among the oldest that discuss the subject of renouncing the worldly life for the exclusive pursuit of spiritual knowledge 5 The text is also referred to as Jabalopanishad Sanskrit ज ब ल पन षत or Gabala Upanishad 6 The themes of this Upanishad are meditation and renunciation 7 Sage Yajnavalkya as the expounder of the precepts of this Upanishad elaborates on the aspects of renunciation of the worldly life in the interests of achieving spiritual enlightenment as the transcendence of attachment to every desire including the desire for renunciation itself 4 According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan a professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics this Upanishad seems to justify suicide in certain circumstances a view opposed by earlier Vedic texts and principal Upanishads 8 The text discusses the city of Banaras as one Shiva never leaves and as a holy place to revere 9 It also is among the earliest texts which states that the four stages of life are not necessarily sequential in that anyone can renounce their worldly life at any time 10 The Jabala Upanishad presents the Vedanta philosophy view that the proper life of a sannyasi is not about any rituals nor wearing any sacrificial thread but about the knowledge of one s soul Atman self 10 In the Vedic era literature only three ashramas life stages were mentioned with Brahmacharya student as the first stage and the Grihastha householder as the second stage The third stage of life in the Vedic texts combined Vanaprastha retired or forest dweller and Sannyasa renunciation as one ashrama According to Soti Shivendra Chandra a scholar at the Rohilkhand University the separation of Vanaprastha and Sannyasa as two different stages of life is first mentioned in the Jabala Upanishad 11 However Patrick Olivelle a professor at the University of Texas at Austin states that the Sannyasa ashrama as a separate stage is mentioned in Aruni Upanishad which likely is a more ancient Upanishad 12 Chronology and anthology editIt is unclear when the Jabala Upanishad was composed as is true with most ancient Indian texts 2 Textual references and literary style suggest that this Hindu text is ancient composed before the Asrama Upanishad which is dated to 300 CE 5 Hajime Nakamura a Japanese scholar of Vedic literature dates Jabala Upanishad along with Paramahamsa Upanishad to around the start of the common era 13 The German scholar of Upanishads Joachim Sprockhoff assigns it to be from the last few centuries prior to the beginning of the common era 2 while the German Indologist Georg Feuerstein dates it to around 300 BCE 4 The text is one of the oldest renunciation related Upanishads 4 In the anthology of 108 Upanishads of the Muktika canon narrated by Rama to Hanuman it is listed at number 13 14 In the Colebrooke anthology of 52 Upanishads which is popular in North India the Jabala Upanishad is listed at number 51 15 In Narayana s anthology of 52 Upanishads which is popular in South India the Jabala Upanishad is listed at number 39 or 40 depending on the manuscript 16 In later compilations brought out in South India it is part of the 108 Upanishads 17 In the 30 minor Upanishads published by the 19th century Sanskrit scholar Ramamaya Tarkaratna in the Bibliothica Indica the Jabala Upanishad is given the name Gabala Upanishad and listed at number 28 6 The Jabala Upanishad is one of the 20 Sannyasa Upanishads 18 The Sultan Mohammed Dara Shikhoh in 1656 helped organize and publish a collection of 50 Upanishads translated into the Persian language with the title of Oupanekhat in this collection the Jabala Upanishad is listed at number 29 and Jabala is spelled Djabal 19 This Persian translation was itself translated into Latin by Anquetil du Perron in 1801 02 wherein Anquetil remarked that the Indians are reading this collection of Upanishads all the time knowing it to be the best book on religion 19 The Anquetil translation brought the Upanishads to the attention of Arthur Schopenhauer and other western philosophers 20 Structure editThe Sanskrit text of this Upanishad has six chapters 1 Sage Yajnavalkya answers questions in the first five wherein the questions are posed by Brihaspati Atri students of Brahman Atman King Janaka and by Atri again 21 The last chapter lists the names of famous sages who were model sannyasis renunciates 22 The extant texts are found in two versions One consists of six chapters structured into 14 verses 23 while the other version has six chapters with the same content but does not number the 14 verses 24 The first three chapters are devoted to defining the place where the seat of all beings and ultimate reality Brahman resides and how to reach it through meditation the Hindu god Shiva and the city of Varanasi 25 26 The next three chapters relate to renunciation 27 They describe the characteristics of a Paramahamsa as one who has reached the highest status of spirituality 28 who abandons all external signs of asceticism and discards all relationships or worldly comforts to know Brahman the nature of the Self 25 Contents editHoly city of Varanasi edit nbsp The Hindu holy city of Varanasi is discussed in the Jabala Upanishad The first chapter of the Upanishad opens as a conversation between Brihaspati and Yajnavalkya where Brihaspati asks Yajnavalkya for information about the place where the seat of all beings the Brahman lives 22 Yajnavalkya states that true Brahman seat of all beings or Kurukshetra is Avimuktam a place that Shiva never left 21 This Avimuktam is a part of Varanasi Banaras 29 All renouncers after having wandered places should stay at this Avimuktam 22 This is the place asserts the Upanishad where Rudra imparts the moksha knowledge just when the last vital breaths of the dying are departing leading one to videhamukti salvation after death 29 22 This place is holy a place to revere and not leave 22 23 In the second chapter sage Atri asks Yajnavalkya how can I know this infinite non manifested Atman 30 The Atman states Yajnavalkya can be found in Avimuktam 31 Atri then asks how to find Avimuktam 30 The Jabala Upanishad uses wordplay to express a literal and hidden allegorical meaning 1 Yajnavalkya answers that Avimuktam is to be found between Varana and Nasi or Varayati and Nasayati 1 Geographically the city of Varanasi is situated on the Ganges river where two small mostly dry rivers named Varana and Asi join the Ganges 1 31 Metaphorically the text adds Varana is named as it wards off errors of organs Varayati and Nasi is named as it destroys the sins committed by one s organs Nasayati 30 31 Atri after listening to this metaphorical answer repeats his question with but where is this place of Avimuktam Yajnavalkya replies that Avimuktam is already within Atri where his nose and eye brows meet for there is the place of the world of heaven and highest world of Brahman 30 32 This Avimuktam is the abode of Brahman 33 A person who is aware of Brahman reveres it as the Atman in the Avimuktam within him 30 34 Ramanathan interprets this verse to mean that one who knows the true nature of Avimuktam understands that the individual Self soul is no other than the attributeless Brahman 23 In the third chapter the shortest in the Upanishad the students of Brahman ask Yajnavalkya to recommend a hymn that guides someone to immortality 35 Yajnavalkya recommends the Satarudriya the hymn with the hundred names of the god Rudra 35 This hymn is found in sections 16 1 to 16 66 of the Vajasaneyi Samhita in Yajurveda 36 and is conceived as many epithets of Atman 1 How to renounce edit In the fourth chapter of the Upanishad King Janaka of Videha asks Yajnavalkya Lord explain Sannyasa renunciation 36 Yajnavalkya answers that one may complete Brahmacharya the student stage of life then Grihastha householder followed by Vanaprastha retirement and finally Sannyasa pilgrimage as Parivrajaka Bhikshu renunciation Or continues Yajnavalkya one may renounce immediately after completing the student stage of life or after the householder stage regardless of whether or not one has completed the sacred fire ritual or any other rituals 36 35 Olivelle interprets the sacred fire ritual reference as an indirect reference to marriage and thus the text asserts that those who have married or never married can both renounce 36 The Jabala Upanishad herein recommends that a person may renounce on the day he feels detached from the world regardless of which stage of life he is in and whether he has completed that stage 37 Yajnavalkya states that some people perform the Prajapati ritual 1 when they renounce but this should not be done 39 A person should instead make an offering to Agni fire that is one s own vital breath 40 He should make the three element offering namely to Sattva goodness Rajas energy and Tamas darkness within 40 41 note 1 He should revere Prana internal life force because it is the yoni womb birthplace of all fires 39 40 If he cannot obtain this fire he should offer the oblation Om I offer to all godheads svaha with water as he begins the renunciation stage of life 39 As he offers this oblation he should learn that the liberating mantra of Om is the three Vedas note 2 and the Brahman to be revered 39 48 Life is sacred ending it a choice edit If he is too ill to observe renunciation then he may practise the renunciation only mentally and by words Yajnavalkya in Jabala Upanishad Chapter 5 49 In the fifth chapter Atri asks Yajnavalkya whether someone pursuing Brahman can be without the sacred thread According to the translation by Paul Deussen a professor and German Indologist Yajnavalkya answers that this very thing is sacred thread namely the Atman 48 A renouncer or Parivrajaka another term for renouncer performs a sacrifice to the Atman whenever he feeds himself or rinses his mouth with water 48 Feeding and dressing his Prana life force is the only duty of the renouncer 50 Yajnavalkya states that the renouncer can choose a hero s death by dying in a just war 51 or abstain from eating any food or go into water or fire or start off on the great journey 48 52 note 3 This section has led some scholars to believe that this Upanishad may be giving the choice of ending life to the individual and justifying suicide in certain circumstances 54 note 4 This view is different from Vedic texts and Principal Upanishads which consider suicide to be wrong 8 57 According to this Upanishad the renouncer pilgrim undertakes the journey to the knowledge of Brahman with purity of thought without belongings with his head shaved wearing discoloured garments free from enmity towards all and he lives on alms 48 58 This method is not essential for anyone too sick or in mortal danger such a person may renounce verbally or mentally 59 49 Paramahamsa the ideal renouncer edit In the sixth and final chapter Yajnavalkya lists exemplars of Paramahamsas note 5 the highest renouncers the sages Samvartaka Aruni Svetaketu Durvasa Ribhu Nidagha Jadabharata Dattatreya and Raivataka 49 The Paramahamsas do not carry articles or show signs that suggest they have renounced their conduct is concealed they may only seem insane 61 49 They do not carry staves nor bowl nor hair tuft nor sacred thread but they are the ones who seek after the Atman self soul 49 62 Naked as he was born beyond the pair of opposites joy versus sorrow etc without belongings wholly devoted to the way to truth the Brahman with a pure heart going out begging alms at a proper time note 6 only to sustain his life with the belly as his utensil even tempered whether he gets anything or not staying homeless whether in a deserted house in a temple on a heap of grass on an ant hill at the roots of tree in a potter s workshop on a river bank in a mountain cave in a ravine in a hollow tree at a waterfall or just bare ground not striving free from feeling of mine given to pure contemplation firmly rooted in the supreme Self eradicating all evil deeds he is called a Paramahamsa Jabala Upanishad Chapter 6 abridged 49 The Paramahamsa is the renouncer who seeks his own self abandons impure acts and evil within who devotes himself to meditating on the Atman and the Brahman 61 Influence editFive important Upanishad texts according to Olivelle the Jabala plus the Aruni Laghu Samnyasa Kathashruti and Paramahamsa Upanishads provide different answers to the question of when someone may renounce the worldly life to lead a monastic one 63 The Laghu Samnyasa Upanishad Kathashruti Upanishad and Paramahamsa Upanishad suggest that a man may renounce after sequentially completing the student householder and retirement stages of life and then getting the consent of his elders and direct family members In contrast the Jabala Upanishad and Aruni Upanishad assert that the choice is entirely up to the individual without needing to have completed any stage of life nor requiring the consent of anyone else 63 If an individual feels Vairagya detachment from the world the Jabala Upanishad maintains that no preconditions apply and the individual has the spiritual right to renounce immediately 64 This principle in the Jabala Upanishad was cited by medieval era scholars such as Adi Shankara note 7 Vijnanesvara Suresvara and Nilakantha as the Vedic basis that makes renunciation an individual choice and right This choice has been referred to as a Vikalpa by the later scholars which the society and state must respect 64 The Jabala Upanishad concurred with some Dharmasastras on the right to renounce and lead a monastic life but its views contradicted others such as those in Manusmriti verses 6 35 37 The text fed a debate on the right of the individual and medieval Hindu scholars relied on and sided with the Jabala Upanishad 66 The Jabala Upanishad influenced other scholarly works as well The Jivanmukti viveka written by the 14th century Advaita Vedanta scholar and Vijayanagara Empire mentor Vidyaranya refers to the Jabala Upanishad while describing those who achieve living liberation 67 See also editAshrama stage the four stages of human life Puruṣartha the four goals of human lifeNotes edit These are the three Guṇa in the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy The Om is traditionally considered in Hindu texts to be composed of three syllables A U and M 42 The oldest Upanishads consider these syllables as symbolism for the three Vedas the Rigveda the Samaveda and the Yajurveda 42 43 The Om is also asserted in these texts to symbolize Brahman and Atman the ontological concepts in Hinduism 42 The Jabala Upanishad mentions only three Vedas instead of four which suggests that it is likely an ancient text because the fourth Veda called the Atharvaveda though composed around 1000 BCE 44 gained acceptance as a Veda in ancient India in the centuries around the start of the common era 45 46 even in Buddhists texts 47 The great journey refers to the choice of walking north without eating till one dies while hero s death refers to dying in a just war that is a war that is morally justified 53 Some scholars have translated this verse very differently adding their own interpretations in brackets See Paul Deussen 48 Ramanathan 23 and Margaret Battin 55 for examples of different interpretations The recent translation and interpretation by Olivelle is similar to that of Deussen 56 The word Paramahamsa means highest swan or gander and refers to an exalted type of renouncer 60 The proper time for seeking alms in the Hindu renunciation tradition is late afternoon when people have already finished their meals and may have leftovers 61 Of all the Sannyasa Upanishads the Jabala Upanishad was the only one Shankara cited in his bhasya on Brahma Sutras and he did so several times at 1 2 32 2 1 3 3 3 37 41 3 4 17 18 etc 65 References edit a b c d e f Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 757 a b c Olivelle 1992 pp 5 8 9 Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 553 a b c d e Feuerstein 1989 p 75 a b Olivelle 1992 pp 5 7 9 a b Muller 1962 p 11 Dalal 2010 p 431 a b Battin 2015 p 22 Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 757 759 a b Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 757 761 Chandra 2006 p 173 Olivelle 1993 pp 117 120 Hajime Nakamura 1989 A History of Early Vedanta Philosophy Volume 2 Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 8120806511 page 45 Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 556 557 Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 561 Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 564 Keith 2007 p 501 Olivelle 1992 pp x xi 5 a b Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 558 559 Maurice Bloomfield 1908 The Religion of the Veda The Ancient Religion of India from Rig Veda to Upanishads Putnam amp Sons pp 54 59 a b Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 757 758 a b c d e Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 758 a b c d Ramanathan Prof A A Jabala Upanishad Vedanta Spiritual Library Archived from the original on 4 July 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2016 ज ब ल पन षत sanskritdocuments org Retrieved 6 January 2016 a b Dalal 2010 p 555 Olivelle 1992 pp 141 143 Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 759 761 Olivelle 1992 pp 143 146 a b Olivelle 1992 pp 141 142 with footnotes a b c d e Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 758 759 a b c Olivelle 1992 p 142 with footnotes Olivelle 1992 pp 142 143 with footnotes Dalal 2010 p 51 ज ब ल पन षत sanskritdocuments org p २ verse 2 Retrieved 6 January 2016 a b c Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 759 a b c d Olivelle 1992 p 143 with footnotes Olivelle 1993 pp 118 119 178 with footnotes Olivelle 1992 p 144 with footnote 15 a b c d Olivelle 1992 p 144 with footnotes a b c Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 759 760 Olivelle 1992 p 144 with footnotes Quote Let him perform just the Three Element offering These are the three elements goodness energy and darkness a b c Dalal 2010 p 287 Som Raj Gupta 2001 The Word Speak s to the Faustian Man Chandogya Upanisad Motilal Banarsidass pp 17 18 ISBN 978 81 208 1797 5 Michael Witzel 2003 Vedas and Upaniṣads in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Editor Gavin Flood Blackwell ISBN 0 631215352 page 68 Carl Olson 2007 The Many Colors of Hinduism Rutgers University Press ISBN 978 0813540689 pages 13 14 Laurie Patton 1994 Authority Anxiety and Canon Essays in Vedic Interpretation State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0791419380 page 57 with footnote 24 Thomas William Rhys Davids 1903 Buddhist India Putnam p 213 a b c d e f Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 760 a b c d e f Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 p 761 Deussen Bedekar amp Palsule 1997 pp 758 note 5 760 Olivelle 1992 p 134 ज ब ल पन षत sanskritdocuments org p ५ verse 5 Retrieved 6 January 2016 Olivelle 1992 p 134 with footnote 18 Battin 2015 pp 22 23 Battin 2015 p 25 Olivelle 1992 pp 145 with footnotes Lee Headley 1994 Suicide in Asia and the Near East University of California Press ISBN 978 0520048119 pages 211 212 Olivelle 1992 p 145 Olivelle 1992 p 145 with footnote 22 Olivelle 1993 p 165 a b c Olivelle 1992 pp 145 146 with footnotes ज ब ल पन षत sanskritdocuments org p ६ verse 6 Retrieved 6 January 2016 a b Olivelle 1993 pp 118 119 a b Olivelle 1993 pp 178 179 with footnotes Olivelle 2011 pp 220 221 with footnote 38 Olivelle 1993 pp 179 181 with footnotes Olivelle 1993 p 171 Bibliography edit Battin Margaret Pabst 2015 The Ethics of Suicide Historical Sources Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 938582 9 Chandra S S 2006 Philosophy of Education Atlantic Publishers amp Dist ISBN 978 81 7156 637 2 Dalal Roshen 2010 Hinduism An Alphabetical Guide Penguin Books India ISBN 978 0 14 341421 6 Deussen Paul Bedekar V M Palsule G B 1997 Sixty Upanishads of the Veda Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 1467 7 Feuerstein Georg 1989 Yoga The Technology of Ecstasy J P Tarcher ISBN 978 0 87477 525 9 Keith A B 2007 The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0644 3 Muller Max 1962 The Upanishads Courier Corporation ISBN 978 0 486 20993 7 Olivelle Patrick 1992 The Samnyasa Upanisads Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 507045 3 Olivelle Patrick 1993 The Asrama System Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 508327 9 Olivelle Patrick 2011 Ascetics and Brahmins studies in ideologies and institutions London New York Anthem Press ISBN 978 0 85728 432 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jabala Upanishad amp oldid 1134834411, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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