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46 The speculative tendencies found in the creation hymns of the tenth book of the Rigveda continue in other texts of the Vedic period. The Atharvaveda, for example, nominates first prana (the "cosmic breath") and later kala ("time") as the ultimate principle of the universe. 47 Also, and for perhaps the first time, it uses the term brahman to designate the reality underlying the gods and identifies it This movement as the source of both being and non-being. 48 toward an abstract conception of the ultimate eventually finds its classical and most complete scriptural expression in the Upanisads, which become the fountainhead and ultimate authority for the various schools of Vedanta. Despite the fact that later commentators, regarding the Upanisads as quite literally revealed, were obliged to hold that they teach one single, consistent doctrine, the truth is that they bring together speculations and intuitions that are diverse in nature. No unanimity of viewpoint is attained or even sought. Nevertheless, while the texts do contain even in their earlier portions certain material open to theistic interpretation, 49 the most

34 prominent teaching is without question an impersonalistic, idealistic monism. The ethos of the Upanisads may be described, correspondingly, as that of an intellectual mysticism, and the tradition gives recognition to this fact in adopting these texts as the primary scriptures of the path of knowledge (jnanamarga). 50 The etymological meaning of the word upanisad, "sitting (sad) down (ni) near (upa)," suggests private instruction, confidentiality--even esotericism. According to the tradition, the term means "secret" (rahasya). This implies that sacred knowledge of the type discussed in these texts was not given out indiscriminately to all. Even Brahmins, we are told, were subject to rigorous tests before they were accepted as pupils.51 I point this out to underscore the fact that the kind of abstract philosophical religiosity common to the rsis and the Upanisadic sages was restricted to an elite, as it has always been in the religious history of humankind and as it most definitely is in Samkara's Vedanta. The common people, we must assume though the evidence is slight, practiced some form of popular religion that had close ties to the indigenous traditions and was probably theistic in nature. If love of the divine is difficult to find in the hymns of the Veda, it is even more so in these texts. The primary interest of the Upanisadic sages is the intuitive

35 realization, through higher spiritual gnosis, of the impersonal ultimate that transcends all "name and form" (namarupa). The supreme Brahman is "that from which words 52 turn back, along with the mind, unable to reach"; it is accurately described only through negation. " "Now therefore, says Yajnavalkhya, "there the teaching 'Not this, not that!' (neti, neti) (neti, neti) , for there is nothing higher than this, that he is so. If the ultimate is described, "53 it is often in the most abstract terms possible: "Being alone, my dear, was this in the beginning, one only, without second. "54 The Upanisadic identification of the inmost self of the human being with the highest reality, the equation of atman and Brahman that is enshrined in the saying "Thou art That" (tat tvam asi), 55 is too well known to require comment Suffice it to say that, when the quest is to know-and through knowing to become--Brahman, and when the sage finally declares "I am Brahman, here. "57 56 we are obviously encountering a type of thinking that provides little ground for the development of devotional religion. Nonetheless it is true that certain later Upanisads 58 do introduce elements of theism. The Katha Upanishad, for example, has two verses which admit a place for grace in salvation, and this Upanisad allows itself to speak twice of the highest reality as the "Person" (purusa) who is "beyond the The Isa, the Mundaka, and the Maitri speak unmanifest."59

36 of the ultimate principle as the "Lord" (Isa).60 These and similar tendencies show the influence of, and are our first literary evidence for, the truly theistic movements which later emerge more fully into history in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. In this they may reflect an increasing recognition among the Brahmin elite of popular forms of theistic religion. 61 The late Svetasvatara (Svetasvatara Upanisad) is no doubt the most significant of the Upanisads in this regard. Such familiar designations of the supreme personal deities of the classical tradition as Isvara, mahesvara, and even bhagavat figure prominently in this text. 62 Sometimes referred to as the "gateway of Hinduism, "63 it goes so far as to personify Brahman, identifying it with Rudra-Siva, a divinity who arose from obscure origins, possibly in the Indus Valley civilization, to become one of the major deities of the late Vedic tradition. In this Upanisad, however, Rudra-Siva is not just one of the Vedic gods; he is the one God. "Over both the perishable and the soul (atman), we are told, "the one God rules."64 In addition to the monotheistic turn of phrase, note the suggestion here of a distinction between the Lord and the atman. In another place the $U speaks of "the enjoyer, the object of enjoyment, and the Impeller"-i.e., the soul, matter, and the Lord--as separable aspects This, of course, is of the "three-fold Brahman.

37 suggestive of the theology of later southern Saivism, for which this text eventually became an important source. 66 While the appearance of these theistic elements in the scriptures of the Brahmins is an impressive indicator of changes later to come, the references do not yet point to a spirituality of bhakti. It is true that the Svetasvatara Upanisad, echoing the Katha Upanishad, speaks forcefully of divine grace 67 and, in a manner even more suggestive of later devotional practice, of trusting surrender to God.68 Yet the method of salvation thematized still remains the familiar Upanisadic gnosis, although now combined with the disciplines of yoga, which at this point are gaining greater acceptance in the Sanskrit tradition. Thus at Svetasvatara Upanisad 2.8-15 we find an interesting combination of yoga and theism that ends, significantly, with a final emphasis on knowledge. These verses present an elaborate description of yogic meditation ending with the declaration, "By knowing God (deva) who is unborn, immovable, free from all natures, one is released from all bonds."69 At Svetasvatara Upanisad 1.10 we read: "By meditating on Him, by uniting with Him, by reflecting on His true being more and more, there is finally cessation of all illusion."70 Even in this most explicitly theistic of the Upanisads, love of God as such is not mentioned at all, except in a single reference to bhakti at 6.23. This is the only occurrence of the word in any of the major Upanisads, and indeed this is

38 the first time it is used in its technical religious sense in the entire body of Vedic literature. The verse in question says only: "These matters which have been declared are manifest only to the great-souled one who has the highest devotion for God and for his spiritual teacher as for God."71 Unfortunately, this is not enough to give us a clear idea of what the author understands by bhakti. It is, moreover, somewhat disturbing that this is the very last verse of the text. Were it not for the general theistic tone of the Upanisad and its explicit doctrines of grace and surrender, we might be tempted to conclude that the verse represents a later addition. In terms of structure and function, the closest counterpart to bhakti in this stratum of the Vedic tradition is a kind of reverent meditation called upasana, literally "sitting near."72 The objects of this contemplative As exercise are certain rituals, chants, and--perhaps more important--natural phenomena and deities, which are valorized as symbols of deeper spiritual realities.73 such, they point to the underlying interconnectedness of things, to the intelligence that governs the universe, the life-energy that animates it, and ultimately to Brahman itself. The Upanisads recommend that the seeker of mystic knowledge focus his mind on these sacred symbols. find: "Meditation on the entire saman is good, Thus we "74 "Speech

39 indeed makes all this known; meditate on speech, "75 "Mediate on food as the Self."76 Examples of such injunctions could be multiplied indefinitely. In a Upasana may be understood as a discipline that was explorative and yet at the same time conservative. period of transition, it functioned as a creative mediator at the interface between the archaic, ritualistic symbology of the samhitas and brahmanas and the more philosophical vision of the Upanisads. The writers of the classical Vedanta explain that various upasanas were meant to be practiced by different persons at varying stages of life. The student, the householder, the priest, the hermit, and so on, we are told, each had their proper objects of meditation, which reflected the highest truth in varying degrees according to the interests and capacities of the individuals concerned. 77 The purpose of the discipline was constant recollection of Brahman as present in its different manifestations, with the aim, according to the interpretation of Sankara's school, of purifying the mind and preparing it gradually for the ultimate realization. Upasana is generally translated as "meditation, and with good reason. Samkara defines it in terms that remind us of the dhyana of the Yogasutras. 78 10 In the introduction to his commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad, he states: "Upasana is a continuous current of identical thoughts, unbroken by any

40 disparate cognitions, directed toward an object accepted from scripture."79 Ramanuja's understanding of the term is essentially the same: "Upasana' means steady remembrance - (dhruvanusmrti), i.e., a continuity of steady remembrance, uninterrupted like the flow of oil."80 It is not, however, to be identified as a type of yogic meditation. Several factors militate against this. First, the practice originates and develops in a ritual context in which the objects of "meditation" include religious symbols and personally conceived cosmic powers. The ambience is not the ascetic, non-theistic--or only nominally theistic--schools of Yoga. Second, while upas is frequently to be translated as "to meditate," it is in many cases more suitably rendered as "to revere," or sometimes even "to worship" or "to adore." For example: "Who is he whom we worship as the Self"; 81 "That, verily, know thou, is Brahman, not what they here adore"; 82 "Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest"; 83 "All the gods worship as the eldest the Brahman which is understanding. "84 At Maitri 4.4, a distinction between contemplative thought (cinta) and knowledge (vidya), on the one hand, and the action designated by upas, on the other, is implied: "By knowledge, by austerity, by contemplative thought . . the wise man who worships Brahman with this triad attains happiness."85 鈥�

41 It seems likely that in these instances the verb is already being used with something of the sense it carries frequently in the Bhagavad Gita, namely, that of reverence or even worship, as in the verse: "Those who, fixing their mind on Me, revere (upasate) Me. 鈥� #86 For these reasons, to translate upasana simply as "meditation" is misleading. The scope of the term seems to fall somewhere between pure meditation in the yogic sense, i.e., interior, cognitive meditation, and the love of a supreme being characteristic of bhakti. Hence the translation "reverencing," "reverent meditation," or "mental worship" is to be preferred. Upasana is a mental "sitting near"; that is to say, a meditative, but reverent approach to Brahman through a symbol prescribed by scripture. To what extent the Upanisadic Brahman could have been the object of love is a moot question. Though the texts, for the most part, describe it in impersonal terms, they also suggest that it is the ultimate referent of all desire. At Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.5, the classical text on love of, or desire for, the atman, we find the great monist Yajnavalkhya asserting that the yearning we feel for husband, wife, children, wealth, indeed all things of this world, is only a deflected form of our yearning for the Self. "Verily, he says, "it is not for the love of all that all is dear, but it is for the love of the atman that all is dear."87 Earlier in the same Upanisad we read: 11

42 鈥� That Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than all else, for it is the innermost. should meditate (upasita) on the Self alone as dear. For him who meditates (upaste) on the Self alone as dear, what he holds dear is not perishable.88 鈥� One Using the rationale reflected in these verses, Samkara interprets tadvanam, the mystic appellation of Brahman at Kena Upanishad 4.6, as "that which is desired by all living beings because it is the inner Self."89 The verse itself then translates: "Known as 'that which is desired by all, it is to be reverently meditated upon (upasitavyam) as such. "90 To the extent, therefore, that upasana was focused on Brahman itself, that is to say, to the degree that the symbol employed expressed the ultimate in its fullness as the ground of being, the true Self, and the inner controller of all, to that extent it could conceivably have approximated the love of the ultimate represented in bhakti. Ramanuja, writing from an overtly theistic perspective almost two thousand years after the time of the Upanisadic sages, taught in fact that upasana is the same thing as bhakti.91 While it is difficult to accept this interpretation as anything but an attempt, by forcing upasana to carry a greater load than it could historically bear, to give his Vaisnava devotionalism an air of Vedic sanctity, it should be remembered that Ramanja's style of bhakti was not of the fervent devotional type found in later devotional schools. A comparison, if not an identification,

43 of upasana and bhakti is not entirely inappropriate. It points to a definite parallel between the functions the two perform in their respective spiritual environments. Even in Sankara's system--where the understanding of sagunopasana as meditation on the qualified Brahman is probably closer to the original Upanisadic spirit--upasana occupies structurally and functionally the same position as does bhakti. This parallel between the two will be of importance to the discussion in the next chapter.