The Essence of Spiritual Development as Taught by

The Upanisads and the Buddha –A Comparative Study

Prof. P. L. DharI.I.T. Delhi

Comparison based on “Theory”

• Varied interpretations of Upanisads & Buddha’s Teachings

• They are the same--highlighting the similarities : law of karma, rebirth, transitory nature of individual existence

• There are irreconcilable differences: GOD, Atman, Nature of world, Enlightened Being after death etc.

• Not of much importance from a “practical” point of view

The Upanisadic Path

• Cause of Suffering : “avidyadosena vidyamanasya atmanah tiraskaranat” ---Sankaracharya – denial of everpresent Atman through spiritual

blindness• Spiritual development: realizing that we are

not the body-mind complex but the eternal Atman

• How to do so ?

The Upanisadic Path

• (b) Satyena labhyastapasa hyesa atmaSamyagjnanena brahmacaryena nityam;

• Antah sarire jyotirmayo hi subhro Yam pasyantiyatayah ksinadosah – Mundudaka Upanisad(III.1.5)

• This Atman can be realized by the constant practice of truth, self-control, true knowledge andchastity. The self controlled ones, freed from sin,realize Him, the luminous and the pure One, within their own being.

The Upanisadic Path

• (d) Drsyate tvgryaya buddhya suksmayasuksmadarsibhih – Katha Upanisad (III.12)– “The Atman is certainly realized by the

one-pointed minds of those who arecapable of seeing subtle truths, by mindswhich have been trained to grasp subtlerand subtler facts.”

The Upanisadic Path• (g) Yacchet vak manasi prajnah, tat yacchet

jnana atmani; Jananam atmani mahatimyacchet, tat yacchet santa atmani – (KathaUp III. 13)

• “Let the wise man merge the speech in the manas, and the manas in the buddhi; let him merge the buddhi in the great self (mahat), and that great self, again, in the Self ofpeace (the Atman or Purusa)

• Consolidation by Patanjali , Bhagwad Gita

The Upanisadic Path:Patanjali’s Yoga

• 1. Yama (i.e. abstention from injury (ahimsa),untruth (satya), stealing (asteya), incontinence(abrahmacarya) and acquisitiveness (aparigraha)

• 2. Niyama (observances like cleanliness (sauca), contentment (santusa), austerity (tapah), self-study (swadhyaya) and surrender to God(iswarpranidhana)

• 3. Asana (posture)• 4. Pranayama (regulation of breath)

The Upanisadic Path:Patanjali’s Yoga

5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses from

their respective objects)

6. Dharana (contemplation)

7. Dhyana (one-pointed attention)

8. Samadhi (absorption/concentration)

The Upanisadic Path

• Object of Meditation : Numerous suggestions , visualization, verbalization, mystic syllable OM

• Bhagwad Gita– Yukta asita matparah :“the thought of God” ; atmasamstham manah kritwa, i.e. mind firmly fixed on the Self

• Deep Absorption leads to purification of mind and eventually to merger with “Self”

• Cause of suffering : Avidya or ignorance• Avidya: ignorance giving rise to tanha due to

instinctive reactions to the bodily feelings, the sensations , which are mostly below the threshold of our normal awareness

• Tanha makes the mind impure which leads to suffering

• Complete eradication of tanha by following the Noble Eight-fold Path

The Buddha’s Path

• The Practice of Eightfold Noble Path• Sila : samma vaca , samma kammanta,

samma ajivo• Samadhi : samma vayamo , samma sati

, samma samadhi – emphasis of samma sati : fourfold => kaya..,

vedana.., citta..., dhamma….anupassana• Pannya: samma sankappo, samma dithi

The Buddha’s Path

• Samma dithi is the Liberating insight yam kinci vedyati dukkhasmim

• This can arise only though practice of samma sati --especially the non-reactive observation of the sensations yatha bhuta-nana-darsanam

• This leads to purification of the mind by slowly changing our deep rooted habit pattern of instinctual response to sensations and eradicating tanha

The Buddha’s Path

• Two types of Meditation : . samatha-bhavana and vipassana-bhavana : (Development of ) Tranquility and Insight

• Samatha :Tranquility due to increased concentration : 40 objects of meditation including one’s own respiration (Anapana)– doesn’t lead to complete extinction of suffering

since some anusaya kilesa buried in deep unconscious mind , do not get eradicated

The Buddha’s Path

• Vipassana, or insight meditation also begins with concentration exercises…….but after mind is relatively free from distractions we begin to examine with full awareness all that is happening in the body-mind complex ,which thereby reveal their basiccharacteristics of impermanence (anicca)and impersonality (anatta).

• Detailed Instruction in Mahasatipatthana suttam

The Buddha’s Path

• Complete purification of the mind prepares the ground for the final leap into Nibbana , the transcendental Reality

• This naturally leads to transmutation of the consciousness as old habit patterns are extinguished completely, without any residue.

• Pure mind has innate characteristics of metta, karuna, mudita and uppekkha

The Buddha’s Path

Comparative Analysis• Similar preparatory steps : yama panc-sila• Need for calming and gaining mastery over the

mind to become Avrattcaksuh • Suggest different objects to increase the

concentration power of the mind • Final step :

– Upanisadic : meditation on “self” , OM– The Buddha : satipatthana leads to Nibbana

• The main distinction : no observation of somatic sensations/feelings in Upanisadic path

Concluding Remarks

• The essence of spiritual development : Purification of the mind

• Final steps differ …… but not contradictory ,any one can verify the claims !!

• “Practical” result of the practice : metta , karuna, mudita , upekkha

• Any path leading to such qualities should bewelcome!!

Thank you !!

Bhavatu sabba Mangalam!