Here we are with the Mundaka Upanishad of Atharva Veda. The name is interesting: Mundaka Upanishad. It is surmised that ‘muṇdaka’ comes from ‘muṇda’, and ‘muṇda’ points towards the shaven head of the Brahmins who would practice austerity, the disciples of old carrying bald heads. We have seen those images. So, that is called a muṇda. From there comes the name Mundaka.

This Upanishad throws light on the path of knowledge. We call the Upanishads as belonging to the path of knowledge, Jñānamārga, and then we say the Bhaktimārga is the mārga of love, the path of devotion is synonymous with love. One should refuse to buy that distinction. The Upanishads are overflowing with love. If love is real, it can’t be sans discrimination or knowledge. And if you really have knowledge, you would be a very loving person. It’s just that your love would not be of the type you see all around.

After reading Mundaka Upanishad one can say poets are at work here. In fact, the Upanishads several times call the Rishis as kavis, poets. Not without reason: they are bringing to words that which is very abstract, and that is what a poet does; they are giving a face to that which is very conceptual, that is what a painter does. And then, when you give it a face, obviously you also give it a name, and that becomes the name of a god. So, those gods don’t really exist. They are names of something virtuous within.

In this course we will explore following topics in-depth:

Highest acts come from highest within- We just act without ever being quite clear on why must we act at all. No action must be coincidental or random. Action must be purposeful. Action must be targeted at your inner elevation and ultimate liberation.

Consciousness and the material- We are two. Who are these two? Body and consciousness. And what do we identify with? The body, because that is a prakritik (natural) disposition, that is our default setting.

Mind and the diversity of things- What does the Rishi mean when he says He is everything? Now, all that could be potentially listed among the elements, items, objects of the worlds has been listed. The list is quite exhaustive, is it not?