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Cult of Secret Wisdom
Jul 9 2007 | Views 38 |
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The word Upanisad --as suggested by its etymology and corroborated by its synonym rahasyam--means 'secret knowledge' or 'secret wisdom'. It is secret because only the fortunate few of the age ae supposed to be its custodians. At the same time, this knowledge is considered supremely important, because it is believed to have a marvelous potency of its own.
All this gives one some idea of the distinctive peculiarity of the Upanisads. Their main theme is knowledge, but not knowledge in the ordinary sense. It is knowledge restricted to a few in the community and is moreover believed to have a mysterious power of its own.
In Vedic liteature this is something new. The traditional way of admitting this is to describe the Upanisad as a new offshoot of Vedic literature representing its 'knowledge branch' or 'jnana-kanda'. The concept of knowledge in the Upanisads acquires an altogether new and somewhat fabulous significance.But the emphasis on this knowledge must not be misunderstood. It is not what Bacon meant when he said that 'the improvement of man's mind and the the improvment of his lot are one and the same thing.' Knowledge, which is so much valued in the Upanisads is not at all intended to be a better insight into nature, serving as the basis of a deeper insight and even mastery over it. The Upanisadic knowledge is not required to be a guide to any course of action leading to some desired result. What is believed is that knowledge by itself fulfills all desires i.e. fulfils these immediately, directly and automatically.
But how are we to understand such a belief? The answer is that the belief is essentially magical. The typical Upanisadic way of expressing this magical belief is:
One who knows this reaches a full length of life, lives long, becomes great in offspring, great in cattle, great in fame.
In so far as this is a belief in magic, there is nothing new about it in the Vedic tradition. The belief is overwhelmingly obvious in the Yajurveda and Atharvaveda and assumes the most grotesque proportions in the Brahmana portion of the Vedas. As appended to the Brahmanas, the Upanisads do not outgrow the belief in magic.
But in spite of the lingering of the magical beliefs in the Upanisads, there is something strikingly new. In the earlier strata of Vedic literature, the concept of metaphysical wisdom is itself absent. Hence there is no question of viewing it as possessing magical potency.
In other words, in the early Vedic age, the belief in the potency of the magic is there. But it is the belief in the magical potency of the ritual acts.
In the Upanisads, the belief is clearly displaced. It is now the belief in the magical efficacy of secret wisdom from which this literature receives its name.
If the persistence of magical belief indicates that the Upanisadic thinkers have not fully outgrown their ancestral convictions, the displacment of the belief to secret wisdom shows the new theoretical temper of the age.
What is decisive about the Upanisads is this fetish of secret wisdom. In it is absorbed whatever still survives of the earlier ideas and attitudes.
In the altered conditions in which they live, Upanisadic thinkers find the mere stock of their ancestral convictions inadequate for their own purpose. Thus, though in a number of passages, great veneration is expressed for the ancient compilations or Samhitas, other passages in the Upanisads state in so many words that the mere knowledge of the samhitas is not enough for the new pursuit of metaphysical wisdom. An example of this is the famous story of Narada and Sanatkumara in the Chandogya Upanisad.
Narada approaches Sanatkumara and declares that the stock of knowledge he already possessed included the Rig Veda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Apparently dissatisfied with all this, he wants to be inititated into the secret wisdom of Sankatkumara. And the first thing the Upanisadic philosopher tell hims is that all these branches of knowledge--inclusive of the mere knowledge of the four ancient compilations--are 'mere names' (namam): these have no more value than a merely nominal one.
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