Context:
Indian Prime Minister in his state visit to the US gifted the US President Yeats’ ‘Ten Principal Upanishads’.
About Ten Principal Upanishad:
- The Ten Principal Upanishads is translated from Sanskrit by Shri Purohit Swami, a scholar of Hindu scripture, and Irish poet WB Yeats.
- The book is considered to be one of the best translations of the original late-Vedic texts that are central to modern Hinduism.
- Written in the mid-1930s, the book was a product of Yeats’ desire to create a translation which is true to the original text while still being accessible for the layperson.
Categories of Hindu scriptures:
- There are broadly two categories of Hindu sacred texts: Shruti (loosely translated as “the revealed”) and smriti (“the remembered”).
- Shruti:
- It is considered to be the most authoritative and consists of the four Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva) and accompanying texts.
- These include Brahmanas (ritual texts), Aranyakas (“forest” or “wilderness” texts), and Upanishads (philosophical texts).
- Smriti:
- This second category of Hindu scriptures is less authoritative – in many ways they are considered to be derived from the first – but more popularly known.
- These include the great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, Dharmashastras, Puranas and all other post-Vedic scriptures.
What are the Upanishads?
- The Upanishads, also known as the Vedanta – as they signal the end of the total Veda – speculate about the ontological connection between humanity and the cosmos.
- They serve as foundational texts in many traditions of Hindu theology and have hence attracted far more attention than the Vedas themselves.
- Dated to roughly 800-500 BC, the Upanishads discuss concepts such as transmigration, which have today become central to Hindu tradition.
- The Upanishads were given particular importance in Hindu theology by eighth century scholar Adi Shankara, whose interpretations synthesised the Advaita Vedanta tradition.
- Much of the Upanishads are concerned with the relationship between the atman, or the distinct, unchanging self of an individual, and the brahman, the ultimate reality in the universe.
- Ten main (or principal) Upanishads:
- Esha
- Kena
- Katha
- Prashna
- Mundaka
- Mandukya
- Taittiriya
- Aitareya
- Chandogya
- Brihadaranyaka
Who was WB Yeats?
- William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) is one of the most influential figures in modern English literature.
- Some of his poetry provided insightful political and social commentary, other poems were more esoteric.
- Yeats wrote three poems (published in 1889) that referred to India: ‘The Indian to his Love’, ‘The Indian upon God’, and ‘Anushuya and Vijaya’.
- Yeats wrote an introduction to Tagore’s Nobel prize-winning collection of poems- Gitanjali.
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News Source: Indian Express
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June 24, 2023