Upanishad Ratnavali (A Lucid Exposition of the Principal Upanishads)

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Kalanidhi Satyanarayana Murthy was born in 1936 at Kakinada, East Godavari Dist., Andha Pradesh. He received his early education at Razole, East Godavari Dist. and subsequently he did his graduation in Arts and Law in Osmania University, Hyderabad. He worked in the Law Department of the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat for forty years in various capacities. He was elevated to the rank of Secretary to Government, Law Department in the year 1991. He retired from service in June 1995.

Though his profession relates to Law, his bent of mind is towards Indian Philosophy. Sri Murthy authored 'Upanishad Ratnavali' a lucid exposition of the principal Upanishads in Telugu and it has gone into three editions in a short space of time of one year. This book is an English translation of the same by the author.

So long as this creation lasts the one thing that every person seeks is 'Bliss'. He is charged with an am- bition to attain that bliss and make it his own. There is no scope for any difference of opinion on this. But it gives rise to certain questions: What is meant by 'bliss'? How can we cross all hurdles to attain it and reach the state of bliss? What exactly is the nature and form of the bliss one wants to attain? What is the real nature of the person who wants to attain that bliss? and many more questions.

To provide satisfactory answers to these endless questions, a few intuitive thinkers came forward. A number of doctrines were propounded. A number of religions arose out of the doctrines. Debates and disputations took place. Countless treatises were written. Some said physical pleasure alone is bliss, while others rejected that theory outright.

However, detailed and comprehensive answers to all these questions are found in the Vedas. All people say with one voice that 'Veda' means knowledge. Sri Sayanacharya who wrote a commentary on Vedas said: "Every human being aspires to secure what he likes and to drive away what he dislikes to this end the treatise that suggests non-conventional solutions is Veda. But then of what use are the Vedas? - to satisfy the mundane desires by non-conventional methods like rituals? Or is there anything beyond that? On this a number of sastras or treatises arose.

Swami Vivekananda, the morning star of Indian independence and the saviour of Hinduism, addressing a meeting in Chicago said: "Five thousand years ago when Greece was not known and Rome was not thought of and the forefathers of the present day Europeans lived in jungles painting their faces blue, there was activity in this country". The first university in Europe, Bologna university was started in 13th century after the birth of Jesus Christ, where as our first university, Takshasila was started in 5th Century B.C. which means that we were in advance of the Europeans by hundreds of years. Albert Einstein, the great scientist wrote: "We are indebted to India for all scientific progress because it is they who taught us how to count and calculate without which no scientific progress could have been achieved". India invented the number system. Bhaskara and Varahamihira were pioneering astronomers. Ayurveda is the earliest system of medicine which produced Charaka, Jeevaka and Susruta. In fact India was shining in all fields of knowledge, sacred and secular.

It is universally accepted that the Vedas constitute the earliest literature of the world. They survive through the ages only through oral transmission from generation. to generation. The Vedas have one common goal, the well being of the entire world and all the creatures living in it and the uplift of the self in each one of us and its everlasting union with the Ultimate Reality. One of the most conspicuous contributions of the Vedas is their emphasis on the unity of the people. They talk at the universal level. Other religious fear to talk at universal level lest they might lose their exclusion or existence as a separate entity. Vedas shun isolationism. The Vedic assembly displayed harmony in its conduct as laid down in Rigveda. The concluding sukta of Rigveda contains a hymn which is a prayer for amity among nations: "May mankind be of one mind.... May it have a common goal, May all hearts be united in love and with the mind and goal being one, May all of us live in happiness". This is a truly international anthem.

i. Hinduism

The Hindu diaspora is now worldwide. The youth among them are displaying outstanding capabilities in science, technology, business administration, medicine and research in every field. They are now brand ambassadors of India. In spite of living in a totally different cultural milieu, they are preserving their identity. They have not snapped their religious and cultural moorings. They have constructed a number of magnificent temples worldwide where religious and cultural service is going on in the same traditional manner as in India. On top of all this, they are preserving family values. But tragically if anybody in those countries asks an Indian boy or girl, what are the basic tenets of Hinduism, they draw a blank. Still worse and worrying is that the educated Hindu youth in India also display the same ignorance about our philosophy and religion, firstly because it does not form. part of our educational curriculum and secondly because of the invasion of Western culture which has been gradually distancing our youth from their rich cultural heritage and philosophy. From what was once a spiritually oriented life style the youth are now lured into a path of sensuality. Honestly speaking, they are not to blame for this saddening scenario.