AITAREYA UPANISHAD

The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the oldest Upanishads. It belongs to the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. The Upanishad was compiled from the 33 verses of the last three chapters (4,5 and 6) of the second Aranyaka. 

The Aitareya Upanishad reflects the beliefs, practices and philosophical notions of the early Vedic period regarding soul, creation, birth and rebirth. The verses provide information about the early Vedic beliefs regarding the arrangement of a four-tier universe, creation of beings, the embodiment of the Self, the importance of food and desire in the continuation of the worlds and beings, the transmigration of souls, the nature of Self, the manifestations of Brahman as intelligence, and the idea liberation. 

First chapter

The First chapter deals with creation and describes how the worlds and beings emerged from the Self in the beginning when it was alone and desired to have company. It further states that after the worlds were created, the Brahman created the cosmic Being, Purusha, by first creating various organs. Later, he established them in the body and subjected them to hunger and thirst so that they would engage in worldly activity to seek nourishment and survive. The Self was able to do all this with the help of the energy that was generated from doing penance (tapas).

After creating the body and making it fit for life, and ensuring its survival with the help of breath and food, finally, he entered the body through an aperture in the head and became embodied in three places, the eyes, the mind, and the heart. Thus, you can see that the first chapter is entirely dedicated to how the embodied selves manifested upon earth and how the body and the soul are part of God’s design to ensure the continuity of the embodied souls upon earth.

Second chapter

The second chapter describes the triple births of humans, or how they go through the process of rebirth upon earth. The first birth happens when the Self that is destined to take birth upon earth as part of its karma enters the body of the father through food and water, and settles in his semen. The second birth takes place when he enters the mother’s womb through sexual union and becomes part of the fetus. Finally, he is born third time when emerges out of his mother’s womb after nine months and enters the mortal world.

According to the Upanishad both father and mother play an important role in the birth of a child apart from gods and destiny. Before the reincarnating soul enters the father’s body, gods and Nature facilitate its reentry into the earth from the heaven, while its birth in a family happens according to its karma. 

Third chapter

The second chapter deals with the birth of an embodied soul, whereas the third chapter deals with its departure from this world and return to the ancestral world. The souls, who are caught in the cycle of births and deaths, are subject to numerous rebirths according to their deeds until they achieve liberation. To achieve liberation one should know the nature of the Self, which is ungraspable by the senses but responsible for the function of the organs in the body.

The Self is pure intelligence, which manifests in the beings as knowledge, wisdom, discernment, desire, insight, impulse, memory, and so on. Everything in creation is guided and supported by intelligence. When one attains that supreme intelligence, which is Brahman, one attains liberation. 

Thus, in three chapters the Aitareya Upanishad describes how the Self manifests, how souls enter physical bodies and become subject to hunger and thirst, how the embodied souls continue their existence in the mortal world going through numerous births and deaths, and how in the end they become wise, cultivating discernment, and attain liberation.

BRAHMAN IS TRUE INTELLIGENCE