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Note on the Texts
Note on the Texts
KENA AND OTHER UPANISHADS comprises Sri Aurobindo’s translations of and commentaries on Upanishads other than the Isha Upanishad, as well as translations of later Vedantic texts, and writings on the Upanishads and Vedanta philosophy in general. Translations of and commentaries on the Isha Upanishad are published in Isha Upanishad, volume 17 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. Sri Aurobindo’s work on the Upanishads occupied more than twenty years, from around 1900 until the early 1920s. (One translation was revised some twenty-five years after that.) Between 1914 and 1920, he published translations of the Isha, the Kena and the Mundaka Upanishads, along with commentaries on the Isha and the Kena, in the monthly review Arya. These, along with the translation of the Katha Upanishad, which was published in 1909 and subsequently revised, may be said to represent his Upanishadic interpretation in its most definitive form. His other translations and commentaries were not published during his lifetime. Most of them belong to an earlier period and only a few are complete. Some were used in producing the final translations and commentaries published in Part One. They are of interest as steps in the development of his thought, as well as for their own inherent value. In the present volume, the editors have placed material published during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime in Part One, and material found among his manuscripts in Parts Two and Three. The Sanskrit texts have been included for the convenience of Sanskrit-knowing readers.
PART ONE: TRANSLATIONS AND COMMENTARIES PUBLISHED BY SRI AUROBINDO
This part contains the final versions of Sri Aurobindo’s translations of three Upanishads, the Kena, Katha and Mundaka, and commentaries on the Kena and parts of the Taittiriya.
Page – 439 The Kena Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo first translated the Kena Upanishad in Baroda around 1900. (This translation forms part of a typewritten manuscript, hereafter referred to as TMS, which Sri Aurobindo entitled “The Upanishads rendered into simple and rhythmic English”.) The TMS translation of the Kena was lightly revised and published in the weekly review Karmayogin in June 1909. In 1920 the Karmayogin translation was reproduced in The Seven Upanishads, published by Ashtekar & Co., Poona. (Only three of the seven translations in this book were by Sri Aurobindo: Isha, Kena and Mundaka.) Between 1912 and 1914, Sri Aurobindo began three commentaries on and one annotated translation of the Kena. All of these pieces were left incomplete. They are published in Part Two, Section Four. Between June 1915 and July 1916, Sri Aurobindo published a new translation of the Kena Upanishad and a fifteen-chapter commentary on it in the Arya. He wrote each of the instalments immediately before its publication. Sometime between 1916 and 1920, he lightly revised the Arya translation and commentary. Their publication in book-form was planned, and production was actually begun in the summer of 1920; but the proposed book was never issued. Questioned about the possibility of publishing Kena Upanishad in December 1927, Sri Aurobindo wrote: “My present intention is not to publish it as it stands. This must be postponed for the present.” He never found time to return to this work. When the publication of Sri Aurobindo’s Upanishadic translations and commentaries was undertaken after his passing, the existence of the revised versions of his translation of and commentary on the Kena Upanishad was not known. The unrevised Arya versions were published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram as Kena Upanishad in 1952, and included in the same publisher’s Eight Upanishads in 1953. The revised translation (but unrevised commentary) first appeared in the second edition of Kena Upanishad in 1970. The same texts were reproduced in The Upanishads: Texts, Translations and Commentaries, volume 12 of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, in 1971. The revised commentary first appeared in The Upanishads: Part One, published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1981. The Arya text of the commentary had no chapter-titles. While revising the work, Sri Aurobindo gave titles to all the chapters except
Page – 440 8, 9 and 12. In the present edition, the editors have provided titles for these three chapters. The Katha Upanishad of the Black Yajurveda. Sri Aurobindo first translated this Upanishad in Baroda around 1900; it forms part of TMS. He later said that he had tried “to convey the literary merit of the original”. The translation, slightly revised, was published in the Karmayogin in July and August 1909. The Karmayogin translation was published as The Katha Upanishad by Ashtekar & Co., Poona, in 1919. Sometime during the early part of his stay in Pondicherry (1910 20), Sri Aurobindo began a more extensive revision of TMS, but reached only the end of the First Cycle. When it was proposed to bring out the translation in a book during the late 1920s, he replied that he did not have the time to make the necessary revisions. A new edition of Katha Upanishad was published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1952. In that edition, in Eight Upanishads (1953), and in The Upanishads (1971), the partially revised TMS version was used as text, with some editorial modernisation of the language. The Karmayogin version, containing the last revision of the Second Cycle, was disregarded. In the present volume, the revised TMS is followed for the First Cycle, and the Karmayogin text for the Second. Mundaka Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo first translated this Upanishad in Baroda around 1900; it forms part of TMS. A revised version of the translation was published in the Karmayogin in February 1910. (This revised translation was included in The Seven Upanishads.) A further revised translation was published in the Arya in the issue of November / December 1920. Sri Aurobindo thoroughly revised the Arya translation during the late 1940s. This version was used when the translation was published in Eight Upanishads in 1953 and in The Upanishads in 1971. Readings in the Taittiriya Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo translated the Taittiriya Upanishad in Baroda around 1902 (see below), but never revised it for publication. He wrote “The Knowledge of Brahman: Readings in the Taittiriya Upanishad” in 1918 for publication in the Arya. It appeared in the November 1918 issue of the review. “Truth, Knowledge, Infinity” was apparently intended for a later issue, but it was never completed and not published during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime. Its first appearance in a book was in the 1981 edition of The Upanishads.
Page – 441 PART TWO: TRANSLATIONS AND COMMENTARIES FROM MANUSCRIPTS
The texts in this part were not published during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime. Several of the translations and all the commentaries are incomplete. They have been arranged in five sections, the first comprising an introductory essay.
Section One. Introduction
On Translating the Upanishads. Editorial title. Sri Aurobindo wrote this text in Baroda around 1900 1902 under the heading “OM TAT SAT”. He evidently intended it to be the introduction to a collection of his translations, probably “The Upanishads rendered into simple and rhythmic English”. It was first published in a book as the introduction to Eight Upanishads in 1953, and was included in The Upanishads in 1971 and subsequently.
Section Two. Complete Translations (circa 1900 1902)
“The Upanishads rendered into simple and rhythmic English”. This is the title page of the typewritten manuscript (TMS), which dates from around the turn of the century. Two of the six translations in the manuscript—those of the Prashna (“Prusna”) and Mandukya (“Mandoukya”) Upanishads—were never revised or published by Sri Aurobindo. These two are published here in their original form. The Prusna Upanishad of the Athurvaveda. Circa 1900. From TMS. The translation was published in Eight Upanishads in 1953 and was included in The Upanishads in 1971. The Mandoukya Upanishad. Circa 1900. From TMS. The translation was first published in Eight Upanishads in 1953 and was included in The Upanishads in 1971. The Aitereya Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo translated this Upanishad in Baroda around 1902. (It does not form part of TMS.) The translation was never revised and is published here in its original form. It was first published in Eight Upanishads in 1953 and was included in The Upanishads in 1971.
Page – 442 Taittiriya Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo translated this Upanishad in Baroda around 1902. (It does not form part of TMS.) It was never revised and is published here in its original form. It was first published in Eight Upanishads in 1953 and was included in The Upanishads in 1971.
Section Three. Incomplete Translations and Commentaries (circa 1902 1912)
Svetasvatara Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo translated the fourth to sixth chapters of this Upanishad sometime during the first decade of the century. (It is not known whether he ever translated the first three chapters.) Judging by the notebook and handwriting, it would appear that he did the translation during the period of his stay in Baroda; yet he is recorded as saying, “I translated the Shwetashwatara Upanishad while I was in Bengal.” It is possible that he did the translation in Bengal during one of his vacations from Baroda College between 1902 and 1906. He retranslated the fourth chapter in Pondicherry several years later. The early translation of chapters 4 to 6 was first published in the 1971 edition of The Upanishads. The revised version of the fourth chapter first appeared in the 1981 edition. Chhandogya Upanishad. Around 1902 Sri Aurobindo translated the first two sections and part of the third section of the first chapter of this Upanishad in the margins of his copy of The Chhandogya Upanishad (Madras, 1899). He later recopied and revised the first two sections in the notebook he used for his translations of the Aitareya and Taittiriya. The editors have reproduced the recopied translation for sections 1 2, and fallen back on the marginal translation for section 3, verses 1 7. The translation of the first two sections was first published in The Upanishads in 1971; the translation of the opening of section 3 first appeared in 1986 in the second impression of the second edition of that book. Notes on the Chhandogya Upanishad. Circa 1912. Sri Aurobindo wrote these two passages of commentary separately in Pondicherry. The first is entitled in the manuscript “Notes on the Chhandogya Upanishad / First Adhyaya” (but only the first sentence is treated). Part of the first page was included in The Upanishads in 1971; the full text was published in the 1981 edition. The second commentary,
Page – 443 also incomplete, is entitled in the manuscript “Vedic Interpretations / Satyakama Jabala”. In most editions of the Chhandogya Upanishad, the story of Satyakama Jabala occupies sections 4 9 of the fourth chapter, not sections 3 8 as in the edition Sri Aurobindo used. The commentary was first published in the 1981 edition of The Upanishads. The Brihad Aranyak Upanishad. Around 1912 Sri Aurobindo translated the first two sections and part of the third section of the first chapter of this Upanishad in the margins of his copy of the text (Poona: Ananda Ashram, 1902). This marginal translation was first reproduced in the 1981 edition of The Upanishads. The Great Aranyaka. Circa 1912. Shortly after writing the above translation, Sri Aurobindo began a commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that he entitled “The Great Aranyaka / A Commentary on the Brihad Aranyak Upanishad”. This was not completed even to the extent of what had been translated. The commentary was included in The Upanishads in 1971. The Kaivalya Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo wrote this translation and commentary, which cover only the first verse of the Upanishad, in Pondicherry around 1912. It was first published in The Upanishads in 1971. The commentary in English is followed by a commentary in Sanskrit, which is published in Writings in Bengali and Sanskrit, volume 9 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO. Nila Rudra Upanishad. Sri Aurobindo translated the first of the three parts of this Upanishad, with a commentary on the first five verses, in Pondicherry around 1912. It was first published in The Upanishads in 1971.
Section Four. Incomplete Commentaries on the Kena Upanishad (circa 1912 1914)
Kena Upanishad: An Incomplete Commentary. Circa 1912. Editorial subtitle. Sri Aurobindo wrote only the “foreword” and portions of one “part” of this planned commentary before abandoning it. It was first published in The Upanishads in 1971. A Commentary on the Kena Upanishad: Foreword. Circa 1912. This fragmentary work appears to be a rewriting of the foreword of the
Page – 444 preceding incomplete commentary. The manuscript has been damaged and one entire line is missing. This piece is being published here for the first time in a book. Three Fragments of Commentary. Circa 1912 13. Sri Aurobindo wrote these three untitled fragments on sheets used otherwise for linguistic notes, undated entries for the Record of Yoga and the essay “The Origin of Genius”. They are being published here for the first time in a book. Kena Upanishad: A Partial Translation with Notes. Editorial subtitle. Sri Aurobindo wrote this on 23 May 1914. The Record of Yoga for that day states: “Kena Upanishad I Kh [Khanda] translated with notes”. It is being published here for the first time.
Section Five. Incomplete Translations of Two Vedantic Texts (circa 1900 1902)
The Karikas of Gaudapada. Editorial title. Circa 1900. This classic Vedantic text was written by Gaudapada in or around the eighth century. Sri Aurobindo translated only the first twelve verses, along with Shankaracharya’s commentary on them. The words italicised in his translation were supplied by him to make the meaning of the Sanskrit more clear. It was first published in The Upanishads in 1971. Sadananda’s Essence of Vedanta. Circa 1902. The Vedantasara or “Essence of Vedanta” was written by Sadananda in the fifteenth century. Sri Aurobindo translated only the first sixteen of the work’s 227 aphorisms. The incomplete translation was first published in The Upanishads in 1971.
PART THREE: WRITINGS ON VEDANTA
These pieces found among Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts were not completed or published by him. Written at various times from around 1902 to 1916, they have been arranged chronologically from earlier to later. With the exception of The Philosophy of the Upanishads, the writings in this part are being published here for the first time in a book. Most of them previously appeared in the journal Sri Aurobindo: Archives and Research between 1978 and 1984.
Page – 445 Four Fragments. Circa 1902 4. These jottings are among Sri Aurobindo’s earliest independent philosophical writings. Before revision, the last sentence of the final fragment ended: “. . . the purer form in which Vedanta, Sankhya & Yoga are harmonised”. This final fragment is being published here for the first time, the other three for the first time in a book. The Spirit of Hinduism: God. Circa 1903 4. This piece opens with the first words of the Mandukya Upanishad. The Philosophy of the Upanishads. Circa 1904 6. Sri Aurobindo wrote this piece during the latter part of his stay in Baroda. (He seems to have left the manuscript in western India when he came to Bengal in February 1906.) After completing six chapters and part of a seventh, he broke off work and never took it up again. The second to the seventh chapters of this work were included in The Upanishads in 1971, where they were numbered from one to six. The full text was published as a book in 1994. The present text has been checked carefully against the manuscript, which unfortunately lacks its first two pages. For those pages the editors have relied on a typewritten transcript that was made before the pages were lost. The transcript contains several blanks, which occur in such a way as to suggest that the outer edge of the missing leaf of the manuscript was broken off. Making use of the indications found in the transcript, the editors have filled in the blanks with conjectural reconstructions; these have been printed within square brackets if they admitted of any doubt. An Incomplete Work of Vedantic Exegesis. Circa 1906 8. Editorial title. This piece seems to have been written during the same period as “The Karmayogin: A Commentary on the Isha Upanishad”, an extensive work published in Isha Upanishad, volume 17 of THE COMPLETE WORKS. It is quite incomplete. Not all the projected chapters were finished, and some of the completed chapters contain unfinished passages. Sri Aurobindo wrote the following outline at the end of the notebook:
II. God Turiya Brahman. Swayambhu. Prajna. Kavih.
Page – 446 Sacchidananda. The Sakshi. Isha in contemplation. Maheshwara. Ananda. The Seed State. Sleep. Hiranyagarbha. Manishi The Will in Buddhi God Manifold. The Saguna Brahman. The Qualities of God. The Dream State. Virat. Paribhu The Almighty. Mahat. The Self in creatures. God in Man (Avatars.) The Self in Nature. Images God as Fate God as Providence Worship (Prayer & Praise) Purusha & Prakritih. III. Vidya & Avidya Salvation. Escape from Avidya. Knowledge, Love & Works. Nirguna & Saguna Brahman. Self-realisation in Virat. States of moksha (Hir[anyagarbha]). Laya (Prajna). Yoga. IV. I The Law of Karma. Sin & Virtue. Heaven & Hell. Salvation by Works V. Ethics of Vedanta.
The Religion of Vedanta. 1906 8. An earlier draft of this fragment is published in the Reference Volume, volume 35 of THE COMPLETE WORKS. That draft continues slightly beyond the point where this version stops. After work on the present draft was broken off, Sri Aurobindo wrote the following, apparently a chapter-outline for a planned work:
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It would appear that the proposed work was to be based on the Isha Upanishad, which has eighteen verses. Evolution in the Vedantic View. Circa 1912. Editorial title. It is evident from the first sentence that the piece was written as part of a larger work, which either was not completed or has not survived. The Means of Realisation. Circa 1912. The actual heading in the manuscript is “Chapter XI / The Means of Realisation”. The ten chapters that presumably preceded this one have not been found or identified. A Fragmentary Chapter for a Work on Vedanta. Circa 1912 13. Editorial title. The manuscript of this piece is badly damaged in places. The opening lines are lost, as are a number of words and parts of sentences written near the edges and especially at the tops and bottoms of the pages. God and Immortality. Circa 1916. This incomplete chapter is all that was written of a proposed book.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Sri Aurobindo published translations of the Kena, Katha and Mundaka Upanishads in the Karmayogin, a weekly journal of political opinion, during the years 1909 and 1910. Between 1914 and 1920 he published revised or new translations of the Kena and Mundaka, and commentaries on all of the Kena and parts of the Taittiriya in the Arya, a monthly review of philosophy. He revised most of these works with a view to publishing them in books, but never did so. The unrevised Karmayogin translation of the Katha Upanishad was reprinted by Ashtekar & Co., Poona, in 1919; the unrevised Karmayogin translations of the Isha, Kena and Mundaka were included in the same publisher’s Seven Upanishads in 1920. It is uncertain whether or not Sri Aurobindo authorised these publications. The pieces published in Parts Two and Three of the present volume
Page – 448 were found among Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts after his passing in 1950. Many of them were first published in journals connected with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. In 1953 Sri Aurobindo’s published translations of the Isha, Kena, Katha and Mundaka Upanishads and his unpublished translations of the Prashna, Mandukya, Aitareya and Taittiriya were brought out by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram as Eight Upanishads. In 1971 all these translations, the Arya commentaries on the Isha and Kena, the first of the “Readings in the Taittiriya Upanishad”, and a number of pieces from the author’s notebooks, were published in The Upanishads, volume 12 of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library. This book was reprinted several times. In 1981 most of the contents of the volume were rearranged and republished under the title The Upanishads: Part One. Several pieces that had appeared in the 1971 edition were removed from the 1981 edition with the intention of including them, along with other, recently discovered pieces, in a proposed second volume; but this was never brought out. The 1981 edition was reprinted in 1986 (when the translation of Chapter One, Section 3 of the Chhandogya Upanishad was included) and subsequently. The present edition is the first to appear under the title Kena and Other Upanishads. In it, two pieces are published for the first time: “Kena Upanishad: A Partial Translation with Notes” and the last of the “Four Fragments” in Part Three. Several other pieces in Parts Two and Three have previously appeared only in the journal Sri Aurobindo: Archives and Research and are included here for the first time in a book.
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