| The Svetasvatara
Upanishad belongs to the Taittiriya school of the Yajur Veda. Its name is
derived from the sage who taught it. (1). It is theistic in character and identifies the
Supreme Brahman with Rudra who is conceived as the material and the efficient cause
of the world, not only the author of the world but its protector and guide. The elements
associated with theism, Personal God and devotion to Him, which are to be met with
undoubtedly in the other Upanishads, become prominent in the Svetasvatara Upanishad. The emphasis is not on Brahman the
Absolute, whose complete perfection does not admit of any change or evolution but on the
personal Isvara, omniscient and omnipotent who is the manifested Brahma.
Terms which were used by the later Samkhya philosophy occur in
the Upanishad, but the dualism of the Samkhya, purusa and prakrti, is
overcome. Nature or pradhana, is not an independent entity but belongs to the self
of the Divine, devatma-sakti God is the mayin, the maker of the world which
is maya or made by him. (2).
The Upanishad teaches the unity of the souls and world in the
one Supreme Reality. The Upanishad is an attempt to reconcile the different philosophical
and religious views, which prevailed at the time of its composition.
- sveta
, pure, asva, indriyas, senses. Samkarananda :
literally, he who has a white mult. Cp. Jarad-gavah, he who has an old cow.
- Mayi srjate sarvam etat
.
Source S. Radhakrishnan : The Principal Upanishads
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