The Upnishads And Human Life

The Upanishads dignify human life as the greatest boon of the Almighty. As described here by the elevated sages or the rishis, every soul in the subtle body, even the angels eagerly await being born as humans. No non-human life-form (yoni) can ever attain the ultimate knowledge or the Brahmgyana; it is only in the human life that one gets this exceptional chance. That is why these vedic scriptures repeatedly stress upon us to make the best use of this unique opportunity and give us clear guidelines to attain the supreme goal of life. They show us the path of comprehensive and ever-elevating progress, eminence and joy. Indeed the quest of the jiva  (individual self) for consciousness-evolution gets a chance to be fulfilled in human-form alone by sincerely and single-mindedly following the teachings of the Upanishads.
The Upanishads reveal that a human being is potentially endowed with the faculties of discerning intelligence, wisdom, decision-making and creative talents which provide him the freedom  of action (karma) and offer him the capability of becoming the architect of his own destiny. Other forms of life are referred in the Upanishads as "bhoga yonis". In these yonis, the creature simply bears the good or bad fruits according to the absolute law of karmas (i.e., as per the accumulated rewards and/or penalties associated with the virtuous and/or sinful actions it performed whenever it was born as a human being in some earlier birth). The Upanishads define the other yonis as – "Jayaswa Mriyaswa", which means "take birth and die as per the destiny". Only the human form is referred here as "bhoga as well as karma yoni", with emphasis on the latter in terms of creating one’s destiny by the freedom  of action. The Upanishads remind us of this fact again and again and enjoin– "Manurbhav" (Awaken! Be a human!).

Being born in the gross form as a human being is easy, rather a natural outcome of our destined life form as per the stock of our karmas in the specific segments of the lifecycle of our individual self. But, living up to its dignity by inculcating humanity and transacting righteous actions is far more difficult and challenging. It requires continuous conscious refinement, zeal and sincere endeavors towards overcoming our own mental vices and debasing desires and facing the illusions, attractions and threats of external circumstances – adhering to the righteous constraints of a duty-bound life as a social being. The teachings of Upanishads are there to guide, protect and safely take us along the illumined path of consciousness-evolution.
The Upanishads describe the human body as "devapuri" and "brahmpuri" (Abode of God) which implies that divinity indwells this life-form. A human being needs to recognize this fact and endeavor to attain the ultimate fulfillment of the soul by conscious union with the Supreme Self.


Blessed Be...!