Vedas 6 - The Profound Upanishads Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Early Indian Philosophers of ancient India,
Elaborated the contents of Upanishads,
Explained and interpreted its meaning,
Elucidated its essential message,
Eulogised its profound philosophy.

Vedanta, I understood as the summary of
Vedic Texts,
Verily, the inference of essential knowledge,
Voluminous literature,
Voice of the evolved sages.

Yet, I could not fathom the meaning of Upanishads.
Even after listening to the contents of Upanishads,
Again and again, to a series of lectures on Upanishads,
Still, the meaning of what was Upanishad?
Remained a mystery! An enigmatic subject! The Upanishads!

I dug into various books on philosophy,
I was almost on the point of giving up, suddenly,
In an old Sanskrit text book,
I found its meaning!
I was thrilled and delighted to know its meaning.

When you dissect or divide the word ‘Upanishad'
It becomes - Upa + ni + shad.
‘Upa' means nearby a teacher with high knowledge
‘Ni' is near,
While ‘Shad' is to sit close to the teacher.

Decoding its meaning, ‘Upanishad' means
A student aspiring to learn the esoteric subject of Vedas,
Sits very close to the teacher,
Listening carefully,
Most attentively!

What kind of attitude should the student have?
Student should sit at the feet of teacher
With great amount of humility,
Full of love, devotion and reverence for the teacher.
Only such a spiritual aspirant can imbibe the essence of Vedas.

I was completely mesmerised by the meaning of Upanishads
Bathed in the nectar of this blissful knowledge.