Madhu-vidya is described in the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Br ...
II.v.1-19, and in the
Chandogya Upanishad III 1-5. ''Madhu-vidya'' or 'Honey-knowledge' is that of the supreme Bliss of the Self; it is an important
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
teaching. This knowledge is meant to be communicated by the teacher to the disciple, by father to the son – who is worthy and inwardly ready.
Indra taught ''Madhu-vidya'' to Rishi
Dadhichi
Dadhichi (), also rendered Dadhyanga and Dadhyancha, is a sage in Hinduism. He is best known for his sacrifice in the Puranas, where he gives up his life so that his bones could be used to manufacture the Vajra, the diamond-like celestial thun ...
with a warning that it should not be communicated to anyone else.
Vedic background
In the
Rig Veda,
Soma
Soma may refer to:
Businesses and brands
* SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects
* Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems
* SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
, the Vedic symbol for deep spiritual truth, is addressed as ''Madhu'', the nector or ambrosia, the drink of Immortality sought by both gods and men. Rishi
Vamadeva In Hinduism, Vamadeva ( sa, वामदेव) is the preserving aspect of the God Shiva, one of six aspects of the universe he embodies, as well as the name of an ancient rishi. On a five-faced Shivalingam, Vamadeva appears on the right hand side. ...
has described how the saving of the knowledge of ''Madhu'' or ''Soma'' Doctrine came to him through a hawk in a sudden flash in his darkest hour.
It is believed that Rishi Dadhichi had his ''ashrama'' in Dudheshwara on the banks of
Sabarmati River near present-day
Ahmedabad. His name appears in the
Rig Veda. Dadhichi was a sage of Vedic repute (Rig Veda I.84.13: इन्द्रो दधीचो अस्थ भिर्वृत्राण्यप्रतिष्कुतः, जघान नवतीर्नव , , ). He was the son of Rishi
Atharvan
Atharvan ( '; an ''n''-stem with nominative singular ') is a legendary Vedic sage (rishi) of Hinduism, who along with Angiras, is supposed to have authored (" heard") the Atharvaveda. He is also said to have first instituted the fire-sacrif ...
of the
Atharvaveda, and the father of
Pippalada
Pippalada () is a sage and philosopher in Hindu tradition.
He is best known for being attributed the authorship of the Prashna Upanishad, which is among the ten Mukhya Upanishads. He is believed to have founded the Pippalada school of thought, ...
of the
Prasna Upanishad
The Prashnopanishad ( sa, प्रश्नोपनिषद्, ) is an ancient Sanskrit text, embedded inside Atharva Veda, ascribed to ''Pippalada'' sakha of Vedic scholars. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad, and is listed as number 4 in ...
. His name is seen to occur in the first Mandala of the Rig Veda, and in the
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...
. Rishi Kakshivana, the sage of the
Rig Veda Sukta 119 which is addressed to the
Ashvins
The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthful div ...
, in
Mantra
A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...
9 tells us :
:उत स्या वां मधुमन्मक्षिकारपन्मदे सोमरयौशिजा हुवन्यति ,
:युवं दधीचो मन आ विवास्थोऽथा शिरः प्रति वामश्व्यं वदत् , ,
:"The bee desirous of honey sang praise-song for you. Aushij in delight of Soma tells how Dadhichi, told you the secret of his mind after the head of his horse was cured."
Dadhichi's exposition
Dadhichi knew the secret of the ''Madhu-vidya''; he held the doctrine of the mutual interdependence of things, because all things are indissolubly connected in and through the Self. As all the spokes are contained between the axle and felly of a wheel, all things and all selves are connected in and through the Supreme Self. Nothing exists that is not covered by the Supreme Self. Thus, he taught the doctrine of the supreme existence of the one, and the apparent existence of the many. Dadhichi states that the sun is surely the honey of the gods. Of it, heaven is surely the bent bamboo. The intermediate-space is the hive. The rays are the off-springs. Of that sun, those which are the eastern rays, they themselves are its eastern cells. The ''Rk-mantras'' are verily the bees. The Rig Veda is indeed the flower. Those waters are the nectars. They, which are verily these ''Rk-mantras'' – heated up this Rig Veda. From that which was heated up issued the juice in the form of fame, lustre, vigours of organs, strength, and eatable food. It flowed profusely and settled on a side of the sun. That verily is this, which is the red appearance (aspect) of the sun. Thus, he begins narrating the scheme of colours – red, white and black which are the different colours of the sun, and concludes that the Vedas indeed are the nectars.`
Significance
''Madhu-vidya'' occupies a unique place in the Upanishadic scheme of ''
upasana
Upasana (Sanskrit: उपासना ') literally means "worship" and "sitting near, attend to". The term also refers to one of three ' (, parts) of Vedas, one that focuses on worship. The other two parts of Vedas are called Aranyakas and Upanish ...
'', due to its supremely hidden significance and peculiarly mystic presentation. Chandogya Upanishad takes the Sun as the main symbol and works out the ''vidya'' thereon; Brihadaranyaka Upanishad depicts a long series of cause and effect, showing their mutual interdependence and finally leads to the Atman which is shown to be the supreme source of everything else.
Sankara takes ''madhu'' to mean effect, and he also accepts the primary sense of delight. The effects that flow are not mere imaginary things but are actualities that become visualised; every effect takes shape in a particular form or colour which signifies its concretisation and completion but the essence or the honey has no particular form or colour because it happens to be beyond all manifestations; it is recognized by the heaving at the centre of the Sun. Chandogya Upanishad concludes by saying that, to him, who gains this knowledge, there dawns the eternal day. In the case of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the search for the essence begins with the earth, the essence of all ''bhutas'' or creatures, the effects of the earth and essence are identical. All physical, moral and psychical principles make up man who in turn produces these principles, beyond man is the composite self of body, mind etc., the producer of all this – this
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
is the
Atman, the very self of the seeker; nothing exists apart from it, everything is of the nature of everything.
Implication
''Madhu-vidya'' establishes the following five truths:-
:1) The correspondence and interrelationships between the elements of the external world and the individual beings are analogous to those existing between the honey and the bees.
:2) There is only one supreme god and that is
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
. All the divine powers witnessed in the macrocosm (the external world) and the microcosm (the individual being), are but his manifestations. Brahman behind the cosmic universe is same as the
Atman underlying the individual self.
:3) Brahman exists within each and every element of the external universe and also within the individual beings as their essence (''
Dharma'' or law). He is immanent through and through. The idea of transcendent God separate from the external universe and the individual is rejected.
:4) The eternal laws governing the union of the two fundamental principles – ''Annam'' ('matter') and the ''
prana'' ('life-breath') – and the interaction between the elements of the macrocosm and the microcosm and the evolutions from these interactions and unions are also Brahman.
:5) Brahman is an integral whole and unity like a wheel; in Brahman are held together all the elements of the external universe, all worlds, all divinities and all breathing creatures.
Chandogya Upanishad (III.i.1) begins teaching ''Madhu Vidya'' by stating – The Sun is verily honey to the
Devas
Devas may refer to:
* Devas Club, a club in south London
* Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter
* Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist
* Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club
* Devas (band), ...
(''
Vasu
The Vasus () refers to a group of deities in Hinduism associated with fire and light. They are described to be the attendant deities of Indra, and later Vishnu. Generally numbering eight and classified as the Ashtavasu, they are described in the R ...
s'', ''
Rudras
Rudras refer to the forms of the god Rudra, whose traditions have since been associated with Shiva. They make up eleven of the thirty-three gods in the Vedic pantheon.Hopkins pp. 172-3 They are at times identified with the storm deities referred ...
'', ''
Aditya
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a ...
s'', ''
Maruts
In Hinduism, the Maruts (; sa, मरुत), also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Prisni. The number of Maruts varies from 27 to sixty (three times sixty in RV 8.96.8). T ...
'' and ''Sadhyas''), the Heaven is like the cross-beam, the intermediate region is the beehive; and the rays are the sons. But, this
vidya does not teach meditation on ''Devas'' but on Brahman who is also known by the names ''Devas'' are known; it is a Brahma-vidya.
The bondage that is experienced as individuals is due to the emphasis on individuality rather than the task, and independently on the cause which is organically connected by the same Atman that is present in both; the essence of the ''Madhu-vidya'' is the cosmic contemplation of the reality of ''
Prana'' within and ''
Vayu
Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...
'' outside, and the correlation with the Universal Consciousness.
Tantra sadhana
Transformation of ''
Jiva
''Jiva'' ( sa, जीव, IAST: ) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to breathe' or 'to live'. The ''jiva'', a ...
'' into
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
is the goal of ''Tantra sadhana''; ''Jiva'' is Shiva in the state of bondage due to ''
samskaras'' whose increase must be halted for attaining release. When a ''sadhaka'' takes initiation he learns the art of stopping further increase of ''samskaras''. This art is known as ''Madhu-vidya'' whose practice burns the seed of ''samskaras'' and paves the path for liberation.
References
{{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed
Vedas
Hindu philosophical concepts
Vedanta
Upanishads