Uparati, is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word and it literally means "cessation, quietism, stopping worldly action". It is an important concept in Advaita Vedanta pursuit of

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...

and refers to the ability to achieve "dispassion",Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, , pages 105-108 and "discontinuation of religious ceremonies".George Thibaut, , Oxford University Press, Editor: Max Muller, page 12 with footnote 1 According to

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

Uparati or Uparama is the strict observance of one’s own

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

. ''Sama'' is the restraining of the outgoing mental propensities i.e. the curbing of the mind from all objects other than hearing etc., and ''Dama'' is the restraining of the external sense-organs from all objects other than that. Uparati is ''Pratyahara'', the withdrawing of the Self ( Vedantasara

Slokas Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...

18-20). These essentials along with ''

Titiksha ''Titiksha'' or ''titikṣā'' (Sanskrit: तितिक्षा 'forbearance') is defined by the ''Uddhava Gita'' as the "patient endurance of suffering." In Vedanta philosophy it is the bearing with indifference all opposites such as pleasure ...

'' i.e. endurance of pairs of opposites, '' Samadhana'' i.e. constant concentration of the mind,

Śraddhā Śraddhā ( sa, श्रद्धा) is often glossed in English as ''faith''. ''Āsthā'' is used for faith, religious beliefs and God. The term figures importantly in the literature, teachings, and discourse of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism ...

i.e. faith in the truths of

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

, which are the six-fold inner-wealth prepare one eager for liberation to gain the knowledge of

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 ...

. Effort is involved in inculcating Sama and Dama but the exercise of Uparati requires no efforts. In the state of Uparati, which is total renunciation of actions i.e. enjoined duties, one discovers an inner poise, silence or joy. The mind which is conditioned to fulfil duties is not free to pursue knowledge. It is through renunciation that a few seekers have attained immortality – not through rituals, progeny or wealth – "na karmana na prajya dhanena tyagenaike amrtatvamamasuh" – ''Kaivalya Upanishad'', 3. Immortality is the state when becoming and being are one. Whereas the fruit of

Vairagya Vairāgya (वैराग्य) is a Sanskrit term used in Hindu as well as Eastern philosophy that roughly translates as dispassion, detachment, or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and pleasures in the temporary materi ...

is ''Bodha'' i.e. spiritual wisdom, the fruit of ''Bodha'' is ''Uparati''. The best Uparati (self-withdrawal) is that condition of the thought waves in which they are free from influences of external objects (

Vivekachudamani The ''Vivekachudamani'' (; IAST: ) is an introductory treatise within the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism, traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara of the eighth century, though this attribution has been questioned and mostly rejected by ...

23). Uparati is the abstaining on principle from engaging in any acts and ceremonies enjoined by the

Shastra ''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...

s; otherwise, it is the state of the mind which is always engaged in ''Sravana'' and the rest, without ever diverging from them.

References

{{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed Vedanta Hindu philosophical concepts