The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies (AYOS) organised a lecture entitled “A Discourse on Swetaswatara Upanisad” here on January 20 at its office in Rameswarpatna with its director Dr Indulata Das as the speaker of the topic. The meeting was presided over by eminent scholar Arun Kumar Upadhyaya. Mihir Kumar Mishra welcomed the speaker and the chairman.
Dr Das in her lecture said Upanisads are the philosophical and spiritual parts of the Vedas. The knowledge of the Upanisads liberates one from the pains and miseries of the world. “Swetaswatara Upanisad”, named after sage Swetaswatara, is a very famous book and is widely quoted by scholars in support of their views. Divided into six chapters, the book contains 113 mantras which are highly significant from yoga, Sankhya and Vedantic points of view. It deals with the nature of Brahman, process of Dhyana, Omkara, various signs of yoga Siddhis and liberation. One should drink the nectar of the Upanisads during his lifetime, she added.
Upadhyaya said the “Swetaswatara Upanisad” has been referred to by great epics like Ramayana and Bhagavata. It speaks of its importance and antiquity.