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Upasana (Sanskrit: उपासनाupāsanā) literally means "worship" and "sitting near, attend to".[1] It refers to the worship of, or meditation on, formless things, such as Absolute Self, the Holy, theAtman (Soul) Principle,[2] distinguishing meditative reverence for an internalized and intellectual concept from earlier forms of physical worship, actual sacrifices and offerings to Vedic deities.[3][4]
The term also refers to one of threekhaṇḍa (खण्ड, parts) ofVedas, one that focuses on worship or meditation.[5] The other two parts of Vedas are calledAranyakas andUpanishads, sometimes identified askarma-khaṇḍa (कर्म खण्ड, ritualistic sacrifice section) andjñāna-khaṇḍa (ज्ञान खण्ड, knowledge, spirituality section).[6][7]
The root of the Sanskrit wordUpasana isup andasana (fromas), which means "to sit close to someone, waiting on someone with reverence".[8] Oldenberg explainedUpasana from its rootUpās-, in German asVerehren, or "to worship, adore, revere", with the clarification that in Vedic texts this adoration and reverence is at formless things, such as Absolute Self, the Holy, theAtman (Soul) Principle.[2] These texts offer the concept ofUpasana to distinguish meditative reverence for an internalized and intellectual concept from earlier forms of physical worship, actual sacrifices and offerings to Vedic deities.[3][4] Schayer offered a different perspective, statingUpasana in Vedic context is closer to the German wordUmwerben orBedrängen, or courting and pressing on metaphysical Soul, the Absolute Self (theBrahman) with hopes and petitions.[9] Schayer further states thatUpasana was a psychological act as well as a procedure, which etymologically was further developed byRenou.
In one contemporary context,Upasana means methods of worship (Bhakti), usually of meditative kind. Werner translates it as "meditation", while Murty translates it as "steadfastness of mind in the thing meditated upon".[10][11]Upasana is also sometimes referred to asPuja.[12] However, a formalPuja is just one type of worship in Indian philosophy.Paul Deussen translatesupasana as "meditation" and "worship", depending on the context.[13]
The concept ofUpasana developed a large tradition inVedanta era. Edward Crangle, in his review, states thatUpasana in Vedic text initially developed as a form of "substitute sacrifice", where symbolic meditation of theAranyakas practice, instead of actual sacrifice ritual, offered a means to gain the same merit without the sacrifice. Over time, this idea shifted from meditating about the ritual, to internalization and meditation of the ideas and concepts associated. This may have marked a key evolution in Vedic era, one from ritual sacrifices to one contemplating spiritual ideas.[14]
It flowered into the meaning of an intense kind of systematic meditation and identification.Adi Shankara describedUpasana as a kind ofdhyana -- meditation "about someone or something, consisting of continuous succession of comparable basic concepts, without interspersing it with dissimilar concepts, that proceeds according to the scriptures and on idea enjoined in the scriptures."[15] It is a state of concentration where "whatever is meditated upon" is completely identified, absorbed with self, and unified with as one identifies self consciousness with one's body.[15] The two become one, "you are that". The "someone or something" inUpasana can be a symbolic deity or an abstract concept, states Shankara.[15]Upasana entails more than mere concentration or sitting indhyana; it is being one with god, which manifests as "be a god", and by "being a god, he attains the god," living this identity with god in daily life.[15]
In other contexts,Upasana refers to a part of the Vedic era texts relating to worship or meditation. The first parts of Vedas, composed the earliest, relate to sacrificial rituals. The second parts areUpasana-kanda, and the last parts relate to abstract philosophy and spirituality which are popularly called the Upanishads.[6]
Vedic literature, includingUpasana Karunakar, is neither homogeneous in content nor in structure.[16] Multiple classifications have been proposed. For example, the early part of Vedas with mantras and prayers calledSamhitas along with the commentary on rituals called theBrahmanas together are identified as the ceremonialkarma-khaṇḍa, while rituals and metaphoric-rituals part calledAranyakas and knowledge/spirituality partUpanishads are referred to as thejñāna-khaṇḍa.[17]
In some cases, the Upasana chapters are embedded inside theAranyakas. For example, in Rig Veda, the first five of its books are calledAitareya Aranyaka. The 2nd and 3rd books are theosophical, and the first three sections of the 2nd book are calledPrana Upasana (literally meaning, "worship of the vital energy").[6] The last three sections of the 2nd book constitute theAitareya Upanishad. The 3rd book of Rig Veda refers toSamhita Upasana (literally meaning, "unified form of worship").[6] Rig Veda has many books, and it includes many more Upasanas andUpanishads. Other Vedas follow a similar structure where they offer sections on rituals and action (Aranyakas), worship and deity orientedbhakti (Upasanas), as well as philosophical and abstract spirituality sections (Upanishads).[6]