Upasan

According  to  Vedas  what  is  there  is  only  consciousness  or  awareness  or  pure
intelligence.  It  is  called  Brahman.  It  is  from  the  root  Brihat in  the  meaning  of  Big.
When we say big naturally a question comes: how big? Because big is always a relative
word. But here the word Big is used as absolute, because comparison is possible only if
there are  two  things. But  if  what  is  there  is  only  one,  where  is  the  question  of
comparison?  Taittiriya  Upanishad in  Krishan  Yajurveda says that  ‘What  was there is
only Brahman, which is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute, created all this, whatever
is here, out of it self’. It is both material and intelligent cause. In  fact whatever we see
here including our bodies and minds and all the laws governing the life and creation are
nothing  but that Brahman alone.  The  Upanishads say that  by  knowing that  Brahman
one attains  that  Brahman and  is  free  from  the  sorrow  of  transmigration  and  all
limitations. Thus the Upanishads point out that the cause of all suffering is due to the
ignorance of this fact alone.
Though this is taught by the Upanishads, the listener does not understand this because
of  his  previous  conditioning  and  unquestioned  assumptions  laying  in  the  mind  for
aeons. As the seeker of Truth starts to uncondition oneself and starts questioning his old
assumptions he starts appreciating the truth more and more. This process during which
an individual works hard to understand his own psyche, is called the period of Sadhana.
In  this  period  the aspirant takes  to  Listening,  Reflection  and  Contemplation  (sravan,
manana and nididhyasana). In order to aid proper listening reflection and contemplation
the aspirant takes to upasana.
Upasana means sitting  near. Upa means  near and asana means a posture. This sitting
near does not mean sitting near anything. This implies sitting near oneself or atma. The
scripture  shows  us  that the  atma or  individual  is  non-separate  from  Brahman or  the
Total. Thus upasana means sitting near Atma or Brahman. In fact each of us is always
near  oneself  and  can never  be  separate  from the  Total.  Then  what  is this  sitting near
oneself? This implies that the spiritual seeker should be conscious or aware of this truth
at least during those particular moments selected for that purpose. When this concept of
the upasana is not known then upasana loses its real purpose.
According to the  scripture the entire creation  is  nothing  but Brahman  only  and  every
aspect of it  is nothing but that Brahman only. A sadhaka (aspirant or spiritual seeker) in
the  process  of  assimilating  this  truth  worships  various  aspects  of  Brahman.  Thus he
slowly  starts  expanding  in  his  consciousness.  For  his  individual  consciousness  as
separate  from the total changes to the individual  consciousness  non-separate  from the
total  consciousness.  For  this  purpose  worship  of  the  total  is  carried  out  in various
aspects according to ones own temperament. Thus an individual can worship that total
by invoking it in any object of worship.
In the tradition innumerable forms were given by rishi’s to suit to the temperaments of
individuals. For example if Lord Ganesha is worshipped by an individual then the japa
of the mantra for Ganesha is done. There are a number of mantra’s  for Lord Ganesha.
One  of  them is  Om Gam Ganapataye  Namaha.  The  meaning  of  it  is: I  salute  or
surrender to Lord Ganesha. Om and Gam are bija’s. They don’t have any meaning but
are  sound  symbols  representing  the  truth  in  certain  aspects.  In  this  worship  Lord
Ganesha is  looked upon  as the  Total.  Thus the  individual  surrenders to the total  and
tries  to  loose  the  individual  identity  so  that  the  total  is  appreciated  leading  to  the
understanding of the identity of the individual and the total as consciousness.