The Mundaka Upanishad is the Mantra Upanishad. It has three chapters and each chapter is divided into subchapters called `Khanda`. The Mundaka Upanishad has sixty-four Mantras in total. It is associated with the Atharva Veda. It was first told by Lord Brahma to his son Atharva. Atharva passed the knowledge to Satyavaha, Satyavaha taught it to Angiras, who finally passed it to Shaunaka. The Mundaka Upanishad is in the form of dialogue between the teller and the listener. The word `Mundaka` means `one with a shaven head. ` It is a general feature of monkhood. This metaphorically means one who has been shorn of his ignorance. The Mundaka Upanishad states about the science of Brahman.
According to the 2nd Khanda of Chapter Two of Mundaka Upanishad the Brahman dwelling verily in the cave is the great goal that is to be achieved. From Him has evolved all that moves, breathes and closes the eyes. The Brahman knows what exists and what does not exit, what is to be adored and what is beyond the knowledge of the creatures. He is luminous and more subtle than what is subtle, on which the worlds are founded and their inhabitants. He is the indestructible Brahman and from has evolved the life, the speech and mind. It is the ultimate truth and is the immortal and gentle one. It the ultimate aim to be reached by all beings. The Upanishad reflects the Supreme Brahman as the bow on which all humans require to put their arrow sharpened by devotion, attracting with the mind whose thought is fixed upon that Brahman. Here the sacred word is the Om Mantra. It is called the bow and its arrow is the soul. The all pervading Brahman is the ultimate aim. He can only be achieved and pierced by him whose attention does not swerve and who is devoid of all worldly pleasures, joy and sorrows. Once he has become one with the Brahman he would become of the same nature like Him just like the arrow becomes one with the aim when it has pierced it. The heavens, the earth, the atmosphere, the mind with all the organs are based on the Supreme Brahman. He is the only soul residing within the heart of all beings. He acts as the bridge to immortality hence one who realised Him becomes immortal and thus, gets rid of all sorrows. The Brahman moves within the heart in which the arteries enter as the spokes the nave of the wheel. The worshipper must meditate on him by reciting the Om Mantra. By achieving Him one can cross over the sea of darkness.
The soul which is all wise, whose glory is manifested in the world, omniscient is placed within the divine abode in the ether of the heart; it is of the nature of the mind, the ruler of life and of the body, placed in food. The wise men concentrating upon the heart, behold by the knowledge of Him whose nature appears as bliss and is immortal. Once the bondages of the heart are broken all doubts disappear. Once the highest knowledge, the luminous light becomes known, the knowledgeable man understands that the Brahman is one without spot, without part, who is pure, who is the light of lights. When the Brahman manifest all is manifested after him; by his manifestation this whole world becomes manifested. This immortal Brahman is before, behind, to the right and to the left, below and above, all pervading. He is the Ruler of the infinite world.
