Wrestling News

Last week I read about half of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - and it's not often you can say that! I was struck by what a powerful literary and philosophical work it is.

Take for example the great debate of the sages in Chapter III, where Yajynavalkya drives away the cows offered to the wisest sage, and then says, "I bow to whoever is the wisest; I wanted the cows". The other Brahmins then interrogate Yajnyavalkya, each testing him to see whether he knows about their particular brand of knowledge. Some get a direct answer; some questions are refused an answer; in one fascinating exchange Yajnyavalkya admits that he does not know the answer, and invites the questioner to accompany him outside to discuss it. Shakalya, evidently a stalking-horse for the traditionalist, pursues Yajnyavalkya endlessly. Yajnyavalkya asks him whether the Vedic priests intend him to be their fire-tongs - a tool to handle the dangerous philosopher. The implication is that the priest is getting himself burnt. It's a clash of cultures and philosophies, a fight to the death.

Without telling you what happens, I'd like to encourage anyone interested in philosophical "wrestling matches" to read it for themselves. Also the discussion between Gargya and Ajatashastru. For good measure, the conversation between Janaka and Yajnyavalkya (Chapter IV.i) in which the latter dismisses the knowledge of all Janaka's teachers as merely conventional. Janaka is continually delighted with Yajnyavalkya's teaching, and offers him fabulous wealth, but every time he replies, "My father was of the opinion that one should not accept wealth from a disciple without fully instructing him". Even at the end of the discussion, Yajnyavalkya repeats this.

These dialogues were written by someone who knew not only philosophy, but life and humanity. They are works of art. Such a thing could be written today, but not in a vacuum. The Brihadaranyaka must have appeared in a time when philosophical discussion and speculation was at its height. If we could re-create that atmosphere, original and relevant modern philosophy would follow.