text:
D'Aguiar, Fred
Fred D'Aguiar 1960-
English poet, novelist, and playwright.
The following entry presents an overview of D'Aguiar's career through 2000.
With the publication of his debut poetry volume, Mama Dot (1985), D'Aguiar emerged as a prominent figure among a young generation of writers of Caribbean descent who have broadened the scope of contemporary British literature. Because D'Aguiar was born in London but reared in Guyana, his childhood experiences play a distinctive role in his writings. Concerned primarily with themes of colonial marginalization and racial identity, he has striven to present a perspective that takes into account both public and private concerns. Historical developments play an essential role in his work, particularly those of the slave trade between Africa and the Americas, the economic and political troubles of postcolonial Guyana, and the post-World War II influx of Caribbean immigrants to Britain. D'Aguiar began his writing career as a poet, and his poetic sensibility continues to inform his work in other genres, notably the novels The Longest Memory (1994) and Dear Future (1996).
Biographical Information
D'Aguiar was born in London in 1960, the second child of immigrants from the Caribbean nation of British Guyana. His parents both worked for London Transport, and their schedules made it difficult to care for their two sons. When he was two years old, D'Aguiar and his older brother were sent to Guyana to live with their paternal grandparents, who lived in a house at Airy Hall, about forty miles from the capital of Georgetown. The house belonging to D'Aguiar's grandparents, "Mama Dot" and "Papa T," was a large one, made up of family members African, Asian, and European in origin. D'Aguiar spent the majority of his time in Guyana at Airy Hall, which was removed from the racial problems and political warfare of the capital. He spent the final four years of his Guyanese youth in Georgetown, where he lived with his maternal grandparents. At age twelve, D'Aguiar and his brother moved back to London (and a country increasingly antagonistic toward immigration by nonwhite members of the Commonwealth), where they lived with their newly divorced mother. D'Aguiar attended the Charlton Boys Secondary School, where he was, if only briefly, exposed to Caribbean literature. He then trained and worked for a period as a psychiatric nurse. During this time, D'Aguiar attended a series of writing workshops at the University of London. He began a three-year course in English literature at the University of Kent, graduating in 1985. (He had been exposed to English poetry during his boyhood in Guyana by his grandfather, Papa T.) In 1985, D'Aguiar published his first book of poetry, Mama Dot. He then released two more collections of poetry before the production of his first play, A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death (1991). Three years later he published The Longest Memory, his first novel.
Major Works
The most significant part of D'Aguiar's oeuvre consists of his poetry and fiction. His first book, Mama Dot, grew out of a series of poems about a composite character based on both his grandmothers. The book is divided into three parts, with the first section devoted to the multifaceted metaphor of Mama Dot. With the image of Mama Dot, D'Aguiar combines the everyday and mythic qualities of the grandmother figure, and in the process creates a practical, no-nonsense Caribbean woman who provides a link to an African past. The second section of the book, "Roots Broadcast," deals with experiences of metropolitan alienation. A long poem called "Guyana Days" makes up the book's third section and deals with the poet's return as an adult to the country of his youth. D'Aguiar's second poetry collection, Airy Hall (1989), is also divided into three sections, with the first two dealing extensively with the author's experiences in Guyana. While the first part takes a rather nostalgic look at the past, the second grimly reflects Guyana's postcolonial deprivation and corrupt politics. The author again closes the book with a single long poem, "The Kitchen Bitch." This poem (whose title refers to a kind of kerosene lamp traditionally used in rural Jamaica) is based on an annual walk that the author takes at Hebden Bridge, where Sylvia Plath is buried. Superimposed on this walk is the drama of an expedition leader who loses his sanity as his fellow walkers die one by one. Metaphor plays an important role in Mama Dot and Airy Hall, serving as representations for personalities and places in D'Aguiar's early life in Guyana. In D'Aguiar's poetry the choice of language also occupies a significant position. He often uses for effect what has been called "nation language," namely, the varieties of Creole spoken in the Caribbean and spread elsewhere via immigration. British Subjects (1992), the author's next poetry collection, more closely depicts the dilemma of the immigrant. The book's poems illustrate the tension felt by immigrants' children, who are alienated by the nation into which they are born. Bloodlines (2000) is an epic verse novel dealing with slavery in the American South during and after the Civil War. Rendered in the ottava rima meter, the story centers upon a slave, Faith, who falls in love with the plantation owner's son, Christy, after he rapes her. The two elope and are later separated. Christy eventually learns that Faith has died while giving birth to their child, a son who is presumed dead but has lived and narrates the story. In the stage play A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death, D'Aguiar confronts British attitudes toward nonwhite colonial immigrants following the collapse of the empire in the 1940s. In the play four young men in Jamaica enlist in the Royal Air Force. At the training base in Scotland, they are confronted with demeaning treatment, culminating in the racially-motivated assault of Alvin, the leader of the group. Alvin is rescued by a Scottish woman named Kathleen, and the two fall in love. Alvin's and Kathleen's happiness, however, is destroyed when he accidentally shoots down an Allied plane, is dishonorably discharged, and declines into insanity. While making sure not to sacrifice the play's narrative clarity, D'Aguiar emphasizes metaphor and language in such a way that the poet's voice is readily apparent. D'Aguiar's experience as a poet also seems to have encouraged experimentation with the traditional form of the novel. His first novel, The Longest Memory, directly addresses the issue of slavery in the Americas. The unconventional narrative consists of a series of monologues spoken by slaves and masters on an early-nineteenth-century Virginia plantation. The story centers upon Whitechapel, a slave who seeks to lead a dignified life by working hard and cultivating the master's respect. Even after his wife is raped by the overseer, Whitechapel treats the resulting child as his own son. When this son eventually tries to escape from the plantation, Whitechapel tells his master, unintentionally contributing to the boy's violent death. The novel's monologues, reflecting D'Aguiar's poetic sensibility, work to create multiple voices, a chorus of sorts that evokes not only a variety of emotional and intellectual responses to the novel's events but also subjective time shifts. Dear Future also involves a search to remember, a task aided by the evocation of symbolic images and the rejection of a direct, chronological narrative. In this novel, D'Aguiar considers the politics of postcolonial Guyana from a child's viewpoint. Consisting of a series of episodes in the life of the young Red Head, the novel demonstrates how global capitalism and corruption among the local elite have betrayed the promise of the nation's independence. D'Aguiar's novel Feeding the Ghosts (1999) likewise features a quest for memory, with symbolism used to unite the different physical and temporal spaces of the story. The novel centers upon Mintah, a slave who has survived the seaboard murders of her fellow slaves. Through Mintah's severed connection to her family and community, the novel explores the creation of cultural identity.
Critical Reception
D'Aguiar's Mama Dot attracted considerable critical appreciation and immediately established the writer as a talented new voice in poetry. These early poems were commended for their clarity, humor, and sense of irony. Though his subsequent poetry collections received mixed assessments, reviewers have continued to appreciate the originality and wit of D'Aguiar's verse. In his writings about the hardships of life in postcolonial Guyana and the problems of nonwhite immigrants in Britain, D'Aguiar has demonstrated a keen awareness of aesthetic, cultural, literary, as well as political issues. His focus on the legacy of slavery, notably in The Longest Memory and Feeding the Ghosts, is recognized for his exploration of power, identity, history and memory. Reviewers are quick to note the overriding influence of poetry in his novels, which focus on memory to examine bonds of kinship. The Longest Memory and Dear Future have been well received for their intensity and intelligence, though some critics contend that D'Aguiar's experimentation with narrative form causes these works to suffer from a lack of focus and depth. His verse novel, Bloodlines, was deemed an ambitious experiment but was generally unfavorably reviewed. Despite such criticism, D'Aguiar is esteemed for his distinctive poetic sensibility and his provocative explorations of racism and postcolonial identity.
Principal Works
Mama Dot (poetry) 1985
The New British Poetry [editor, with others] (poetry) 1988
Airy Hall (poetry) 1989
A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death (play) 1991
British Subjects (poetry) 1992
The Longest Memory (novel) 1994
Dear Future (novel) 1996
Feeding the Ghosts (novel) 1999
Bloodlines (verse novel) 2000
(The entire section is 38 words.)
Sean O'Brien (review date 7-13 July 1989)
SOURCE: "Towards a Revelation," in Times Literary Supplement, July 7-13, 1989, p. 737.
[In the following review, O'Brien concludes that Airy Hall is a mixture of "disappointment" and "refreshing ambition."]
The title sequence of Fred D'Aguiar's second collection, Airy Hall, consists of eighteen poems about the Guyanan village where his boyhood was spent. It expands and enriches the prose account D'Aguiar gave in Poetry Review (Volume 75, Number 2, August 1985), and emphasizes his gifts in handling the evidence of the senses. Dry washing is heard "chattering" on a line; leaves "describe a slowed, / ziggurat fall"; a whole section...
(The entire section is 603 words.)
Maya Jaggi (review date 19 April 1991)
SOURCE: "Four Rum Jamaicans," in Times Literary Supplement, April 19, 1991, p. 19.
[In the following review of A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death, Jaggi commends the play's powerful symbolism and humor, though finds shortcomings in its uneven pacing and underdeveloped contemporary parallels.]
The title of Fred D'Aguiar's play sounds an echo of W. B. Yeats's poem "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death." Through an episodic, exuberant juxtaposition of dialogue, verse and song, D'Aguiar transfers the poem's ambivalence about fighting another country's battles to the experience of a Jamaican airman in the Second World War.
Set initially in...
(The entire section is 566 words.)
Paula Burnett (review date 12 November 1993)
SOURCE: "Thames Barriers," in New Statesman & Society, November 12, 1993, pp. 37-8.
[In the following excerpt, Burnett offers a generally positive assessment of British Subjects, though she notes that some of poems in the volume "do not earn their place."]
The peculiarly British ambivalence about black cultural expression is well summed up by topical events. On the one hand, the South Bank Centre and the Arts Council are staging Out of the Margins, a celebration of British black and Asian writing. On the other, the government has announced that it is to close down the Commonwealth Institute by turning off the funding tap from 1996. With funds...
(The entire section is 636 words.)
Ian Sansom (review date 7 January 1994)
SOURCE: "Sincere Despair," in Times Literary Supplement, January 7, 1994, p. 18.
[In the following review, Sansom offers an unfavorable evaluation of British Subjects.]
The astonishing output of Bloodaxe Books over the past fifteen years is a testament to editor Neil Astley's enthusiasm and hard work. Unfortunately, Astley has worked so hard that he now sometimes seems to be asleep on the job—this, at least, would help to explain why British Subjects, Fred D'Aguiar's third collection, and his first from Bloodaxe, is not as good as it should be.
For D'Aguiar excites high expectations. His short but brilliant first collection, Mama...
(The entire section is 664 words.)
Abdulrazak Gurnah (review date 15 July 1994)
SOURCE: "Resisting Ignorance," in Times Literary Supplement, July 15, 1994, p. 22.
[In the following review, Gurnah offers a positive assessment of The Longest Memory.]
In the mythology of defiance to racial slavery in the United States, no act has quite the resonance as that of learning to read and write. There were practical reasons for the prohibition of literacy by the slave-holders, but among them was also a desire to have their assumption of the African's degraded humanity fulfilled. For the slave, overcoming the prohibition was a form of resistance to this assumption and a step towards liberation. In The Longest Memory, it is insurgent acts like these...
(The entire section is 694 words.)
Paula Burnett (review date 2 September 1994)
SOURCE: "Ocean Views," in New Statesman & Society, September 2, 1994, pp. 36-7.
[In the following excerpt, Burnett offers a positive assessment of The Longest Memory.]
Two years on from the 1492 quincentenary, the Euro-American past still haunts British minds. Not only has the infant 23rd in line for the throne improbably been named Columbus, but London publishing has delivered four new novels addressing the shared transatlantic experience. Three of them have voyages at their heart. All revisit the guilt and suffering of the past, and all hold up to the light the racial encounters and moral conflicts of Atlantic history. …
Liberalism is...
(The entire section is 318 words.)
Andrew Salkey (review date Autumn 1994)
SOURCE: A review of British Subjects, in World Literature Today, Vol. 68, No. 4, Autumn, 1994, pp. 864-5.
[In the following review, Salkey compares British Subjects to the verse of W. H. Auden and Phillip Larkin.]
The primary thematic thrusts of Fred D'Aguiar's spirited verse [in British Subjects] support subjects that readily yield themselves up to satire and irony. Of course, this is not to say that he writes down to levels of sarcasm, cynicism, or ridicule. Indeed, he does the very opposite; he achieves peaks of exuberant phrase-making, punning, humor, paraphrase, and fancy.
In one of D'Aguiar's most ironically layered...
(The entire section is 421 words.)
Angelyn Mitchell (review date 13 August 1995)
SOURCE: "Black Family Matters," in Washington Post Book World, August 13, 1995, p. 8.
[In the following excerpt, Mitchell offers a positive assessment of The Longest Memory.]
Many contemporary black writers exhibit a preoccupation with history—both public and personal—in their work. Because blacks have not always had the opportunity to engage in self-representation, they understand the importance of being able to tell one's own story. Toni Morrison, Charles Johnson and Maryse Conde have situated their most critically acclaimed novels—Beloved, Middle Passage, and I Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, respectively—within the historical context...
(The entire section is 438 words.)
A. L. McLeod (review date Autumn 1995)
SOURCE: A review of The Longest Memory, in World Literature Today, Vol. 69, No. 4, Autumn, 1995, pp. 851-2.
[In the following review, McLeod offers an unfavorable assessment of The Longest Memory.]
Although the publisher describes The Longest Memory as a novel, it is at best a novella; and if we subscribe to Poe's view that a story is a work than can be read conveniently at one sitting, then this work (under 25,000 words) belongs to the shortest of the genres of prose fiction. But is not merely length that allows this categorization: there is no substantial development of character, no complexity of interaction among characters, no feeling that a major...
(The entire section is 500 words.)
Paula Burnett (review date 22 March 1996)
SOURCE: "The Nightmare Republic," in New Statesman & Society, March 22, 1996, pp. 39-40.
[In the following review, Burnett offers a positive assessment of Dear Future.]
A megalomaniac leader whose dentist has planted a micro-transmitter in his rotten tooth to broadcast his secrets to the opposition takes an early-morning canter on the beach with his bodyguard. He ends up shooting the horse because the animal shies at the high-frequency noise. The country is recognisable as Guyana, where Fred D'Aguiar grew up, but it could be any state where politics has degenerated into a game of naked power.
Reminding us that he was a poet before he was a...
(The entire section is 529 words.)
Sean O'Brien (review date 6 June 1996)
SOURCE: "A Necessary Gospel," in London Review of Books, June 6, 1996, pp. 24-5.
[In the following review, O'Brien offers a generally positive evaluation of Dear Future, but concludes that the novel contains unresolved underlying concerns.]
It was as a poet that Fred D'Aguiar first won recognition, with his 1985 collection Mama Dot, set in the Guyanese village where the English-born D'Aguiar was sent to be educated. The place is dominated by Mama Dot, the archetypal grandmother, source of wisdom, comfort and discipline, a woman so important that when she falls ill nature itself goes to pieces.
Bees abandon their queens to red ants and...
(The entire section is 2499 words.)
Michael Upchurch (review date 17 November 1996)
SOURCE: "Risky Business: Fred D'Aguiar Continues to Take Chances in His Second Novel," in Chicago Tribune Books, November 17, 1996, p. 4.
[In the following review, Upchurch offers a favorable assessment of Dear Future.]
When Guyana-born poet Fred D'Aguiar turned to fiction last year with his debut novel, The Longest Memory, he proved to be a writer who likes taking chances on both topic and technique.
His subject: the fatal whipping of a runaway slave on the plantation of a "liberal" but absentee Virginia slave-owner. His approach: a nimble inhabiting of all the parties involved, giving each protagonist—black, white and shades in...
(The entire section is 773 words.)
Bruce King (review date Winter 1997)
SOURCE: A review of Dear Future, in World Literature Today, Vol. 71, No. 1, Winter, 1997, p. 206.
[In the following review of Dear Future, King faults the novel's complexity, lack of narrative development, and weak conclusion.]
I have followed Fred D'Aguiar's work with interest ever since I read Mama Dot, his first volume of poetry, and attended the Royal Court production of A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death. The success of The Longest Memory, a novel in which the prose has the sensitivity of verse, confirmed D'Aguiar's ability to treat black history with complexity. Each work contributed to a new canon of literature written by...
(The entire section is 576 words.)
Gary Amdahl (review date 13-20 January 1997)
SOURCE: "Fabulous Red Head," The Nation, January 13-20, 1997, pp. 32-4.
[In the following review, Amdahl offers a positive evaluation of Dear Future.]
Fred D'Aguiar begins his second novel, Dear Future (the first, The Longest Memory, won the Whitbread and the Higham awards in England), with the bright violence and not-quite singsong meter of a fairy tale: "Red Head got his name and visionary capacity at age nine when he ran behind an uncle chopping wood and caught the back of the axe on his forehead. His uncle, Beanstalk, feeling the reverberations of a soft wood as it yielded to the blade he'd swung back, looked over his shoulder and saw his...
(The entire section is 1529 words.)
Bharat Tandon (review 22 August 1997)
SOURCE: "Marine Motifs," in Times Literary Supplement, August 22, 1997, p. 22.
[In the following review of Feeding the Ghosts, Tandon praises D'Aguiar's evocative description and plotting, but concludes that the work lacks an underlying element of coherence.]
Sea-water and wood, with their capacities simultaneously to preserve and obscure, figure strongly in Fred D'Aguiar's long historical novella. While the suggestive conjunction of natural materials in sea-stories is hardly innovative (Moby-Dick, for one, makes much of the Pequod's cannibalized shipwork), here it allows the author a base for what turns out to be an extended meditation—often...
(The entire section is 765 words.)
Heather Hathaway (review date Fall 1998)
SOURCE: A review of Dear Future, in African-American Review, Vol. 32, No. 3, Fall, 1998, pp. 506-8.
[In the following review, Hathaway provides a positive evaluation of Dear Future.]
In a 1992 interview (Ariel 24.1 [1993]), Guyanese author and editor Frank Birbalsingh discussed with his countryman Fred D'Aguiar the relationship between art and politics in D'Aguiar's first two volumes of poetry, Mama Dot (1985) and Airy Hall (1989). Birbalsingh remarked on D'Aguiar's ability to "record the continuing suffering and deprivation of the Guyanese" people, but he was particularly struck by "the absence of any instinct to blame. Your quiet...
(The entire section is 1374 words.)
Ervin Beck (review date Autumn 1999)
SOURCE: A review of Feeding the Ghosts, in World Literature Today, Vol. 73, No. 4, Autumn, 1999, p. 796.
[In the following review of Feeding the Ghosts, Beck finds D'Aguiar's evocation of the slave trade interesting but unexceptional.]
In 1781 a fatal malady broke out on the slave ship Zong, killing seven crew members and many of the slaves. Fearing that sick slaves would lose all their value in Jamaica, Captain Cunningham commanded very ill slaves to be thrown overboard, in order to collect insurance on their deaths and to prevent the plague from spreading further on the ship. In a court trial in Liverpool, brought by the insurers against the...
(The entire section is 517 words.)
William Scammell (review date 2 September 2000)
SOURCE: "Poetry Gets the Last Laugh," in Spectator, September 2, 2000, pp. 34-5.
[In the following review, Scammell offers a negative assessment of Bloodlines.]
The last big poem on black history was Derek Walcott's Omeros, which mixed up Homer with the textures of Caribbean life, and probably helped him to clinch the Nobel Prize in 1992. Some people thought it wonderful; others never got past the pomp and circumstance of the opening chapters. Fred D'Aguiar's Bloodlines takes its formal inspiration not from the epic but from the verse-novels of Byron and Pushkin, or so at least the blurb assures us: 'Read this book fast like a novel, savour every...
(The entire section is 452 words.)
John Greening (review date 22 December 2000)
SOURCE: "Fast Like a Novel," in Times Literary Supplement, December 22, 2000, p. 22.
[In the following review, Greening offers an unfavorable assessment of Bloodlines.]
The verse novel is becoming a popular genre. From Vikram Seth's The Golden Gate to Craig Raine's History: The Home Movie to Les Murray's Fredy Neptune, publishers have had to find ingenious ways of marketing what has generally been considered unmarketable—the Long Poem. Some have kept the v-word well clear of the front cover; others blazon it like a health warning. And so it is with Fred D'Aguiar's new "novel-in-verse": we are advised to "Read this book fast like a...
(The entire section is 735 words.)
Further Reading
Atamian, Christopher. Review of Dear Future, by Fred D'Aguiar. New York Times Book Review (10 November 1996): 56.
A mixed review of Dear Future. Atamian compliments D'Aguiar's prose, but faults the author's character development.
D'Aguiar, Fred with Frank Birbalsingh. "An Interview with Fred D'Aguiar." Ariel 24, No. 1 (January 1993) 133-45.
An interview originally conducted on April 11, 1992, in which D'Aguiar discusses his Guyanese background, English education, literary influences, and cultural, political, and aesthetic concerns in Mama Dot, Airy Hall, and British Subjects....
(The entire section is 412 words.)


text:
The surgical technologist is trained to perform specific functions in the operating room and is a vital member of the surgical team. Surgical technologists prepare supplies, equipment, and assist in preparing patients for surgery. Their duties include preparing the operating room with instruments, equipment, and all sterile supplies required for an operation. The surgical technologist is responsible for passing instruments during surgery, holding retractors, cutting sutures, and counting all instruments, needles and sponges used during an operation. They may also apply post-operative dressings or assist with the application of casts. Surgical technologists also learn how to sterilize instruments. They handle special drugs, solutions, supplies, and equipment used for specific procedures. In addition, they are responsible for helping clean and maintain a safe operating room environment.
Classroom instruction in theory and basic surgical skills is provided on campus. Under the guidance of program faculty, you can gain valuable experience in the care of clients of all ages in a number of different hospitals.
For a printable copy of program course requirements, click an option above or consult the Madisonville Advising Plan.
Employment is available in hospital operating rooms, delivery rooms, physician's offices as a surgeon's assistant, or in free standing centers (outpatient or ambulatory surgery). The average wage throughout the United States ranges from $26,000 to $32,200.
Surgical Technology is a selective admission program. In addition to MCC's general admission requirements, candidates to the program must complete the following:
Surgical Technology involves the provision of direct care for individuals and is characterized by the application of verified knowledge in the skillful performance of surgical technology technical functions. Therefore, all applicants should possess sufficient:
You can complete the Surgical Technology program in two semesters following completion of prerequisites.
Jeff Bidwell
(270) 824-1740(270) 824-1740
This information should not be considered a substitute for the KCTCS Catalog. You should always choose classes in cooperation with your faculty advisor to ensure that you meet all degree requirements.

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
Vedic texts, circa seventh-fifth century B.C.
The Upanishads are ancient texts written in Sanskrit, representing the religious and philosophical tradition of Hinduism and India. Together with the Aranyakas the Upanishads are found at the end of the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism, and thus called Vedantas. Although traditionally, there are 108 Upanishads, in actuality their number is greater than two hundred if less ancient ones are included. Most scholars, however, consider ten to fifteen as the principal texts, and it is these that receive the majority of critical attention. The dates of composition of the various Upanishads cannot be determined except relatively and broadly; they are considered by followers as timeless. It is also impossible to determine who wrote the texts or how many authors were engaged in their composition. Critics believe that they were transmitted orally for centuries before being recorded in writing. The word Upanishad means to sit near, referring to the practice of a student learning at the feet of a Brahmajnani, a teacher who has become one with the Supreme Brahman. The word Upanishad may also be translated as "secret teachings," and the contents of the Upanishads were indeed kept relatively secret until the sixteenth century, at which time they were translated into Persian and gained widespread distribution. In essence, the Upanishads state that one may achieve divinity here on earth by recognizing that one's own Atman or soul is infinite and divine. The earliest Upanishads predate Buddhism and not only influenced its development but other Asian religious traditions as well.
The oldest of the Upanishads are in prose and date from approximately the 7th century B.C. They include the Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Kaushitaki, and Kena. The Kena also contains a less ancient section, written in verse. After these come later Upanishads, written in verse, circa 6th century B.C.: the Katha, Isha, and Mundaka. These were followed by more Upanishads in prose: the Prashna, Shvetasvatara, Mandukya, and Maitri.
Major Themes
The overriding theme of the Upanishads is the effort to become one with the supreme being, Brahman, here on earth. The only way to achieve this liberation is by giving up one's own identity and recognizing the divinity of the inner self, the Atman. This is the ultimate goal of life and leads to eternal bliss. In addition, the Upanishads also discuss the creation of the universe and the nature of karma and reincarnation. They describe the nature of Brahman and how he is everywhere and in all things in the universe; they explain that it is possible to transcend both the intellect and the senses; they teach self-control, sacrifice, and the importance of meditating and chanting the word Om; answer questions about how life becomes connected to the human form; and discuss the three stages of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep, followed by the fourth stage of pure consciousness.
Critical Reception
The chief areas of critical interest in Upanishad studies are their history, philosophy, and influence. Many volumes of commentary have been published discussing the finer points of the philosophy. Paul Deussen provides an overview of the Upanishads. In his discussion of their history and significance, Deussen makes analogies to Christianity, stating that the Upanishads "are for the Veda what the New Testament is for the Bible." He notes that both the Upanishads and the Bible stress a release from this existence—the Bible because "it is the realm of sin," and the Veda because "it is the realm of ignorance." Moti Lal Pandit looks into the etymology of the word Upanishad and notes the sense of urgency and competition present in the dialogues. Joel Brereton explains that the Upanishads played not only "a critical role in the history of Indic religion," but also "still remain a major source of inspiration and authority within Hinduism." David Frawley analyzes language and meaning and explains that the worldview present in the Upanishads is very different from that of modern times. Andrew O. Fort discusses the concept of achieving liberation on earth, as opposed to freedom after death. Rohit Mehta explains how the Upanishads are of value in modern society, indeed, that their message of wisdom is timeless. Shalini Sikka examines the influence of the Upanishads on W. B. Yeats's symbolism, while M. E. Grenander and K. S. Narayana Rao, in an essay on T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, analyze a portion of the poem that is imbued with Hindu and Upanishadic thought.
Principal Works
Aitareya (prose) c. 7th century b.c.
Brihadaranyaka (prose) c. 7th century b.c.
Chandogya (prose) c. 7th century b.c.
Kaushitaki (prose) c. 7th century b.c.
Kena (prose and verse) c. 7th-6th century b.c.
Taittiriya (prose) c. 7th century b.c.
Isha (verse) c. 6th century b.c.
Katha (verse) c. 6th century b.c.
Mundaka (verse) c. 6th century b.c.
Maitri (prose) c. 5th century b.c.
Mandukya (prose) c. 5th century b.c.
Prashna (prose) c. 5th century b.c.
Shvetasvatara (prose) c. 5th century b.c.
The Thirteen Principal Upanishads. 2 vols. (translated by Robert Ernest Hume) 1931
The Principal Upanishads (translated by S. Radhakrishnan) 1989
The Upanishads. 4 vols. (translated by Swami Nikhilananda) 1994
The Early Upanisads (translated by Patrick Olivelle) 1998
The Upanishads (translated by Shyam N. Shukla) 1999
The Upanishads (translated by Valerie J. Roebuck) 2000
Paul Deussen (essay date 1906)
SOURCE: Deussen, Paul. "Introduction to the Philosophy of the Upanishads." In The Philosophy of the Upanishads, translated by A. S. Geden, pp. 1-50. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1906.
[In the following excerpt, Deussen provides an overview of the Upanishads, discussing their history, composition, and ideological principles.]
It will be remembered that our earlier investigations led to a classification of Vedic literature into four principal parts, which correspond to the four priestly offices at the Soma sacrifice; these are the Rig, Yajur, Sâma, and Atharvaveda, each of which comprises a Samhitâ, a Brâhmana, and a Sûtra. The Brâhmana (in the wider sense of the term) is then further divided by the exponents of the Vedânta into three orders, which as regards their contents are for the most part closely connected with and overlap one another, viz.—Vidhi, Arthavâda, and Vedânta or Upanishad. …
|I. Rigveda.
|A. Samhitâ.
|a. Vidhi.
|II. Sâmaveda.
|B. Brâhmana.
|b. Arthavâda.
|III. Yajurveda.
|C. Sûtra.
|c. Vedânta. (Upanishad.)
|IV. Atharvaveda.
A further preliminary remark is that each of the above twelve parts of the Veda has been preserved as a rule not separately, but in several often numerous forms, inasmuch as each Veda was taught in different S'âkhâs (literally, "branches" of the tree of the Veda), i.e. Vedic schools, which in their treatment of the common subject-matter varied so considerably from one another that, in course of time, distinct works were produced, the contents of which nevertheless remained practically the same. In particular, each of the three ancient Vedas (in the case of the fourth the relations are usually different) comprises not one Brâhmana, but several; and similarly there exist for each Veda not one but several Upanishads. On this subject more will be found below.
2. BRâHMANA, ÂRANYAKA, UPANISHAD
The link between the Upanishad and the Brâhmana with its very different spirit is as a rule not direct, but established ordinarily by means of an Âranyaka or "forest-book," to the close of which the Upanishad is attached, or in which it is included. The name is given either because (as Oldenberg supposes, Prol., p. 291), on account of its mysterious character it should be imparted to the student not in the village (grâme), but outside of it (aranye, in the jungle) (cp. the narrative, Brih. 3. 2. 13, and the names rahasyam, upanishad), or because from the very beginning it was "a Brâhmana appointed for the vow of the anchorite."1 The contents of the Âranyakas perhaps favour rather the latter conception, so far as they consist mainly of all kinds of explanations of the ritual and allegorical speculations therein. This is only what might be expected in the life of the forest as a substitute for the actual sacrificial observances, which for the most part were no longer practicable; and they form a natural transition to the speculations of the Upanishads, altogether emancipated as these are from the limitations of a formal cult. The connecting-link is never wanting where the written tradition of a S'âkhâ has been handed down unbroken (as is not the case with the Kâṭhaka, S'vetâs'vatara, Maitrâyanîya), for both the Aitareyins and Kaushîtakins of the Rigveda and the Taittirîyakas and Vâjasaneyins of the Yajurveda possess together with the Samhitâ their Brâhmana with Âranyaka and Upanishad. Even then, if in the schools of the Sâmaveda the name Âranyaka is not employed, yet there also the introductions to the Upanishads2 bear throughout the character of Âranyakas. This succession of ritual allegorical and philosophical texts, which is really the same in all the S'âkhâs, may be due partly to the order of thought adopted for the purposes of instruction, in which the Samhitâ would naturally be followed immediately by the Brâhmana (so far as this was generally taught, cp. Oldenberg, Prol., p. 291); the deep mysterious meaning of the ceremonies would then be unfolded in the Âranyaka; and finally the exposition of the Upanishads would close the period of Vedic instruction. As early, therefore, as S'vet. 6. 22 and Munḍ. 3. 2. 6, and thenceforward, the Upanishads bore the name Vedânta (i.e. "end of the Veda"). On the other hand it is not to be denied that the order of the texts within the canon of each S'âkhâ corresponds generally to their historical development, and that the position of the several parts affords an indication of their earlier or later date. If, however, these two factors that determined the arrangement, namely, the tendency to a systematic classification of the material for instruction and the preservation of the order of chronological development, do actually for the most part coincide in their result, this is very simply explained on the supposition that in the course of time the general interest was transferred from the ritualistic method of treatment to the allegorical, and from that again to the philosophical. Moreover, the separation of the material is by no means strictly carried out, but in all three classes, Brâhmanas, Âranyakas, and Upanishads, there are found occasionally digressions of a ritual as well as allegorical or philosophical nature. Especially noteworthy, however, and demanding explanation is the circumstance that, apart from this occasional overlapping of the subject-matter, the broad distinctions between Brâhmana Âranyaka and Upanishad are by no means always correctly observed; e.g., among the Aitareyins the matter of the Brâhmana extends into the Âranyaka, while with the Taittirîyakas the close of the Brâhmana and the beginning of the Âranyaka agree throughout, and the dividing line is entirely arbitrary. This state of things is to be explained probably only on the supposition that the entire teaching material of each S'âkhâ formed originally a consecutive whole, and that this whole was first in the later times distinguished into Brâhmana Âranyaka and Upanishad, on a principle which did not depend upon the character of the subject-matter alone, but which, though in general correspondence with it, was in fact imposed from without. Such a principle we seem to be able to recognise in the later order of the four âs'ramas, by virtue of which it became the duty of every Indian Brâhman first as brahmac'ârin to spend a portion of his life with a Brâhman teacher, then as grihastha to rear a family and to carry out the obligatory sacrifices, in order thereafter as vânaprastha to withdraw into the solitude of the forest, and to devote himself to self-discipline and meditation, until finally in extreme old age, purified from all attachment to earth, homeless and without possessions, free from all obligations, he wandered about as sannyâsin (bhikshu, parivrâjaka), awaiting only his spirit's release into the supreme spirit. In the instruction communicated to him the brahmac'ârin was put in possession of a rule of conduct for his entire future life. From the Brâhmana he learnt how, as grihastha, he would have to carry out the ritual of sacrifice with the aid of the officiating priests; the Âranyaka, as indeed is implied in the name, belonged to the period of life as vânaprastha, during which for the most part meditation took the place of the sacrificial acts; and finally the Upanishad taught theoretically that aloofness from the world which the sannyâsin was bound to realise in practice. Therefore it is said of him, that he should "live without the (liturgical) precepts of the Veda," but yet "recite the Âranyaka and the Upanishad of all the Vedas."3 And as ordinarily Âranyaka and Upanishad were blended together, so until quite late times, as we shall see, no strict line of demarcation was drawn in most instances between vânaprastha and sannyâsin.
As the Brâhmanas formed the ritual text-books of the Vedic S'âkhâs, so the Upanishads attached to them were originally nothing more that the text-books of dogma, a fact which accounts especially for the identity in them all of the fundamental thought, which is developed at greater or less length and with the utmost variety. The earliest rise of the S'akhas or Vedic schools, on which this community of the ritual, and with it the philosophical tradition depends, is to be sought in a time in which the contents of the Samhitâ were already substantially fixed, and were transmitted from teacher to pupil to be committed to memory.4 On the other hand the necessary ritual allegorical and dogmatic explanations were communicated to the pupils extempore, and from these subsequently the oldest Indian prose took its rise. The result was that the common material of instruction, which in its essential features was already determined, received very various modifications, corresponding to the idiosyncrasy of the teacher, not only in regard to execution and mystical interpretation of the particular ceremonies, but also because one laid greater stress on the liturgical, another on the dogmatic teaching. Hence it is that the Upanishads of the individual schools differ so greatly in length. In the course of centuries the originally extempore instruction crystallised into fixed texts in prose, which were committed to memory verbatim by the pupil, while at the same time the divergences between the individual schools became wider. It is therefore quite credible that Indian writers should have been able to enumerate a considerable number of S'âkhâs, in which each Veda was studied. But it is equally intelligible that of these many S'âkhâs the majority disappeared in the struggle for existence, and that for each Veda only a few prominent S'âkhâs with the Upanishads belonging to them have been preserved. We must limit ourselves here for general guidance to a mere enumeration of the eleven extant Upanishads of the three older Vedas, with the remark, however, that in the case of several of these it is doubtful whether they are correctly attributed to the S'âkhâ concerned. A further discussion of this point will be found in the Introductions prefixed to my translations of the sixty Upanishads. …
The case is entirely different with the numerous Upanishads which have found admission into the Atharvaveda. It is true that several of them trace back their doctrine to S'aunaka or Pippalâda, or even (as the Brahma-Up.) to both together; and according to the tradition communicated by Nârâyana and Colebrooke, not only single treatises, but complete series of Upanishads were attributed to the S'aunakîyas or Pippalâdis. But the contradictions of these accounts, as well as the circumstance that the most diverse Upanishads refer their doctrine to the alleged founders of the Atharvaveda S'âkhâs, S'aunaka and Pippalâda, suggest the conjecture that we should see in this little more than an arbitrary attachment to well-known names of antiquity; just as other Atharva-Upanishads trace back their doctrine to Yâjñavalkhya, to Adngiras or Atharvan, or even to Brahma Rudra and Prajâpati. Moreover the names of the Atharva-Upanishads (apart from a few doubtful exceptions, as Mânḍûkya, Jâbâla, Paidngala, Shavank) are no longer, as is the case with the Upanishads of the three older Vedas, formed on the model of the names of the S'âkhâs, but are derived partly from the contents and partly from any accidental circumstance. This proves that in the Atharva-Upanishads we must not expect to find the dogmatic text-books of definite Vedic schools.
Many indications (of which more will be said hereafter) point to the fact that the leading ideas of the Upanishads, the doctrine, namely, of the sole reality of the Âtman, of its evolution as the universe, its identity with the soul, and so forth, although they may have originated from Brâhmans such as Yâjñavalkhya, yet in the earliest times met with acceptance rather in Kshatriya circles5 than among Brâhmans, engrossed as the latter were in the ritual. It was only later on that they were adopted by the Brâhmans, and interwoven with the ritual on the lines of allegorical interpretation.
Under these circumstances it is very probable that the âtman doctrine, after it had been taken in hand by the S'âkhâs of the three older Vedas, was further prosecuted outside of these schools, and that consequently in course of time works were published, and have been partially at least preserved, which occupy a position as compared with the Upanishads of the Rig Sâma and Yajurvedas precisely similar to that of the Samhitâ of the Atharvaveda to their Samhitâs. And as at an earlier date hymns of various kinds found admittance into this Samhitâ, which were partly of too late composition for the older Samhitâs, and partly were despised by them; so now again it was the Atharvaveda which opened its arms to the late born or rejected children of the spirit of âtman research. The consequence of this generosity was that in course of time everything which appeared in the shape of an Upanishad, that is a mystical text, whether it were the expression merely of the religious philosophical consciousness of a limited circle or even an individual thinker, was credited to the Atharvaveda, or by later collectors was included in it without further hesitation. The regularity with which a given text reappears in the different collections forms, as far as we can see, the sole mark of its canonicity (if we may use the word in such a connection). Guided by this principle we have gathered together in our translation of the "Sixty Upanishads" all those texts which seem to have met with general recognition. Referring then for further details to the Introduction there to the Atharva-Upanishads, we propose here, for the sake of a general survey, merely to enumerate the more important of these works according to the fivefold classification which we have made of them.6
I. Pure Vedânta Upanishads.—These remain essentially faithful to the old Vedânta doctrine, without laying more definite stress than is already the case in the older Upanishads on its development into the Yoga, Sannyâsa, and Vaishnavite or S'aivite symbolism:—
Munḍaka, Pras'na, Mânḍûkya (with the Kârikâ);
Garbha, Prânâgnihotra, Pinḍa;
Âtma, Sarvopanishatsâra, Gâruḍa.
II. Yoga Upanishads.—These from the standpoint of the Vedânta treat predominantly and exclusively of the apprehension of the Âtman through the Yoga by means of the moræ of the syllable Om:—
Brahmavidyâ, Kshurikâ, C'ûlikâ;
Nâdabindu, Brahmabindu, Amritabindu, Dhyânabindu, Tejobindu;
S'ikhâ, Yogatattva, Hamsa.
III. Sannyâsa Upanishads.—As a rule these are equally one-sided, and enjoin and describe the life of the Sannyâsin as the practical issue of Upanishad teaching:—
Brahma, Sannyâsa, Âruneya, Kanṭhas'ruti;
Paramahamsa, Jâbâla, Âs'rama.
IV. S'iva Upanishads.—These interpret the popularly worshipped S'iva (Is'âna, Mahes'vara, Mahâdeva, etc.) as a personification of the Âtman:—
Atharvas'iras, Atharvas'ikhâ, Nîlarudra;
Kâlâgnirudra, Kaivalya.
V. Vishnu Upanishads.—These explain Vishnu (Nârâyana, Nrisimha, etc.) similarly in the sense of the Upanishad teaching, and regard his various avatâras as impersonations of the Âtman:—
Mahâ, Nârâyana, Âtmabodha;
Nrisimhapûrvatâpanîya, Nrisimhottaratâpanîya;
Râmapûrvatâpanîya, Râmottaratâpanîya.
According to S'ankara, the Upanishads were so named because they "destroy" inborn ignorance,7 or because they "conduct" to Brahman.8 Apart from these interpretations, justifiable neither on grounds of philology nor of fact, the word Upanishad is usually explained by Indian writers by rahasyam (i.e. "secret," Anquetil's secretum tegendum). Thus it is said, for example, in Nrisimh. [Nrisimhapûrvatâpanîya] 8 four times in succession iti rahasyam, instead of the earlier usual form iti upanishad (as is found e.g. at the close of Taitt. 2 and 3, Mahânâr. 62. 63. 64). In older passages also, where mention is made of Upanishad texts, such expressions are used as guhyâ' âdes'âḥ,9paramam guhyam,10vedaguhya-upanishatsu gûḍham,11guhyatamam.12
The attempt to maintain secrecy with regard to abstruse and therefore easily misunderstood doctrines has numerous analogies even in the West. To the question why He speaks to them in parables Jesus answers, ὅτι ὑμι̑ν δἐδοται γνω̑ναι τὰ μυστήρια τη̑s βασιλείαs τω̑ν οὐρανω̑ν, ἐκείνοιs δἐ οὐ δἐδοται.13 Pythagoras requires of his pupils μυστικὴ σιωπή, mystical silence. A saying is preserved of Heracleitus, τὰ τη̑s γνώσεωs βάθη κρύπτειν ἀπιστίη ἀγαθή. Plato finds fault with the art of writing on the ground that it οὐκ ἐπίσταται λἐγειν οἐs δει̑ γε καὶ μή.14 And Schopenhauer demands of his readers as a preliminary condition that they should have grappled with the difficulties of Kant.
The same feeling inspires the warning repeated again and again in the Upanishads, not to impart a certain doctrine to unworthy students.
Ait. [Aitareya] Âr. 3. 2. 6. 9:—"These combinations of letters (according to their secret meaning, their upanishad) the teacher shall not impart to anyone who is not his immediate pupil (antevâsin), who has not already lived for a year in his house, who does not himself intend to be a teacher."
Chând. [Chândogya] 3. 11. 5:—"Therefore only to his eldest son shall the father as Brahman communicate it (this doctrine), but to no one else, whoever he may be."
Brih. [Brihadâranyaka] 6. 3. 12:—"This (the mixed drink, mantha, and its ritual) shall be communicated to no one, except the son or the pupil."
S'vet. [S'vetâs'vatara] 6. 22:—"Give it (this supreme secret) to none who is not tranquil, who is not a son or at least a pupil."
Munḍ. [Munḍaka] 3. 2. 11:—"None may read this who has not observed his vow."
Maitr. [Maitrâyaniya] 6. 29:—"This most mysterious secret shall be imparted to none who is not a son or a pupil, and who has not yet attained tranquillity."
Nrisimh. [Nrisimhapûrvatâpaniya] 1. 3:—"But if a woman or a S'ûdra learns the Savitri formula, the Lakshmî formula, the Prdanava, one and all go downwards after death. Therefore let these never be communicated to such! If anyone communicates these to them, they and the teacher alike go downwards after death."
Râmap. [Râmapûrvatâpanîy] 84:—"Give it not (the diagram) to common men."
The same explanation is to be given of the striking feature, which is constantly recurring in the Upanishads, that a teacher refuses to impart any instruction to a pupil who approaches him, until by persistence in his endeavour he has proved his worthiness to receive the instruction. The best known instance of this kind is Nac'iketas in the Kâṭhaka Upanishad, to whom the god of death vouchsafes the desired instruction on the nature of the soul and its fate only after the young man has steadily rejected all attempts to divert him from his wish.15 Indra deals in a similar way with Pratardana,16 Raikva with Jânas'ruti,17 Satyakâma with Upakosala,18 Pravâhana with Âruni,19 Prajâpati with Indra and Vairoc'ana,20 Yâjñavalkya with Janaka,21 S'âkâyanya with Brihadratha.22
From all this it follows that the universal tendency of antiquity, and of the circle which produced the Upanishads, was in the direction of keeping their contents secret from unfit persons, and that the Indian writers were practically justified in explaining the term upanishad by rahasyam, "secret." Less easy is it at first sight to understand how the word upanishad has come to signify "secret meaning, secret instruction, a secret." For upanishad, derived as a substantive from the root sad, to sit, can only denote a "sitting"; and as the preposition upa (near by) indicates, in contrast to parishad, samsad (assembly), a "confidential secret sitting," we must assume, even if actual proof is wanting, that this name for "secret-sitting" was used also in course of time to denote the purpose of this sitting, i.e. "secret instruction." Just as the German "college" has been transferred from the idea of "convention" to that of the subject-matter of instruction; so that in such an expression as "to read, to hear, etc. a lecture" the original meaning of college (from colligere, to collect) is altogether forgotten, as in the case of the Upanishads the original conception of "sitting." Similar instances are quite common, as for example the θυσικαὶ ἀκροάσειs of Aristotle or the διατριβαί of Epictetus no longer signify lectures, conversations, but definite written compositions.
Another explanation of the word upanishad has been recently put forward by Oldenberg, according to which upanishad, precisely as upâsanâ, would have originally meant "adoration," i.e. reverential meditation on the Brahman or Âtman.23 The suggestion deserves attention, but is open to the following objections. (1) The words upa + âs, "to sit before someone or something (in adoration)," and upa + sad (upa + ni + sad does not occur in the Upanishads), "to seat oneself before someone (for the purpose of instruction)," are, according to prevailing usage, to be carefully distinguished from one another. Even if in the older texts the linguistic usage was not yet rigorously fixed, yet in the Upanishads (as a glance at Jacob's concordance proves), upa + âs is always "to worship," never "to approach for instruction," and upa + sad always "to approach for instruction," never "to worship"; and the reason for forming the substantive upanishad not from upa + sad, but from the rarer upa + ni + sad, was perhaps merely that the substantive upasad had been already adopted as the name of a well-known ceremony preliminary to the Soma sacrifice. (2) Even if mention is frequently made of worship of Brahman or the âtman, especially under a definite symbol (as manas, prâna, etc.), yet, strictly speaking, the âtman is not like the gods an object of worship, but an object of knowledge. Kena 1. 4 f.,—"that shouldest thou know as Brahman, not that which is there worshipped" (na idam yad idam upâsate); Chând. 8. 7. 1,—"the self (âtman) … that ought man to search after, that endeavour to know"; Brih. 2. 4. 5,—"the self, in truth, should be seen, heard, understood, and reflected upon, O Maitreyî," etc. The two passages of the Upanishads also, which Oldenberg cites in proof of worship offered to Brahman, tell in reality in the opposite direction. In Brih. 2. 1, Gârgya declares his worship of this or that as Brahman, until finally the king breaks off the inquiry with the words, "with all that it is not yet known" (na etâvatâ viditam bhavati). Then he imparts the teaching concerning the deep sleeper, and closes with the words, "his upanishad" (secret name, not worship) "is 'the reality of realities,'" i.e. the essence which is implied in all empirical existence. And if in Brih. 1. 4 the proposition is laid down that not the gods but the âtman alone should be worshipped, by this is to be understood merely a polemic against the worship of the gods, not a demand to "worship" the âtman as though it were only a god. This word is applicable, therefore, solely to the gods, and is used of the âtman only by zeugma,24 and the proof of this is found in what follows when it is said,—"He who worships another deity, and says 'He is one, and I am another,' that man is not wise."25 Without, however, such a conception of the âtman as "He is one, and I am another," which is here interdicted, worship is altogether inconceivable, but not perhaps knowledge by immediate intuition (anubhava). (3) An attempt to apply the hypothesis under consideration throughout to the existing facts would demonstrate its impossibility. Thus in Taitt. 1. 3 the secret meaning (upanishad) of the combination of letters (samhitâ) is explained, and this being concluded various rewards are held out in prospect to him "who knows these great combinations as thus expounded" (ya evam etâ mahâsamhitâ vyâkhyâtâ veda). Here merely a knowledge of the combination of the letters is required; there is no mention of any worship in the entire paragraph. Or if we take the certainly ancient passage Kaush. [Kaushîtaki] 2. 1-2, where it is said of the beggar, who knows himself as the Self of all beings,—tasya upanishad 'na yâc'ed' iti, "his secret sign is not to beg"; it would be very difficult to say what suggestion of "worship" is found in phrases like these.
If the passages collected in my index to the Upanishads under the word Upanishad are examined, it will be at once evident that, taken together, they involve the meaning, "secret sign, secret name, secret import, secret word, secret formula, secret instruction," and that therefore to all the meanings the note of secrecy is attached. Hence we may conclude that the explanation offered by the Indians of the word upanishad as rahasyam, "secret," is correct.
The word Upanishad occurs with three distinct meanings as—
- (1) Secret word.
- (2) Secret text.
- (3) Secret import.
(1) Certain mysterious words, expressions, and formulas, which are only intelligible to the initiated, are described as Upanishad. These contain either a secret rule for action and behaviour, as the na yâc'et of Kaush. 2. 1, 2, quoted above, or secret information on the nature of Brahman. When, then, the latter is described as satyasya satyam26, or tad-vanam27 (the final goal of aspiration), there is added, "thou hast been taught the Upanishad." Of a similar nature are secret words like tajjalân,28 "in him (all beings) are born, perish, and breathe," or neti neti.29 And when the worship of Brahman under such formulas is enjoined, it is not implied that upanishad signifies "worship," but only, as already pointed out, that meditation on Brahman under these mysterious terms must take the place of the worship of the gods.
(2) The extant texts themselves, as well as the older texts underlying them, are called Upanishads. Accordingly in the Taittirîyaka school especially a section often ends with the words,—iti upanishad.
(3) Very frequently it is not a word or a text, but the secret allegorical meaning of some ritual conception or practice, which is described as upanishad; e.g. in Chând. 1. 1. 10,—"for that which is executed with knowledge, with faith, with the upanishad (knowledge of the secret meaning of Udgîtha as Om), that is more effective."
The question suggests itself, which of these three significations is the original. We might decide for the third, and suppose that an allegorical interpretation was assigned to the ritual, and the Upanishad doctrine developed thence. This, however, apparently was not the case, and there is much to be said for the view that, as already observed above, the conceptions of the Upanishads, though they may have originated with the Brâhmans, were fostered primarily among the Kshatriyas and not within Brâhman circles, engrossed as these were with the ritual.
The Upanishads have come down to us, like the rest of the texts of the three older Vedas, through the Brâhmans. All the more striking is it, therefore, that the texts themselves frequently trace back some of their most important doctrines to kings, i.e. Kshatriyas. Thus, in the narrative of Chând. 5. 11-24, five learned Brâhmans request from Uddâlaka Âruni instruction concerning the Âtman Vais'vânara. Uddâlaka distrusts his ability to explain everything to them, and all the six therefore betake themselves to the king As'vapati Kaikeya, and receive from him the true instruction, the defectiveness of their own knowledge having first been made clear. In Brih. 2. 1 (and the parallel passage, Kaush. 4), the far-famed Vedic scholar Gârgya Bâlâki volunteers to expound the Brahman to King Ajâtas'atru of Kâs'î, and propounds accordingly twelve (in Kaush. 16) erroneous explanations; whereupon to him, the Brâhman, the king exhibits the Brahman as the âtman under the figure of a deep sleeper, prefacing his exposition with the remark, "that is a reversal of the rule, for a Brâhman to betake himself as a pupil to a Kshatriya in order to have the Brahman expounded to him; now I proceed to instruct you." In this narrative, preserved by two different Vedic schools, it is expressly declared that the knowledge of the Brahman as âtman, the central doctrine of the entire Vedânta, is possessed by the king; but, on the contrary, is not possessed by the Brâhman "famed as a Vedic scholar."30 In Chând. 1. 8-9, two Brâhmans are instructed by the king Pravâhana Jaivali concerning the âkâs'a as the ultimate substratum of all things, of which they are ignorant. And although it is said in Chând. 1. 9. 3 that this instruction had been previously imparted by Atidhanvan to Udaras'ânḍilya, yet the names allow of the conjecture that in this case also a Brâhman received instruction from a Kshatriya. Similarly Chând. 7 contains the teaching given by Sanatkumâra, the god of war, to the Brâhman Nârada. Here the former pronounces inadequate the comprehensive Vedic learning of the Brâhman with the words: "all that you have studied is merely name."31 Finally the leading text of the doctrine of the soul's transmigration, which is extant in three different recensions,32 is propounded in the form of an instruction given to Âruni by the king Pravâhana Jaivali.33 The king here says to the Brâhman:—"Because, as you have told me, O Gautama, this doctrine has never up to the present time been in circulation among Brâhmans, therefore in all the worlds the government has remained in the hands of the warrior caste."34
When we consider that the passages quoted discuss such subjects as the knowledge of Brahman as âtman,35 the knowledge of this âtman as the all-quickener,36 and the fate of the soul after death,37 that is, precisely the most important points of Upanishad teaching; that not only is the king represented in them as endowed with wisdom, but is expressly contrasted with the Brâhman who is ignorant or deluded; and that these narratives are preserved to us by the Vedic S'âkhâs, and therefore by the Brâhmans themselves; we are forced to conclude, if not with absolute certainty, yet with a very high degree of probability, that as a matter of fact the doctrine of the âtman, standing as it did in such sharp contrast to all the principles of the Vedic ritual, though the original conception may have been due to Brâhmans, was taken up and cultivated primarily not in Brâhman but in Kshatriya circles, and was first adopted by the former in later times. The fact, moreover, which is especially prominent in the last quoted passages, that the Brâhmans during a long period had not attained to the possession of this knowledge, for which they nevertheless display great eagerness, is most simply explained on the supposition that this teaching with regard to the âtman was studiously withheld from them; that it was transmitted in a narrow circle among the Kshatriyas to the exclusion of the Brâhmans; that, in a word, it was upanishad. The allegorical method of interpreting the ritual in the light of the âtman doctrine, though it may have been already practised among the Kshatriya circles, was probably undertaken on a larger scale after the adoption of the new doctrine by the Brâhmans. It would follow that the third of the above-mentioned meanings of the word upanishad as "secret import" (of some ritual conception) is probably in the first instance secondary. If we ask further, which of the two other meanings, (1) secret word, (2) secret text, is the more primitive, it would seem that a transition from the second to the first is with difficulty intelligible, but that the first passes into the second by a natural and readily comprehended change.
We may therefore assume that the doctrine of the âtman as the first principle of the universe, the gradual rise of which we have traced through the hymns of the Rigveda and Atharvaveda, was fostered and progressively developed by the Kshatriyas in opposition to the principles of the Brâhmanical ritual; whence the new knowledge was expressed in brief words or formulas, intelligible only to the initiated, such as tadvanam, tajjalân, satyasya satyam, samyadvâma, vâmanî, bhâmanî, etc. A formula of this kind was then called an upanishad, inasmuch as the condition of its communication and explanation was the absence of publicity. Such formulas were naturally accompanied by oral explanations, which also were kept secret, and from these were gradually developed the earliest texts that bore the name of Upanishad. The manner in which the formulas tad vai tad38 or vi-ram39 are discussed may serve as examples of such secret words accompanied by secret...
(The entire section is 14925 words.)
Rohit Mehta (essay date 1970)
SOURCE: Mehta, Rohit. Introduction to The Call of the Upanishads, pp. 1-9. Bombay, India: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1970.
[In the following essay, Mehta provides an introduction to the Upanishads and discusses their value in the modern age.]
The cultural and spiritual heritage of India is both vast as well as rich. But there is nothing sectarian or regional about it. It is so universal in its appeal and so catholic in its approach that it belongs to the whole world. Its setting is no doubt Indian, but its content is such as to cover all aspects of human life, irrespective of geographical units and historical expressions. It is both universal and timeless and, as...
(The entire section is 3322 words.)
M. E. Grenander and K. S. Narayana Rao (essay date 1971)
SOURCE: Grenander, M. E. and K. S. Narayana Rao. "The Waste Land and the Upanishads: What Does the Thunder Say?" Indian Literature 14, no. 1 (1971): 85-98.
[In the following essay, Grenander and Rao trace Hindu thought as it was incorporated in portions of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land.]
Several years ago, in a report on a series of round table discussions by Indian and American thinkers, Richard McKeon included a passage which seems almost a gloss on the two last paragraphs of The Waste Land. Professor McKeon wrote:
The values to which art and religion give expression are universal, but the forms which those...
(The entire section is 4573 words.)
Moti Lal Pandit (essay date 1978)
SOURCE: Pandit, Moti Lal. "Meaning of the Upanishad." In Philosophy of the Upanishads: A Christian Understanding, pp. 17-22. Delhi, India: I.S.P.C.K., 1978.
[In the following essay, Pandit comments on the dialogue style of the Upanishads as well as on the actual etymology of the word upanishad.]
The meaning of the word upanishad is difficult to tell, for its etymology is doubtful. According to Max Muller, the term means "the art of sitting down near a teacher, of submissively listening to him" (from upa, below; ni, down, and sad, to sit).1 But, according to Sankara, the word is formed by adding the...
(The entire section is 1772 words.)
David Frawley (essay date 1982)
SOURCE: Frawley, David. "Symbolic Language and Analogical Thinking." In The Creative Vision of the Early Upanisads: Udgitha Adityasya, The Exalted Song of the Sun, pp. 56-104. Madras, India: Rajsri Printers, 1982.
[In the following essay, Frawley describes two different approaches to teaching found in the Upanishads and notes that in order to gain a deeper understanding of the writings, it is necessary to release one's modern world-view.]
Many different kinds of language are possible. There are many different possible levels of discourse within language. There are many different linguistic and perceptual orientations, various world-views according to...
(The entire section is 20874 words.)
Joel Brereton (essay date 1990)
SOURCE: Brereton, Joel. "The Upanishads." In Approaches to the Asian Classics, edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, pp. 115-35. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.
[In the following essay, Brereton presents the five paradigms embodied in the teachings of the Upanishads, stating that these principles are used to construct wholeness out of the multiplicity of the world.]
The Upanishads are early texts of the Hindu tradition which set forth the foundations of the world and the true nature of the self. They are formally quite diverse, for they include narratives, dialogues, verses, and the teachings of ancient sages. The principal...
(The entire section is 7427 words.)
Hermann Oldenberg (essay date 1991)
SOURCE: Oldenberg, Hermann. Introduction to The Doctrine of the Upanisads and the Early Buddhism, translated by Shridhar B. Shrotri, pp. 1-21. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1991.
[In the following essay, Oldenberg provides background on Indian thought, including discussions of the Brahmana caste, sacrifice, and the otherworld.]
ENQUIRY INTO THE OTHERWORLDLY ORDER OF THINGS IN THE OLDER UPANIṣADS, THE LATER ONES (SāMKHYA) AND BUDDHISM
An enquiry into the otherworldly order of things behind and beyond this world, the related problems of death and everything that comes after death has seriously occupied the...
(The entire section is 11099 words.)
Andrew O. Fort (essay date December 1994)
SOURCE: Fort, Andrew O. "Going or Knowing? The Development of the Idea of Living Liberation in the Upanisads." Journal of Indian Philosophy 22, no. 4 (December 1994): 379-90.
[In the following essay, Fort focuses on the Upanishads's treatment of mukti, or freedom, exploring the idea that it can be attained only after death versus the belief that it is entirely possible to gain liberation during one's life on earth.]
The idea of liberation while living or jīvanmukti has been much discussed in Advaita Vedānta and other schools of Indian thought. The notion of jīvanmukti found in Advaita was developed and elaborated over many centuries, and did...
(The entire section is 4903 words.)
Shalini Sikka (essay date 2002)
SOURCE: Sikka, Shalini. "Yeats's Theory of Symbolism in the Light of the Upanisads." In W. B. Yeats and the Upanisads, pp. 144-63. New York: Peter Lang, 2002.
[In the following essay, Sikka discusses the influence of the Upanishads on W. B. Yeats's thought.]
Pythagoras planned it. Why did the people stare? His numbers, though they moved or seemed to move In marble or in bronze, lacked character. But boys and girls, pale from the imagined love Of solitary beds, knew what they were …
—'The Statues'
As we have seen in the previous chapter, Yeats's lifelong preoccupation was to write poetry based on truths...
(The entire section is 6926 words.)
Further Reading
Chakravarti, Sures Chandra. "Fundamental Doctrines of the Upanishads." In The Philosophy of the Upanishads, pp. 121-60. Delhi, India: Nag Publishers, 1935.
Attempts to debunk the view that the tenets of Buddhism are the same as the fundamental doctrines of the Upanishads.
Chari, S. M. Srinivasa. Introduction to The Philosophy of the Upanisads: A Study Based on the Evaluation of the Comments of Samkara, Ramanuja, and Madhva, 342 p. New Delhi, India: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2002.
Examines the most important philosophical passages of the fourteen principal Upanishads....
(The entire section is 509 words.)


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|Excel Basics for Building Job Skills - Part 2
Event Type: Computers/Technology
Age Group(s): Adult
Date: 1/28/2013
Start Time: 5:45 PM
End Time: 7:45 PM
Excel is used in the workplace for accounting, tracking inventory and organizing data. Learn more about working with multiple worksheets, formulas, mouse pointers and charting basics Prerequisite: Excel Basics for Building Job Skills - Part 1. This is a hands-on computer class using our portable laptop lab, which will be set up in the meeting room.Library: Rum River Library Map from Mapquest
Classes are free to participants, but registration is required to attend. Register online below or call 763-576-4695 for assistance.
Classes are presented by the Science Museum of Minnesota Computer Education Center and funded by MELSA (Metropolitan Library Service Agency).
Location: Rum River Library - Meeting Room A
Presenter: SMM - Science Museum of Minnesota
Status: Closed
|Please Note


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Flex applications integrate easily with all major backend technologies. Learn more about how Flex integrates with the following technologies.
Rapidly develop high-performing mobile, web, and desktop applications
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Brazil Outdoor Bar/Counter
About this itemUnder pavilion or poolside this bar will be the center of attention, made of durable eucalyptus.
This gem features a slated design for beauty and function. Water will pass on through to minimize damage. The top surface is 46" long by 19.5" wide. The three fixed shelves are approximately 32" long by 16" wide. The bar is 43" tall. Increase your entertainment potential inside or out with this classic design.
Eucalyptus is a hardwood that is excellent for outdoor furniture. It has a tight grain that makes it resistant to rot or the problems associated with temperature changes. This item is finished with a Polisten stain sealer that inhibits fungus, resists insects and acts as a water repellant. Over time your eucalyptus pieces will weather to a soft gray. If you wish to maintain the original color, applications of a hardwood oil or varnish will help, but please follow the manufacturer's instructions for preparation and application, as aged pieces will require different treatment versus new ones.
This furniture is manufactured from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified lumber. The FSC is an independent, non-profit organization that has established principles for sound management of forests for sustainability, economic viability and social benefit.
Assembled Country
Assembled Size
Top: 46"x19.5"
Height: 43"
Component Country


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South Canyon
DescriptionSouth Canyon CWMU is south of Avon, Utah and southwest of Porcupine Reservoir. The south shore of Porcupine Reservoir is part of the northern boundary of the Unit. Higher elevation range between 7000 in the west to 8800 feet in the east. The Unit is cut near the middle by two major drainages, South Fork Little Bear River and Davenport Creek. Both of these drainages range from 5100 feet to 5600 feet. Clay Valley is in the west at 6100 feet elevation. The most common elevation is 6000 feet but ranges from 5100 feet to 8800 feet with an elevation difference of 3700 feet. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the CWMU elevation ranges between 6000 feet and 7800 feet an elevation difference of 1800 feet.
Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Sagebrush Steppe (62) and Rocky Mountain Bigtooth Maple Ravine Woodland (23) occur on the South Canyon Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) in almost equal proportions. Rocky Mountain Aspen and Woodland (22), Rocky Mountain Montane Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland (32), Rocky Mountain Montane Dry-Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland (30), and Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (36) add to the Forest and Woodland character, while Southern Rocky Mountain Montane-Subalpine Grassland (71) and Invasive Perennial Grassland (119) add to the Grassland character. For the Woodland and Shrubland character, Inter-Mountain Basins Mountain Mahogany Woodland and Shrubland (44) and Rocky Mountain Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland (79) are representative.
One of the South Canyon Cooperative Wildlife Mangement Unit (CWMU) nearest weather stations, HARDWARE RANCH(423671), is about 15.0 km southwest from the southwest edge of the CWMU. HARDWARE RANCH has thirty-five (35) years of records, 1956 - 1991. During the FALL (September, October and November) the average precipitation is 3.47 inches, but it can be as high as (not available) inches or as low as (not available) inches. During the 91-day FALL period, 12 days will experience greater than or equal to 0.01 inchs of precipitation, 7 days of greater than or equal to 0.10 inch, or 2 days of the greater than or equal to 0.50 inch of precipitation. Snowfall during the FALL averages (not available) inches but can be as high as (not available) inches. FALL temperature at HARDWARE RANCH averages (not available) degrees F. but can be as high as 94.0 degrees F. or as low as -5.0 degrees F. During the FALL, 36 days will be below freezing (32 degrees F.) and no days above 90 degrees F. This map is provided for general reference only and does not constitute a legal hunt boundary. The Division does not guarantee access to any private or public land. Hunt unit boundaries may include private property or other excluded areas.
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If you're a new cat owner, chances are you've heard of catnip. This herb affects some cats in interesting and often fun ways, but if you've never purchased it yourself, you may have some questions about what it is and how it works. Here's some general information to help you decide if catnip is right for your feline companion.
What is catnip?
Catnip is an all natural herb similar to mint, according to PetSide.com. It's official, scientific name is Nepeta cataria, and it is not a drug. In the wild, the plant has bright blue flowers, though the form given to felines looks more like a dried herb, or else is infused into a toy of some sort. CatNipToys.com reports that Nepeta cataria grows in the dry, desert regions of North America.
What does catnip do?
According to VCA Animal Hospitals, catnip only affects about 50 percent of the feline population, so don't be surprised if your pet doesn't have a response to the herb. Those who are affected by the chemical compounds in the plant can display a wide variety of reactions. Some become more mellow and relaxed, while others might act excited, playful or vocal. Some may even drool or rub their face where the catnip has been sprinkled, but this is not an indication of a pet health problem. If you are interested to see how your cat responds, start out with a small amount in a safe space where your cat can play or relax as desired.
Is catnip safe?
VCA reports that catnip is not harmful in any way to felines, nor is the chemical within catnip addictive. "If your cat is a responder, giving access to catnip can add another dimension to his life," the website reports. If you are observing your cat while he is playing with catnip, and you are concerned that he is suffering a medical issue, you should take him to one of the near by vet clinics for a checkup. Chances are it's not the catnip, but something else that is causing a health problem.
What kind of cats can benefit from catnip?
In addition to adding a bit of spice to your feline's life, catnip can also help your feline overcome cat behavior problems such as aggression toward you or other felines, or a lack of excitement and playfulness. Cats who enjoy the effects of catnip will be more likely to relax, play and exercise, so consider using the herb to encourage healthy living for your feline.


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If all goes well until next weekend I am going to a party dressed like a pizza for Halloween. Norma
Holy crap, norma! This is awesomeness! you MUST get some pictures!now i wanna go as pizza, too you're the coolest!
Oh, don't worry Norma. If you wear it to market, there WILL be pictures!
Steve,Maybe you will forget your camera. I really don't mind being a pizza for a day or two. Maybe I will get you to wear the pizza and hat and take some pictures of you too. Norma
Yeah, well, good luck wit dat!
How 'bout the Ben Franklin costume for EV, Norma? !
You were a lovely looking maid of honor at the wedding Norma....very nice!


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Huge gearbag sale, perfect for the adult or larger kid getting into pb
Posted 10 July 2010 - 11:55 PM
Ok.... so a couple months back i decided to get back into PB after 10 years and after asking some questions on this site, i dove right in. I didn't do my research on the area and to make a long story short, it was a really crappy scene around here and i'd have to drive a LONG way to a real PB field. So i have all the gear here that anybody would ever need and all I needed was a gun and I never purchased one. I got all this gear from a guy getting out of the sport and from what a local shop and he told me, he hardly even used it.
Now I dont want to waste my time itemizing every single flaw, but if you have a dire need for a pic or 2, i'll have no problem in accommodating you. Reason being is that I'm really busy and would rather give it away than sell it piece by piece. You will never be able to assemble a gearbag like this for the price i'm asking so please NO HAGGLING, NO TRADING and did i mention NO HAGGLING? Dont read the last sentence and think im not a nice guy because I am, but all other offers will be seen as utterly disrespectful.
Not to be like someone on pbnation making there own rules, but i do have some that i'd like you to respect.
1. Again no haggling
2. Must be 18 to purchase (or have verbal consent with me over the phone from 'rents)
3. All Items are sold as one!! If you want to part it out, buy my gearbag and sell off what you dont need.
thats about it for now...oh my batteries went dead in my camera so i will be posting up the proper tech PB format pic in just a few
Oh and i do want to say to Mike that if you read this, i really enjoyed my stay here and you definitely have the best PB website. I had tons of fun watching your videos.
First 160.00 gets IT!! +shipping of choice
Tank size: 48ci w/ red dye rhino tank cover
Tank / Reg manufacturer: cp tank, myth reg
Reg HP or LP:HP
Condition: used
Born date: 03/07
Re-test date: 03/12
Area Stamps: ?
Known Problems: none
Barrel: Dye UL
Bore size(s): .688
Color and finish:Red/chrome
Barrel/tip length:14
One or Two Piece: 2
Known Problems: none
For Clothing
Item: x3 PE jerseys one proto sleeveless
Condition: proto sleeveless used, PE blue camo used, PE skull and hurricanes replica jerseys, new
Size:all XL
Known Problems: none
For Hoppers, Loaders, and accesories, Mask, Miscellaneous
Item: Headgear (Black/Blue pinup girl sandana, camo dye sandana, OLD SCHOOL PBJunkies sock hat (this one was mine from 10 years ago)
Condition: 9/10
Known Problems: none
Item: Dye I3 mask (looks just like the new proto axis)
Condition: used
Known Problems: none
Item:empire 3+4 pod pack (with 5 pods)
Condition: 9.99/10 I honestly cant find wear on the pack, I'm almost sure he used it but i cant tell
Known Problems: none
Item: PE elbow/ forearm guards
Condition: 9/10
Known Problems: none
Item: 10 year old Viewloader revolution red/black(yes this was mine)
Condition: i dunno, dont have batteries to test. board was upgraded back then
Known Problems: wish i could tell ya, i dont see why it wouldnt work but this is kinda a freebie
Item: Black Dye I7 pants LG
Condition: awesome, def a 9.5 out of 10. i dont really think this guy really "played" when he played
Known Problems: none
Item: PE Gloves
Condition: 7/10
Known Problems: none, just used and a little dirty
Item: Contract Killers Gear Bag
Condition: 8/10
Known Problems: none works fine
and 1 used barrel swab!
Posted 10 July 2010 - 11:58 PM
Posted 11 July 2010 - 12:24 AM
sorry again that this is so small, i just dont know how to get around the data limit
Posted 11 July 2010 - 12:24 AM
Posted 11 July 2010 - 12:29 AM
"3. All Items are sold as one!! If you want to part it out, buy my gearbag and sell off what you dont need."
Edited by helipilot06, 11 July 2010 - 12:32 AM.
Posted 15 July 2010 - 03:27 AM
Posted 17 July 2010 - 02:20 PM
Posted 17 July 2010 - 08:29 PM
Posted 18 July 2010 - 05:42 AM
Thanks, Matthew
EDIT: CP tanks are not legal to use in Canada so i still want the barrel 45 shipped is a reasonable price and also i would like a better picture with techpb, your username, and the date written on a piece of paper because right now there is no proof that you own this stuff. Its not that i dont belive you its just that its the internet and you need to make sure.
Edited by madman640, 18 July 2010 - 08:10 AM.
Like New HP Pure Energy 70 4500 Hp Pavillion Windows 7 Laptop
Posted 19 July 2010 - 03:13 AM
i was gonna email you the big pic i had of the barrel but i see you dont have one listed.. i'll take 45 so currently its pending to you...again guys i dont want to part out but if i get honest offers i'm not going to turn it down.
barrel is pending to madman as soon as i get some kind of flicker account up and some decent pics to see.
Posted 19 July 2010 - 03:20 AM
these pics are fresh, i just never sold it in the barrels section so i had the mods take down my post to move it here
other full size pics coming soon, hopefully within the next 24 hours; the initial pics are rubbish, just wanted you guys to get a taste of what i had
Edited by helipilot06, 19 July 2010 - 03:25 AM.
Posted 25 July 2010 - 11:37 PM
Edited by thumper12321, 26 July 2010 - 01:08 PM.
Posted 25 July 2010 - 11:40 PM
Southern California Ballers Club - Grazi #69 - Brotastic Bro Club of Win V.1
If you get shot in the jaw you remember you are playing paintball, man the fuck up and say thank you sir, may I have another. - Cdn
My Feedback +3/0/0
Posted 27 July 2010 - 05:35 PM
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I received my order today. The 9 samples I ordered all came in the small tins. I also ordered 4 other teas in larger amounts. They all came in the bags. Three of them came in plain brown paper bags with the same Adiago sticker on the front detailing the tea and brewing instructions. The other came in a much nicer and thinner bag with graphics and a new Adiago sticker on the front.
For what it is worth, I like the fancy bag more than the brown ones, but it's just because it looks nicer.
I don't mind the bags much. The old tins with the plastic tops are nice, but not a necessity.
Will the packaging for the samples eventually switch also?


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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The telephone call to Bill Friday was the most difficult. At the start of an NCAA investigation in the summer of 2010, former North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour had to notify the longtime former UNC system president of the probe.
At the system's flagship university, which hadn't been sanctioned by college sport's governing body in five decades, it was jarring. Friday co-founded the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, which since 1989 has sought reform to emphasize the academic mission of universities and rein in the commercialization of big-time college athletics.
For 30 years while Friday oversaw one of the nation's premier universities, he fought for changes to prevent the exact type of violations ultimately found at UNC. The 92-year-old is long retired from his position but remains a respected figure here.
"The pressure I always felt was that we would meet the expectations of the traditions of the place. And insofar as we had a lapse in that, it was extremely jolting to me," Baddour said this week. "We thought it couldn't happen here. We worked hard for it. We didn't take that for granted."
But the NCAA investigation that led to the school's first major infractions case since 1961 was only the start of what has become a series of disappointing revelations for the country's first state university. For more than two years, it has waded through investigations that cost several people up to the university's chancellor their jobs, have brought unwanted media attention and focused on what role athletics should play on a college campus.
The university community looks to move forward with the start of men's basketball practice this week, but the continuing academic concerns threaten to impact the school's most beloved sport. A report by The News & Observer in Raleigh this week raises questions about a naval weapons class in 2007 that included several basketball players, suggesting the NCAA might further probe academic irregularities.
It threatens to continue a series of controversies that have come in waves for the Tar Heels since the NCAA investigation first broke the notion that UNC could avoid many of the ills in intercollegiate athletics.
"I remember what a shock it was," Friday said of the university becoming the target of investigations. "It's a very difficult thing to accept and I hope and pray that we've learned our lesson here."


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Straight Black Cropped Pixie with Fringe
This hairstyle is a very edgy, youthful take on asymmetry and jagged texture. Super-textured interior lengths line the face in sharp shapes while a shaved sides dips into the exterior of the head, enhancing the jawline and length of the neck. Androgynous, punk.This is a short haircut. A shaved sides draws the eye to the shape of the face while a shaggy interiour creates textural interest and a dramatic edge. Perfect for long necks, strong jawlines, and independent personalities.A soft, natural black adds shine to the already richly textured hair, while a bold, power pigment lines the shape of the head and neck. Lightener was applied in a sweeping oval shape to purposely follow the perimenter of the hair line. The look is purposely bold to draw attention.
Manestream Salon Inc. Hairstylist: Dylan Dias Make up artist: Kimberly Skory Photographer: Jeffrey Chan Model: Maggie Wong


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