page_title: Kundika Upanishad
section_title: Meditation and yoga for the renouncer
hierarchical_section_title: Kundika Upanishad / Contents / Meditation and yoga for the renouncer
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a derivative (cropped) work of painting on wikimedia commons. An Indian monk carrying a walking stick (danda) and water pot. It is unclear if this painting reflects a Buddhist or Hindu monk. The head costume/markings suggest a Hindu Sadhu / Sannyasi. Iconographic Collections Keywords: Ethnology; Culture; Ritual; India; Religion; Costume
context_page_description: The Kundika Upanishad, also known as Kundikopanishad, is an ancient text and a minor Upanishad of Hinduism. It is one of the 19 Sannyasa Upanishads, and is one of the 16 Upanishads attached to the Sama Veda.
  The text is titled Kundika in surviving Telugu language versions, and notably large parts of it are identical to the Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishad versions found in some parts of India.
  The Kundika and Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishads discuss when and how someone may renounce, and the answers it gives are different from those found in other Upanishads such as the Jabala Upanishad. The text dedicates most of its verses to the lifestyle of the renouncer, and its broad theme centers around renunciation or spiritual enlightenment. The text mentions ancient cultural and religious Hindu traditions. It describes renunciation as a stage of life where a man lives like a monk yogi, sleeps on sand and near temples, remain calm and kind no matter what others do to him, while pondering on Vedanta and meditating on Brahman through Om. A renouncer, states the Kundika Upanishad, should seek to realize the identity of his soul with the universal soul.
context_section_description: The Kundika Upanishad asserts in chapter 4, that the Yoga (union) of knowledge occurs in mind, in the mind is perceived space, from space comes wind, from wind comes light, from the light rain the waters, from waters originated the earth, from earth came plants and food, from food is created semen, and from semen originates man. The one who studies, meditates and understands the origins and causes, realizes the Brahman, that which is ageless, immortal, imperishable, indestructible constant.
  In chapter 5, the text recommends yoga and breathing exercises for the renouncer, however states Deussen, the verses of this chapter appear altogether corrupted and damaged.
  The Laghu-Samnyasa Upanishad ends here, while the Kundika Upanishad continues with one additional chapter.
caption: A sannyasi
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "V0046131ER A Buddhist monk (?) in orange robes\nCredit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images\nimages@wellcome.ac.uk\nhttp://wellcomeimages.org\nA Buddhist monk (?) wearing orange robes, with horizontal marks on his forehead, carrying a staff and water pot; by an Indian artist.\nGouache\n1800-1900 Published:  - \nPrinted: 1800-1900\n\nCopyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image DateTime": "2016:01:10 12:28:42", "Image Artist": "Wellcome Library, London", "Image Copyright": "Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "Image ExifOffset": "764", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:01:10 12:28:42", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:01:10 12:28:42", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "812", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1505"}