The Relationship between the Microcosm and the Macrocosm as expressed in the Principal Upaniṣads

Abstract

<p>The Upaniṣads suggest that an analogy exists between the natural macrocosm and man, the microcosm: that it is possible to equate intelligibility and being.</p> <p>Man being comprised of the material (physical), the vital (energy), the mental (psychological), the intellectual (logical) and the spiritual is analogous to the macrocosm. In as much as these elements are harmonized in man - to that extent he becomes one with the Supreme. The macrocosm includes the microcosm and extends beyond it.</p> <p>Man's quest for the cosmos is pursued by the Upaniṣadic philosophers in the parallel and interconnected ways of the inner microcosmic quest and the outer macrocosmic quest. These interrelated experiences are progressively, unravelled in the Upaniṣads as two sides of the same thing.</p>