우빠니샤드에 나타난 기능을 통한 인간 이해와 5기능의 중요성

Abstract

This article confirms, in the Upaniṣads which make humans themselves a final concern, that an understanding humans focuses more on ‘faculty’ than anything else, and especially tries to show that references to ‘five faculties’ are very much important. What is revealed in this article is as follows. First, the terms associated with faculties and appearing in the Upaniṣads suggest that the Upaniṣads understand humans through faculties in a dense manner. Terms such as ‘prāṇa’, ‘indriya’, ‘karaṇa’, and ‘karma’ which are often translated as ‘organ’ or ‘instrument’ in the Upaniṣads, are generally likely to mean ‘faculty’, but are very unlikely to mean ‘organ’. Second, the Upaniṣads are rich in descriptions of faculties, both quantitatively and qualitatively, which do not show significant differences between the branches (śākhā), but rather show relatively distinct differences in the early and mid-late periods. Accordingly, knowledge of faculties is likely to be a common property of the times (periods) rather than that of the branches. Third, the Upaniṣads strongly preach the importance of five faculties in its entirety regardless of the times or the branches. Although the Upaniṣads do not emphasize only the importance of the number ‘5’, but the number ‘5’ that appears the most is generally related to five faculties of humans in terms of personality (adhyātmam). What can be inferred from this article is as follows. First, if the central theme of the Upaniṣads is humans, it is knowledge of human faculties that occupies the largest portion of the discussion. Second, the final result of that knowledge reached through the process of systematization as a common property of the times is several types of five faculties. Third, descriptions of faculties in the Upaniṣads are not merely presented by chance in the process of establishing ātman thought, but rather as a result of parallel exploration of faculties and ātman in the process of mutual reasoning. Fourth, it is not very desirable to limit an understanding humans in the Upaniṣads to the super-faculty, because the Upaniṣads explore faculties in parallel with the super-faculty of humans.