Bramhan

Essence of Mundakopanishad - Paravidya and Aparavidya
Mundakam 1 - Section 1  ( Om Peace ! Peace !! Peace !!! )

Brahma, the creator and protector of this universe, arose as the first among Gods. He expounded the science of the knowledge of BRAHMAM (Brahma-Vidya), the foundation of all knowledge (all sciences) to Atharvan, his eldest son. Whatever Brahma told Atharvan, that knowledge Atharvan gave to Angir. Angir taught it to Satyavaha of the family of Bharadvaja, and Satyavaha taught to Angiras the knowledge traditionally obtained by the success on of teachers.Saunaka, the great householder, approached Angiras in the manner laid down by the scriptures and questioned; What is that, O Bhagavan, which being known, all this becomes known?

BRAHMAM ( The Universal Cosmic Energy ) is the cause of this world. By attaining the knowledge of BRAHMAM, the effect, the world, is comprehended.

Angiras replied to Saunaka: There are two kinds of knowledge to be acquired. So those who know BRAHMAM say, Para and Apara, i.e., the higher and the lower.

Para is the knowledge of BRAHMAM.

Apara is that which treats of the means and fruits of good and bad actions. The object of the lower science is to show the cause of virtue and vice and their consequences. Apara Vidya is ignorance. It teaches nothing ultimately real. It must therefore be rejected in the end.
The lower knowledge is the Rig-veda, the Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, Siksha (phonetics), Kalpa (code of rituals), Vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Chhandas (metre) and Jyotisha (astrology). But the higher knowledge is that by which the immortal is known.

BRAHMAM can be obtained only by the removal of ignorance.
Brahma-Vidya is called Para-Vidya, because it is a help to salvation, it leads to the attainment of the BRAHMAM.

Para-Vidya is the knowledge of the immortal which can be known through the Upanishads.That which cannot be seen or seized, which has no origin, which has no properties, which has neither ear nor eye, which has neither hands nor feet, which is eternal, diversely manifested, all-pervading, extremely subtle and imperishable, the wise regard as the source of all beings.

BRAHMAM sees without eyes and hears without ears. Decay is not possible in BRAHMAM, as it is ever full and self-contained. That knowledge by which the immortal BRAHMAM is known is what is called PARAVIDYA

Essence of the Mundakopanishad
1. The knowledge which is a means to the attainment of the highest Brahmam can be    attained only by the grace of the preceptor, after one's having renounced all desire and egoism, and having acquired the four means of salvation.

2. Brahmam is not grasped by the senses as it is subtle and infinite, but is realized by the intellect purified through knowledge and meditation.

3. The individual soul attains liberation through the knowledge of Brahmam.

4. Just as rivers, when flowing into the ocean, become one and the same with it, so also he who knows Brahmam becomes identical with Brahmam.

5. The fruits of sacrifice are but perishable and transitory.

6. Cultivate discrimination, dispassion, austerity, faith, concentration, love for solitude, for the attainment of immortality and eternal bliss.

7. Seek the knowledge of Brahmam from a qualified teacher and is established in Brahmam.

8. There are two kinds of Vidya; Apara (the lower) and the Para (the higher). The former is founded on the four Vedas and the six Vedangas. The latter refers to Brahmam which is all-pervading, immortal, indivisible and self-luminous.

9. Just as a spider projects the web out of its body and then again withdraws it into itself, so also Brahmam projects this world and then withdraws it into itself.

10. Brahmam is a target to be penetrated by meditation on Oam.

11. Brahman is the immortal Soul, the one warp of the world and the individual souls, the self-luminous light of the worlds, full of bliss, omnipresent. It is in front, behind, above, below, to the right and to the left, and shines with all splendour in the heart of all.

12. Spiritual discipline, ethical duties and spiritual practices enable the aspirants to attain the knowledge of the Supreme Self.

13. Meditation will help the aspirants to develop dispassion, discrimination, faith, purity, and attain immortality and eternal bliss.