[Advaita-l] The significance of metaphorical meditations in various Upanishads

[Bhaskar YR]

Why is *so much* time and so many words spent on these metaphorical breakdowns in the Upanishads, when the essence of it is in the unspeakable, the beyond-concepts?

praNAms Sri Akilesh prabhuji
Hare Krishna

In Geeta lord says : manushyANAm sahasreshu ....yathathAmapi siddhAnAm kaschinmAm vetti tattvataH.  Brahma vidya is very subtle and very seldom one would understand it 'as it is'.  One out of crores we can says considering present day population 😊 shruti is the mother, she would cater others (crores of anadhikAri-s of brahma vidya) also while keeping subtle and ultimate teaching to that one uttamAdhikAri.  All details that you have mentioned is just to appease the mass while keeping the ultimate teaching to 'class' 😊 All are, at once, would not qualify to do jignAsa about brahma vidyA with the backdrop of sAdhana chatushtaya, So, shruti mAta, out of compassion, would accommodate the temperaments of various types of adhikAris.  If you want to do / follow your svadharma veda is the source, if you want to know the purpose of srushti and srushti krama veda is the source, if you want to have krama mukti through dhyAna, archana, upAsana veda is the source and finally if you want to realize the svarUpa which is avA~ngmAnasa gOchara again shruti is the ultimate source / pramANa.  Just few of my thoughts.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
Bhaskar