The Upanishads

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The Upanishads
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• The word Upanishad is Sanskrit for Sitting
  Down Beside
• It derives from
• upa near
• ni down
• sad to sit
• The Upanishads are known as the spiritual
  compilations of the Vedas, or Vedanta which means
  the end/culmination of the Vedas

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History and Classification

• According to tradition there are over 200
  Upanishads, transmitted orally.
• The Upanishads were composed over several
  centuries. The oldest, Brhadaranyaka and
  Chandogya, were written in 8th century BC, and
  composed in prose.
• These were followed by a series composed in
  verse.
• The scriptures are affiliated with the four Vedas
  and are not seen as uniform books, each is
  connected to the Veda in which it occurs
• They are regularly classified in terms of the
  subject matter they cover.
• Known as Sruti, which is revealed scripture from
  which knowledge of Brahman is obtained.

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Contents

• They discuss philosophy, meditation and the
  nature of God and hold information on basic Hindu
  beliefs such as
• a world soul,
• a universal spirit,
• Brahman,
• and Atman (individual soul)
• Spiritual meanings of the Vedic texts are brought
  out and emphasised in their own right. For
  example, doctrines such as self realisation,
  yoga, karma and reincarnation that were veiled
  under the symbols of the older religion.
• They sought liberation from the cycle of life and
  death and introduced notion of immortality as
  reality

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Teachings

• Summed up in six great sayings (Mahavakyas)
• I am Brahman Aham Brahma
• The ultimate truth of Vedic knowledge is not
  that the great saviour is God or God is supreme.
  Whatever we worship apart from ourselves destroys
  us. Our own self is the true divinity.
• The Self is Brahman Ayam Atma Brahma
• Not only is our Self the Divine. it is the same
  Self in all beings that is the same absolute
  truth
• That thou art Tat tvam asi
• Whatever we see or think about we are that. We
  are the ultimate I and Thou in all.

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Teachings continued

• Intelligence is Brahman Prajnanam Brhama
• Our discernment of truth is the truth itself.
  The divine intelligence is present within us and
  has the power to return us to the divine.
• The universe is Brahman Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma
• The entire universe is Divine, including
  ourselves. Not only the conscious principle, it
  is the being principle. The ultimate object as
  well as the inmost subject in all beings. One in
  all and all in one.
• Here am I Soham (so- natural inhalation, ham
  exhalation)
• The identity of the self with the Divine Lord
  inherent with the natural movement of our breath

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Brahman

• The Taittiriya Upanishad describes Brahman as
• Truth (sataya), knowledge (jñana), and infinity
  (ananta).
• Beyond this all that can be expressed about
  brahman is that it is existence (sat),
  consciousness (chit) and bliss (ananda).
• Ultimately Brahman cannot be described, since to
  describe is to confine, and with the infinite,
  this is impossible.
• The Sage Yajñavalkya said one may come close to
  describing brahman only by stating what it is not
• In the Chandogya Upanishad a father asks son to
  dissolve salt in water. He says that Brahman and
  atman are united in a similar manner
• Tat tvam asi