A Wisdom Archive on Upanishads.

Upanishad (Sanskrit) [from upa according to + ni down + the verbal root sad to sit]
 
Following or according to the teachings which were received when sitting down; esoteric doctrine. "Literary works in which the rahasya -- a Sanskrit word meaning esoteric doctrine or mystery -- is imbodied. The Upanishads belong to the Vedic cycle and are regarded by orthodox Brahmans as a portion of the Sruti or ''Revelation.'' It was from these wonderful quasi-esoteric and very mystical works that was later developed the highly philosophical and profound system called the Vedanta" (OG 179).
 
The Upanishads belong to the third division of the Vedas and are appended to the Brahmanas. The number of Upanishads hitherto known is about 170, though probably only a score are now complete without evident marks of excision or interpolation. These Upanishads belong to different periods of antiquity, some being of a much later date than others. Although the Upanishads are usually considered by modern scholars to be as a whole of later date than the Brahmanas, the original Upanishads were composed in an antiquity which anteceded that of the Brahmanas, and are probably coeval with the composition of the Vedas themselves.
 
"The Upanishads must be far more ancient than the days of Buddhism, as they show no preference for, nor do they uphold, the superiority of the Brahmans as a caste. On the contrary, it is the (now) second caste, the Kshatriya, or warrior class, who are exalted in the oldest of them. As stated by Professor Cowell in Elphinstone''s History of India -- ''they breathe a freedom of spirit unknown to any earlier work except the Rig-Veda . . . The great teachers of the higher knowledge and Brahmans are continually represented as going to Kshatriya Kings to become their pupils.'' The ''Kshatriya Kings'' were in the olden times, like the King-Hierophants of Egypt, the receptacles of the highest divine knowledge and wisdom, the Elect and the incarnations of the primordial divine Instructors -- the Dhyani Buddhas or Kumaras. There was a time, aeons before the Brahmans became a caste, or even the Upanishads were written, when there was on earth but one ''lip,'' one religion and one science, namely, the speech of the gods, the Wisdom-Religion and Truth. This was before the fair fields of the latter, overrun by nations of many languages, became overgrown with the weeds of intentional deception, and national creeds invented by ambition, cruelty and selfishness, broke the one sacred Truth into thousands of fragments" (TG 354).
 
Thirteen of the principal Upanishads are: Aitareya, Kaushitaki, Kena, Taittiriya, Maitri, Katha, Brihadaranyaka, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Isa, Chhandogya, and Svetasvatara.

 
(See also: Upanishad, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul )

For more dictionary entries, see » Upanishads Dictionary

Upanishad (Sanskrit). Translated as "esoteric doctrine ", or interpretation of the Vedas by the Vedanta methods.
 
The third division of the Vedas appended to the Brahmanas and regarded as a portion of Sruti or "revealed" word. They are, however, as records, far older than the Brahmanas the exception of the two, still extant, attached to the Rig -Veda of the Aitareyins.
 
The term Upanishad is explained by the Hindu pundits as "that which destroys ignorance, and thus produces liberation" of the spirit, through the knowledge of the supreme though hidden truth; the same, therefore, as that which was hinted at by Jesus, when he is made to say, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free " (John viii. 32). It is from these treatises of the Upanishads - themselves the echo of the primeval Wisdom-Religion?that the Vedanta system of philosophy has been developed. (See "Vedanta".)
 
Yet old as the Upanishads may be, the Orientalists will not assign to the oldest of them more than an antiquity of 600 years B.C. The accepted number of these treatises is 150, though now no more than about twenty are left unadulterated. They treat of very abstruse, metaphysical questions, such as the origin of the Universe; the nature and the essence of the Unmanifested Deity and the manifested gods the connection, primal and ultimate, of spirit and matter ; the universality of mind and the nature of the human Soul and Ego.
 
The Upanishads must be far more ancient than the days of Buddhism, as they show no preference for, nor do they uphold, the superiority of the Brahmans as a caste. On the contrary, it is the (now) second caste, the Kshatriya, or warrior class, who are exalted in the oldest of them. As stated by Professor Cowell in Elphinstone’s History of India -  - "they breathe a freedom of spirit unknown to any earlier work except the Rig Veda. . . The great teachers of the higher knowledge and Brahmans are continually represented as going to Kshatriya Kings to become their pupils." The " Kshatriya Kings" were in the olden times, like the King Hierophants of Egypt, the receptacles of the highest divine knowledge and wisdom, the Elect and the incarnations of the primordial divine Instructors - the Dhyani Buddhas or Kumaras.
 
There was a time, eons before the Brahmans became a caste, or even the Upanishads were written, when there was on earth but one "lip ", one religion and one science, namely, the speech of the gods, the Wisdom-Religion and Truth. This was before the fair fields of the latter, overrun by nations of many languages, became overgrown with the weeds of intentional deception, and national creeds invented by ambition, cruelty and selfishness, broke the one sacred Truth into thousands of fragments.

 
(See also: Upanishad, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,  )

For more dictionary entries, see » Upanishads Dictionary

The Upanishads are records of the thoughts and teachings of ancient Indian sages who lived in forest hermitages. They are among the oldest religious scriptures in the world. All of them are preoccupied with the quest for knowledge of the Self.
 
Isa Upanishad is a compact and highly poetic scripture. It contains all the quintessential teachings of all the Upanishads. When asked to condense his life's message in three words, Gandhiji said: "Renounce and enjoy". This is the dictum in the very first stanza of Isa Upanishad: "All this - whatever moves on earth - should be enveloped by the Lord. Fortify yourself through this renunciation. Do not covet anybody's wealth; to whom does wealth belong?

 
(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Message of Control, Charity and Compassion

Mundakya Upanishad (Sanskrit). Lit., the "Mundaka esoteric doctrine", a work of high antiquity. It has been translated by Raja Rammohun Roy.

 
(See also: Mundakya Upanishad, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,  )

For more dictionary entries, see » Upanishads Dictionary

Vedas are four in number: The Rig Veda , the Sama Veda , the Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda . Each of these four Vedas has four parts: the Samhita, the Brahmana, the Aranyaka, and a number of Upanishads. The first three parts of all the Vedas are collectively called the Vedas , and the fourth and the last, the Upanishads, are collectively called Vedanta .
 
These four parts of the Vedas represent the historical order of their development over millennia. The Samhitas are the most ancient, and of them, the Rig Veda Samhita is the earliest. The Samhitas are considered the Vedas proper; the Brahmanas , the Aranyakas and the Upanishads are periodic additions, made by way of growing with the changing times.

 
(See also: The Vedas, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » The Vedas: Physics is the New Bhashya of Vedanta  

There's this story of a young boy whose dialogue with death is as fascinating as it is exploratory, coursing down the six chapters of the Katha Upanishad.
 
Sage Vajasravasa, to get divine recognition, performed a sacrificial rite which required him to give up all his possessions and pleasures. But he gifted away only those cows which were diseased, old and lame, keeping the good ones for himself.

 
(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Life and Death: For the Living From The Realm of Death

In 61 aphorisms, the Nirvanopanishad describes the attributes of one who has achieved Jivanmukti or liberation, while remaining in the physical body. At the very beginning, this Upanishad makes it clear that when one says: “Brahman encompasses the universe”, one is still assuming that there is duality, of the Brahman and the universe. The Jivanmukta, or the realised one, does not see the Brahman as being separate from the universe. For him, the universe does not exist. Therefore, he himself does not exist. The only existence is of the Brahman.

 
(See also: Jivanmukti, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Jivanmukti: A Jivanmukta Lives In Non-duality