Upanishads Dictionary

Upanishads

One of the scriptures of Hinduism. The inspired teachings, visions, and mystical experiences of the ancient sages of India (exceeding one hundred texts); the concluding portion of the Vedas and the basis for Vedantic philosophy.

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 Upanishads:

the philosophical parts of the Vedas. 'upa' (near) 'ni' (down)  sad (to sit) - the act of sitting down by one's Guru to receive instruction.

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Upanishads:

The inspired teachings, visions, and mystical experiences of the ancient sages of India; the concluding portion of the Vedas and the basis for Vedantic philosophy. With immense variety of form and style, all of these scriptures (exceeding one hundred texts) give the same essential teaching that the individual soul and God are one.

(See also: Upanishads , Yoga, Yoga Dictionary, Siddha Yoga, Siddha Yoga Dictionary)

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Upanishads:

Ancient Hindu text. Part of the Vedas.

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Upanishads: Books (of varying lengths) of the philosophical teachings of the ancient sages of India on the knowledge of Absolute Reality. The upanishads contain two major themes: (1) the individual self (atman) and the Supreme Self (Paramatman) are one in essence, and (2) the goal of life is the realization/manifestation of this unity, the realization of God (Brahman). There are eleven principal upanishads: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitaryeya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, and Svetashvatara, all of which were commented on by Shankara, thus setting the seal of authenticity on them.

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Upanishads:

Upanishads: revelation; text dealing with  ultimate truth and its realization.

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Upanishads

The philosophical chapters of the Vedas, organized into 108 books. They are also called Vedanta, meaning “the culmination of Vedic knowledge,” and were explained systematically by Dvaipayana Vyasa in his Vedanta-sutra.

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upanishads:

vedic philosophical texts or scriptures occuring at the end of the vedas characterised by mystical and philosophical speculation on the nature of the self and ultimate reality

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UPANISHADS: Revelation; text dealing with Ultimate Truth and Its Realization.

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Upanishads:

One of the sections of the Vedas, forming, with one or two exceptions, the concluding chapters of the Aranyakas and containing the Vedanta philosophy. (See Vedas) There are one hundred and eight Upanishads extant, of which eleven are the most important.

(See also: Upanishads , Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

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Upanishads:

Upanishads - the philosophical parts of the Vedas. 'upa' (near) 'ni' (down) sad (to sit) - the act of sitting down by one's Guru to receive instruction.

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Upanishads: The second great collection of ancient sacred Hindu texts, the Upanishads followed the Vedas and set forth doctrines such as Self-realization, Yoga, meditation, karma and reincarnation, which were kept veiled under the symbols of the older texts.

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Upanishads: Vedic philosophical texts

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Upanishads: 108 philosophical texts of Brahmanic Hinduism composed between 800-500 BCE which emphasize the notion of the Atman-Brahman.

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Sanskrit dictionary. From Advaita to Yoga.

Please note that all words in grey, like "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

Atharva Veda: (Sanskrit) From "Atharva," the name of the rishi said to have compiled this fourth Veda. The Atharva consists of 20 books and 720 hymns. Considered the last Veda recorded, it consists of mostly original hymns (rather than replications from the Rig Veda). It is known as the Veda of prayer, in recognition of its abundant magical charms and spells. It also contains many Agama-like cosmological passages that bridge the earlier Vedic hymns and formulas with the metaphysics of the Upanishads. See: Vedas.

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Aum: (Sanskrit) or (Sanskrit) Often spelled Om. The mystic syllable of Hinduism, placed at the beginning of most sacred writings. As a mantra, it is pronounced aw (as in law), oo (as in zoo), mm.

á      Aum represents the Divine, and is associated with Lord Ganesha, for its initial sound "aa," vibrates within the muladhara, the chakra at the base of the spine upon which this God sits.

á      The second sound of this mantra, "oo," vibrates within the throat and chest chakras, the realm of Lord Murugan, or Kumara, known by the Hawaiian people as the God Ku.

á      The third sound, "mm," vibrates within the cranial chakras, ajna and sahasrara, where the Supreme God reigns.

The dot above, called anusvara, represents the Soundless Sound, Paranada. Aum is explained in the Upanishads as standing for the whole world and its parts, including past, present and future. It is from this primal vibration that all manifestation issues forth. Aum is the primary, or mula mantra, and often precedes other mantras. It may be safely used for chanting and japa by anyone of any religion. Its three letters represent the three worlds and the powers of creation, preservation and destruction. In common usage in several Indian languages, aum means "yes, verily" or "hail." See: nada, Pranava, sound, Healing sound.

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Upanishad: (Sanskrit) "Sitting near devotedly."

The fourth and final portion of the Vedas, expounding the secret, philosophical meaning of the Vedic hymns.

The Upanishads are a collection of profound texts which are the source of Vedanta and have dominated Indian thought for thousands of years. They are philosophical chronicles of rishis expounding the nature of God, soul and cosmos, exquisite renderings of the deepest Hindu thought.

Traditionally, the number of Upanishads is given as 108. Ten to 16 are classified as "major" or "principle" Upanishads, being those which philosophers have commented on through the centuries. The Upanishads are generally dated later than the Samhitas and Brahmanas, though some are actually portions of the Brahmanas. It is thought that most were written down in Sanskrit between 1500 and 600 bce.

In content, these popular and approachable texts revolve around the identity of the soul and God, and the doctrines of reincarnation, of karma and of liberation through renunciation and meditation. They are widely available in many languages. Along with the Bhagavad Gita ("song of God") they were the primary scripture to awaken the Western world to the wealth of Hindu wisdom.

See: Upanishad, shruti, Vedas, Vedanta.

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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)

Vedas:

The most sacred scriptures of the Hindus and the ultimate authority of the Hindu religion and philosophy. They were arranged by Vyasa into four books, namely, the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda. According to orthodox Vedic scholars the Vedas consist of the Mantras and the Brahmanas. The Mantras include the Samhita, and the Brahmanas include the Aranyakas and the Upanishads.

(See also: Vedas , Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

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