The Upanishads enunciate, in set terms, the highest metaphysical truth that human understanding can grasp and at the same time indicate practically, utilizing their oft-repeated injunctions that man has to rise above all distinctions and limitations in order to reach that transcendent Reality which alone is worthy of supreme pursuit by man.
The Upanishads are ancient wisdom texts that were transmitted orally for centuries before being written down around the 5th century B.C. . They are part of a body of scriptures known as the Vedas, which were passed on from generation to generation in India for over three thousand years. "Upa" means "near" or "close by," and "ni" means "to lead." Hence Upanishads are considered to be a companion to the Vedas. The Upanishads are also called the Vedanta, which means "the conclusion of (the) Veda.
“Philosophy of Upanishads”; The concept of “sat” or “is-ness”, which is an equivalent word for “truth”.
Upanishads are ancient texts that form part of the Hindu scriptures. Like the Sanskrit Vedas, Upanishads are considered to be Sruti or “heard” texts.
When people hear a particular sentence or a verse, they consider it as authoritative and treat it as scripture.
The Upanishads were passed on from teacher to student orally for many centuries before they were written down. This is why the texts are considered to be literally Sruti or a divine message that is heard from God by highly developed souls.
Understanding the philosophy of Upanishads can help us greatly in reaching peace and happiness in our lives.
The word Philosophy is derived from the Greek terms "Philo" and "Sophia", meaning "love" and "wisdom" respectively. But both terms, as used in this expression, are significant in themselves. They are significant because they are used to embody two ideas which stand at the two extremes of human consciousness.
The Upanishads are part of the ancient Indian scriptures known as the Vedas. The essential message of the Upanishads is captured in four bhasya (commentaries)- the Bhasya of Badarayana, the Bhasya of Sankaracharya, the Bhasya of Madhavananda, and the Bhasya of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Together these four commentaries on the Vedas and Vedic texts are known as "Prasthantrayi" and are considered authoritative in matters of spiritual philosophy.
To understand the message of the Upanishads, one must identify oneself with them. Then one sees that they are not the products of human intelligence. They cannot be mastered in a trice. Their message is summed up in the Upanishad; hence, they are revered as authoritative. They are not the products of human intelligence; they are the whisperings of God to man.
Sanathana Dharma is based on the philosophy of the Upanishads.
The Upanishads form the basis of Sanathana Dharma (Hinduism). They are called the Sruthi or Sruti or Vedas. They are not to be considered as mere philosophy for scholastic exercise but are meant to be practiced by one and all for cleansing the heart and soul and getting salvation. The Upanishads have come out from the realization of God in the heart of sages who have taken pains in practicing the discipline of Yoga and meditation on Brahman or God.
This religion has no one Founder as the others have.
The Sanathana Dharma or eternal religion is based on the Vedas and the Upanishads. This religion has no one Founder as the others have. That invisible unknown founder is God, the source of all wisdom. He is the Prophet of this Sanathana Dharma.
“Those who have not heard the shruti, they say; `The Upanishads give a description of Brahman and then proclaim the identity of the Self with Brahman and that is all. But those who have heard the shruti say: `The shruti says that one should perform an action for purification and by action knowledge of Brahman is attained. The union of the individual soul with Brahman is the identity of the real and the unreal. This identity is not superficial, it is true oneness. When a person says that he has realized Brahman, his realization cannot be false. The shastra declares only that identity that is attained after purification through action as taught in the ‘concluding portion’ of each Upanishad.
There are about 200 Upanishads included in the Muktika canon of Hindu philosophy. These are recognized as the main Upanishads by the Hindus. They are referred to as the Vedanta, the end of the culmination of the Vedas.
Most of these 200 Upanishads are attached to various Vedas, except ten which are independent works, and three which are connected with the main works - the Aitareya, Chandogya, and Kausilya. The ten independent Upanishads are Kena, Katha, Isha, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Svetasvatara, and Maitri. The three attached Upanishads are Kaushitaki, Brihadaranyaka, and Sankhyayana.
“Let us see now how the Jiva, the embodied, emerges from and re-merges into the Brahman, the imperceptible and inscrutable. The causality of the emergence or manifestation of Brahman is called ‘Maya’ (magic).
The philosophy of Upanishads is known as Advaita-Vedanta. It is not only the Vedanta but its every aspect, like: its shastras (scriptures), its Vidyas (sciences), its arts, and so on. The purpose of the Vedanta is to make man realize his Oneness with the Supreme Soul.
This is why the Gita, unlike the Upanishads, is meant for all and sundry. The Upanishads are meant only for a class of men who are not satisfied with the gross objects of the senses. The Gita is for all and sundry. The Upanishads are not meant for a common man. They may be studied and understood by a man of profound intellect and high aspirations when he has given up all worldly considerations. But the Gita is an easy book for everybody to understand, guide, direct, and discipline.
One of the most striking features of the Upanishads is that they contain no definitions or explanations. They do not even profess to be the words of the sage or the disciple. They are a divinely effulgent light. They touch the heart by their beauty and glory. They remove doubts and objections. They address the intellect, resolve contradictions, and bring about harmony among apparently conflicting statements. The Upanishads do not deal with any specific form of practice. How can there be any particular sect? For all sects are contained in them. The Upanishads are the essence and marrow of all knowledge.
In the same way, the sage Vyasa classified the Upanishads and allotted them among the four Vedas, as mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatham. There are 21 branches in Rigveda, and each branch has one Upanishad allotted to it. In Yajurveda, there are 109 branches and 109 Upanishads were its share, while there are 50 branches in Atharvaveda and 50 Upanishads were allotted to it. So, the total number of Upanishads came to be 1180.
The Upanishads is the name given to a collection of philosophical texts which form the concluding portions of the Vedas and are therefore called Vedanta – the end of the Veda. The word Vedana means knowledge: Vedanta is knowledge about Reality, which is spoken about in the Upanishads.
Intending to give an outline of the main principles taught by all Upanishads, there is a famous Upanishad (Mundaka) which says: ‘That is whole and this is whole’. The universe is made up of Five Elements, namely Ether or Space, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. All this universe is made of these five elements and these five elements are in turn made of three Gunas – Sattva, Rajas, Tamas.
The Upanishads, the source of all scriptures, are the essence of the Vedas. Vedas do not mean religious or sacred scriptures. They mean Knowledge. The word Veda means knowledge. Four parts of the Vedas viz Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda have been respectively assigned to each of the four traditional Indian castes viz Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vysya, and Shudra.
Thus, in India's ancient (Vedic) society, the Brahmin was considered as a repository of all knowledge because he was well-versed in all Vedas. Amongst the four Vedas, the Atharvaveda was regarded as an auxiliary Veda comprising spells and incantations meant for purposes other than ritualistic worship (e.g., for causing harm to enemies, etc.).
Other writings on geography, astronomy, astrology, economics, and political theory, as well as the 18 Puranas comprising Skanda, Siva, Garuda, and others, have been inspired by the Upanishads. Sanathana Dharma is built on the foundation of the Vedas and Upanishads.
The philosophy of Upanishads is that man has to realize his true Self i.e. Atma to become Ekatma i.e. realize God, even when he is alive in this mortal body. It is a spiritual philosophy. Unlike the mythologies of other religions, this religion has no one Founder as the others have. That invisible unknown founder is God, the source of all wisdom. He is the Prophet of this Sanathana Dharma. On the contrary to the prevalent faiths are based on fallacies and obscurantism.
Sanathana Dharma is based on seven fundamental truths:
- There is only One God who is the source of all creation.
- All living beings are eternal and pervaded by the same divine force.
- Human life has a beginning and will have an end.
- Good actions will produce good results, bad actions will produce bad results whether in this life or in the life hereafter
- There is no point in performing any action that will not bear fruit in any of the three states - past, present, or future
- The world is created out of karma (good and bad actions)
- Human life can be complete only when one realizes the divine presence within.
