Upanishads

The Upanishads are a collection of religious and philosophical texts, written in India between c. 800 BCE and c. 500 BCE, "during a time when Indian society started to question the traditional Vedic religious order." During this period, some decided to pursue spiritual progress, living as ascetics and hermits, giving up family, and rejecting material concerns. Their speculations and philosophy were compiled into the Upanishads, which are an attempt to shift the focus of religious life from external rites and sacrifices towards Connection and Connection Practice.

Upanishads

Aitareya Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Isha Upanishad, Kena Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Taittiriya Upanishad

About the Upanishads

The Vedas are the oldest available Sanskrit literature, they are the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, written between 8000 BCE and 500 BCE, and considered to be of divine origin, not authored by humans: “Breathed out by God or visioned by the seers.” They are called sruti (what is heard) and are more authoritative then smriti, which are commentaries on “what is remembered. “ In New Age speak, the Vedas are considered pure channelled expressions of the highest spiritual truths.

The Vedas come in four sections. The Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda. Each individual collection is further classified into four major text types – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads. The Upanishads are focussed on meditation, affirmation, cosmology, and Connection.

The Upanishads are part of the Vedanta (the end of the Vedas) and provide a summary of centuries of spiritual thought specifically aimed at teaching and encouraging connection with God. The word Upanishad is generally taken to mean “sit down by the teacher.” The Upanishads are thus a collection of teachings designed to be delivered by a qualified Vedic teacher.

The Upanishads are a celebration of the awakening of the Self (Ātman), a state of unbounded pure being, pure bliss. They reveal the great truth of life: The Self of the individual is identical to the Self of the universe (Brahman). They sing out, “I am totality” (aham brahmāsmi). The wholeness of life, Brahman, expresses itself as every particle of creation and as every human being. This is the profound message of the Upanishads.

Of the 200 surviving Upanishads, fourteen are considered important. These are the Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brhadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, Kausitaki, Mahanarayana and the Maitri Upanishads."

"Etymologically, the name Upanishad is composed of the terms upa (near) and shad (to sit), meaning something like “sitting down near”. The name is inspired by the action of sitting at the feet of an illuminated teacher to engage in a session of spiritual instructions, as aspirants still do in India today."

Of the 200 surviving Upanishads, fourteen are considered important. These are the Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brhadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, Kausitaki, Mahanarayana and the Maitri Upanishads."

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