Upanishads

The Upanishads are philosophical texts of the Hindu religion. More than 200 are known, of which the first dozen or so, the oldest and most important, are variously referred to as the principal, main (mukhya) or old Upanishads.

The oldest of these, the Brihadaranyaka, Jaiminiya Upanisadbrahmana and the Chandogya Upanishads, were composed during the pre-Buddhist era of India, while the Taittiriya, Aitareya and Kausitaki, which allegedly show Buddhist influence, must have been composed after the 5th century BC.
The remainder of the mukhya Upanishads are dated to the last few centuries BC. New Upanishads were still composed in the medieval and early modern period: discoveries of newer Upanishads were being reported as late as 1926. One, the Muktikā Upanishad, predates 1656 and contains a list of 108 canonical Upanishads, including itself as the last.

However, several texts under the title of "Upanishads" originated right up to the first half of the 20th century, some of which did not deal with subjects of Vedic philosophy. The newer Upanishads are known to be imitations of the mukhya Upanishads.

The Upanishads have been attributed to several authors: Yajnavalkya and Uddalaka Aruni feature prominently in the early Upanishads. Other important writers include Shvetaketu, Shandilya, Aitareya, Pippalada and Sanatkumara. Important women discussants include Yajnavalkya's wife Maitreyi, and Gargi.

Dara Shikoh, son of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, translated 50 Upanishads into Persian in 1657. The first written English translation came in 1805 from Colebrook, who was aware of 170 Upanishads. Sadhale's catalog from 1985, the Upaniṣad-vākya-mahā-kośa, lists 223 Upanishads. The Upanishads are mostly the concluding part of the Brahmanas and in the Aranyakas.


The basic teachings of the Upanishads are summed up in six great sayings (Mahavakyas). These are :-

"I am Brahman" (Aham Brahmasmi) :- This states the identity of the inmost consciousness of the individual with that of the supreme Divine. The ultimate truth of Vedic knowledge is not that some great savior is God or the Lord or that such and such a God or name and form of God is the supreme. It is not the worship of a person, book, image or idea. It is not even the worship of God. The Upanishads say that whatever we worship as truth apart from ourselves destroys us. They teach that our own Self is the true Divinity, that it is the presence of the absolute within our heart and all the universe.

"The Self is Brahman" (Ayam Atma Brahma) :- This also states the identity of the soul with the Absolute but in a more objective and less direct manner. 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. Not only is the I That, the You is also That. We are that ultimate I and Thou in all. The consciousness in the other is also the Divine.

"Intelligence is Brahman" (Prajnanam Brahma) :- Our discernment of truth is the truth itself. It indicates that the Divine intelligence is present within us and has the power to return us to the Divine. Our inmost intelligence is that supreme intelligence through which we can merge into the Absolute.

"The Universe is Brahman" (Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma) :- The entire universe is the Divine, which includes our self. The Divine is not only the consciousness principle in you and I, it is also the being principle in all things. It is the ultimate object as well as the inmost subject in all beings. It is one and all and all in one.

"He am I" (So'ham) :- This shows the identity of the self with the Divine Lord inherent within the natural movement of our breath. "So" is the natural sound of inhalation, "ham" of exhalation.

These are statements of the identity of the individual consciousness with the Absolute or Divine reality. They all derive from and merge into Om (AUM), the Divine Word of "I am all".