According to Indian tradition, their authors were ancient sages, known as rishis, whose wisdom was transmitted orally from teacher to student. This is indicated by the very word upa-ni-sad, upa (beside), ni (down), sad (to sit), which signifies a student sitting at the feet of a teacher and receiving his teachings. Another interpretation takes the word nisad as the root, which means secret teaching that the student receives from the teacher.
The Upanishads came to Europe through a Persian translation after the Mughal prince Muhammad Dara Shikuh had fifty Upanishads translated into Persian. They were translated into French by Anquetil-Dupperon in 1802.
One translation of the text could be:
“From Persian to Latin. There are many Upanishads, over two hundred are known, although tradition states there are one hundred and eight. The most important ones are considered to be: Aitareya, Taittiriya, Chandogya, Brhadaranyaka, Mundaka, Isa, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Svetasvatara, and Mandukya.
The Upanishads provide answers to questions that humans have asked at different times: Where do I come from? How does everything come into existence? Where am I going? Their philosophy shows the path to the fulfillment of a person’s destiny – a path that has its starting point and destination.
MANDUKYA UPANISHAD: Brahman is truly immortal. It is the master of everything, the knower of everything, the inner director. It is the source of everything. It is the beginning and end of all creatures. That which gives birth to these creatures, in whom they live when they are born, and to whom they return after death, that is Brahman.
Ancient Indians realized that the world is subject to constant change. Everything is born, ages, and dies. What is seen and heard is transient and final. The pleasures that the world offers are temporary.” Departure. We often wonder if there is something unchanging, something that lies behind the changeable.
KATHA UPANISHAD: The entire Universe, everything that exists, arises from It and moves within It… Everything else depends on It, while It depends on nothing. Those who attain It become immortal!
The Upanishads emphasize the idea of the unity of the world. Brahman, the source of everything, permeates everything, and is present in everything, making the universe unique, the universe is One. Everything strives for the same, everything has one goal, which is the realization of Brahman, or the union with It, achieving unity with that true reality.
The presence of Brahman within us is called Atman – it is our life breath, our essence, our inner immortal being. Man is the universe and the universe is man.
CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD: Tat twam asi – That thou art.
Everything that exists carries within itself that One.
KATHA UPANISHAD: Smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest, Atman is forever in the heart of every being.
The Upanishads warn that Brahman can never be reached cannot be intellectually known or explained because It eludes all of that. That is why the Upanishads say in response to every attempt to define it: Neti, neti… (Not this, not this…).
In order to discern things in the phenomenal world, we need opposites. I know what cold is because I know warmth. I know what day is because I know night. The phenomenal world is dualistic, while Brahman is the unity that the intellect is incapable of comprehending.
KATHA UPANISHAD: The Atman is not known through study, nor through contemplation, nor through listening. It is known through itself.
A statue of Vishnu with Garuda and Hanuman.
We are distanced from true reality by our excessive preoccupation with ourselves. We look at ourselves as separate beings in nature, detached from the whole, and thus we only see unreal differences. Through this type of perception, we place a veil in front of our eyes that separates us from the truth. This veil is called Maya or illusion by the Indians.
KATHA UPANISHAD: Just as rain falling on a hill flows through various paths among the rocks, so it The one who sees the multiplicity of things only pursues them.
It is necessary to break the illusions, see how things are connected and realize the unity of the universe. A voice speaks from the depths of the human heart: Lead me from the unreal to the real, lead me from darkness to light, lead me from death to immortality. (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad)
The world has a unique destiny. Everything seeks the same and aspires to the same.
Prasna Upanishad: Just as birds, my dear, fly to the tree to rest, so do all these things go to the Atman! They find tranquility in the highest, the Atman!
The seed of true reality, the seed of immortality, is contained in everything. It should be allowed to sprout, to emerge from the ground composed of transient elements; one must free oneself from the transient in order to know the eternal. The conflict between the transient and the eternal is constantly present within us and is reflected in our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The Upanishads state that greed, desire, sloth, and cravings are expressions of the transient and mortal within a human being. So what then is a reflection of the higher and imperishable? ogh? These are mercy, selflessness, honesty, or virtues that lead us on the path to realizing the meaning of our own existence.
According to Eastern philosophy, understanding the universe is necessary to know Dharma, the fundamental law that operates within it, and applies to everything: from ants and trees to the Sun and planetary systems. Everything that exists is subject to the rule of this perfect law.
In order for a person to follow the path of Dharma, they need to know how to discern what is good for them and what is not. True knowledge is based on this, not on collecting data, but on the ability to differentiate between truth and falsehood, transient and permanent, beneficial and harmful.
KATHA UPANISHAD: One who does not discern and has a restless mind, their senses are uncontrolled like wild horses for a carriage driver.
One who discerns and has a calm mind, their senses are controlled like tame horses for a carriage driver.
One who does not discern never reaches the goal and is born again and again.
One who discerns, reaches the goal. and is not born again.
A person whose ability to discern is weak allows passions to rule over them and life becomes a mirror of passing things. The Upanishads warn that the greatest dangers are not outside of a person, but within themselves. It is necessary to confront problems, but in the world we live in. Life demands that we show generosity, truthfulness, and selflessness. The Upanishads advise: do not steal, do not covet what belongs to others, do not succumb to anger, malice, and greed. Eradicate all of that, but not compassion and empathy. Become your own master, free yourself from your flaws by developing selfless love and caring for others.
BRHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD:
– … Have you understood? They said: – We have understood, you have told us: ‘Damyata, restrain yourselves!’
– … Have you understood? They said: – We have understood, you have told us: ‘Dayadhran, be compassionate!’
– … Have you understood? They said: – We have understood, you have told us: ‘Dana, give!’
– … Exercise self-control, give, be compassionate. These three should be practiced: self-control, giving, compassion!
TAITTIRIYA UPANISHADS: What is given should be given with faith, given abundantly, given with humility, given with reverence, given with compassion.
Virtues lead a person on the path of Dharma. They are the answer to how to live and they guide a person towards the goal. From the Upanishads, we learn that the teacher’s prerequisite for accepting a student was only moral purity. The desire for knowledge alone was not enough. The student had to purify his heart.
BRHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD: Free from evil, free from impurities, free from doubt, one becomes a knower of Brahman!
Following the path of Dharma leads to liberation from the cycle of continuous birth and death, which Indians call samsara.
Ancient civilizations, including the Indian civilization, knew that humans go through cycles. We have our springs and winters, just as everything in nature is born, dies, and is born again, we also go through the same phases.
KATHA UPANISHAD: Mortals mature and fall like a grain of wheat to the ground and like Every grain of wheat sprouts again when the time comes.
BRHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD: Just as a caterpillar, upon reaching the end of one blade of grass and attracting another blade of grass, moves on to it, so does this self, after discarding this body, attract another body and move into it.
Beings are born, die, and are born again until they reach the ultimate goal, which is the realization of Brahman. For Indians, life is not abandoned. What we call life and death are just different manifestations of one Life for them. We live with and without a body to learn on the path of Dharma. This path can be imagined as a road bordered by walls. If a person reasons correctly, they walk in the middle of the path of Dharma. But a person in ignorance often walks like a blind person, stumbling and hitting the walls. The painful blows bring them back to the middle of the path. In Eastern philosophy, pain is seen as a means of realization. The blows against the wall are not punishment but necessary to guide a person onto the right path. These blows represent Karma, the law of action and reaction. According to this law, In the law of nature, every action is a consequence of a previous action and the cause of the next. As you sow, so shall you reap. There is no good or bad luck, only the result of our actions. Our actions speak of our strength or weaknesses.
The basic idea that runs through the Upanishads is the idea of the unity of man and the universe. Yoga is an ancient Indian science that allows man to unite with himself, with the universe. The name yoga etymologically derives from the Sanskrit root yug, which means to harness, to connect together.
KATHA UPANISHAD: When the five senses of perception are united with discernment, and the mind is steady without wavering, then, they say, the highest state is attained. This calmness of the senses and mind is called Yoga.
The Konark Sun Temple, dedicated to the god of the Sun, Surya, was built in the 13th century.
The path of yoga is a path of perfection that requires man to understand the elements of his nature, to learn to control them and unite them into a harmonious whole. Yoga leads to union with Brahman, and that requires effort, facing problems, not running away. One of them. The path is not easy, but the Upanishads call for a fight: Stand up, awaken. Approach the Teacher and realize. The path is sharp and impassable like the edge of a razor, say the wise!
But it is possible to cross it, it is possible to realize Brahman. Those who realize it have attained moksha or liberation from the cycle of birth and death. They have reached ananda, the state of supreme bliss. This is not a state of emptiness or nothingness. It is a state beyond all dualities. Just as the sun’s rays merge into the sun, or a wave in the ocean, human consciousness merges with universal consciousness. There is no difference between us and the universe. Man is the universe and the universe is man. Man has realized that one, absolute reality hidden behind all things.
MUNDAKA UPANISHAD: Just as rivers flow into the sea and lose their name and form, so does a knower, liberated from name and form, reach something higher than the highest.
The Upanishads advise us to know our Dharma, our life’s purpose, and strive to fulfill it.
TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD: Speak the truth. Follow Dharma. Do not neglect the truth. Follow Dharma. Do not neglect learning and teaching. If any doubt arises in you regarding behavior, follow the examples of the brahmins, who are devoted to good deeds and Dharma.
There are many who do not make an effort to understand their own Dharma but live guided by selfish interests, chasing various temporary pleasures. There are few who follow the path of their Dharma, the path of fulfilling their own destiny, because it requires effort and constant striving, but it leads to lasting happiness and bliss. There are very few who achieve the ultimate goal, the realization of Brahman. But if it is possible for one, then it is possible for everyone.