The Upanishads (Devanagari Devanagari , also called Nagari (Nāgarī, the name of its parent writing system), is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, does not have distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together. Devanāgarī is the main script: उपनिषद्, IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a popular transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts: upaniṣad, also spelled "Upanisad") are Hindu scriptures Literature regarded as central to the Vedic Hindu literary tradition was predominantly composed in Sanskrit, Indeed, much of the morphology and linguistic philosophy inherent in the learning of Sanskrit is inextricably linked to study of the Vedas and other Vedic texts that constitute the core teachings of Vedanta Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a sandhied form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal [end] of the Vedas.".^[1] They do not belong to any particular period of Sanskrit literature Literature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to late Antiquity . Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD. There are contemporary efforts towards revival, with events like the "All-: the oldest, such as the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, date to the late Brahmana The Brāhmaṇas are part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing the proper performance of rituals period (around the middle of the first millennium BCE Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is one of the designations for the world's most commonly used year-numbering system. The numbering of years using Common Era notation is identical to the numbering used with Anno Domini notation, 2010 being the current year in both notations and neither using a year zero. Common Era is also known as Christian Era and), while the latest were composed in the medieval The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in and early modern period. The Upanishads have exerted an important influence on the rest of Hindu philosophy In Hindu history, the distinction of the six orthodox schools was current in the Gupta period "golden age" of Hinduism. With the disappearance of Vaishshika and Mimamsa, it was obsolete by the later Middle Ages, when the various sub-schools of Vedanta began to rise to prominence as the main divisions of religious philosophy. Nyaya and were collectively considered one of the 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written by the British poet Martin Seymour-Smith.

The philosopher and commentator Adi Sankara Adi Shankara (788 CE - 821 CE?), also known as Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, was an Indian philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta. His teachings are based on the unity of the soul and Brahman, in which Brahman is viewed as without attributes. He hailed from Kalady of is thought to have composed commentaries on eleven mukhya or principal Upanishads, those that are generally regarded as the oldest, spanning the late Vedic The Vedic Period is the period during which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of the Indo-Aryans, were being composed. Scholars place the Vedic period in the second and first millennia BCE continuing up to the 6th century BCE based on literary evidence and Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive and powerful empire in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC. Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic plains in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna). The Empire was founded in 322 BC periods. The Muktika Upanishad (predates 1656) contains a list of 108 canonical Upanishads^[2] and lists itself as the final one. Although there are a wide variety of philosophical positions propounded in the Upanishads, commentators since Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (788 CE - 821 CE?), also known as Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, was an Indian philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta. His teachings are based on the unity of the soul and Brahman, in which Brahman is viewed as without attributes. He hailed from Kalady of have usually followed him in seeing idealist Idealism is the philosophical theory which maintains that the ultimate nature of reality is based on the mind or ideas. In the philosophy of perception, idealism is contrasted with realism in which the external world is said to have an apparent absolute existence. Epistemological idealists claim that the only things which can be directly known for monism Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is one God, with many manifestations in different as the dominant one.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Dara Shikoh (d. 1659), son of the Mughal The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in former English usage, was an Indian-Islamic imperial power that ruled a large portion of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of South Asia by the late 17th and early 18th centuries by forming alliance with Indian Maharaja, and ended in the mid-19th century. The Mughal Emperors emperor Shah Jahan Shahab Uddin Muhammad Shah Jahan I (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, Urdu: شاه ‌جہاں, Persian: شاه جهان (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666) was the emperor of the Mughal Empire in India from 1628 until 1658. The name Shah Jahan comes from Persian meaning "king of the world." He was the fifth Mughal ruler after Babur,, translated fifty Upanishads into Persian Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq, Bahrain, and Oman. New Persian, which usually is called also by the names of Farsi, Parsi, Dari or Parsi-ye-Dari (Dari Persian), can be classified linguistically. Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller , more regularly known as Max Müller, was a German philologist and Orientalist, one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion. Müller wrote both scholarly and popular works on the subject of Indology, a discipline he introduced to the British reading public, (1879) was aware of 170. Sadhale, in his massive verse index Upaniṣad-vākya-mahā-kośa, has drawn on 223 different extant texts that call themselves by this name.^[8] Additionally, parts of earlier texts, of Brahmanas The Brāhmaṇas are part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing the proper performance of rituals or passages of the Vedas The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism themselves, are sometimes considered Upanishads.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

The Sanskrit Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and Buddhism[note 1]. Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand. Sanskrit has been declared a classical language by the Government of India term upaniṣad derives from upa- (nearby), ni- (at the proper place, down) and sad ("sitting down near" (a teacher in order to receive instruction))^[9] - "laying siege" to the teacher, as Schayer puts it.^[10] Monier-Williams Sir Monier Monier-Williams, KCIE was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, and compiled one of the most widely used Sanskrit-English dictionaries adds that "according to native authorities upanishad means 'setting to rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit');..."^[11] A gloss of the term upaniṣad based on Shankara's commentary on the Kaṭha The Katha Upanishad , also titled "Death as Teacher", is one of the mukhya ("primary") Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the Cāraka-Kaṭha school of the Black Yajurveda, and is grouped with the Sutra period of Vedic Sanskrit. It is a middle Upanishad. It contains passages that suggest contact with and Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishads equates it with Ātmavidyā, that is "knowledge of the Self The Ātman is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. It is one's true self (hence generally translated into English as 'Self') beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence", or Brahmavidyā "knowledge of Brahma". Other dictionary meanings include "esoteric doctrine" and "secret doctrine".

Philosophy

The Upanishads speak of a universal spirit (Brahman In the Hindu religion, Brahman is the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools. In the Rig Veda,) and of an individual Self (Atman),^[12] and at times assert the identity of both. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. The mystical nature and intense philosophical bent of the Upanishads has led to their explication in numerous manners, giving birth to three main schools of Vedanta Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a sandhied form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal [end] of the Vedas.". Shankara's exegesis Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term Biblical exegesis is used for greater specificity. The goal of Biblical exegesis of the Upanishads does not describe Brahman as the God in a monotheistic sense. His philosophy is named advaita Advaita Vedanta is considered as the most influential sub-school of the Vedānta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy. Other sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and Viśishṭādvaita. Advaita (literally, non-duality) is a monistic system of thought. "Advaita" refers to the identity of the Self (, "non-dual" as opposed to dvaita Dvaita (originally called Tattvavada), a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madhvacharya, stresses a strict distinction between God (Brahman) (Vishnu is considered as Brahman here) and the individual souls (jivas). According to Madhva, souls are not 'created' by God but do, nonetheless, depend on Him for their existence, founded by Madhvacharya Shri Madhvacharya (1238-1317) was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda (True Philosophy), popularly known as Dvaita or dualistic school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedanta philosophies. Madhva was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in many ways, going against standard, which holds that Brahman is ultimately a personal God, different from the human soul, to be aligned with Vishnu Vishnu is the Supreme God in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God, or Krishna Krishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives. While many Vaishnava groups recognize Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu, other traditions within Krishnaism consider him to be svayam bhagavan, or the Supreme Being (brahmano hi pratisthaham, I am the Foundation of Brahman Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita , also more simply known as Gita, is a sacred Hindu scripture, considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita comprises roughly 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of 14.27). The third major school of Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita VishishtAdvaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta (literally, end or the goal of Knowledge, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita and Dvaita. VishishtAdvaita (literally "Advaita with uniqueness/qualifications") is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy. It is non-dualism, founded by Ramanujacharya Ramanuja , also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar, Emperumannar, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete. He is seen by Śrīvaiṣṇavas as the third and most important teacher (ācārya) of their tradition (after Nathamuni and Yamunacharya), and by Hindus in general as the leading expounder of Viśiṣṭādvaita, one of the, has aspects in common with both and seeks to reconcile them.

The ninth chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older, "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the Taittiriya school of the Yajurveda. It figures as number 7 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. It belongs to the Taittiriya recension of the Yajurveda and is constituted by the eighth and ninth chapters of says:

He who knows the Bliss of Brahman (divine consciousness)..does not distress himself with the thought "why did I not do what is good? why did I do what is evil?". Whoever knows this (bliss) regards both of these as Atman (self, soul), indeed he cherishes both as Atman. Such, indeed, is the Upanishad, the secret knowledge of Brahman.

The key phrase of the Upanishads, to Advaita Vedanta Advaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and Viśishṭādvaita. Advaita (literally, non-duality) is a monistic system of thought. "Advaita" refers to the identity of the Self (Atman) and the Whole (, is तत् त्वम्‌ असि "Tat Tvam Asi Tat Tvam Asi , a Sanskrit sentence, translating variously to "Thou art that," "That thou art," "You are that," or "That you are," is one of the Mahāvākyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Vedantic Hinduism. It originally occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddalaka and his son Ś" (That thou art). Vedantins believe that in the end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize this through discrimination. (However, interpretations of this phrase differ.)^[13] Verses 6, 7 & 8 of Isha Upanishad The Isha Upanishad is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total; like other core texts of the vedanta, it is considered revealed scripture (Śruti) by diverse traditions within Hinduism. The name of the text derives from the incipit, īśā, "by the Lord (Isha)". The Upanishad constitutes the final:

Whoever sees all beings in the soul and the soul in all beings... What delusion or sorrow is there for one who sees unity? It has filled all. It is radiant, incorporeal, invulnerable... Wise, intelligent, encompassing, self-existent, It organizes objects throughout eternity.

The Upanishads also contain the first and most definitive explications of the divine syllable Aum Aum (also Om, written in Devanagari as ॐ, in Sanskrit known as praṇava प्रणव [lit. "to sound out loudly"] or auṃkāra ओंकार (lit. "auṃ syllable") is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Indian religions, i.e. Hinduism/Sanātana Dharma, Buddhism, and Jainism or OM, the cosmic vibration that underlies all existence. The mantra A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating transformation" . Their use and type varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra "Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti" (the soundless sound, peace, peace, peace) is often found in the Upanishads. 'Devotion to God' (Sanskrit: bhakti Bhakti in practice signifies an active involvement by the devotee in divine worship. The term is often translated as "devotion", though increasingly "participation" is being used as a more accurate rendering, since it conveys a fully engaged relationship with God. One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta, while bhakti as a) is foreshadowed in Upanishadic literature, and was later realized by texts such as the Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita , also more simply known as Gita, is a sacred Hindu scripture, considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita comprises roughly 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of.^[14]

List of Upanishads

"Principal" Upanishads

The following list includes the eleven "principal" (mukhya) Upanishads commented upon[3] by Shankara, and accepted as shruti Śruti , often spelled shruti or shruthi, is a term that describes the sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism and is one of the three main sources of dharma and therefore is also influential within Hindu Law. These sacred works span the entire history of Hinduism, beginning with some of the earliest known Hindu texts and ending in by most Hindus. Each is associated with one of the four Vedas (Rigveda The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts (śruti) of Hinduism known as the Vedas. Some of its verses are still recited as Hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occasions, putting these among the world's oldest religious texts in continued use (ṚV), Samaveda The Samaveda , is second (in the usual order) of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. Its earliest parts are believed to date from 1000 BC and it ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda. It consists of a collection (samhita) of hymns, portions of hymns, and detached verses, all but 75 taken from the Rigveda, (SV), White Yajurveda (ŚYV), Black Yajurveda (KYV), Atharvaveda The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेदः, atharvaveda, a tatpurusha compound of atharvan, an ancient Rishi, and veda is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda". According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the (AV));

1. Aitareya The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the older, "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Adi_Shankara. It is a Mukhya Upanishad, associated with the Rigveda. It figures as number 8 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads (ṚV)
2. Bṛhadāraṇyaka (ŚYV)
3. Taittirīya (KYV)
4. Chāndogya (SV)
5. Kena (SV)
6. Īṣa (ŚYV)
7. Śvetāśvatara(KYV)
8. Kaṭha (KYV)
9. Muṇḍaka (AV)
10. Māṇḍūkya (AV)
11. Praśna (AV)

The Kauśītāki and Maitrāyaṇi Upanishads are sometimes added. All these date from before the Common Era. From linguistic evidence, the oldest among them are the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upanishads. The Jaiminīya Upaniṣadbrāhmaṇa, belonging to the late Vedic Sanskrit period, may also be included. Of nearly the same age are the Aitareya, Kauṣītaki and Taittirīya Upaniṣads, while the remnant date from the time of transition from Vedic to Classical Sanskrit.

The older Upanishads are associated with Vedic Charanas, Shakhas or schools; the Aitareya and Kauśītāki Upanishads with the Shakala shakha, the Chāndogya Upanishad with the Kauthuma shakha, the Kena Upanishad with the Jaiminiya shakha, the Kaṭha Upanishad with the Caraka-Katha shakha, the Taittirīya and Śvetāśvatara Upanishads with the Taittiriya shakha, the Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad with the Maitrayani shakha, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Īṣa Upanishads with the Vajasaneyi Madhyandina shakha, and the Māṇḍūkya and Muṇḍaka Upanishads with the Shaunaka shakha.

In the Muktika Upanishad's list of 108 Upanishads the first 10 are grouped as mukhya "principal". 21 are grouped as Sāmānya Vedānta "common Vedanta", 23 as Sannyāsa, 9 as Shākta, 13 as Vaishnava, 14 as Shaiva and 17 as Yoga Upanishads.^{[15] [16]}

Shakta Upanishads

Later Upanisads are often highly sectarian: this was "one of the strategies used by sectarian movements to legitimate their own texts through granting them the nominal status of Śruti."^[17] For the most part, the canonical Shakta Upanishads are sectarian tracts reflecting doctrinal and interpretative differences between the two principal sects of Srividya upasana (a major Tantric form of Shaktism). As a result, the many extant listings of "authentic" Shakta Upanisads vary in content, reflecting the sectarian bias of their compilers:

"Past efforts to construct lists of Shakta Upanisads have left us no closer to understanding either their 'location' in Tantric tradition or their place within the Vedic corpus. [...] At stake for the Tantric is not the authority of sruti per se, which remains largely undisputed, but rather its correct interpretation. For non-Tantrics, [it is a text's] Tantric contents that brings into question its identity as an Upanisad. At issue is the text's classification as sruti and thus its inherent authority as Veda." ^[18]

Of the texts listed in the Muktika Upanishad nine are classified as Shakta Upanishads:

1. Sītā (AV)
2. Annapūrṇa (AV)
3. Devī (AV)
4. Tripurātapani (AV)
5. Tripura (RV)
6. Bhāvana (AV)
7. Saubhāgya (RV)
8. Sarasvatīrahasya (KYV)
9. Bahvṛca (RV)

The list excludes several notable and widely used Shakta Upanisads, including the Kaula Upaniṣad, the Śrīvidyā Upaniṣad and the Śrichakra Upaniṣad f.

Renown outside India

The Vedas became known outside India when the Upanishads were translated from Sanskrit, first into Persian as a result of Emperor Akbar's liberal religious attitude.^[19] Shah Jehan was influenced by the Emperor and shared his viewpoint. His eldest son, named Dara Shikoh, a liberal Muslim like his father, wrote a book called Majma-ul-Bahrain meaning The Mingling of the Two Seas that attempted to reconcile Islam with Hinduism. In 1640, Dara Shikoh visited Kashmir and met pandits, who told him about the Upanishads and later invited pandits from Benares to come to Delhi, which was under Mughal control, in order to assist in translating them. In 1657 the translation was completed. Known by the name Sirr-e-Akbar (The Greatest Mystery), the introduction states that the Qur'an's "Kitab al-maknun" or hidden book is none other than the Upanishads.

Two years later, in 1659, his brother Aurangzeb, who was a strict Muslim, had him executed under Sharia law as an apostate from Islam. This may have been a pretext, because Aurangzeb ascended the throne after Shikoh's execution.^[20]

European scholarship

In 1775, the French scholar Anquetil Duperron received a manuscript of part of the Upanishads from M. Gentil, who resided at the court of Shula ud daula. Duperron requested the remaining part and then collated the two, translating them into French and Latin. The French version was never published but the Latin translation was published in 1801. The Latinized title was Oupnek'hat.

The German philosopher Schopenhauer read the Latin translation and extravagantly ^[21] praised it in his main work, The World as Will and Representation, which was published in 1819, as well as in his Parerga and Paralipomena,^[22] (1851). He found that the Upanishads accorded with his own philosophy, which taught that the individual is a manifestation of the one basis of reality. For Schopenhauer, that fundamentally real underlying unity is what we know in ourselves as "will."

German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling praised the mystical and spiritual aspects of the Upanishads. Schelling and other members of the German Idealist group were dissatisfied with Christianity (as propagated by churches) and became fascinated with the Vedas and the Upanishads. Similarly–minded English and European writers, such as Thomas Carlyle, Victor Cousin, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Mme. de Staël, claimed to find deep wisdom in these non–Western writings.

In the United States, the group known as the Transcendentalists were influenced by Schelling's German Idealists. These Americans, such as Emerson and Thoreau, were not satisfied with traditional Christian mythology and therefore embraced Schelling's interpretation of Kant's Transcendental idealism, as well as his celebration of the romantic, exotic, mystical aspect of the Upanishads. As a result of the influence of these writers, the Upanishads gained renown in Western countries.

Erwin Schrödinger — the great quantum physicist said "The multiplicity is only apparent. This is the doctrine of the Upanishads. And not of the Upanishads only. The mystical experience of the union with God regularly leads to this view, unless strong prejudices stand in the West."

Eknath Easwaran in translating the Upanishads tells how they "form snapshots of towering peaks of consciousness taken at various times by different observers and dispatched with just the barest kind of explanation" ^[23]

Modern criticism of Upanishadic transcendentalism

The Upanishadic thinkers came to consider change as a mere illusion, because it could not be reconciled with a permanent and homogeneous reality. They were therefore led to a complete denial of plurality.^[24] According to David Kalupahana, "Although the search for an essential unity of things was crowned with success, philosophy suffered a severe setback as a result of this transcendentalism."^[25] Paul Deussen wrote on this unity: "This unity excluded all plurality, and therefore, all proximity in space, all succession in time, all interdependence as cause and effect, and all opposition as subject and object."^[26] According to Kalupahana, "Reality was considered to be beyond space, time, change, and therefore causality. Change is a mere matter of words, nothing but a name (vaacaarambhanam vikaro naamadheyam). After this, metaphysical speculation took the upper hand, and any serious attempt to give a rational explanation of the things of experience is lacking in the Upanishads."^[25]

Dalit activist and Buddhist convert Bhimrao Ambedkar contended that the philosophy of the Upanishads "turned out to be most ineffective and inconsequential piece of speculation with no effect on the moral and social order of the Hindus."^[27]

References

1. ^ Brodd, Jefferey (2003). World Religions. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press. ISBN 978-0-88489-725-5.
2. ^ Sris Chandra Sen (1937). The Mystic Philosophy of the Upanishads. General Printers \& Publishers. Chapter: VEDIC LITERATURE AND UPANISHADS. p. 19: "..according to the Vedas to which they are supposed to belong, ... The muktika list of 108 upanishad is as follows:"
3. ^ Randall Collins, The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change. Harvard University Press, 2000, page 195 [1]: "The breakdown of the Vedic cults is more obscured by retrospective ideology than any other period in Indian history. It is commonly assumed that the dominant philosophy now became an idealist monism, the identification of atman (self) and Brahman (Spirit), and that this mysticism was believed to provide a way to transcend rebirths on the wheel of karma. This is far from an accurate picture of what we read in the Upanishads. It has become traditional to view the Upanishads through the lens of Shankara's Advaita interpretation. This imposes the philosophical revolution of about 700 C.E. upon a very different situation 1,000 to 1,500 years earlier. Shankara picked out monist and idealist themes from a much wider philosophical lineup."
4. ^ Patrick Olivelle, Upaniṣads. Oxford University Press, 1998, page 4: "In this Introduction I have avoided speaking of 'the philosophy of the upanishads', a common feature of most introductions to their translations. These documents were composed over several centuries and in various regions, and it is futile to try to discover a single doctrine or philosophy in them."
5. ^ Ariel Glucklich, The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective. Oxford University Press US, 2008, page 70: "The Upanishadic age was also characterized by a pluralism of worldviews. While some Upanishads have been deemed 'monistic', others, including the Katha Upanishad, are dualistic."
6. ^ Gregory P. Fields, Religious Therapeutics: Body and Health in Yoga, Āyurveda, and Tantra. SUNY Press, 2001, page 26: "The Maitri is one of the Upanishads that inclines more toward dualism, thus grounding classical Samkhya and Yoga, in contrast to the non-dualistic Upanishads eventuating in Vedanta."
7. ^ For instances of Platonic pluralism in the early Upanishads see Randall Collins, The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change. Harvard University Press, 2000, pages 197-198.
8. ^ S. Gajanan Shambhu Sadhale, Sri Garibdass Oriental Series, no. 44. (Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1987).
9. ^ Cf. Arthur Anthony Macdonell. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. p. 53.
10. ^ Stanislaw Schayer. Die Bedeutung des Wortes Upanisad. Rocznik Orientalistyczny 3,1925, 57-67)
11. ^ Monier-Williams. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. p. 201. [2] Web version accessed 1 April 2007.
12. ^ Smith 10)
13. ^ Tat tvam asi in Context. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 136, 1986, 98-109
14. ^ Catherine Robinson, Interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Images of the Hindu Tradition: The Song of the Lord. Routledge Press, 1992, page 51.
15. ^ ".:SAKSIVC: Vedic Literature: Upanishads: 108 Upanishads:.". www.vedah.com. http://www.vedah.com/org/literature/upanishads/108Upanishads.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
16. ^ Translated by Dr.A.G.Krishna Warrier. "Muktika Upanishad". TheTheosophicalPublishingHouse,Chennai. http://www.egr.msu.edu/~sundare2/mantra-sangraha/MuktikaUpanishad.pdf.. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
17. ^ Holdrege 1996, p. 7,426n
18. ^ Brooks, Douglas Renfrew, The Secret of the Three Cities: An Introduction to Hindu Shakta Tantrism, The University of Chicago Press (Chicago, 1990), pp. 13-14.
19. ^ Parts of this account are taken from the Introduction to Max Müller's The Upaniṣads, Part I.
20. ^ "…the prince was put to death by his brother Aurangzeb, in reality, no doubt, because he was the eldest son and legitimate successor of Shah Jehan, but under the pretext that he was an infidel, and dangerous to the established religion of the empire." Max Müller, The Upaniṣads, Part I, "Introduction," p. lvii.
21. ^ "How imbued is every line with firm, definite, and harmonious significance! From every page we come across profound, original, and sublime thoughts, whilst a lofty and sacred earnestness pervades the whole. … it is the most profitable and sublime reading that is possible in the world; it has been the consolation of my life and will be that of my death." Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. II, § 182.
22. ^ In Chapter XVI, "Some Remarks on Sanskrit Literature."
23. ^ Eknath Easwaran The Upanishads Nilgiri Press 2007, ISBN 978-1586380212, p9.
24. ^ David Kalupahana, Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. The University Press of Hawaii, 1975, page 14.
25. ^ ^{a b} David Kalupahana, Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. The University Press of Hawaii, 1975, page 15.
26. ^ Paul Deussen, Philosophy of the Upanishads. tr. A.S. Geden (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1906, page 156, found in Kalupahana (1975).
27. ^ B.R. Ambedkar Philosophy of Hinduism, in "Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches, vol. 3", Government of Mahararasshtra, Bombay, 1987

Further reading

• Edmonds, I.G. Hinduism. New York: Franklin Watts, 1979.
• Eknath Easwaran Upanishads, Nilgiri Press, 2007, ISBN 9781586380212
• Embree, Ainslie T., ed. The Hindu Tradition. New York: Random House, 1966.
• Holdrege, Barbara A. (1995), Veda and Torah, Albany: SUNY Press, ISBN 0791416399
• Merrett, Frances, ed. The Hindu World. London: MacDonald and Co, 1985.
• Pandit, Bansi. The Hindu Mind. Glen Ellyn, IL: B&V Enterprises, 1998.
• Radhakrishnan, S. (1994). The Principal Upanishads. New Delhi: HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 817223124-5 (original publication, 1953).
• Smith, Huston. The Illustrated World’s Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions. New York: Labrynth Publishing, 1995.
• Wangu, Madhu Bazaz. Hinduism: World Religions. New York: Facts on File, 1991.
• Max Müller, translator, The Upaniṣads, Part I, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962, ISBN 0-486-20992-X.
• Max Müller, translator, The Upaniṣads, Part II, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962, ISBN 0-486-20993-8.

External links

• Complete set of 108 Upanishads and other documents
• Upanishads at Sanskrit Documents Site
• Complete translation on-line into English of all 108 Upaniṣad-s

Categories: Upanishads | Sanskrit words and phrases | Hindu texts

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• Society: Religion and Spirituality: Hinduism: Vedas and Upanishads: Directory
• Society: Religion and Spirituality: Hinduism: Religious Texts: Upanishads: Directory

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