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The Upanishads (Devanagari: उपनिषद्, IAST: upaniṣad) are part of the Vedas and form the Hindu scriptures which primarily discuss philosophy, meditation, and the nature of God; they form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. Considered as mystic or spiritual contemplations of the Vedas, their putative end and essence, the Upanishads are known as Vedānta ("the end/culmination of the Vedas"). The Upanishads were composed over several centuries. The oldest, such as the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, have been dated to around the eighth century BC.
Etymology
Monier-Williams notes that "according to some the sitting down at the feet of another to listen to his words (and hence, secret knowledge given in this manner; but according to native authorities upanishad means 'setting at rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit..."[2] It derives from upa- (near), ni- (down) and sad (to sit), i.e. referring to the "sitting down near" a spiritual teacher (guru) in order to receive instruction in the Guru-shishya tradition. Other dictionary meanings include "esoteric doctrine" and "secret doctrine". A gloss of the term upaniṣad based on Shankara's commentary on the Kaṭha and Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishads equates it with Ātmavidyā, that is "knowledge of the Self", or Brahmavidyā "knowledge of Brahma".[citation needed] Major Upanishads
The language of the Upanishads is Sanskrit, the oldest among them still classifying as late Vedic Sanskrit. The oldest Upanishads, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and the Chāndogya are composed in prose. These early texts may date back to the 8th-7th centuries BCE. Later followed a series of Upanishads composed in verse, such as the Īṣa, Māṇd.ukya, Katha, and Ṣvetāṣvatara Upanishads. According to tradition, there were over two hundred Upanishads, but the philosopher and commentator Shankara only composed commentaries to eleven of them. The Upanishads commented on by Shankara are generally regarded as the oldest ones. The Muktika Upanishad lists 108 Upanishads. In 1656, at the order of Dara Shikoh, the Upanishads were translated from Sanskrit into Persian. From 1802 to 1804 Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil Du Perron published a Latin translation (2 vols.) from the Persian of the Oupnek'hat or Upanishada. It is a curious mixture of Latin, Greek, Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit. These philosophical and meditative tracts form the backbone of Hindu thought. Of the early Upanishads, the Aitareya and Kauoītāki belong to the Rig Veda, Kena and Chāndogya to the Samaveda, Īoa and Taittirīya and B'hadāra yaka to the Yajurveda, and Praṣna and Mu'd.aka to the Atharvaveda.[3] In addition, the Mādukya, Katho, 'vetā'vatara are very important. Others also include Mahānārāya'a and Maitreyi Upanishads as key. Place in the Hindu canonScholars of the Vedic books consider the four Vedas as poetic liturgy, collectively called mantra or samhitā-, adoration and supplication to the deities of vedic religion, in parts already melded with monist and henotheist notions, and an overarching order (Rta) that transcended even the gods.[citation needed] The Brāhmana were a collection of ritual instructions, books detailing the priestly functions (which first were available to all men, and so concretized into strictly Brahmin privilege). These came after the Mantra. Vedanta, is chiefly composed of Āranyakas and Upanishads. The Aranyakas ("of the forest") detail meditative yogic practices, contemplations of the mystic one and the manifold manifested principles. The Upanishad basically realized all the monist and universal mystical ideas that started in earlier Vedic hymns, and have exerted an influence unprecedented on the rest of Hindu and Indian philosophy. However, by adherents they are not considered philosophy alone, and form meditations and practical teachings for those advanced enough to benefit from their wisdom.[citation needed] ContentsThe Taittiriya Upanishad says this in the Ninth Chapter:
PhilosophyDue to their mystical nature and intense philosophical bent that does away with all ritual and completely embraces principals of One Brahman and the inner Atman (Self), the Upanishads have a universal feel that has led to their explication in numerous manners, giving birth to the three schools of Vedanta. The Upanishads are summed up in one phrase तत् त्वं असि "Tat Tvam Asi" (Thou Art That) by the Advaita Vedanta and they believe that in the end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize it through discrimination. A distinctive quotation that is indicative of the call to self-realization, one that inspired Somerset Maugham in titling a book he wrote about a young American who travels from Europe to India and returns somewhat enlightened (The Razor's Edge; another editor says it was about Christopher Isherwood), is as follows:
Dara Shikoh, the Muslim sufi, and son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, translated the Upanishads in Persian in order to find in it elements of monotheism that might pave the way for a common mystical bond between Islam and Hinduism. List of UpanishadsWikisource has original text related to this article:
"Principal" UpanishadsThe following is a list of the eleven "principal" (mukhya) Upanishads that were commented upon[2] by Shankara, and that are accepted as shruti by all Hindus. They are listed with their associated Veda (Rigveda (ṚV), Samaveda (SV), White Yajurveda (ŚYV), Black Yajurveda (KYV), Atharvaveda (AV)).
The Kauśītāki and Maitrāyaṇi Upanishads are sometimes added to extend the canon to 13. They are also the oldest Upanishads, likely all of them dating to before the Common Era. From linguistic evidence, the oldest among them are likely the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upanishads, belonging to the late Vedic Sanskrit period; the remaining ones are at the transition from Vedic to Classical Sanskrit. Canon by Vedic ShakhaThe older Upanishads are associated with Vedic Charanas (Shakhas or schools). The Aitareya Upanishad with the Shakala shakha, the Kauśītāki Upanishad with the Bashakala shakha; the Chāndogya Upanishad with the Kauthuma shakha, the Kena Upanishad, and the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana, with the Jaiminiya shakha; the Kaṭha Upanishad with the Caraka-Katha shakha, the Taittirīya and Śvetāśvatara 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. Additionally, parts of earlier texts, of Brahmanas or passages of the Vedas themselves, are sometimes considered Upanishads. The Muktika canonThe following is a list of the 108 canonical Upanishads of the Advaita school, according to the Muktika Upanishad (number 108), 1:30-39 (which does not list the associated Veda). In this canon,
The first 10 are grouped as mukhya "principal", and are identical to those listed above. 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.[citation needed]
CriticismThe Upanishads were denounced by Lala Hardayal, a Hindu Nationalist, as "full of absurd conceits, quaint fancies and chaotic speculations". He also was critical of Hindu religious figures for allegedly dogmatizing the texts without "learning that they are worthless". [4][citation needed] Dalit activist Bhimrao Ambedkar, contended that the Upanishads were the "true source of Hindu philosophy", but questioned whether the philosophy had any influence on Hinduism as a social and political system. According to his analysis, philosophy of Upanishads "turned out to be most ineffective and inconsequential piece of speculation with no effect on the moral and social order of the Hindus." [5] Notes
References
See also
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