UPANISHADS (Upaniṣad) Skt., lit. upa: “near,” ni: “down,” sad: “sit,” “to sit down near to,” that is, at the feet of the guru, in order to receive the confidential, secret teaching. The Upanishads form the final portion of the Shruti (the revealed part of the Veda) and the principal basis of Vedānta, the philosophical conclusion derived from the Vedas. They are distinguished, valued highly by seekers of wisdom, for their transcendent breadth and powerful freedom of thought. Like creeping plants (valli), they lean against the preceding sections of the Veda to which they belong and yet preserve total independence and freedom from priestly dogma. Central to the Upanishads is the significance of ātman and brahman, knowledge of the identity of these two, and the meaning of the sacred syllable OM.
Of the twelve most important Upanishads, the Aitareya and Kuashītaki belong to the Rigveda, the Chāndogya and Kena belong to the Sāmaveda, the Taittirīya, Katha, Shvetāshvatara, Brihadāranyaka, and Īshā belong to the Yajurveda, and the Prashna, Mundaka, and Māndūkya belong to the Ātharvaveda.
Each of the four Veda was taught in various shakhas (“branches”), that is, Vedic schools. The older Upanishads were originally the dogmatic textbooks of the individual Vedic schools. However, the Upanishads of the Yajurveda and above all of the Atharvaveda no longer have any reference whatever to a particular Vedic school. The school of the Shvetāshvatara-Upanishad, for example, is completely unknown, and the Upanishads of the Atharvaveda are apocryphal in character for the most part.
Each Shākhā has its own Brāhmana, to which an Āranyaka is appended that in turn contains the Upanishad. The Brāhmana and Āranyaka arose with a view to the Brahmanic life stages (āshrama), according to which it fell to those in the second stage (grihasta) to carry out the sacrificial rites. For the third stage (vānaprastha) was reserved the process of internalization of these ceremonies. In the place of a physical sacrifice, which an older person often could no longer carry out, came the mental review of the deep, mystical meaning of the Veda. At this level, the man who had learned the Upanishadic text at the first stage (brahmacharya) was finally capable of understanding its profound insights into the nature of the world and one’s own self.
The teachings of the Upanishads are frequently clothed in stories. In many of these great sages visit the courts of kings, who become their pupils and ask for instruction in the way to discover the supreme truth.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Documents on the Upanisads
Books on the Upanisads
External links: Upanishads / Ātman / Brahman
Top 10 Upanishads [Mukhia Upaniṣads]:
1. Isha-Upanishad
2. Kena-Upanishad
3. Katha-Upanishad
4. Praśna-Upanishad
5. Mundaka-Upanishad
6. Mandukia-Upanishad
7. Taittiriya-Upanishad
8. Aitareya-Upanishad
9. Chandogya-Upanishad
10. Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad