Thought 139: About Upanishads

Vedas tell us that Nirguna Brahman or the Paramaatma, is the Ultimate Truth – which is the Awareness pervading every nook and cranny of the entire universe. The knowledge of the Ultimate Truth is also known as the knowledge of the self. It is the knowledge about you, who is the Aatma. The fundamental questions of life such as “Who is the God, “Who am I?”, “What is my goal in life”, etc, are all answered in the Vedas. This portion of the Vedas is called Jnaana Kaanda; Jnaana Kaanda is also called the Upanishad or Vedaanta.

Upanishads focus on spiritual and philosophical teachings; they discuss Brahman, the universe and the beings of the universe and their interrelationships. Upanishads constitute the core of Hindu philosophy called “Vedaanta”(the end portion of the Vedas).

It is believed that 1108 Upanishads existed originally. They have been able to identify only 108 of them. Of these 108 also, Chandogyopanishad, Mundukopanishad, Aittereyopanishad, Manduukyopanishad, Taittiriyopanishad, Kenopanishad, Kathopanishad, Isaavaasyopanishad, Prasnopanishad, Brihadaaranyakopanishad, Svetaasvataropanishad, Jaabaalopanishad, Muktikopanishad, Kaivalyopanishad, Mahaa-Naaraayanopanishad, are only now available in English script for study by the modern man.

The next thought is about “The vision of the Vedas”