Upanishads
The Sanskrit term Upanishad originally meant connection or equivalence. It later came to be understood as sitting near a teacher. The word derives from upa meaning by and ni-śad meaning sit down. This refers to the student sitting down near the teacher while receiving spiritual knowledge. Other dictionary meanings include esoteric doctrine and secret doctrine. Monier-Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary notes that according to native authorities, Upanishad means setting to rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit. Adi Shankaracharya explains in his commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that the word means Atmavidya, which is knowledge of the self. He also states it means Brahmavidya, or knowledge of Brahman. The word appears in the verses of many Upanishads, such as the fourth verse of the 13th volume in the first chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad. Max Müller translates the word in these verses as secret doctrine. Paul Deussen offers the same translation. Robert Hume translates it as mystic meaning. Patrick Olivelle translates it as hidden connections.
The general area of composition for early Upanishads is northern India. This region is bounded on the west by the upper Indus valley. It extends eastward to the lower Ganges region. The north reaches the Himalayan foothills while the south touches the Vindhya mountain range. Scholars reasonably agree these early Upanishads were produced at the geographical center of ancient Brahmanism. They emerged from Kuru-Panchala and Kosala-Videha regions. These areas form a frontier zone of Brahmanism together with zones immediately to the south and west. Modern locations include Bihar, Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, eastern Rajasthan, and northern Madhya Pradesh. Witzel identifies Videha as the center of activity in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. King Janaka features prominently in this text. The Chandogya Upanishad was probably composed further west than other texts. It may have originated somewhere in the western region of the Kuru-Panchala country. New Upanishads recorded later belong to an entirely different region. They likely come from southern India and are considerably more recent. In the fourth chapter of the Kaushitaki Upanishad, a location named Kashi appears. Kashi is modern Varanasi.
The central concern of all Upanishads involves discovering relations between ritual, cosmic realities, and the human body or person. They postulate Atman and Brahman as the summit of the hierarchically arranged universe. Various ideas about the relation between Atman and Brahman exist throughout these texts. The Upanishads reflect a pluralism of worldviews. Some Upanishads have been deemed monistic while others including the Katha Upanishad are dualistic. The Maitri Upanishad inclines more toward dualism. This grounds classical Samkhya and Yoga schools of Hinduism. Non-dualistic Upanishads form the foundation of its Vedanta school. These contain a plurality of ideas. Sections on philosophical theories form the foundation of Indian traditions. The Chandogya Upanishad includes one of the earliest known declarations of Ahimsa as an ethical precept. Discussion of other ethical premises such as Damah, Satya, Dana, Arjava, and Daya appear in oldest Upanishads. The Karma doctrine presents itself in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which is the oldest text. The spirit of the Upanishads inherently opposes ritual practices. Older Upanishads launch attacks of increasing intensity against ritual. Anyone who worships a divinity other than self becomes called a domestic animal of gods in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. One Upanishad parodies those indulging in sacrifice acts by comparing them to dogs chanting Om. Let us eat. Om. Let us drink. External rituals must be replaced with inner rituals according to the Kaushitaki Upanishad. Knowledge should become one's pursuit instead of rituals.
The Upanishads form one of three main sources for all schools of Vedanta alongside the Bhagavad Gita and Brahmasutras. Various interpretations could be grounded upon these texts due to their wide variety of philosophical teachings. Schools named themselves after relations they see between Atman and Brahman. Advaita Vedanta states there is no difference between soul and ultimate reality. Vishishtadvaita teaches that jivatman is part of Brahman yet similar but not identical. Dvaita considers all individual souls and matter as eternal mutually separate entities. Other schools include Nimbarkacharya's Svabhavika Bhedabheda, Vallabha's Suddhadvaita, and Chaitanya's Acintya Bhedabheda. Adi Shankara provided commentaries on eleven mukhya Upanishads. Advaita literally means non-duality and represents a monistic system of thought. It deals with the non-dual nature of Brahman and Atman. This school is considered most influential sub-school within Vedanta philosophy. Gaudapada first expounded basic principles of Advaita philosophy in commentary on conflicting statements from Upanishads. Gaudapada's ideas were further developed by Shankara during eighth century CE. King suggests Gaudapada's main work Mānukya Kārikā contains Buddhist terminology and arguments. Many ideas of Shankara differ from those found in Brahmasutra. Radhakrishnan suggests Shankara's views straightforwardly develop from Upanishads and Brahmasutra. Ramanuja disagreed with Adi Shankara regarding interpretation of qualified monism. He stated Vishishtadvaita grounded itself in Upanishads. The school teaches body-soul theory where Brahman dwells in all things yet remains distinct beyond them. Individual souls share same quality as Brahman but remain quantitatively distinct. Madhvacharya founded Dvaita school between 1199 and 1278 CE. His theistic Dvaita Vedanta interprets Upanishadic teachings differently than other schools. According to this view, soul resembles Brahman but does not become identical with it. A drop entering an ocean illustrates how self enters Brahman according to Madhvacharya.
The Upanishads have been translated into numerous languages including Persian, Italian, Urdu, French, Latin, German, English, Dutch, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, and Russian. First translations appeared during reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar spanning 1556 to 1586. These were rendered into Persian language. Dara Shukoh produced collection called Sirr-i-Akbar in 1656 containing fifty Upanishads translated from Sanskrit into Persian. Anquetil-Duperron received manuscript of Oupanekhat and translated Persian version into French and Latin. He published Latin translation in two volumes during 1801-1802 titled Oupnek'hat. The French translation never saw publication. More recent French translations include works by Louis Renou, Jean Varenne, Alyette Degrâces-Fadh, and Martine Buttex. The Latin version introduced Upanishadic thought to Western scholars initially. Deussen notes Persian translators took great liberties changing meaning at times. First Sanskrit-to-English translation of Aitareya Upanishad occurred in 1805 through Colebrooke. Rammohun Roy made first English translation of Kena Upanishad in 1816. First German translation appeared in 1832 while Roer's English version emerged in 1853. Max Mueller's editions from 1879 and 1884 became first systematic English treatments including twelve Principal Upanishads. Other major translations came from Robert Ernest Hume, Paul Deussen, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Patrick Olivelle, and Bhānu Swami. Olivelle won 1998 A.K. Ramanujan Book Prize for Translation. Throughout 1930s Irish poet W.B. Yeats worked with Shri Purohit Swami on their own translation titled The Ten Principal Upanishads published in 1938.
German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer read the Latin translation and praised Upanishads in main work World as Will and Representation published 1819. He also discussed them in Parerga and Paralipomena released 1851. Schopenhauer found his philosophy aligned with teachings that individual manifests one basis of reality. For him fundamentally real underlying unity known within ourselves as will. He kept copy of Latin Oupnekhet beside him always. His philosophy influenced many famous people introducing them to these ancient texts. Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger once wrote about similarities between quantum physics and Upanishadic thought. Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling praised ideas contained within Upanishads alongside other German philosophers. Group known as Transcendentalists received influence from German idealists in United States. Americans including Emerson and Thoreau embraced Schelling's interpretation of Kant's Transcendental idealism. They celebrated romantic exotic mystical aspects of Upanishads resulting gained renown across Western countries. Poet T.S. Eliot inspired by reading based final portion of poem Waste Land upon one verse from text. Eknath Easwaran describes Upanishads as snapshots of towering peaks consciousness. Juan Mascaró states Upanishads represent for Hindus what New Testament represents for Christians. Message can be summarized words kingdom God is within you. Paul Deussen emphasizes Brahman-Atman experienced but not defined view similar dialogues Plato elsewhere. Max Müller summarizes lack systematic philosophy central theme Upanishads follows. English composer Gustav Holst based several works Ancient Indian texts including Hymns Rig Veda Cloud Messenger opera Savitri. Upanishads book kept with him whole life.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
What does the word Upanishad mean in Sanskrit?
The Sanskrit term Upanishad originally meant connection or equivalence and later came to be understood as sitting near a teacher. It derives from upa meaning by and ni-śad meaning sit down, referring to the student sitting down near the teacher while receiving spiritual knowledge.
Who wrote the ancient Upanishads texts?
The authorship of most Upanishads remains unknown because Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan states almost all early literature of India was anonymous. Exceptions exist such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad which includes closing credits to sage Shvetashvatara considered the author of that text.
Where were the early Upanishads composed geographically?
The general area of composition for early Upanishads is northern India bounded on the west by the upper Indus valley and extending eastward to the lower Ganges region. These areas form a frontier zone of Brahmanism together with zones immediately to the south and west including modern locations like Bihar Nepal Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
How do the Upanishads relate to Vedanta philosophy schools?
The Upanishads form one of three main sources for all schools of Vedanta alongside the Bhagavad Gita and Brahmasutras. Schools named themselves after relations they see between Atman and Brahman such as Advaita Vedanta stating there is no difference between soul and ultimate reality or Dvaita considering all individual souls and matter as eternal mutually separate entities.
When did the first translations of Upanishads appear in Western languages?
First translations appeared during reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar spanning 1556 to 1586 when these were rendered into Persian language. The Latin translation introduced Upanishadic thought to Western scholars initially while the first Sanskrit-to-English translation of Aitareya Upanishad occurred in 1805 through Colebrooke.