The most ancient living teachings on spirituality.

There are four Vedas and each consists of four parts. These parts are divided into two groups - first is called 'Karna Kanda' and deals with rituals and yagyas and the mantras that are to be recited during those yagyas. This forms about 95% of the content of the Vedas. The sections Samhita and Brahmana fall under this group. The second is called 'Gyana Kanda' and deals with philosophy and the knowledge that liberates. The Upanishads fall under the second group. They are also called Vedanta - the end of the Vedas. There are two reasons for this. The Upanishads are included towards the end of the Vedas and were taught to pupils after they had mastered the rest of the Veda. Also, they represent the highest teachings of the Vedas, the fruits borne by the tree called Vedas.

Upanishads contain the most ancient living teachings on spirituality. These teachings were considered to be the secret knowledge and were referred to as Rahasya (secret) or Guhya (mystery). Some scholars have interpreted the word meaning of Upanishads as 'sitting nearby devotedly'. This refers to the Guru teaching the devoted disciples who are sitting around him.

It is difficult to state the exact number of Upanishads with estimates going up to more than 200. Many books have suffixed Upanishad to their names to derive the authority that the name Upanishad carries. However, popularly, the 108 Upanishads mentioned in Muktikopanishad  are referred to. Even out of these, the 11 principal ones that Sri Sankaracharya commented on are considered the most important ones. These are the :-

   * Aitareya

   * Brihadaranyaka

   * Isa

   * Taittiriya

   * Katha

   * Chandogya

   * Kena

   * Mundaka

   * Mandukya

   * Prasna and

   * Svetastara Upanishads.

There are so many phrases that we have heard and use in our daily life that we don't even realise that they have come from the Upanishads. For example : the motto of India and the name of a popular serial (and later, movie) - Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone triumphs) - is from the Mundaka Upanishad. A prayer that most Indian school kids have recited is :

    Asato ma sadgamaya

    Tamaso ma jyothirgamaya

    Mrityorma amritam gamaya

    (Lead me from falsehood to truth

     Lead me from darkness to light.

     Lead me from death to immortality)

This prayer comes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Anybody who reads the Upanishads is unlikely to be disappointed because the ideas expressed in them have not become obsolete with time. They deal with eternal truths that are as true today as they were when the Upanishads were created. The great German scholar Max Mueller said that the Upanishads maintain a place in the literature of the world, among the most astounding productions of the human mind in any age and in any country.

- Gaurav Yadav in the Sunday Magazine of the NIE.

My take

These teachings can be assimilated by an individual whose mind is ready to receive them. It can neither be forced nor taught in a classroom! The interest will come from within. 

The four parts of the Veda - Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. The start of yet another week!

A quiet day when I could clear the backlog of work.

The day was bright and sunny with heavy rain late in the evening.