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Upanishad means the inner or mystic teaching. The term Upanishad is derived from upa (near), ni (down) and s(h)ad (to sit), i.e., sitting down near. Groups of pupils sit near the teacher to learn from him the secret doctrine. In the quietude of the forest hermitages the Upanishad thinkers pondered on the problems of deepest concerns and communicated their knowledge to fit pupils near them. Samkara derives the word Upanishad as a substitute from the root sad, ‘to loosen.,’ ‘to reach’ or ‘to destroy’ with Upa and ni as prefixes and kvip as termination. If this determination is accepted, upanishad means brahma-knowledge by which ignorance is loosened or destroyed. The treatises that deal with brahma-knowledge are called the Upanishads and so pass for the Vedanta. The different derivations together make out that the Upanishads give us both spiritual vision and philosophical argument. There is a core of certainty which is essentially incommunicable except by a way of life. It is by a strictly personal effort that one can reach the truth.

The Upanishads more clearly set forth the prime Vedic doctrines like Self-realization, yoga and meditation, karma and reincarnation, which were hidden or kept veiled under the symbols of the older mystery religion. The older Upanishads are usually affixed to a particularly Veda, through a Brahmana or Aranyaka. The more recent ones are not. The Upanishads became prevalent some centuries before the time of Krishna and Buddha.

The main figure in the Upanishads, though not present in many of them, is the sage Yajnavalkya. Most of the great teachings of later Hindu and Buddhist philosophy derive from him. He taught the great doctrine of “neti-neti“, the view that truth can be found only through the negation of all thoughts about it. Other important Upanishadic sages are Uddalaka Aruni, Shwetaketu, Shandilya, Aitareya, Pippalada, Sanat Kumara. Many earlier Vedic teachers like Manu, Brihaspati, Ayasya and Narada are also found in the Upanishads.

In the Upanishads the spiritual meanings of the Vedic texts are brought out and emphasized in their own right.

The Bhagavad Gita, more commonly known as the Gita, is part of the Itihaas scriputre Mahabharata.  It is an extremely popular scripture.

If the Upanishads can be compared to the cow, the Gita is their milk. It is in the form of a dialogue between Lord Sri Krishna and the mighty Pandava warrior Arjuna.

The basic teachings of the Upanishads are summed up in six great sayings (Mahavakyas). These are  :

“I am Brahman” (Aham Brahmasmi). This states the identity of the inmost consciousness of the individual with that of the supreme Divine. The ultimate truth of Vedic knowledge is not that some great savior is God or the Lord or that such and such a God or name and form of God is the supreme. It is not the worship of a person, book, image or idea. It is not even the worship of God. The Upanishads say that whatever we worship as truth apart from ourselves destroys us. They teach that our own Self is the true Divinity, that it is the presence of the absolute within our heart and all the universe.

“The Self is Brahman” (Ayam Atma Brahma). This also states the identity of the soul with the Absolute but in a more objective and less direct manner. Not only is our Self the Divine. It is the same Self in all beings that is the same Absolute truth.

“That thou art” (Tat tvam asi). Whatever we see or think about we are that. Not only is the I That, the You is also That. We are that ultimate I and Thou in all. The consciousness in the other is also the Divine.

“Intelligence is Brahman” (Prajnanam Brahma). Our discernment of truth is the truth itself. It indicates that the Divine intelligence is present within us and has the power to return us to the Divine. Our inmost intelligence is that supreme intelligence through which we can merge into the Absolute.

“The Universe is Brahman” (Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma). The entire universe is the Divine, which includes our self. The Divine is not only the consciousness principle in you and I, it is also the being principle in all things. It is the ultimate object as well as the inmost subject in all beings. It is one and all and all in one.

“He am I” (So’ham). This shows the identity of the self with the Divine Lord inherent within the natural movement of our breath. “So” is the natural sound of inhalation, “ham” of exhalation.

These are statements of the identity of the individual consciousness with the Absolute or Divine reality. They all derive from and merge into Om (AUM), the Divine Word of “I am all”.

The sage Vyasa classified the Upanishads and allotted them among the four Vedas; The Rigveda has 21 branches and each branch has one Upanishad allotted to it. The Yajurveda has 109 branches and 109 Upanishads. The Atharvanaveda has 50 branches and 50 Upanishads were its share. The Samaveda has a thousand branches and the balance, namely, 1000 Upanishads were its share. Thus, the 1180 Upanishads were assigned by Vyasa to the Four Vedas.

From the Rigveda
1 Aitareya Upanishad
2 Aksha-Malika Upanishad – about rosary beads
3 Atma-Bodha Upanishad
4 Bahvricha Upanishad
5 Kaushitaki-Brahmana Upanishad
6 Mudgala Upanishad
7 Nada-Bindu Upanishad
8 Nirvana Upanishad
9 Saubhagya-Lakshmi Upanishad
10 Tripura Upanishad

From the Shuklapaksha Yajurveda

11 Adhyatma Upanishad
12 Advaya-Taraka Upanishad
13 Bhikshuka Upanishad
14 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
15 Hamsa Upanishad
16 Isavasya Upanishad
17 Jabala Upanishad
18 Mandala-Brahmana Upanishad
19 Mantrika Upanishad
20 Muktika Upanishad
21 Niralamba Upanishad
22 Paingala Upanishad
23 Paramahamsa Upanishad
24 Satyayaniya Upanishad
25 Subala Upanishad
26 Tara-Sara Upanishad
27 Trisikhi-Brahmana Upanishad
28 Turiyatita-Avadhuta Upanishad
29 Yajnavalkya Upanishad

From the Krishnapaksha Yajurveda

30 Akshi Upanishad
31 Amrita-Bindhu Upanishad
32 Amrita-Nada Upanishad
33 Avadhuta Upanishad
34 Brahma-Vidya Upanishad
35 Brahma Upanishad
36 Dakshinamurti Upanishad
37 Dhyana-Bindu Upanishad
38 Ekakshara Upanishad
39 Garbha Upanishad
40 Kaivalya Upanishad
41 Kalagni-Rudra Upanishad
42 Kali-Santarana Upanishad
43 Katha Upanishad
44 Katharudra Upanishad
45 Kshurika Upanishad
46 Maha-Narayana (or) Yajniki Upanishad
47 Pancha-Brahma Upanishad
48 Pranagnihotra Upanishad
49 Rudra-Hridaya Upanishad
50 Sarasvati-Rahasya Upanishad
51 Sariraka Upanishad
52 Sarva-Sara Upanishad
53 Skanda Upanishad
54 Suka-Rahasya Upanishad
55 Svetasvatara Upanishad
56 Taittiriya Upanishad
57 Tejo-Bindu Upanishad
58 Varaha Upanishad
59 Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad
60 Yoga-Sikha Upanishad
61 Yoga-Tattva Upanishad

From the Samaveda

62 Aruni (Aruneyi) Upanishad
63 Avyakta Upanishad
64 Chandogya Upanishad
65 Darsana Upanishad
66 Jabali Upanishad
67 Kena Upanishad
68 Kundika Upanishad
69 Maha Upanishad
70Maitrayani Upanishad
71 Maitreya Upanishad
72 Rudraksha-Jabala Upanishad
73 Sannyasa Upanishad
74 Savitri Upanishad
75 Vajrasuchika Upanishad
76 Vasudeva Upanishad
77 Yoga-Chudamani Upanishad

From the Atharvaveda

78 Annapurna Upanishad
79 Atharvasikha Upanishad
80 Atharvasiras Upanishad
81 Atma Upanishad
82 Bhasma-Jabala Upanishad
83 Bhavana Upanishad
84 Brihad-Jabala Upanishad
85 Dattatreya Upanishad
86 Devi Upanishad
87 Ganapati Upanishad
88 Garuda Upanishad
89 Gopala-Tapaniya Upanishad
90 Hayagriva Upanishad
91 Krishna Upanishad
92 Maha-Vakya Upanishad
93 Mandukya Upanishad
94 Mundaka Upanishad
95 Narada-Parivrajaka Upanishad
96 Nrisimha-Tapaniya Upanishad
97 Para-Brahma Upanishad
98 Paramahamsa-Parivrajaka Upanishad
99 Pasupata Brahmana Upanishad
100 Prasna Upanishad
101 Rama Rahasya Upanishad
102 Rama-Tapaniya Upanishad
103 Sandilya Upanishad
104 Sarabha Upanishad
105 Sita Upanishad
106 Surya Upanishad
107 Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana Upanishad
108 Tripura-Tapini Upanishad

 

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