UPANISHAD

General Introduction

"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. Upanishads are found in the concluding sections of Vedas and are classified as Vedanta or the end of the Vedas. There are five Vedas with Yajur Veda having two versions. Each of these five books has several Saaakas (Branches). Each Saaka has a Karma Khanda dealing with the actions to be performed and is made up of Mantras and Brahmanaas. The latter deals with Upasana or meditation and has Aranyakas inside them for the benefit of those who have resorted to the quiet habitat of the forest to pursue their spiritual Quest. The Upanishads are found mostly in the Aranyaka section of the Vedas. The five Vedas have 1180 Saaakas and thus there should be 1180 Upanishads. But what we have now with us is a collection of 108 Upanishads. The list of these 108 Upanishads is given in the Mukthikopanishad.
Out of the 108 Upanishads only 10 have been commented upon by several Acharyas like Adhi Sankara. These are Ishavasya, Kena, Katha, Aithreya, Brihadaranyaka, Prashna, Mandukya, Taittireeya, Chandogya and Mundaka. They all deal with highest category of philosophy and metaphysics. So there is a general impression that all Upanishads are texts of Hindu Philosophy. This is not true. There are Upanishads which even tell you how to wear the sacred ash, how to worship a particular God and so on. But majority of them deal with methods of Yoga and Renunciation (Sanyasa).

The Vedas and Upanishads

"The breakdown among the 108 Upanishads according to the Vedas are as follows:
1. Rig Veda : 10
1. Aitareya 2. Kaushitaki 3. Nadabindu 4. Atmabodha 5. Nirvana 6. Mudgala 7. Akshamala 8. Tripura 9.Saubhagyalakshmi and 10. Bah vracha.
2. Yajur Veda
Krishna Yajur Veda: 32
1.Katha 2.Taittiriya 3.Brahma 4.Kaivalya 5.Svetasvatara 6.Garbha 7.Narayana 8.Amritabindhu 9.Amritanada 10.Kalagnirudra 11.Kshurika 12. Sarvasara 13.Sukharahasya 14. Tejobindhu 15. Dhyanabindhu 16.Brahmavidya 17.Yogatattva 18.Dakshinamurti 19.Skanda 20.Sariraka 21.Yogasikha 22. Ekakshara 23. Akshi 24. Avadhuta 25. Katharudra 26.Rudrahrudhaya 27.Yogakundalini 28. Panchabrahma 29.Pranaagnihotra 30.Varaha 31. Kalisantaranaand 32.Sarasvatirahasya .

Sukla Yajur Veda: 19
1.Isavasya 2.Brahadaranyaka 3.Jabala 4. Hamsa 5.ParamaHamsa 6.Subala 7.Mantrika 8.Niralamba 9.Trisikhibrahmana 10.Mandalabrahmana 11. Advayataraka 12.Paingala 13.Bhikshuka 14. Turiyatita 15.Adhyatma 16.Yajnavalkya 17.Satyayani 18.Tarasara and 19.Muktika .
3. Sama Veda :16
1.Kena 2.Chhandogya 3.Arunika 4. Maitrayani 5.Maitreyi 6.Vajrasuchi 7.Yogachudamani 8.Vasudeva 9.Mahat 10.Sanyasa 11.Avyakta 12. Kundika 13.Savitri 14.Rudrakshajabala 15.Jabaladarsana and 16.Jabali
4. Atharva Veda: 31
1. Prasna 2.Mundaka 3.Maandukya 4.Atharvasira 5.Atharvasikha 6. Brahajjabala 7. Nrsimhatapini 8. Narada Parivrajaka 9.Sita 10.Sarabha 11.Tribadvibhutimahanarayana 12.Ramarahasya 13. Ramatapini 14.Sandilya 15.Paramahamsaparivrajaka 16. Annapurna 17.Surya 18.Atma 19. Pasupatabrahma 20.Parabrahma 21. Tripuratapini 22. Devi 23. Bhavana 24. Bhasmajabala 25. Ganapati 26.Mahavakhya 27. Gopalatapini 28.Krishna 29. Hayagriva 30.Dattatreya and 31. Garuda ."

Major Upanishads

The ten major Upanishads which contain great philosophical discussions and knowledge are
1. Ishavasya Upanishad.
It is one of the great but brief Upanishad. It gives the summary of Indian philosophy very succinctly. It reviews the whole life and comes out with explanations.
2. Kena Upanishad
Kenopanishad derives its name from the first word Kena, meaning `by whom'. It belongs to the Talavakara Bahmana of Sama Veda and is therefore also referred to as Talavakara Upanishad. In short it says that "The One Power that illumines everything and every one is indivisible. It is the Ear behind the ears, Mind behind the mind, Speech behind speech, Vital Life behind life. The ears cannot hear it; it is what makes the ears hear. The eyes cannot see it; it is what makes the eyes see. You cannot speak about it; it is what makes you speak. The mind cannot imagine it; it is what makes the mind think. It is different from what all we know; yet it is not known either. Those who feel they know Him, know Him not. Those who know that anything amenable to the senses is not Brahman, they know it best. When it is known as the innermost witness of all cognitions, whether sensation, perception or thought, then it is known. One who knows thus reaches immortality"
3. Kathopanishad
"The Kathopanishad is divided into six Vallis. Valli literally means a creeper. A Valli, like a creeper, is attached to the Sakhas or Branches of the Veda. This Upanishad is also divided into two Adhyayas (chapters) of three Vallis each. "This is one of the most beautiful Upanishads in which the eternal truths are given in the form of a narrative. The narrative is taken from Taittiriya Brahmana (3-11-8) with some variation. The same story is told in the Taittiriya Brahmana, only with this difference that in the Brahmana freedom from death and birth is obtained by a peculiar performance of a sacrifice, while in the Upanishad it is obtained by knowledge only."
4. Aithreya Upanishad
The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the oldest of the Upanishads. It belongs to the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rig-Veda. It is divided into three chapters and contains 33 verses. The Upanishad deals with the process of creation.
5. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
"Brhadaranyaka Upanishad means the "great forest-book". This Upanishad is one of the oldest of all the Upanishads. It consists of three sections or kandas: the Madhu kanda, the Yajnavalkya or the Muni kanda and the Khila kanda. Here the Brahman is portrayed as universal and undifferentiated consciousness. The doctrine of the indescribability of the absolute and the doctrine of 'Neti, Neti' are explained. This Upanishad concludes by stating the three virtues that one should practice i.e. self-restraint, giving, and compassion."
6. Prashna Upanishad
"In Sanskrit , Prashna mean question. This book consists of six questions and their answers, hence the name. It is in the form of question-answers. Except first and last questions, all other questions are actually a group of smaller sub-questions. As narrated in the beginning of this Upanishad, six pupils interested in knowing divinity or Brahman come to sage Pippalada and ask questions of great spiritual importance. Pippalada asks them to take up penance of one year. Upon completion of penance, they again come to sage and ask questions, then the sage answers their questions."
7. Mandukya Upanishad
"For the very reason that it explains the esoteric meaning of the fundamental syllable Aum of Hindu spiritual tradition, the Upanishad has been extolled greatly. The Muktikopanishad which talks about all other Upanishads, says that if a person cannot afford to study all the hundred and more Upanishads, it will be enough to read just the Mândûkya Upanishad. According to Dr.S. Radhakrishnan in this Upanishad we find the fundamental approach to the attainment of reality by the road of introversion and ascent from the sensible and changing, through the mind which dreams, through the soul which thinks, to the divine within but above the soul."
8. Taittireeya Upanishad
"The Taittiriya Upanishad belongs to the Taittiriya school of the Yajur Veda. It is divided into three sections called Vallis. The first is the Siksa Valli. Siksa is the first of the six Vedangas (limbs or auxiliaries of the Veda); it is the science of phonetics and pronunciation. The second is the Brahmananda Valli and the third is the Bhrugu Valli. These two deal with the knowledge of the Supreme Self, paramatma-jnana."

9. Chandogya Upanishad
"Along with Brhadaranyaka Upanishad the Chandogyopanishad is an ancient source of principal fundamentals for Vedanta philosophy. Considering number of references made to this Upanishad in Brahma sutras, it indicates special importance of this Upanishad in Vedanta philosophy. Important spiritual practices like Dahara vidya, Shandilya vidya, etc. are its speciality."
10. Mundakopanishad
"This Upanishad begins with an Invocation, praying that eye may see auspicious things, the ear may hear auspicious sounds, and that life may be spent in the contemplation of the Lord. The teaching of this Upanishad is referred to as Brahmavidya, either because it describes first the message of Hiranyagarbha, the casual Brahma, or because the message relates the glory of Brahmam. This Upanishad speaks of Brahmavidya as the mystery which only those with shaven heads and those who go through a rite of having Fire on the shaven head can understand. So, it is called Mundaka, or shaven Head. Apart from this, this Upanishad is honoured as the crest of all, since it expounds the very essence of Brahma Jnana. It is assigned to the Fourth Veda, the Atharvana."