Veda is ‘knowledge’ and was originally known as ‘Shruti’ as the sages passed on their knowledge verbally to the disciples and there were no written scripts. The conclusive part of Veda are the Upanishads. They are also known as Vedanta. Veda consists of two parts, one being the Karma Kanda (ritual or action) and the other the Jnana Kanda (knowledge).
Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads are branches of Samhita.
Upanishads discuss about knowledge and philosophical concepts. It is taught at the end of the Vedas as it speaks about the ultimate knowledge, the Moksha or enlightenment. Upanishad is derived from the Sanskrit root words Upa and Ni. Upa means ‘nearness’ and Ni denote ‘totality’. Hence, Upanishad means sitting closely with the Guru or teacher to get the complete supreme knowledge or Brahmavidya from him.
What is World? Who am I? What is after death? These questions have been discussed and answered in Upanishad. Its prime theme is nature and God. The doctrine of the true knowledge of nature and the concept of one God are the ultimate philosophies behind Upanishad.
There are four Vedas which are as below
- Rig veda
- Sam veda
- Yajur veda
- Atharva veda
Upanishads are associated with four Vedas and clarified their visions elaborately.
There are large number of Upanishads (almost 200) and mostly 13 of them, included in the four vedas are as follows:
- Aitareya Upanishad
- Isha Upanishad
- Maitri Upanishad
- Chandogya Upanishad
- Kena Upanishad
- Mundaka Upanishad
- Mandukya Upanishad
- Kaushitaki Upanishad
- Brihadyaranyak Upanishad
- Taittiriya Upanishad
- Svetasvatara Upanishad
- Katha Upanishad
- Prashna Upanishad
Though the philosophy of all of them are same yet each Upanishad has its own original thinking and specific ways of enquiry. The Vedic sages gave the solution to source of Life and Liberation. According to the Upanishads, Atman and Brahman when connected through following the Supreme power, gives the path to liberation or moksha. Upanishads were considered the secret teachings. Gayatri Mantra from the Vedas found importance in relation to meditation and prayers. Upanishad plays a prime role in the evolution of the concepts of Indian philosophy.
It is difficult to understand the Indian Sanatan Dharma and the rich Indian culture without an intense knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads.
Hope you loved reading. I will try to share more concepts on the Upanishads in future.
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