The Upanishads: Introduction
The Upanishads are like a field guide for those on a spiritual quest. They cannot take us there, but rather can show the way, tell us what to look for, advise us about detours and what to avoid. We are urged to take the journey ourselves. It is our destiny. Everything else in secondary.
An Upanishad is a “sitting down near”, next to one who has already made the journey. We do not know the original authors. Ten of them are considered to be the “principal Upanishads”.
They teach that there is a Reality underlying life which no ritual or scripture can reach. Reality is our real and true Self. This realization of Self, which is a vision of unity, can be done directly without clergy or any of the structures of an organized religion. It can be realized here and now in this life. More than a philosophy, they are “something seen”, they explore the states of consciousness.
All that divides us from this timeless and all-embracing consciousness is a thin envelope of personal identity. The envelope cannot be removed by the will. It cannot erase itself, yet it does dissolve and vanish. This divine ground the Upanishads call Atman, “the Self”. It is seen to be one, and is the same in everyone. It is the inmost essence.
Synonyms for “the Self” used by ancient other spiritual traditions:
The Lord
The Atman (Hinduism)
The Inward Light (Quakers)
The Holy Spirit; The Father in Me; The Kingdom of Heaven (Christianity)
The Dharmakaya: (Mahayana Buddhism)
The Buddha Body: (Mahayana Buddhism)