The Upanishads: The Aitareya Evaluated.
After some consideration, I Have decided to write this paper on the Aitareya Upanishad. I have looked at them all briefly, and it seems to be one of the shortest and clearest ones. However, this is not the whole reason I have decided to write a paper on it. I chose this one because it speaks of the process of creation, which has always been a great interest of mine. It has three chapters, and thirty-three verses, which I suspect was intentional. Perhaps repetition of numbers held some meaning?.
The three chapters all touch on different subjects. The first chapter has multiple subjects, including the creation of the "worlds", the process of the creation of humanity, and the creation of food. Relating to the first portion of the chapter, I don't understand why the text uses the word "worlds" to mean the various portions of the earth, or why the various portions are given names. I admit, I looked it up on Google, and I couldn't find any references to the names, so I'm a bit lost on that front. Moving away from the point for a moment, it really seems appropriate, and a little funny, that food would be one of the main points here. Back then, i don't think that they had many concerns about life, aside from their daily worship of the gods, considering all of the sacrifices and prayers, and the required actions to preserve themselves to continue that worship. .
Something else that caught my attention is the way that the text describes the creation of humanity. In section two of chapter one, it talks of the guardians coming into the mighty ocean of existence, then talks about how the Self had trouble in giving them a form. Does this mean that we just sort of floated around the world for a while in a sort of ethereal form, until the Self gave us bodies to dwell in? I like the thought of it, just because it's a new perspective on how the human race began, but it still confuses me terribly.
Yoga originated from the Upanishads. ... The Upanishads contain the highest wisdom. The Upanishads emphasize the importance of meditation and other yoga practices, so that their wisdom becomes clear. ... One hundred and eight Upanishads have been preserved, of these, ten are of particular importance, and have come to be known as the Principal Upanishads. ... Each Upanishad contains priceless wisdom which define Yoga. ...
Some of the earliest recorded documents of yoga are found in the Vedic period in Hindu scriptures called the Upanishads. ... The Upanishads identify this self with the supremely ultimate; the mysterious entity of the universe that is hidden from ordinary perceptions. ... According to the Upanishads, the ordinary perceptions of natural beings are guided by ignorance. ... The practice of mind control precedes the teachings presented in the Upanishads. ... An interpretation was needed for the meditation techniques to fit the Upanishads view of the self, which is found in the Katha Upanishads. ...
The Upanishads texts were created in order to further develop spiritual knowledge. ... The Upanishads is the end of the Vedic texts, and has been considered to contain the essence of the Vedas (Upanishad, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upanishads). ... For example, we learn of the now much-used divine word "om" in the Upanishads. ... Upanishads reflected upon the philosophical and mythical beliefs that the South Asian people practiced. ... From reading the Rig Veda and the Upanishads texts, one could get a feel for what life was like in earlier times. ...
Salvation in Hinduism The Bhagavad-Gita interprets the Upanishad notion of salvation. The Upanishads were texts written in 600 B.C., that were commentaries on the Vedas, the most sacred texts of Hinduism, written by the Aryas in 1500 B.C. ... This was a stretch from the elitist nature of the Upanishads. ... This is how salvation is explained in the Upanishads. ... This interpretation of the Upanishad notion of salvation is a key in the popularization of Hinduism. ...
The Upanishad belief in the idea of Maya illustrates this world that we live in. ... Metaphysically the life of the tiger was similar to our own life according to Upanishads. ... Upanishads concept of the Maya is the same as the view of the sky from the bottom of the well. ... Metaphysical idea of the Upanishad seems like it is meant to comfort people while living. ... Learning about Upanishads and metaphysical concepts helped me gain a better understanding about the world according to eastern philosophers. ...
It is touched on in the Veda's, but more solidly introduced in the Upanishads. ... The Brhardaranyaka Upanishad simply sates "By good actions one becomes good, by bad actions one becomes bad" (Koller 1982: 59). ... It was not until the Upanishads (the principal ones dating from 800-400B.C.E) (Smart 1989:49) that we first meet with the doctrines of Karma and Samsara. The Upanishads are concerned essentially with the meaning of the sacrificial rites, and come to the conclusion that knowledge in the "true reality" is the key rather than expertise in rituals like the Rig Veda's were. ...
Rather, it represents a hugely diverse group of traditions, all based primarily on the Upanishads (ca 800-500 b.c.e.). From the Upanishads came two other religious traditions, both of which share the basic fundamental beliefs of what is commonly referred to as Hinduism; these are Jainism and Buddhism. ... First is the Upanishad view on the nature of life. ... Rather than focusing on how one can best live a life aimed at spending eternity among the gods, the Upanishad views of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism focus more "on the nature of the individual self (the atman) and its relation...
Each Veda consists of sections namely Samhita (containing the hymns) and Brahmana (significance of the hymns), Aranyakas (interpretations), and Vedanta (Upanishads, which are metaphysical dialogs). ... Upanishads and Vedas The word Upanishad has been derived from the root Upani-sad that means "to sit down near someone". ... Upanishads are also called Vedanta (the end of the Veda) firstly, because they denote the last phase of the Vedic period and secondly, because they reveal the final aim of the Veda. Upanishads discuss various theories on the creation of the Universe and define the doctrin...
If you look at the facts carefully Vedas and Upanishads came five thousand or more years before Gita.They are accepted as the norms of the hindu philosophy.They form the very foundation of hindu religion in its broadest sense.If Gita is conservatively estimated to be 5000 years old,Vedas and Upanishads are more than 10000 years old.And yet I say Gita is the standard bearer of Hindu Philosophy.Let us examine the facts. ... (That does not make them less holy or less valid for their followers).If Vedas and Upanishads predate Gita why must we have this argument about the basis of hindu philoso...
