Upanishads

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The Upanishads (or Upanishads ) are a collection of philosophical writings from Hinduism and part of the Veda ( late Veda period ). The singular is the Upanishad . In Sanskrit , उपनिषद्, upaniṣad , f., Literally means “to sit down in the vicinity”, which means “to sit at the feet of a teacher ( guru )”, but also a secret, instructive session. The Upanishads were finally incorporated into the canon of the Veda. The Upanishads are a collection of philosophical writings and were made between 700 and 200 BC. Written down in BC .

The Veda and thus also the Upanishads belong to the Shruti (Sanskrit, f., श्रुति, śruti , literally: "what is heard"), what is revealed through "what is heard"; these are the revelation texts, to which the Samhitas , Brahmanas , Aranyakas and ultimately the Upanishads count.

At the center of the Vedic religion are the religious hymns presented in the Veda, such as sacrificial rituals in favor of the deities Indra , Agni and Vayu etc.

Historical context and meaning

The sacrificial hymns to the gods, chants, offerings and ordinances were at the center of the Vedas. This is not so in the Upanishads. An Upanishad in the true sense of the word no longer has any sacred or ritual issues on its subject. Accordingly, the fact that these texts actually belong to one of the four Vedic collections has no bearing on the content. It does not reveal itself to the Veda connoisseur or victim expert, but to the thinking and searching person. The ritual sacrifice from the time of the Vedas is transformed into an inner process and internalized in the form of intensive contemplations or meditations . The victims no longer or not only carried out the outer sacrifice, but they sacrificed themselves, as it were, in an inner process in order to arrive at the knowledge and truth of the divine. An excerpt from the Kaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad (2.5) on the fire sacrifice (Agnihotram) makes this clear:

“Henceforth the self-conquest of the Pratardana, or, as it is also called, the inner Agnihotram . For as long as a person speaks, he cannot breathe in; then he sacrifices the breath in the speech; and as long as a person breathes in, he cannot speak; then he sacrifices the speech in the breath. These two offerings are infinite, immortal; for they are offered without ceasing while awake or asleep. The other offerings, on the other hand, are finite because they consist of works. That is why the old sages did not sacrifice the Agnihotram. "

Fonts

According to the Hindu tradition, 108 Upanishads are recognized, which are listed in a list in the Muktika Upanishad that is at least 700 years old. The texts were written in both prose and verse . It is believed to have existed between 700 BC. BC and 200 BC Were created.

The oldest Upanishads can be arranged chronologically as follows:

The remaining Upanishads are generally divided into the following five groups:

  • Samanya Vedanta Upanishads, which explain Vedanta in general
  • Samnyasa Upanishads, dealing with the ideal of renunciation
  • Shakta Upanishads, dealing with the feminine aspect of the Divine and his Shakti deal
  • Sectarian Upanishads; they explain the teachings associated with specific cults and deities.
  • Yoga Upanishads that explain various aspects of yoga , especially hatha yoga .

content

The Upanishads have evolved from the Brahmanas (ritual texts) in textual history and are partly part of them. While the Brahmanas are primarily concerned with sacrificial rituals, the teachings of the Upanishads revolve mainly around the following interrelated topics:

  • It is possible for man to reach the ultimate reality of the universe. This reality beyond the changeable world is called the Brahman .
  • This Supreme Reality is identical to the innermost nature of man, which is called the Atman .
  • Only the realization of Brahman frees man from existential suffering and the pressure of rebirth .
  • Your thoughts and actions determine your personal karma ; one becomes what one identifies with.

Other topics include the essence and meaning of existence, various types of meditation and worship, as well as eschatology , salvation and the doctrine of rebirth samsara . The Upanishads deal with the essence of Brahman, the universal world soul, of which atman is a reflection in every being, the innermost essence of every individual. Brahman - and thus also Atman - is immortal, immortal, infinite, eternal, pure, unaffected by external changes, without beginning, without end, unlimited by time , space and causality , is pure Sat-Chit-Ananda , pure being, existence on oneself ( sat ), awareness, understanding ( chit ) and bliss, pure happiness ( ananda ).

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said of the Upanishads:

"How is every line so full of fixed, specific and consistently coherent meaning! And from every side we encounter deep, original thoughts, while a holy seriousness hovers over the whole thing. [...] It is the most rewarding and uplifting reading that is possible [...] in the world: it has been the consolation of my life and will be that of my death. "

- Arthur Schopenhauer : Parerga and Paralipomena II, § 184

author

The speeches of the Brahmin Yajnavalkya and his teachings about the essence of the Atman to his wife Maitreyi and a dispute at the court of King Janaka are known by name . Most of the names of the wise, however, have not survived. They belonged to the priesthood, the Brahmins , or the warrior class, the Kshatriyas . The claim of the brahmins to have holy knowledge as the only group was no longer valid and it was possible for a member of the Kshatriyas to teach a brahmin about the nature of the self. Mighty warriors belonging to this group were the kings Janaka and Ajatashatru , the rulers of Kashi , today's Varanasi . Janaka is said to have been accomplished without neglecting his royal duties.

Lore

The Upanishads, like the hymns of the Veda, were passed on orally for centuries. In contrast to the ritual texts, which were open to the general public, the esoteric wisdom of the Upanishads was only passed on to selected students. It was expected that the students would approach the wise men with stated reverence and humility and be ready to submit to years of student discipline. That is why they are also called secret doctrines.

Examples

“The self is truly Brahman, but out of ignorance people identify it with the intellect, spirit, senses, passions and the elements earth, water, air, space and fire. That is the reason why the self should consist of this and that and seem to be everything at all. As a person acts, so will he in life. Those who do good become good; those who cause harm become bad. Good deeds make you pure; bad deeds make one unclean. That is why they say that we are what we desire. As our desire is, so is our will. As is our will, so are our actions. How we act, so will we. "

- Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad, IV.4.5

“The one deity is hidden in every living being, yet He pervades everything and is the innermost being in everything. He does every job and resides in everything. He is the witnessing consciousness, formless and immortal. "

- Svetasvetar Upanishad, VI.11

“Like two golden birds enthroned in close friendship on the same tree, the ego and the self live in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour fruits from the tree of life, while the latter watches inwardly detached. "

- Mundaka Upanishad, III.1.1

“Brahman, the universal essence, is the All Inherent Self. It is truly the reality of life and enlightenment. When a person realizes Brahman, he becomes enlightened. There is no one wiser than one who has known inner divinity. He does all the daily work as an expression of his divine Self and his joy is permeated with Universal Love. He is a real Kriyavan, the wisest of the wise people. "

- Mundaka Upanishad, III.1.4

literature

expenditure

Translations

Secondary literature

Web links

Wikiquote: Upanishads  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eckard Wolz-Gottwald: Yoga-Philosophy-Atlas. Via Nova, Petersberg 2006, ISBN 3-936486-04-2 , p. 54 f
  2. ↑ Eknath Easwaran (ed.): The Upanishads. Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-442-21826-4
  3. ↑ in contrast to or in connection with the Smriti ( Sanskrit , f., स्मृति, smṛti , “what is remembered”), to a certain extent “the written” canon in the narrower sense. See also Vedic language .
  4. ^ Paul Thieme: Upanishads. Reclam-Verlag, p. 90.
  5. ^ Paul Deussen: Upanishads. P. 32 (reprint 2007, p. 70)
  6. ↑ See Nrsimha-Uttara-Tapaniya Upanishad, IV
  7. ↑ Arthur Schopenhauer: Complete Works. Volume V: Parerga and Paralipomena II. Cotta- / Insel-Verlag, § 184, p. 469.