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Twelve Essential Upanishads Volume III
Taittiriya, Aitareya, Kaushitaki, Kena, Katha, Isha, Shvetashvatara, Mundaka, Prashna, & Mandukya Up
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Volume III consists of ten Upanishads. Seven take an analytical approach in their teachings: Taittiriya, Aitareya, Mandukya, Prashna, Mundaka, Kena, and the Katha Upanishads. These analytical Upanishads no longer build on the Vedic yajña or fire sacrifice as their theological foundation as did Volume I The Brihad Aranyaka and Volume II Chandogya Upanishads. Instead the Taittiriya, for example, analyses the five kośas or "containers" that make up our existence in this physical world: our food container (anna-maya-kośa), our breath container (prāṇa-maya-kośa), our mental container (mano-maya-kośa), our intellect container (vijñāna-maya-kośa), and our joy container (ānanda-maya-kośa). The Mandukya Upanishad provides an analysis of four states of awareness, a waking state, a dream state, a deep sleep state, and a mystical state. The Mundaka Upanishad even criticizes Vedic ritual as inferior and just a distraction to the attainment of brahma. The final three Upanishads, Kaushitaki, Isha and the Shvetashvatara are the devotional Upanishads as they offer prayers to that ultimate power brahma for salvation and protection in this world. They are the precursors of devotion (bhakti) best found in an even later work, the Bhagavad Gita, which is highly theistic in its devotion to Krishna.
Twelve Essential Upanishads Three Volume Series
Reading an ancient document is like looking through the lens of a powerful telescope. The light that reaches the telescope has traveled huge distances before finally reaching the eye of the observer. These Upanishads are ancient religious documents composed thousands of years ago, therefore, as we read them, we are looking back in time, seeing the state of religious thinking and practice in India at that time.
These twelve principles Upanishads can be divided into three groups according to theme and historical development. Volume 1 Brihad Aranyaka and Volume 2 Chandogya are the sacrificial Upanishads. "Sacrificial" means these Upanishads focus on the Vedic yajña or agni-hotra fire ritual as their main emphasis. They are the oldest Upanishads.
Volume 3 includes the analytical Upanishads. These include the Taittiriya, Aitareya, Mandukya, Prashna, Mundaka, Kena, and Katha Upanishads. These Upanishads no longer build on the Vedic yajña as their theological foundation, but instead take an analytical approach in their teachings. The Taittiriya, for example, analyses the five kośas or "containers" that make up our existence in this physical world: food, breath, mental, intellect, and joy. The Mandukya Upanishad provides an analysis of four states of awareness: a waking state, a dream state, a deep sleep state, and a mystical state. The Mundaka Upanishad even criticizes Vedic ritual as inferior and just a distraction to the attainment of brahma.
The final three Upanishads in Volume 3 are Kaushitaki, Isha and the Shvetashvatara Upanishads. These are the devotional Upanishads as they offer prayers to that ultimate power brahma for salvation and protection in this world. They are the precursors of devotion (bhakti) best found in an even later work, the Bhagavad Gita, which is highly theistic in its devotion to Krishna.
Twelve Essential Upanishads Three Volume Series
Reading an ancient document is like looking through the lens of a powerful telescope. The light that reaches the telescope has traveled huge distances before finally reaching the eye of the observer. These Upanishads are ancient religious documents composed thousands of years ago, therefore, as we read them, we are looking back in time, seeing the state of religious thinking and practice in India at that time.
These twelve principles Upanishads can be divided into three groups according to theme and historical development. Volume 1 Brihad Aranyaka and Volume 2 Chandogya are the sacrificial Upanishads. "Sacrificial" means these Upanishads focus on the Vedic yajña or agni-hotra fire ritual as their main emphasis. They are the oldest Upanishads.
Volume 3 includes the analytical Upanishads. These include the Taittiriya, Aitareya, Mandukya, Prashna, Mundaka, Kena, and Katha Upanishads. These Upanishads no longer build on the Vedic yajña as their theological foundation, but instead take an analytical approach in their teachings. The Taittiriya, for example, analyses the five kośas or "containers" that make up our existence in this physical world: food, breath, mental, intellect, and joy. The Mandukya Upanishad provides an analysis of four states of awareness: a waking state, a dream state, a deep sleep state, and a mystical state. The Mundaka Upanishad even criticizes Vedic ritual as inferior and just a distraction to the attainment of brahma.
The final three Upanishads in Volume 3 are Kaushitaki, Isha and the Shvetashvatara Upanishads. These are the devotional Upanishads as they offer prayers to that ultimate power brahma for salvation and protection in this world. They are the precursors of devotion (bhakti) best found in an even later work, the Bhagavad Gita, which is highly theistic in its devotion to Krishna.