According to the Upanishads our true nature, Spirit, is ... (a field of pure consciousness)

"Not through discourse, not through the intellect, not even through study of the scriptures can the Self be realized. The Self reveals Himself to the one who longs for the Self. Those who long for the Self with all their heart are chosen by the Self as his own... Those who know the Self become the Self. None in their family forgets the Self. Freed from the fetters of separateness, they attain to immortality.” Mundaka Upanishad

"In the whole world...there is no study...so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. They are products of the highest wisdom. They are destined sooner or later to become the faith of the people.”

Schopenhauer.

"We have to remember that the highest religion of the Upanishads, which insists on meditation and morality and worship of God in spirit and in truth, is not encumbered by such traditional dogmas and miracles as still hang upon the skirts of other religions. Its central principle that there is one supreme reality that manifests itself in the universe is not asserted as a dogma. It is the ultimate truth at which it is possible for human understanding to arrive. The progress of science and philosophy does not conflict with it but only confirms it.”

S.Radhakrishnan

The Upanishads

"One of the messages of the Upanishads is that the Spirit can only be known through union with him, and not through mere learning. And can any amount of learning make us feel love, or see beauty or hear the 'unheard melodies'? Some have only seen the variety of thought in the Upanishads, not their underlying unity. To them the words in the sacred texts might be applied: "Who sees variety and not the unity wanders on from death to death.”

The spirit of the Upanishads is the Spirit of the Universe. Brahman, God himself, is their underlying spirit. The Christians must feel that Brahman is God, and the Hindu must feel that God is Brahman. Unless a feeling of reverence independent of the barriers of names can be felt for the ineffable, the sayings of the Upanishads is true: "Words are weariness," the same idea expressed by the prophet that"Of making many books there is no end.”

The Holy Spirit may be the nearest translation of Brahman in Christian language. Whilst God the Father and God the Son are in the foreground of the mind of many Christians, the Holy Spirit seems to receive less adoration. And in India the Brahman of the Upanishads is not as popular as Siva, Vishnu or Krishna. Even Brahma, the manifestation of Brahman as creator, and not to be confused with him, is not living in the daily devotions of the Hindu, as are the other two gods of the trinity, Siva and Vishnu. The Upanishads doctrine is not a religion of the many; but rather the Spirit behind all religions in their central theme repeated in such a wonderful variety of ways.

Brahman in the Universe, God in his transcendence and immanence is also the Spirit of man, the self in every one and in all, Atman. Thus the momentous statement is made in the Upanishads that God must not be sought as something far away, separate from us, but rather as the very inmost of us, as the higher Self in us above the limitations of our little self. Thus when the sage of the Upanishads is pressed for a definition of God, he remains silent, meaning that God is silence. When asked again to express God in words, he says"Neti, neti," "Not his, not this"; but when pressed for a positive explanation he utters the sublimely simple words"TAT TWAM ASI," "Thou art That.”

Juan Mascaro, The Upanishads

Synopsis
The Upanishads, the earliest of which were composed in Sanskrit between 800 and 400 bce by sages and poets, form part of the Vedas - the sacred and ancient scriptures that are the basis of the Hindu religion. Each Upanishad, or lesson, takes up a theme ranging from the attainment of spiritual bliss to karma and rebirth, and collectively they are meditations on life, death and immortality. The essence of their teachings is that truth can by reached by faith rather than by thought, and that the spirit of God is within each of us - we need not fear death as we carry within us the promise of eternal life.

Ethics of Upanishads

"Upanishad means 'to sit down near' because they were explained to the students, who sat at the feet of their teachers. In general Upanishads proclaim salvation by knowledge and realization, rather than by faith and works. Selfish desires are obstacles to the seekers of Truth (the Higher- Self, also called as Brahman). A seeker of true Divinity will attain salvation when he realizes the Truth, the all- pervasive Brahman. The universe came into existence because of a primeval desire of Brahman. Now it is the duty of the humans to restore it to the state of things before creation.... Honesty is especially extolled. He who has not denounced evil will never obtain Brahman. The worldly perceptions of smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight makes one separate from the True Self. When one can transcend these perceptions there is no consciousness of anything other than Self. This is immortality.

There are six great sayings (Mahavakyas) from the Upanishads that give the basic insight into its philosophy. They are as follows with a brief analysis of each:

Aham Brahmasmi
"I am Brahman": Vedic knowledge teaches that our own"Self"Is the true Divinity. The Truth is within us, in our own heart. This states the identity of the inner most consciousness of the individual with the supreme Divine.

Ayam Atma Brahma
"The Self is Brahman": This states that not only individual soul is Divine but all beings are identified with the Absolute Truth.

Tat Tvam Asi
"That art thou": Whatever we see or think about, we are That. We are the ultimate Thou and I in all.

Prajnanam Brahma
"Knowledge is Brahman": Supreme intelligence is present inherently within us and is capable of returning us to the Divine. Our understanding of the truth is the Truth itself.

Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma
"The whole universe is Brahman": Not only the consciousness in you and I but also the 'principle of being' are all Divine. The entire universe is Divine, which includes our Self.

So 'ham
"Here am I": This identifies the Divinity in our Self in something that happens naturally like breathing.”So"Is inhalation and"Ham" is the natural sound of exhalation.

These are the six statements of the identity of individual consciousness with the Divine reality. They all merge into and derive from the word"Om (Aum)"or the Divine word"I Am All.” All of these statements point to the fact that whatever or however we worship, be it an image, book, an idea or even a God, it is the knowledge that the Truth is within ourselves that will ultimately lead to self- realization. Self is the true Divinity. This is the essence of Upanishads.”

Neria Harish Hebbar, MD
May 4, 2002

Those who know the Self become the Self - Mundaka Upanishad

Imperishable is the Lord of Love.
As from a blazing fire thousands of sparks leap forth,
So millions of beings arise from the Lord of Love and return to him.

The Lord of Love is above name and form.
He is present in all and transcends all.
Unborn, without body and without mind,
From him comes every body and mind,
He is the source of space, air, fire, water, and the earth that holds us all.

Fire is his head, the sun and moon his eyes,
The heavens his ears, the scriptures his voice,
The air his breath, the universe his heart, and the earth his footrest.
The Lord of Love is the innermost Self of all.

From him comes the fire that burns in the sun;
From the sky lit by sun and moon comes rain;
From rain comes food, from food the sexual seed;
All finally come from the Lord of Love.

From him come the scriptures, chants, and prayers,
Religious rites and sacrificial gifts;
From him come work, time, and givers of gifts,
And all things under the sun and moon.

From him come the gods of the natural world,
Men, beasts, and birds, and food to nourish them;
From him come all spiritual disciplines,
Meditation, truth, faith, and purity.

From him come the seven organs of sense,
Seven hot desires and their sevenfold objects.
And the seven levels of consciousness
In the cavern of the heart.

From him come all the seas and the mountains,
The rivers and the plants that support life.
As the innermost Self of all, he dwells
within the cavern of the heart.

The Lord of Love is the one Self of all.
He is detached work, spiritual wisdom,
And immortality.
Realize the Self hidden in the heart, and cut asunder the knot of ignorance here and now.

Bright but hidden, the Self dwells in the heart.
Everything that moves, breathes, opens and closes lives in the Self.
He is the source of love and may be known through love but not through thought.
He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!

The shining Self dwells hidden in the heart.
Everything in the cosmos, great and small,
Lives in the Self. He is the source of life,
Truth beyond the transience of this world.
He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!

Take the great bow of the sacred scriptures,
Place it on the arrow of devotion;
Then draw the bowstring of meditation
And aim at the target, the Lord of Love.
The mantram is the bow, the aspirant
Is the arrow, and the Lord the target.
Now draw the bowstring of meditation,
And hitting the target be one with him.

In his robe are woven heaven and earth,
Mind and body. Realize him as the One
Behind the many and stop all vain talk.
He is the bridge from death to deathless life.

Where all the nerves meet like spokes in a wheel,
There he dwells, the One behind the many.
Meditate upon him in the mantram.
May he guide us from death to deathless life!

He knows everyone and sees everything.
It is his glory that fills the cosmos.
He resides in the city of the heart.
It is his power that moves body and mind.
May he guide us from death to deathless life!

When he is seen within us and without,
He sets right all doubts and dispels the pain
Of wrong actions committed in the past.

In the golden city of the heart dwells
The Lord of Love, without parts, without stain.
Know him as the radiant light of lights.
There shines not the sun, neither moon nor star.
Nor flash of lightning, nor fire lit on earth.
The Lord is the light reflected by all.
He shining, everything shines after him.

The Lord of Love is before and behind.
He extends to the right and to the left.
He extends above; he extends below.
There is no one here but the Lord of Love.
He alone is; in truth, he alone is.

Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree
Intimate friends, the ego and the Self
Dwell in the same body.
The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life
While the latter looks on in detachment.

As long as we think we are the ego,
We feel attached and fall into sorrow.
But realize that you the Self, the Lord
Of life, and you will be freed from sorrow.
When you realize that you are the Self,
Supreme source of light, supreme source of love,
You transcend the duality of life and enter into the unitize state.

The Lord of Love shines in the hearts of all.
Seeing him in all creatures, the wise
Forget themselves in the the service of all.
The Lord is their joy, the Lord is their rest; Such as they are the lovers of the Lord.

By truth, meditation, and self-control
One can enter into this state of joy
And see the Self shining in a pure heart.
Truth is victorious, never untruth.
Truth is the way; truth is the goal of life,
Reached by sages who are free from self-will.

The effulgent Self, who is beyond thought,
Shines in the greatest, shines in the smallest,
Shines in the farthest, shines in the nearest,
Shines in the secret chamber of the heart.

Beyond the reach of the senses is he,
But not beyond the reach of a mind stilled
Through the practice of deep meditation.
Beyond the reach of words and works is he,
But not beyond the reach of a pure heart
Freed from the sway of the senses.

Sages are granted all the help they need
In everything they do to serve the Lord.
Let all those who seek their own fulfillment
Love and honor the illumined sage.

The wise have attained the unitize state,
And see only the resplendent Lord of Love.
Desiring nothing in the physical world,
They have become one with the Lord of Love.

Those who dwell on and long for sense-pleasure
Are born in a world of separateness.
But let them realize they are the Self
And all separateness will fall away.

Not through discourse, not through the intellect,
Not even through study of the scriptures
Can the Self be realized.
The Self reveals Himself to the one who longs for the Self.
Those who long for the Self with all their heart are chosen by the Self as his own.

Not by the weak, not by the unearnest,
Not by those who practice wrong disciplines
Can the Self be realized.
The Self reveals Himself as the Lord of Love to the one who practices right disciplines.

What the sages sought they have found at last.
No more questions have they to ask of life.
With self-will extinguished, they are at peace.
Seeing the Lord of Love in all around,
Serving the Lord of Love in all around,
They are united with him forever.

They have attained the summit of wisdom
By the steep path of renunciation.
They have attained to immortality
And are united with the Lord of Love.
When they leave the body, the vital force
Returns to the cosmic womb, but their work
Becomes a beneficial force in life
To bring others together in the Self.

The flowing river is lost in the sea;
The illumined sage is lost in the Self.
The flowing river has become the sea;
The illumined sage has become the Self.

Those who know the Self become the Self.
None in their family forgets the Self.
Freed from the fetters of separateness,
They attain to immortality.

Let this wisdom be taught only to those
Who obey the law of life's unity.
Let this wisdom be taught only to those
Who offer their lives to the Lord of Love.
Imperishable is the Lord of Love.
As from a blazing fire thousands of sparks leap forth,
So millions of beings arise from the Lord of Love and return to him.

The Lord of Love is above name and form.
He is present in all and transcends all.
Unborn, without body and without mind,
From him comes every body and mind,
He is the source of space, air, fire, water, and the earth that holds us all.

Fire is his head, the sun and moon his eyes,
The heavens his ears, the scriptures his voice,
The air his breath, the universe his heart, and the earth his footrest.
The Lord of Love is the innermost Self of all.

From him comes the fire that burns in the sun;
From the sky lit by sun and moon comes rain;
From rain comes food, from food the sexual seed;
All finally come from the Lord of Love.

From him come the scriptures, chants, and prayers,
Religious rites and sacrificial gifts;
From him come work, time, and givers of gifts,
And all things under the sun and moon.

From him come the gods of the natural world,
Men, beasts, and birds, and food to nourish them;
From him come all spiritual disciplines,
Meditation, truth, faith, and purity.

From him come the seven organs of sense,
Seven hot desires and their sevenfold objects.
And the seven levels of consciousness
In the cavern of the heart.

From him come all the seas and the mountains,
The rivers and the plants that support life.
As the innermost Self of all, he dwells
within the cavern of the heart.

The Lord of Love is the one Self of all.
He is detached work, spiritual wisdom,
And immortality.
Realize the Self hidden in the heart, and cut asunder the knot of ignorance here and now.

Bright but hidden, the Self dwells in the heart.
Everything that moves, breathes, opens and closes lives in the Self.
He is the source of love and may be known through love but not through thought.
He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!

The shining Self dwells hidden in the heart.
Everything in the cosmos, great and small,
Lives in the Self. He is the source of life,
Truth beyond the transience of this world.
He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!

Take the great bow of the sacred scriptures,
Place it on the arrow of devotion;
Then draw the bowstring of meditation
And aim at the target, the Lord of Love.
The mantram is the bow, the aspirant
Is the arrow, and the Lord the target.
Now draw the bowstring of meditation,
And hitting the target be one with him.

In his robe are woven heaven and earth,
Mind and body. Realize him as the One
Behind the many and stop all vain talk.
He is the bridge from death to deathless life.

Where all the nerves meet like spokes in a wheel,
There he dwells, the One behind the many.
Meditate upon him in the mantram.
May he guide us from death to deathless life!

He knows everyone and sees everything.
It is his glory that fills the cosmos.
He resides in the city of the heart.
It is his power that moves body and mind.
May he guide us from death to deathless life!

When he is seen within us and without,
He sets right all doubts and dispels the pain
Of wrong actions committed in the past.

In the golden city of the heart dwells
The Lord of Love, without parts, without stain.
Know him as the radiant light of lights.
There shines not the sun, neither moon nor star.
Nor flash of lightning, nor fire lit on earth.
The Lord is the light reflected by all.
He shining, everything shines after him.

The Lord of Love is before and behind.
He extends to the right and to the left.
He extends above; he extends below.
There is no one here but the Lord of Love.
He alone is; in truth, he alone is.

Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree
Intimate friends, the ego and the Self
Dwell in the same body.
The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life
While the latter looks on in detachment.

As long as we think we are the ego,
We feel attached and fall into sorrow.
But realize that you are the Self, the Lord
Of life, and you will be freed from sorrow.
When you realize that you are the Self,
Supreme source of light, supreme source of love,
You transcend the duality of life and enter into the unitize state.

The Lord of Love shines in the hearts of all.
Seeing him in all creatures, the wise
Forget themselves in the the service of all.
The Lord is their joy, the Lord is their rest;
Such as they are the lovers of the Lord.

By truth, meditation, and self-control
One can enter into this state of joy
And see the Self shining in a pure heart.
Truth is victorious, never untruth.
Truth is the way; truth is the goal of life,
Reached by sages who are free from self-will.

The effulgent Self, who is beyond thought,
Shines in the greatest, shines in the smallest,
Shines in the farthest, shines in the nearest,
Shines in the secret chamber of the heart.

Beyond the reach of the senses is he,
But not beyond the reach of a mind stilled
Through the practice of deep meditation.
Beyond the reach of words and works is he,
But not beyond the reach of a pure heart
Freed from the sway of the senses.

Sages are granted all the help they need
In everything they do to serve the Lord.
Let all those who seek their own fulfillment
Love and honor the illumined sage.

The wise have attained the unitize state,
And see only the resplendent Lord of Love.
Desiring nothing in the physical world,
They have become one with the Lord of Love.

Those who dwell on and long for sense-pleasure
Are born in a world of separateness.
But let them realize they are the Self
And all separateness will fall away.

Not through discourse, not through the intellect,
Not even through study of the scriptures
Can the Self be realized.
The Self reveals Himself to the one who longs for the Self.
Those who long for the Self with all their heart are chosen by the Self as his own.

Not by the weak, not by the unearnest,
Not by those who practice wrong disciplines
Can the Self be realized.
The Self reveals Himself as the Lord of Love to the one who practices right disciplines.

What the sages sought they have found at last.
No more questions have they to ask of life.
With self-will extinguished, they are at peace.
Seeing the Lord of Love in all around,
Serving the Lord of Love in all around,
They are united with him forever.

They have attained the summit of wisdom
By the steep path of renunciation.
They have attained to immortality
And are united with the Lord of Love.
When they leave the body, the vital force
Returns to the cosmic womb, but their work
Becomes a beneficial force in life
To bring others together in the Self.

The flowing river is lost in the sea;
The illumined sage is lost in the Self.
The flowing river has become the sea;
The illumined sage has become the Self.

Those who know the Self become the Self.
None in their family forgets the Self.
Freed from the fetters of separateness,
They attain to immortality.

Let this wisdom be taught only to those
Who obey the law of life's unity.
Let this wisdom be taught only to those
Who offer their lives to the Lord of Love.

Mundaka Upanishad

Mahavakyas, or Great Sayings, of the Upanishads

"The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one's own blissful Self.”

Bhavana Upanishad 1.27

"She alone is Atman. Other than Her is untruth, non-self. Hence is She Brahman-Consciousness, free from (even) a tinge of being and non- being. She is the Science of Consciousness, non-dual Brahman Consciousness, a wave of Being-Consciousness-Bliss. The Beauty of the three-great-cities, penetrating without and within, is resplendent, non-dual, self-subsisting. What is, is pure Being; what shines is pure Consciousness; what is dear is Bliss. So here is the Maha- Tripura-Sundari who assumes all forms. You and I and all the world and all divinities and all besides are the Maha-Tripura- Sundari. The sole Truth is the thing named 'the Beautiful'. It is the non-dual, integral, supreme Brahman.” Bahvricha Upanishad 1.5

Prajnanam Brahma - Consciousness is Brahman

(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)

Ayam Atma Brahma - This Self is Brahman

(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)

Tat Tvam Asi - Thou art that

(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)

Aham Brahmasmi - I am Brahman

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana Upanishad)

Prajnanam Brahma - Consciousness is Brahman

(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda

Other Translations: Brahman is pure consciousness; Brahman is knowing; Brahman is intelligence

In the sentence, 'Prajnanam Brahma' or Consciousness is Brahman, a definition of Reality is given. The best definition of Brahman would be to give expression to its supra-essential essence, and not to describe it with reference to accidental attributes, such as creatorship etc. That which is ultimately responsible for all our sensory activities, as seeing, hearing, etc., is Consciousness. Though Consciousness does not directly see or hear, it is impossible to have these sensory operations without it. Hence it should be considered as the final meaning of our mental and physical activities. Brahman is that which is Absolute, fills all space, is complete in itself, to which there is no second, and which is continuously present in everything, from the creator down to the lowest of matter. It, being everywhere, is also in each and every individual. This is the meaning of Prajnanam Brahma occurring in the Aitareya Upanishad.*

Ayam Atma Brahma - This Self is Brahman

(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)

Other Translations: Brahman is this Self; This Self is Brahman

The Mahavakya, 'Ayam Atma Brahma' or 'This Self is Brahman,' occurs in the Mandukya Upanishad. 'Ayam' means 'this,' and here 'thisness' refers to the self-luminous and non-mediate nature of the Self, which is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or ego down to the physical body. This Self is Brahman, which is the substance out of which all things are really made. That which is everywhere, is also within us, and what is within us is everywhere. This is called 'Brahman,' because it is plenum, fills all space, expands into all existence, and is vast beyond all measure of perception or knowledge. On account of self-luminosity, non-relativity and universality, Atman and Brahman are the same. This identification of the Self with Absolute is not any act of bringing together two differing natures, but is an affirmation that absoluteness or universality includes everything, and there is nothing outside it.

Tat Tvam Asi - Thou art that

(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad)

Other Translations: That is how you are; That art thou

In the Chandogya Upanishad occurs the Mahavakya, 'Tat Tvam Asi' or 'That thou art.' Sage Uddalaka mentions this nine times, while instructing his disciple Svetaketu in the nature of Reality. That which is one alone without a second, without name and form, and which existed before creation, as well as after creation, as pure Existence alone, is what is referred to as Tat or That, in this sentence. The term Tvam stands for that which is in the innermost recesses of the student or the aspirant, but which is transcendent to the intellect, mind, senses, etc., and is the real 'I' of the student addressed in the teaching. The union of Tat and Tvam is by the term Asi or are. That Reality is remote is a misconception, which is removed by the instruction that it is within one's own self. The erroneous notion that the Self is limited is dispelled by the instruction that it is the same as Reality.

Aham Brahmasmi - I am Brahman.

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda, Mahanarayana Upanishad)

In the sentence, 'Aham Brahmasmi,' or I am Brahman, the 'I' is that which is the One Witnessing Consciousness, standing apart form even the intellect, different from the ego-principle, and shining through every act of thinking, feeling, etc. This Witness-Consciousness, being the same in all, is universal, and cannot be distinguished from Brahman, which is the Absolute. Hence the essential 'I' which is full, super-rational and resplendent, should be the same as Brahman. This is not the identification of the limited individual 'I' with Brahman, but it is the Universal Substratum of individuality that is asserted to be what it is. The copula 'am' does not signify any empirical relation between two entities, but affirms the non-duality of essence. This dictum is from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.

Excerpted from: Swami Krishnananda, The Philosophy of the Panchadasi," Chapter V: Discrimination of the Mahavakyas,
The Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India.

AHAM BRAHMA ASMI

Aham Brahma asmi or"I am the Brahman"Is one of the corner pillar of the Hindu Philosophy.

A crude translation would be"I am the world" (or I am the creator of the world"), As there is no world (My world) with out me, I am the one who creates my world, the good the bad, the relations in it, the happiness in it the sorrow in it, so I am the god of my world.

Max Muller makes it more explicit when he says: If people conceive God as a kind of Jupiter, or even as a Jehovah, then the idea can only be considered blasphemous... But after the Deity had been freed from its mythological character, the human mind, whether in India or elsewhere, had once realised the fact, that God was all in all, that there could be nothing besides God, that there could be one Infinite only, not two, the conclusion that the human soul also belonged to God was inevitable.

TAT TWAM ASI

Tat Tvam Asi, a sanskrit sentence, translating variously to"Thou art that"," That thou art", or"You are that", is one of the four Mahavakyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Hinduism. It originally occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad. It first occurs in Chandogya 6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddalaka and his son vetaketu; it appears at the end of a section, and is repeated at the end of the subsequent sections as a refrain. It is generally taken to mean that your soul or consciousness is wholly or partially the Ultimate Reality. That is to say, even before the creation of the universe, a unitary, divine consciousness existed, and that this consciousness is identical to your deepest self.

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