General Introduction:

If there is one mass of scriptures that has inspired and guided man over the millenia, it is the upaniSat-s. No school of thought, no religious movement, has remained untouched by their influence, if not pervaded by them. Their influence has been seen in Japan, Korea, China, central Asia, and in the west. upaniSat-s are the pinnacle, the acme of Indian thought. Rooted in the veeda-s and in fact forming part of the veeda-s, these ancient works have demonstrated that science and spirituality are not in opposition. upaniSat-s combine uncompromising scientific reasoning based on common experience of all people, taken to its logical limits, with the deep mystical insights that are beyond words, beyond our intellect. The final conclusion is the same, whichever way you look at it. There is only one Truth. Unlike the modern academic world, which has been reduced to mere intellectual exercise, a kind of game that elderly kids driven by intellectual curiosity play, not much different in spirit from the games kids play just for the fun of it, upaniSat-s are characterized by an uncompromising quest for the deepest and the most profound realities. Nothing is taken for granted.

Modern science tells us a lot about the physical objects in this world. Take the Sun, for example. Science never questions whether the Sun really exists, it is taken for granted. It is obvious, we can all see the Sun. But suppose the Sun does not exist at all, will not the whole of this science be the most absurd thing to do? Modern Science is all based on unstated, unexplored, unknown assumptions. If we say the Sun exists because we can see it, are we not equating existence to perception? Are our perceptions fail-proof? Whose perception are you talking about? Don't the perceptions vary from person to person. Do dogs and donkeys perceive the world the same way as you do? Does the fish in the pacific ocean see the world exactly the way you do? Are you equating existence to human perception? In that case are you justified in thinking that the world exists and we live in it? Is it not that the very notion of existence is tied to our mental perceptions and hence the world exists inside us instead of the other way round? We say ghosts do not exist because nobody has ever seen or other wise perceived a ghost. There is no evidence, direct or indirect. So ghosts do not exist. If this is our logic, do televisions exist for the fish in the pacific ocean? No fish has ever seen or otherwise got any evidence about the existence of the TV. Can we then say TVs do not exist? Is existence conditional and relative then? Modern science fails to even ask such fundamental questions, let alone give convincing answers. There is not much difference between science and superstition, somehow we eulogize one and play down the other, in either case without a proper, in-depth understanding of the terms we use.

Science is both biased and limited. There is too much of emphasis on the theorem and the proof and too little on the prover. Will you accept if ghosts give a proof that goblins exist? Is it not in the scientific spirit to first ask if the ghosts exist? In the same way, is it not scientific to ask who you are before considering or accepting what you say? Do you know who you are? Do you know what is your true nature? Are you your body? Are all our experiences of joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, agony and ecstasy false, unreal? How much do we know about our internal world? There is too much of emphasis on the external physical world and too little on the internal world of our mind. We use our mind and intellect, we use of intelligence, we use the spirit in us, to analyze the world and even ourselves as if it is all dead matter. We have all become materialists. We are reducing life to death. This is not necessary for science. Science need not limit itself to some aspects of reality. Science need not limit itself to the external physical world. There is more to it than modern science tells us.

Science is only one half of the story. To get the complete and correct picture, to understand the true nature of this world, to understand the true nature of yourself, you will have to come to the upaniSat-s. It is here, and only here, that you will fearlessly ask fundamental questions, resolutely reason, and seek convincing answers.

The upaniSat-s are as scientific as, or more scientific than, all the science you get to know from the rest of the world put together. You are not required to have blind faith in anything. You are not required to accept what some great sage, saint, messenger or messiah experienced in his own life. Here you apply your mind, use your intelligence, your logic, your reasoning, based on your own personal experience, you ask questions - you are encouraged to do that, you seek answers, you continue your quest until you find satisfactory answers. The teacher does not ask the students to simply take for granted what is taught - you question, you explore, you think, you discover. The teacher and the texts are guidelines to help you started off in the right direction with the right questions. Everybody accepts that asking the right questions if half of the solution. But when it comes to deeply spiritual questions, you are often lost and you do not even know what to ask or how to go about search for truth. upaniSat-s give you the head start. They give you the means and the methods. They give everyday examples to show where you go wrong and where you miss the point. At the end you can discover the truth for yourself.

You can fool somebody once. Or several times if he or she is so gullible. Somebody may be able to fool many people. He may keep fooling so many people again and again. But you cannot fool everybody, millions of them, for a ten thousand years. Can you? If veeda-s and upaniSat-s were accepted, practiced, and eulogized for ten thousand years by each and every individual, millions of them, and there was absolutely no signs of rejection, it cannot be all false and junk. We are so much impressed by the progress of modern science over the last few centuries that we strongly feel that everything that is different from modern science as we know today must be unscientific, useless, false, junk, garbage! Just think for a moment and you will realize that millions of people cannot be wrong for thousands years. It is much easier to believe that all of us have been wrong in the past few hundred years! Did we all not think that the Earth was flat?

There is really no contradiction, there is really no difference of opinion between what the veeda-s and upaniSat-s say and what modern science says. They agree, they concur in a large measure. They are complimentary, not contradictory. It is only your imagination, arising out of ignorance, that you think all this age old stuff must be outdated and unscientific. Get a first hand feel and you will agree that this is more scientific and reasonable than you ever thought. upaniSat-s add to our scientific knowledge, take us deeper, give us the complete and correct picture which science has missed out so far.

Modern science is preoccupied with understanding the external world - the world of objects we can perceive with our sense organs. It has largely ignored the other half, the internal world. The internal world is more subtle, more complex yet more revealing. You get to see the truth, the whole truth, complete and perfect, only when you delve into this internal world. Otherwise your knowledge will remain half knowledge. Half knowledge is worse than ignorance! It is dangerous. Come, take a peep, think a bit, and get the complete true picture. You are not required to give up your scientific spirit, in fact you are only required to sharpen it further. Welcome!

Knowledge is Power. From Power comes Freedom. Come, get complete, perfect Knowledge. Get Power. Be Free. Be Happy. This is the one and the only recipe in the world for true Freedom and Happiness.

Meaning of the word upaniSat:

upaniSat-s (upa - near, ni - below, Sad - sitting) indicate the knowledge gained by a disciple while sitting at the feet of the guru. upaniSat-s contain the highest levels of knowledge, too subtle to be known by ordinary means such as by reading books. Just as only a lighted candle can kindle another candle, only an enlightened guru, who has first hand experience of the Supreme Knowledge, can give it to others. And only ardent seekers of knowledge, who have the necessary qualifications including humbleness and keen interest to sit near the guru and seek such knowledge, can hope to gain this knowledge. upaniSat-s contain the knowledge of the Self, the seer, the witness, the light of the consciousness, the entire manifest world being nothing more than the reflection of this consciousness. The rest of the knowledge in the world put together forms only one half of knowledge, only the knowledge of the objects, of the seen, of the perceived manifest physical world. The one and the only place in the world where one can gain the knowledge of the Self and hence gain complete knowledge, is here, in India, through the upaniSat-s. There is no second place to go. This knowledge is not pushed down the throat of every student in a school or college. It works in the pull mode - you must seek and only those whose are truely qualified stand a chance to gain the Supreme Knowledge. Just as water flows from higher levels to lower levels, knowledge flows only to the humble, the ones who are willing to lie low. The arrogant, the impatient, the undeserving will not get it. Only those for whom there is no higher ambition in life can hope to gain the Supreme Knowledge. Seekers of pleasure, money, power and the like stand no chance.

There are more than 200 upaniSat-s. The following are considered to be the most important:

1. iis'a
2. keena
3. kaTha
4. pras'na
5. muMDaka
6. maanDuukya
7. taittiriiya
8. aitareeya
9. chaaMdoogya
10. bRhadaaraNyaka


11. s'veetaas'vatara
12. kaus'iitaki
13. jaabaala
14. mahaanaaraayaNa
15. paiMgaLa