The Upanishads, or Vedas, are a series of Sanskrit texts and commentaries on the sacred syllable Om and its meaning. They are among the earliest sources in Hinduism, and they are considered to be the essence of the Vedas. The Upanishads use the word "Upanishad" (Sanskrit: "sitting with upa [nearby] An [the teacher]") in their texts, which is a reference to sitting near a teacher who explains the Upanishads. The name derives from the practice of sitting down close to a teacher who explains mantras—secret incantations—to his or her students.
The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Vedanta (vedānta), derived from the noun "Veda" (knowledge)
Read more
The term "Vedanta", which literally means "the end of the Veda", became very popular after around 1000 CE. It was used to distinguish various Indian philosophies that lead to an ultimate reality or Brahman from other philosophies that are considered to lead only to relative truth.
The oldest names for the collection are the Skanda Purana and Chandogya Upanishad. The Sanskrit text known as Chandogya Upanishad is among the oldest of all Vedic literature, predating even the Bhagavad Gita by several centuries.
It is part of Atharvaveda, one of four Vedas, considered to be equivalent to the Bible in Indian culture. Like other texts in Samaveda, it is composed in poetic meters called 'shlokas'.
The Upanishads have inspired many other Indian philosophies and schools of thought. They have been greatly admired throughout India's history because they address some of life's deepest philosophical questions.
The Upanishads also contain ideas about karmic cause and effect, reincarnation, moksha (liberation), nirvana (elevation towards God), karma (cause and effect), Pramana (assessment), Brahman (ultimate reality), Atman (soul) and purushartha (meaningful life).
The Upanishads comprise hundreds of text-books on Vedanta philosophy; each book provides abundant evidence that it was originally intended for oral transmission; each book has one or more treatises at its end; each book may include discussions on difficult concepts; each book has variations in wording; each book contains words not found elsewhere in any known text; there