The Religions Book

101

See also: The ultimate reality 102–105 ■ The self as constantly changing 148–51

■ The Protestant Reformation 230–37 ■ The Darshanas 328

I

s it realistic to offer the same

religious teachings and truths

to everyone? In Hinduism

there are different levels at which

the religion can be understood and

followed. Its earliest texts, the

Vedas, and the commentaries on

them that followed, provided the

texts, prayers, and instructions

for the performance of sacrifices

and other public acts of worship.

Later, the epic, often action-packed

stories of the gods, the Ramayana

and the Mahabharata ( p.111),

were used for popular devotion.

But by the 6th century BCE, another

body of literature—the Upanishads

—had developed, offering access

for the initiated to a higher plane

of spiritual knowledge.

Difficult concepts

The word “Upanishad” means

“to sit up close,” and it applies to

teachings that are restricted to

those who are accepted for religious

study by a guru, or teacher. The

Upanishads focus on abstract

concepts concerning the nature

of the self and of the universe.

In particular, the texts argue

that there is a single universal

reality, Brahman, which can

be known only by thought and

the analysis of experience. The

Upanishads thus added a highly

philosophical dimension to Indian

religious discussion. The idea

of sitting up close to your guru

implies that there are levels

of teaching which, by probing

religious ideas for truths that are

universal and rational, can give

new depth to conventional beliefs. ■

HINDUISM

IN CONTEXT

KEY SOURCE
The Upanishads

WHEN AND WHERE
6th century BCE, India

BEFORE
From 1200 BCE The Vedas
provide texts and instructions
for rituals used exclusively
by the brahmins, or priests.

AFTER
6th century BCE In India,
traveling teachers, among
them Buddha and Mahavira,
attract their own disciples.

From 1st century BCE Six
distinct schools of Hindu
philosophy, known as the
Darshanas, develop.

800 CE Adi Shankara founds
four famous mathas, or
monastery schools, to teach
the ideas of the Upanishads.

1500 CE Sikhism takes its
name from the Sanskrit word
shishya, “student of the guru.”

On Earth, those who

achieve greatness achieve

it through concentration.

The Upanishads

SIT UP CLOSE

TO YOUR GURU

HIGHER LEVELS OF TEACHING