The Upanishads Essay

In this paper it is necessary to discuss the Upanishads, dwelling on their main ideas and ancient wisdom. The main purposes of this project are to give some reflection on observed information and to express own opinion, using the key concepts of the Upanishads.
The Upanishads are ancient Indian treatises of religious and philosophical nature. They often regarded as the Hindu religion and are the part of the Vedas. Observing the Upanishads it becomes obvious that they mainly discussed philosophy, meditation and the nature of God. It is believed that the Upanishads describe the main thrust of the Vedas – hence, they are also called ‘Vedanta’ (end, completion of the Vedas); moreover, they are the basis of the Vedic Hinduism. Thus, impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is primarily described in the Upanishads.
The example of the salt in the water, presented in the Upanishads, has its deep philosophical nature, which is not understandable for each person. It seems to me that not everything we can be seen by our eyes, but everything we can feel by other organs. In the example with the salt in the water, one substance (salt) was melted in other substance (water), as a result their combination made the water salty and only tasting the water the son understood the true meaning of father’s actions. It gives me an understanding that we cannot see our inner personality, but we can feel it due to concentration, listening, deep self-development and intuitive perception.
The other example shown in the story of the father and his son is about the way how Svetaketu understood not only the wisdom of own father, but the true nature of things and own essence. This example shows us the way how each, even well-educated person, may achieve more deep and philosophical knowledge through ordinary things that are all around us. The Truth lives in our inner world and we can achieve success only in a case of being true to oneself and true to own convictions, which should be faithful to the higher Truth that is better than lie and will always overcome the latter.
In my opinion, observing the key concepts of the Upanishads, it becomes understandable that at the time when the most ancient sacred books focus on clarifying the religious, moral and spiritual duties, referring only to the intervention of supernatural forces – the Upanishads also devote themselves mainly to the study of human nature and the universe; and their relationship to the infinite Being. The Upanishads soar into a higher plane of human thought, while they are strongly preferred by Indian philosophy and metaphysics, though the priests, of course, have a preference for the earliest works that are more relevant to their profession and vocation, and therefore closer to their hearts.
In conclusion, we have discussed the essence of the Upanishads, dwelling on two examples from them. There are elements of physiology, psychology, interesting attempts to classify the mythological representations that are important for the development of forms of scientific description of the world in the Upanishads. They also include some features of naive realism: for example, food is considered one of the principles of being, and is surrounded by worship. As a consequence, basing on new knowledge about the Upanishads, I understood that the main idea of the Upanishads is to provide the approach to the understanding life as a whole, contacting with the own inner and external world through deep philosophical aspects.