The Upanishads, and where to start

What the word means

Upa-ni-shad is "sitting down near": a student sitting close to a teacher, close enough for a teaching that was never shouted from a stage. Shankara gives a second sense from the same root, sad, "to loosen": the knowledge that loosens the hold of not knowing who you are.

How many there are, and the ten principal

The Muktika Upanishad lists 108. Ten have always been read first, because Shankara wrote commentaries on them, and every school of Vedanta reads them closely.

The Shvetashvatara (Krishna Yajur Veda, 6 chapters) is often counted as the eleventh: it speaks of the Lord with devotion, and Shankara is traditionally said to have commented on it too.

Which to read first

Start with the Isha. It is eighteen verses and you can finish it tonight. Then the Katha, which is a story: a boy waits three nights at Death's door and will not leave without an answer. After that, the Mandukya, twelve verses on waking, dream and deep sleep.

• Read the Isha Upanishad18 verses and the invocation, Sanskrit and plain English
• Read the Katha Upanishad, as a conversation119 verses. Tap Sit closer to hear each answer.
• Read the Mandukya Upanishad12 verses on Om and the four states
• Which Upanishad to read first, and which translations to buyAn honest order, and the books worth owning

Lines people search for

• तत्त्वमसिTat tvam asi: you are thatChandogya Upanishad 6.8.7
• सत्यमेव जयतेSatyameva jayate: truth alone winsMundaka Upanishad 3.1.6
• असतो मा सद्गमयAsato ma sadgamaya: lead me from the unreal to the realBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28
• उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रतUttishthata jagrata: arise, awakeKatha Upanishad 1.3.14
• ईशा वास्यमिदं सर्वम्Ishavasyam idam sarvam: all this, covered by the LordIsha Upanishad 1
• अहं ब्रह्मास्मिAham brahmasmi: I am BrahmanBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10
• पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम्Purnamadah purnamidam: that is whole, this is wholeIsha Upanishad, invocation
• ॐ सह नाववतुSaha navavatu: may he protect us bothTaittiriya Upanishad 2.1, invocation
• मातृदेवो भवMatru devo bhava: let your mother be a god to youTaittiriya Upanishad 1.11.2
• भिद्यते हृदयग्रन्थिःBhidyate hridaya-granthih: the knot of the heart comes looseMundaka Upanishad 2.2.8
• The four mahavakyasFour great sentences from four Upanishads and four Vedas

The Upanishads and the Gita

The verse recited before the Gita says where the Gita comes from.

Gita Dhyanam, verse 4

All the Upanishads are the cows, and the one who milks them is Krishna, the cowherd’s son. Arjuna is the calf, the wise are the ones who drink, and the milk is the great nectar of the Gita.

Some lines cross over almost word for word. Death says to Nachiketa what Krishna later says to Arjuna:

Bhagavad Gita 2.20: the Self is not born and does not die; compare Katha 1.2.18.

Bhagavad Gita 2.19: neither the killer nor the killed understands; compare Katha 1.2.19.

Seven lines on who you are

A short plan through seven Upanishads: Kena, Mundaka, Katha, Isha, Mandukya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka. One line a day, with one thing to notice.

Start the Who am I plan