Prologue continues....

The Upanishads reflect the spirit of inquiry of the Indian mind into
reality beyond the visible phenomena. This inquiry went into the deeper
levels of Truth. Thus, the Upanishads became the most sacred scriptures
of mankind. They are universal and non-sectarian. Dr Radhakrishnan says:

“Anyone who reads the Upanishads in the original in Sanskrit will
be caught up and carried away by the elevation, the poetry, the
compelling fascination of the many utterances through which they
lay bare the secret and sacred relations of the human soul and the
ultimate reality. When we read them, we cannot help being
impressed by the exceptional ability, earnestness and ripeness of mind of those who wrestled with these ultimate questions. These souls who tackled these problems remain still and will remain for
all time in essential harmony with the highest ideals of civilization.”

Although there are more than 200 Upanishads, only 13 are considered to
be original. They are: Chandogya Upanishad, Kenopanishad, Aitereya
Upanishad, Kashitaki Upanishad, Kathopanishad, Mundakopanishad, Taittriyakopanishad, Brihadaranyakopanishad, Svetasvataropanishad,
Isavasyopanishad, Prasnopanishad, Mandukyopanishad and Maitri
Upanishad.

According to the Upanishads, everything is Brahman and everything
exists in Brahman. The Chandogya Upanishad proclaims ‘Sarvam
Khalvidam Brahma’ (everything is Brahman; everything is born from it,
lives in it and finally dissolves in it). This is the answer that Nachiketa
received from Yama (Kathopanishad). The same answer was given to
Svetaketu by his father Rishi Aruni. The Chandogya Upanishad uses a
simile to prove the existence of Brahman. Aruni asks his son Svetaketu to
break open the fruit of a banyan tree (vata vriksha). There were many
seeds in it. Svetaketu was then asked to break one of the seeds. He did so.
Aruni asked him what he saw in it. The son said he did not find anything
in it. Aruni then explained to Svetaketu that although he did not see
anything in the seed, the huge banyan tree was in it. In the same way, Brahman exists in everything.

To be continued....