The Message of the Upanishads (The World's Most Ancient Philosophical Thoughts)

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The word 'Upanishad' is derived from Sanskrit; upa (near), ni (down) and sad (to sit). In short, 'to sit down near'. In the tranquil atmosphere of the forest, Rishis, disseminated their philosophical thoughts on various subjects to their pupils sitting near them. The term Upanishad is also believed to be originated from the root 'sad'- meaning 'to loosen', 'to reach', or 'to destroy', with 'upa' and 'ni' as prefixes. According to this thought, Upanishad means Brahma-knowledge by which ignorance is loosened or destroyed.

These ancient philosophic thoughts are as relevent to life as they were 8000 years ago. The author cuts across the 11 most important of the Upanishads written over a period of 2000 years and presents, what they convey about the most intriguing concepts like The creation of the universe, The Supreme Power, Brahma, Pran, Jeeva, The Omkar, Life after death and more.

Sharadchandra Prabhakar Karnik's interest in Sanskrit started carly when he was awarded the prestigious Jagannath Shankarshet Scholarship for Sanskrit in the matriculation exam, in Maharashtra (then Bombay Presidency). He later switched his field to Mathematics graduating with honours from the Ferguson College.

He joined the police after qualifying in the very first batch of IPS after independence and was assigned the Bombay State and later the Maharashtra Cadré after the separation of Gujarat. In 1967 he moved to Delhi to join the Intelligence Bureau and later the Cabinet Secretariat holding important assignments. On retirement in 1979, he plunged into the field of law. He was appointed the member of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal. Hyderabad, where he served for six years earning the respect of both, the State employees and the Government for his fair and just decisions.

It was after his retirement from the Tribunal that he reverted to his first love, Sanskrit. This book is the outcome of his deep interest in the Hindu Philosophy and extensive research of the Upanishads.

He resides with his wife Jyotsna in Pune, the city of his childhood and youth. 'Dada' to his only daughter Sandhya and other members of family, he is an epitome of wisdom, uprightness and benevolence.

Vedas and Upanishads and the related Sanskrit literature of ancient vintage constitute a rich Reservoir of profound knowledge and universal wisdom. Recent research studies have brought out that the Vedic literature provides profound and pioneering insights into the diverse fields of knowledge systems, such as, physics, botany, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, linguistics, grammar, phonetics, economics, management and psychology, in addition to making most fundamental contributions to the spiritual dimensions of human life. In this vast source material of ancient knowledge system, covering both physical and metaphysical fields of inquiry, Upanishads stand out distinctly with their own unique characteristics.

The book "The Message of the Upanishads" brings out the salient features of India's most ancient philosophic literature. The Upanishads, which are in Sanskrit language, are collections of thoughts of ancient sages. Starting with the concept that the Universe was created and is controlled by a Supreme Power (described as Brahma), they assert that a part of that same Power resides in the hearts of all living beings. This part of the Supreme Power inside each being is described as the "Atma". The Upanishads discuss the nature of the Atma and the "Pran" (i.c. the life force that animates the beings) as well as "Jeeva" (i.e. the power that actually operates when the beings breathe, see, hear, smell and make movements and (in the case of humans) speak and think. The Upanishads also deal extensively with the Omkar, (i.e. the symbol (1), holy to all Hindus, and discuss the significance of each of the three parts of that symbol.

The Vedas are the most ancient literature in Sanskrit language. These consist of certain sayings on different subjects chanted by ancient sages. These were for the first time recorded and classified by the sage Veda Vyas into four volumes (viz. the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda) according to their contents. Each Veda was further divided into three sections, viz. Mantras, Brahmanas and Aranyakas. While the Mantras included expressions in regard to the wonders of nature, the Brahamanas contained descriptions of the ritualistic performances and instructions to invoke the powers of nature to bless the devotees. The Brahamanas were further divided into two parts viz. Karmakand (rituals) and Upasana (study). The Aranyakas, from their designation, appear like thoughts that occurred to the sages doing penance in forests. The portions of the Aranyakas, which contain philosophical thoughts, are known as Vedanta or the Upanishads.