Three thousand years ago, in the forests of India, seekers gathered around teachers to ask the ultimate question: What is the nature of reality? What is the self? What survives death? The answers they received became the Upanishads — "sitting near" — the secret teachings passed from master to student at the feet of the wise.
The central teaching is encapsulated in four words: "Tat tvam asi" — "You are That." The individual self (Atman) and the universal reality (Brahman) are not two things but one thing. The wave is not separate from the ocean. The spark is not separate from the fire.
"In the beginning there was only Being,
One without a second.
It thought: 'May I be many. May I grow forth.'
And from itself it created all this —
Whatever exists.
Having created all this, it entered into it.
That which is the subtle essence,
In that all things have their being.
That is the Truth. That is the Self.
That thou art."
The Upanishads teach that the soul has five sheaths: the physical body, the vital breath, the mind, the intellect, and bliss. Like peeling an onion, the seeker must penetrate through each sheath to find what lies at the center. And what lies at the center is not nothing but everything — the infinite Brahman itself.
"As a man in the arms of his beloved is unaware of what is without and what is within, so the soul embraced by Brahman is unaware of what is without and what is within. That is its true form, in which its desire is satisfied, in which it has no desire, in which it has no sorrow."
"The Self is smaller than the smallest
And greater than the greatest.
It dwells in the heart of each creature.
He who is free from desire beholds it
And is released from sorrow.
Sitting still, it travels far.
Lying down, it goes everywhere.
Who but I can know this radiant Being
Who rejoices and rejoices not?"
The Upanishads do not promise escape from the world but transformation of understanding. When you know the Self, everything is known. When you see Brahman in all things, fear disappears, hatred vanishes, and you walk through life as the divine walking through its own creation.
"Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality."
Teaching 47
You are That — the individual self and universal reality are one. Penetrate through the sheaths of body, breath, mind, intellect, and bliss to find Brahman at the center. The Self dwells in the heart of each creature. Know this, and you are released from sorrow.