Upanishadas

The 108 Upanishads are philosophical treatises that form a part of the Vedas, the revered Hindu texts. These Upanishads contain the most crystallized bits of wisdom gleaned from Hinduism. Their composition is dated back to between 800BCE. 500 BCE. The few prominent among those are - 

Aitereya Upanishad: Embedded in the Rig Veda, the Aitereya repeats a number of themes addressed in the first two Upanishads but in a slightly different way, emphasizing the human condition and joys in a life lived in accordance with dharma.

Kausitaki Upanishad: Embedded in the Rig Veda, this Upanishad also repeats themes addressed elsewhere but focuses on the unity of existence with an emphasis on the illusion of individuality which causes people to feel separated from one another/God.

Kena Upanishad: Embedded in the Sama Veda, the Kena develops themes from the Kausitaki and others with a focus on epistemology. The Kena rejects the concept of intellectual pursuit of spiritual truth claiming one can only understand Brahman through self-knowledge.

Katha Upanishad: Embedded in the Yajur Veda, the Katha emphasizes the importance of living in the present without worrying about past or future and discusses the concept of moksha and how it is encouraged by the Vedas.

Isha Upanishad: Embedded in the Yajur Veda, the Isha focuses emphatically on unity and the illusion of duality with an emphasis on the importance of performing one's karma in accordance with one's dharma.

Svetasvatara Upanishad: Embedded in the Yajur Veda, the focus is on the First Cause. The work continues to discuss the relationship between the Atman and Brahman and the importance of self-discipline as the means to self-actualization.

Mundaka Upanishad: Embedded in the Atharva Veda, focuses on personal spiritual knowledge as superior to intellectual knowledge. The text makes a distinction between higher and lower knowledge with “higher knowledge” defined as self-actualization.

Prashna Upanishad: Embedded in the Atharva Veda, concerns itself with the existential nature of the human condition. It focuses on devotion as the means to liberate one's self from the cycle of rebirth and death.

Maitri Upanishad: Embedded in the Yajur Veda, and also known as the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, this work focuses on the constitution of the soul, the various means by which human beings suffer, and the liberation from suffering through self-actualization.

Mandukya Upanishad: Embedded in the Athar Veda, this work deals with the spiritual significance of the sacred syllable of OM. Detachment from life's distractions is stressed as important in realizing one's Atman etc.

108  Upanishadas