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Upaniṣads

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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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The Upaniṣads are a body of inspired literature that is considered śruti (that which is revealed) and accepted as sacred literature because of its divinely inspired origins. This literature is not the product of a single mind but rather the result of the teachings of several thinkers over a long course of time. The term for this body of texts means to sit (upa) down (ni) near (sad) a teacher for instruction. The texts often emphasize that the teaching about to be shared is secret and must not be shared with the uninitiated and nonserious intellects. The teaching is also revelatory and thus comes from inspired minds of sages. The teaching methods include dialogue, debate, direct instructions from a teacher to a student, or even humor.

Debates are either private or public. The private debates established a relative hierarchy among Brahmin participants because the loser became the student of the winner, whereas the public debates are more akin to tournaments with multiple contestants who...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Religious Studies, Alllegheny College, Meadville, PA, USA

    Carl Olson

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  1. Carl Olson
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Correspondence to Carl Olson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Olson, C. (2018). Upaniṣads. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_659-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_659-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

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