Publisher's Synopsis
The Upaniṣads are an integral part of Vedas, they represent a branch of the primordial Tradition and constitute the essence of Vedanta itself. The expression Vedanta (end of the Vedas) should be understood in the double meaning of 'conclusion', as the Upaniṣads are the last part of the Vedic texts, and of 'purpose', because what is being taught is the ultimate goal of Traditional Knowledge.The central theme of the Upaniṣads is the quest for the Ultimate Reality, they therefore represent Metaphysics in its real sense. This type of research is not an end to itself, for the Upaniṣads represent ways of contact and tools of realization. To this end they indicate a concise and complete sequence that concedes little or nothing to the analytical mind.[Five are the Upaniṣads presented in this text.] The Isa is one of the oldest Upaniṣads. Its simple and masterful language has not failed to arouse commentaries, exegesis and doctrinal ideas. In it Saṅkara, the codifier of the Advaita Vedanta, found the concise formulation of his teaching.The Kaivalya teaches how by means of intuitive discernment (viveka) and detachment (vairagya) one attains the state of "Isolation" (kaivalya) or "total Abstraction" from the world of becoming (saṁsara).The Sarvasara reflects the fundamental theme of the older Upaniṣads. The most ardent philosophical questions that the human mind can formulate are entertained here. The Sarvasara is often cited for its importance.The Amṛtabindu contains a purely metaphysical and resolving teaching that allows the being or jiva to recognize its deepest and true nature and to realize the identity with the Absolute or nirguṇa Brahman.The Atharvasira, which is of monistic leaning and therefore Shaiva, contains a dialogue propounding a teaching that presents some very precise sequences for the realizational opus.The five Upaniṣads presented in this text - Isa, Kaivalya, Sarvasara, Amṛtabindu, and Atharvasira - are commented extensively by Raphael. In his commentary, Raphael frames and broadens all the various points in the context of the traditional Advaita (Non-duality) teaching, and thus provides the western mind with the key to the comprehension of their symbolic, figurative, and analogical language.
