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A Series of Lessons on the Inner Teachings of the Philosophies and Religions of India1362
which are known as the Aranyakas, or “Forest Treatises,” named after the
teachers who wrote them and who dwelt in the forests. These works are of a
higher character than the earlier Brahmanas, and are of a mystical character
and touch upon the higher phases of the Hindu religious thought. These
works may be considered as a connecting-link between the Brahmanas and
the Upanishads. The two important Aranyakas are known as the Aitareya,
and the Taittiriya, respectively.
The Upanishads.
The term “Upanishad” means, literally, “a sitting down beside,” or what
in the West would be called a “heart-to-heart” instruction. The word is
also used as meaning “the esoteric doctrine.” The general use of the word,
however, is as the designation for the “End of the Vedas,” that is, for the
philosophical writing which conclude the general Vedas, or Sacred Books
of India. The Upanishads are devoted to theological, philosophical and
metaphysical speculation, argument, discussion, teaching and consideration,
whereas the Vedas proper; the Brahmanas; and the Aranyakas; (see previous
reference in this lesson) are devoted rather to mythological, ritualistic,
ceremonial subjects than to those treated in the Upanishads. The earlier
Sacred Books devote themselves to explaining the religious, ethical, and
ecclesiastical duties, together with a reference to super-normal powers in
one case—but the Upanishads devote themselves chiefly to a consideration
of the nature of man and the universe, and their relation to the Infinite Being.
The Upanishads reach much higher planes of human thought and reasoning
than do the earlier books, and are decidedly the writings preferred by the
Hindu philosophers and metaphysicians, although priests naturally prefer
the earlier works which are nearer to their profession and calling, and,
consequently, nearer to their hearts.
The Upanishads are closely related to the Aranyakas, and are often found
either “imbedded” in their substance or else forming their conclusion,
showing their common origin among the “Forest Sages.” And both the