The Upanishads: The Sacred Texts that Shaped India and the Modern West

The Upanishads form the final portion of the sacred Vedas and serve as the textual foundation for the philosophical tradition of Vedanta. In this course, we shall first examine the Upanishads themselves and then explore the ways in which these sacred texts have shaped both Indian and Western thought. The reception of these profound and insightful writings will be explored across both time and space, from great Vedantic acharyas, or teachers, such as Shankara and Ramanuja, to the Mughal Emperor Dara Shikoh, to Western thinkers such as Arthur Schopenhauer and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The message of the Upanishads is timeless, and thus as relevant today as when they were first revealed more than two millennia ago.

Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for two weeks following the conclusion of the program. Late registrants will receive recording links to all missed sessions.

Course Topics

Class 1: The Vedic Context/Two Major Upanishads

After first examining the literary, historical, and religious contexts in which the Upanishads emerged, we shall dive into the Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads—two of the major sources for subsequent Vedantic thought. Questions explored in these texts include the relationship between outward ritual practice and inward contemplation, the nature of self, the phenomenon of rebirth, and the relationship between the individual soul and the Infinite.

Class 2: Further Explorations in the Upanishads

In this session, we shall explore several other major Upanishads, including the Katha, the Kena, the Isha, and the Shvetashvatara Upanishads. These texts further explore topics such as rebirth and the nature of self, as well as raising the topic of theism and the role of bhakti, or devotion, in the spiritual path, further developing the intellectual foundation of Vedanta philosophy and Hindu dharma.

Class 3: Interpreting the Upanishads: Traditions of Vedanta

This session will explore the various ways in which the Upanishads have been interpreted by Indian philosophers, beginning with the Advaita or non-dual interpretation of Shankara, then delving into the Vishishtadvaita, or Qualified Non-dualism of Ramanuja, the Dvaita, or Dualism of Madhva, the Dvaitadvaita, or Non-Dualism-with-Dualism of Nimbarka, and the Achintya Bhedabheda, or Inconceivable Difference and Non-Difference of Chaitanya. All of these modes of interpreting the Upanishads emerge from and support different ways of approaching our ultimate goal of liberation, and even shape the way in which liberation itself is conceived.

Class 4: Influence of the Upanishads

In our last session, we will examine various thinkers outside of the Hindu tradition whose ideas have been influenced by the Upanishads. These include a Mughal prince, a modern German philosopher, an American transcendentalist, and whole generations of Western spiritual seekers. We will also delve into modern interpretations of these texts from within the Hindu tradition, including those of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Sri Aurobindo.

Jeffery D. Long is the Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, Philosophy, and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College, where he has taught since receiving his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School in the year 2000. He is the author of such books as (which won the DANAM book award in 2021), and . He has spoken at a wide array of venues, including the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the United Nations, the University of Chicago, Yale University, Princeton University, Delhi University, and at Vedanta Societies and Hindu and Jain temples and centers around the world. He has also appeared in documentaries for both PBS and the History Channel.

This is a live, interactive online program that will also be recorded. Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for two weeks following the conclusion of the program.

Join online via ​a Zoom link that will be emailed upon your registration. Please download Zoom for free at zoom.us/download and test your connection at zoom.us/test. For further information, check out www.theosophical.org/FAQ or email [email protected].

Host or Publisher The Theosophical Society in America