Pakistan is a paradigm example of a failed state that has undergone an extremely dangerous form of radical Islamisation.
Upanishads
Upanishad means the inner or mystic teaching. The term Upanishad is derived
from upa (near), ni (down) and s(h)ad (to sit), i.e., sitting down near. Groups
of pupils sit near the teacher to learn from him the secret doctrine. In the
quietude of the forest hermitages the Upanishad thinkers pondered on the
problems of deepest concerns and communicated their knowledge to fit pupils near
them. Samkara derives the word Upanishad as a substitute from the root sad, 'to
loosen.,' 'to reach' or 'to destroy' with Upa and ni as prefixes and kvip as
termination. If this determination is accepted, upanishad means brahma-knowledge
by which ignorance is loosened or destroyed. The treatises that deal with brahma-knowledge
are called the Upanishads and so pass for the Vedanta. The different derivations
together make out that the Upanishads give us both spiritual vision and
philosophical argument. There is a core of certainty which is essentially
incommunicable except by a way of life. It is by a strictly personal effort that
one can reach the truth.
The Upanishads more clearly set forth the prime Vedic doctrines like
Self-realization, yoga and meditation, karma and reincarnation, which were
hidden or kept veiled under the symbols of the older mystery religion. The older
Upanishads are usually affixed to a particularly Veda, through a Brahmana or
Aranyaka. The more recent ones are not. The Upanishads became prevalent some
centuries before the time of Krishna and Buddha.
The main figure in the Upanishads, though not present in many of them, is the
sage Yajnavalkya. Most of the great teachings of later Hindu and Buddhist
philosophy derive from him. He taught the great doctrine of "neti-neti", the
view that truth can be found only through the negation of all thoughts about it.
Other important Upanishadic sages are Uddalaka Aruni, Shwetaketu, Shandilya,
Aitareya, Pippalada, Sanat Kumara. Many earlier Vedic teachers like Manu,
Brihaspati, Ayasya and Narada are also found in the Upanishads.
In the Upanishads the spiritual meanings of the Vedic texts are brought out
and emphasized in their own right.
The Upanishads have been perennial sources of spiritual knowledge. The word
upanishhad means secret and sacred knowledge. This word occurs in the Upanishads
themselves in more than a dozen places in this sense. The word also means "Texts
incorporating such knowledge." There are ten principal Upanishads. Other than
these, a few more like Shvetaashwatara and KaushiTaki are also considered
important. Though it is known that even before Sri Shankara, commentaries were
written on the Upanishads, these have been lost. Sri Shankara's commentaries on
the principal Upanishads are the earliest available. Sri Ramanuja has not
written any commentaries on them, but a later disciple Sri Rangaramanuja has
written them. Sri Madhvacharya has written commentaries (bhaashya-s) on the ten
principal Upanishads. Interpretation of passages from these and other Upanishads
is also discussed by him in his Suutra-Bhaashya, which is mainly about the
interpretation of Shruti texts and also in his other major works like
Anu-vyaakhyaana, Vishnu-tatva-vinirNaya, and Tattvodyota.
