Chandogya Upanishad

Introduction

One of the oldest and longest Upanishads, attached to the Sama Veda, the Veda of chanted hymns. Its eight chapters were composed and compiled over a long period, probably before the time of the Buddha, though exact dates are uncertain. The early chapters interpret the syllable Om and the sacred chant of Vedic ritual; later ones contain teaching dialogues. Besides Uddalaka Aruni’s instruction of his son Shvetaketu in chapter six, they include Sanatkumara teaching Narada in chapter seven and Prajapati teaching the god Indra about the true self in chapter eight. The phrase “tat tvam asi” became central to Vedanta: Shankara read it as the identity of self and Brahman, while other Vedanta schools interpreted it differently.

Connections

Taken up in

• The Greatest Secret (Persian translation of the Upanishads)1657 · Dara Shikoh
• The World as Will and Representation1819 · Arthur Schopenhauer