Upanishad means ‘sitting near the master’. Not just physical proximity but mental and emotional proximity as well. Only when there is connectivity can knowledge flow.
There came a time when Indian society started to question the traditional Vedic rites and rituals of ancient India. So the Upanishads was an attempt to shift the focus of religious life from external rites and ceremonies to internal spiritual quests in the search for answers.
Upanishad by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a collection of four texts- the Ishavasya, Kena, Katho and Yogasara Upanishad.
If the Isha gives us the secret to the perfect way of living in the world, the Kena Upanishad echoes the fundamental questions that have brought the sincere on the path. From whom comes life? What is the secret of creation? What enables man to speak, to hear and see? What is prana?
If the Katha Upanishad urges you to become Nachiketa, innocent, childlike and open, to understand death and not be scared, awed or resigned to it, the Yogasara tells you that the world is a beautiful package with very wonderful wrapping paper around it. If you’re stuck with the wrapping paper you will not even open the package to see the gift inside. If the Katha Upanishad tells you a way to reach Heaven, the Yogasara clears the confusion about “If God created us, who created God?” If Yoga is a union, what does it unite?
If all that is, is only you, then what is Yoga? You have to have a master, a true Guru who can make you experience it. With his usual wit and elan, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has gifted us this supreme knowledge in the simplest of words.
