Upanishads

Upanishads are the theological texts of Hinduism which contain the most basic philosophy on which the Hindu thought is based. Along with the Bhagvat Geeta, they form the core of the Hindu understanding of the universe. They impart a  philosophical and spiritual angle to the various Vedic rituals and hence these texts have multilevel interpretations. A scholar can go deep and deep but still he will find the same verses will have infinite meanings that reflect upon the keen sense of metaphysical understanding that our ancestors had.
The most heard quotes from Hindu philosophy are none but Upanishadic verses right from Aham Brahmasmi, Tatvamasi to Satyameva Jayate.

Each of the 4 Vedas i.e Rigveda, Yajuveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda are divided into 4 parts i.e

• Samhita - The texts that contains verses and hymns to be recited
• Brahmana - Meanings of certain words and verses
• Aranyaka - To be recited in the forests. They are similar to Brahmanas
• Upanishad - They explain the deep philosophical meaning of Vedic verses and rituals

Thus Upanishads themselves are a part of Vedas. There exist more than 200 Upanishads ranging from few pages to fat books. The list of 108 various Upanishads occur in the Muktikopanishad where the names of almost all of the major Upanishads occur. 

The most famous Upanishads of Hindu thought are Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Aitareya, Isha, Prashna, Mundok, Kena, Shwetashwatara, etc. 

Another logical conclusion is that every Veda has it's own Upanishad which propounds the contents of that particular Veda. Here is a small classification of Upanishads according to the Vedas they belong to - 

VEDA		RECENSION	UPANISHAD
RIGVEDA	-	SHAKALYA	AITAREYA
YAJURVEDA	SHUKLA	VAJASANEYI	BRIHADARANYAKA & ISHA
	KRISHNA	TAITTIRIYA	KATHA & SHWETASHWATARA
SAMAVEDA	-	KAUTHUMA	KENA & CHANDOGYA
ATHARVAVEDA	-	PIPPALADA & SHAUNAKA	PRASHNA, MUNDOK & MANDUKYA

There are infinite sites and honourable Swamis who deal with the philosophical aspect of the Upanishads. This post is mainly meant to deal with the historical and geographical aspect of the Upanishads. 

HISTORY

The Vedic culture mainly comprised of rituals which were basically established to please Gods, live longer or to get priceless gifts from Gods. The Yagyas that were conducted mainly dealt with rituals which included fire, horse, oblations,etc. Now these Yagyas cannot be conducted silently. Thus verses were composed by different families of rishis for their particular Yagyas which were to be recited. This gave rise to a large number of Yagyas for different purposes. All of this is mechanical and ritualistic worship. 

Human mind is always in the pursuit of knowing the deep secrets of the universe and what lies in the infinite space around us. Just as science and rituals are the food for your brain, philosophy and spirituality is the food for your mind. The rishis came to know that a level of perfection and ultimate pleasure can be attained through meditation and becoming one with the Supreme.With time, the rishis started focusing on some basic questions of our existence. Their inborn curiosity led them to find as to who is controlling all that is around us. Consequently, the deep meanings of Vedic verses and the various rituals was taken into account. To quote an example, the Upanishads discuss the deep meaning of why a horse is tied to a pole and faces east during a Ashwamedha Yagya. The consequent result was a concept called "Brahman" or the supreme being. This Brahman is what is driving everything around us.  It is the chemical X that is present in every bit of the universe that makes it function what it is destined to. 

Without going much into philosophy, let's focus on the consequences of this. With a new style of thinking taking shape, the same rituals began to be viewed with completely different angle. The knowledge began to be divided into two types-  Gyankanda and Karmakanda literally meaning philosophy and rituals way of understanding things. Consequently, knowledgeable people started conducting debates about the in depth understanding of the Brahman.  Kings began conducting such debates. Handsome awards were given to the winner. The conversations of such people were recorded and further compiled into scriptures which came to be known as Upanishads. It should be noted that philosophy has existed from the start of civilization but it came out in full force when Upanishads were compiled as texts dealing only with philosophy. These scriptures were compiled, assigned a meter and faithfully transmitted orally. Having such a precious doctrine in them ,these scriptures were declared as Shrutis i.e scriptures to be heard and transmitted where not even a word is to be changed.

The brahmins belonging to that particular branch of Vedas were taught that particular Upanishad. But with time, all these scriptures were made open to all and they got a common name "Vedanta" literally meaning the end point of Vedas. 

Authorship of the Upanishads is a bit complicated issue since very few names are mentioned. But from what information we get, majority of the authors were Brahmins and Kshatriyas. The Varna system being flexible then, even a Shudra was made a Brahmin based on his knowledge. There are many instances where the kings themselves outwitted the Brahmins showing that knowledge was not the sole premise of Brahmins. Kings like Janaka Videha, Ajatshatru Kashiraj, Ashwapati Kekaya,etc won debates with Brahmins who had come to teach them. Shudras like Satyakama Jabala won many debates. Another interesting feature is that we find mention of two women namely Gargi Vachaknavi and Maitrayee who also used to participate in the debates. This shows the high social ranking of women in those times. 

GEOGRAPHY

Now coming to the main point- geography of Upanishads. 

If we look at the names of different places mentioned and the kings belonging to different kingdoms, the geography can be broadly classified into Kuru- Panchala region and Kashi-Videha region. In the Kuru-Panchal region, we have kings like Jaivahan Panchal and rishis like Uddalaka. Uddalaka is said to have roamed in the Kuru region to gather Brahmins for a debate. The epicentre for philosophy was of course, the Kashi-Videha region with it's most powerful theologist, Yajnavalkya. He was the one who had defeated almost all people from different parts of Bharat. He was the chief theologist in Videha's king Janaka's court. Because of him, Videha had emerged as an important center for philosophy. 

In addition, in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, we have a reference of Indradyuma Bhallaveya having learnt from king Ashwapati Kekaya, the father of Ram's step mother Kaikeyi. Regions like Gandhara are also mentioned.

 

Upanishads were composed. Majority of the Upanishads were composed during, just before and just after the era of Rama and king Janaka of Videha. As I have said earlier, king Janaka used to host debates in his kingdom where Yajnavalkya was his chief theologian. Most of the names, thus, appearing with Yajnavalkya become his contemporary. We would see how this is the case as we begin placing the Upanishads. 

All the placing of rishis and sages is done with respect to king Janaka who was one generation before Shri Rama. 

Kaushitaki Upanishad 

The composer of this Upanishad is Kahod Kaushitaki. He was the contemporary of king Janaka and Yajnavalkya. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad  ( 3.5) has a conversation between Yajnavalkya and Kahod Kaushitaki. Plus, Mahabharata ( 3.132 and 133) mention the story where Janaka had organized a debate in his Videha kingdom where Kahod's son Ashtavakra and Ashtavakra's mama Shvetaketu had gone there to debate with Bandi, the son of Varuna. It also gives the information of Shvetaketu's family as Aruni --> Uddalak --> Shvetaketu . 

This would be clear by the following - 

 

This places the Kaushitaki Upanishad one generation prior to Shri Rama.

Aitareya Upanishad 

This Upanishad is composed by Mahidasa Aitareya, who belonged to a lower caste but was elevated to the post of a Brahmin. He has also composed Aitareya Brahmana, Aitareya Arnyaka,etc. But late additions have also been made to his Brahmana and Aranyaka. We take the help of Sankhyayana Grihya Sutra ( 4.10 and 6.1). It gives the list of teachers of that scripture. This list starts from Kahod Kaushitaki --> Suyajna Sankhyayana --> Mahidasa Aitareya. Apart from these, Ashvalayana Grihya Sutra ( 3.4) inserts Paingya in between Kahod and Suyajna.  See the following

 

 

 

 

 

 

This places Aitareya Upanishad 4 generations before Shri Rama. 

Katha Upanishad 

This Upanishad is a conversation between young Nachiketa and Yama. Nachiketa is said to be the son of Auddalak i.e grandson of Uddalak in Katha Upanishad (1.1.11). Elsewhere, his father is said to be Vajashravas. That could be his personal name. But the placing is clear. 

 

 

Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishad These are very easy to place since majority of the people they talk are having a conversation with Yajnvalkya in the court of king Janaka of Videha. If you place the different kings and rishis listed in the these two Upanishads, we conclude that some of them were before Yajnavalkya, some contemporary who had conversation with him and others are later than him. This shows that the conversations were recorded and later on compiled into an Upanishad.
Another way of placing these two Upanishads is by the reference of Indradyumna Bhallaveya. He had a debate with Yajnavalkya. Indradyumna claims in Chandogya Upanishad (5.11) and Shatpatha Brahmana (10.6.1.1) that he was counselled by Ashwapati Kekaya which Ramayana mentions to be the father of Kaikeyi, Rama's step mother. So these two Upanishads can indeed be placed in the Ramayanic era.
Since we have placed these Upanishads, we can make a list of names whom are either contemporary or 1-2 generations before/after these Upanishads. All the names appear in Brihadaranyaka (BU) and Chandogya (CU) and Shatapatha Brahmana (SB) -

• Pravahana Jaivali Panchal - BU (6.2)
• Ajatshatru Kashi - king of Kashi and his son Bhadrasena Aajatshatru - SB (5.5.5.14)
• Uddanka Saulbhayana - BU ( 4.1.3)
• Budhila Ashvatarashvi - CU (5.16)
• Patanjala Kpya - BU (3.7.1)
• Barku Varshna BU (4.1.4)
• Bhujyu Lahyayani BU (3.3)
• Gardabhivipeeta Bharadvaja BU (4.1.5)
• Gargi Vachaknavi BU (3.6)
• Jaratkarava Artabhaga BU (3.2)
• Jitvan Shaileeni BU (4.1.1)
• Ushasta Chakrayana CU (1.10.1)
• Vidagha Shakalya SB (11.6.3.3), BU (3.9)
• Chaikitayana Dalbhya and his son Brahmadatta Chaikitaneya - CU (1.8)
• Gargya Balaki - BU (2.1) has a discussion with Ajatshatru Kashi

Besides, these Upanishads also mention Kahod Kaushitaki, Ashtavakra, etc who also were contemporaries of Yajnavalkya. 

As we have seen, Mahidasa Aitareya was 4 generations before Shri Rama. Chandogya being contemporary to Shri Rama, it mentions that Mahidasa Aitareya lived for 116 years - CU (3.16.7). It also mentions the story of Satyakama Jabala who existed some generations after Yajnavalkya thus confirming my proposition that these two Upanishads are compilation of dialogues which were compiled later.

Brihad Jabala Upanishad 

As the name suggests, the composer is Satyakama Jabala. He was a Shudra who was taught by his teacher Haridrumata Gautama. His story appears in Chandogya  (4.4.3).  Now, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (6.3.7) also gives a list of teachers from Uddalaka till Satyakama Jabala. Chandogya (4.10) adds another name of Upakoshala Kamlayana as the pupil of Satyakama Jabala. Following will demonstrate it -

 

 

 

This places the Brihad Jabala Upanishad at 3 generations after Shri Rama. This is also coroborated by a reference to a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and king Janaka that is quoted in Brihad Jabala (7). 

Prashnopanishad 

This is a relatively late Upanishad. The placing becomes clear by one reference to king Hiranyanabha of Ayodhya where the rishis had gone to interact with him. PU (6.1)

The rishis who were present were Sauryayani Gargya, Shaivya Satyakama.,Sukesha Bharadvaja, Kaushalya  Ashvalayana, Kabandhi Katyayana, Bhargava Vaidarbhi. 

King Hiranyanabha was 18 generations after Shri Rama. 

Ishopanishad

This Upanishad cannot be properly 'placed' but it is definately before the times of Yajnavalkya.

As a matter of fact, sage Vaishampayana was the mama and teacher of Yajnnavalkya. Vaishampayana had taught the Yajurveda to Yajnavalkya. At that time, there was only one Yajurveda. Yajnavalkya due to his arrogance was asked to give back all his knowledge. So he gave it back. After worshiping the Sun God, he refined the Yajurveda and made it accurate. The original version taught by Vaishampayana came to known as Krishna Yajurveda and the version of Yajnavalkya came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda. 

Ishopanishad is a part of Yajurveda. Since it is present in both the Yajurvedas, we can be sure that it existed before Yajnavalkya and Vaishampayana. 

From Ashutosh Kulkarni

Unseen forces of nature-Aitareya Upnishad

Aitareya Upanishad talks about various forces that evolve from the Atman and create the Universe that we perceive.

According to Aitareya Upanishad, from Atma evolved Amba. Amba exists beyond the heavens and is glowing. From the same essence (as that of Amba) Purusha was drawn out and laid to protect the Universe that would evolve.

Then Marici, Maram and Apa evolved out of Atma.

• · Marici (which means particle/dust speck as well light wave) formed the Space
• · Maram (which means mortal matter) formed the mortal worlds
• · Apa (which is celestial waters) formed the biological life.

Detailing them further, Aitareya Upanishad says the forces that evolved from Atma are Vaca, Agni, Prana, Caksu, Karnau, Hrdaya, Manasa, Candrama, Zizna, Reta and Apa. These eleven forces drive the evolution of Universe further.

Eleven force-fields – Eleven Rudras

I had also mapped the driving force-fields behind the formation of these forces to the Eleven Rudras mentioned in the Vedas and Upanishads.

Let’s look at the Eleven forces that evolve from Atma and the Eleven force-fields that drive these forces.

Cosmic Space

Of the eleven forces mentioned in Aitareya Upanishad Vaca, Agni, Pranna, Caksu and Karnau are the force-fields of Marici, that fills the Cosmic Space.

Mortal Matter

According to Aitareya Upanishad, ‘Strings’ crystallize on the ‘Skin/top layer’ (of Atma) due to heating up and they grow thickly. These strings then form the mortal matter particles called Hrdaya, Manasa and Candrama. Each one of these is driven by an unique force-field.

Biological life

Zizna, Reta and Apa evolve next to drive the evolution of biological life and consciousness.

Eleven Force Fields

There are eleven force fields or eleven Rudras corresponding to these eleven forces.

• The five force-fields that fill the Cosmic space are Vaca (Higgs), Agni (Force of Dark Matter), Prana (Dark Energy), Caksu/Aksi (Electro-Magnetic force), Karnau(Gravitation) make up the Cosmic space.
• The three force-fields that operate inside the mortal matter and drive the formation of Hrdaya (Baryons), Manasa (Mesons) and Candrama (Leptons) create the mortal matter that is susceptible to death.
• The three force-fields that operate on the chemical compounds driving the evolution of biological life that drive the formation of ziznam, Reta and Apa evolve the biological life and consciousness.

I had mapped these eleven forces to the eleven Rudras in Vedas in several of my blogs that I had been writing for the past four years.

Rudra – The force that vibrates or Howler

Rudra means vibrations. Ru indicates howl/cry/vibrations. Dra indicates running. Rudra means running vibrations. Vibrations that run and spread far and wide. In other words vibrations that make the Universe. Many interpret this vibration as ‘howling’ and western scholar interpret Rudra as ‘howler’. Rudra is the force that vibrates and forms all the eleven fields. In that sense, yes Rudra is a howler.

Rudra ‘vibrates’ the fields that form the perceivable space. Vaca, Agni, Pranna, Caksu and Karnau are the forces of Marici, that drive the evolution of Space. Five Rudras or five force-fields vibrate each of these forces and form the space as we perceive it.

Rudra ‘vibrates’ the strings to form the matter particles (Mara forms the worlds). Hrdaya, Manasa and Candrama are forces of Mara, that drive the evolution of matter. Three Rudras or three force-fields vibrate these forces and form the matter particles as we perceive it.

Rudra ‘vibrates’ the compounds by forming bonds and leads these chemicals to becoming the vehicle for biological life (consciousness). Ziznam, Reta and Apa are forces that are vibrated by Rudra to enable them to become the vehicle of consciousness.

There are eleven Rudras corresponding to these eleven force-fields and they form the eleven dimensional space.

Rudra and Cosmic Space

Cosmic space (antariksham) is a set of force-fields or vibrations of the five Rudras.

Vaca – Higgs field

Vaca means ‘expression’. Aitarerya Upanishad says the ‘face or identification’ of Atma was its ‘expression’. Vaca corresponds to Higgs field which expresses the mortal matter (gives them mass)

Agni – Force field of Dark matter on Matter

Agni means transfer of energy from one to another. According to Sankhya Philosophy Purusha influences Prakrti so that there is a preponderance of Sattwa Guna in Prakrti and triggers the evolution. Preponderance of a particular Guna initiates the ‘transfer of energy’ in an otherwise balanced system.

It is the influence of Dark Matter on matter that triggers the evolution by influencing the ‘transfer of energy’ or causing a pre-ponderance of one particular guna in matter, according to this interpretation.

In my blogs on Sankhya Philosophy, I had mapped that Dark matter impacts the spin property of matter.

Currently science says dark matter does not impact matter. In scientific terms Dark matter is a concept that is present in 2/3rd of Universe and imperceptible to us (similar to Purusha Suktam).

Prana - Dark Energy

Prana (Invisible Dark Energy) corresponds to the Dark Energy that drives the expansion of Universe

Aksi/Caksu – Electro-Magnetic force

Caksu/Aksi (Light Energy) corresponds to the Electro-Magnetic force that evolved from the Universe (at the time of Big-Bang) and is present as Cosmic Micro-wave Background

Karnau – Gravitational force

Karnau (Handle to hold) corresponds to the Gravitational force-field produced by objects of mass through which they are held in a place in space.

Modern science says the cosmic space has all the above five force-fields. Ofcourse these force-fields are present everywhere. These five make up what we perceive as the Cosmic space.

Rudra and fundamental particles of Matter

There are two fundamental particles of Matter viz. Quarks and Leptons. Quarks are always found in groups and are present as either Baryons (3 quarks) or Mesons (One quark and antiquark).

Baryons – Hrdaya particles – Strong Force

Baryons form the ‘core’ of atoms called the nucleons (protons and neutrons). They are ‘Hrdaya’ of the atoms, which are fundamental building block of universe and are also called ‘nucleons’ There is a ‘force-field’ that binds the Quarks forming Baryons and Mesons. This is called ‘Strong force’ or ‘Gluons’.

Rudra (corresponding to Hrdaya) drives the formation of Hrdaya particles (protons, nuetrons). This strong force is the sixth Rudra.

Mesons – Manasa particles – Nuclear force

Several nucleons in a nucleus are bound together by a ‘nuclear force’ mediated by the Mesons. Since Mesons are made of a quark and anti-quark pair, they are hidden. They are the ‘Manasa’ mentioned in Aitareya Upanishad. Manas means hidden.

This nuclear force mediated by the Manasa or Mesons is the seventh Rudra. This Rudra drives the formation of nucleus in an atom.

Candrama – Lepton particles – Weak force

Leptons are satellites to nucleons. Candrama means satellite. The most well known lepton is an Electron.

There is a force that keeps the electrons away from the nucleus. This force is called the Weak-force. The Rudra that drives the Candrama (satellite or the electron/lepton) is the weak-force.

This weak-force is the eighth Rudra.

Rudra and Biological compounds

There are three fundamental bonds that drive biological life. They are covalent, hydrogen and ionic bonds. Covalent bonds result in long peptide chains forming proteins. Hydrogen bonds result in the formation of RNA and DNA. Hydrogen bonds also result in formation of water ahnd acids. Ionic bonds result in the formation of alkali or base.

Proteins – Zizna – Covalent bonds

Zizna (which means long rod like structure) represents the long chains of amino acids or proteins. They are driven by the covalent bonding force.

This covalent bonding force is the ninth Rudra.

DNA/RNA/Acid/Water – Reta – Hydrogen bonds

Reta (which means semen or medium in which sperm floats) represents the DNA and RNA structures that encode genetic information that drive evolution of life. The DNA and RNA are driven by both Covalent and Hydrogen bonding forces. In particular Hydrogen bonding drives the formation of DNA and RNA.

Hydrogen bonding force also results in formation of water that serves as a medium of life (the semen that carries the sperm)

This hydrogen bonding force is the tenth Rudra.

Alkaline – Apa – Ionic bonds

Apa (which is mapped to a medium that is vital for life) represents the alkaline compounds and medium that enables all life processes. These are driven by ionic bonding forces.

This ionic bonding force is the eleventh Rudra.

Rudras – The drivers of biological evolution

The Covalent, hydrogen and ionic bonding forces drive all life processes from formation of amino-acids, RNA/DNA, nucleus, cells, complex organisms, metabolism, fertilization etc.

The thirty-three Devas and the Atma

The eleven Rudras correspond to eleven force-fields that guide the Universe in its evolution in the domain of Physics, Chemistry and biology.

The Twelve Adityas (originators) correspond to twelve stages of stellar evolution that guide the evolution of matter (in particular elements) in our Universe and more specific in our Galaxy.

The Eight Vasus correspond to eight biological factors that reside in all biological beings that serve as a vehicle of that Supreme Consciousness.

The Amba is the Primordial Matter from which all forces evolved.

The Purusha is the Dark Matter which guards the Matter.

These are the thirty three types of Devas or ‘forces’ that guide us. Beyond all of these is the Atman from which everything evolved, about which we can never know fully (according to Nasadiya Suktam).

http://vedabhasya.blogspot.in/2012/07/higgs-is-in-vedas.html

http://creative.sulekha.com/aitareya-upanishad-from-plasma-to-particles_405936_blog

http://creative.sulekha.com/maha-mrityunjaya-mantra-immortally-mortal_74552_blog

Ishopanishad – The essence of Vedic wisdom

Ishopanishad – The essence of Vedic wisdom
Ishopanishad – which is 40th chapter of Yajurveda – is undoubtedly the best text on philosophy and spirituality that one can ever read. It forms the foundation of Geeta and in fact all powerful philosophies of world.Read more-HERE . DOWNLOAD LINK-
CLICK HERE
 

Dreams and sleep explained in Ancient Indian scriptures

sleep dreams mind explained in Prasnopanishad

Prasna Upanishad consists of six questions (prasnas) and their answers. It is also associated with the Atharva Veda
Six students (Sukesha, Satyakama, Sauryayanee, Bhargava, Kabandhi) interested in knowing divinity or Brahman come to sage Pippalada and request him to clarify their spiritual doubts.
The fourth question asked by Souryayanee Gargya is concerned with dream world of human beings.

Sauryayanee Gargya asks

“atha hEnam souryayanee gargya papraccha |
bhagavannEtasmin purushE kaani svapanti kaanyasmin jaagrati katar yEsha dEva |
swapnaan pashyati kasyaitata sukham bhavati kasminnu sarvE sampratishTitaa bhavanteeti |”

Translation : Sauryayani, belonging to the family of Garga, asked: “Sir, what are they that sleep in man and what are they that remain awake in him ? Which deity is it that sees dreams ? Whose is the happiness ? In whom, again, are all these gathered together ?”

Sage Pippalada replied “O Gargya, As all the rays of the sun, when it sets, are gathered up in that disc of light, and as they, when the sun rises again and again, come forth, so is all this (all the senses) gathered up in the highest faculty (deva), the mind. Therefore at that time that man does not hear, see, smell, taste, touch, he does not speak, he does not take, does not enjoy, does not evacuate, does not move about. He sleeps, that is what People say.

The prana fires remain awake in this city (body) during sleep/dream. Apana is the Garhapatya Fire and vyana, the Anvaharyapachana Fire. And prana is the Ahavaniya Fire, so called from being taken—since it is taken from the Garhapatya Fire.

Samana is so called because it distributes equally the two oblations, namely, the out—breathing and the in—breathing; it is the priest. The mind, verily, is the sacrificer. Udana is the fruit of the sacrifice, because it leads the sacrificer every day, in deep sleep, to Brahman.

There, in dreams, that god, the mind, experiences glory. Whatever has been seen he sees again; whatever has been heard he hears again; whatever has been experienced in different countries and quarters, he experiences again. Whatever has been seen or not seen, heard or not heard and whatever is real or not real—he sees it all. He sees all, himself being all.

When the jiva is overcome by light he sees no dreams; at that time, in this body, arises this happiness.

As a bird goes to a tree to roost, even so, O friend, all this rests in the Supreme Atman : Earth and its subtle counterpart, water and its subtle counterpart, fire and its subtle counterpart, air and its subtle counterpart, akasa and its subtle counterpart, the eye and what can be seen, the ear and what can be heard, the nose and what can be smelt, the taste and what can be tasted, the skin and what can be touched, the organ of speech and what can be spoken, the hands and what can be grasped, the organ of generation and what can be enjoyed, the organ of excretion and what can be excreted, the feet and what is their destination, the mind (manas) and what can be thought, the intellect (buddhi) and what can be comprehended, the ego (ahamkara) and the object of egoism, the memory (chitta) and its object, knowledge (tejah) and its object, prana and what is to be supported.

He, verily, it is who sees, feels, hears, smells, tastes, thinks and knows. He is the doer, the intelligent self, the purusha. He is established in the Highest, the imperishable Atman.
He who knows that indestructible being, obtains (what is) the highest and indestructible, he without a shadow, without a body, without colour, bright,yes, O friend, he who knows it, becomes all-knowing, becomes all.

He, who knows that indestructible being wherein the true knower, the vital spirits (pranas), together with all the powers (deva), and the elements rest, he, being all-knowing, has penetrated all.”

Thus, it can be understood that humans and other living beings live like Brahma, the creator.
They absorb everything into themselves during sleep and when they wakeup, they re-create everything including themselves.
The supreme god exists in all of us, making us go through the process of creation and absorption everyday.

source-booksfact.com 

Upnishad, Vedas

The Vedas are the essence of life and the Upanishads are the essence of the Vedas. The Gita is the cream of the Upanishads. This is why we call the Gita, "The essence of all the essences".
For a better understanding of the Upanishads, it is good to go through the Gita and to understand the Gita going through the Upanishads is the best.
Great Saint VedaVyas, before penning down the Gita in the epic, The Mahabharata, described the Gita as 'the summary of all the Upanishads'. So, let us study the Upanishads along with the Gita [the summary of the Upanishads].
"He who knows this Upanishad [the Truth, the Knowledge of Brahman] shakes off all sins and becomes firmly established in the infinite and the highest Heaven"
----------The Kena Upanishad: 4: 9
There are many verses in various Scriptures which teach that the ultimate goal of a man is to reach the Abode of God, the Heaven and to live an infinite life therein.
Most of us MISUNDERSTAND it to be the finite heaven which is a recurring as well as a temporary abode....
Whenever heaven is qualified with adjectives like-----"Infinite" and "Highest" and phrases like-----"Abode of God", then this is a metaphorical use which refers to Brahman and not heaven because there is nothing that is "infinite" and "greatest" except Brahman not even the heaven.

Both statements i.e. being "infinite" and attaining "immortality" can be true only when It is Brahman. Heaven can neither be "infinite" nor can one attain "immortality" by entering it.
By the study of the Upanishads it has been made clear that a man can never become immortal by entering the finite heaven but only by realising his oneness with Brahman. So, definitely, by the METAPHORICAL comparison of Brahman and heaven a message is passed-----
"Let men craving for finite pleasures of finite heaven know that there exists an Infinite Heaven with infinite pleasures, entering [realising] Which a man becomes immortal and that is BRAHMAN. So, do not crave for a finite pleasure. Do crave for Brahman Who is infinite and never-ending bliss, Who is Heaven of heavens.....Pleasure of pleasures"
So, whenever you come across lines like-----"Heaven is the ultimate goal and we are going to live there for infinite period of time", take this Heaven as Brahman i.e. diffusing in Brahman is the ultimate goal for this is the only way for both the statements "Infinite" and "Immortality" to be true at once. Make sure to let those who misunderstand This infinite Heaven with the finite one know this too.

A man dying in the ignorance of the Self is condemned to roam in the world through an interminable chain of births and deaths. Therefore, a man should make every effort to attain the goal of life and terminate the chain of births and deaths by realising Brahman.
Living and non-living; Brahman is immanent in all. It [Brahman] alone exists. Names and forms are falsely superimposed on It [Brahman] through avidya [अविद्या] and Maya [माया].
He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. The realisation of oneness with Brahman is the teaching of the Upanishads.
There is a verse in the BHAGAVAD GITA which says the same as the ISHA UPANISHAD: 5. After all, the Gita is the summary of the Upanishads. They are to be referred together for the best understanding of Brahman [God].
It [Brahman] moves and moves not; It [Brahman] is far and likewise near. It [Brahman] is inside all this and It [Brahman] is outside all this.
----------The Isha Upanishad: 5
Can you present a verse from the Bhagavad Gita which is similar to the above verse of the Isha UPANISHAD
Harih Aum! Aum, the word, is all this [i.e. the whole universe]. A clear explanation of it is as follows: all that is past, present and future is, indeed, Aum. And whatever else there is, beyond the threefold division of time-----that also is truly Aum.
----------The Mandukya Upanishad: 1: 1

The non-duality of Atman [Brahman], in spite of multiple number of bodies under Its [Brahman's] lordship, is explained by various illustrations in the Upanishads, one of which is as follows:
"As the same non-dual fire, after it has entered the world, appears to be different according to whatever it burns, so also the same non-dual Atman, dwelling in all beings, appears to be different according to whatever It enters."
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 2: 9

Samsara or the relative world is maya [illusory] and not real. Maya is superimposed on Brahman as Upadhis [limiting adjuncts]. This is why apparently, existence of many atmans is felt, but in reality i.e. when we view it from a perspective beyond maya, Atman is one without a second.
He is the sun dwelling in the bright heavens. He is the air dwelling in the interspace. He is the fire dwelling on earth. He is the guest dwelling in the house. He dwells in men, in the gods, in truth, in the sky. He is born [present] in the water, on earth, in the sacrifice, on the mountains. He is the true and the great. ----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 2: 2
There are not different Atmans in different bodies. The same Atman dwells in all bodies. He is omnipresent. There is only one Atman without a second, which is the all-pervasive Self of the universe. Atman, being non-different from Brahman, completely excludes multiplicity and difference. Atman is omnipresent.

There is a city of eleven gates belonging to the Unborn ATMAN [Self] of undistorted Consciousness. He who meditates on Him grieves
no more; liberated [from the bonds of ignorance], he becomes free.
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 2: 1
The body is the city, the 11 gates are the apertures-----the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the navel, the two lower organs and the aperture at the top of the head through which the life breath of a yogin goes out at the time of death.

As rainwater falling on a mountain peak runs down the rocks in all directions, even so he who sees the attributes as different from Brahman verily runs after them in all directions.
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 1: 14
The perception of multiplicity, resulting from ignorance, is the cause of all suffering. As rainwater running down the sides of a steep hill, divides itself into innumerable channels and ultimately becomes lost without serving any fruitful purpose, so also h...e who sees multiplicity of Brahman, becomes lost in the relative world and does not attain Liberation, which is the ultimate goal.

"Therefore, one should discard the fallacious advice of the misguided logicians who proclaim the multiplicity of Atman and the erroneous counsel of the heretics who teach Its [Atman's] non-existence, and should realise Atman's non-duality as taught by the Vedas"
------Adi Guru Shankaracharya

"It is through Atman through that one knows form, taste, smell, sounds, touches and carnal pleasures. Is there anything that remains unknown to Atman?"
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 1: 3



"Oh scion of Bharata, you should understand that I [Ishvar] [God] am the embodied soul [jeevaatma] [जीवात्मा], the knower in all bodies"
----------Ishvara [ईश्वर] (Vasudeva Shri Krishna) in the Gita: 13: 2

It is said that the first signs of entering YOGA are lightness of body, health, thirstlessness of mind, clearness of complexion, a beautiful voice, an agreeable odour and scantiness of excretions.
----------The Shvetashvatara Upanishad: 2: 13
Forms that appear like snow, smoke, sun, wind, fire, firefly, lightning, crystal and moon, precede the manifestation of BRAHMAN in Yoga practice.
----------The Shvetashvatara Upanishad: 2: 11
If these forms gradually manifest themselves during Yoga practice, one can be sure that the manifestation of Brahman is not very far off. These represent the various stages of mental modifications as one progresses towards the ultimate realisation.
Source-Holy Vedas