I am a non believer who does not believe in a Soul. Nevertheless I find that the Upanishads enunciate a great philosophical system and are certainly worth studying with analysis.
The Upanishads are the essence of Hindu Philosophy. There are supposed to be 108 Upanishads in all, but of them, 10 which were commented upon by Sankaracharya are considered important. The rest are considered to be a repetition of what is already contained in the 10 principal Upanishads.
The Bhagavad Gita in turn contains the essence of the Upanishads.
Very few of us would have the time to read the entire Upanishads and perhaps even the Gita, but each of the Principal Upanishads can be condensed to project their meaning in a few sentences. I am giving the gist of the first principal Upanishad below.
ISHAVYASOPANISHAD.
Life in the world and life in the spirit are not incompatible.
Work or action is not contrary to knowledge of God, but indeed, if performed without attachment, is a means to it.
Renunciation is the renunciation of the ego, of selfishness—not of life.
The end, both of work and of renunciation, is to know the Self within and the Brahman without, and to realize their identity.
The Self is Brahman and the Brahman is Self.
I will give the gist of the other Upanishads later as all of them given together would make themselves incomprehensible to a layman of philosophy.
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