Quotes From Upanishads On Consciousness

Here are 20 profound quotes from the Upanishads on the theme of consciousness:

  1. “Tat Tvam Asi” (Chandogya Upanishad)
    “You are that.”
  • This powerful expression conveys the unity of the individual self (Atman) with the ultimate reality or universal consciousness (Brahman).
  1. “Prajnanam Brahma” (Aitareya Upanishad)
    “Consciousness is Brahman.”
  • This Mahavakya identifies Brahman, the ultimate reality, as pure consciousness.
  1. “Ayam Atma Brahma” (Mandukya Upanishad)
    “This Self is Brahman.”
  • The Atman, or individual self, is identical with Brahman, the supreme consciousness.
  1. “Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma” (Chandogya Upanishad)
    “All this is Brahman.”
  • The entire universe is a manifestation of Brahman, the ultimate consciousness.
  1. “Eko devah sarvabhuteshu gudhah” (Shvetashvatara Upanishad)
    “The one God hidden in all beings.”
  • Consciousness permeates all living beings, though it is veiled by individual forms.
  1. “Atmanam chet vijaniyat ayam asmi iti purushah” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
    “If one knows the Self as ‘I am this,’ then one becomes all this universe.”
  • The realization of one’s true self as consciousness leads to the understanding of one’s unity with the universe.
  1. “Sa vidya ya vimuktaye” (Mundaka Upanishad)
    “That alone is knowledge which leads to liberation.”
  • True knowledge is the realization of the self as pure consciousness.
  1. “Atmaiva idam sarvam” (Chandogya Upanishad)
    “All this is the Self.”
  • The Self, or pure consciousness, is the essence of all that exists.
  1. “Yathaidhamsi samiddho agnir bhasmasat kurute’rjuna” (Katha Upanishad)
    “As fire reduces wood to ashes, so does knowledge of the self reduce all karmas to ashes.”
  • Consciousness burns away ignorance and the bonds of karma.
  1. “Satyam jnanam anantam brahma” (Taittiriya Upanishad)
    “Brahman is truth, knowledge, and infinite.”
  • Consciousness is infinite and beyond temporal limitations, embodying ultimate truth.
  1. “Neh nanasti kincana” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
    “There is no multiplicity here.”
  • All distinctions and separations dissolve in the realization of one universal consciousness.
  1. “Aham Brahmasmi” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
    “I am Brahman.”
  • The ultimate truth is that the individual self and the universal consciousness are one and the same.
  1. “Na tatra chakshurgacchati na vag gacchati no manah” (Kena Upanishad)
    “The eye does not go there, nor speech, nor mind.”
  • Consciousness transcends the senses and the mind; it is beyond intellectual comprehension.
  1. “Vijnanam anandam Brahma” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
    “Brahman is pure consciousness and bliss.”
  • The nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality, is consciousness combined with eternal bliss.
  1. “Yo vai bhuma tat sukham, na alpe sukham asti” (Chandogya Upanishad)
    “The infinite is bliss. There is no bliss in anything finite.”
  • True happiness comes only from realizing the infinite consciousness.
  1. “Atmanam aranye anushishto jananam veda yat sukrtyam iti” (Katha Upanishad)
    “The one who has realized the Atman transcends all suffering.”
  • Knowledge of the true self, or consciousness, frees one from suffering.
  1. “Hiranmayena patrena satyasya apihitam mukham” (Isha Upanishad)
    “The face of truth is hidden by a golden disc.”
  • Consciousness is obscured by the illusions of the world and must be unveiled through spiritual realization.
  1. “Tam eva viditva atimrityum eti” (Shvetashvatara Upanishad)
    “By knowing that alone, one transcends death.”
  • The realization of Brahman or pure consciousness leads one beyond the cycle of birth and death.
  1. “Drishya vilaya drik eva avashishtah” (Yoga Vasistha)
    “When the seen dissolves, only the Seer remains.”
  • When the transient world disappears, what remains is pure consciousness, the ultimate observer.
  1. “Yatra nanyat pashyati nanyat shrunoti nanyat vijanati sa bhuma” (Chandogya Upanishad)
    “Where one does not see another, hear another, or know another, that is the infinite.”
  • The state of infinite consciousness is one in which duality ceases, and only oneness prevails.

These quotes emphasize the nature of consciousness as the foundation of all existence, the key to self-realization, and the path to ultimate liberation.

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