Truth, Light, Immortality.
Aum
From ignorance, lead me to truth.
From darkness, lead me to light.
From death, lead me to immortality.
Aum, peace, peace, peace.
Brhadāranyak Upanishad I.3.28
Circa 2700 BCE
Translated from Sanskrit; below in Roman:
Aum
Asato-mā sad-gamaya
Tamaso-mā jyotir-gamaya
Mrtyor-mā amrtam-gamaya
Aum shānti shānti shāntih:
. . .
A brief background?
The Upanishads are ancient Indian scriptures and texts dating about 3000 BCE. These followed the Ved(a)s, which existed sometime 6000–5000 BCE; passed down orally as hymns, through generations, they were recorded in their present (written) form much later.
Of all the Upanishads discovered thus far, reference is largely drawn to one hundred and eight such texts, of which ten (some say eleven) are considered the more significant of all. One of these, the Brhadāranyak Upanishad, is stated to be one of the oldest and most important, and considered the greatest in extent and thematic perspective.
The word “Brhadāranyak” means The Book of the Great Forests. It speaks of the Ātmā, (the Soul, or Self; permanent and all-pervading truth and reality), as too of the metaphysical. The aspects of spirituality, non-duality and karma that inform the way of life that is Hinduism, are largely enunciated here. Buddhism too finds its origins in Hinduism, and therefore in the Upanishads.
There are many versions as to dates mentioned above, with copious explanations to each. The essence of this write is right at the top, the first paragraph, which is what is “present”. Please stay with that. The rest, asides of explanations, whilst utterly fascinating, is purely to provide a backdrop. Do try to not get caught up with the Sanskrit pronunciations. For the moment, that is ;)
Love and respect.
Lion~
