Upanishads.

Upanishads are the codifications of spiritual thoughts of ancient rishi's ,that form the philosophical part of the Vedas.

They are broadly recognised to be 14 to 18 in number.

This is what Rajaji has to say about Upanishads.

"The spacious imagination, the majestic sweep of thought and the most reckless spirit of exploration with which , urged by the compelling thirst for truth ,the Upanishad teachers and pupils dig into the open secret of the universe, make this most ancient among worlds holy books still the most modern and most satisfying."

"Truth is the only pathway to god and the seers pursue this to reach him.This emphatic dependence on Truth is the dominating characteristics of the Upanishads!"

"Merely to know is not enough to escape the tangle of illusion .Faith and discipline of life are necessary.The illusion arises not so much from ignorance as from attachments. Enlightenment comes with detachment and not with learning".

"This is the main teaching to which all the schools of Hindu philosophy ultimately revert and on which they lay the greatest emphasis."

Whilst comparing rituals and philosophy ,Rajaji has made the following observation,

"Indeed philosophical learning without discipline of conduct [restraining senses] is more to be dreaded than even ritualism without knowledge of Vedanta."