1. Ascetics and Upanishads Sarah Bingham Ally Philyaw Caitlin Whiten Amy Wood

2. Vedas The Vedas are scriptures that are considered to be the world’s oldest writings. The Vedas may date back to as early as 5000 BCE. There are four scriptures in the Vedas: the Rig- Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama-Veda and Atharva- Veda.

3. The four Vedas were passed down orally for many years They were later written in Sanskrit, which is the sacred Hindu language. The Vedas have hymns, incantations and rituals which reflect Indian culture.

4. The Rig-Veda Tells about thirty- three gods who all came from Brahman. The main goddesses, Lakshmi, Sarasvati and Kali are also associated with the Rig-Veda, These deities are very important in Hinduism. Lakshmi

5. The Yajur Veda describes the process of sacrificial rites The Sama-Veda is a collection of poems used during the Sama sacrifices The Atharva-Veda contains many incantations and metaphysical texts The Atharva-Veda was written much later than the other Vedas

6. Upanishads These are the end part of the Vedas Upanishad is a Sanskrit word meaning “sitting down near” They were given this name because they were only said very rarely in private settings This title also refers to “sitting beside” a guru, since they mainly contain dialogues of a guru, or spiritual leader They are deemed to contain a higher level of knowledge since they deal with the transcendence of knowledge about oneself

7. There are about 250 Upanishads at present, but the actual number is unknown since many were lost due to the secrecy of their location They differ from the other Vedic writings because they don’t focus on status or caste The Upanishads are meant to be inspiration for any person no matter their status

8. The knowledge of the Upanishads is not man made It was realized by sages

9. The Atman The atman, or higher self, is a central part of the Upanishads’ teachings The atman, a persons’ soul, must return to Brahman, the universe’s soul A person can then realize that he is just one part of the universal soul, not a separate identity This is achieved through meditation and self- sacrifice

10. Yajnavalkya The most prominent author of Upanishads Known for spiritual wisdom and power He is the incarnation of Brahma, who is the Hindu god of creation Wrote a handbook on the philosophy of yoga. Some of his many texts are: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Pratijna Sutra, and Yoga- Yājñavalkya

12. http://www.hinduwebsite.com/upanishads.as p http://www.hinduwebsite.com/upanishads.as p http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Yajnavalkya