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The
UPANISHADS (c.1000-500 BCE) |
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A manuscript of the Isa Upanishad |
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A medieval vision of how the Upanishads
were taught: two sages converse in a forest, both wearing sacred threads,
as the older instructs the younger |
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In the "Amar Chitra Katha" version of some
classic tales from the Upanishads, Agni is entirely anthromorphic |
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"Amar Chitra Katha" versions of the Upanishads
tend to be simplified and "pietized" when compared to the original texts:
elements of cantankerousness, rivalry, and seeming irrationality are removed |
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The mind-driver guiding and restraining
the sense-horses, so that the chariot of the self can be controlled-- a
classic Upanishadic image |
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OM was originally an entirely abstract concept;
the whole of the Mandukya Upanishad is devoted to explaining it |
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Nowadays OM is often combined with images
of various deities |
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Especially suitable for depiction within
an OM is Ganesh, with his round contours; his trunk also offers artistic
possibilities |
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My own favorite OM image-- a strikingly
imaginative modern batik |
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OM has proved so influential that it is
also the beginning syllable of the most important modern Tibetan Buddhist
mantra |
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