- Page 57 of Mahadevan, T. M. P (1956), Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, ed., History of Philosophy Eastern and Western, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.While the hymns of the Vedas emphasize rituals and the Brahmanas serve as a liturgical manual for those Vedic rituals, the spirit of the Upanishads is inherently opposed to ritual. The older Upanishads launch attacks of increasing intensity on the ritual. Anyone who worships a divinity other than the self is called a domestic animal of the gods in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Chāndogya Upanishad parodies those, who indulge in the acts of sacrifice by comparing them with a procession of dogs chanting Om! Let's eat. Om! Let's drink.
Now my inquiry into this is;
- How can a philosophy whose spirit contradicts, opposes and rejects another philosophy, be part of that philosophy?
- And while the Upanishads contradict the Vedas, what could be the reasons for them to be appended to the Vedas? Why were they not kept as separate texts?
Any opinion regarding this will be appreciated.
I am trying to comprehend the history of the Indian religions.
Thank you
Edited: To provide citations as requested;
Which upanishad you feel contradicts Vedas? By upanishads i mean the major upaishads. (genuine one) – Rakesh Joshi
Here below is another citation apart from the one given in the comments:-
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Shankara bhashya translated by Swamy Madhavananda
1.4.8 page 141
"This Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else, and is innermost. Should a person (holding the Self as dear) say to one calling anything else dearer than the Self, ''(What you hold) dear will die' -he is certainly competent (to say so)-it will indeed come true. One should meditate upon the Self alone as dear. Of him who meditates upon the Self alone as dear, the dear ones are not mortal."
1.4.15 page 181
"(So) these (four castes were projected)- the Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Shudra. He became Brahmana among the gods as Fire, and among then as the Brahmana (He became) a Kshatriya through the (divine) Kshatriya, a Vaisya through the (divine) Vaisyas and a Shudra through the (divine) Shudra. Therefore people desire to attain the results of their rites among the gods through fire, and among men as the Brahmana. For Brahman was in these two forms. If, however, anybody departs from this, world without realizing his own world (the Self), It, being unknown, does not protect him as the Vedas not studied, or any other work not under- taken (do not). Even if a man who does not know it as such performs a great many meritorious acts in the world, those acts of his are surely exhausted in the end. One should meditate only upon the world of the Self. He who meditates only upon the world called the Self never has his work exhausted. From this very Self he projects whatever he wants."
So these verses clearly suggest to the person, to look into oneself and not towards the outside world.