In2-MeC

IBSA (ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Sadhana Asrama), Govardhana, India
26 January 2004

Where are the upanisads located in the Vedas?

10 upanisads of the Rg Veda:

1 Aitareya Upanisad
2 Aksha-Malika Upanisad
3 Atma-Bodha Upanisad
4 Bahvrica Upanisad
5 Kausitaki-Brahmana Upanisad
6 Mudgala Upanisad
7 Nada-Bindu Upanisad
8 Nirvana Upanisad
9 Saubagya-Laksmi Upanisad
10 Tripura Upanisad

19 upanisads of the Sukla-Yajur Veda:

11 Adhyatma Upanisad
12 Advaya-Taraka Upanisad
13 Bhiksuka Upanisad
14 Brihadaranyaka Upanisad
15 Hamsa Upanisad
16 Isavasya Upanisad
17 Jabala Upanisad
18 Mandala-Brahmana Upanisad
19 Mantrika Upanisad
20 Muktika Upanisad
21 Niralamba Upanisad
22 Paingala Upanisad
23 Paramahamsa Upanisad
24 Satyayaniya Upanisad
25 Subala Upanisad
26 Tara-Sara Upanisad
27 Trisikhi-Brahmana Upanisad
28 Turiyatita-Avadhuta Upanisad
29 Yajnavalkya Upanisad

32 upanisads of the Krsna-Yajur Veda:

30 Aksi Upanisad
31 Amrita-Bindhu Upanisad
32 Amrita-Nada Upanisad
33 Avadhuta Upanisad
34 Brahma-Vidya Upanisad
35 Brahma Upanisad
36 Dakshinamurti Upanisad
37 Dhyana-Bindu Upanisad
38 Ekaksara Upanisad
39 Garbha Upanisad
40 Kaivalya Upanisad
41 Kalagni-Rudra Upanisad
42 Kali-Santarana Upanisad
43 Katha Upanisad
44 Katharudra Upanisad
45 Kshurika Upanisad
46 Maha-Narayana or Yajniki Upanisad
47 Panca-Brahma Upanisad
48 Pranagnihotra Upanisad
49 Rudra-Hridaya Upanisad
50 Sarasvati-Rahasya Upanisad
51 Sariraka Upanisad
52 Sarva-Sara Upanisad
53 Skanda Upanisad
54 Suka-Rahasya Upanisad
55 Svetasvatara Upanisad
56 Taittiriya Upanisad
57 Tejo-Bindu Upanisad
58 Varaha Upanisad
59 Yoga-Kundalini Upanisad
60 Yoga-Sikha Upanisad
61 Yoga-Tattva Upanisad

16 upanisads in the Sama Veda:

62 Aruni Upanisad
63 Avyakta Upanisad
64 Chandogya Upanisad
65 Darsana Upanisad
66 Jabali Upanisad
67 Kena Upanisad
68 Kundika Upanisad
69 Maha Upanisad
70 Maitrayani Upanisad
71 Maitreya Upanisad
72 Rudraksa-Jabala Upanisad
73 Sannyasa Upanisad
74 Savitri Upanisad
75 Vajrasucika Upanisad
76 Vasudeva Upanisad
77 Yoga-Cudamani Upanisad

31 upanisads of the Atharva Veda:

78 Annapurna Upanisad
79 Atharvasika Upanisad
80 Atharvasiras Upanisad
81 Atma Upanisad
82 Bhasma-Jabala Upanisad
83 Bhavana Upanisad
84 Brihad-Jabala Upanisad
85 Dattatreya Upanisad
86 Devi Upanisad
87 Ganapati Upanisad
88 Garuda Upanisad
89 Gopala-Tapaniya Upanisad
90 Hayagriva Upanisad
91 Krsna Upanisad
92 Maha-Vakya Upanisad
93 Mandukya Upanisad
94 Mundaka Upanisad
95 Narada-Parivrajaka Upanisad
96 Nrsimha-Tapaniya Upanisad
97 Para-Brahma Upanisad
98 Paramahamsa-Parivrajaka Upanisad
99 Pasupata-Brahmana Upanisad
100 Prasna Upanisad
101 Rama-Rahasya Upanisad
102 Rama-Tapaniya Upanisad
103 Sandilya Upanisad
104 Sarabha Upanisad
105 Sita Upanisad
106 Surya Upanisad
107 Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana Upanisad
108 Tripura-Tapini Upanisad

Sketches of a Devotee's Pre-Krsna Conscious Life in India

Back in the late 1980's I tape-recorded a series of interesting stories told me by an Indian devotee, whom I shall not name to protect his privacy. These stories relate his life as a young man from a South Indian smarta brahmin family, and trace how he gradually turned away from material life to Krsna consciousness. What you will read below begins in the city of Kalka.

I had set out from Kalka on the road to Simla when I saw a block-shaped whitewashed hut flying a triangular maroon flag from a high mast near a railway crossing just past the Kalka outskirts. The flag announced the hut to be an ashram. Perhaps this was the omen I had prayed for. Curiousity impelled me to leave the road and follow the railway tracks for three hundred or so meters until I stood in front of the ashram door.

Within the hut a sadhu baba sat on the ground before a homakunda, a meter-square pit in which a sacrificial fire (homa) blazed. The baba had matted locks and a long beard and was dressed in wine-red robes. Around his neck hung strands of large rough rudraksha beads, tangled pavitras (red and yellow garlands of silken rope), and a chain of inch-square paper-thin copper plates, each of which bore an engraved yantra design. Chanting mantras to Devi, he ladled ghee from a brass pot into the flames. An altar was built against the wall opposite the sadhu. Upon it stood a small black murti of goddess Kali, with three eyes and a blood-red tongue hanging down to her chest.

I sat down in the doorway and watched the proceedings. Finishing the fire offering, he nodded in my direction and asked, "Do you know any prayers?" I chanted about fifty verses of Lalita-sahashra-nama, a prayer comprised of one thousand names of Devi. I had learned these prayers in Kerala while studying under my tantric master. Then I switched to verses in praise of Durga composed by Adi Shankara, which I sang to a nice tune.

When I finished, the babaji showed his pleasure by blessing me. He then asked, "What is your sadhana?" I gestured to the railway tracks and joked, "Until now, I've had no signal. The signalman hasn't come to me yet. I'm waiting on the outer track for his sign to begin rolling."

He chuckled and then was suddenly grave; for a long moment he gazed at me in silence, his eyes glinting in the firelight. At last he spoke. "I am the signal man. Stay with me."

"Well, I'm just on my way to Simla."

"What will you obtain in that place? You'll find only Christians and the Theosophical Society there. It is no place for shaktas."

"I'm not really a shakta," I told him. "I've gone through the training, but I didn't stick with it. I've learned tantra, pranayama, yoga and other things as well, but I haven't found what I'm looking for."

"That's because no one put you on the proper track. Just stay here. Look around--there's nobody here to cause distraction. My ashram is outside the town, and I get no visitors. There's no disturbances except for the occasional train. You can do your yoga, chant your mantras, whatever you like. I'll just add certain things."

He gazed intently at the Kali murti for a few moments. Then with a sigh he looked back at me and said softly, "She will take you."

I was heartened. Since leaving South India I'd not met a sadhu who took personal interest in me. I wondered if my finding him was by divine design. The calm and assured way he said that Kali would accept me made me curious to find out just how profound his knowledge of both her and and I was. Perhaps, just perhaps, he was the guru I'd been praying in my heart to find.

"I'm very inclined to stay with you," I said to him, "but I would like to get a sign from Ma for myself."

"Then go visit the Durga temple in Kalka," he replied. "See the deity and ask for her blessings. Then return here and tell me what your decision is." I offered pranams and walked back into Kalka.

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