Sacred Texts · The Upanishads

The Upanishads and the Way of Jesus

The Upanishads are the philosophical summit of Hindu scripture, searching out the Self within, the one Being behind all things, and the way to liberation. In the great sayings, Tat tvam asi (‘that art thou’) and Aham Brahmasmi (‘I am Brahman’), their longing runs remarkably close to the Gospel, and in a few places it marks an honest and important difference. This page reproduces 12 of their best-known passages in the public-domain Müller translation, each with a clearly-labelled Christian comparison. Read the sources, and see for yourself.

Translation: F. Max Müller, The Upanishads, Sacred Books of the East, Part I (vol. I, 1879) and Part II (vol. XV, 1884), public domain (Müller died 1900), via the Internet Archive (items upanishads00mlgoog and upanishads02mlgoog). Reproduced in context; Müller’s round-bracket insertions are his own clarifying additions, and optical-scanning artefacts were corrected against his printed wording. The key passages Chandogya VI.8-16 (Tat tvam asi, ‘that art thou’), the Isha opening, Brihadaranyaka I.4.10 (Aham Brahmasmi, ‘I am Brahman’) and IV.5.15 (neti neti), and Katha I.2.18-20 on the immortal Self were validated against the source before publishing. References follow the standard Upanishad numbering.

12 passages that point toward Christ

• Chandogya Upanishad VI.8.7“Now that which is that subtile essence (the root of all), in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.”Read + Christian comparison (The self and the soul) →
• Chandogya Upanishad VI.12“'Fetch me from thence a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree.' 'Here is one, Sir.' 'Break it.' 'It is broken, Sir.' 'What do you see there?' 'These seeds, almost infinitesimal.' 'Break one …”Read + Christian comparison (The self and the soul) →
• Chandogya Upanishad VI.13“'Place this salt in water, and then wait on me in the morning.' The son did as he was commanded. The father said to him: 'Bring me the salt, which you placed in the water last nigh…”Read + Christian comparison (The self and the soul) →
• Isha (Vagasaneyi-Samhita) Upanishad 1“All this, whatsoever moves on earth, is to be hidden in the Lord (the Self). When thou hast surrendered all this, then thou mayest enjoy. Do not covet the wealth of any man!”Read + Christian comparison (God and the Lord of all) →
• Isha (Vagasaneyi-Samhita) Upanishad 6-7“And he who beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, he never turns away from it. When to a man who understands, the Self has become all things, what sorrow, what…”Read + Christian comparison (The self and the soul) →
• Katha Upanishad I.2.18-19“The knowing (Self) is not born, it dies not; it sprang from nothing, nothing sprang from it. The Ancient is unborn, eternal, everlasting; he is not killed, though the body is kille…”Read + Christian comparison (The immortal Self) →
• Katha Upanishad I.2.20“The Self, smaller than small, greater than great, is hidden in the heart of that creature. A man who is free from desires and free from grief, sees the majesty of the Self by the g…”Read + Christian comparison (God and grace) →
• Katha Upanishad I.3.14“Rise, awake! having obtained your boons, understand them! The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path (to the Self) is hard.”Read + Christian comparison (Liberation and salvation) →
• Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.10“Verily in the beginning this was Brahman, that Brahman knew (its) Self only, saying, 'I am Brahman.' From it all this sprang. Thus, whatever Deva was awakened (so as to know Brahma…”Read + Christian comparison (The self and the soul) →
• Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.5.15“That Self is to be described by No, no! He is incomprehensible, for he cannot be comprehended; he is imperishable, for he cannot perish; he is unattached, for he does not attach hi…”Read + Christian comparison (The God beyond words) →
• Mundaka Upanishad III.2.8-9“As the flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their name and their form, thus a wise man, freed from name and form, goes to the divine Person, who is greater than the great. H…”Read + Christian comparison (Liberation and salvation) →
• Svetasvatara Upanishad VI.11“He is the one God, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the self within all beings, watching over all works, dwelling in all beings, the witness, the perceiver, the only one, free …”Read + Christian comparison (The one God) →

Frequently asked questions

What are the Upanishads?

The Upanishads are the philosophical heart of the Vedas, a body of Sanskrit texts (the oldest from roughly 800 to 500 BC) that turn from ritual to the deepest questions: the nature of the Self (atman), the ground of all being (Brahman), and liberation. They are foundational to Hinduism and to Vedanta. This page indexes only a small, curated set of their best-known passages that carry a genuine, clearly-labelled comparison to the teaching of Jesus, not the whole corpus.

What translation is used?

F. Max Müller's translation from the Sacred Books of the East, Part I (vol. I, 1879) and Part II (vol. XV, 1884), which is firmly in the public domain (Müller died in 1900), sourced from the Internet Archive. The passages are reproduced in context; the key passages Chandogya VI.8-16 (Tat tvam asi), the Isha opening, Brihadaranyaka I.4.10 (Aham Brahmasmi) and IV.5.15 (neti neti), and Katha I.2.18-20 on the immortal Self were validated against the source before publishing.

Does Living Bread change the meaning of the Upanishads?

No. We reproduce each passage accurately and describe its meaning within Hindu thought fairly. Any comparison to Christian belief is clearly labelled as a Christian comparison, never presented as the Upanishad's own meaning.