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d. Only by the attainment of brahman would one gain immortality, release from the trap of the physical world, and ultimate, unified peace.

The Upanisads: Discovery of the Self as Absolute Reality

As some individuals became dissatisfied with the earthly gains of the sacrifice, they began to retreat into the forest in an attempt to seek out permanent truth in a more internal way. These groups of individuals produced a number of writings that we now know as the Upanisads. The Upanisads are essentially philosophical reflections on the Vedas. The Upanisads do not form a unified Philosophy, however. Rather, they show a slow progression and increasing complication of thought towards an understanding of reality devoid of sacrificial ritual. For the writers of the Upanisads, knowledge came to be the epitome of religious practice instead of ritual. Private mental recitation of mantras or meditative contemplation became far more important than the external, public performance of the sacrifice. By leading a simple, austere life and contemplating brahman these forest-dwellers sought release from the physical world. Brahman was no longer simply the power behind the sacrifice, it was the essential, eternal nature of reality. Attainment of brahman became the ultimate goal.

The most significant element in this new understanding of reality is the acknowledgement of the self, the atman. The atman is the essential nature of every being. Our atman is our true identity apart from physical characteristics and mental insecurities. Our atman is what connects us to ultimate reality because atman is brahman. The true nature of every being is ultimate reality itself. Every being is connected to one another because we are all brahman. Only by acknowledging that we are atman/brahman can we transcend the physical realm and attain ultimate liberation, peace, and pure consciousness.

This understanding of reality did not occur suddenly, however. There were many intermediate steps before these groups of forest dwellers dismissed the ritual of the sacrifice in favor of internal contemplation. One of the first steps in this process was an attempt to allegorically interpret the sacrifice. One of the earliest Upanisads, the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad expresses this allegorical interpretation most fully. “The head of the sacrificial horse, clearly, is the dawn – its sight is the sun; its breath is the wind; and its gaping mouth is the fire common to all men.” [20] Here the horse becomes a symbol for the entire universe. Its body encompasses the essential elements of the cosmos. Due to this interpretation of the sacrifice, the physical horse becomes secondary to its allegorical interpretation. The actual sacrifice has become less important than its deeper meaning.

Alternative understandings of creation are also present in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad. Brahman takes on a significant role as the instigator of creation and the essence of reality. “In the beginning this world was only brahman, and it knew itself (atman) thinking: ‘I am brahman.’ As a result, it became the Whole.” [21] The author of the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad manages to de-emphasize the original sacrifice of Purusa by replacing it with an emphasis on brahman.

More and more emphasis is placed on atman as the essential nature of all beings. It is by acknowledging our own atman, acknowledging the atman o