GEMS OF UPNISHAD

The Vedas are the essence of life and the Upanishads are the essence of the Vedas. The Gita is the cream of the Upanishads. This is why we call the Gita, "The essence of all the essences".
For a better understanding of the Upanishads, it is good to go through the Gita and to understand the Gita going through the Upanishads is the best.
Great Saint VedaVyas, before penning down the Gita in the epic, The Mahabharata, described the Gita as 'the summary of all the Upanishads'. So, let us study the Upanishads along with the Gita [the summary of the Upanishads].
"He who knows this Upanishad [the Truth, the Knowledge of Brahman] shakes off all sins and becomes firmly established in the infinite and the highest Heaven"
----------The Kena Upanishad: 4: 9
There are many verses in various Scriptures which teach that the ultimate goal of a man is to reach the Abode of God, the Heaven and to live an infinite life therein.
Most of us MISUNDERSTAND it to be the finite heaven which is a recurring as well as a temporary abode....
Whenever heaven is qualified with adjectives like-----"Infinite" and "Highest" and phrases like-----"Abode of God", then this is a metaphorical use which refers to Brahman and not heaven because there is nothing that is "infinite" and "greatest" except Brahman not even the heaven.

Both statements i.e. being "infinite" and attaining "immortality" can be true only when It is Brahman. Heaven can neither be "infinite" nor can one attain "immortality" by entering it.
By the study of the Upanishads it has been made clear that a man can never become immortal by entering the finite heaven but only by realising his oneness with Brahman. So, definitely, by the METAPHORICAL comparison of Brahman and heaven a message is passed-----
"Let men craving for finite pleasures of finite heaven know that there exists an Infinite Heaven with infinite pleasures, entering [realising] Which a man becomes immortal and that is BRAHMAN. So, do not crave for a finite pleasure. Do crave for Brahman Who is infinite and never-ending bliss, Who is Heaven of heavens.....Pleasure of pleasures"
So, whenever you come across lines like-----"Heaven is the ultimate goal and we are going to live there for infinite period of time", take this Heaven as Brahman i.e. diffusing in Brahman is the ultimate goal for this is the only way for both the statements "Infinite" and "Immortality" to be true at once. Make sure to let those who misunderstand This infinite Heaven with the finite one know this too.

A man dying in the ignorance of the Self is condemned to roam in the world through an interminable chain of births and deaths. Therefore, a man should make every effort to attain the goal of life and terminate the chain of births and deaths by realising Brahman.
Living and non-living; Brahman is immanent in all. It [Brahman] alone exists. Names and forms are falsely superimposed on It [Brahman] through avidya [अविद्या] and Maya [माया].
He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. The realisation of oneness with Brahman is the teaching of the Upanishads.
There is a verse in the BHAGAVAD GITA which says the same as the ISHA UPANISHAD: 5. After all, the Gita is the summary of the Upanishads. They are to be referred together for the best understanding of Brahman [God].
It [Brahman] moves and moves not; It [Brahman] is far and likewise near. It [Brahman] is inside all this and It [Brahman] is outside all this.
----------The Isha Upanishad: 5
Can you present a verse from the Bhagavad Gita which is similar to the above verse of the Isha UPANISHAD
Harih Aum! Aum, the word, is all this [i.e. the whole universe]. A clear explanation of it is as follows: all that is past, present and future is, indeed, Aum. And whatever else there is, beyond the threefold division of time-----that also is truly Aum.
----------The Mandukya Upanishad: 1: 1

The non-duality of Atman [Brahman], in spite of multiple number of bodies under Its [Brahman's] lordship, is explained by various illustrations in the Upanishads, one of which is as follows:
"As the same non-dual fire, after it has entered the world, appears to be different according to whatever it burns, so also the same non-dual Atman, dwelling in all beings, appears to be different according to whatever It enters."
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 2: 9

Samsara or the relative world is maya [illusory] and not real. Maya is superimposed on Brahman as Upadhis [limiting adjuncts]. This is why apparently, existence of many atmans is felt, but in reality i.e. when we view it from a perspective beyond maya, Atman is one without a second.
He is the sun dwelling in the bright heavens. He is the air dwelling in the interspace. He is the fire dwelling on earth. He is the guest dwelling in the house. He dwells in men, in the gods, in truth, in the sky. He is born [present] in the water, on earth, in the sacrifice, on the mountains. He is the true and the great. ----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 2: 2
There are not different Atmans in different bodies. The same Atman dwells in all bodies. He is omnipresent. There is only one Atman without a second, which is the all-pervasive Self of the universe. Atman, being non-different from Brahman, completely excludes multiplicity and difference. Atman is omnipresent.

There is a city of eleven gates belonging to the Unborn ATMAN [Self] of undistorted Consciousness. He who meditates on Him grieves
no more; liberated [from the bonds of ignorance], he becomes free.
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 2: 1
The body is the city, the 11 gates are the apertures-----the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the navel, the two lower organs and the aperture at the top of the head through which the life breath of a yogin goes out at the time of death.

As rainwater falling on a mountain peak runs down the rocks in all directions, even so he who sees the attributes as different from Brahman verily runs after them in all directions.
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 1: 14
The perception of multiplicity, resulting from ignorance, is the cause of all suffering. As rainwater running down the sides of a steep hill, divides itself into innumerable channels and ultimately becomes lost without serving any fruitful purpose, so also h...e who sees multiplicity of Brahman, becomes lost in the relative world and does not attain Liberation, which is the ultimate goal.

"Therefore, one should discard the fallacious advice of the misguided logicians who proclaim the multiplicity of Atman and the erroneous counsel of the heretics who teach Its [Atman's] non-existence, and should realise Atman's non-duality as taught by the Vedas"
------Adi Guru Shankaracharya

"It is through Atman through that one knows form, taste, smell, sounds, touches and carnal pleasures. Is there anything that remains unknown to Atman?"
----------The Katha Upanishad: 2: 1: 3



"Oh scion of Bharata, you should understand that I [Ishvar] [God] am the embodied soul [jeevaatma] [जीवात्मा], the knower in all bodies"
----------Ishvara [ईश्वर] (Vasudeva Shri Krishna) in the Gita: 13: 2

It is said that the first signs of entering YOGA are lightness of body, health, thirstlessness of mind, clearness of complexion, a beautiful voice, an agreeable odour and scantiness of excretions.
----------The Shvetashvatara Upanishad: 2: 13
Forms that appear like snow, smoke, sun, wind, fire, firefly, lightning, crystal and moon, precede the manifestation of BRAHMAN in Yoga practice.
----------The Shvetashvatara Upanishad: 2: 11
If these forms gradually manifest themselves during Yoga practice, one can be sure that the manifestation of Brahman is not very far off. These represent the various stages of mental modifications as one progresses towards the ultimate realisation.