Upanishads and the Cure for Loneliness

By Ashwini Mokashi

Introduction

Loneliness is a major problem in the current times. This article tries to address the issue of loneliness and the cure for it from the ancient wisdom of Hindu Philosophy. We will take three principles to address this issue from the Indian philosophical texts of the Upanishads and will also rely on the mainstream teachings of the Upanishads, mainly their insistence of the practice of meditation.

Upanishads are India’s great heritage. The twelve main Upanishads were composed before the common era and were passed on through the oral tradition. The genesis of the Hindu religion and Buddhism is found in the Upanishads. There is neither religious nor social rift implied in these texts, as they preceded any religion.

Many scholars have written about the Upanishads. One such great name was Prof. R.D. Ranade. His book ‘A Constructive Survey of the Upanishadic Philosophy’ was published in English…