Exploring the Upanishads: Practical Spirituality and Divine Connections

“He who sees all beings in his Self and his Self in all beings, he never suffers; because when he sees all creatures within his true Self, then jealousy, grief and hatred vanish.”

Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we're covering The Upanishads, a collection of ancient Indian texts which explore the philosophical and spiritual teachings of Hinduism. These texts delve into the nature of reality and the self while emphasizing the importance of meditation, self-realization, and the pursuit of knowledge to achieve enlightenment.

We cover a wide range of topics including:

• Consciousness and the interconnectedness of all beings
• Parallels between The Upanishads and the philosophies of Plato 
• How cities differ in their homelessness approach
• Rationalism vs. intuition
• Our thoughts on the Twitter/X rebrand

And much more. Please enjoy, and make sure to follow Nat, Neil, and Adil on Twitter and share your thoughts on the episode.

Links from the Episode:

Mentioned in the Show:

• Project Hail Mary (9:00)
• The Three-Body Problem film (9:08)
• Silo (9:19) 
• The Great Library of Alexandria (15:39)
• Soma (16:18)
• The 99 Names For God In Arabic (18:46)
• Upanishads Wikipedia (20:13)
• Georgism (34:00)
• Does Georgism Work? Astral Codex Ten (35:11)
• In Praise of the Gods (44:38)
• Thunder’s Catch (1:09:47)

Books Mentioned:

• Essays and Aphorisms (0:25)
• The World as Will and Representation (1:14)
• Bhagavad Gita (4:00)
• The Upanishads translated by Juan Mascaro (4:46)
• The Egg (8:01)
• Wool, Shift, Dust (trilogy) (9:26)
• The Expanse (9:46) 
• The Right Stuff (38:04)
• Tao Te Ching (38:59) (Book Episode) (Nat's Book Notes)
• The Analects of Confucius (39:03) (Book Episode) (Nat's Book Notes)
• Straw Dogs (45:21)
• God’s Debris (50:34)
• What Your Food Ate (1:10:57) (Book Episode)

People Mentioned:

• Nassim Taleb (1:03)
• Simon Sarris (44:32)
• Scott Adams (50:26)

Show Topics:

[1:24] In today's episode, we’re discussing The Upanishads, widely considered as some of the most important and influential works in the history of Indian philosophy and spirituality. 

[5:30] We dive into discussion about consciousness, souls, and whether everyone is a part of the same entity. The book suggests that there is a right path to follow, but doesn't necessarily give concrete details about what is good vs. bad.

[8:58] There are several upcoming sci-fi movies coming out based on books that we’re fans of. Which ones are you most excited to see?

[11:12] Old texts are like a game of telephone: While the message may only change slightly each time its told, it can add up to a large percent over a period of time. We also talk about Plato’s early texts and how they poke at the ideas of Christianity, even before Christ.

[16:04] Soma is a ritual drink referenced in many ancient Hindu texts as well as in The Upanishads, thought to possibly contain mushrooms or other psychedelic properties.

[18:15] Calling an infinite being by a finite name. In Islam, there are 99 names for God so to capture all properties of God.

[20:09] We talk about some of the main parallels between the book and the philosophies of Plato as well as the longevity of large ancient empires (ex: Persian Empire). How did news spread among such a wide area without the communication tools we have today?

[26:02] The contrast of ancient artifacts you can find in European cities vs. US cities. Plus, a little tangent on the birthplace of Teddy Roosevelt!

[27:47] How cities differ in their homelessness approach.

[34:26] What is Georgism and how would it look if it were applied in the US? 

[36:32] ChatGPT’s gives it's interpretation of Made You Think. We also reflect on books similar to The Upanishads that we have done in previous episodes.

[40:48] Rationalism vs. intuition. We pose the question of whether the ideas from this book were independently developed or whether they sprout from other teachings. It may simply depend on what lens you’re looking at it from.

[45:18] Society's move to secularism and what may have repulsed people away from religion. 

[49:02] The world is full of mystery. Even someone with a rationalist approach would have to take a step back and recognize there are some things we just don't know.

[51:32] Our opinions on the Twitter/X rebrand and how the algorithm can change based on who you're following. The impact of replies in amplifying your tweet. 

[57:27] What are the first tweets we see when we open the Twitter app?

[1:01:31] The progression of spacecrafts and the advancement of automation systems. India's recent achievement of landing on the moon.

[1:06:23] We conclude the episode with a talk on cod, Alaskan salmon, and the chicken farming industry. 

[1:11:55] That’s it for this episode! Join us next time as we dive into The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. Make sure to pick up a copy if you want to read along!

If you enjoyed this episode, let us know by leaving a review on iTunes and tell a friend. As always, let us know if you have any book recommendations! You can say hi to us on Twitter @TheRealNeilS, @adilmajid, @nateliason and share your thoughts on this episode.

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Thanks for listening. See you next time!