"My son! Bring me the fruit of the banyan tree. Now cut open the fruit. What do you see inside?"

"Father, I see seeds."

"Very good, my son. Cut open a seed. What do you see inside?"

"Father, I see nothing."

"Just so, my son. Yet what you cannot see gives prana, life, to the tree. And that's how you are, my son."

Who am I really? Beyond this physical form, who am I? What are the properties of that Real me? What happens after this body dies? The ancient Upanishads tackle these big questions through dialogues, stories, and analogies. They help us reveal the Self like unsheathing a reed from within a blade of grass (to borrow a simile from the text).

In this introduction to the Upanishads, we'll explore some of these teachings. It'll be only a dip of the toe, but you'll have some guidance for deeper submersion.