Meanwhile, the Upanishad Age dawned. The Upanishads rejected material objectives as devoid of permanent value; they condemned them as inferior. In fact, the Karmakanda of the Vedas was transformed and revalued in the Upanishads, as vehicles for the liberation of man from the bondage of birth and death and as vessels for crossing the ocean of Samsara. The vision of the Upanishadic Sadhaka breaks through this "external sensory objective world" and centers itself on "the inner world". The Upanishadic Rishis collectively confirm the nature of the Highest Principle thus: "In the basic depth of this Namarupa Jagath (this Name-Form World of Change) there is the One Eternal Permanent Sath. That is the Absolute, the Para-brahmam. The Highest can be grasped by means of Jnanayoga". Therefore, "Thad Vijijnaasaswa; thad Brahma"; "Inquire into that; That is Brahma." This is the Brahmavidya that the Upanishads (the Vedantha) teach.

Besides, the Upanishads also declare: "The Vedas, though mainly concerned with the human objective of attaining Heaven, also provide the basic training for achieving Liberation, or Moksha. The attainment of the Absolute does not depend entirely or solely on mastery of this Brahmavidya. It is beyond the reach of study, scholarship, or intellectual conquest. It is only by Upasana that it can be realised". If the scholar, with all the weight of learning, also gets immersed in Upasana, his life is indeed sanctified!

Before such aspirants, the Lord will be manifest in His Real Glory. This is the meaning of the following declaration in the Brahadaaranyakopanishad about the bond between the Jivi and the Paramatma, the individual and the Universal:

Eshosya parama gathi
Eshosya paramam sampad;
Eshosya paramo loka
Eshosya paramaanandam

The Universal is the individual's highest goal, highest wealth, highest elevation, deepest joy. In the Taittiriya Upanishad it has been proclaimed thus: "The Paramatma is the source of contentment, for He is the Embodiment of Rasa, of the Purest Emotion. Attaining Him, the Jivi can be immersed in joy. If the Paramatma is not shining in the firmament of the Heart, who is to taste, who is to live? He feeds all, with Ananda."