ABSTRACT
This chapter examines only the Upanishads and the teachings of the Buddha, as in them mature religion reached its highest expression. It was in India during the Axial Era that spiritual wisdom reached its pinnacle in the Upanishads. There arose in the same Era in the Far East four giants of the spiritual life: Confucius, Lao-Tzu, Mahavira and the Buddha. Hinduism' is a word coined by Europeans to refer to the religious practices of India and is therefore an umbrella word covering everything from the village cult of Ganesh to the Vedanta, the philosophy of the Upanishads. Through intuitive wisdom the seers of the Upanishads pierced through the veil of sensuality to knowledge of atman, knowledge of the self which is at one with Brahma. Like the Buddha, the seers of the Upanishads were tolerant towards the ritual and ceremonial practices all around them.
