By Victor M Fontane
Upanishads are late Vedic Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy which form the foundations of Hinduism. They are the most recent part of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, and ontological knowledge; other parts of the Vedas deal with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices. Among the most important literature in the history of Indian religions and culture, the Upanishads played an important role in the development of spiritual ideas in ancient India, marking a transition from Vedic ritualism to new ideas and institutions. Of all Vedic literature, the Upanishads alone are widely known, and their central ideas are at the spiritual core of Hinduism.
Then, the French Indologist Anquetil-Duperron journeyed to India interested in finding the roots of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and found out they are in Zoroastrianism around the 18th century. So, he came across the translation into Persian of about 50 Upanishads, with some portions of Shankara Sharia commentaries, made by Shahzada Darashuko who was interested in Indian philosophy. So, Duperron re-translated them into Latin, 2 volumes and named them Upanikat. Then this Upanikat, latin translation of persian translation of the Sanskrit original fell into the hands of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer becoming his favorite book.
Schopenhauer then said that there is not any more valuable book than this Upanikat.
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