Description
Book SynopsisEaswaran’s best-selling translation of the ancient wisdom texts called the Upanishads is reliable, readable, and profound.
In the Upanishads, illumined sages share flashes of insight, the results of their investigation into consciousness itself.
In extraordinary visions, they experience directly a transcendent Reality which is the essence, or Self, of each created being. They teach that each of us, each Self, is eternal, deathless, one with the power that created the universe.
Easwaran’s best-selling translation of selections taken from the principal Upanishads and five others is reliable and accessible. It includes an overview of the cultural and historical setting, with chapter introductions, notes, and a Sanskrit glossary. But it is Easwaran’s understanding of the wisdom of the Upanishads, and their relevance to the modern reader, that makes this edition truly outstanding.
Each sage, each Upanishad, appeals in different ways to the reader’s head and heart. As Easwaran writes, “The Upanishads belong not just to Hinduism. They are India’s most precious legacy to humanity, and in that spirit they are offered here.”
Trade Review“No one in modern times is more qualified – no, make that ‘as qualified’ – to translate the epochal Classics of Indian Spirituality than Eknath Easwaran. And the reason is clear. It is impossible to get to the heart of those classics unless you live them, and he did live them. My admiration of the man and his works is boundless.” – Huston Smith, author of
The World’s ReligionsTable of ContentsTable of Contents
Foreword 7
Introduction 13
ISHA 51
The Inner Ruler
KATHA 61
Death as Teacher
BRIHADARANYAKA 93
The Forest of Wisdom
CHANDOGYA 119
Sacred Song
SHVETASHVATARA 153
The Faces of God
MUNDAKA 179
Modes of Knowing
MANDUKYA 197
Consciousness & Its Phases
KENA 207
Who Moves the World?
PRASHNA 219
The Breath of Life
TAITTIRIYA 239
Ascent to Joy
AITAREYA 263
The Unity of Life
MINOR UPANISHADS Beads of Wisdom
TEJOBINDU 283
ATMA 286
AMRITABINDU 288
PARAMAHAMSA 291
Afterword 295
A Religion for Modern Times
by Michael N. Nagler
Glossary 337
Notes 345
Index 377
