The Upanishads (Paperback)

~ (Translator) "AMPLY THE LONGEST and certainly among the oldest of the Upanishads, the Brihadaranyaka touches on every Upanishadic theme and covers the range of its styles..." (more)
Key Phrases: one illumined, illumined sages, illumined teacher, Lord of Love, Rig Veda, Venerable One (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Formerly a professor of Victorian literature, Eknath Easwaran discovered the treasures of wisdom in his own native India and began to pursue them with a passion. He has since studied them, practiced them, and moved to America to share them with the Western world. In his translation of The Upanishads, the font of Indian spirituality, Easwaran delights us with a readable rendition of one of the most difficult texts of all religious traditions. Each Upanishad is a lyrical statement about the deeper truths of mysticism, from the different levels of awareness to cultivations of love for God. There's one twist, though, for ultimately a devoted meditator realizes that God and the world are not separate from oneself. Then the ultimate goal becomes to reunite with the universal Self, achieving the infinite joy that accompanies such union. Easwaran recruited Michael Nagler to contribute notes to the translation and a lengthy afterword, which together with introductions to each Upanishad, guide us expertly through this strange and fruitful landscape. --Brian Bruya

Review

". . . highly accessible new translation, complete with notes, annotations, interpretive essay, and glossary . . . . The result is a rewarding exercise in contemplation for the inquiring reader who prefers the experience of realization and integration to any second-hand systematized philosophy." -- East West, April 1988

"His translations keep the poetry and beauty of the original texts but present them in modern-day English." -- Unity Bookstore Network News

"This is one book that we all should read and study to gain the insights we need to help us create the peace we all seek. Highly recommended!" -- SSC Booknews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 311 pages
• Publisher: Nilgiri Press; 1 edition (January 26, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915132397
• ISBN-13: 978-0915132393
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #379,992 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Profound knowledge profoundly interpreted, August 30, 2004

By	Ashwini Aragam (Worcester, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is amazing that with all the technology modern man has invented, he is unable to answer some deep questions every human being comes across - what is life, why should there be death, etc. He has to go back about four-five thousand years to find out the answers. The answers are in the Upanishads - ancient religion-independent literature, that are recordings of experiential knowledge those wise sages knew. Unlike the Vedas, which are about religious rites and practices, the Upanishads discuss only fundamental questions. Questions such as - 'What is that if one knows, that he/she knows everything'. Amazingly, man found out the answer and had the vision and genorosity to share such findings in the Upanishads. Upanishads are such a fundamental required reading that in ancient India, children would dedicate a significant amount of their early life - 10-12 years - before they set up to establish themselves in the world. In essence, without knowing one's Self, you would be wading dark waters all the time as the Upanishads themselves say.

Eknath Eswaran's transalation makes the Upanishads simple to read. That alone is a great achievement given the voluminous nature of the texts and the language of expression - Sanskrit. We should remember that the text is thousands of years old and has a strong inclination towards flowery, verbose and at times redundant expresssions. But if repetition gets the message across, so does reading such texts! Throughout the translation, Eknath Eswaran's experience with spiritualism, his dedication to such a life, his knowledge and wisdom about English literature and world religions come across making the reading valuable.

As he states of professor William James, the great American psychologist, 'The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention over and over again is the very root of judgement, character and will. An education which should include this faculty would be education par excellence'. I wouldn't agree more with the author - reading the Upanishads is such education, essential for every one.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best, January 5, 1998

By A Customer

Simply the best read of the Upanishads in bookstores today. Easwaran uses his background as teacher/communicator to build a highly accessible bridge from our Western way of thinking to some of the deepest insights from the East. I highly recommend this book - and its companions (The Bhagavad Gita and The Dhammapada) to any serious seeker of life's deeper meaning.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are searching for peace and answers, you have arrived, March 7, 2000

By A Customer

I discovered this book quite by accident and it has changed my life. I have it by my bedside and read it every night, and hope to someday read every book by Easwaran and incorporate the teachings from this one into my life. I no longer jump off the wall every time things go wrong and can smile at things that made me NUTS before this! Now, I know better. I recommend this to anybody who has made it this far in their search. If there is one book on Hinduism you read, make this the one. I have grown up reading the Bhagwad Gita and I think this by far supercedes that in giving direction and answers in a way that we can still manage in year 2000.