The Upanishads

Among the oldest of India's spiritual texts, the Upanishads are records of intensive question-and-answer sessions given by illumined sages to their students - in ashrams, at family gatherings, in a royal court, and in the kingdom of Death. The sages share flashes of insight, extraordinary visions, the results of their investigation into consciousness itself. The Upanishads have puzzled and inspired wisdom seekers from Yeats to Schopenhauer. In this best-selling translation, Eknath Easwaran makes these challenging texts more accessible by selecting the passages most relevant to readers seeking timeless truths today. This book 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 that makes this edition truly outstanding. Each sage, each Upanishad, appeals in a different way to the reader's head and heart. For Easwaran, the Upanishads are part of India's precious legacy, not just to Hinduism but to humanity, and in that spirit they are offered here.

Auteur

Chapter introductions, notes, and the essay "Reading the Upanishads" are by Michael N. Nagler, PhD, who is professor emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley.

Résumé
Easwaran is a leading authority on the Upanishads his best-selling translation of the key Upanishads is accessible and reliable, and is preceded by a unique, comprehensive introduction to the profound insights of the sages of ancient India.

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 Table 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