The Upanishads

Finished last night after a few months. Not quite sure how to review this one.

I've read taoist books over the years, and grew up with the bible. The Upanishads kind of fits in somewhere alongside these, but also not. The Tao te Ching raises questions. The Upanishads is full of something closer to answers - in terms of how it communicates its ideas.

Which is to say, I found the overlap with the taoist texts interesting - mainly snippets about paths, but more around the role that dreaming and dreamless sleep play (which Chuang Tzu and Liu I-ming mention a few times). The true meaning of "aum/om" is massive, in this sense.

Overall, a dense and often repetitive text but with sound reason and a lot to take in and understand. I'll keep this and show more refer back to all the sticky bookmarks I've put in place, until such time that I can burn it and escape this body. show less

The Upanishads means at the feet of the sage. These are the teachings of the ancient Sages of India-the ones that renounced the world and retreated to the forests where they lived and passed on their teachings. The goal of Meditation and Spirituality is ultimately to achieve enlightenment/ Self-Realization and to teach others in return to walk that same path. These are those teachings kept in the format of student to teacher dialogues.

What makes this such an excellent edition is not just the beautiful translation but the commentaries. Each Upanishad is preceded by an introduction; this helped to break it up and kind of let it sink in for me. It felt somewhat repetitive at times, but I knew to persevere, and I am glad that I did. Even show more when it feels repetitive it still contains surprises, gems and enlightened exposition. The energy of these teachers is still there and that is what makes it a sacred text to me.

I especially enjoyed the afterward and it made the journey worth it to get there. The Upanishads indeed felt like their own illuminating journey.

The philosopher Schopenhauer was quoted showing his deep reverence for them, "From every sentence deep original and sublime thoughts arise and the whole is pervaded by a high and holy and earnest spirit. In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. They are destined sooner or later to become the faith of the people."

Sharp like a razors edge, the sages say, is the Path to Reality, difficult to traverse.

There is no joy in the finite; there is joy only in the infinite.

The Self is everywhere. Bright is the Self,
Indivisible, untouched by sin, wise,
Immanent and transcendent. He it is
Who holds the cosmos together.

O god of fire, lead us by the good path
to eternal joy. You know all our deeds.
Deliver us from evil, we who bow
and pray again and again.
O M shanti shanti shanti show less

In this translation the author blends accuracy and readability. Contains an introduction discussing the social, philosophical and religious background of the texts and explains key concepts.

This book is based on the Controversial aryan Invasion theory formulated by German Professor without any proof..If we just disregard that part, I think its a good book.

Note: It is very difficult to translate the sanskrit upanishad into english and in that perspective the author has done a good job. But his basic assumption of disputed aryan invasion theory to be right is something which brings down the rating of this book.

The best presentation available. Penguin's Arkana series. Suitable for genuine seekers of knowledge and of Hindu wisdom. The perspectives in the Upanishads sit atop of the core beliefs (not dogma) of all the major religions. Requires a very open mind.

Introduction is terrific --lots of helpful back ground information on early Brahmin culture and origins of texts.

"Thou are that". The Upanishads is not only enlightening but also refreshing. Highly recommended for any spiritual seeker.