The Upanishads

Easwaran’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.”

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.

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