The Upanishads

Wonderful book

It seems a long time since Hinduism was part of my course at university and now I have the time to go back and read some of the splendid books I studied back then I was happy to buy this version of The Upanishads. Easwaran is a noted scholar and translator and I do like his extended introduction - it felt like being back in lectures when my brain was more alive. This is only a fragment of the entire Upanishads, Easwaran has made selections based upon what they feel to be important. Each Upanishad also has a short explanation which can be a real help. The quality of this print book is exceptional, there is nothing cheap at all with the print, the quality of the pages, and the quality of the covers. A great purchase that I have really enjoyed reading and will be returning to it again.

A great introduction to the Upanishads. The product and book itself is of high quality and the paper and print is also of high quality. I opted for the soft cover version, as it's easier to carry and read when in coffee shops or at home. I'm learning a lot from reading this book, and it provides a lot of food for thought. The author has easies you into the concepts and everyday I learn something new. Highly recommended.

This is a hard book to review. For a Western audience it's like reviewing stories from the Bible. I've taken an intereist in Indian history and philosophy and I felt that this was an important book to read. The strengths of this translation are the main introduction, the introduction to each Upanishad, the conclusion chapter and the detailed end notes. This is not a complete collection of the Upanishads and the ones that are included are mostly abridged. The actual Upanishads are what you make of them. I personally feel that they are simply numerous ways of saying things that are very very similar and therefore reading them back to back can become a little tiring.

Great item fast delivery thank you

Mr Easwaran's descriptions were informative yet "gentle". Even though I have been a mild student of Vedanta and of Buddhism for some 30 years, Mr Easwaran's explanations where greatly appreciated.

Absolutly fantastic read if you haven’t got these classic scriptures get them amazing

Beautiful book, what more can I say.

Está muy interesante este libro, pero es una lectura que se va haciendo de a poco, ya que cada upanishad encierra mucha sabiduría anscentral.

The back of the book had old sticker residue that covered quite a huge area, which probably was from an old price tag or an old publisher sticker. I managed to remove the stubborn residue with an eraser and a wet wipe. The rest of the book was fine.

Eknathji has written an excellent book. If short of time , I would recommend reading his introduction to Katha Upanishad , which is the gem among all other upanishads. This upanishad is setup as a conversation between a 14 year boy Nachiketa , and Yama- the god of death. With innocence , yet with astonishing clarity Nachiketa asks question after question , which Yama, who has found an able student, is only too happy to answer. Eknathji's insight of this conversation, is truly sublime and born possibly out of his experience in meditation, which helps the reader to appreciate , the deep knowledge the upanishads convery.

Spectacular book!

This edition is aimed for curious readers that have little or no previous knowledge of the Vedic, Brahmanic, and Hindu traditions. Although, this doesn't mean the scholar, researcher or student won't find something in this book. Indeed this is more of a popularization effort than a scholarly-intended work. Don't worry, this is a great quality. The language used is modern (no "thee", "thou", "ye", German-looking conjugations or weird archaisms you can only find in a scholar dictionary) and Aswaran really drives it home in terms of making sure the reader understands the point regardless of previous knowledge on the subject, but without stripping the text of any linguistic and/or rhetoric beauty. He just makes it understandable, he doesn't dumb it up. Besides, there's a great Introduction from Aswaran himself which sums up the basic points about why the Upanishad are so important and how they contributed in the evolution from Vedism to Brahmanism (I'm studying this theological transition and this book helped me a lot to shore up my data on the matter). This book includes the ten major Upanishads (though a couple of them in abridged versions) and four minor Upanishads. Don't fret about the abridged versions: they are competently shortened to include the most significant and essential sections. No greater meaning is lost. Also, Michael N. Nagler gives short introductions to each Upanishad and a general afterword that round up each text. Add a very pertinent glossary and most relevant notes to the Upanishads, along with a very attractive design, and you have a wonderful mix. (Personally, I don't like having all the notes at the end of the book, but I understand the sweet design didn't allow for footnotes on each page of the text) So, in short, this is a wonderful edition for either the curious or interested reader as well as the beginner or medium scholar on Hinduism. (I'm assuming the advanced scholar masters Sanskrit and has access to complete untranslated editions) This is a great book, make no mistake. You won't regret this purchase.