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


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


SSC Booknews
"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!"


From AudioFile
The Upanishads are India's three-thousand-year-old teachings, the earliest living records describing the meaning of life. These doctrines proclaim that discovery of the highest self is life's most important achievement. Jacob Needleman, an author of inspirational and spiritual works, is comfortable narrating this beautifully detailed credenda. At times, the concepts are complicated and foreign, but, remarkably, the listener's subconscious is transported to a holy "safehouse." Needleman's reverence for these texts is reflected through his ability to touch the listener with a spiritual connection that traces a human connection to God over all time. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


East West, April 1988
". . . 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."


Book Description
Fifteen Upanishads with detailed explanatory introductions. In lofty poetry and vivid prose they give the essence of the Perennial Philosophy. 312 pages.


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)


From the Publisher
The Upanishads are the wellspring of India's loftiest philosophies and faith. Some three thousand years old, they are the earliest living records of the Perennial Philosophy: the conviction, stamped with personal experience, that there is a spark of the godhead in every creature, and that to realize this divinity is life's highest goal. This edition contains not only the eight principal Upanishads but four yoga Upanishads not often found in other editions. Careful introductions to each highlight themes and clarify difficult ideas.


About the Author
Eknath Easwaran brings to this volume a rare combination of literary skill, scholarship, and spiritual wisdom. His Sanskrit comes from one of the purest traditions in India, where for twenty years he followed a successful career as a writer, lecturer, and teacher of English literature. But it is essentially the stamp of personal experience that makes his presentation of the spiritual life so effective.

FROM THE CRITICS

AudioFile