The Upanishads are a group of texts in Hindu sacred literature that are considered to reveal the ultimate truth and whose knowledge is considered to lead to spiritual emancipation. In the Upanishads, we find the finest flowering of the Indian metaphysical and speculative thought. They are utterances of seers who spoke out of the fullness of their illumined experience. Upanishad is derived from upa (near), ni (down) and sad (to sit). Hence, the term implies the pupils, intent on learning, sitting near the teacher to acquire knowledge and truth. There are over 200 Upanishads but the traditional number is 108. Of them, only 10 are the principal Upanishads: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashan, Mundaka, Mandukya, Tattiriya, Aitareya, Chhandogya and Brihadaranyaka. This book is a forerunner in introducing these primary Upanishads to the uninitiated.
"The Upanishads ... are among the noblest and most inspired books in the world; in them, the whole of the Indian wisdom is already contained; later teachers could but expand and comment on them, but in no way departed from this original treasure of wisdom." ... "The Upanishads teach the wisdom of Atma, the Supreme Self of all beings; the same divine Life which Philo of Alexandria later called the Logos, the Divine Mind, the collective spiritual consciousness of our universe. They tell us that, while each of us may seem to be a wanderer and exile, lonely, desolate in our world of shadow and of sorrow, we are in reality neither alone nor desolate, but undivided, unseparated rays of the Universal Self, the Logos. What is needed to secure our immortality-an immortality which is still conditional, until this victory is won-is the realization of our oneness with the Supreme Self. The Upanishads show how, step by step, we may mount the golden stairs; they tell us what we must leave behind; what we must gain, as we tread the small, old path; what we must achieve; with the promise that we shall in the fullness of time be initiated into the fullness of that eternal, universal Supreme Self of all beings. "The whole aim of their teachings is this: to point the path by which the personal self may win immortality and divinity, by becoming united with the Higher Self, which always possessed immortality and divinity."-Charles Johnston The Upanishads are the ultimate classic of Indian Spirituality. In this volume the reader will find the heart and soul of India, the foundations of the Vedanta philosophy, the source-wisdom that was later embodied in the teachings of such exalted sages as Krishna, Badarayana, Gaudapada and Sankaracharya. Johnston has here translated and comments upon the complete text of the 10 principal (mukhya) Upanishads, the oldest and most profound of all Upanishadic texts. Originally printed in two theosophical magazines-The Oriental Department Papers & The Theosophical Quarterly-between the years 1892 and 1931, these translations and commentaries have finally been collected and organized into a single volume. In addition to these, several articles on the Indian wisdom Tradition are included, both to introduce the translations and to supplement them. The student will find Johnston's commentaries drawing comparisons and correspondences between the hidden wisdom of the Upanishads and the wisdom embodied by the world's religious traditions as well as the modern philosophies of Kant, Schopenhauer and others, and even to the modern sciences of physics and astronomy. These commentaries provide a bridge for students and researchers that will enhance their understanding of the deep and timeless wisdom of the sages of old. "Traces of the teachings which have become known to us as Theosophy are found in the records of all ancient religions in both hemispheres, but nowhere are these teachings so fully, lucidly and profoundly recorded as in the oldest Upanishads and this is true not only of large generalizations, like the doctrines of rebirth and liberation, but also of those more particular and recondite doctrines which come gradually to the knowledge of students who follow a special line of study and work. So that, in the Upanishads, we have an invaluable proof of the antiquity and authenticity of both general and particular doctrines, a guarantee at least three thousand years old, and, in all probability, very much older. And if the Upanishads lend this invaluable support to our modern teachings, it is, on the other hand, true, that without these modern teachings, much that is most profound and of greatest value in the Upanishads is hardly intelligible, so that one may read the ordinary translations without gaining any idea of the meaning, or even the presence, of those particular teachings which we have spoken of. It was, therefore, necessary to read and translate, the Upanishads, in the light of Theosophy."-Charles Johnston
NINE PRINCIPAL/ MAJOR UPANISHADS (Made Easy to Understand)We have tried our best to make study of the Upanishds easy for serious students. One does not have to leave home and go to Rishikesh or anywhere!! we even provide free e-mail support to help your study: www.gita-society.com/contactus .write a Blog or send a review: www.gita-society.com/review . And get any one book of your choice as our gift. HERE IS WHAT YOU GET:Seven illustrations, abstract, explanatory rendering (without Sanskrit verses) of all verses in simple, modern English; copious notes and gloss on difficult verses; simpler important verses are printed in underlined-bold for the first time readers; quotations from the Bhagavad-Gita; Chapter and Section headings and references.Free downloads Links for all 108 upanishads with commentaries and also for nine upanishads with commentaries from other scholars....... A Hindi version is under preparation.
Presents a culmination of Vedic thought and contains the essence of the original Vedantic teachings. This work imparts sublime truths about the nature and destiny of mankind revealed by sages and seers during informal discussions with disciples and spiritual seekers.
THE UPANISHADS Made Easy to Understand We have tried our best to make study of the Upanishads easy for the BEGINNER LEVEL readers who want to get introduced to the Upanishads. One does not have to leave home and go to Rishikesh or anywhere!! we even provide free e-mail support to help your study: www.gita-society.com/contactus write a Blog or send a review: www.gita-society.com/review. And get any one book of your choice as our gift. HERE IS WHAT YOU GET IN THIS BOOK: Seven illustrations, abstract, explanatory rendering (without Sanskrit verses) of all verses in simple, modern English; copious notes and gloss on difficult verses; simpler important verses are printed in underlined-bold for the first time readers; quotations from the Bhagavad Gita; Chapter and Section headings and references. Glossary, cross reference and references and a basic Meditation technique. Free download Link for all 108 Upanishads with commentaries.
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The Message of the Upanishads is a study, verse by verse, of three of the principal Upanishads, namely, Isha, Kena and Katha, in the light of modern thought and modern needs. Though constituting a small portion of the total Upanishadic literature, they yet contain a lucid exposition of all the essential ideas of this immortal literature. The spiritual insights of the Upanishads are an exception to the tyranny of time. Subsequent scientific advances have not only affected their truth-value but have, on the contrary, only helped to reveal the rational basis of their insights and enhanced their spiritual appeal. This is no wonder, because these insights are the products of an equally scientific investigation into a different field of experience, namely, the world of man’s inner life. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math.
Upanishads, in the words of Adi Shankaracharya, are known as Ātmavidyā (knowledge of the self) or Brahmavidyā (knowledge of Brahma).This ancient and timeless stream of knowledge needs no introduction to state its relevance in present modern times. What is needed is the cleansing of the dirt that has accumulated around it through ages, in the name of superstitions, superficial treatments, esoteric rituals, methods, entertainment―resulting in an escape from bare realities of life.This book is a collection of sessions of Acharya Prashant with genuine seekers who are fed-up of self-imposed bondages and are prepared to honestly pay the price for their liberation.➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖About Upanishads: The Sanskrit term Upaniṣad (from upa "by" and ni-ṣad "sit down") translates to "sitting down near", referring to the student sitting down near the teacher while receiving spiritual knowledge (Gurumukh). The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Vedānta. Vedanta has been interpreted as the "last chapters, parts of the Veda" and alternatively as "object, the highest purpose of the Veda". The concepts of Brahman (ultimate reality) and Ātman (soul, self) are central ideas in all of the Upanishads, and "know that you are the Ātman" is their thematic focus. Along with the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutra, the mukhya Upanishads (known collectively as the Prasthanatrayi) provide a foundation for the several later schools of Vedanta.Around 108 Upanishads are known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the principal or main (mukhya) Upanishads
