The Upanishads: The Classics of Indian SpiritualityThe Upanishads: one of three new editions of the books in Eknath Easwaran's Classics of Indian Spirituality series You are what your deep driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny. - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (IV.4.5) Over two thousand years ago, the sages of India embarked on an extraordinary experiment. While others were exploring the external world, they turned inward - to explore consciousness itself. In the changing flow of human thought, they asked, is there anything that remains the same? They found that there is indeed a changeless Reality underlying the ebb and flow of life. Their discoveries are an expression of what Aldous Huxley called the Perennial Philosophy, the wellspring of all religious faith that assures us that God-realization is within human reach. The Upanishads are the sages' wisdom, given in intense sessions of spiritual instruction in ashrams, in family gatherings, in a royal court, in the kingdom of Death himself. And Easwaran shows how these teachings are just as relevant to us now as they ever were centuries ago. |
Contents
Also in This | ii |
16 | 44 |
The Chandogya | 72 |
The Faces | 113 |
Upanishad | 142 |
Consciousness | 154 |
The Kena Upanishad | 161 |
The Prashna Upanishad | 172 |
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Common terms and phrases
asked attain awareness become Bhagavad Gita Bhrigu bird birth and death body Brahman breath Brihadaranyaka called Chandogya consciousness cosmos creatures deathless desire divine dreaming dreamless sleep duality dwells earth Easwaran energy eternal everything eyes fire Gargi Gita goal gods hear heart hidden Hindu human hymns immortality Imperishable Indian Indra infinite inner Isha Isha Upanishad ishads JANAKA Katha Katha Upanishad light literally live Lord of Love Mandukya mantram means meditation mind Mundaka mysticism Nachiketa name and form person philosophy pleasure Prajapati prana Prashna Prashna Upanishad pure question Ramana Maharshi reality realize Rig Veda ritual sacred sacrifice Samhitas Satyakama scriptures Self-realization senses separate Shankara shanti shanti shanti shines Shiva Shvetaketu Shvetashvatara Shvetashvatara Upanishad sorrow space spiritual supreme Taittiriya Taittiriya Upanishad teacher teaching things thought tradition transcendent translation truth Uddalaka unity universe Upan Vedic verse wisdom word Yajnavalkya Yajur Yajur Veda YAMA