Books in the Easwaran's Classics of Indian Spirituality series

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 have direct experience of 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 translation of the principal Upanishads and five others 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 that makes this edition truly outstanding. Each sage, each Upanishad, appeals in a different way to the reader's head and heart. In the end, Easwaran writes, "e;The Upanishads are part of India's precious legacy, not just to Hinduism but to humanity, and in that spirit they are offered here."e;

Easwaran's best-selling translation of the Bhagavad Gita is reliable, readable, and profound. Easwaran's 55-page introduction places the Bhagavad Gita in its historical context, presents key concepts, and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings. This edition includes chapter introductions, notes and a Sanskrit glossary. Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition in India, learned Sanskrit from a young age, and became a professor of English literature before coming to the West. He is a gifted teacher and an authority on the Indian classics and world mysticism. The Bhagavad Gita opens, dramatically, on a battlefield, as the warrior Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life. Yet the Gita is not what it seems - it's not a dialogue between two mythical figures at the dawn of Indian history. "e;The battlefield is a perfect backdrop, but the Gita's subject is the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious."e;