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Classics of Indian Spirituality: the Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada and Upanishads
These classic teachings comprise the most important and universal texts from the Indian wisdom tradition. They pose the fundamental questions of life pondered throughout the ages: Who am I? What happens when I die? What is the purpose of my life? Each text offers compelling answers, reflecting the style and personality of their Vedic and Buddhist authors. Eknath Easwaran's lyrical translations and engaging explanations of key concepts ensure that the texts are as relevant today as they were centuries ago.
940 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 1993
About the author
Eknath Easwaran
168 books506 followersEknath Easwaran (1910–1999) is the originator of passage meditation and the author of more than 30 books on spiritual living.
Easwaran is a recognized authority on the Indian spiritual classics. His translations of The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada are the best-selling editions in the USA, and over 1.5 million copies of his books are in print.
Easwaran was a professor of English literature and well known in India as a writer and speaker before coming to the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright exchange program. In 1961, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, based in Tomales, California, which continues his work today through publications and retreats.
His 1968 class on the theory and practice of meditation at UC Berkeley is believed to be the first accredited course on meditation at any Western university. For those who seek him as a personal spiritual guide, Easwaran assured us that he lives on through his eight-point program of passage meditation.
"I am with you always”, he said. “It does not require my physical presence; it requires your open heart."
Please visit bmcm.org for a fuller biography.
Easwaran is a recognized authority on the Indian spiritual classics. His translations of The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada are the best-selling editions in the USA, and over 1.5 million copies of his books are in print.
Easwaran was a professor of English literature and well known in India as a writer and speaker before coming to the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright exchange program. In 1961, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, based in Tomales, California, which continues his work today through publications and retreats.
His 1968 class on the theory and practice of meditation at UC Berkeley is believed to be the first accredited course on meditation at any Western university. For those who seek him as a personal spiritual guide, Easwaran assured us that he lives on through his eight-point program of passage meditation.
"I am with you always”, he said. “It does not require my physical presence; it requires your open heart."
Please visit bmcm.org for a fuller biography.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 7, 2017
I read The Dhammapada as an introduction to Buddhism. It is a much more poetic and metaphorical writing than Western philosophy and religious texts. My biggest takeaway was the Four Noble Truths: of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering (which is the Noble Eightfold Path). Buddha put great emphasis on meditation, especially to "rise out of" selfishness and duality (pleasure and pain, for example)—this, however, seems to place Buddhism in a very tight niche with regards to humanism and asceticism, depending on how we define a human in relation to the self and how Buddhists should regard their human bodies as they pursue a higher consciousness. For further study on Buddhism, I want to read the Pali Canon.
February 20, 2011
If, heaven forbid, everything Jesus said were lost to history, and we had only his Sermon on the Mount as our guide and blueprint for building a moral and virtuous life, we would still have a supernal treasure.
The Dhammapada is like that for those, like me, who also admire the Buddha's teachings. It's a verse collection of some of his most profound insights into living a life fully awake. Really enjoyed. Powerful insights.
This collection had a helpful introduction to each chapter.
"There is no fire like passion. There are no chains like hate. Illusion is a net, Desire is a rushing river."
The Dhammapada is like that for those, like me, who also admire the Buddha's teachings. It's a verse collection of some of his most profound insights into living a life fully awake. Really enjoyed. Powerful insights.
This collection had a helpful introduction to each chapter.
"There is no fire like passion. There are no chains like hate. Illusion is a net, Desire is a rushing river."
May 29, 2019
These novels are such a great introduction to these classic Indian texts. They are not able to stand alone (they do not have all of the texts as they are quite long) but they are a wonderful sampler of these ancient and rich texts that seem to apply more and more to our current lives.
May 30, 2018
Excellent !
January 22, 2020
The Upanishads:
An excellent introduction to the metaphysical and ethical ideas contained in these philosophical texts. Selected verses from all the 10 'Mukhya' Upanishads are included in this book and are aided by simple and lucid explanations of several ideas (as 'Notes') and a brief introduction before each Upanishad. Commentaries are based on the interpretations of Max Mueller/ Deussen/ Shankaracharya.
To anyone interested in studying the 'nature' of the religion now known as Hinduism, I will definitely recommend this as a first book. [Note that the included text does not contain the original Sanskrit verses but the English translations of them].
A minor remark : I really liked the choice of font colors, typesetting and the overall print quality!
An excellent introduction to the metaphysical and ethical ideas contained in these philosophical texts. Selected verses from all the 10 'Mukhya' Upanishads are included in this book and are aided by simple and lucid explanations of several ideas (as 'Notes') and a brief introduction before each Upanishad. Commentaries are based on the interpretations of Max Mueller/ Deussen/ Shankaracharya.
To anyone interested in studying the 'nature' of the religion now known as Hinduism, I will definitely recommend this as a first book. [Note that the included text does not contain the original Sanskrit verses but the English translations of them].
A minor remark : I really liked the choice of font colors, typesetting and the overall print quality!
May 8, 2020
Read the Bhagavad Gita, Book -1. I won't be reading Upanishad and Dhammapada by Eswaran though. Writing is bland and repetitive. I am sure there are better texts of Bhagavad Gita out there. This was written for someone at the pre-school level. Self detachment from the fruits of labour, giving generously without expectation in return, self-will and self-control as a duty, and following the 'Dharma' - which is to "to do good" and "it is what is" with no strings attached. Great work on distilling the text from main book, however, if you want to go deeper into the text, this book is not the one.
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October 30, 2008I read this book ,every morning (almost) when I wake-up..and have been doing so everysince 4 years ago when I got in a car accident, got hit in the head and came to believe in God; I still find it funny at the very least that nobody can prove there is no God; but at the same time , nobody can prove that being hit in the head; and having a severe concussion is not the only reason why people like me have seen what they saw.
thanks
thanks
April 21, 2020
The best translation and edition of these three texts that I've found in English (Vintage Spiritual Classics and various other versions are often reprints of this edition), plus Easwaran's editorial material is just absurdly good. [And yes, he's a bit of a syncretist / perennial philosophy guy, but I don't think the quality suffers.]
July 21, 2020
Seems presumptuous to review a sacred text. I'll only say that the translation is incredibly accessible, and the chapter introductions by Easwaran are very helpful in getting the most out of this. Highly recommend this translation.
July 31, 2022
If the path is your destiny who creates the path. Is a prince really so removed to be so ignorant even if age in his own house, does he not see his father, what about the servants.
To imagine the transcendence and the will to transcend all suffering because all attachment is suffering which starts at birth or perhaps before. What does a detached baby look like? What did Moses look like at birth?
If the gods so determine who gives them direction or does the wheel always turn in the same space
If you know you are to be reborn again and again only to suffer do you Continue to have children.
I could go on and on but what does it matter my attachment for the text is gone and I must move onto the new for what lays in one of my right hands
To imagine the transcendence and the will to transcend all suffering because all attachment is suffering which starts at birth or perhaps before. What does a detached baby look like? What did Moses look like at birth?
If the gods so determine who gives them direction or does the wheel always turn in the same space
If you know you are to be reborn again and again only to suffer do you Continue to have children.
I could go on and on but what does it matter my attachment for the text is gone and I must move onto the new for what lays in one of my right hands
January 2, 2021
Easwaran uses simple language along with stories from the Buddha's life and also anecdotes from his own to bring the Dhammapada alive. I think this is a wonderful primer for anyone wanting to explore Buddhism...
May 17, 2017
I liked the Upanishads best of the three, then the Dhammapad and then The Bhagavad Gita. If I hadn't found The New Message from God, this would have been my path.
January 5, 2022
Rating the 3 books individually:
Bhagavad Gita: 5 stars
The Dhammapada: 4.5 stars
The Upanishads: 3 stars
Bhagavad Gita: 5 stars
The Dhammapada: 4.5 stars
The Upanishads: 3 stars
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May 29, 2009I finished reading Bhagavad Gita on 3 May 2008. Delicious. I like the commentary that goes with each chapter.
Now I'm done with the Upanishads (1 March 2009). They have a strong wisdom-of-the-ancients flavor. It's that pithy kind that calls for rumination and seems like it could be a deep truth that I haven't yet understood or something that sounds cool but is actually hollow. At times I can't tell which. But like the companion books in this set, this book has nice commentary to go with the translations. My favorite excerpt from the Upanishads is:
I finished reading the Dhammapada and therefore all three books in this collection on 27 May 2009. My main takeaway from this translation of Buddhist texts is that meditation is essential to understanding the teachings. I don't draw this conclusion because the text exhorts meditation, but because personal meditation practice has shown me that these insights are understood through meditation, not reading or lectures. Also, I like this bit in the section titled "Impurity:" "...lack of generosity taints those who give."
Overall I think this trilogy of translations is a great read.
Now I'm done with the Upanishads (1 March 2009). They have a strong wisdom-of-the-ancients flavor. It's that pithy kind that calls for rumination and seems like it could be a deep truth that I haven't yet understood or something that sounds cool but is actually hollow. At times I can't tell which. But like the companion books in this set, this book has nice commentary to go with the translations. My favorite excerpt from the Upanishads is:
Two birds of beautiful plumage, comrades
Inseparable, live on the selfsame tree.
One bird eats the fruit of pleasure and pain;
The other looks on without eating.
I finished reading the Dhammapada and therefore all three books in this collection on 27 May 2009. My main takeaway from this translation of Buddhist texts is that meditation is essential to understanding the teachings. I don't draw this conclusion because the text exhorts meditation, but because personal meditation practice has shown me that these insights are understood through meditation, not reading or lectures. Also, I like this bit in the section titled "Impurity:" "...lack of generosity taints those who give."
Overall I think this trilogy of translations is a great read.
May 6, 2009
Read the Bhagavad Gita, not the whole set. Excellent, interesting, and surprising. I have no way to judge the translation, but it read well and the chapter introductions were generally helpful. I came in with a limited understanding of Hindu mythology and ideas, and finished this short book with a much better grasp of the field. Certainly it was more uplifting than your average religious text.
March 25, 2012
such a beautiful translation (his Bhagavad Gita translation also one of my favorites. alongside Ghandi's) and so much excellent insight in the introduction, which states that we need nothing more than the Dhammapada to follow the way of the Buddha.
December 31, 2014
One of the best translation if not the best!Extraordinary understanding of the disciple's path, the master, the living experience of the devotee and his/her realization..
Something to read again and again as a sweet remembrance. Not a substitute for the experience.
Something to read again and again as a sweet remembrance. Not a substitute for the experience.
August 10, 2008
What an unexpected wonderful great read.
I read the intro in the beginning and to all chapters up to 8. After that chapter I read only the Gita and really enjoyed the interpretation of my own.
I read the intro in the beginning and to all chapters up to 8. After that chapter I read only the Gita and really enjoyed the interpretation of my own.
April 30, 2009
This is quite beautiful, I liked it. I also see what inspired a lot of George Harrison's songs!
April 29, 2009
eknath's translation of the bhagavad gita in his "classics of indian spirituality" is so beautiful and true. i want to read it again and again.
June 6, 2009
Eknath Easwaran = The Shit.
April 18, 2011
Less poetry and meaning than expected for a beginner.
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January 14, 2013a great compilation. nice to read again and again
March 28, 2013
The nest spiritual literature ive ever read.
June 27, 2013
I read the Bhagavad Gita. Its a timeless work of great importance for all.
July 18, 2013
This translation brought the text alive for me!
May 8, 2010
My mind is a naughty, unmanageable pain in the ass! These books help but the struggle continues...
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews