The Upanishads - Svetasvatara, Prasna, and Mandukya with Gaudapada'a Karika

by Nikhilananda, Adi Shankaracharya

The Upanishads are among the source books of the Hindu faith, being the concluding portion of the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, also the Vedanta. This selection of translations by Swami Nikhilananda contains the Svetasvatara, Prasna and Mandukya Upanishads together with a special contribution to Western understanding of these important books in the form of a noteworthy essay on Hindu Ethics. Translated from the Sanskrit with an Introduction embodying a study of Hindu Ethics, and with Notes and Explantions based on the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, the great Eighth-Century Philosopher and Saint of India. Contents Include: Svetasvatara Upanishad - Prasna Upanishad - Mandukya Upanishad

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Swami Nikhilananda (1895–1973), born Dinesh Chandra Das Gupta was a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi. In 1933, he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and remained its head until his death in 1973. An accomplished writer and thinker, Nikhilananda's greatest contribution was the translation of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita from Bengali into English, published under the title The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942).

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy has only the Mandukya Upanishad with Gaudapada's Karika. (Advaita Ashrama, 1995) The translation is very clear, and includes the very short but rich Mandukya Upanishad, with Gaudapada's very influential Karika, accompanied by Shankara's commentary, and finally, helpful footnotes. Despite all this meta-commentary the text actually flows and each subsequent commentary meshes well.

The Karika is divided into four parts. The first is a dissection of the Mandukya Up. itself (discussing the four "states" of consciousness as they correspond to the holy word "AUM".) The second deals with the phenomenal world and the nature of Illusion. The third examines the consequences that come from denying the phenomenal world's existence: non-dualism. And the last part is sort of a summary that goes into more detail, incorporating the previous parts and explaining the role of cognition and how to properly understand cause and effect. The last section is where the rubber meets the road philosophically.

Gaudapada is one of the earliest exponents of advaita vedanta, a form of non-dualism distinct from Madhyamika non-dualism in its assumption of Brahman as an Ultimate metaphysical substrate. The argumentation here is similar to Nagarjuna's (utilizing regression arguments in its denial of the phenomenal world) but it stops short of denying an Ultimate reality.

This summary is just the tip of the iceberg -- it's amazing that so much can be extrapolated in a structured and reasonable way from a scripture barely a page long.