Classics of Indian Spirituality: Includes: The Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada, and The Upanishads

by Eknath Easwaran (Primary Contributor)

A beautiful boxed set of the three scriptures of ancient India most meaningful to an American reader: the Bhagavad Gita, the Dhammapada, and the Upanishads.

Genres: Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Buddhism, Hinduism, Canon

586 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 1993

About the author

Eknath 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.

Reviews

[Cole Feldman]

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.

[Lon]

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."

[Paul H.]

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.]

[Nicole Smith]

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.

[Matthew Hitt]

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.

[Rahul Chandra]

Hmm, i just wanted to read more primary sources about Buddhism, and while this is mostly a primary source, it felt more like a series of small advice rather than any concrete system. Kind of similar to Meditations in a way, but it keeps referencing the eightfold path without explaining it much. It also didn’t feel nearly as elegant as Meditations. Speaking of which, the whole, “you can take pleasure in things, just be detached from it” reminded me of Seneca, and what he said in the Benefits book. All the upside but none of the downside.

The translator was great though, every chapter had a page or two of setting context, and it was dope that the translator was drawing from a bunch of different philosophies and religions to compare/explain.

Overall, decent, but just not very elegant. Convinced me to start meditating(or find a class near me) so there’s that I guess

[Rahul Banerjee]

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!

[Meghal Bhatt]

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.

[Cyrus]

I 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

[Leslie Meadows]

This set is both a want to read and a good version of the Bhagavad Gita is included which I read about a year ago. The intro is good and there are additional posthumous commentaries which are perceptive. I have all the volumes and have read other translations. I don't believe this set would lead a person astray and if you haven't been exposed to these works would be a good introduction. On the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads I've also read Swami Phrabhavananda and can recommend them. On the Dhammapada I like one that is available in a pocket edition from Shambhala. But I am confident Easwaren is a good one to encounter. Also one might look at his Passage Meditation, which to me reveals his lit background and exposure to Catholic meditation techniques because it is not purely Hindu and is eclectic. He uses meditation on passages, say psalm 23, as opposed to a simple mantra, which he uses as a mind calming technique in other circumstances. He has some good anthologies. All around I believe he is a good spiritual figure to know about.

[AttackGirl]

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

[Emma]

I love Eknath's translations of the classics of indian spirituality. So this translation is top notch as well, and his explainers before each section always helps me connect more dots that I had previously.

So this rating is for the Dhammapada itself. This is probably my nth time reading the Dhammapada, but I find the highly dualistic nature of the book troubling. There are good advice in here, but the way its laid out, like rules, with vaguely threatening aura, makes it less a book that points at the full truth, and more about phenomenological appearances. It's about ethical and behavioral consequences of truth rather than the direct apprehension of truth, which I find not as direct and may not fully lead to the truth.

[Navneet Nair]

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...

[Maureen]

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.

[Andrew]

Rating the 3 books individually:
Bhagavad Gita: 5 stars
The Dhammapada: 4.5 stars
The Upanishads: 3 stars

[Vijay Chengappa]

Box of 3 collection, makes for a great gift to youngsters or anyone starting off on the journey towards self realization

[TheWayofLife]

Great introduction for anyone interested in Buddhism.

[Michael Morgenstern]

This is the essential set of books to get started in eastern philosophy. Author does an amazing job of translating and explaining this ancient scripture

[M.J. Gates]

An inspiring and deeply reflective work. Find new gems of wisdom with each read. Highly recommend for anyone looking for growth and development.

[J]

I 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:

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.

[Pete]

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.

[Ardhanarishvara]

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.

[Chantal]

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.

[Jenn]

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.

[Megan]

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.

[Steven]

Eknath Easwaran = The Shit.

[Michaela]

Less poetry and meaning than expected for a beginner.

[Elizabeth, EB, Converse]

a great compilation. nice to read again and again

[Benjamin Barnes]

The nest spiritual literature ive ever read.

[Bridget]

I read the Bhagavad Gita. Its a timeless work of great importance for all.