The Upanishads

by Nikhilananda (Translated and Edited )

Although the Upanishads are by far the oldest outpourings of the mystical consciousness of man they have remained unequaled by any rival ancient or modern in profundity splendor and purity. Though historically the products of India and of a particular age they are in essence ageless and universal. This abridged edition of the monumental four volume work translated by Swami Nikhiilananda contains excerpts from the Katha, Isha, Kena, Mundaka, Shvetashvatara, Prashna, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranyaka, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads. The translation is faithful and graceful and the exposition authentic instructive and attractive. Included is a comprehensive glossary that addresses the Sanskrit terms contained in this volume, providing a variety of meaning for each word when appropriate. By comparison, the Swami Prabhavananda translation Breath of the Eternal 087481040X offers the same scriptures but is more deeply edited with an emphasis on clear easy reading and few footnotes. Both editions are excellent but may appeal to different audiences.

392 pages

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

[Donnally Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is my first foray into Hindu philosophy, which I plan to explore more fully. Upanishad is a Hindu word meaning knowledge. The Upanishads are texts that deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness, and ontological knowledge. There are other texts that describe the various mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices. The Upanishads were written by various sages over a course of time dating from about the 7th century BCE to the beginning of the Common Era. 108 Upanishads are known, of which there are 12 considered the most basic and important. This book contains 11 of those (in some cases slightly abridged). It also contains a running commentary by the translator, Swami Nikhilananda in which he makes frequent reference to the teachings of a sage named Sankaracharya, apparently one of the foremost interpreters of the ancient Hindu texts.
I found many of the texts of the Upanishads themselves to be of such a mystical nature they would have been almost incomprehensible without the commentary and copious notes. The closest thing to Hindu philosophy that I have encountered in Western thought is the neo-Platonism of Plotinus. I have seen some speculation that Pythagoras traveled to India and may have brought back some ideas that were later passed on to Plato, but I find that highly doubtful. I think the similarities are the natural result of the fact that both Hindu and Platonic philosophy sprang from a root of polytheism and are vastly different from Christian philosophy which sprang from the monotheism inherited from Judaism.
In these texts so much of Christian metaphysics is missing. There is no God the Father, no Heaven and Hell, no sin and crime, no prayer as a supplication to God. I will attempt to expound Hindu metaphysics as best I could understand it from reading this book. Please keep in mind I am not a scholar, just someone who is starting to educate himself in this rich area of thought.
The Hindus believe there are an infinite number of Gods, though some such as Agni, Aditya, Indra, Rudra and Visnu are more important. But there is one supreme, immortal and incorporeal godhead called Brahman. Brahman has no attributes. It is the divine essence and source from which all created things emanate, by which they are preserved, and to which they return. Brahman is not an object of worship, but rather of meditation and knowledge. Brahman is sometimes associated with Maya, which is illusion and unreality, and when that happens Brahman does have attributes.
The other basic concept in Hindu metaphysics is Atman, the individual self, the immortal spirit in each individual, corresponding to the soul in Christian metaphysics. Hindus, like Christians, believe in the immortality of the soul. However, the Atman does not pass for all eternity to Heaven, Hell or Purgatory after living a life on this earth. Rather, the Atman is reincarnated to live again in this world. Some of the Upanishads seem to imply that Brahman and Atman are two distinct things, but in the philosophical view of Nikhilananda, they are one.
The Atman, when its current existence comes to an end, passes to another which was prepared for it by its actions in this life. If a person has been especially wicked, it may be incarnated as a fly or mosquito, and essentially be doomed forever to live and die again and again. If he has been especially wise and giving, it will pass to become one with Brahman. So long as one continues to have desires, one will remain part of this world, but one who has dispensed with all desire, will join Brahman, like a drop of water joining the ocean. Dispensing with desire does not imply asceticism, as a Christian might think. One comes to lack desire when all of one's desires have been met and nothing is left to desire.
One achieves wisdom and beneficence by meditation. The Upanishads are full of lessons which a sage gives to his students to meditate on, as well as mantras (verses) to assist in meditation. But the highest object of meditation is the syllable Om. This syllable contains in itself the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe, it contains the three states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep, and the silence at the end of the syllable is expressive of transcendental consciousness.

[Ramya · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 Review:
Re-reading as now more come to see how much better advaita vedanta explains being and ontology and brings together what I used to feel strongly made more sense and resonated with me of shunyata which I first encountered in Buddhism with Brahmin the purnam all-pervading non-thing but not nothing.

Can see how well S. N. concisely discusses main themes of vedanta w/ advaita slant of course of interpretation of Upanishads. And, being less sleep deprived and struggling with > 10,000 pages of literature i.e. trying to cram 2000 years of religious thought evolution on the Indian subcontinent with Hinduism only small part and vedanta minuscule part of a semester course as undergrad - I truly seem to understand better the contradictions and vagaries of these Upanishad verses selected for this abridgment.

Still would love meaning of words to be stable across Upanishads and the actual Sanskrit verses to read as the language was meant to convey more than words but impart experiential knowledge.

Now, more excited to go back to Sanskrit sandhi like never before - like loving to be racked. ;)

2018 Review while cleaning out College books:
Can not evaluate fully the thoroughness or authenticity of this abridged version and translation but Swami Nikhilananda is clear in preface his bias is to translate/interpret this in non-dualistic terms based in Sankaracharya’s much referenced and deeply respected interpretations of the upanishads in vedantic philosophy.

I know I picked abridged and have only myself to blame for not seeing the devanagri verses to speak out loud since - this knowledge is sruti: that which is “that which is heard” — in hearing there is magical understanding and knowledge leading to “upanishad” ~ knowledge.