Ten Principal Upanishads

by W.B. Yeats (Editor), Patañjali

English (translation)

Genres: Religion, Spirituality

159 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1970

About the author

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honored. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929).

Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slow paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.
--from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Sanjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives a brief tour of the ten important Upanishads - translated by one the greatest poets of 20th century, W.B. Yeats, with the help of Shri Purohit Swami. W.B. Yeats was a good friend of Shri Purohit Swami. The translation is poetic. You get the feel that you are reading a sacred text along with poetic beauty that resonates somewhere deep in your heart.

[Dennis Littrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetic rendition

Of the many thousands of books that essentially are one of a kind and out of print, few are more worthy of being reissued than this very beautiful rendition of the heart of the Upanishads. World class poet W. B. Yeats, working with Vedic scholar Sri Swami Purohit, retired to Majorca away from the war clouds gathering over Europe in the thirties with the intent of making "a translation that would read as though the original had been written in common English" (p. 8). Here's an exchange between the boy Nachiketas and Death from the Katha Upanishad that gives a sense of just how well Yeats and Purohit succeeded:

Nachiketas said: "Some say that when man dies he continues to exist, others that he does not. Explain, and that shall be my third gift."

Death said: "This question has been discussed by the gods, it is deep and difficult. Choose another gift, Nachiketas! Do not be hard. Do not compel me to explain."

It is from the Upanishads that the Bhagavad Gita finds its inspiration. One can see immediately in this short exchange the seed from which the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna grew. Indeed it is from the Upanishads that the central doctrines of Hinduism are derived, and the philosophy of yoga, and even that of Buddhism. As such the Upanishads, despite their repetition and extraneous material, constitute one of the great spiritual works of humankind. What Yeats and Purohit have done here, in contradistinction to other translations that I have read, is to make the work intelligible, accessible and a pleasure to read. To do this, it is true they have trimmed; and they have drifted in parts from a strictly literal translation, preferring instead to emphasize the spirit and the essence of the Upanishads. Consequently, for the scholar this is not the best translation. But for those who want the feel and the heart of the Upanishads without the ritualistic circumlocutions or much of the repetition, this is an idea translation. Through the poetic use of words, incorporating the magic of sound and rhythm in judicious repetition, Yeats and Purohit are able to preserve the oral formulaic expression of the Upanishads, and bring the sense of their power to the modern English speaker. This is an outstanding achievement. Here is the refrain that ends this beautiful translation:

"This is perfect. That is perfect. Perfect comes from perfect. Take perfect from perfect; the remainder is perfect. May peace and peace and peace be every where."

--Dennis Littrell, author of “Understanding Religion: Reviews, Essays and Commentary”

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

Translated by Swami Shree and the famous poet William Butler Yeats, this is a very readable edition of the Upanishads. This is, however, a "Reader's Digest" version of these classic Hindu teachings. Much has been cut out of this highly edited translation. If you want to get a flavor of the Hindu scriptures, this is a good translation. But if you intend to dig deeper into the teachings, some other translation will be necessary.

[Tarun Rattan · Rating 5 out of 5]

W. B. Yeats found incredulous the various renditions of Upanishads from different translators, so he decided to translate one himself with help from his friend Shree Purohit Swami. The original plan was to visit India and then carry out the translation but health and money issues prevented that and both friends ultimately spent time in Majorca to translate the Upanishads. Upanishad is doctrine or wisdom literally At the feet of Master of Vedas, the most ancient philosophical enquiry undertaken by humans. Yeats wanted to make a translation that would read as though the original had been written in common English. In this he followed the advise of Aristotle who said that to write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man. In the end Yeats was satisfied that he escaped that polyglot, hyphenated, latinised muddied muddle of distorting that froze belief. For the uninitiated and English speaking masses this is an excellent primer for Upanishadic studies. The book covers only the small section of the Vedic mantras but is enough to provide a glimpse of the depth of philosophical enquiry contained in Vedic literature. Yeats ensured that his translation is as poetic as his other works which is an added bonus with this translation. The idea is that this small primer will spark the fire of philosophical enquiry within readers and that they then graduate to learn more and imbibe the ancient wisdom of Vedas to uncover the truth of life.

[Cian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read, particularly as the peculiar translation project it was. However, the Upanishads become rather tiresome. A systematic philosophy of increasing sub-classification (with all too neat/obsessive numbering) built upon a hollow foundational point. In philosophy I rather like the dialogue format (not used here, although there are narrated recountings of exchanges) in how one walks along with the philosopher, their hesitancies voiced and dealt with (as with Plato, or, better yet, Berkeley). Applying causation or systematic roles, hierarchies, etc. to mechanics that are merely stated into being is hard to go along with, and harder to hear repeated. I found little beauty in its writing also.

As book to be reading on a plane to and from Germany however, there was something enchanting about that whole experience.