 |
||
|
||
| Advertise with us! |
|
|
thyer@freenet.grfn.org (The Denim Tiger) wrote: > >I am seeking a complete copy of the Upanishads. > >I would like to acquire a copy over the net. Does someone know of a >page where I could download it -- or does someone have a copy they >could mail me? > >My e-mail is thyer@freenet.grfn.org > Hi, It's not quite as easy as that! The Upanishads are not a single book. There are of the order of 108 separate Upanishads. These are often extracts of the philosophical parts of Vedas, themselves being stories several thousand years old. Some are much more recent, since realised men throughout the ages have been adding to this branch of knowledge (Vedanta means the end of knowledge effectively). Of these 100+, about 10 are recognised as being 'major' and these are the ones most often referenced. They all exist originally in the form of a series of short Sanskrit slokas or verses. Numerous translations have been made but, on their own, without quite a lot of backgound understanding of terms etc. and personal experience of some of the things which are spoken of, you would not be likely to get very far. On top of this, most copies which you would be likely to find contain 'commentaries' which are the translator's (usually) attempt to interpret the slokas, add helpful similes, mataphors, parables etc. The standard of these commentaries varies tremendously. The most informed and learned ones (e.g. Sankara) are not necessarily the most readily understandable! One of the more accessible commentators (IMO), who spoke from an appreciation of modern society, was Swami Chinmayananda, and there are quite a number of his commentaries on the better known Upanishads. There is a web page for the Chinmayananda trust, which contains pointers to booklists for all of these, though they are not electronically available. The URL is <http://WWW.tezcat.com/~bnaik/chinmaya.html> It is possible to obtain some free electronic versions, though I cannot comment on these. One, to start you off, is the Chandogya Upanishad (though this is not one of the more accessible ones, nor one of the shorter). It can be downloaded from <gopher\\info.anu.edu.au:70/11/elibrary/country/India/misc/archives> (Note I have not downloaded this myself.) One of the (if not the) best, and shortest, is the Kena Upanishad or Kenopanishad. It has been said that the entire philosophy of the Upanishads is contained in the first sentence of this one. There is a Chinmayananda version of this, though I haven't yet read it but the most accessible approach of all is from a taped lecture. There is an excellent set of six tapes by Sri A. Parthasarathy. You can probably obtain these from somewhere in the States but, if not, direct from Vedanta Life Institute at 1A, Landsend, Dongarsi Road, Malabar Hill, Bombay 400 006, India. (Note that I am not an expert on these matters, lest my post should persuade you otherwise, and I am sure many other members of the group will be able to correct some of the background. I noted you had had no response, however, so present this as a start.) Dennis dwaite@aladdin.co.uk
|
||
|
||
| Advertise with us! |
|
|