Given the richness of the Upanishads, it's hard to go wrong, and there are, indeed, treasures to be found in this very, very slender selection. However, the introduction is extremely dated and somewhat off-putting. The introduction-writer/translator seems to be at pains to explicate the Upanishads in terms of what he sees as `universal' religious and philosophic themes, which turn out to be nothing other than his own christian tradition. He seems to assume that the readers share that religious background. As one who doesn't, I found that approach really annoying. It results in a trivialization of the ideas in the Upanishads... as if they are to be understood and appreciated only insofar as they can be read as re-statements of what the translator/introduction-writer takes to be the readers' pre-existing religious ideas. As a result, what is really striking and challenging about the Upanishads is lost, or at least muffled and left out of focus. Instead of `touching base' with this or that christian text, with Keats, with Shelly, with Shakespeare, etc., etc., the introduction would have been far more useful had it helped readers to locate the Upanishadic texts within the Hindu tradition, within the sweep of Indian cultural, religious, and intellectual history. Specifically, the Upanishads (and Vedantic writings generally) were a challenge and response to the Vedic Brahmanism that came before. They represented a departure from ritualism and a turn towards a more spiritualized and philosophic religious practice. In his misguided attempt to make the Upanishads feel familiar (i.e. christian) the translator/introduction-writer fails to get this across. In short, this book is a toe-dip into a rich, fascinating Vedantic text, but it is unfortunately compromised, even degraded, by the parochial and ultimately condescending introduction and editorial choices.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
