The Upanishads: Breath from the Eternal Mass Market Paperback – August 1, 2002

This was my first introduction to the Upanishads, but it is still my favorite years later. I have bought several copies of this version, because I keep giving them away to people. I feel everyone seeking spiritual Truths MUST read this. In my daily life I often recommend the Upanishads to any spiritual seeker or philosophy lover, and always in this translation. I have read a few other translations, some of them being those that are most popular and readily available in bookstores, and while those translations were generally beautiful and helpful, they didn't seem to be on par with Swami Prabhavananda's rendering and interpretation. I once had a World Religions professor who made us answer on every test that EVERY translation is an interpretation. This couldn't be more true, even reading the original work of something is an interpretation within your own mind.The Upanishads are hundreds, even thousands of years old. They rank among the oldest of spiritual literature in existence, and are still practiced today. The amazing part about the Upanishads is how they are still advanced philosophy all these years later. They paint a beautiful and complete cosmology in a poetic and philosophical manner even today. It still blows my mind that these are so old, yet so intricate and profound. It just goes to show that Truth is eternal, unchanging with time. And that our ancestors were not the primitive fools that the currently accepted paradigm makes them out to be. The Upanishads rank among my favorite of all spiritual books from any religion. Which is important to me because as a student of comparative religions I have read many spiritual books from all the major religions, even though I am still young.This is my favorite interpretation to date, not only because I feel it in the depth of my being, but because it is clear, concise, and fluid. Many other translations keep the Upanishads in verse, making them rigid and a bit more difficult to get the full meaning from while being rendered into another language. This translation is mostly in prose and reads like a story or essay--as the preface states: "With minor exception the original Sanskrit here rendered is verse. With minor exception we have employed prose." I have read a few books by Swami Prabhavananda and all have been of superb caliber, his genius and spiritual understandings shine through in every sentence and concept.It is good to read several translations of a deep and symbolic spiritual work--that goes for all religions. The more translations you read the more you get a deeper understanding of what was originally intended by the creator and their native language. Don't miss this, and if you only read one translation, let it be this one!

This is a collection of the very best writings of the ancient Vedantic Seers.Keep it near your reading chair. Pick it up now and then. Open it anywhere. Much here to contemplate...

Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal by Swami Prabhavananda & Frederick Manchester is an excellent translation that really seems to capture the profound Spiritual Essence. I read other translations and noticed there are wild differences in how the meaning is conveyed into English. Literal translation seems to make no sense at all. I also read a more "poetic" version of a translation which was also beautiful, but it lost some of the more advanced spiritual understanding. This particular version from Swami Prabhavananda is the best I've found so far. The translation captures the overall essence in way that can be understood in English. At the same time, it still has poetic substance and flow. And it is most definitely imbued with great Spiritual Depth. I believe a lot depends on the actual spiritual understanding of the translator. Words chosen in a translation will inevitably be colored by the translator's perception of the actual content. This version comes from a translator with impressively credible knowledge and direct spiritual experience. This becomes very evident when you read it. Highly inspirational, this resonates with me like no other. And it continues to amaze me every time I re-read it.

I bought my first copy of this little book out of pure curiosity 40 years ago. I found these lovely & inspiring works (as one long interested in religion, science, and philosophy) to be uplifting at first reading, second reading, and twentieth reading. Having worn that first copy out, others by these authors have followed, been shared, and I keep two extra on hand for gifts. Many translations are out there; I say that this one is tough to beat. ( P.S. If you 'get' Acts 17:28, you'll be inspired by the Upanishads.)

THE UPANISHADS - Breath of the Eternal. Translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester. New York: Signet Classics, 2002 (1948). Paperback, 128 pages. ISBN 978045158483The fact that after over sixty years this magical translation, first published in 1948, is still in print testifies to its continuing popularity. After a 1-page Preface and a brief Introduction of just 3 pages, it gives us the texts of nine Upanishads along with selections from three others.Each of the Upanishads is preceded by a brief 'argument' of just a few lines which the Preface tells us is there simply to indicate "dominant themes." Footnotes are sparse, and there is no Bibliography or Index. In short, only the essentials have been given so that there is nothing to stand between the reader and his or her experience of the texts. And it works!I'm not really sure how they did it but Prabhavananda and Manchester have succeeded brilliantly in capturing the magic of these texts. With some editions it can be a relief to finally reach the end of an Upanishad. Here, my own experience is that on reaching the end I immediately want to go back to the beginning and re-read the whole thing.I think that for many if not most readers, the Prabhavananda and Manchester edition is all they will ever want or need. For others it will provide an excellent preparation for tackling the more complex editions of Radhakrishnan, Swami Nikhilananda, and Swami Gambhirananda (full details of which will be found in my Listmania list on the Upanishads).But there's no doubt at all that, whether you are of the "simplest is best" school or a lover of complexity, the Prabhavananda and Manchester translation provides the finest possible entry into the Upanishads and you should consider yourself lucky to have found it.

Good read