Kathopanishad Paperback – 1 January 2018

it is the best of Upanishads closest to M.Anand. She is following the path of Shreyas. She wants to thank Gurudev, Guruji and buddies.

Salutations to the feet of the rishis! Salutations to the feet of Swami Chinmayananda!I am unqualified to review the guru, and I dare not review the Upanishads (or any other religious texts for that matter; in my short exposure to Hindu spiritual texts, I have come to believe that ALL spiritual texts are saying something deep, that only the sincere seeker can grasp).That said, take these Upanishad texts translated by Shri guruji if you are inclined to see similarity over differences, unity over diversity and universality over individuality- because this is an advaitic interpretation of the Upanishad, that, to the very core, accepts the statement: ekam sat vipraah bahudha vadanti (the truth is one, the wise speak of it in many ways). If you want to explore it, do explore it with the sincere mind of a seeker. Do question what is said, and think deeply about it, but do not approach with an intent to critique it- because if you do so, you have simply wasted your money!Katha: Nachiketa- tell me about that entity which is beyond right and wrong, beyond cause and effect, and beyond past and future. Yama: listen from me about that entity, which is simply called as Om (Om is just a word, like karma (a la Matrix revolutions) but what is important is the connection it implies, the meaning it conveys).

Good

Though writer refers to himself as Sadhu, there is so much of ridicule, slander, criticism and condemning of priests, prohits, pandits, rishis and scholars at so many places in the book, one wonders who is a Sadhu. Only such people condemned by writer had preserved the entire Hindu philosophy and religion for centuries and passed to future generations. Even this writer or his guru must have sat with Sanskrit scholar to learn and translate into bombastic English, with repetitions, diversions and even errors. Sasyam is elaborately discussed as seasonal weeds !

Thank you for the blessings in the form of this book. May your grace be showered on all seekers. May all attain the Highest. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

Must read for any serious student of the holy scriptures. Don't read it as a story book. Readers will do themselves a great favor if they go slow and make notes. There are many a gems hidden in the simple words , that a not so careful reader can easily miss. For example, sense objects are subtler than the senses is a concept that would require bit of dwelling upon to process in entirety. Similarly the concept of the Total Mind is very obvious yet so deep.

At high level I felt it's got nothing to do with Nachiketa and Yama. They were only the metaphors.It was more like dialogue between the dynamic life force and hard stopping deathA good book, the commentary by Gurudev has made it so simple to understand

Swami Chinmayananda is the best! His explanations of some of the toughest concepts of the world, cannot be simplified. He has brought down the complexity of this deepest knowledge about the true nature of creation to a level where a common human can think of implementing this knowledge in his day to day life. Much work is needed on our part to fully realize our true self....the Atman or Brahman...but first we need to acknowledge it's existence and fix it as our goal of life. Now that Swamiji has helped to do just this, we can start our journey of Self Realization. Thank you Swamiji!