The Upanishads are key texts of the ageless wisdom known as the Perennial Philosophy. This lucid new translation presents selections from the eleven traditionally considered the most important: the Māṇḍūkya, Kena, Chāndogya, Īsha, Brihadāranyaka, Taittirīya, Mundaka, Kaushītaki, Maitrī, Katha and Shvetāshvatara.

Each selection is preceded by an incisive introduction that explains simply and clearly Sanskrit terms and yogic concepts that might otherwise be obscure. What emerges is that these writings, composed in the forest retreats of India some twenty-five centuries ago, address still vital questions about the nature and destiny of humankind and the consequences of disregarding the natural order and the greater whole.

This vibrant revisioning of long-established classics offers both insight and inspiration to anyone who seeks the truth, whatever their chosen path.

Praise for The Upanishads.

‘A lovely decanting of this very old wine into a sparkling new bottle.’
~ John Updike

‘This is the kind of text that one keeps close at hand like an old, wise and compassionate friend.’
~ Ram Dass

‘This superb and graceful translation offers the contemporary reader not only a new appreciation of the wisdom of India, but, more importantly, a renewed vision of who and what we ourselves are and to what greatness we can aspire. I know of no finer rendering of these treasures of Eastern spirituality.’
~ Jacob Needleman

Alistair Shearer is a cultural historian specialising in the art and religions of South Asia. He is a former lecturer at The School of Oriental and African Studies at London University and a veteran teacher of meditation. His books have been translated into all major European languages, as well as Japanese and Hebrew, and his translation of the Yoga Sutras has remained in print for forty years Alistair is co-creator of an award winning retreat hotel Neeleshwar Hermitage on the coast of Malabar, in Kerala.