This is a poetic commentary on the three ancient scriptures which form the foundations of India's spiritual tradition.

This Upanishad forms a part of the Brahmana belonging to the Katha Shakha of the Krishna Yajur Veda. It stands in a class by itself. It combines charming poetry, elevating mysticism, and profound philosophy. The subject of the mystery of death is introduced through the medium of an interesting anecdote; and the teaching of the Upanishad is presented in the form of a dialogue between a mere boy, Nachiketa, and Yama, the King of Death. With the text of the Upanishad in Devanagari, a lucid and faithful translation of the text and commentary, relevant notes, reference to quotations, and index to texts, this Upanishad is a must for all students of Vedanta. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math.

Upanishads, in the words of Adi Shankaracharya, are known as Ātmavidyā (knowledge of the self) or Brahmavidyā (knowledge of Brahma). This ancient and timeless stream of knowledge needs no introduction to state its relevance in present modern times. What is needed is the cleansing of the dirt that has accumulated around it through ages, in the name of superstitions, superficial treatments, esoteric rituals, methods, entertainment―resulting in an escape from bare realities of life. This book is a collection of sessions of Acharya Prashant with genuine seekers who are fed-up of self-imposed bondages and are prepared to honestly pay the price for their liberation. About Upanishads: The Sanskrit term Upaniṣad (from upa ""by"" and ni-ṣad ""sit down"") translates to ""sitting down near"", referring to the student sitting down near the teacher while receiving spiritual knowledge (Gurumukh). The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Vedānta. Vedanta has been interpreted as the ""last chapters, parts of the Veda"" and alternatively as ""object, the highest purpose of the Veda"". Along with the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutra, the Mukhya Upanishads (known collectively as the Prasthanatrayi) provide a foundation for the several later schools of Vedanta. Around 108 Upanishads are known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the principal or mukhya Upanishads.

The book is journey through 5000 years of evolution of Hinduism, and is outcome of seven years of study to understand the roots of Hinduism. Tracing the genesis of Hinduism to pre-Indus Valley period, the book explains Hindu, Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma, before it takes one through Hinduism’s oldest scriptures - the four Vedas, the four components of each Veda, and what they contain. How all original translations of Vedic texts were done by Western Sanskrit scholars, and why their works have left scope for doubt about the fidelity of translations. The yajnas (yagya) like Ashvamedha, Rajsooya, Vajpeya, etc., about which we only hear on TV serials and talk shows, have been demystified. The reader will be taken aback reading the sheer size and scale of Soma yajna, described step by step, in great detail. Hinduism’s journey to the Age of Reason, the Upanishads, its encounter with Buddhism, and its transformation into idol worshipping society with many gods and a multitude of stories about its millions of gods is lucidly explained. Puranas, what they contain and what was the reason they were created, has been described and explained next. Hinduism's journey to its modern form - idol worship, the modern puja, detailed description of puja and Sanskaras like Vivaha, their detailed description, the meaning of each action and how they are conducted, the gift to the priest, types of idols, their consecration, all are explained to help a reader understand the why and the how of what we do as a Hindu. The book concludes with a discussion of - Do mantras have power? & Do rituals have meaning?

"The Upanishads" is a collection of Sri Aurobindo's final translations of and commentaries on every Upanishad or other Vedantic text he worked on. Upanishads are the ancient treatises on spiritual truths as envisioned by the seers, sages and rishis of the civilization of India.