Pearls from Upanisads: ------- - Tapa blanda

Being the 'Revealed Knowledge', the Upanishads form the foundations of the Indian philosophical heritage. Upanishads are aptly described as Vedanta, acme of the Veda that postulates brotherhood of humankind and universal oneness of the entire existence, living and non-living. Inspired by them, scholars over the ages have crafted a vast literature propounding the teachings of these treatises. This book presents the essence of this message through selecting a few parables and dialogues from Upanishadic tradition. The content has been so arranged that it helps the reader to progress from self-consciousness to 'self-actualization'. The common perception is that the Upanishads are religious texts meant for ritual reading. This work believes them to be spiritual treatises blending logic and faith for contemplation and reflection. The work has been divided into two parts. The Part One contains twelve parables selected from four Vedic Upnishads viz. the Kena, the Chhandogya, the Katha and the Brihadarnyaka. The instruction proceeds from the known to the unknown and from the elementary to the complex. Part Two includes six dialogues, all taken from the Yajnavalkya Episode of the Brihadarankopnishad, untwining the mystery of non-duality. Each piece has a curtain raiser and a short note in the manner of an epilogue while the text retains the original flavor.

Born and brought up in a deeply spiritual environment of rural India, I was always attracted toward the sacred and the religious lore. A relatively small institution named 'Vedvedang Sanskrit Vidyalaya' was located in the village temple complex, where quite a few young mendicants studied Sanskrit and the original Vedic scriptures under the guidance of a couple of well read and well revered teachers. This hermitage used to be my favourite haunt after the school hours. The place was frequently visited by Vedic scholars, preachers, and social reformers who held discourses in the language well understood by the common folk on a wide variety of subjects concerning cultural, religious, moral, and spiritual heritage of India. The Upanisadic parables and their teachings were the piece de resistance during these events. There, perhaps were the seeds laid in the virgin soil, which abide for time to bloom. I served the Indian Army from 1962 to 1992, working in the field of Human Resource Development as faculty in several prestigious institutions. During the service, I was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal by the President of India on the Republic Day1984. After retirement, the irresistible sound of the distant chants of the Vedic sages lured me to study the great speculative premises regarding the life 'here' and 'yonder'. The present work is the outcome. My doctoral work entitled 'History of Christian Missions in North India from 1813 to 1914' was published in 1988. I contribute to journals and magazines on cultural, religious, educational, and geostrategic subjects. Presently, my wife Prem and I reside in Noida, an upandcoming township in the National Capital Region of Delhi (India). I am associated with several literary and social fora as also with some reputed strategic studies related think tanks.