Kathopanishad

Excellent look into the mastery and symmetry of the mind. Great intro to Hindu ideals and goals of God like perfection in animal-man form. OM! OM!! OM!!!

A must read for anyone interested in understanding upanisads from an advaitic perspective. I am amazed at the level of thinking that existed over 5000 years ago

Amazing. One of the best books ever

That's what I expected. Thank you

Does anything survive death? Is there an unchangeable, permanent reality that lies beyond this illusory world of constant change and death? What is the Soul like? What is the root cause of misery in this world?The profound answers to these questions revealed in this most famous of all Upanishads, whose verses are structured as a dialogue between a young boy Naciketas, and Yama, the Lord of Death. Translated into English, from the original Sanskrit by Swami Chinmayananda, each verse of this Upanishad is accompanied by an in-depth commentary and numerous examples for easy understanding.The Kathopanishad is considered as a major Upanishad (out of a total of 108), and its importance can be gauged by the fact that many of its verses are found in the Bhagavad Gita, which was composed later, around 1500 BC. The Kathopanishad is a profound book, whose message can only best be absorbed with many readings. Each sentence will make you think!If you are totally new to the spiritual philosophies of the Upanishads, I would suggest first reading Eknath Easwaran's wonderful book:  The Upanishads  which explains their powerful ideas in a concise and easy to understand manner.Brief Background of the Upanishads:There are in total a 108 know Upanishads (many more have been lost in time), that were composed during a period ranging between 2500 BC and 800 BC.The spiritual wisdom contained in the Upanishads is not one that has been arrived at through philosophical arguments, debates or theories; rather it has been realized i.e. seen and witnessed by the sages in the highest states of meditation. All Upanishads are composed in terse Sanskrit verses (similar to a mathematical equation) and therefore a literal translation fails to bring out the immense knowledge hidden behind the concise words. It is as if Einstein's equation E=mc2 is before you, without any explanation of what E or M or C stands for.It is only when another realized teacher comes along, who can explain the verses (i.e. the equations) because he too has witnessed the same reality as these sages, that we are able to get a true picture of the spiritual wisdom that is outlined in the Upanishads. Out of a total of 108, there are 11 Upanishads that have been thus commented upon, by the illumined teachers of the past such as Adi Shankaracharya (9th century AD), Ramanuja and several others. These Upanishads are referred to as the "Principal Upanishads" because of the numerous commentaries that exist for their verses.(Please also note that the Sanskrit word "Upanishad" is also spelled as "Upanisad" in English.)

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!

Iam enlightend by this amazing book , thanks UPSC for asking a question about kathopnishad and I ended reading the whole book

The Upanishads that through light on the reality of Death and how to overcome the cycle of Birth and Death. Excellent Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda.

It is very good, but I found Swami Chinmayananda's original work edited for which Swami's flowery language is somewhat missing!I request the publisher not to edit Swami Chinmayananda's original work!

The explanation is good but more examples are needed, considering the abstract nature of the subject and the depth of thought of the great sages