The Katha Upanishad embraces the key ideas of Indian mysticism in a mythic story we can all relate to - the quest of a young hero, Nachiketa, who ventures into the land of death in search of immortality.

But the insights of the Katha are scattered, hard to understand. Easwaran presents them systematically, and practically, as a way to explore deeper and deeper levels of personality, and to answer the age-old question, "Who am I?"

Easwaran grew up in India, learned Sanskrit from a young age, and became a professor of English literature before coming to the West. His translation of...

The Bhagavad Gita opens with a crisis -- Prince Arjuna despairs on the battlefield, unsure if he should fight his kinsmen in a dreadful war. For Easwaran, the Gita's epic battle represents the war in our own hearts and Arjuna's anguish reflects the human condition: torn between opposing forces, confused about how to live. Sri Krishna's timeless guidance, Easwaran argues, can shed light on our dilemmas today.

Placing the Gita's teachings in a modern context, Easwaran explores the nature of reality, the illusion of separateness, the search for identity, the meaning of yoga, and how to heal...