THE VEDAS AND UPANISHADS FOR CHILDREN

For the first time curious reader of the Vedas and Upanishads, young or old, this book is a must read! Rupa has a deep grasp of the Vedanta and has simplified it to awaken your interest and success deeper into this incredibly powerful philosophy / way of life!

The author has put in good effort to put the basics together...thanks

Though title says its for children, I am 40, and found it very refreshing. Brilliant author, simple style, this gave me a very good introduction to our ancient wisdom packed in the great scriptures. that said, the only thing I didn't like is the Aryan theory, the author strives her best in explaining different theories. one being, Chariot driving, horse riding, dog loving, weapon wielding Aryan's came to the land that's called India, somewhere around 3500 BC, they called themselves Aryans - noble ones, their language Samskuruta - perfectly formed language, and they called their new land Aryavarta - Abode of noble ones. They brought all these scriptures that we call Vedas and Upanishads and great Itihasas. However, the author also says, before 1500 years before Arya's came, we had Harappan Civilization, they were great planners, and not aggressive conquerors led by kings but peaceful agricultural society rules by priests. Reason the author states is no weapons or royal regalia found at Harappan sites..also had scripts but we were not able to decipher it yet, may be if we had we would have had the opportunity to read their collective wisdom as well. my question are, Are Aryans invaders? what happened to people who were present in the land we call India before their arrival? who were their gods? what were their religions?. because here the author says, they mysteriously disappeared. rather than debating over this Aryan theory I feel we need to celebrate this wisdom in these scriptures and follow it... because I feel when someone calls themselves noble, they make others feel low, may be that's the root of all problems.... I wish the author attempt Harappan civilization for kids as her next project... I wish her all the very best of luck.. I will definitely recommend this books for all adults who want to have a basic intro on this subjects.. dont get misled by title, its well written. I bought this for my 10 year old, but feel the subject is bit heavy, but there are lots of stories to enjoy for kids.. hence I read it fully now... I wish we will be have a better world if only everyone followed at least 1% of what is written in these scripts. they are absolutely brilliant and very much make sense in modern world.

Really like this book

Book title : The Vedas and Upanishads for children Author : Roopa Pai Publisher: Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd. No. of pages: 410 Let there be no doubt about it, The Vedas and Upanishads are no simple subjects that anyone and everyone can attempt writing about them. First of all, they are so ancient; second, they are originally written in the ancient language of the Indian subcontinent, Sanskrit. This language has very few current aficionados. Third, there are quite a few translations available, from the 19th century to quite recent, where, not everyone has managed to capture the true gist of those great works. However the author, Roopa Pai has studied the best among them like the works of Bibek and Dipavali Debroy, Swami Vivekananda, S. Radhakrishnan, Sri M and many others. Please refer to the select bibliography at the end of the book. Studying is only half the battle won. Interpreting it for the target audience, who are the teenagers, and keeping it interesting enough throughout the entire length of the book is a stupendous achievement. And mind you, this book is not only for teenagers, though written in a language they understand. Those who have only a cursory knowledge of the Vedas and Upanishads, like yours truly, will find it equally interesting and wonderous. I mean, those ancient rishis and sages really developed some profound thoughts which acted as guiding principles to innumerable generations. Like the author says, there might be parts of the Vedas and Upanishads that you will love and others which you don't feel comfortable with. Just take from them the useful and illuminating lessons and set the rest aside. Even those ancient sages are not asking you to believe everything they have said but exhorting you to think for yourself. Speaking for myself, I felt those sages certainly had a scientific bent of mind, the way they thought and tried to unravel answers to some very fundamental questions. They sought to inspire people to seek the truth for themselves. Of course, the science of those times may not have been so advanced (though many would disagree) that few of those ideas would be relevant in today's age too, but you can't deny that the methodology they employed is still applicable. You might think I have said something preposterous, but read this book and then form your own opinion. Hats off to Roopa Pai for attempting to communicate in simple language, the very difficult and sometimes confusing world of the Vedas and Upanishads. She says that the old, old answers of the Upanishads are among the most convincing, for a significant number of people still swear by them. So grab this book to find out more! Totally recommended. Yatindra Tawde

I had never thought that book titles could be misleading in such a delightful way. Roopa Pai’s ‘The Vedas and Upanishads for Children’, which is a worthy successor to her bestselling “The Gita for Children”, is a wonderful and enriching read not just for children (as the title suggests), but for adults too! Here Pai undertakes the onerous task of decoding for young readers some of the oldest, and most significant, of Hindu scriptures: the Vedas - and the Upanishads, which are embedded in the Vedas. This is a significant challenge, considering that these scriptures contain complex philosophical themes and concepts. Pai takes on the challenge in splendid fashion, masterfully combining scholarly research with deep experience of writing for young people. The result is a book that not only provides a high level understanding of these scriptures, but also introduces the reader to many of the key tenets of Vedanta philosophy. Pai’’s writing style is easy and conversational, and her language, contemporary. Consequently, the book never feels dull or heavy and will likely strike an instant chord with readers of all ages. Further, Pai weaves in many interesting stories, facts and pop-culture references which make the text fun. This is a wonderful introduction to the Vedas and Upanishads for young readers and their parents. It is easily one of the most accessible books on this somewhat esoteric subject. One of the “must read” books of 2019!

Educative and spiritual

Book Review I picked up this book to get a simplified understanding of the Vedas and the Upanishads of which I knew next to nothing. Trust Roopa Pai to appeal to the social media devoted teen kids of today to make it interesting with modern real life examples and explain many esoteric concepts like Brahman and Atman, True Knowledge, Immortality, Prana the lifebreath, Self realization and Who Am I really? The first section.of the book gives an introduction to Vedas, their origin, who wrote them, what they are concerned with and so on The second section of the book deals with the Upanishads and focuses on the top 10 Principal Upanishads of the 200 there are. There are many interesting insights on both these ancient sanskrit literatures which have become really the basis of not just Hinduism but also impacted central ideas of other religions like Jainism Buddhism and Sikhism. The most interesting part I found out about the Vedas was how to ensure the oral transmission to students was perfect. It involved not just memorization but also different styles of chanting in an isolated environment of a Vedic Gurukul. The Upanishads is a part of the Vedas containing conversations between a teacher and a student in complex questions like 'What is death really" 'Who am I really'or even 'What is reality' and it inspired the Bhagavad Gita too. In time they became popular in the West inspiring authors such as TS Eliot and even movies like the Matrix. Pai explains these passages and the stories within them too in a playful interesting manner A good book for an all rounded introduction to the Vedas and Upanishads although it will still be heavy to concentrate on.

If you feel like a child not knowing what Vedas & Upanishad are even if your are an adult, this book is for you as a primer. It was for me.

Loving this. I’m a Religious Studies teacher and this book is giving me so many ideas of how to make the scriptures accessible for young people. Definitely suitable for adults as well as older children.

This turned out to be a wonderful book. Great for deeper insight into the vedas, upanishads, hinduism and a little bit of Indian culture.

Excellent write up to explain the new gen kids who seems to be going away from heritage ! These kinds of books will really help win back kids and preserve culture !

All the wisdom of the ancient sages condensed in a beautifully written book. I strongly recommend for children and adults alike.