Upanishads and Life

Even the slightest study of Indian philosophy reveals the central place which the Upanishads hold both in the thought of former days and at the present time. This book endevours to examine and appreciate, in the easiest language possible, the leading conceptions of the Upanishads. The main purpose has been the more practical one of attempting to establish a relation between these conceptions and the life of the people.

The ideas of the Upanishads are brought to the test of application to present-day religious, ethical and social problems. Amongst a people with whom the intellectual tradition is so strong as in India, every great movement must have a thought-basis, and the task has been to discover whether the Upanishads can supply an adequate basis of this nature. The conclusion reached after an honest attempt to carry a sympathetic and unprejudiced spirit into the investigation are indeed a reconfirmation of the central place the Upanishads hold in the life of the people.