The Vedas and Upanishads for Children

Great introduction for kids and for young readersAuthors writing style is excellent

Book title : The Vedas and Upanishads for childrenAuthor : Roopa PaiPublisher: Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd.No. of pages: 410Let 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 Want to return 1 as I ordered 2 by mistake

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.

It comes as a novel. Considering that the book is for children starting age 7, as it says, I was expecting some interesting layout to attract kids attention. The font and print is very average and is defo not for a kid to read. May be I need to read it as bed time book to my son. I think there is lot in the Vedas and Upanishads and it all cant be covered in one book for kids. I was expecting a short story telling with some pictures to make more sense. The chapters have just too much info for a kid to be able to digest.