Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived at the White House in Washington DC on Wednesday evening as part of his first state visit to the United States, was received by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. At the private dinner hosted by the Bidens, PM Modi presented Joe Biden with the first edition of the book The Ten Principal Upanishads from 1937, among other valuables. "A copy of the first edition print of this book, The Ten Principal Upanishads published by M/s Faber and Faber Ltd of London and printed at the University Press Glasgow has been gifted to President Biden," officials told PTI. The gift, according to the outlet, is a tribute to the US president's admiration for Irish poet William Butler Yeats. Biden has often quoted poetry from Yeats and made references to his writings and poetry in his public speeches, officials said, adding that Yeats had a deep admiration for India and was greatly influenced by Indian spirituality. This book is an English translation of the Indian Upanishads, co-authored with Shri Purohit Swami, and published by Yeats in 1937. The translation and collaboration between the two authors occurred throughout the 1930s and it was one of the final works of Yeats. The Upanishads are the most sacred late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts which are considered to contain the ultimate truth and the knowledge that leads to spiritual emancipation. In the Upanishads, we find the finest flowering of the Indian metaphysical and speculative thought. They are utterances of seers who spoke out of the fullness of their illumined experience. Upanishad is derived from upa (near), ni (down) and sad (to sit). Hence, the term implies the pupils, intent on learning, sitting near the teacher to acquire knowledge and truth. While there are over 200 Upanishads, the traditional number is 108. Of these, only 10 are the principal Upanishads: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashan, Mundaka, Mandukya, Tattiriya, Aitareya, Chhandogya and Brihadaranyaka. As such, the book The Ten Principal Upanishads intends to introduce these primary Upanishads to the unversed. Purohit, who was fluent in both Sanskrit and English, translated selected passages from the 10 principal Upanishads from Sanskrit. He was instrumental in popularising the wisdom of Indian spirituality and philosophy through his translations of ancient Indian texts. His other books include The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna, An Indian Monk, The Song of Silence, In Quest of Myself, Harbinger of Love, Honeycomb, and Gunjarao. The book also carries an introduction by Yeats, who communicated with Swami via letters between the years 1931–1938 concerning their translation of the Upanishads. 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don't miss out on the latest updates!
