Let the lion of Vedanta roar, and the foxes (of fear and hatred) will fly to their holes, said Swami Vivekananda. It is that lion-roar which we get in the Upanishads. A lion's roar, yet the Upanishads whisper great truths in our ears, like Tat tvam asi (That thou art), so that the whole of life becomes a gradual unfoldment of the infinite possibilities hidden in everyone of us.

Given as a special lecture in 1966 by Swami Ranganathananda, The Charm and Power of the Upanisads, has been incorporated into the swami's book, The Message of the Upanisads as its introduction. And a marvelous and complete introduction it is. Swami Ranganathananda not only delves into the history, the mental climate, the culture and the meaning of the Upanisads, but he also speaks of the Upanisads in relation to Western Culture, Christianity and Islam. The book is a fine way to begin one s study of these ancient Indian Scriptures.

Swami Ranganathananda was Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.