Isha Upanishad

          Guillemot Press, October 2019:   £6   [no ISBN]

A stunning new English translation of the revered ISHA UPANISHAD was launched by Guillemot Press in 2019. To order, contact Guillemot Press by clicking here: or contact Mario at mmpetrucci@hotmail.com

Invocation... That is stillness – This is stillness. From This stillness, That stillness comes. Take stillness from stillness: Stillness still remains.                 (c) Mario Petrucci 2019   “… if all the Upanishads and all the other scriptures happened all of a sudden to be reduced to ashes and if only the first verse in the Ishopanishad were left intact in the memory of Hindus, Hinduism would live for ever.”   Mahatma Gandhi   The Isha Upanishad (or Sri Isopanisad, or Ishopanishad) is among the shortest yet most valued of the Upanishads. A complete metaphysical treatise in miniature, it delivers a profound meditation on the essential nature of Soul and Self. This key ancient text has inspired and guided untold generations of seekers towards spiritual clarity and depth. Mario Petrucci is a poet and translator of international renown. He creates, here, a modern English version which gathers the original’s terminology and many nuances into the verses themselves, thereby allowing the text to stand cleanly, as it is, without footnote or commentary. Petrucci brings, too, a poet’s sensibility to the task. Not only is he keenly alert to the need for a respectful yet utterly contemporary translation, he is also committed to creating a text whose sound and imagery are sufficiently elevated to reflect the Isha Upanishad's full stature as revered scripture. Expertly rendered as radiant vers libre, the refreshing colour and striking texture of this offering will appeal to devotee and uninitiated reader alike.   A full recording of Isha Upanishad (below) presented as a meditation. Get comfortable in a quiet space & breathe this extraordinary sacred text.   (not for redistribution)   Reviews of Isha Upanishad   "... this translation will have wide appeal, not least for the shimmering simplicity of Petrucci's language, but also because the poetry here can offer some much-needed stillness and spiritual refreshment... I have kept the Isha Upanishad with me for weeks – its size makes it perfect to stow in a pocket or bag for a snatched few minutes when out or commuting. I recommend you do the same." Sarah Law STRIDE [stridemagazine.blogspot.com] 2020   "These metaphysical riddles attract through their mystery and — combined with the beautiful production values of the publication (printed on Mohawk Superfine with debossed yantra cover detail) — have undoubted meditative value..." Mat Riches SPHINX [sphinxreview.co.uk]   "Mario Petrucci’s rendition, recently published by Guillemot Press and contained in a near-square, thick-papered book the height of a child’s hand, neither allows you to breeze past the fact of its age and sanctity, nor lets you worry about it too much. Whenever I read it, it’s like looking at a stone I know is old and savouring the opportunity to hold it in my hand, to choose how tightly I hold on. It shines with the grease we put on it by asking it back into our palms via translation and reading. The persistence of its stillness, its parallel timespan, carves its way into us. Just what we want. A stone carried out of a river, cool with current, balancing quaintness with a sense of refresh." "... the greatest strengths of Petrucci’s translation lie in aspects in which he has the most poetic license – punctuation, line breaks, stanza division. You can tell he is free. You can tell he is purposeful. There are fantastic clusters of dashes and colons, and full stops that you would just like to thread between your toes to look down on as you walk... What makes this Isha such a nourishing reread – I’m really not sure how many times I flicked through, tasting the same lines over and over without the slightest loss of pleasure – is its staccato. Sentences never stumble, yet they are persistently gritty in the way they call out, firm while exhibiting an awareness of the inherent issues with conveying truths in words." Nasim Luczaj SPAM [spamzine.co.uk]

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