VEDANTA FOR MODERN MAN

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Good. Signed by Christopher Isherwood and contributors Swami Prabhavananda, Gerald Heald, Aldous Huxley, and John van Druten on the front flyleaf. While living in Hollywood, Isherwood (1904-86) was introduced to Vedanta (Upanishad-centered philosophy) and the circle of Hindu Swami Prabhavananda by his friend Aldous Huxley. Adopting Prabhavananda as his own guru, Isherwood visited the Swami every Wednesday for the next 35 years and collaborated with him on a translation of the Bhagavad Gita. He also took over editorship of Vedanta and the West, a bimonthly journal concerned with the theory and practice of Vedanta teachings and their relevance to Western intellectual life. This is the second collection of articles from the journal, including contributions by Isherwood, Huxley, Prabhavananda, Gerald Heard, Alan W. Watts, and many others. Octavo: xiv, 410 p. Original gray cloth-covered boards over a blue cloth spine with gilt titles. Offsetting to p.284-5 from an old Pickwick Book Shop (Hollywood, California) bookmark (still present). Minor rubbing to the corners and tips. Typical toning to the dust jacket, more so along the spine, with a bit of light staining to the front flap and some general edgewear; otherwise very good.