General Books

Remember, Be Here Now

Ram Dass

Amazon Price: $10.30 List Price: $15.15 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hanuman Foundation Amazon Marketplace: 67 new & used starting at $8.92

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Yoga
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Authors, A-Z -> ( D ) -> Dass, Ram
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Hinduism -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 102 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It's easy to dismiss Be Here Now as the relic of a whacked-out '60s acid tripper. Paging through the center section of the book, with its inch-high print and psychedelic drawings, you come across lines like:

Magic Theatre
For madmen only
price of admission
your
mind

Then you turn to the first page of the book, and you are suddenly sucked into the story of a Harvard psychiatrist who has reached the pinnacle of success, discovers the mind-expanding powers of acid, and ends up trooping through India with a 23-year-old holy man from Laguna Beach, California. In the story, you see all the trappings of your own life and begin to wonder if India might hold the answers after all. Before booking your ticket, turn to the last section of the Be Here Now, "Cookbook for a Sacred Life." Ram Dass saves you the trouble by proffering a sober introduction to the basics of Hindu religion. Although he still can't resist CAPITAL LETTERS, he has done his homework, presenting a whole range of concepts and practices having to do with yoga postures, meditation, renunciation, dying, and sexual energy. So, for the most part, Be Here Now stands the test of time, and if you can entertain the center section in a retro kind of a spirit, it might be just what you're looking for: "The opposite of craving is saying, baby, this is the way it is, yeah, OK, here and now, this is it. I ACCEPT THE HERE & NOW FULLY." --Brian Bruya

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda

Sri S. Satchidananda

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Integral Yoga Publications Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $10.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Yoga
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Outstanding Translation and Commentary 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am a Sanskritist and Vedic scholar. I have seen a number of translations of this classic but this is BY FAR my favorite. This book serves as a stand-alone guide for meditation and yoga.

Lots of Info but Friendly and Accessible 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am not a Sanskrit scholar and I don't read Sanskrit but was interested in learning about the philosophy behind yoga. I got this book and have been happy with it.

Each sutra (aphorism) is written in Sanskrit. Then it is transliterated (phonetically spelled out) into an English so one can get an idea of how it sounds. Next individual words are translated. Then the whole phrase is translated into English so one can know what it means. Below that are a few paragraphs explaining the sutra or giving additional thoughts and insights.

I found this useful for many reasons:

I think the Sanskrit writing is beautiful, so I like seeing it.
The phonetics help me know how to pronounce and follow along when more learned people are chanting or talking about the sutra using the Sanskrit words (as my yoga teacher often does).
The individual word translations give me an idea of what Patanjali had in mind, and the full English gives me an idea of how we might think of it today. (If you speak more than one language you know how things don't always translate directly word for word).

I found the commentaries very insightful and thought provoking.

This book is a great starting point in getting to know the yoga sutras, but also has a lot of substance for those already familiar with them. Even if you never read Sanskrit, with this book you can get an idea of what the sutras are saying and learn the lessons they are trying to teach. the commentaries are insightful and interesting. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

This valuable book provides a complete manual for the study and practice of Raja Yoga, the path of concentration and meditation. This new deluxe printing of these timeless teachings is a treasure to be read and referred to again and again by seekers treading the spiritual path. The classic Sutras (thought-threads), at least 4,000 years old, cover the yogic teachings on ethics, meditation, and physical postures, and provide directions for dealing with situations in daily life.

Autobiography of a Yogi: with bonus CD

Paramahansa Yogananda

Amazon Price: $10.00 List Price: $12.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Self-Realization Fellowship Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $6.26

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Religious
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 218 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Autobiography of a Yogi is at once a beautifully written account of an exceptional life and a profound introduction to the ancient science of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. This acclaimed autobiography presents a fascinating portrait of one of the great spiritual figures of our time. With engaging candor, eloquence, and wit, Paramahansa Yogananda tells the inspiring chronicle of his life: the experiences of his remarkable childhood, encounter with many saints and sages during his youthful search throughout India for an illumined teacher, ten years of training in the hermitage of a revered yoga master, and the thirty years that he lived and taught in America. Also recorded here are his meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Luther Burbank, the Catholic stigmatist Therese Neumann, and other celebrated spiritual personalities of East and West. The author clearly explains the subtle but definite laws behind both the ordinary events of everyday life and the extraordinary events commonly termed miracles. His absorbing life story becomes the background for a penetrating and unforgettable look at the ultimate mysteries of human existence. Selected as "One of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century," Autobiography of a Yogi has been translated into 20 languages, and is regarded worldwide as a classic of religious literature. Several million copies have been sold, and it continues to appear on best-seller lists after more than sixty consecutive years in print. Profoundly inspiring, it is at the same time vastly entertaining, warmly humorous and filled with extraordinary personages. Self-Realization Fellowship's editions, and none others, include extensive material added by the author after the first edition was published, including a final chapter on the closing years of his life.

A bonus audio CD is included, featuring the first four chapters of the full audio-book (also available from Self-Realization Fellowship), as narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley.

Wheels of Life: A User's Guide to the Chakra System (Llewellyn's New Age Series)

Judith Anodea

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Llewellyn Publications Amazon Marketplace: 92 new & used starting at $5.18

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Alternative Medicine -> Energy Healing
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Alternative Medicine -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Alternative Medicine -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CHAKRA SYSTEM?

Many people focus on a single chakra - like the Crown Chakra for Spirituality, the Brow Chakra for Psychic Powers, the Heart Chakra for Universal Love, the Solar Plexus for Power (especially for those into the martial arts) and so on - each chakra's special attribute. And some people try to repress the 'lower' chakras as morally bad. BUT the real importance is to understand the chakras as The Energy System of the entire Mind/Body/Spirit Complex.

WHEELS OF LIFE presents the Chakra System as a “Formula for Wholeness and a Template for Transformation” - actually a “Map for the Journey through Life”

“At the inner core of each one of us spin seven wheel-like energy centers called chakras. Swirling intersections of vital life forces, each chakra reflects an aspect of consciousness essential to our lives. Together the seven chakras form a system of modeling that consciousness that enables us to better see ourselves - in mind, body, behavior and culture. This system is a valuable tool for personal and planetary growth.

“Chakras are centers of activity for the reception, assimilation and transmission of life energies. As all our action and understanding arise from and return to points within ourselves, our chakras, as core centers form the coordinating network of our complicated mind/body system. . . . The chakras are the master programs that govern our life, loves, learning and illumination. Like a rainbow bridge, they form the connecting channel between mind and body, spirit and matter, past and future, Heaven and Earth. As we spin through the tumultuous times of our present era, the chakras are the gears that turn the spiral of evolution, drawing our attention toward the still untapped frontiers of consciousness and its infinite potential.” (from Chapter One)

Wheels of Life is a system about a system - journeying the reader through the seven major chakras with theory, example, practical application and experiential exercises to accomplish the great work of personal transformation. Each consciousness is a unit in the evolutionary process moving us from what we are to what we can become, and through that process we realize ourselves as magicians, healers and visionaries.

Wheels of Life takes us through each chakra to fulfill its potentials and then transforms and makes us whole.

The journey is taken step-by-step, with each step bringing practical advantages in the development of inherent skills and abilities to meet the increasingly critical challenges of life in our times. Your life is filled with meaning and purpose. Its destiny is Enlightenment. Now, you must take the first step.

The Bhagavad Gita (Classics of Indian Spirituality)

Amazon Price: $8.76 List Price: $10.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Nilgiri Press Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $6.28

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Eastern -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Eastern -> General AAS
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Authors, A-Z -> ( E ) -> Easwaran, Eknath

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Prince Arjuna faced a dilemma that many face sooner or later--whether to take action that is necessary yet morally ambiguous. The difference is that Arjuna's action was to wage war against his own family. With the armies arrayed, Arjuna loses his nerve. Krishna, his charioteer and incarnation of divine consciousness, begins to teach him the nature of God and of himself, that Arjuna can attain liberation through union with God, and that there are several available paths. And so the most famous and revered of all Hindu Scriptures goes on to teach the paths of knowledge, devotion, action, and meditation, becoming the seed for all the Hindu systems of philosophy and religion that followed. For all of its profundity, Eknath Easwaran manages to translate the Gita in easy prose that neither panders nor obscures. Coupled with his thorough introduction, Easwaran's version comes off on all the levels it should: as a guide to action, devotional Scripture, a philosophical text, and inspirational reading. So what does Arjuna finally do? He follows his dharma, of course, as we all must. --Brian Bruya

The Book of Secrets: Keys to Love and Meditation

Osho

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Griffin Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $18.40

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Consciousness & Thought

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Osho is Master of Masters 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Any book by Osho is a precious jewel. A Master like Osho never existed before and will never come again. He was complete in every way. A true Master and Master of Masters.

Buy this book, listen to His lectures and "stay aware" until you reach Home.

how to live in the now , thus in the eternity 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

the perfect book for you who want to calm your mind and your soul. i would recommend it to just about anyone in the world.

Editorial Review:

In this comprehensive and practical guide, the secrets of the ancient science of Tantra become available to a contemporary audience for the first time. Confined to small, hidden mystery schools for centuries, and often misunderstood and misinterpreted today. Tantra is not just a collection of techniques to enhance sexual experience. As Osho shows in these pages, it is a complete science of self-realizatoin, based on the cumulative wisdom of centuries of exploration into the meaning of life and consciousness. Tantra-the very word means "technique"-is a set of powerful, transformative tools that can be used to bring new meaning andjoy to every aspect of our daily lives.

The Yoga of Jesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels

Paramahansa Yogananda

Amazon Price: $11.20 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Self Realization Fellowship Pub Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $8.30

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Self-Help -> Spiritual
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Eastern -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Eastern -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Lotus Guide Magazine Review 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

As an avid reader of Gnostic teachings, I found The Yoga of Jesus to be a breath of fresh air in understanding some of the deeper meanings found in the gospels that have been all but forgotten in modern interpretations. This is book is for all those looking for information to take them beyond believing to knowing, which is the literal meaning of the word "gnosis."

Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide magazine (lotusguide.com)

Editorial Review:

In this remarkable book, Paramahansa Yogananda reveals the hidden yoga of the Gospels and confirms that Jesus, like the ancient sages and masters of the East, not only knew yoga but taught this universal science of God-realization to his closest disciples. Compiled from the author's highly praised two-volume work, The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You, this insightful and compact book transcends the centuries of dogma and misunderstanding that have obscured the original teachings of Jesus, showing that he taught a unifying path by which seekers of all faiths can enter the kingdom of God. Topics include:
•The lost years of Jesus in India
•The ancient science of meditation: how to become a Christ
•The true meaning of baptism.

The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow (Little Book)

Sanjay Patel

Amazon Price: $11.20 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Plume Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $7.89

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Themes
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A lovely supplement to a guide to India 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

A friend gave us a copy of this book as a going away present for our trip to Northwest India. It made a great supplement to the earlier edition of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur (Eyewitness Travel Guide). The charming drawings complement the text in the same way Eyewitness's guides do so well.

Sanjay Patel has recently released Gods Stationery Set; the description of the product contains a link to the author's website.

Patel recently called his book "dorky" on BoingBoing. It is a little dorky, of course, but we found it delightful and educational as well.


Robert C. Ross 2008

Editorial Review:

In The Little Book of Hindu Deities, Pixar animator Sanjay Patel brings to life Hinduism’s most important gods and goddesses in fun, full-color illustrations, each accompanied by a short, lively profile. The stories of Hindu mythology cover everything from love and jealousy to petty grievances and epic battles, with characters ranging from monsters and demons to noble warriors and divine divas. Find out why Ganesha has an elephant’s head (his father cut it off!) and why Kali, the Goddess of Time, is known as “The Black One” (she’s a bit goth).

Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation

Stephen Mitchell

Amazon Price: $11.16 List Price: $13.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Three Rivers Press Amazon Marketplace: 72 new & used starting at $7.24

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Authors, A-Z -> ( M ) -> Mitchell, Stephen
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Hinduism -> Bhagavad Gita
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Hinduism -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

On the list of the greatest spiritual books of all time, the Bhagavad Gita resides permanently in the top echelon. This poem of patently Indian genius sprouted an immense tree of devotional, artistic, and philosophical elaboration in the subcontinent. The scene is a battlefield with the prince Arjuna pitted against his own family, but no sooner does the poem begin than the action reverts inward. Krishna, Arjuna's avatar and spiritual guide, points the way to the supreme wisdom and perfect freedom that lie within everyone's reach. Worship and be faithful, meditate and know reality--these make up the secret of life and lead eventually to the realization that the self is the root of the world. In this titular translation, Stephen Mitchell's rhythms are faultless, making music of this ancient "Song of the Blessed One." Savor his rendition, but nibble around the edges of his introduction. In a bizarre mixture of praise and condescension, Mitchell disregards two millennia of Indian commentary, seeking illumination on the text from Daoism and Zen, with the Gita coming up just shy of full spiritual merit. Perhaps we should take it from Gandhi, who used the Gita as a handbook for life, that it nourishes on many levels. --Brian Bruya

The Upanishads (Classic of Indian Spirituality)

Amazon Price: $9.56 List Price: $11.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Nilgiri Press Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $6.82

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Authors, A-Z -> ( E ) -> Easwaran, Eknath
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Hinduism -> Sanskrit
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Hinduism -> Upanishads

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Formerly a professor of Victorian literature, Eknath Easwaran discovered the treasures of wisdom in his own native India and began to pursue them with a passion. He has since studied them, practiced them, and moved to America to share them with the Western world. In his translation of The Upanishads, the font of Indian spirituality, Easwaran delights us with a readable rendition of one of the most difficult texts of all religious traditions. Each Upanishad is a lyrical statement about the deeper truths of mysticism, from the different levels of awareness to cultivations of love for God. There's one twist, though, for ultimately a devoted meditator realizes that God and the world are not separate from oneself. Then the ultimate goal becomes to reunite with the universal Self, achieving the infinite joy that accompanies such union. Easwaran recruited Michael Nagler to contribute notes to the translation and a lengthy afterword, which together with introductions to each Upanishad, guide us expertly through this strange and fruitful landscape. --Brian Bruya