Spiritual Masters

The Only Dance There Is

by Ram Dass

Average Rating:

"I hesitated to accept this book from a friend since I thought it would be too way out, but once I started reading it, I relished the insightful observations and openness of Dass. He is a genius and obviously very in touch with himself. The day I started reading this, I was in a terrible mood, but afterwards I was unbelievably optimistic. I went out immediately and bought it for my brother and have been recommending it to all of my friends. Everyone should have a copy!! I've been looking all over Berkeley for another copy for myself to no avail since my friend wanted hers back. Now, thanks to Amazon, I can get my own. Seriously, though, this book emphasizes the importance of living in the moment, taking risks in life, the value of altered states of consciousness, and accepting and embracing your innate humanity. Dass engrosses the reader with amazing stories and relates abstract religious concepts well to real life."

Publisher: Anchor | More reviews: amazon.com

The Living Gita: The Complete Bgabavad Gita-ACommentary for Modern Readers

by Sri Swami Satchidananda

Average Rating:

"I have explored several versions of the Bhagavad Gita with commentaries, among them, that by William Q. Judge and the one provided by Paramahansa Yogananda. Previous to reading The Living Gita, I have been confused and haven't understood the ideas expressed. Sri Swami Satchidananda presents the text in easy-to-understand English, and offers concrete examples drawn from our everyday life to support his version and the commentaries he makes. The superficial story is of opposing armies on the battlefield, but the underlying meaning relates more to our everyday fight with our more selfish instincts, and how we can rise above our natural self-centered inclinations. I appreciate the insights that Swami Satchidananda gives us in our daily struggle to be better human beings."

Publisher: Integral Yoga Publications | More reviews: amazon.com

First and Last Freedom, The

by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Average Rating:

"What I am going to write about "The First And Last Freedom" (TFaLF) applies to almost every book Krishnamurti (K) wrote. This was K's first book (1954), and might be his best. It always amazed me that K could say basically the same thing over and over in answer to so many philophical and spiritual questions, and yet it almost always seemed fresh, just as re-reading this first book of his seemed to me this time around. In philosophical terms I think that it's important to say that what K taught falls into what is termed the "via negativa," which are paths like Zen that promulgate "the way that is no way," the system that is no system, that the only way to realize the eternal is to simply *be,* be aware, at every moment, to face life and who one is with absolute honesty, directness, and clarity. Let me also say as caveats that you do not need to want to realize the eternal to study K, and that realizing the "ineffable" is surely a path that many people could care less about! To each his own, for sure. K is not going to be popular to self-absorbed New Age types who are at times superficially talking about "enlightenment" and "love," while other times taking their spiritual temperatures to see if they are aware of themselves enough. On the contrary he often referred to our petty concerns as silly and stupid, not to insult us, but rather to try to effect a kind of catharsis where we simply see ourselves exactly as we are, w/o pretense, w/o belief systems, w/o indentifying with the sundry crutches that many of us surround ourselves with, precisely to avoid just seeing exactly who we are. The term K coined for this constant self awareness was "choiceless awareness." To my mind choiceless awareness is like the occham's razor of spiritualilty - the clearest, most direct way to realize the eternal is simply to know who you are, at each moment, to face yourself absolutely squarely, w/o judgement,choicelessly, w/o beliefs, w/o any systems of thought or philosophies. I have always seen the truth of his simple saying, "beliefs separate." Think of how many wars and conflicts there have been because people confuse the symbols that lead to "truth" with the actuality of just seeing what is from moment to moment. Some of the spiritual teachers these days seem to be saying that the the spiritual path is an easy one, that if we see ourselves as spiritual that is enough, something I call spirituality by proclamation. K himself realized that choiceless awareness can be a very arduous path. While K's choiceless awareness certainly leads to a life of contemplation, he never advocated withdrawing from society as many such paths of "renunciation" suggest. In fact he said many times, in this book and almost all others, "life is relationship." Part of the process of knowing oneself is in relationship to other people, individually and collectively. As we observe ourselves choicelessly we must also learn to relate to others in the same way, especially w/o the psychological memory that taints many moments when we are present with another but crowwded with memories of past hurts and desires. I often like to think that all of us simply bounce off or resonate with one another; no one has the absolute truth, and each of us can learn from others in relationship, if we can simply just *be* present. There has, I guess since the time of the Greeks, been a philosophical conflict between being and becoming. K's teaching emphasizes the former, unequivocably. Whether or not you agree with K, I do feel it is very instructive to see the conflicts and tensions that are created by those who are obsessed with ceaseless doing in order to become, who have to identify with some tribe, nationality, or belief system, who cannot seem to just be who they are w/o such crutches. On a personal note, I believe (!) that I have evolved more from K's simple path of choiceless awareness than from any other teaching I've studied because I feel that it is the most direct way to whatever truth is possible to realize. Unfortunately I do find it painful to see my own faults and desires so clearly! I am not certain that an adult who comes to K's work can rid themselves of all the psychological garbage so deeply conditioned from the past, to heal oneself completely and in so doing go beyond the ego. I actually prefer Jung's individuation to egolessness. Of course this one review is not doing justice to K's teaching. Fortunately he wrote more than 30 books, many of which were collections from talks and discussions he had, with many "gurus" and the very important physicist David Bohm. There are also many videos and tapes of fascinating dialogues available from the Krishnamurti Foundation in Ojai, CA. The introduction to TFaLF was written by Alduous Huxley, who therein defined the spiritual crises that K's teaching addressed and outlined K's direct approach to the "truth" as well as anyone who wrote about K."

Publisher: HarperOne | More reviews: amazon.com

Creativity: Unleashing the Forces Within (Osho, Insights for a New Way of Living.)

by Osho

Average Rating:

"Osho turns his wisdom to the art of being Creative. In exquisite and precise language, he explains how we often are our own greatest hindrance. It is as if he is there inside your mind banging away with his Zen stick. Such insight! You find yourself wanting to immediately start expressing and in a new way - YOUR WAY!"

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin | More reviews: amazon.com

Education and the Significance of Life

by Krishnamurti

Average Rating:

"Krishnamurti is regarded by many as one of the great sages of the 20th century, and "Education and the Significance of Life" is an outstanding example of his thinking. Krishnamurti reflects that goal of education should be to help students develop into truly "integrated" human beings, and not merely to turn them into well-trained automatons.Along the way, Krishnamurti offers pointed and thought-provoking critiques of such institutions as organized religion, national identity, and the family. And throughout the book he stresses one of his core themes: a resistance to conformity and mindless obedience.Krishnamurti has been called a modern-day Buddha, and this book is a rich source of aphoristic statements that radiate with insight. On religion: "Organized religion is the frozen thought of man...." On national identity: "Nationalism is a disease, and it can never bring about world unity." On morality: "Organized religions are much concerned about our sexual morality; but they allow us to perpetuate violence and murder in the name of patriotism, to indulge in envy and crafty ruthlessness, and to pursue power and success." For both professional educators and general readers, "Education and the Significance of Life" is a challenging work of spiritual and philosophical writing."

Publisher: HarperOne | More reviews: amazon.com

On Love and Loneliness

by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Average Rating:

"Read this book only if you are really and truly interested in finding the path to freedom from emotional dependency. The great master makes you aware with his candid elocuence of all the emotional weigh and guilt that we needlessly carry through our short life span on earth. You will learn how your mind through the thought process plays tricks on you that sometimes make you see a distorted picture of reality. This book is not to be read while watching TV or doing other tasks. You must really concentrate to get the best out of it. But if you do, at the end you will enjoy a totally new outlook in life! May you find the profound inner peace that I found!"

Publisher: HarperOne | More reviews: amazon.com

Man's Eternal Quest: Collected Talks and Essays - Volume 1

by Paramahansa Yogananda

Average Rating:

"In "MAN'S ETERNAL QUEST" The author shows a special talent and wisdom in his explanation of life's deepest questions in a straight and clear manner. Such precise use of the English language by a foreigner on spiritual material is remarkable.These talks gave me understrandings that changed my outlook and my life. One can feel that His source of every word is truly from the Living experience of God's reality. And the energy of divine light and love shines through it.This book deepened my Quietest moments.Among the many areas dealt with in this book, the author has some serious ideas about world peace and brotherhood,"We have everything necessary in the world today to bring about the millennium........A federation of all religions and all nations is necessary. But such a union will come only when every individual engages in that meditation which leads to direct contact with God". So Yogananda places great importance on the practice of MEDITATION in these talks, as well as how to live life more abundantly inevery way. His knowledge stands out in practical matters as diet also- here talks in the 20's and 30's he gives us ahead of time the accurate knowledge of proper diet that science has only recently (in the 90's) been verifying from years of research. What was the source of his precise wisdom in all these matters??? Is this what comes from "contact with God"? The author proves the value of his own teaching in this and many other ways. I loved the originality and directness of the authors open and intelligent dealings in such a wide range of subjects...CONTENTS:How Seekers first found God....................... The Universality of Yoga...................... The Infinite Nature of God..................... Answered Prayers................................ Making Religion Scientific................... Understanding the Unreality of Matter............. Man's Greatest Adventure...................... Self-Analysis-Key to the Mastery of Life.......... Healing by ! God's Unlimited power.................. Nervousness-Cause and cure........................ The Spirital Rewards of Fasting................... Self-Realization-Criterion of Religion........... The Desire That Satisfies all Desires............. In God is All Happiness................... How to Be More Likeable.................. Developing Personality................. Reincarnation Can Be Scientifically Proven........ The Dream Nature of the World................. The Invisible Man.................. Christ and Krishna- Avatars of one Truth.......... Even Mindedness in a World of Change........... Increasing the Power of Initiative............ The Art of Developing memory................ The Missing Link Between Consciousness & Matter... Man's Eternal Quest................... The Art of Living.................... Who Made God?............... Have I Found God?............... Steps Toward the Universal Christ Consciousness... The purpose of life is to Find God.......... and More........... Also Recomended:The Autobiography of a Yogi(SRF Publishers)........The Divine Romance............Wine of the Mystic (the Rubaiyat)..........Enter the Quiet Heart.......How You Can Talk With God..........Sanctuary of the Soul........(Search on "Yogananda" on Amazons home page for more great books by "Self-Realization Publishers")."

Publisher: Self-Realization Fellowship | More reviews: amazon.com

Words to Live By: A Daily Guide to Leading an Exceptional Life

by Eknath Easwaran

Average Rating:

"Easwaran takes a short quotation from a wide range of sources, and unpacks the meaning in a way that is uncanny and speaks straight to the heart. The appeal is that you don't have to understand all this brilliant philosophy and wisdom in one go: Easwaran takes just one idea for today and shows how to apply it to your life today. A great way to start the day, or to use in a discussion group or a yoga lesson."

Publisher: Nilgiri Press | More reviews: amazon.com

On Fear

by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Average Rating:

"This book is for all thoes who suffer from fear and anxiety. Who does that leave out? On Fear, is a collection of Krishnamurti's very profound observations and thoughts on how our society engenders fear with the competitive education we recieve and with our ambitious approach to life. He also points out that a mind that is afraid, cannot know peace or love. Krishnamurti suggests that only a fundamental realization of the root of all fear can free our minds. For thoes people seeking a deeper understanding into the psychology of fear, its contributing societal factors and how to deal with it, this book is very enlightening."

Publisher: HarperOne | More reviews: amazon.com

On Relationship

by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Average Rating:

"This a great book for anyone who wants to take a look at the nature and dynamics of any relationship in a way that goes refreshingly, and piercingly beyond the tiresome slew of self-help books or long, PhD club diatribes on the subject. It is a truly mystical look at relationships -- it sometimes uncomfortably yet always enlighteningly shows what we do with them."

Publisher: HarperOne | More reviews: amazon.com