What Hinduism needed, amidst the general disintegration of the modern era, was a rock where she could lie at anchor, an authoritative utterance in which she might recognize her self. And this was given to her in the words and writings of the Swami Vivekananda.

The goal of mankind is knowledge. That is the one ideal placed before us by Eastern philosophy. Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowledge. Pleasure and happiness come to an end. It is a mistake to suppose that pleasure is the goal. The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure to be the ideal for which to strive. After a time, man finds it is not happiness, but knowledge, toward which he is going, that both pleasure and pain are great teachers, and that he learns as much from evil as from good.

Bhakti yoga is a real, genuine search after the Lord, a search beginning, continuing, and ending in love. One single moment of the madness of extreme love to God brings us eternal freedom. “Bhakti is greater than karma, greater than yoga, because these are intended for an object in view, while Bhakti is its own fruition, its own means, and its own end.”

Here we stand, and our eyes look forward sometimes miles ahead. Man has been doing that since he began to think. He is always looking forward, looking ahead. He wants to know where he goes, even after the dissolution of his body. Various theories have been propounded, system after system has been brought forward to suggest explanations. Some have been rejected, while others have been accepted, and thus, it will go on, so long as man is here, so long as man thinks. There is some truth in each of these systems.

The Christlike character and divine personality of Bhagavân Srî Râmakrishna is revered and worshiped in India today as an ideal manifestation of the divine glory. His life was so extraordinary and unparalleled that within 10 years after his departure from earth, it aroused the admiration, wonder, and reverence not only of all classes of people in his own country, but of many distinguished English and German scholars of the 19th century.

The Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of the Lord", is the best known of all the Indian scriptures, and Easwaran's reliable and accessible version has consistently been the best-selling translation. Easwaran's introduction places the Gita in its historical setting and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings. Chapter introductions give clear explanations of key concepts in that chapter.

Easwaran's classic manual is a unique source of practical spiritual support for new and experienced meditators, and gives all the instruction needed to establish a vibrant meditation practice and keep it going. In passage meditation, you focus attention on passages, or texts, drawn from all the world's sacred traditions. You choose the passages that appeal to you, so this universal method stays fresh and inspiring, prompting you to live out your highest ideals.

In the Upanishads, illumined sages share flashes of insight, the results of their investigation into consciousness itself. In extraordinary visions, they experience directly a transcendent Reality which is the essence, or Self, of each created being. They teach that each of us, each Self, is eternal, deathless, one with the power that created the universe.

The purpose of this audiobook is to show as clearly as possible that there is an essential unity in all religions; that there is no difference in the truths inculcated by the various faiths; that there is but one method by which the world, both external and internal, has evolved; and that there is but one goal admitted by all scriptures.

The author Sri "M" is an extraordinary individual. His uniqueness lies not only in the fact that at the young age of 19 and a half, he travelled to snow-clad Himalayas from Kerala, and there he met and lived for several years with a "real-time" yogi, Babaji, but also that he should undertake such an unusual and adventurous exploration, given his non-Hindu birth and antecedents. The metamorphosis of Mumtaz Ali Khan into Sri "M", a yogi with profound knowledge of the Upanishads and deep personal insights, is born of first-hand experiences with higher levels of consciousness....

These 1028 poems, grouped as 10 ‘Circles’ (mandalas), have variously been called hymns, poems or songs by Sanskrit scholars. The Rik (so pronounced by the ancient Angirases clans, or Seer-Priest families) was an experiment with sound. The emphasis is always on sounding the words perfectly. The focus tends to be on the ideas rather than on the authors in Vedic literature, they are largely religious in nature, reflecting the world view and spiritual preoccupations of ancient India.

Said to be the world's longest poem, Mahabharata was originally composed in 100,000 Sanskrit verses by the ancient Indian sage Vyasa. Revered as a sacred text within Hinduism, it contains the great spiritual teaching Bhagavad-gita. Krishna Dharma has condensed the epic into a fast paced novel that fully retains the majestic mood of the original. A powerful and moving tale, it recounts the history of the five heroic Pandava brothers, sons of the Emperor Pandu.

I have tried to show in this audiobook that as God is one, necessary for all of us, so religion is one, necessary and universal. Only the roads to it may differ in some respects at the beginning. As a matter of fact, it is ludicrous to say that there are two religions, when there is but one God. There may be two denominations or sects, but there is only one religion. What we now call different religions should be known as different denominations or sects under that one universal religion.

Dhammapada means "the path of dharma", the path of harmony and righteousness that anyone can follow to reach the highest good. This classic Buddhist scripture is a collection of vivid, practical verses gathered from direct disciples who wanted to preserve what they had heard from the Buddha himself. Easwaran's translation of this classic Buddhist text is the best-selling translation in the US.

Sri Ramakrishna is revered in India and the West as a prophet belonging to the spiritual line of Krishna, Buddha, and Christ. Seekers of all religions will find in this book courage, faith, hope, and illumination. You will feel God to be very real and within reach. Listen to Sri Ramakrishna’s conversations and be in the company of a great soul.

The modern lifestyle with its excesses and worldly desires, the constant need to be connected, and the rapid development in technology, has made stress and lifestyle-related diseases the norm. The need for meditation, thus, is more acute. Meditation calms the mind, brings focus and enhances the senses, resulting in a better quality of life and work. And with the right Mantras, meditation becomes a highly effective tool in unleashing the immense potential within oneself.

In Three Magic Words, you will learn of the unlimited power that is yours. You will learn how you can turn this power to work for you, here on earth, to make your life majestic and overflowing with good. Three Magic Words is not a religion or a sect or a society. In its entirety it is a series of essays aimed at revealing to you your power over all things. You will learn that there is only one mover in all creation and that mover is thought.

Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, in Alan Watts’s groundbreaking third book (originally published in 1940), he offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude that Watts calls the “way of acceptance.” Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Western mysticism, and analytic psychology, Watts demonstrates that happiness comes from accepting both the outer world around us and the inner world inside us,

The Bhagavad Gita has been called India's greatest contribution to the world. In this audio version of his classic book The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners, Jack Hawley makes its wisdom clear to Western seekers.

He was the father of the occult, the founder of astrology, the discoverer of alchemy. He was Hermes Trismegistus, and as the scribe of the gods of ancient Egypt, he possessed all divine knowledge... which he passed on to humanity, though only those who have been tutored in its wonders can fully understand it.In this extraordinary 1912 book, three secret initiates to his teachings - who remain anonymous to this day - share their insight with all who seek to understand the mysterious underpinnings of the universe and our relationship with it.

The observations and insights of the Buddha are practical and eminently down to earth, dealing exclusively with awareness in the here and now. Buddhism Plain and Simple offers listeners these fundamental teachings, stripped of cultural trappings that have accumulated around Buddhism over the past 25 centuries.

Written in 1917, The Law and the Word is a hard-to-find work by Judge Thomas Troward, a pioneer in mental science. Troward's writings and lectures greatly influenced Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science and writer of The Science of Mind.

This book was one of the first to combine thought energy, scientific reasoning and testing, and creative power, and to see the interconnection of the three.

Twenty-seven years ago, Matthieu Ricard gave up a promising career as a scientist to study Tibetan Buddhism - not as a detached observer but by immersing himself in its practice under the guidance of its greatest living masters. Years later, this project was born, and Richard met with his father, Jean-Francois Revel - a French philosopher who became world famous for his challenges to both Communism and Christianity. At an inn, these two profoundly thoughtful men explored questions that have occupied humankind throughout its history.

The Eightfold Path is the most widely known formulation of the Buddha's teaching. It is ancient, reaching back to the Buddha's very first discourse, and it is highly venerated as a unique treasury of wisdom and practical guidance. The teaching of the Eightfold Path challenges us to grasp the implications of that vision, and asks us to transform ourselves in its light. Like the teaching itself, this work covers every aspect of life.

Mark Watts compiled this work from his father's extensive journals and audiotapes of famous lectures he delivered, in his later years, across the country. In three parts Alan Watts explains the basic philosophy of meditation, how individuals can practice a variety of meditations, and how inner wisdom grows naturally.

Counsels from My Heart is one of the few volumes of teachings by Dudjom Rinpoche, a legendary meditation master of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, to become available in English. It features talks to students presented in Dudjom Rinpoche's characteristically incisive and direct style, bringing the timeless heart-counsels of this great teacher vividly to life.

Tibetans call their cherished tradition of Buddhism a "wish-fulfilling jewel tree" for its power to generate bliss and enlightenment within all who absorb its teachings. This path to enlightenment, it is taught, requires more than a sitting meditation practice alone. With The Jewel Tree of Tibet, honored scholar and teacher Robert Thurman brings these insights to you as they were meant to be transmitted, through the spoken word.

Best-selling author and renowned Zen teacher Steve Hagen penetrates the most essential and enduring questions at the heart of the Buddha's teachings: How can we see the world in each moment, rather than merely as what we think, hope, or fear it is? How can we base our actions on reality, rather than on the longing and loathing of our hearts and minds? How can we live lives that are wise, compassionate, and in tune with reality? And how can we separate the wisdom of Buddhism from the cultural trappings and misconceptions that have come to be associated with it?

In The Heretic’s Handbook, the internationally bestselling author of The Secret History of the World has collected and codified ancient, secret wisdom from around the world, formulating a complete philosophy on how to live a happy and successful life. An acclaimed author and public speaker, Black shows how this body of knowledge has been declared ‘heretical’ both by the established church and by today’s atheistic intellectual elite.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama provides intimate details on an advanced meditation practice called Dzogchen using a visionary poem by the 19th-century saint Patrul Rinpoche, author of the Buddhist classic Words of My Perfect Teacher. The Dalai Lama deftly connects how training the mind in compassion for other beings is directly related to - and in fact a prerequisite for - the very pinnacle of Buddhist meditation.