Best of
Hinduism

1998

Introduction to Vedanta


Dayananda Saraswati - 1998
    Yet, each moment of joy is only that: momentary, showing up the rest of our lives to be unsatisfying, somehow lacking and incomplete. On the other hand, Vedanta, the body of knowledge found at the end of the Veda, asserts with breathtaking boldness that one's true nature is completeness and limitlessness. Vedanta also promises that moksa, liberation from all forms of limitations that seem to bind a human being, is possible here and now. In this lucid, lively introduction to Vedanta, Swami Dayananda shows how man's constant struggle to overcome these limitations through the ceaseless pursuit of security and pleasure are predestined to failure for the simple reason that they are misdirected: they stem from a failure in understanding the real nature of the fundamental problem itself. All effort howsoever great or unremitting being limited, the result of such effort is also bound to be equally limited, inadequate. The road to freedom from limitation, then, can scarcely lie that way. Indeed, asserts Vedanta, it is only to be found in the correct knowledge of one's true nature as absolute. This vital first step, a clear understanding of man's fundamental problem of ignorance and error about his real nature. Is what this book is all about.

Madhavacharya


Anant Pai - 1998
    1238–1317) propagated the Bhakti Marg or the path of devotion for the realisation of God. He felt that there was no need to deny the world in order to realise the Divine. Relying on logic, and quoting profusely from the scriptures, he made a strong case for theism. His school of thought is known as dvaita which stands for two realities – independent and dependent. The infinitely perfect God is independent and the world of matter and spirits is dependent on God. He advocated total surrender to God to achieve salvation.

Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga


Georg Feuerstein - 1998
    The over two thousand entries cover Yoga's history, its many approaches, schools, teachers, scriptures, as well as its technical terminology. The book is arranged and written in a manner that will inform rather than overwhelm the lay reader, while at the same time offering valuable references for the professional researcher and the historian of religion. The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga offers the following features:    •  Each entry has cross-references providing pertinent conceptual links    •  Entries are in English alphabetical order, unlike comparable reference works that follow Sanskrit alphabetical order, which is difficult for the lay reader to follow    •  Orientational entries provide an overview of central aspects of the Yoga tradition, such as history, psychology, and major branches    •  Many entries cite or even quote original sources, shedding light on how a given term is used by traditional Yoga authorities

Esoteric Anatomy: The Body as Consciousness


Bruce Burger - 1998
    It offers a comprehensive health care system based on understanding the body as a field of conscious energy--a system that promotes healing, health building, and self-actualization.Author and spiritual healer Bruce Burger begins by introducing Polarity Therapy in a series of energy-balancing sessions that can be used in conjunction with other forms of therapy and bodywork. This holistic approach can alleviate physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering, including clearing trauma from the cellular memory of the brain. Next, he turns his attention to Esoteric Anatomy in a section of essays that explore the role of energy--or life force--in the healing arts, drawing from the wisdom of ancient India. And finally, Burger builds upon his studies of Polarity Therapy and Esoteric Anatomy to present a unique system of Somatic Psychology that can promote further healing.Thorough, insightful, and complete with illustrations, Esoteric Anatomy is a fascinating course in energy medicine that can guide you toward better health, personal growth, and spiritual transformation.

The Experience of God: Icons of the Mystery


Raimon Panikkar - 1998
    Drawing on a wide range of sources, from the Bible and Western mystics to the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita, he probes human language and silence, adoration and alienation, to find the root of all our experience in God and its special character in Christian encounter with Jesus. He concludes with reflections on the many places - such as love, joy, suffering, pardon, nature, silence, and even evil - where we meet God today.

Lemurian Scrolls: Angelic Prophecies Revealing Human Origins


Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami - 1998
    This ancient manuscript was not found etched on a cave wall or buried in forgotten ruins, but rather discovered through the practice of an inner archeology, the use of the third eye to read the akashic records. Many books exist in the inner akashic, library, and Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami chose to share the chapters that comprise these Scrolls as a further effort to help us all realize where we came from, where we are going, and how to connect with our innate Divinity.

The Yoga of Spiritual Devotion: A Modern Translation of the Narada Bhakti Sutras


Prem Prakash - 1998
    • An insightful commentary aimed at making the path of love immediately accessible to Westerners. • A life-affirming and relationship-positive path of yoga. • Written in the spirit of the kirtans (ecstatic songs and dances) of Narada, sensitively translated by Prem Prakash. Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion, is considered one of the primary paths for spiritual realization in yogic tradition. Its representative, Narada, is the embodiment of the enlightened sage who travels the universe spreading his sacred teachings. Unlike Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of Wisdom, the bhakti acolyte does not discriminate against material phenomena--for him, all phenomena are aspects of God. Within the context of Ananda, blissful love, the temporal is realized as the reflection of the eternal, and the soul is realized as the expression of God.

Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara


Antonio Rigopoulos - 1998
    Devotion to Dattatreya cuts through all social and religious strata of Indian society: among his adepts we find yogis, Brahmans, faqirs, Devi worshippers, untouchables, thieves, and prostitutes. This book explores all primary religious dimensions: myth, doctrine, ritual, philosophy, mysticism, and iconography. The comprehensive result offers a rich fresco of Hindu religion as well as an understanding of Marathi integrative sprituality: precisely this complexity of themes constitutes Dattatreya's uniqueness.