As the classical treatise on the Hindu understanding of mind and consciousness and on the technique of meditation, it has exerted immense influence over the religious practices of Hinduism in India and, more recently, in the West.Edwin F. Bryant's translation is clear, direct, and exact. Each sutra is presented as Sanskrit text, transliteration, and precise English translation, and is followed by Bryant's authoritative commentary, which is grounded in the classical understanding of yoga and conveys the meaning and depth of the su-tras in a user-friendly manner for a Western readership without compromising scholarly rigor or traditional authenticity. In addition, Bryant presents insights drawn from the primary traditional commentaries on the sutras written over the last millennium and a half.

    In Gita Wisdom, Joshua Greene retells this timeless text in a completely new way, revealing that it is, in essence, a heart-to-heart talk between two friends about the meaning of life. As Krishna and his friend Arjuna reminisce on a battlefield known as Kurukshetra, readers learn that the two played together as children, were close as young men, and became family when Arjuna married Krishna’s sister. In later life the men shared extraordinary adventures, including a journey to places outside the known universe. Like all great literature, the Gita explores the human condition: who we are, where we came from, and why we’re here. With a helpful glossary that lists names, terms, and places, this accessible, enlightening retelling is the perfect introduction to the Gita’s venerable wisdom.

    

    The 103 mantras of this text are presented here as meditations and visualizations of Sri Devi, the root matrix of creation, depicting her divine form as a path of highest sadhana and realization. The text deals with the essence of tantric philosophy and sadhana, elucidating the esoteric traditions of Sri Vidya, the Dasa Mahavidyas, kulakundalini, chakras and tattwas, and their usage to bridge the gap between the outer and inner experience. Sri Saundarya Lahari, the Descent, an exposition on the feminine divine, is substantiated and enhanced by the personal experience and in-depth study of the author. Also included are a comprehensive introduction, Prayoga (uses of the mantras, yantras and especially the mandalas contained in the text), transliteration and index.

    

    Besides being a biography, this book is also a social history of Bengal centred on the last part of the nineteenth and the first part of the twentieth centuries. In nineteenth-century Bengal, heavily dominated by the British Raj, Girish turned the Bengali theatre into a medium for promoting Indian traditions and spiritual life, and also awakening the political consciousness of Indians.Yet with all this, Girish’s primary role in life, it seems, was to demonstrate how a sinner can become a saint—how an atheist, drunkard, and debauchee can be transformed into a great devotee and lover of God. Girish used to say that he was Ramakrishna’s miracle. Swami Chetanananda’s authoritative biography provides a fascinating introduction to Sri Ramakrishna’s most colourful and least orthodox devotee.

    An interlinear edition of the spiritual classic that provides devanagari, transliterated Sanskrit, and English versions of the Gita.

    In this booklet, Swamiji helps us clearly and objectively to understand this topic without prejudice. Some of the book topics include dharma, ahimsa, moksha and prayer.

    But confronted with the witness of holy men from other traditions and the wide sweep of non-Christian history, Christians are being forced more than ever before to ask what this kind of language means. How can it be said that Jesus is a final revelation? What is it about him which gives him his distinctive place? Nowhere are these questions more pressing than in the Far East, where there are religions which go back far beyond the origins of Christianity. As Bishop in Madras, Lesslie Newbigin is compelled to think through the Christian claim in a peculiarly thorough way. Taking further the arguments which he developed in Honest Religion for Secular Man, he sets out the idea of the finality of Christ in terms which he hopes will be more meaningful for the present day.