Many written by monks, and some written by hippies and spiritual gurus. But how many are written by an ordinary dude? Someone who is just like you: someone who has a day job, whose preferred outfit is jeans and a t-shirt, and enjoys knocking back a few beers on Friday night? I'm as ordinary as they come. The only difference...I've been meditating for over 13 years. And I want to show you how you can too—in a straightforward language that any ordinary dude or dudette can understand. Over a decade of practice, meditation has transformed my life, bringing more peace, calm and clarity into it than I could have ever imagined when I started at the age of 19. And now I want to share how meditation can do the same for you.

    In Harrison's preface to this remarkable book, she writes that J. G. Frazer's work had become part and parcel of her "mental furniture" and that of others studying primitive religion. Today, those who write on ancient myth or ritual are bound to say the same about Harrison. Her essential ideas, best developed and most clearly put in the Prolegomena, have never been eclipsed.

    This smart and funny book includes tales from many of these much-loved comics, and will appeal to their broad audience, while revealing the history, context and wider culture of Jewish joking.The Jewish joke is as old as Abraham, and like the Jews themselves it has wandered over the world, learned countless new languages, worked with a range of different materials, been performed in front of some pretty hostile crowds, and yet still retained its own distinctive identity. So what is it that animates the Jewish joke? Why are Jews so often thought of as ‘funny’? And how old can a joke get?The Jewish Joke is a brilliant—and laugh-out-loud funny—riff on about what marks Jewish jokes apart from other jokes, why they are important to Jewish identity and how they work. Ranging from self-deprecation to anti-Semitism, politics to sex, Devorah Baum looks at the history of Jewish joking and asks whether the Jewish joke has a future. With jokes from Lena Dunham to Woody Allen, as well as Freud and Marx (Groucho, mostly), Baum balances serious research with light-hearted humor and provides fascinating insight into this well-known and much loved cultural phenomenon.

    Modern critical biblical scholarship often points out how the church's teachings about Jesus have become encrusted with tradition so that it is hard to see what the core documents--the New Testament--really say about him. Now, with the insight of 200 years of modern critical scholarship and assuming an audience that includes both the well-churched and the non-churched, how should the church present the story and identity of the central personality of their faith, Jesus of Nazareth? Many people will be surprised at the story they hear.

    Ordained at twelve, he would eventually become the first Buddhist chaplain at an American university, the founder of a retreat center and monastery, and a bestselling author. Here, Bhante G. lays bare the often-surprising ups and downs of his seventy-five years, from his boyhood in Sri Lanka to his decades of sharing the insights of the Buddha, telling his story with the "plain-English" approach for which he is so renowned.

    Secret mystery cults flourished within the larger culture of the public religion of Greece and Rome for roughly a thousand years. This book is neither a history nor a survey but a comparative phenomenology. Concentrating on five major cults. In defining the mysteries and describing their rituals, membership, organization, and dissemination, Walter Burkert displays the remarkable erudition we have come to expect of him; he also shows sensitivity and sympathy in interpreting the experiences and motivations of the devotees.

    His great book, On Nature, the world's first coherent philosophical treatise and touchstone for Plato, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius, has long been lost to history-but its surviving fragments have for thousands of years tantalized our greatest thinkers, from Montaigne to Nietzsche, Heidegger to Jung. Now, acclaimed poet Brooks Haxton presents a powerful free-verse translation of all 130 surviving fragments of the teachings of Heraclitus, with the ancient Greek originals beautifully reproduced en face.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    But this history of our ancestors continues to fascinate us. Even today, we have passionate discussions about the people and their actions in the epic, fervidly defending our favourites and denouncing others. The number of works on the Mahabharata-adaptations, retellings and fiction-that still get written is a testimony to its enduring relevance.While the general storyline is largely known, a lot of questions and myths prevail, such as-What was the geographical extent of the war? Did Drona actually refuse to take on Karna as his disciple? What were Draupadi's responsibilities as the queen of Indraprastha? Did she ever mock Duryodhana? Were the women in the time of the Mahabharata meek and submissive? What were the names of the war formations during the time? What role did the sons of the Pandavas play? Does the south of India feature at all in the Mahabharata? What happened after the war? These and many other intriguing questions continue to mystify the contemporary reader.Author Ami Ganatra debunks myths, quashes popular notions and offers insights into such aspects not commonly known or erroneously known, based solely on facts as narrated in Vyasa's Mahabharata from generally accepted authentic sources. For a history of such prominence and influence as the Mahabharata, it is important to get the story right. So pick this book up, sit back and unveil the lesser-known facts and truths about the great epic.

    During our journey we will explore stories from Babylon, Greece, Ireland, Ethiopia, and various other cultures to fill in the missing pieces to one of the biggest mysteries on our planet. This 2nd Edition includes 40+ hours of additional audio and video content for your enjoyment. Make sure you download a free QR code scanner for your smart phone or tablet so you can take full advantage of the features in this book.

    Whether it's Ikaros flying too close to the sun, Prometheus stealing fire from the gods or the tragedy of Oedipus, their characters have inspired art, literature, plays and films, and constellations named after them fill the night sky. But how much do you really know about them?From the clash of the Titans to the fall of Troy, here are the greatest legends of all time, brilliantly retold by classical scholar Jenny March. All the heroes, monsters, villains, gods and goddesses of classical civilization are included; the epic journeys of Odysseus and Aeneas; the founding of Athens and Rome; the quests of Jason seeking the Golden Fleece and Theseus slaying the minotaur. Giving the origins, development and interpretation of each myth, this is the essential guide to the stories that have shaped our world.

    This book has everything you want to learn about the Hindu religion!Hinduism is a fascinating religion to learn about. Even if you are not Hindu and have no interest in being a Hindu, you can still take it upon yourself to learn about the faith and understand why it is important to so many people around the world. Perhaps you will find that you share many of the beliefs that come out of the religion, or perhaps you won’t. But at least you will have a new outlook on Hinduism by advancing your knowledge in its teachings and the way it guides so many people’s lives in this world. To have that kind of knowledge can be a very powerful thing. This book will help you gain that knowledge by exploring the most important aspects of Hinduism and the main goals Hindus have in their lives. You will find out what they are much more when you read this fact filled book about the Hindu religion. After you are done reading, you will walk away with a better understanding about a religion that most of the Western hemisphere knows little about. What you will learn from this bookIntroduction to HinduismImportant Beliefs in HinduismImportant Hindu Customs and RitualsIntroduction to Gods and Goddesses in HinduismBhagavad GitaHindu FestivalsHinduism and Buddhism – Differences and SimilaritiesConversion to HinduismWhat to do in a Hindu TemplePilgrimage to VaranasiHindu Mantras

    The Human (Arjuna) had lot of Questions to Supreme God (Krishna) and he got answers from God for all those. Most of the time to understand those complex words, people giving explanations and interpretation with someone’s life. We are also very comfortable to listen them and read them, but the moment we are back to our normal life, we forget everything. This book is written for you! Considering a common man life like yours! And how to live our life as per the Supreme God’s wordings! What it offers to you:>> All the 18 Chapters of Gita in Plain English>> Interpretations with our Common life examples>> You have funny and logical questions to god; it’s there inside this book>> Guides you to self evaluate, are you ready for it?>> How far you are from your God? Check hereRecommended:>> For the one, who wants to practice and experience Bhagavad Gita in Life>> For the one, who wants to understand Gita in its real essence>> For the one, who wants to understand Hinduism in true meaningYou too have these Views, then Read this Book:>> There can’t be multiple gods in one world>> If my birth is given by god, then why am i not part of God>> Science is a language to explain his creations and not a mode to reach>> Belief and honesty can take me to my Supreme Power>>Why don’t new Living beings born as per Darwin>>How to see others grow in life>>The Richest and Poorest all have Equanimity with happiness and sadnessAnd So on.•Order Bhagavad Gita here for practicing and experiencing it in your life

    In “Bhagavad Gita for Beginners: The Song of God in Simplified Prose,” author Edward Viljoen uses contemporary, simplified language to bring this inspiring work to life. That which seems to be forcing people to act in selfish--even evil--ways is really the accumulation of desires coming together in a strong, irresistible appetite for self-satisfaction. These desires are rooted in the senses, and sense information can be misleading. More powerful than the senses, though, is the mind. And more powerful than the mind is the will (or intellect), and that which is above it all,--the Real Self, that part of us not deluded by the information of the sense world. The Bhagavad Gita For Beginners: The Song Of God In Simplified Prose will inspire uninitiated readers of the Bhagavad-Gita to delve into the original text, as well as bring a newly-found clarity and perspective to those already familiar with it.

    It's different - Sufism brought to life through engaging stories, historical anecdotes, key facts and accessible description.The ancient parables, disciplines, quotations and distillations of wisdom that lie at its foundation.An orderly study programme for individuals, families, study groups schools and colleges.This book brings to life this spiritual and philosophical movement that has dramatically shaped and influenced world thinking today.

    From the first millennium BC until today, the myths have been repeated in an inexhaustible series of variations and reinterpretations. They can be found in the latest movies and television shows and in software for interactive computer games. This book combines a retelling of Greek myths with a comprehensive account of the world in which they developed their themes, their relevance to Greek religion and society, and their relationship to the landscape."Contexts, Sources, Meanings" describes the main literary and artistic sources for Greek myths, and their contexts, such as ritual and theater."Myths of Origin" includes stories about the beginning of the cosmos, the origins of the gods, the first humans, and the founding of communities."The Olympians: Power, Honor, Sexuality" examines the activities of all the main divinities."Heroic exploits" concentrates on the adventures of Perseus, Jason, Herakles, and other heroes."Family sagas" explores the dramas and catastrophes that befall heroes and heroines."A Landscape of Myths" sets the stories within the context of the mountains, caves, seas, and rivers of Greece, Crete, Troy, and the Underworld."Greek Myths after the Greeks" describes the rich tradition of retelling, from the Romans, through the Renaissance, to the twenty-first century.Complemented by lavish illustrations, genealogical tables, box features, and specially commissioned drawings, this will be an essential book for anyone interested in these classic tales and in the world of the ancient Greeks.