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Islam and Science (Ashgate Science and Religion Series) by Muzaffar Iqbal


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Open Heart, Clear Mind: An Introduction to the Buddha's Teachings


Thubten Chodron - 1990
    Thubten Chodron, an American Buddhist nun, presents the basic points of this path for understanding ourselves and improving the quality of our lives. In a straightforward style and with warmth and humor, Chodron gives us the fundamental points of the Buddha's teaching on transforming habitual attitudes and realizing our full human potential.

Original Kriya Yoga Volume I: Step-by-step Guide to Salvation


Rangin Mukherjee - 2017
    Through a combination of mis-communication and intentional alteration, however, most of what is taught as Kriya Yoga today is far from what was originally taught, often to the detriment of sincere practitioners. In this short, but practical and experiential guide, Sri Mukherjee reveals the techniques of Kriya Yoga, as originally taught by Lahiri Mahasaya. Sri Mukherjee is the disciple of Sri Gyanendranath Mukhopadhyay (Mukherjee) who compiled the Pranab Gita from the teachings of his Guru, Swami Pranabanandaji. Swami Pranabanandaji is well known as the main disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya, and so what is made available here has not been altered through the distorting effect of formal organizations (which Mahasaya and Pranabanandaji both eschewed), but has been kept intact through the age-old method of direct guru-to-disciple transmission. Fearing the loss of the original Kriya Yoga as taught by Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Mukherjee has generously written this book in order to record and share this most valuable of all human knowledge.

The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Balance in a Wired World


Christina Crook - 2014
    Over the past few decades, the world has embraced "progress" and we're living with the resultant clicking, beeping, anxiety-inducing frenzy. But a creative backlash is gathering steam, helping us cope with the avalanche of data that threatens to overwhelm us daily through our computers, tablets, and smartphones.Digital Detox considers the technologically focused life, with its impacts on our children, relationships, communities, health, work, and more, and suggests opportunities for those of us longing to cultivate a richer on- and off-line existence. By examining the connected world through the lens of her own internet fast, Christina Crook creates a convincing case for increasing intentionality in our day-to-day lives. Using historical data, typewritten letters, chapter challenges, and personal accounts, she invites us to explore a new way of living, beyond our steady state of distracted connectedness.Most of us can't throw away our smart phone or cut ourselves off from the internet. But we can all rethink our relationship with the digital world, discovering new ways of introducing balance and discipline to the role of technology in our lives. This book is a must read for anyone wishing to rediscover quietness of mind and seeking a sense of peace amidst the cacophony of the modern world.Christina Crook is a wordsmith and communications professional and instigator of the project Letters from a Luddite, which chronicled her thirty-one day internet fast and fueled her passion for exploring the intersection of technology, relationships, and joy.

The Magic of Saida


M.G. Vassanji - 2012
    Kamal's journey is motivated by a combination of guilt, hope, and the desire to unravel the mysteries of his childhood--mysteries compounded by the fact that Kamal is the son of an absent Indian father from a well-to-do family and a Swahili African mother of slave ancestry. Through a series of flashbacks, we watch Kamal's early years in the ancient coastal town of Kilwa, where he grows up in a world of poverty but also of poetry, sustained by his friendship with the magical Saida.This world abruptly ends when Kamal is sent away by his mother to live with his father's family in the city. There, the academically gifted boy grows up as a "dark Indian," eventually going to university and departing for Canada. Left behind to her traditional fate is Saida, now a beautiful young woman. Decades later, Kamal's guilt pulls him back to Kilwa . . . where he discovers what happened to Saida during a harrowing night of sinister rites. This complex, revelatory, sweeping and shocking book, is a towering testament to the magical literary powers of M.G. Vassanji.

All That Matters


Wayson Choy - 2004
    His writing has a quiet integrity and an exquisite grace."—Maclean'sWinner of the 2005 Trillium Book Award, finalist for the 2004 Giller Prize, and long-listed for the 2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, All That Matters is the eagerly anticipated sequel to Wayson Choy's award-winning first novel, The Jade Peony.Kiam-Kim is three years old when he arrives by ship at Gold Mountain with his father and his grandmother, Poh-Poh. From his earliest years, Kiam-Kim is deeply conscious of his responsibility to maintain the family's honor and to set an example for his younger siblings. However, his life is increasingly complicated by his burgeoning awareness of the world outside Vancouver's Chinatown. Choy once again accomplishes the extraordinary: blending a haunting evocation of tenacious, ancient traditions with a precise, funny, and very modern coming-of-age story.

This Is What Inequality Looks Like


You Yenn Teo - 2018
    Formed by a series of essays, they are written to be read individually, but have been arranged to be read as a totality and in sequence. Each aims to accomplish two things: first, to introduce a key aspect of the experience of being low-income in contemporary Singapore. Second, to illustrate how people’s experiences are linked to structural conditions of inequality.

The Atheist's Bible: An Illustrious Collection of Irreverent Thoughts


Joan Konner - 2007
    True? Here are quips, quotes, and questions from a distinguished assortment of geniuses and jokers, giving readers a chance to decide for themselves....When I think of all the harm [the bible] has done, I despair of ever writing anything to equal it.Oscar WildeSAINT, n. A dead sinner revised and edited.Ambrose BierceThere ain't no answer. There ain't going to be any answer. There never has been an answer. That's the answer.Gertrude SteinDo not let yourself be deceived: great intellects are skeptical.Friedrich NietzscheMillions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.Susan ErtzGod is love, but get it in writing.Gypsy Rose LeeNothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind.Ralph Waldo EmersonThe fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.George Bernard Shaw

Leila's Secret


Kooshyar Karimi - 2015
    When Leila comes to see Doctor Karimi, both are in danger. Born in a slum to a Muslim father and a Jewish mother, Kooshyar Karimi has transformed himself into a successful doctor, an award-winning writer, and an adoring father. His could be a comfortable life but his conscience won't permit it: he is incapable of turning away the unmarried women who beg him to save their lives by ending the pregnancies that, if discovered, would see them stoned to death. One of those women is 22-year-old Leila. Beautiful, intelligent, passionate, she yearns to go to university but her strictly traditional family forbids it. Returning home from the library one day – among the few trips she's allowed out of the house – she meets a handsome shopkeeper, and her fate is sealed. Kooshyar has rescued countless women, but Leila seeks his help for a different reason, one that will haunt him for years afterwards and inspire an impossible quest from faraway Australia. Spellbinding and heartbreaking. Leila's Secret shows us everyday life for women in a country where it can be a crime to fall in love. But for all its tragedy, this unforgettable book is paradoxically uplifting, told from the heart of Kooshyar's immense sympathy, in the hope that each of us – and the stories we tell – can make a difference.

The Fakir


Sunil Gangopadhyay - 2008
    There are many legends about this man, but nothing definite is known about him. The famous Bengali writer, Sunil Gangopadhyay has pieced together this interesting biography, The Fakir, based on many legends.Lalan Fakir united people of different communities through his simple songs that expressed love of mankind and of God, without adhering to any particular religious creed or any traditional spiritual school. His simple teachings alienated the orthodox communities of Hindus and Muslims. But, he inspired thousands of simple folk who were attracted by his songs and by his universal message of love and hope.His simple compositions have since passed into folklore, and his uncomplicated message attracted people of different communities and bound them together during a time of strife and feudal oppression. But, there is no written record of the life history of this mystic. The Fakir is written based on the many legends that abound about him. The author describes Lalan Fakir as a simple young man whose gift of a sweet voice attracts the patronage of a local landlord.While on a pilgrimage with his patron, Lalu contracts smallpox and is presumed dead. His body is set afloat in the river Ganga. However, the young man is rescued and cared for by a Muslim lady. Due to these incidents in his life, he is considered an outcast by the both Hindu and Muslim communities.Based on these life experiences, Lalu then learns and amalgamates the teachings of various religions and preaches a universal path that does not subscribe to any traditionally defined beliefs. He is revered as Lalan Fakir and attracts a huge number of followers.

Moving for Moksha


Alok Mishra - 2020
    In this collection, you will find images and poems that relate to life, love, loss, gain, realisation and the final thing called Moksha. The poems may sound philosophical, intellectual and emotional from time to time. You will also find a surprise at the end of this wonderful poetry collection if you read everything carefully. And, like the previous poetry collection by Alok Mishra, this book will also not take more than 15 minutes from your daily routine. However, you may want to read the book at least twice or maybe thrice to understand what do the poems mean. Alok has devised a style of his own to communicate his thoughts to the readers of Indian English poetry. A 4-3-6 style has perfectly settled with this collection having 14 wonderful poems. Here are some reviews for Moving for Moksha:The collection of poems takes us on a journey to ponder the truth and fallacies of life that come our way. The poems are mostly mystic in nature, having more than what it seems to be... you will certainly love it if you have a taste for English poetry.by: Amit Mishra (founder of The Indian Authors & Indian Book Lovers)...beauty, truth, eternity.... a very close observation of life, these poems sneak into nothing but the philosophy of life that people confront during life-span.by: Ravi Kumar, Research Scholar with expertise in Indian English Literature, a writer for many online literary platformsThe poems reflect disillusion, rejection, realisation and answer to the final call – Moksha, as called in Indian philosophy. The innovative form with a 4-3-6 pattern looks very apt for the emotional and intellectual and also cryptic nature of the poems in this collection.The Last Critic

Terrorists in Love: The Real Lives of Islamic Radicals


Ken Ballen - 2011
    This is the world of Terrorists in Love. A former federal prosecutor and congressional investigator, Ken Ballen spent five years as a pollster and a researcher with rare access—via local government officials, journalists, and clerics—interviewing more than a hundred Islamic radicals, asking them searching questions about their inner lives, deepest faith, and what it was that ultimately drove them to jihad. Intimate and enlightening, Terrorists in Love opens a fresh window into the realm of violent extremism as Ballen profiles six of these men—from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia—revealing a universe of militancy so strange that it seems suffused with magical realism. Mystical dreams and visions, the demonic figure of the United States, intense sexual repression, crumbling family and tribal structures—the story that emerges here is both shocking and breathtakingly complex. Terrorists in Love introduces us to men like Ahmad Al-Shayea, an Al Qaeda suicide bomber who survives his attack only to become fiercely pro-American; Zeddy, who trains terrorists while being paid by America’s ally, the Pakistani Army; and Malik, Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s personal seer. Lifting the veil on the mysterious world of Muslim holy warriors, Ballen probes these men’s deepest secrets, revealing the motivations behind their deadly missions and delivering a startling new exploration of what drives them to violence and why there is yet an unexpected hope for peace. An extraordinarily gifted listener and storyteller, Ballen takes us where no one has dared to go—deep into the secret heart of Islamic fundamentalism, providing a glimpse at the lives, loves, frustrations, and methods of those whose mission it is to destroy us.

Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss Summary & Study Guide


BookRags - 2011
    47 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Many Lives, Many Masters. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss.

My Favorite Things


Maira Kalman - 2014
    A pictorial index provides photographs of the actual objects and a short description of them, enhancing the reading experience.As it speaks to the universal experience and importance of beloved objects in our lives—big and small, famous and private—this unique work is a fresh way of examining and understanding our society, history, culture, and ourselves.

Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree: The Buddha's Teachings on Voidness


Buddhadasa Bhikkhu - 1994
    "In this remarkable book, Ajahn Buddhadasa teaches us beautifully, profoundly, and simply the meaning of sunnata, or voidness, which is a thread that links every great school of Buddhism....He teaches us the truth of this voidness with the same directness and simplicity with which he invites us into his forest."-- from the foreword by Jack Kornfield

Experience the Now: How to Increase Your Level of Consciousness


Sullins Stuart - 2012
    “Experience the Now” is a lecture delivered by spiritual teacher Sullins Stuart, author of the Amazon Top 100 spiritual best seller "Living in Conscious Harmony: A Spiritual Guide to Being in the Now."Stuart begins by briefly sharing how he met his spiritual teacher, and then addresses two key elements to experiencing the Now: understanding the different levels of consciousness andexplaining tools and techniques you can utilize to raise your level of consciousness and awareness."Experience the Now" is an invaluable resource for anyone desiring to live in the Now.