The Legend of Parshu-Raam


Vineet Aggarwal - 2015
    Caught in the crossfire is Raam, the son of rishi Yamdagni and scion of the Bhargava clan.Will the machinations of Asura, Naga and Urag tribes affect the Brahmin boy and his family? Will the political intrigues of Nabhi-varsh let Bhargava Raam find his destiny or push him towards a future he never envisioned?This is the story of a man who rose to the level of divinity to establish a fair and just society; the story of the making of a legend. This book is best understood with 'Viswamitra', the first book by Vineet Aggarwal to establish the context within which it is written.

The King in Exile


Sudha Shah - 2012
    Exhaustively researched and gracefully written, The King in Exile tells a story of compelling human interest, filled with drama, pathos and tragedy... [It] heralds the arrival of a writer of non-fiction who is both uncommonly talented and exceptionally diligent... One of the great merits of [the book] is that it is completely free of jargon and theorizing. It is in essence a family story, centred on five women whose lives were waylaid by history' Amitav Ghosh in his blog 'The captivity of Burma's last king and the fall of the Konbaung dynasty: a compelling new account'. In 1879, as the king of Burma lay dying, one of his queens schemed for his forty-first son, Thibaw, to supersede his half brothers to the throne. For seven years, King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat ruled from the resplendent, intrigue-infused Golden Palace in Mandalay, where they were treated as demi-gods. After a war against Britain in 1885, their kingdom was lost, and the family exiled to the secluded town of Ratnagiri in British-occupied India. Here they lived, closely guarded, for over thirty-one years. The king's four daughters received almost no education, and their social interaction was restricted mainly to their staff. As the princesses grew, so did their hopes and frustrations. Two of them fell in love with 'highly inappropriate' men. In 1916, the heartbroken king died. Queen Supayalat and her daughters were permitted to return to Rangoon in 1919. In Burma, the old queen regained some of her feisty spirit as visitors came by daily to pay their respects. All the princesses, however, had to make numerous adjustments in a world they had no knowledge of. The impact of the deposition and exile echoed forever in each of their lives, as it did in the lives of their children. Written after years of meticulous research, and richly supplemented with photographs and illustrations, The King in Exile is an engrossing human-interest story of this forgotten but fascinating family.

Meaningful to Behold: The Bodhisattva's Way of Life


Kelsang Gyatso - 1980
    Many people have the compassionate wish to benefit others, but few understand how to make this wish effective in daily life. In this explanation of the Buddhist classic Guide to Bodhisattva's Way of Life, Gelshe Kelsang shows how we can develop and maintain the supremely compassionate motivation of a Bodhisattva, and how we can then engage in the actual practices that provide the greatest benefits to others and lead to the attainment of full enlightenment.

My India : The India Eternal


Vivekananda - 1993
    It seems incredible that so much could have been put into one small word of five letters. There was love, passion, pride, longing, adoration,tragedy,chivalry,heimweh, and again love. Whole volumes could not have produced such a feeling in others. It had the magic power of creating love in those who heard it. Even after, India became the land of heart's desire. Everything concerning her became if interest-- became living--her people, her history,architecture,her manners and customs,her rivers, mountains, plains, her culture, her great spiritual concepts, her scriptures. And so culture, her great spiritual concepts, her scriptures. And so began a new life, a life of study,of meditation. The centre of interest was shifted.'-- Sister Christine

Blue God: A Life of Krishna


Ramesh Menon - 2000
    His charioteer, Krishna, expounds the eternal dharma for him. This exposition between two armies is the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindus Bible.BLUE GOD cuts back to Krishnas birth, and back again to the battlefield, and so on, chapter by chapter, until both narratives flow together near the books end. Never before have Krishnas sacred Gita and his colorful personality and life been put together in the same book, certainly not in English by a modern novelist for a modern audience.

Making Excellence A Habit: The Secret to Building a World-Class Healthcare System in India


V. Mohan - 2021
    While hard work, passion and focus emerge as winning lessons, delicate and tender learnings from Dr Mohan's life, such as empathy or spirituality, are not forgotten.Written in Dr Mohan's sagacious and affable voice, and peppered with examples of his bold and unusual ideas such as planning a diabetes expo or conducting a country-wide diabetes study, this book is a behind-the-scenes account of a person honoured internationally for delivering path-breaking care to hundreds of thousands of people with diabetes.

Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic


Mayank Chhaya - 2007
    In 1997, the Indian journalist Mayank Chhaya was authorized by the Dalai Lama to write about his life and times. The only authorized biographer who is not a Buddhist, Chhaya conducted more than a dozen personal interviews with the Dalai Lama in McLeod Ganj in India's Himalayan north, home to Tibet's government-in-exile. In Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic he presents an in-depth, insightful portrait of a figure of perennial interest to people all over the world. Chhaya writes about Tibet and the Buddhist tradition from which the Dalai Lama emerged, helping readers understand the context that shaped his beliefs, politics, and ideals. Adding depth and nuance to his portrait, Chhaya depicts the Dalai Lama in the light of his life in exile and the various roles he has had to assume for his followers. He sheds light on the highly complex conflict between China and Tibet, and offers insights into the growing discontent among young Tibetans who are frustrated with the nonviolent approach to Chinese occupation that the Dalai Lama advocates. A balanced, informative view of the Dalai Lama and his work, this biography is both a compelling profile of a remarkable spiritual leader and his mission, and an engaging look at how the current unrest in his country will affect its future.

The Dalai Lama's Cat


David Michie - 2012
    Why should His Holiness not have a cat?‘If only she could speak,’ continued the actress. ‘I’m sure she’d have such wisdom to share.’And so the seed was planted . . . I began to think that perhaps the time had come for me to write a book of my own—a book that would convey some of the wisdom I’ve learned sitting not at the feet of the Dalai Lama but even closer, on his lap. A book that would tell my own tale . . . how I was rescued from a fate too grisly to contemplate to become the constant companion of a man who is not only one of the world’s greatest spiritual leaders and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate but also a dab hand with a can opener.” Starving and pitiful, a mud-smeared kitten is rescued from the slums of New Delhi and transported to a life she could have never imagined. In a beautiful sanctuary overlooking the snow-capped Himalayas, she begins her new life as the Dalai Lama’s cat.Warmhearted, irreverent, and wise, this cat of many names opens a window to the inner sanctum of life in Dharamsala. A tiny spy observing the constant flow of private meetings between His Holiness and everyone from Hollywood celebrities to philanthropists to self-help authors, the Dalai Lama’s cat provides us with insights on how to find happiness and meaning in a busy, materialistic world. Her story will put a smile on the face of anyone who has been blessed by the kneading paws and bountiful purring of a cat.

An Ordinary Dude's Guide to Meditation


John Weiler - 2017
    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.

Chanakya Neeti


Radhakrishnan Pillai - 2019
    There could be many reasons for this—issues at work, unhappy family life, financial troubles or embarrassing social situations. Most of us could use a little advice in these circumstances. Chanakya Neeti provides precisely that guidance to face life’s many daunting challenges. Chanakya, the great thinker and teacher, is well-known for his insights into the needs of both the privileged and the masses. The original Chanakya Neeti was written over two thousand years ago, but its brilliant verses are still applicable today because the basic quests of man remain the same—peace, prosperity and happiness. In this volume, Radhakrishnan Pillai offers a modern interpretation of Chanakya’s crisp and practical maxims in his characteristic easy-to-follow and elegant prose. Imbibe Chanakya’s wisdom to break loose from the web of troubles and create the life you desire on your terms.Radhakrishnan Pillai is the bestselling author of Corporate Chanakya, Chanakya’s 7 Secrets of Leadership, Chanakya in You, Katha Chanakya and Thus Spoke Chanakya. He has a Master’s degree in Sanskrit and has done his PhD in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. A renowned management consultant and speaker, he is the Deputy Director of the Chanakya International Institute of Leadership Studies (CIILS) at the University of Mumbai. He tweets using the handle @rchanakyapillai and is also active on other major social media platforms.

Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush. An anthology of Poems and Conversations (From Outside).


Tim Key - 2021
    This new book takes place in Lockdown Three. This time Key can make Government-sanctioned expeditions out onto the streets of London (remember?). And it is there that the inaction takes place. Phone calls to his mother, promenades with his loyal friend, bubble-negotiations, sitting his fat arse down on benches, drinking mocha. Another three months of mind-freezing inertia. This time on the move. Conversations interspersed with poetry.

Turtle Feet


Nikolai Grozni - 2008
    He moved to India to become a Buddhist monk: shaving his head, learning Tibetan, and donning long traditional robes. In the Himalayas, living in a hut a stone's throw from the Dalai Lama's compound, Grozni became entrenched in a sometimes comical, sometimes reverent, always intriguing community comprised of feisty nuns, bossy monks, violent chess players, demanding teachers, and a spectacular friend called Tsar, a fallen monk from Bosnia. Grozni went to India in search of knowledge, but learns that the people who can teach him the most are not wearing uniforms and following special diets, but rather those who, like him, struggle with doubts and cannot accept an established system of faith. Instead, he journeys with his colorful cast of friends to a new understanding of himself and his place in the world. Like Anne Lamott or Elizabeth Gilbert, Nikolai Grozni offers the insights of a religious pilgrim from the inside, in his case, from a male, Buddhist perspective. Thoughtful, funny, and elegantly written, Turtle Feet details the reality of a world much mythologized in the West and tells a wonderfully bittersweet story of a spiritual journey.

Who Is My Self?: A Guide to Buddhist Meditation


Ayya Khema - 1997
    Ayya Khema, author of the best-selling Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, uses one of the earliest Buddhist suttas to guide us along the path of the oldest Buddhist meditative practice for understanding the nature of "self." By following the Buddha's explanation with clear, insightful examples from her years of teaching meditation, she guides us back and forth between the relative understanding and higher realizations of the Buddhist concept of "self." Her thoughtful contemplation of the Buddha's radical understanding of "self" and her practical advice for achieving insight offer the reader a profound understanding of the "self." Both beginning and advanced practitioners will greatly benefit from Ayya Khema's warm and down-to-earth exposition of the Buddha's meditation on "self."

Hindu Mythology: A Captivating Guide to Hindu Myths, Hindu Gods, and Hindu Goddesses


Matt Clayton - 2018
    Keep in mind that because different versions of Hinduism inspire different people, many different versions of the stories float through the jungle and over the stones of temples and traditions. The stories in this volume are my version, though I’ve stuck as closely to the original myths and legends as imagination allows. At the end of this book, you’ll find a short bibliography for further research and reading. Within this book, you'll find the following Hindu myths covered Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and the Beginning of the World The Birth of Lord Shiva Saraswati & Brahma’s Fifth Head Shiva Tests Parvati Shiva Snares a Whale Ganesha Loses His Head Ganesha Spills a River Kubera’s Pride Ganesha Injures a Goddess Ganesha Wins a Race Shiva Skips Success Ravana’s Ten Heads The Birth of Rama Urmila’s Slumber Deer of Deception Hanuman’s Torch Suvannamachha Steals a Bridge Hanuman Moves a Mountain The Final Battle Sita’s Purity Krishna Steals Butter Krishna Trades for Jewels Krishna Swallows the Flames Agni Spreads a Curse Vayu Humbles the Silk Cotton Tree Savitri Chooses a Husband Savitri’s Fidelity And more! Download the book now and learn more about Hindu mythology

Beneath an Indian Sky


Renita D'Silva - 2018
    In colonial India a young woman finds herself faced with an impossible choice, the consequences of which will echo through the generations… 1928. In British-ruled India, headstrong Sita longs to choose her own path, but her only destiny is a good marriage. After a chance meeting with a Crown Prince leads to a match, her family’s status seems secured and she moves into the palace, where peacocks fill the gardens and tapestries adorn the walls. But royal life is far from simple, and her failure to provide an heir makes her position fragile. Soon Sita is on the brink of losing everything, and the only way to save herself could mean betraying her oldest friend… 2000. When Priya’s marriage ends in heartbreak, she flees home to India and the palace where her grandmother, Sita, once reigned as Queen. But as grandmother and granddaughter grow closer, Priya has questions. Why is Sita so reluctant to accept that her royal status ended with Independence? And who is the mysterious woman who waits patiently at the palace gates day after day? Soon Priya uncovers a secret Sita has kept for years – and which will change the shape of her life forever… A breathtaking journey through India from British rule to Independence and beyond; a world of green hills, cardamom-scented air, and gold thread glinting in the sun, brought to life by Renita D’Silva’s exquisite writing. If you love Kathryn Hughes, Dinah Jefferies or Kristin Hannah, this is the novel for you. What readers are saying about Renita D’Silva: ‘WOW!!… I was absolutely blown away by this book and couldn’t put it down. I’m going straight to Amazon to buy another book by Renita D’Silva – I need more! Just incredible… this is an absolutely stunning book which I can’t praise enough.’ Roxanne Starr, 5 stars ‘So compelling I literally didn’t want to put it down… A sheer joy to read and I am putting myself out on a limb by saying this is the best book I have read in this genre this year… A truly outstanding book.’ Best Crime Books and More, 5 stars ‘Every now and again a book comes along that I can't stop thinking about long after I've turned the last page. A Daughter's Courage was one of those books… An absolutely beautiful story… I really can't say anything that will adequately describe how much I enjoyed this book so I will just say that I highly recommend it… I loved every minute of it.’ Twin Spin, 5 stars ‘Renita D’Silva has done it again… Truly sensational story… Stunning… Remarkable and overwhelming… Renita’s words are like liquid gold… This book even took over my dreams. My mind was completely mesmerised… I cannot recommend this book enough.’ Little Miss No Sleep, 5 stars ‘Heartrending... beautiful... a dream... I did not just love this book, I actually LIVED it. A Daughter's Courage is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read.