The Gospel of Judas


Rodolphe Kasser - 2006
    When the bound papyrus pages of this lost gospel finally reached scholars who could unlock its meaning, they were astounded. Here was a gospel that had not been seen since the early days of Xianity, & which few experts had even thought existed–a gospel told from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, history’s ultimate traitor. Far from being a villain, the Judas that emerges in its pages is a hero. In this radical reinterpretation, Jesus asks Judas to betray him. In contrast to the New Testament Gospels, Judas is presented as a role model for all those who wish to be disciples of Jesus. He's the one apostle who truly understands Jesus. This volume is the 1st publication of the remarkable gospel since it was condemned as heresy by early Church leaders, most notably by Irenaeus, in 180. Hidden away in a cavern in Middle Egypt, the codex containing the gospel was discovered by farmers in the 1970s. In the intervening years the papyrus codex was bought & sold by antiquities traders, hidden away & carried across three continents, all the while suffering damage that reduced much of it to fragments. In 2001, it finally found its way into the hands of a team of experts who would painstakingly reassemble & restore it. The Gospel of Judas has been translated from its original Coptic into clear prose. It's accompanied by commentary that explains its history in the context of the early Church, offering a new way of understanding the message of Jesus.

The Recognition of Śakuntalā


Kālidāsa
    I shall release you -SAKUNTALA When?KING When?When, like a bee, I kiss the bud of your unbruised lipAnd flood my thirsting mouth with nectar.Kalidasa's play about the love of King Dusyanta and Sakuntala, a hermitage girl, their separation by a curse, and eventual reunion, is the supreme work of Sanskrit drama by its greatest poet and playwright (c.4th century CE). Overwhelmingly erotic in tone, in peformance The Recognition of Sakuntala aimed to produce an experience of aesthetic rapture in the audience, akin to certain types of mystical experience.The pioneering English translation of Sakuntala in 1789 caused a sensation among European composers and writers (including Goethe), and it continues to be performed around the world. This vibrant new verse translation includes the famous version of the story from the Mahabharata, a poetic and dramatic text in its own right and a likely source for Kalidasa. The introduction discusses the play in the aesthetic and cultural context of ancient India.

Gifts from the Gods: Ancient Words and Wisdom from Greek and Roman Mythology


Lise Lunge-Larsen - 2011
    The brief stories here not only impart the subtle wisdom of these ancient tales, but make us understand the words, and our own world, more deeply.

The Guru in You: A Personalized Program for Rejuvenating Your Body and Soul: Unlock the Powers of Health and Healing Within


Yogi Cameron Alborzian - 2010
    As the first male supermodel, Cameron Alborzian had a life that many dream of—traveling the globe, working with the most prestigious designers in the world, partying with celebrities, and appearing in major ad campaigns and cultural landmarks like Madonna's "Express Yourself" video. But his real achievement came when he decided to leave the material world of high fashion and investigate the ancient art of Ayurvedic healing. What he learned changed his life, and, after years of study, he now works with everyone from Hollywood celebrities to executives of international corporations to bring balance, improved health, and inner peace to their busy lives. The tools he provides for his clients are now available to all with The Guru in You.Most of us will never have a live-in guru, but Yogi Cameron provides the next best thing: an easy-to-follow program, guiding you to better health and happiness. The Guru in You lays the foundation for change, helping us identify our unhealthy patterns and set our intentions. It then provides you with a customizable plan. Whatever your body type and temperament, Yogi Cameron offers diet, supplements, breathing exercises, and yoga tailored just for you. This is not a one-size-fits all program but an invitation to develop a practice that you'll take with you for the rest of your life.Yogi Cameron teaches us the ancient wisdom that we all have the power to heal ourselves. By developing a practice that works for your individual needs, you will forever improve how you eat, sleep, work, and exercise.Yogi Cameron invites us to discover what he has learned firsthand: the material world will not bring sustainable happiness, but we can all find joy if we pursue a meaningful path toward balancing our body and mind. With this book, you can be guided by the guru in you.

Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection


Matt DembickiTim Tingle - 2010
    Whether a coyote or rabbit, raccoon or raven, Tricksters use cunning to get food, steal precious possessions, or simply cause mischief. In Trickster, the first graphic anthology of Native American trickster tales, more than twenty Native American tales are cleverly adapted into comic form. An inspired collaboration between Native writers and accomplished artists, these tales bring the Trickster back into popular culture in vivid form. From an ego-driven social misstep in "Coyote and the Pebbles" to the hijinks of "How Wildcat Caught a Turkey" and the hilarity of "Rabbit's Choctaw Tail Tale," Trickster bring together Native American folklore and the world of graphic novels for the first time.

Dialogue with Death: A Journey Through Consciousness


Eknath Easwaran - 1981
    Why am I here? Is there a purpose to my life? What happens when I die? These deep questions are addressed with clear wisdom, vivid images and memorable stories.

Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi(tr)


Mahatma Gandhi - 2000
    In them Gandhi addresses the issues he felt most directly affected the spiritual lives of common people.

Awakening Osiris: A New Translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead


Normandi Ellis - 1988
    It comes as close to an appreciation of the themes of the soul's journey portrayed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead as any modern interpretation has, and with a poetry unmatched anywhere in the literature thus far". —KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient EgyptThe Egyptian Book of the Dead is one of the oldest and greatest classics of Western spirituality. Until now, the available translations have treated these writings as historical curiosities with little relevance to our contemporary situation. This new version, made from the hieroglyphs, approaches the Book of the Dead as a profound spiritual text capable of speaking to us today.  Awakening Osiris is a beautiful and engaging rendering of the Egyptian Book of the Dead as a series of meditations that reveals the soul of Egypt like no book before.These writings suggest that the divine realm and the human realm are not altogether separate—they remind us that the natural world, and the substance of our lives, is fashioned from the stuff of the gods. Devoted like an Egyptian scribe to the principle of "effective utterance", Normandi Ellis has produced a prose translation that reads like pure, diaphanous verse.

Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book


Terry Jones - 1994
    Or rather the psychic images of the fairies, who quickly turned it into a game, where they leapt between the closing pages in an effort to outdo each other to produce the most outrageous poses.

The Way to Rainy Mountain


N. Scott Momaday - 1969
    One should not be surprised, I suppose, that it has remained vital, and immediate, for that is the nature of story. And this is particularly true of the oral tradition, which exists in a dimension of timelessness. I was first told these stories by my father when I was a child. I do not know how long they had existed before I heard them. They seem to proceed from a place of origin as old as the earth."The stories in The Way to Rainy Mountain are told in three voices. The first voice is the voice of my father, the ancestral voice, and the voice of the Kiowa oral tradition. The second is the voice of historical commentary. And the third is that of personal reminiscence, my own voice. There is a turning and returning of myth, history, and memoir throughout, a narrative wheel that is as sacred as language itself." —From the new Preface

An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World


Pankaj Mishra - 2004
    As he travels among Islamists and the emerging Hindu Muslim class in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Mishra explores the myths and places of the Buddha's life, the West's "discovery" of Buddhism, and the impact of Buddhist ideas on such modern politicians as Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Mishra ultimately reaches an enlightenment of his own by discovering the living meaning of the Buddha's teaching, in this "unusually discerning, beautifully written, and deeply affecting reflection on Buddhism" (Booklist).

The Golden Bough


James George Frazer - 1890
    The Golden Bough" describes our ancestors' primitive methods of worship, sex practices, strange rituals and festivals. Disproving the popular thought that primitive life was simple, this monumental survey shows that savage man was enmeshed in a tangle of magic, taboos, and superstitions. Revealed here is the evolution of man from savagery to civilization, from the modification of his weird and often bloodthirsty customs to the entry of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.

Journey to the West (4-Volume Boxed Set)


Wu Cheng'en
    

Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica


Zora Neale Hurston - 1938
    Tell My Horse is an invaluable resource and fascinating guide. Based on Zora Neale Hurston’s personal experience in Haiti and Jamaica, where she participated as an initiate rather than just an observer of voodoo practices during her visits in the 1930s, this travelogue into a dark world paints a vividly authentic picture of ceremonies and customs and superstitions of great cultural interest.

The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries


W.Y. Evans-Wentz - 1911
    This magnificent book is a collection of stories, anecdotes, and legends from all six of the regions where celtic ways have persisted in the modern world.