From the author of The Last Mughal (“A compulsively readable masterpiece” —The New York Review of Books), an exquisite, mesmerizing book that illuminates the remarkable ways in which traditional forms of religious life in India have been transformed in the vortex of the region’s rapid change—a book that distills the author’s twenty-five years of travel in India, taking us deep into ways of life that we might otherwise never have known exist.
A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet—and spends the rest of his life atoning for the violence by hand printing the finest prayer flags in India . . . A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her closest friend ritually starve herself to death . . . A woman leaves her middle-class life in Calcutta and finds unexpected fulfillment living as a Tantric in an isolated, skull-filled cremation ground . . . A prison warder from Kerala is worshipped as an incarnate deity for three months of every year . . . An idol carver, the twenty-third in a long line of sculptors, must reconcile himself to his son’s desire to study computer engineering . . . An illiterate goatherd from Rajasthan keeps alive in his memory an ancient four-thousand-stanza sacred epic . . . A temple prostitute, who initially resisted her own initiation into sex work, pushes both her daughters into a trade she nonetheless regards as a sacred calling.
William Dalrymple chronicles these lives with expansive insight and a spellbinding evocation of circumstance. And while the stories reveal the vigorous resilience of individuals in the face of the relentless onslaught of modernity, they reveal as well the continuity of ancient traditions that endure to this day. A dazzling travelogue of both place and spirit.
It is a rare and remarkable soul who becomes legendary during the course of his life by virtue of great service to others. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was such a soul, and through his teaching of yoga, he transformed the lives of countless people. The school in Mysore that he founded and ran for more than sixty years trained students who, through the knowledge they received and their devotion, have helped to spread the daily practice of traditional Ashtanga yoga to tens of thousands around the world.
Guruji paints a unique portrait of a unique man, revealed through the accounts of his students. Among the thirty men and women interviewed here are Indian students from Jois's early teaching days; intrepid Americans and Europeans who traveled to Mysore to learn yoga in the 1970s; and important family members who studied as well as lived with Jois and continue to practice and teach abroad or run the Ashtanga Yoga Institute today. Many of the contributors (as well as the authors) are influential teachers who convey their experience of Jois every day to students in many different parts of the globe.
Anyone interested in the living tradition of yoga will find Guruji richly rewarding.
In popular usage, "mysticism" typically refers to New Age or Eastern forms of spirituality. However, the mystical tradition is also an important component of the Christian tradition. At its heart--and much like its expression in other faith traditions--Christian mysticism is an ancient practice that incorporates meditation, contemplation, worship, philosophy, the quest for personal enlightenment, and the experience of Divine presence.
This volume is a comprehensive introduction and guide to Christian mysticism. It is a big book about a big possibility: the hope of achieving real, blissful, experiential unison with God. Among the topics covered here are a general introduction to mysticism, the Bible and mysticism, the history and types of Christian mysticism, biographical sketches of leading Christian mystics, and practical instructions about practicing mysticism today.
This is a breathtaking work that explores a form of spirituality that has changed lives over the course of 2,000 years. Learning about Christian mysticism and how it has been articulated through the centuries will prove inspirational for today's seekers, regardless of the faith tradition.
Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.
Nick Bunick fought his way up from the poor city streets to living the American Dream. Then astounding spiritual events occurred in his life that convinced him and hundreds of thousands of others that he had in fact lived 2,000 years ago as the Apostle Paul. His story was featured in the best-selling 1997 book The Messengers, and has dramatically changed the lives of people all over the world.
Time for Truth will take you on an incredible journey. It presents you with the true story of what happened 2,000 years ago in the time of Jesus, revealing how messages of love were distorted into messages of fear . . . messages of compassion into messages of guilt. Nick explains how the teachings that were designed to bring us together as brothers and sisters were altered to control the lives of the Christian church’s followers and polarize people, leading to centuries of suffering, violence, and war.
Nick has committed himself to sharing these extraordinary truths with you, which will have a truly transformative impact on your life. Along the way, you will be given a new and profound understanding of your true relationship with God, the spiritual world, and the purpose of your life. This book is your pathway to a wonderful and joyous new beginning!
The Kalahari Bushmen are the keepers of the world's oldest living culture. In spite of colossal challenges and never-ending crises, they have survived for over 60,000 years with joy and peace—yet their spiritual teachings, the source of their enduring wisdom, have never been fully presented. For the first time, these ancient oral traditions have been put down onto paper by a researcher so unique, he was featured in American Shaman: an Odyssey of Global Healing Traditions, which won a Best Spiritual Book award from Spirituality & Health magazine. Bradford Keeney takes the reader through the veil of original spirituality, connecting the fragments of world religions to a source that is unlike any other. Through this wisdom, readers can find the deepest meaning, fullest purpose, and highest joy in life.
The Bushman's Way to Tracking God is articulated through twelve original mysteries, including: activating the non-subtle universal life force (what the Bushmen call n/om), heightening emotional experience, vibratory interaction, direct downloading and absorption of sacred knowledge, extraordinary healing, activation of the ecstatic “pump,” spontaneous ways of rejuvenation, attending the spiritual classrooms, so-called telepathy, an uncommon range of mystical experiences, and last but not least, total bliss.
This beautiful book offers you an opportunity to internalize and directly experience the great wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, a collection of 81 verses authored by Chinese prophet Lao-tzu 25 centuries ago.
The words Tao Te Ching translate to “living and applying the Great Way.” The Tao is considered by many scholars to be the wisest book ever written, and it encourages you to change your life by literally changing the way you think.
Within these pages, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has broken down the verses into bite-size pieces so that you can slowly absorb these powerful thoughts and imprint them into your consciousness.
Working with one concept at a time, you will come to know the truth behind the ancient Tao observation: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
The word is Sanskrit and translates literally as "enlightenment" (bodhi) and "being" or "existence" (sattva). Buddhists believe that a bodhisattva is a particular kind of enlightened being – one whose compassion runs so deep that he or she resists a final dissolution of the soul into Eternity until all sentient beings have themselves attained liberation from suffering. The bodhisattva will continue to reincarnate in unenlightened worlds, at great personal risk and at times with considerable agony, in order to serve as a beacon of light, guiding seekers to higher consciousness and, hopefully, Ultimate Freedom.
