Download or read book Gurus in America written by Thomas A. Forsthoefel and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gurus in America provides an excellent introduction to the guru phenomenon in the United States, with in-depth analyses of nine important Hindu gurus—Adi Da, Ammachi, Mayi Chidvilasananda, Gurani Anjali, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Osho, Ramana Maharshi, Sai Baba, and Swami Bhaktivedanta. All of these gurus have attracted significant followings in the U.S. and nearly all have lived here for considerable periods of time. The book's contributors discuss the characteristics of each guru's teachings, the history of each movement, and the particular construction of Hinduism each guru offers. Contributors also address the religious and cultural interaction, translation, and transplantation that occurs when gurus offer their teachings in America. This is a fascinating guide that will elucidate an important element in America's diverse and ever-changing spiritual landscape.
Download or read book The Wisdom of the Hindu Gurus written by Timothy Freke and published by Journey Editions (VT). This book was released on 1998 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wisdom of the Masters series is a treasure house of ancient knowledge, with beautiful illustrations and paintings to accompany the texts.
Download or read book Jesus as Guru written by Jan Peter Schouten and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2008 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People in India form images of Jesus Christ that link up with their own culture. Hindus have given Jesus a place among the teachers and gods of their own religion, seeing in his life something of the wisdom and mysticism that is so central to Hinduism. Christians in India also make use of the concepts provided by Hinduism when they wish to express the meaning of Christ. Thus, in any case, Jesus is--for Hindus and Christians--a guru, a teacher of wisdom who speaks with divine authority. But for many Hindu philosophers and Christian theologians there is much more that can be said about him within the Indian framework. He can be described as an avatara, a divine descent, or linked to the Brahman, the all-encompassing Reality. This study looks at both Hindu and Christian views of Christ, starting with that of the Hindu reformer Rammohan Roy at the beginning of the nineteenth century, as well as those of the first Christian theologians of India. The views of Mahatma Gandhi and the monks of the Ramakrishna Mission are discussed, and those of influential Christian schools such as the Ashram movement and dalit theology. Five intermezzos indicate how artists in India portray Jesus Christ.
Download or read book The Guru Chronicles written by The Swamis of Kauai's Hindu Monastery and published by . This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 832 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927¿2001) sailed for Sri Lanka in 1947 to find his guru. After years of arduous training, he fell at the feet of the Tamil master, Siva Yogaswami. Following his guru¿s orders, the illumined yogi returned to America to teach the path of enlightenment. Ultimately, he was recognized and befriended by India¿s spiritual leaders as the first Hindu guru born in the West. Gurudeva, as he was affectionately known, founded the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order and established Kauai¿s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. Hinduism¿s many guru lineages are the spiritual rivers that pass the power on through the ages. The lineage that he joined extends to his guru¿s guru, Chellappaswami, and before him to Kadaitswami, then a nameless rishi and countless others, back to Rishi Tirumular and his guru, Maharishi Nandinatha, some 2,200 years ago in the high Himalayas. These are the illustrated stories of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, his guru Siva Yogaswami and five preceding masters, who all held truth in the palm of their hand and inspired slumbering souls to ¿Know thy Self.¿
Download or read book Thank You India written by Maria Wirth and published by Garuda Prakashan Private, Limited. This book was released on 2018-11-15 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maria's Wirth book is an ode to India and its wisdom. Stumbling into India on an accidental layover 1980, she got drawn into a seeker's journey, searching for truth and encountering the many remarkable men and women, gurus and teachers, who would act as guides for her decades in India. From Sai Baba to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, from Anandamayi Ma to Amma, she records her close personal encounters and experiences. The journey will take us to secluded and unknown yogis in the Himalayas to the famous celebrity gurus, to colourful festivals and ascetic caves. But her real journey is the inner voyage to Yoga or union, a union with the Self. As we travel with and through her we get to reflect on love and death, rebirth and liberation, the necessity and the limitations of the guru, and through it our own. Finding both inspiration and disillusionment, she returns again to her own Self and to the wisdom of India, a treasure for all of humanity.
Download or read book How to Become a Hindu written by Subramuniya (Master.) and published by Himalayan Academy Publications. This book was released on 2000 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A history-making manual,interreligious study and names list, with stories by Westerners who entered Hinduism and Hindus who deepened their faith"--Cove
Download or read book Guru to the World written by Ruth Harris and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-27 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Wolfson History Prize–winning author of The Man on Devil’s Island, the definitive biography of Vivekananda, the Indian monk who shaped the intellectual and spiritual history of both East and West. Few thinkers have had so enduring an impact on both Eastern and Western life as Swami Vivekananda, the Indian monk who inspired the likes of Freud, Gandhi, and Tagore. Blending science, religion, and politics, Vivekananda introduced Westerners to yoga and the universalist school of Hinduism called Vedanta. His teachings fostered a more tolerant form of mainstream spirituality in Europe and North America and forever changed the Western relationship to meditation and spirituality. Guru to the World traces Vivekananda’s transformation from son of a Calcutta-based attorney into saffron-robed ascetic. At the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, he fascinated audiences with teachings from Hinduism, Western esoteric spirituality, physics, and the sciences of the mind, in the process advocating a more inclusive conception of religion and expounding the evils of colonialism. Vivekananda won many disciples, most prominently the Irish activist Margaret Noble, who disseminated his ideas in the face of much disdain for the wisdom of a “subject race.” At home, he challenged the notion that religion was antithetical to nationalist goals, arguing that Hinduism was intimately connected with Indian identity. Ruth Harris offers an arresting biography, showing how Vivekananda’s thought spawned a global anticolonial movement and became a touchstone of Hindu nationalist politics a century after his death. The iconic monk emerges as a counterargument to Orientalist critiques, which interpret East-West interactions as primarily instances of Western borrowing. As Vivekananda demonstrates, we must not underestimate Eastern agency in the global circulation of ideas.
Download or read book Stripping the Gurus written by Geoffrey D. Falk and published by . This book was released on 2009-06 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Armed with wit, insight, and truly astonishing research, Falk utterly demolishes the notion of the enlightened guru who can lead devotees to nirvana.--John Horgan, author of "Rational Mysticism."
Download or read book Black Lotus written by Steven J Rosen and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2020-04-27 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black Lotus: The Spiritual Journey of an Urban Mystic explores the life and mission of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, an African-American seeker who became one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the twentieth century. His story begins in a Cleveland ghetto and culminates in the spiritual world. Along the way, readers meet John Favors, known by family and friends as "Johnny Boy." A particularly gifted youth, he overcame numerous obstacles, including a speech impediment and impoverished conditions, to reveal his exceptional character, wisdom, and spirituality.In his teenage years, he worked with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became a young but prominent participant in the Civil Rights movement. As months turned to years, he excelled in school and went on to Princeton University, uncommon for an African-American in the late-1960s. While there, he majored in psychology and learned the science of yoga.His abiding interest in black consciousness, the powers of the mind, and Eastern philosophy, however, was overshadowed by his spiritual inclinations, which led him to the Hare Krishna movement, known in India by its traditional name, Vaishnavism. This is the ancient science of the soul, long forgotten in the West and known in its purest form only to a select few even in the mystic East. Through his intense practice, "Johnny Boy" quickly transformed into "Bhakti Tirtha Swami," an adept who became renowned for his severe asceticism; his heartfelt praying; his material and spiritual welfare work around the world; his initiation of hundreds of students into the practice of bhakti (devotional yoga); and his coronation as a High Chief in the prestigious Warri kingdom of Nigeria.But his greatest accomplishments involved pragmatic application of high ideals - simple living and high thinking. To this end, he established farm communities, schools for children, published books, and founded the nonsectarian Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology (IFAST), which sponsors seminars and provides workshops for professionals and spiritual seekers of various persuasions. In the process, he demonstrated that effective spiritual life includes the best aspects of psychology and principle-centered leadership. More, he taught how to balance head and heart in pursuit of the spirit. His inspiring story is enriched by personal interviews with family, friends, college professors, mentors, disciples, and other fellow travelers on the spiritual path. These interviews make their appearance in the book as inset quotes, allowing his associates to speak for themselves. As a result, Black Lotus offers an intimate look at the Swami's life and times, which blossom on these pages for the first time in written form. As the beauty and sublime perfection of a lotus rises in supreme majesty above its stem, which is buried deeply in clouded waters, so Black Lotus is a tribute to one who rose above all boundaries and limitations, and inspired others to do the same.
Download or read book Teachings of the Hindu Mystics written by Andrew Harvey and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2019-07-30 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anthology of the most lyrical, passionate, illuminating writings of the Hindu mystical tradition. Some of the most lyrical, passionate, and illuminating writings of the Hindu mystical tradition are showcased in this anthology. Spiritual scholar and writer Andrew Harvey has selected excerpts from ancient and contemporary sources, including the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and other classical Hindu texts; the words of such venerable spiritual teachers as Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi; and the devotional poetry of Mirabai, Ramprasad, and many others. The scope of the collection makes it an excellent introduction to Hindu mystical literature, while the power and beauty of the language will inspire those already familiar with the genre. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.
Download or read book The Gurus the Young Man and Elder Paisios written by Dionysios Farasiotis and published by St. Xenia Skete Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This powerful memoir tells the story of a Greek youth who, out of a desire to know the truth empirically, began to experiment in yoga, hypnotism, and various occult techniques. Eventually drawn back to the faith of his forefathers - Orthodox Christianity - he visited the ancient monastic republic of Mount Athos in his native Greece, where he was brought to a knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ by the saintly Elder Paisios (1924-1994). Nevertheless, believing he had only found "part of the truth" on the Holy Mountain, he chose to give the "same opportunity" to Hindu yogis that he had given to Elder Paisios and other Orthodox monks. Thus, at the age of twenty-five, he embarked on a trip to India, where he undertook his search in the ashrams of three famous gurus, one of whom was worshiped as a god. His experiences in India, along with his subsequent encounters with Elder Paisios on Mount Athos, are recounted in the present book in vivid detail. This book is a page-turning narrative of both outward adventures and inward struggles. What stands out most, however, is the radiant image of Elder Paisios, possessed of divine gifts, laboring in prayer for his fellow man, and overflowing with unconditional love. Through this, one sees the uncreated Source of the elder's love and of the author's spiritual transformation : the true God-man Jesus Christ, who honors man's personal freedom while drawing him, through love, into everlasting union with Himself. --from back cover.
Download or read book Wisdom s Blossoms written by Doug Glener and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2002-11-12 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is a timeless collection of traditional stories that recount the personal spiritual journeys and true acts of selflessness by saints from various religious traditions indigenous to India, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Sufism. The authors present a diverse selection of these inspirational tales—about both men and women saints, from a variety of time periods, and from all over India—and make them relevant for a modern audience. The stories reveal that, despite their perceived differences, the same spiritual principles underlie all the great religious traditions.
Download or read book The Graceful Guru written by Karen Pechilis and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher but is also understood to be an embodiment of the divine. Historically, the role of guru in the public domain has been exclusive to men. The new visibility of female gurus in India and the U.S. today, and indeed across the globe, has inspired this first-ever scholarly study of the origins, variety, and worldwide popularity of Hindu female gurus. In the Introduction, Karen Pechilis examines the historical emergence of Hindu female gurus with reference to the Hindu philosophy of the self, women spiritual exemplars as wives and saints, Tantric worship of the Goddess, and the internationalization of gurus in the U.S. in the twentieth century. Nine essays profile specific female gurus, presenting biographies of these remarkable women while highlighting overarching issues and themes concerning women's status as religious leaders; these themes are nuanced in the afterword to the volume. The essays explore how Hindu female gurus embody grace in both senses--as a feminine ideal and an attribute of the divine-and argue that their status as leaders is grounded in their negotiation of these two types of grace. This book provides biographical profiles of the following female gurus plus sensitive scholarly analysis of their spiritual paths: Ammachi, Anandamayi Ma, Gauri Ma, Gurumayi, Jayashri Ma, Karunamayi Ma, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, Mother Meera, Shree Maa and Sita Devi.
Download or read book Transcendent in America written by Lola Williamson and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yoga, karma, meditation, guru—these terms, once obscure, are now a part of the American lexicon. Combining Hinduism with Western concepts and values, a new hybrid form of religion has developed in the United States over the past century. In Transcendent in America, Lola Williamson traces the history of various Hindu-inspired movements in America, and argues that together they constitute a discrete category of religious practice, a distinct and identifiable form of new religion. Williamson provides an overview of the emergence of these movements through examining exchanges between Indian Hindus and American intellectuals such as Thomas Jefferson and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and illuminates how Protestant traditions of inner experience paved the way for Hindu-style movements’ acceptance in the West. Williamson focuses on three movements—Self-Realization Fellowship, Transcendental Meditation, and Siddha Yoga—as representative of the larger of phenomenon of Hindu-inspired meditation movements. She provides a window into the beliefs and practices of followers of these movements by offering concrete examples from their words and experiences that shed light on their world view, lifestyle, and relationship with their gurus. Drawing on scholarly research, numerous interviews, and decades of personal experience with Hindu-style practices, Williamson makes a convincing case that Hindu-inspired meditation movements are distinct from both immigrant Hinduism and other forms of Asian-influenced or “New Age” groups.
Download or read book What Is Hinduism written by Himalayan Academy Publications and published by Himalayan Academy Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 919 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Since 1979 the international magazine Hinduism Today has been producing a treasury of educational features on all aspects of Sanatana Dharma. Guided by the founder, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the magazine's editors, who are initiated monks of Kauai's Hindu Monastery, collaborated with holy men and women and experts around the world in creating graphically rich guides to virtually every important aspect of Hinduism. The best of those works are assembled in "What Is Hinduism?" for Hindus and non-Hindus alike to discover the culture, beliefs, worship and mysticism that is India's greatest gift to humanity." --Back cover.
Download or read book Crazy Wisdom written by Chögyam Trungpa and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2001-11-13 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revered Buddhist teacher examines the life of Guru Rinpoche and the awakened state of mind known as "crazy wisdom" Chögyam Trungpa describes "crazy wisdom" as an innocent state of mind that has the quality of early morning—fresh, sparkling, and completely awake. This fascinating book examines the life of Padmasambhava, or Guru Rinpoche—the revered Indian teacher who brought Buddhism to Tibet—to illustrate the principle of crazy wisdom. From this profound point of view, spiritual practice does not provide comfortable answers to pain or confusion. On the contrary, painful emotions can be appreciated as a challenging opportunity for new discovery. In particular, the author discusses meditation as a practical way to uncover one's own innate wisdom.
Download or read book Sex Lies and Two Hindu Gurus written by Karen Jonson and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2014-09-01 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When she joined a spiritual organization in an attempt to regain control of her life, Karen Jonson had no clue that she would one day become a Hindu nun living in the US ashram of two men she called her gurus. She certainly never guessed that both of them would turn out to be conmen and that she would expose their dark secrets to the world. But that is exactly what happened. Her mission led her in several directions - including approaching an investigative reporter and an FBI agent, organizing a group of ex-devotees to support the gurus' victims, sharing insider information with prosecuting attorneys, and using social media to expose the organization.Sex, Lies and Two Hindu Gurus chronicles a world that is spoken of only in hushed whispers. It exposes the twisted goings-on inside the dubious spiritual cult she was part of and gives readers a rare insight into a dangerous con game. The perversions the gurus indulged in, how they preyed upon the vulnerabilities of their followers, swindled them and ruined their lives, and why no one has stopped the fake gurus from sexually violating underage girls - every detail comes under scrutiny. It is a thriller comparable to any piece of fiction. It is also a crime drama, and a cautionary tale for people seeking to connect with the divine.
