The first part of this audiobook comprises several lectures to classes delivered by the present author in New York. The second part is a rather free translation of the aphorisms (sutras) of Patanjali, with a running commentary. Effort has been made to avoid technicalities as far as possible and to keep to the free and easy style of conversation.

Bhakti yoga is a real, genuine search after the Lord, a search beginning, continuing, and ending in love. One single moment of the madness of extreme love to God brings us eternal freedom. “Bhakti is greater than karma, greater than yoga, because these are intended for an object in view, while Bhakti is its own fruition, its own means, and its own end.”

Here we stand, and our eyes look forward sometimes miles ahead. Man has been doing that since he began to think. He is always looking forward, looking ahead. He wants to know where he goes, even after the dissolution of his body. Various theories have been propounded, system after system has been brought forward to suggest explanations. Some have been rejected, while others have been accepted, and thus, it will go on, so long as man is here, so long as man thinks. There is some truth in each of these systems.

This is the message of Shri Ramakrishna to the modern world: “Do not care for doctrines, do not care for dogmas, or sects, or churches, or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man which is spirituality; and the more this is developed in a man, the more powerful is he for good. Earn that first, acquire that, and criticize no one, for all doctrines and creeds have some good in them. Show by your lives that religion does not mean words, or names, or sects, but that it means spiritual realization."

What Hinduism needed, amidst the general disintegration of the modern era, was a rock where she could lie at anchor, an authoritative utterance in which she might recognize her self. And this was given to her in the words and writings of the Swami Vivekananda.

The Christlike character and divine personality of Bhagavân Srî Râmakrishna is revered and worshiped in India today as an ideal manifestation of the divine glory. His life was so extraordinary and unparalleled that within 10 years after his departure from earth, it aroused the admiration, wonder, and reverence not only of all classes of people in his own country, but of many distinguished English and German scholars of the 19th century.

Easwaran's classic manual is a unique source of practical spiritual support for new and experienced meditators, and gives all the instruction needed to establish a vibrant meditation practice and keep it going. In passage meditation, you focus attention on passages, or texts, drawn from all the world's sacred traditions. You choose the passages that appeal to you, so this universal method stays fresh and inspiring, prompting you to live out your highest ideals.

The Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of the Lord", is the best known of all the Indian scriptures, and Easwaran's reliable and accessible version has consistently been the best-selling translation. Easwaran's introduction places the Gita in its historical setting and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings. Chapter introductions give clear explanations of key concepts in that chapter.

In the Upanishads, illumined sages share flashes of insight, the results of their investigation into consciousness itself. In extraordinary visions, they experience directly a transcendent Reality which is the essence, or Self, of each created being. They teach that each of us, each Self, is eternal, deathless, one with the power that created the universe.

When Autobiography of a Yogi first appeared in 1946, it was acclaimed as a landmark work in its field. The New York Times hailed it as "a rare account". Newsweek pronounced it "fascinating". The San Francisco Chronicle declared, "Yogananda presents a convincing case for yoga, and those who 'came to scoff' may remain 'to pray." Today it is still one of the most widely read and respected books ever published on the wisdom of the East.

What is karma? Most people understand karma as a balance sheet of good and bad deeds, virtues and sins. The mechanism that decrees that we cannot evade the consequences of our own actions. In reality, karma has nothing to do with reward and punishment. Karma simply means action: your action, your responsibility. It isn’t some external system of crime and punishment, but an internal cycle generated by you. Accumulation of karma is determined only by your intention and the way you respond to what is happening to you.

In this book of key spiritual teachings from unpublished discourses, the great Advaita Master, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, teaches us that we are not limited to the body. Because of our mistaken body identity, we feel separate from what we truly are. Our identification with the body and mind subjects us to endless cycles of pleasure and pain, desire and fear, which cause us to search beyond ourselves for that which we believe we lack.

Dhammapada means "the path of dharma", the path of harmony and righteousness that anyone can follow to reach the highest good. This classic Buddhist scripture is a collection of vivid, practical verses gathered from direct disciples who wanted to preserve what they had heard from the Buddha himself. Easwaran's translation of this classic Buddhist text is the best-selling translation in the US.

This audiobook includes all three volumes in the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living series. A comprehensive manual for living a spiritual life, based on a verse-by-verse commentary on India’s timeless scripture - from the author of its best-selling translation. This audiobook includes all three volumes in this series. The Bhagavad Gita is set on the battlefield of an apocalyptic war between good and evil. Faced with a dire moral dilemma, the warrior prince Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life.

The great central fact of the universe is that Spirit of Infinite Life and Power that is behind all, that animates all, that manifests itself in and through all; that self-existent principle of life from which all has come, and not only from which all has come, but from which all is continually coming. If there is an individual life, there must of necessity be an infinite source of life from which it comes. If there is a quality or a force of love, there must of necessity be an infinite source of love whence it comes.