Your World Religions: Books for Further Reading

Wednesday

Books for Further Reading

• Hinduism: ‘Autobiography of a Yogi,’ P. Yogananda

• Buddhism: ‘ Being Peace,’ Thich Naht Hanh

• Taosim: ‘The Tao of Pooh,’ Ben Hoff

• Islam: ‘The Fragrance of Faith,’ Jamal Rachman

• Judaism: ‘Hassidic Tales,’ Martin Buber

• Native American: ‘Black Elk Speaks,’ Black Elk

• African: ‘The Healing Drum,’ Yaya Diallo

• Protestant Christian: ‘Testament of Devotion,’ Thomas R. Kelly

• Catholic Christian: ‘Saint Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower’

* Orthodox Christian: 'In the Heart of the Desert: Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers,' John Chryssavgis

* General text: 'Religions of the World,' Huston Smith

* Novel: 'Siddhartha,' Herman Hesse (Based on Buddha's life)

* Novella: 'The Great Divorce,' C.S. Lewis (Christian afterlife)

* Poems: 'Essential Rumi,' Coleman Barks, ed. (Sufi poet)

* Women Mystics: 'Women In Praise of the Sacred,' Jane Hirshfield, ed. (43 centuries of women's soul poems)

* Peace Making: 'You Are, Therefor I Am,' Santash Kumar

Books Dealing With Post Traumatic Stress

* 'Achilles In Viet Nam,' Dr. Christopher Shey (Psychiatrist compares how ancient and modern warriors dealt with stress)

* 'At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey,' Claude Thomas (Viet vet's healing through Buddhist practice of compassion)

* 'Anger,' Thich Nhat Hanh (Modern Buddhist meditation master's practical teaching)

Holy Company, Yoga Vashistha

‘The blessings that flow from the company of holy saints are incom- parable to any other blessings. The holy man’s nature is cool and peaceful, his behavior and actions are pure. Therefore his company promotes peace and goodness in everyone who seeks it. In his company one loses fear. Sinfulness comes to an end and one grows in purity. Even the love and affection that the gods and angels possess are nothing compared to the limitless love that, flows from the holy ones.’
~Yoga Vashistha, VI . 2. 39

Quakers & 'the Inner Light'

"Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Centre, a speaking Voice, to which we may continually return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life." ~Thomas Kelly, 20th C. Quaker, 'Testament of Devotion'

Ancient text, 'Yogavashta,' and time lapse video (clik)

❝There are beings in this universe whose winking is of the duration of an epoch. Space and time have no fixed span, both are appearances, both imagination. Because the substratum is real; space too appears very real. Giving illusions of separateness between elements within itself. Time too arose as a notion (another dimension). Time is threaded and animated by the power of this reality. It is the finite space of individual consciousness that creates the divisions in time. ❞ ~ Yoga Vashishta

Ajna Chakra, Forehead

"This is the two-petalled lotus. The petals are Shakti and Shiva. The yantra is between our two eyebrows. This chakra is opened by the Hrim seed mantra. The aura streams from this chakra to all the other chakras. That is why we put sandal paste, kum kum, and vibhuti to this place. It is such a powerful place! Through the Ajna chakra you experience your fourth body, a huge body, expanding from mother earth to the cosmos. We have three bodies, physical, mental and intellectual. But in our Ajna chakra we experience our fourth body, our eternal body. This is the immortal body. When this chakra opens you experience the light of lights, the divine consciousness, the whole cosmos opens to us. Then you don't just experience the light. You ARE the light." ~Sri Karunamayi

Ammaji: She is a living Indian Saint & Guru

“God is compassion. God waits at the door of every heart. He is an uninvited guest everywhere, because whether you call or not, God is there. Whether you are a believer or a nonbeliever, God is within you uninvited. Behind every form, God is hiding. He beautifies things and makes them what they are. He is the hidden formula of life. But He won’t reveal Himself to you. You won’t feel God unless you call Him. Prayer is the invitation. You must invoke Him through prayer and meditation. Chanting, singing and repeating the mantra are invitations, asking God to reveal Himself.” ~ Amma

The Gift of Tears

"The inner fruit ripens only with the shedding of tears. When you reach the place of tears, then know that your spirit has come out from the prison of the old world and has set foot upon the path to the new age. Then your spirit begins to breathe the wondrousl air which is there, and you shed tears. Now the moment for the birth of the spiritual child is at hand. The travail of childbirth becomes intense. Grace, the mother of us all, gives mystical birth to the soul, God's image. And when the time for this birth arrives, the intellect senses the other world as a faint perfume, or as the life-breath which a newborn child receives into its body. Hardly able to endure it, our flesh is overcome by a weeping mingled with joy." ~Isaac of Ninevah, 7th C. Orthodox Saint

Click to hear imam rauf

"Once we define as evil those who counter us, we lose the moral high ground & begin to descend a slippery ethical slope. Sufis teach that we first must battle & destroy the evil in ourselves by shining upon it the Good within; & then we learn to battle the evil in others by helping their higher selves gain control of their lower selves. To battle the evil in others by responding in kind & exhibiting equally violent behavior is to flout the very ethic of our religious traditions." (Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Cordoba Project, NYC)

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is the opinion of many. Do not believe in anything because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." (Buddha, 'Dhammapada')

"Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spend enough time with the tiniest creature, even a caterpillar, I would never have to prepare a sermon, so full of God is every creature.” (Meister Eckhart, 14th C .Christian mystic)

"When you expand your vision and awareness, you see that you are a part of everybody. If people around you are suffering, you do not simply shut your eyes and say, 'I'll be really happy.' The subtler you go and the more refined you are, you feel for everyone in the world. You start feeling for trees, animals and plants as well. You begin to care for the environment." (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)

Unity

"Truth is One: the wise have called it by many names." (Hindu Vedas)

"Do not be confused because you hear many voices. Know that I am One and the same." (Jewish Talmud)

""The lamps are different but the light is the same: it comes from beyond." (Rumi, Islamic Sufi)

"There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one God, the light that shines in your heart." (Satya Sai Baba)

"I am a Hindu, I am a Christian, I am a Muslim, I am a Jew." (Gandhi)

"The heart of every religion is the religion of the heart." (Br. David Steindl-Rast)

Present Moment

"To God, nothing is future or past: all is now." (John Calvin)

"When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and the future." (St. Theresa of Liseaux)

"God is creating the entire cosmos fully and totally in this present now." (Meister Eckhart)

"The ego can only be transcended by accessing the power of the present moment." (Eckhart Tolle)

"The past no longer has being; the future is but a dream. Give up dreaming of the past and worrying about the future. Dwell deeply, deeply in the present moment, just as it is, and you will attain the peace and unity of the ancient prophets." (Bedda Karata Sutra of the Buddha)

"Take no thought for tomorrow." (Jesus)

Your World Religions

Wednesday

Books for Further Reading

'Amazing Grace': Judy Collins & Harlem Boys Choir

Link: Faith in the Zone

St. Francis

Chapters

Rumi: 'Great Mystery' (click)

Live Classroom Sites

Lord's Prayer in Aramaic, the Language Jesus Spoke

World Religion Links

Kabir, Sikh Saint of India

Sufis of Islam

Navaho World

Self-Knowledge

Vajrayogini & Chakrasamvara: divine Buddhic embodiments of Compassion & Wisdom

Non-Dualist Advaita Vedanta philosophy of India

Fireside Talks (Podcasts)

سبحان الله

The Jesus Prayer

Holy Company, Yoga Vashistha

Quakers & 'the Inner Light'

Alan Watts: Click to Listen

Ancient text, 'Yogavashta,' and time lapse video (clik)

TM (click for video)

the real source of violence: krishmamurti

Louis Schwartzberg 'Ted' talk (click flower)

Prayer of St. Francis (clik)

'Say Yes To What Is': Brilliant Eckhart Tolle Talk (clic pic to hear)

Intellect & Mind in Indian Philosophy

Mrityunjaya Mantra: Great Healing Chant of Hinduism (clik to hear)

'O Sacred Head'

Ajna Chakra, Forehead

Ammaji: She is a living Indian Saint & Guru

The Gift of Tears

By St. Thomas Acquinas

"Ask anything." My Lord said to me.And my mind and heart thought deeplyfor a second, then repliedjust one word, "When?"God's arms then opened upand I entered Myself.I entered myselfwhen I entered Christ.And having learned compassion I allowed my soul

Science and Creation

Dipak Chopra, Heart (clik)

Your heart is a center of wisdom & radiance

Creation through the Word

Muslim Law & Human Rights

Stress Management Links

Clik to Hear Jewish Chant in Yoga Kirtan Style

India's Influence on the West

Buddhism, the Dalai Lama

Click to hear imam rauf

enemies

Salve Regina

'What Am I?' -Rumi (Click Picture to Listen)

Sufi Wisdom

Yoga: Surya Namaskar

Devi Prayer, Names of the Mother

Hebrew Kirtan

Peace Is Every Step: click pic to hear

Islamic Sufis

Prayer of Compassion

Baha'i: Religion of Unity

Radha's Love for Krishna

'Medicine Buddha'

Hildegard of Bingen (12th C)

Unity

Message from Amma Karunamai (clik pic for video)

Instruction from Tibetan Book of the Dead whispered to one who has just passed over

Call of Krishna's Flute

Rock Edict of King Ashoka, Indian Emperor, 300 BC

Misunderstandings about Gurus

Bede Griffiths, Surrender

Classic Meditation Talks by Maharishi Mahesh

Christian Meditation

Lovely Chant from the Qu'ran

Sephardic Jewish Chant

Mindfulness Breath, Thich Nath Hanh

Present Moment

"Be Who You Are"

Native Amerian Right to Worship

Shivo'ham: Sanskrit Chant

Radha-Krishna, Indian Bhajan

"Ask anything." My Lord said to me.
And my mind and heart thought deeply
for a second, then replied
just one word, "When?"
God's arms then opened up
and I entered Myself.
I entered myself
when I entered Christ.
And having learned compassion
I allowed my soul