spirituality Archives - Penguin Random House India

Is Chaos Driving You Crazy? Here’s the Secret to Finding Instant Calm

Posted on August 22, 2024August 23, 2024 by prathod

Feeling overwhelmed by the chaos of everyday life? From Chaos to Calm by Gauranga Darshan Das is here to help. In this excerpt, find out tips to calm your restless mind by treating it like a curious child—guiding it with gentle care. Dive in and discover practical tips inspired by the Bhagavad Gita to find peace and focus in your daily life.

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Finding Peace Amidst Distractions

Once, I saw a little boy, hardly a year old, sitting on his mother’s lap, as she busied herself in a conversation with her friend. The boy was joyful and smiling. Every now and then, he tried to get out of his mother’s lap, or extend his hands and touch the objects around him.

When he touched a fruit, the mom smiled and allowed him to play with it. In a few moments, he threw the fruit, and it rolled on the ground. He crawled behind it for a few baby steps, but eventually gave up the chase. Then, he found a knife nearby and picked it up. His mother immediately came over, took it away and put him back on her lap. He was disappointed and flapped his hands and legs for freedom. So his mother offered a toy to pacify him, and he played with it for a while. Then, he left the toy, took his mother’s handbag and tried to put its belt into his mouth. His mother gently pulled it away as she continued to converse. She also put the toy back in her son’s hands. And this continued to happen . . .

Whenever the child touched something soft and harmless, the mother would allow him to do so, but when he reached out for something harmful, his mother immediately took it away and brought him back to her lap. Even when the baby cried, the mom comforted him and kept him on her lap. And this is how we need to control our curious, restless, fickle and unsteady minds. Interesting, isn’t it?

Getting distracted is natural, but remaining distracted is harmful.

The Kid Called Mind

The mind is like an innocent kid, lively and curious. To keep the mind calm and composed amidst the chaotic distractions of this world is a great challenge. The mind is also a storehouse of all kinds of thoughts, desires, emotions and feelings. Some of them positive, while others are negative. The mind collects all these impressions through the senses and interactions with people around us. The mind is always eager to explore everything, but it doesn’t know what’s right or wrong, good or bad. That’s where our intelligence comes in, just like a mom guiding her child. Intelligence keeps a watchful eye on the mind’s activities, just like a vigilant mother, and practises bringing the mind’s focus back to the task at hand. But our intelligence will function in this way only when it has been trained and sharpened. Now, the question is: Are we prepared to do so?

Two Keys to Tame the Mind

Lord Krishna responded to Arjuna’s concern by presenting two effective tips to regulate the mind’s distractions. He said:

asamśayam mahā-bāho
mano durnigraham calam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya
vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyat

‘O mighty-armed Arjuna, it is undoubtedly very difficult to regulate the restless mind, but it is possible by (1) Practice (abhyāsa) and (2) Detachment (vairagya).’

Lord Krishna also describes the hierarchy of the body’s elements, and says, ‘The senses are inferior to the mind, and the intelligence is superior to the mind.’

Because the mind is positioned between intelligence and the senses, we can regulate the mind from both sides by (1) Sense Control, and (2) Sharp Intelligence.

Combining the above two pairs of keys, we can tame our mind with the following two actionable practices, the first external and the second, internal:

1. Practise Sense Control
2. Cultivate Detachment with Intelligence

1. Practise Sense Control: The senses act as the entry points through which the mind receives various impressions. Therefore, by regulating the senses from overindulging in the sense objects, we eventually bring the mind under control. By doing so, we restrict unnecessary inputs to the mind, and thus regulate the mind’s distractions. This is the external way to tame the mind. As mentioned before: ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’

2. Cultivate Detachment through Intelligence: Although keeping distractions physically out of sight is a good way to control the mind, our inner thoughts can distract us too. With sharp intelligence, we should dismiss such thoughts, and cultivate detachment from things that are unfavourable for our well-being. Knowing the transient nature of the pleasures of this world helps us be detached from them. We can sharpen our intelligence by doing two things: (1) reading wisdom texts like the Gita and (2) learning from experienced people.

The mind can be brought from distraction to concentration, by using scriptural intelligence to analyse its thoughts and align them with values. Thus, by restricting the senses externally and sharpening the intelligence internally, we can tame our unsteady mind and make it our greatest friend.

When a lamp in a windy place wavers, we protect its flame by enclosing it with our hands. Similarly, we need to protect the flame of our minds from the wind of distractions with the hands of our intelligence.

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Get your copy of From Chaos to Calm by Gauranaga Darshan Das on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

Demystifying Needs, Wants, and Desires in ‘The Autobiography of God’

Posted on April 16, 2024 by prathod

Learn the true meaning of self-discovery in ‘The Autobiography of God’ by Lenaa Kumar, where desires go beyond mere wants and needs. In this book, Lenaa shares her remarkable story spanning eighteen years—a journey of overcoming anxiety, depression, and the constraints of the rigid psychiatric system.

Read this exclusive excerpt to uncover the keys to profound self-discovery and unlock the answers to life’s most pressing questions.

A major side effect of Self-Realization is the loss of any need, want or desire due to the experience of One-Self as all-there-is!

Many have stopped at that level of mind where logic and reason become unnecessary.

This is where I am grateful to my family and friends for putting me in psychiatric care. Due to this, Desire could arise once again, and I am living out my potential rather than wandering as a bliss bunny!

As long as one is in a body on earth and identified with the body, the experience is always ‘duality’.

That of knowing I am One and whole, Infinite and Eternal and yet experiencing my-Self as separate and individual, finite and mortal. Mastering this balancing act is the Mastery of Life.

In the rest of this book, I will share with you all the techniques and tools I used to balance duality and reach a high integration of Conscious and Subconscious, Body and Mind, Energy and Consciousness.

Some basics first:
Need signifies the lack of something.

Want signifies the choice to have something.

Desire signifies a deep wanting, hopefulness and wishfulness with the added emotion of longing and imagination of having it.

The Paradigm Shift of Desire
Where does desire come from?
Putting aside the commonly believed idea that desire arises from within the mind, let us look at desire as a command to achieve or create or experience something, coming into the mind, in the form of vibrations, from the unknown or rather from the I/Life, and being translated by the intellect as an idea that then becomes a desire, that is then sent as an impulse in the body to Do something.

This paradigm takes away all the stress of having chosen a particular decision and instead the mind is able to focus on the task that it has been entrusted with by Consciousness/ I/Life.

This leads to a clear alignment of body, mind and I. I/Consciousness/Life gives a command to the mind that appears as a desire, which then prompts action from the body so that the being, moves towards achieving that desire which leads to the experience that I wants the mind to have, so as to break the identification of I with body/mind/intellect.

Every true, deep and intrinsic desire one feels is a command from Life itself to this mind so that the body may do what is needed for Life to experience itself, as Consciousness Bliss.

Desire vs Need
If you find yourself living in a box of needs, then you are in one of the boxes in Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs.

Pyramid of Needs

One must have a clear idea of one’s needs. However, desire is the thing that makes one get out of bed in the morning (especially, to go to work). To beat depression, one must desire something.

The desire for self-esteem is a paradox. We try to impress others with our material possessions and with how worthy they should think we are of their holding us in high esteem when the very need is for self-esteem, which only you can give to yourself.

Two modern-day issues with this area are:
1. Self-esteem is confused with social standing or status. This has to do with borrowed desires. They are the root of all misery. You can never enjoy their fruit, because the seed wasn’t yours, to begin with. If social media or peer pressure is the source of your desires in life, anxiety, stress and depression come free with it.

2. Not knowing what you truly want. Unless you take time with yourself to cut out everyone else’s desires that are filling you, your true desires will not surface. They are buried somewhere deep down along with your childhood memories.

While biological and psychological needs demand their fulfilment rather drastically, aesthetic needs are just as painful as all others when unfulfilled. Here, the dilemma is that it doesn’t look as important as a need, but it is an overwhelming personal need.

The desire for creativity, freedom and expressing authenticity and knowing the truth is the highest of human needs. Existential angst and the heights of anxiety about the unknown accompanied by the depression of not fitting in, not knowing how to evolve, confusion about truth and searching, without knowing what for, are the hallmarks of this stage. It is at this stage of our desire for deeper meaning that we feel most alone and at times lonely. This stage of anxiety and depression is a luxury. You get here only when the other levels of needs are satisfied and not escaped. Congratulate yourself if you are at this stage because desire takes on a whole new meaning from here.

Waking up to the meaning of desire from this stage we see it as a sign or force that rises within us to propel us in the direction of evolution, truth and destiny. Like all pure creativity, desire comes from a source beyond our limited perceptions of self. Then desire is seen as the fuel to unleash one’s true and individual potential. Desires are signs that lead to higher synchronicities, showing us the way to our higher self.

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Get your copy of The Autobiography of God by Lenaa Kumar wherever books are sold.

8 Spiritual Audiobooks to Kickstart 2024

Posted on January 5, 2024 by prathod

Step into the new year with a fresh perspective by exploring our collection of spiritual audiobooks. From decoding the workings of the mind to finding lasting happiness and practicing meditation, these books provide practical insights and techniques for a more fulfilling and harmonious life in 2024

In Energize Your Mind, bestselling author and life coach Gaur Gopal Das decodes how the mind works. He combines his anecdotal style with analytical research to teach us how to discipline our mind for our greater well-being. Throughout this book, he provides interactive exercises, meditation techniques and worksheets to help us take charge of our mind.

This book is an essential read for anyone who wants to work towards a better, more fulfilling future for themselves.

Life's Amazing Secrets — Life’s Amazing Secrets || Gaur Gopal Das

Stop going through life,
Start growing through life!

While navigating their way through Mumbai’s horrendous traffic, Gaur Gopal Das and his wealthy young friend Harry get talking, delving into concepts ranging from the human condition to finding one’s purpose in life and the key to lasting happiness.

Whether you are looking at strengthening your relationships, discovering your true potential, understanding how to do well at work or even how you can give back to the world, Gaur Gopal Das takes us on an unforgettable journey with his precious insights on these areas of life.

Das is one of the most popular and sought-after monks and life coaches in the world, having shared his wisdom with millions. His debut book, Life’s Amazing Secrets, distils his experiences and lessons about life into a light-hearted, thought-provoking book that will help you align yourself with the life you want to live.

In today’s challenging and busy world, don’t you wish you knew how to quieten your mind and focus on yourself? In On Meditation, renowned spiritual leader, Sri M, answers all your questions on the practice and benefits of meditation. With his knowledge of all the various schools of practice and the ancient texts, he breaks down the complicated practice into a simple and easy method that any working man or woman, young or old, can practise in their everyday lives.

The Power of Thoughts || Swami Mukundananda

Incredibly, the ingredients of a hugely successful life cost nothing at all. In fact, we mass-produce 60,000 of them every day. These are the thoughts that our mind creates. They are responsible for the happiness and distress we experience. They are the precursors of all we do. We grapple with improving our actions, only to find our attempts undone by impure thinking.
If we focus on transforming our thoughts instead, incredible results will accrue from a fraction of the efforts. Since all aspects of our life are so strongly linked to our thoughts, we have much to gain by deepening our understanding of them.
In this book, Swami Mukundananda, a world-renowned spiritual teacher from India and an internationally acclaimed mind-management authority, will teach you about watching your thoughts, directing them, dismantling harmful thought structures, creative thinking, meditation and much more. When you focus on revolutionizing your thoughts-the most fundamental aspect of inner personality-you will discover yourself evolving to divine heights to fulfil the purpose of your life.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the world we live in, more so than all the recent events put together. The pandemic has made humans question certain assumptions, relook at priorities and adjust life according to the new normal in the twenty-first century. As we take stock of life ahead, beyond this cusp of change, focus emerges as the fulcrum to help ease this transformation.
The Art of Focus, the second book in this three-part series, presents forty-five simple stories filled with revelations to enthral readers with learnings from the experiences of the protagonists and the dynamics of the situations that manifested in their lives.
The first book in the series, The Art of Resilience, presented ingredients to the readers to help them develop resilience in challenging situations that manifested at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Art of Focus builds on the first book and inspires the resilient heart to develop a focused mind. This collective presentation will better equip the readers to take charge of their lives and adapt to the new normal effectively.

The Art and Science of Happiness || Swami Mukundananda

First 5000 copies will have Swamiji’s digital signature.
Happiness is a beautiful feeling. It floods our heart with gratitude and enriches us with the exuberance of life. Happiness is what makes living worthwhile. That is why we pursue it in all we do. Yet, despite our best efforts, it remains elusive. Why?
This is the puzzle we must solve in life. What is the secret of finding everlasting bliss? What is the art of experiencing joy that is immune to vicissitudes? And what is the science of achieving happiness that is not dependent on externals?
In this book, internationally acclaimed authority on mind management, renowned saint and bestselling author Swami Mukundananda draws on the ancient wisdom of the scriptures and current scientific research to address these questions. He also explains strategies for happiness in relationships, at work and in the face of adversity. By applying these concepts in your daily life, you can be happy everywhere and at all times.

Asking questions is an important part of learning as it provides a unique framework for thinking and opens doors to unexpected revelations for us. Digging into how or why things are the way they are, paves the way for enlightenment.
On the contrary, keeping the doubts to ourselves can keep us from truth, thus depriving us from valuable opportunities life has to offer. As human beings, we must enquire and keep doing so. But what kind of enquiries are we supposed to make?
In Ask the Monk, celebrated monk Nityanand Charan Das lucidly answers over seventy frequently asked questions-by young and the old alike-on topics such as karma, religion versus spirituality, mind, God, destiny, purpose of life, suffering, rituals, religion, wars and so on. These answers that are extremely crucial to help you, the reader, embark on the journey of self-discovery and self-realization.

The intentions, thoughts and actions of the elders are caught by the hearts of the children. The children observe, learn and imbibe the teachings quickly and faithfully, and the elders have the responsibility to not only raise the children well, but nurture and guide them in a way that they can lead fulfilling lives.

Daaji in The Wisdom Bridge offers nine principles to guide you, the reader, to live a life that inspires your children and your loved ones. These principles are important references for parents, parents-to-be, grandparents and caregivers to create fulfilling and happy lives. They will not only help you enrich the lives of your children and raise responsible teenagers, but pave the way for an inspired life and resilient bonds in your family.

Gurcharan Das’s Journey to a More Compassionate Self

Posted on November 8, 2023November 9, 2023 by prathod

What does it mean to understand ourselves and become more compassionate? In this excerpt from Another Sort of Freedom by Gurcharan Das, we explore these deep questions. Let’s think about who we are, how our identity changes, and how we can live with more kindness and empathy beyond the confines of egotism.

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‘When God is gone, how do you give meaning to your life?’ my mother had once asked. I had failed to give her a satisfactory answer. But I had an inkling that meaning emerges from pursuing something bigger than yourself. I had experienced it as a spirit of lightness. It usually happened when I was deeply absorbed in my writing. I wasn’t even there – the fingers just kept hitting the keys of my laptop and words kept appearing on the screen. Tendulkar had described the same feeling when he was approaching his last double century. He said the cricket ball had become so big that the bat just had to hit the ball. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the psychologist, calls it ‘flow’. The problem with this feeling is that it is temporary. The big question was: could I extend it to the rest of the day, to the rest of my life? Could self-forgetting become an enduring attitude of living lightly?

Such questions emerged early in my life when I first encountered David Hume’s Treatise on Human Nature at Harvard. I became aware of the stream of thoughts in my head. A decade later, the voices first appeared involuntarily in my early thirties. These mental experiments continued over the years, and they have convinced me that I could only be sure of the existence of momentary thoughts, not who was having them. Like Hume, I looked for an author but I could not find him. Was I then merely a fictional composite of my momentary selves? If so, how was I able to negotiate from one thought to the next one? What provided continuity between my individual moments, I concluded, were my memories, my desires, and my beliefs. But these mental entities also depended on the temporary roles I was playing, the masks I was wearing. They were, thus, not reliable sources of my permanent existence.

All this led to growing scepticism about my permanent identity. I concluded that my I-ness was a fraud of sorts, a sort of fictional narrator that held the story of my life together. I have been much influenced by Donald J, and by Nagarjuna’s Buddhist idea of anatta, ‘no-self’. When the ‘I’ got busted, I was hugely unnerved. I could not live without a concept of personhood. But I still needed to get on with my life. Of all the emotions I possessed, the most overwhelming was a deep concern for my own survival. I still needed an author, an object of my self-concern. If it didn’t exist, how would I be responsible for my actions? Not just in a courtroom but in my conscience. For all practical purposes, I needed a stable concept of a person.

As time went by, I gradually became resigned to the absence of a permanent ‘I’ and I underwent a subtle change. I began to view my identity as a useful fiction, a practical necessity, a minimal self. I became a little more detached, seeing through the many roles I was playing in my daily life. My day to day life, however, did not change. I did not suddenly become selfless or philanthropic. Self-concern still defined my attitude towards myself. But I felt less and less at the centre of the universe – I was just one amongst others. My minimal self, in other words, was able to extend the same concern a little more easily to others. As a result, I began to feel a continuum or sameness with other selves. I did not hanker constantly after premium treatment for myself.

It was this awakening that raised a hope. If my minimal self could more easily identify with the selves of others, could I become more empathetic, a more compassionate person? Could I overcome some of the worst, egotistical defects in my character, and liberate myself from bondages that had nagged me all my life? I had lived my life in the constant belief that my interests trumped everyone else’s. And my behaviour had been consistently egocentric. There were exceptions from time to time — a few early moments of awakening! The obvious one being the pencil box incident in kindergarten. When Ayan was about to be wrongly punished for stealing the rich kid’s pencil box, he had cried out, appealed to me. I remained silent. My feeling of shame was followed by profound concern for Ayan, which has never left me. A few months later, I had experienced this in a different way during the Partition violence. On this occasion, I felt a wave of empathy for the handsome Muslim policeman on the railway platform just as he was stabbed to death by two Sikh boys. I bumped first into Ayan and then into the Partition, both without warning, and they pulled me out of my egocentric self, at least for a while.

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Get your copy of Another Sort of Freedom by Gurcharan Das wherever books are sold.

Mastering Prince Dhruva’s Six-Month Success Sutra

Posted on August 18, 2023 by prathod

Experience the essence of success through the inspiring story of Prince Dhruva by Gauranga Darshan Das. Rooted in the timeless trio of desire, endeavor, and prayer Dhruva’s journey showcases steadfast determination and the influence of mentorship. Read this excerpt, to extract insights that surpass age and background, presenting valuable lessons for those on the path to success.

Get ready for the Ultimate Six-Month Success Formula!

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The trio for success –

1. Desire,
2. Endeavour and
3. Prayer One’s ‘desire’ must be pure and strong,
one’s ‘endeavour’ has to be sincere and determined,
yet without the Lord’s sanction, one can’t be
successful, therefore, ‘prayer’ is necessary.

After being instructed by his mentor in the process of worshipping Lord Vishnu, Dhruva went to Madhuvana. Arriving at the bank of the Yamuna, he entered the river to take a bath. Later that night, he diligently observed a fast.

Then, as advised by Narada Muni, he began his worship of the Lord in the beautiful forest of Madhuvana. Dhruva’s austerities in the forest set a great example for all seekers for eons to come. The level of his determination and the intensity of his resolve was unparalleled even as a five-year-old child.

Increasing Intensity of Austerities

Dhruva began worshipping Lord Vishnu sincerely and restricted his eating only to fruits and berries named Kapittha and Badara, only once in three days, to keep his body alive. In this way, he spent one full month.

In the second month, Dhruva survived on some dry grass and leaves that he took only once in six days. Without wasting even a moment searching for food or other things, Dhruva became absorbed in his worship of the Lord.

During the third month, Dhruva’s austerities and his absorption in Lord Vishnu increased. He simply drank water only once every nine days. Thus, he remained rapt in meditation and eventually entered a trance while worshipping the Lord.

As the fourth month set in, Dhruva’s sadhana spiritual practice intensified further. He mastered pranayama or breathing exercises, and would inhale air only once in twelve days. Being completely fixed up in his position as a devotee of Lord Vishnu, he took only air as his food.

By the fifth month, Dhruva’s meditation reached its crescendo. He had completely controlled his breathing, attained perfection in the process and was able to stand simply on one leg. Like a motionless column, Dhruva fully concentrated on the form of Lord Vishnu in line with the teachings of his guru, Narada Muni. He continually chanted and meditated on the mantra ‘om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.’

The power of sincere meditation on the divine form of the Lord makes one completely absorbed in a trance.

Complete Self-control

Dhruva attained complete sense control. His senses were not at all agitated by any sense object. Generally, the greatest obstacle in spiritual life or even in one’s normal life is the distraction caused by the senses—our eyes constantly chase beautiful objects, our ears long to hear pleasant sounds and music, our hands hanker to touch soft objects that give pleasure to the body, our nose continually pursues sweet fragrances, and the tongue wishes to taste palatable dishes even if they may hamper one’s health. In this way, an average human being is constantly tormented by sensual attractions that are nothing but distractions. But Dhruva’s senses were riveted on his goal—worshipping Lord Vishnu.

Another great obstacle for a person engaged in spiritual practices is mental distractions. In fact, the senses become distracted because of a distracted mind. Whenever the senses come in contact with sense objects, they create various pleasant and unpleasant impressions within the mind. For instance, when a person sees a beautiful object, a pleasant impression is immediately created in the mind and when the same person sees an ugly object, an unpleasant impression is generated in the mind.

Thus, the mind becomes a storehouse of millions and trillions of material impressions that keep popping up regularly and distract the person from his or her goals. Therefore, mind and sense control are vital to attaining success in any endeavour, especially in spiritual life.

One who can control one’s mind and senses is a deserving candidate and becomes entitled to success.

Although immature in age, Dhruva exhibited complete sense and mind control in his devotional meditation on Lord Vishnu. He was also fully determined to follow the path instructed by his guru.

A student who is sincere in following the instructions of a potent guru is sure to attain success in spiritual life.

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Get your copy of Dhruva by Gauranga Darshan Das wherever books are sold.

The Perfect Way: Osho’s Invitation into Light

Posted on June 26, 2023June 27, 2023 by prathod

In The Perfect Way, Osho beckons us to embark on a transformative journey from darkness to light, from a meaningless existence to a life filled with purpose and bliss. Are you ready to accept Osho’s invitation and rediscover the radiant path that leads to a world of infinite possibilities?

Read this insightful excerpt from The Perfect Way to set about on a journey of self-discovery and better understand the power of meditation.

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Invitation into Light

I see man engulfed in a deep darkness. He has become like a house where the lamp has gone out on a dark night. Something in him has been extinguished. But that which has been extinguished can be relit.

I see as well that man has lost all direction. He has become like a boat that has lost its way on the high seas. He has forgotten where he is to go and what he is to be. But the memory of what has been forgotten can be reawakened in him.

Hence, although there is darkness there is no reason for despair. In fact, the deeper the darkness the closer the dawn. I see a spiritual regeneration for the whole world on the horizon. A new man is about to be born and we are passing through the throes of his birth. But this regeneration needs the cooperation of each one of us. It is to come through us, hence we cannot remain mere spectators. We must give way for this rebirth within ourselves.

The approach of that new day, of that dawn, is possible only if each one of us fills himself with light. It is in our hands to turn that possibility into an actuality. We all are the bricks of that palace of tomorrow and we all are the rays of light out of which the future sun will be born. We are the creators, not just spectators. It is not only a creation of the future, it is a creation of the present itself, it is the creation of ourselves. It is through creating himself that man creates humanity. The individual is the unit of the whole and it is through him that both evolution and revolution can take place. You are that unit.

This is why I want to call you. I want to awaken you from your slumber. Don’t you see that your lives have become utterly meaningless and useless, totally boring? Life has lost all meaning and purpose. But this is natural. If there is no light in man’s heart there cannot be any meaning in his life. There cannot be any bliss in man’s life if there is no light in his inner being.

The fact that we find ourselves overburdened with meaninglessness today is not because life in itself is meaningless. Life is infinite meaningfulness, but we have forgotten the path that leads to that meaningfulness and fulfillment. We simply exist and have no contact with life. This is not living, it is just waiting for death. And how can waiting for death be anything but boring? How can it be bliss?

I have come here to tell you this very thing: there is a way to awaken from this bad dream that you have mistaken for life. The path has always been there. The path that leads from darkness to light is eternal. It is there for certain, but you have turned away from it. I want you to turn toward it. This path is dharma, religion. It is the means of rekindling the light in man; it gives direction to man’s drifting boat. Mahavira has said that religion is the only island of safety, the anchor, the destination and the refuge for those being swept away by the rapid current of the world with its old age and its death.

Do you have a thirst for the light that fills life with bliss? Do you have a longing for the truth that unites man with immortality? If so, I invite you into that light, into that bliss, into that deathlessness. Please accept my invitation. It is simply a matter of opening your eyes, and you inhabit a new world of light. You don’t have to do anything else, you only have to open your eyes. You just have to wake up and look.

Nothing in man can really be extinguished nor can he lose his direction, but if he keeps his eyes closed the darkness spreads everywhere and all sense of direction is lost. With closed eyes he is a beggar; with open eyes he is an emperor.

I am calling you to come out from your dream of being a beggar and wake up into your reality of being an emperor. I wish to transform your defeat into victory, I wish to transform your darkness into light, I wish to transform your death into deathlessness. Are you ready to embark upon this voyage with me?

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Get your copy of The Perfect Way by Osho from your nearest bookstore or on Amazon.

Celebrate International Day of Yoga with these Spiritual Reads

Posted on June 21, 2023June 21, 2023 by prathod

This International Day of Yoga, explore our handpicked selection of spiritual books that will inspire and guide you on your yogic path, offering profound insights, wisdom, and practical guidance to enhance your connection with the divine. These transformative reads are sure to ignite your spiritual quests and deepen your understanding of the meditative mind.

So, grab your yoga mats, take a deep breath, and dive into the magic of spiritual literature.

In The Art and Science of Happiness, internationally acclaimed authority on mind management, renowned saint and bestselling author Swami Mukundananda draws on the ancient wisdom of the scriptures and current scientific research to address these questions. He also explains strategies for happiness in relationships, at work and in the face of adversity. By applying these concepts in your daily life, you can be happy everywhere and at all times.

A perceptive account by Jaya Prasada reflects her journey with Sri Siddhi Ma. Prasada, though not a strong believer in her early days, was eventually blessed with a life with Sri Siddhi Ma, and imbibed through Ma the divine essence of Maharaj ji.
Filled with anecdotes of her time with Ma and Maharaj, and accounts of the godly and supernatural events Prasada saw with her own eyes in the company of such strong, spiritually charged figures, she recounts their journey as well as her own with such sensitivity, conviction, wit and charm that it is enough to turn any non-believer into a believer.

Sing, Dance and Pray is the inspirational story of Srila Prabhupada. As the founder of ISKCON, he ’emerged as a major figure of Western counterculture, initiating thousands of young Americans’.
He has been described as a charismatic leader who was successful in acquiring followers in many countries, including the United States, Europe and India. Srila Prabhupada’s story is bound to put you on a path of self-realization.

In The Power of Thoughts, Swami Mukundananda, a world-renowned spiritual teacher from India and an internationally acclaimed mind-management authority, will teach you about watching your thoughts, directing them, dismantling harmful thought structures, creative thinking, meditation and much more. When you focus on revolutionizing your thoughts-the most fundamental aspect of inner personality-you will discover yourself evolving to divine heights to fulfil the purpose of your life.

The Art of Focus, the second book in this three-part series, presents forty-five simple stories filled with revelations to enthral readers with learnings from the experiences of the protagonists and the dynamics of the situations that manifested in their lives.
The first book in the series, The Art of Resilience, presented ingredients to the readers to help them develop resilience in challenging situations that manifested at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Art of Focus builds on the first book and inspires the resilient heart to develop a focused mind. This collective presentation will better equip the readers to take charge of their lives and adapt to the new normal effectively.

Kundalini Yoga for All will take you through this journey with explanations of the various stations you will encounter. Starting with cleansing and tuning your body to the step-by-step guide of your daily Kundalini yoga practice, this book will empower you to experience your highest potential in brain, body and awareness to meet all challenges of life with equanimity and experience bliss which is every human’s birthright.
Take this exciting journey within to discover the divine energy, so you can enhance every sphere of your life-professional, personal and spiritual.

Reading Sri Aurobindo || Gautam Chikermane, Devdip Ganguly

The relevance of Sri Aurobindo’s message has never been more urgent and compelling, yet, his Complete Works, thirty-six volumes in all, can be a daunting prospect even for those acquainted with his philosophy and practice. Reading Sri Aurobindo introduces each of these volumes through the perspectives of twenty-one contributors. The result is a book packed with insights inviting us to explore Sri Aurobindo’s deep wisdom and vision for resolving the fundamental issues facing individuals, societies, and nations today.

In Ask the Monk, celebrated monk Nityanand Charan Das lucidly answers over seventy frequently asked questions-by young and the old alike-on topics such as karma, religion versus spirituality, mind, God, destiny, purpose of life, suffering, rituals, religion, wars and so on. These answers that are extremely crucial to help you, the reader, embark on the journey of self-discovery and self-realization.

In The Rebellious Spirit, Osho speaks to the spirit that lies hidden beneath our social conditioning, fanning a flame strong enough to burn through layers of rubbish, so that we can see with the crystal-clear gaze of an enlightened being. This is a book that will entice you, tickle your being with laughter, and give you the courage to be yourself in today’s world.

In Nithya Shanti’s inimitable voice, discover profound teachings, simply told. Nithya shares anecdotes, exercises for self-discovery and pointers for awakening, through a distillation of timeless wisdom and contemporary discoveries, along with his own innovations from decades of intensive teaching and practice.

Let Unburden provoke, challenge and inspire us to step into a realm of awareness, gratitude and joy. As an everyday companion and guide, may it take us on what may well be the most significant shift we ever experience – being happy and fulfilled for no reason.

God is the Guardian
of those who believe
He brings them out from
the darkness into light
Qur’an 2:257

Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master tell-all autobiography, Sri M writes about his fascinating journey as a young man from the southern coast of India to the mystical Himalayan Mountains.

The book reveals the spiritual journey of a young lad from Kerala, who by his sincerity and dedication evolved into a living yogi. Sri M shares his knowledge of the Upanishads and spiritual insights born out of first hand experiences in his autobiography. Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master will make for an engaging and riveting read for those interested in the life and teachings of Sri M.

Based on a profound understanding of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Yoga Also for the Godless is a step-by-step guide to the theory and practice of yoga for those who seek to know it better, and also for the young and the millennial, who may be stepping out for the first time. In lucid prose, with photographs for visual aid, Sri M takes us through the most complex notions of breath, body and posture with admirable brevity and clarity.

This first novel by Sri M is a meditation on the void which collapses the wall between reality and make-believe, the limited and the infinite. With its spare storytelling and profound wisdom, it leads us into the realm of ‘shunya’, the nothingness of profound and lasting peace, the beginning and end of all things.

In The Friend, Mohini Kent asks him Sri M about love, life, religion, marriage, death and everything in between making it a one-stop shop complete collection of Sri M’s teachings and philosophy.

Following the ancient form of a conversation between a guru and disciple, this book is easy to read and relatable for people of all ages.

Secrets of Divine Love draws upon the spiritual secrets of the Qu’ran, mystical poetry and stories from the world’s greatest prophets and spiritual masters to help you reignite your faith, overcome your doubts and deepen your connection with God. Practical exercises and guided meditations will help you develop the tools and awareness to overcome the inner critic that prevents you from experiencing God’s all-encompassing love.

COMING SOON!

In The Perfect Way, Osho answers fundamental questions about what meditation is and how we can begin and sustain it in our lives. He does this with precision, thoroughness, humour and compassion. Here is someone who knows, but who also knows how to convey what he knows. His genius in full flight, he points us as far as one can with words towards the inner world of the self, towards the zone of silence.

Happy International Day of Yoga and may your spiritual journey be filled with love, peace, and infinite possibilities.

Were the teachings of Osho as radical as you think?

Posted on April 5, 2023April 5, 2023 by amisra

‘The rebel is one who lives according to his own light, moves according to his own intelligence. He creates his path by walking on it.’

– Osho

***

In The Rebellious Spirit, Osho addresses the spirit that dwells beneath our societal conditioning and fans a flame powerful enough to burn through layers of debris, allowing us to see with the enlightened being’s crystal-clear vision. This is a novel that will captivate you, make you laugh out loud, and give you the confidence to live your authentic life in the modern world.

Read this insightful excerpt from The Rebellious Spirit, a book in which Osho helps you become an enlightened being.

***

I do not have any teaching. My life is that of a rebel. I do not have a doctrine, a philosophy, a theology to teach you. I have only my own experience of rebellion to share, to infect you with rebelliousness. And when you are a rebel, you will not be a copy of me, you will be a unique phenomenon in yourself.

All Buddhists are trying to be carbon copies of Gautama Buddha. He has a teaching: ‘If you follow this certain discipline, you will become just like me.’ All Christians are carbon copies—the original is Jesus Christ.

I don’t have any teaching, any doctrine, any discipline to give to you. My whole effort is to wake you up. It is not a teaching; it is just cold water thrown into your eyes. When you wake up, you will not find that you are like me, a carbon copy of me. You will just be yourself, neither Christian, nor Hindu, nor Mohammedan—a unique flower. There are no two persons alike. How can there be so many Christians? How can there be so many Buddhists? The whole of history is proof of what I am saying.

For twenty-five centuries, millions of people in the East have tried the discipline and the teaching of Gautama Buddha. But not a single one has been able to become a Gautama Buddha. Nature does not allow two persons to be the same. Nature is not an assembly line where cars are produced, so you can see hundreds and thousands of Fords coming off the assembly line; the same, exactly the same. Nature is very creative, very innovative. It always creates a new man. It has created millions and millions of people, but never two people the same. You cannot even find two leaves on a tree exactly the same, or two pebbles on the seashore exactly the same. Each has his own individuality.

I don’t have a teaching. But whatever I have experienced is a living phenomenon I share with you—not words, not theories, not hypotheses. I can give you as much closeness as you need. Just as when you bring an unlit candle close to a candle that is burning, there is a point where suddenly the fire jumps from the lit candle to the unlit candle. The lit candle loses nothing, and there has not been a transfer of any teaching, but a transfer of fire.

I would like to say that I don’t have any teaching, but I have a great fire in my heart, and whoever comes close to me becomes aflame. These people here are not my followers. They are just friends who are sharing in an experience that can burn all that is false in them, and can purify that which is their essential individuality, their authentic potential. This is an alchemical school, a school of mystery. I am not a teacher, I don’t have any ideas, concepts. But I have a life to share, I have a love to share, and to those who are ready, I am ready to give all that I have. And in no way will they be enslaved. The closer they come to me, the more they understand me, the more they will be themselves. That is the miracle.

I don’t believe that walking on water is a miracle—it is sheer stupidity. The real miracle is to wake you up, to bring the message of freedom to you—freedom from all fetters. I do not replace your imprisonment with new fetters and new chains, I simply leave you in the open sky. I fly with you for a little while so that you can gather courage.

***

Get your copy of The Rebellious Spirit by Osho on Amazon.

The comfort of Sadhguru’s words through the ages

Posted on November 2, 2021 by prhi-dev

Absolute clarity of perception places Sadhguru in a unique space, not only in matters spiritual but in business, environmental and international affairs, and opens a new door on all that he touches. At the dawn of the book launch of Sadhguru’s latest release, Eternal Echoes, we bring to you some other books penned by him that will help you walk on the path lit by this ‘spiritual master with a difference’.

Inner Engineering by Sadhguru — Inner Engineering || Sadhguru

INNER ENGINEERING: A YOGI’S GUIDE TO JOY

According to Sadhguru, the term guru means ‘the dispeller of darkness, someone who opens the door for you…’ As a guru, he says he has no doctrine to teach, no philosophy to impart, no belief to propagate. And that is because he believes the only solution for all the ills that plague humanity is self-transformation. Hence, by talking about yoga through his book, he helps one create inner situations exactly the way you want them, turning you into the architect of your own joy. A yogi lives in this expanisve state and he narrates the story of his own awakening, from a boy with an unusual affinity for nature to a young daredevil who crossed the Indian continent on his motorcycle.

FLOWERS ON THE PATH

As a flower can confound you with its brilliance and beauty, so too does each article in this book hold the possibility to confuse you out of your conclusions, and pave the way towards true knowing. Whether the subject covers social issues and worldly affairs, individual challenges, or dimensions of the beyond, Sadhguru’s ability to delve to the root and look at life in all its totality is evident. These essays will render you in profound stillness within and might even delight you with humour.

DEATH: AN INSIDE STORY

Death is a taboo in most societies in the world. But what if we have got this completely wrong? What if death was not the catastrophe it is made out to be but an essential aspect of life, rife with spiritual possibilities for transcendence? In this unique treatise-like exposition, Sadhguru dwells extensively upon his inner experience as he expounds on the more profound aspects of death that are rarely spoken about. From a practical standpoint, he elaborates on what preparations one can make for one’s death, how best we can assist someone who is dying and how we can continue to support their journey even after death.

KARMA

Recommended by the likes of Tom Brady and Deepak Chopra, this book deals with the often-used but loosely understood word, Karma. It elaborates on how the grossly over-simplified understanding of it as a system which ensures that one gets what one deserves, has created many complexities in our lives and taken away from us the very fundamentals of the joy of living. Through this book, not only does Sadhguru explain what Karma is and how we can use its concepts to enhance our lives, he also tells us about the Sutras, a step-by-step guide to navigating our way in this challenging world. In the process, we get a deeper, richer understanding of life and the power to craft our destinies.

Eternal Echoes by Sadhguru — Eternal Echoes || Sadhguru

While all these books are written in prose and serve as guides to connect, live and be one with ourselves, his new book, Eternal Echoes is a book of verse full of poems Sadhguru wrote between 1994 and 2021. It has hundreds of poems, one for every day, spread out amidst themes such as life, death, time, yoga, love and devotion, nature, Shiva and more.

A cup of comfort brimming with warmth and love!

A whisper of the eternal echoes

Posted on October 14, 2021October 14, 2021 by prhi-dev

Sadhguru, the yogi, mystic and visionary, is a spiritual master with a difference. He has smitten the world not only in spiritual matters but with his business, environmental and international affairs along with his ability to open a new door on all that he touches. After having founded the Isha Foundation and penning down various books on spirituality and wellness, he has now brought out a poetry book called Eternal Echoes.

Eternal Echoes is a compilation of poems by Sadhguru written between the time period of 1994 and 2021. These poems cover every aspect of his life and travels ranging from nature, environment, human nature and the resonances he has felt during three decades and more. Seemingly simple at first, one begins to understand the hidden layers within these poems slowly and the meanings linger on.

Here is an exclusive excerpt, the introductory note to the poems in his book, where Sadhguru explains what made him turn to poetry:

Poetry is an in-between land between logic and magic. A terrain which allows you to explore and make meaning of the magical, but still have some kind of footing in the logic.

When people experience something beautiful within themselves, the first urge is to burst forth into poetry. If you fall in love with someone, you start writing poetry because if you wrote in prose, it would feel stupid. You can only say logical things in prose, but you can say illogical things in poetry. To express all those dimensions of life which are beyong the logical, poetry is the only succor, as it is the language which allows you to go beyond the limitations of logic.

As a child and youth, my mind was so unstructured and untrained that I could never find a proper, logical, prose expression. Naturally, poetry became so much a part of my life.

My poetry first found a big spurt when I decided to start a farm. My farm was a very remote place, far from the city. I lived there alone for days, and sometimes weeks, on end without any contact with other human beings. At this time, I started writing poetry about pebbles, grasshoppers, blades of grass- just about anything. I found each one of them was a substantial subject to write about.

There was no power in the farm and around six o’clock in the evening it would get dark. I would stay awake till midnight, in almost six hours of total darkness. Somehow, I always found when your visual faculties are closed off, you naturally turn poetic. Maybe that is why we have heard of so many blind poets in the world. I am not saying that having sight should not evoke poetry- it has. But the nature of the human perception is such that is sees much more when the eyes do not see.

In about four months, during this dark period of the night in my farm, I wrote over 1600 poems. Unfortunately, none of these poems are with us today. I had written them on small sheets of paper that I found all over the place. I had kept a whole bunch in my car. Then there was a small fire accident where my car burned down and those poems got burnt.

The poems in this book are only what I have written in the last thirty years, since we moved to the Isha Yoga Center. I hope they find some resonance with you.

A poem is a piece of one’s Heart, hope your heart beats with it and knows the rhythm of mine.

Much Love & Blessings,

Sadhguru

This note by Sadhguru would surely entice you to pick Eternal Echoes and join him on his soulful journey, also serving as a keepsake which has a short poem for every day and every feeling you’re feeling.

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Tag: spirituality

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Were the teachings of Osho as radical as you think?

‘The rebel is one who lives according to his own light, moves according to his own intelligence. He creates his path by walking on it.’

– Osho

The comfort of Sadhguru’s words through the ages

A whisper of the eternal echoes

Follow Penguin

Follow Penguinsters

Follow Penguin Swadesh

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Publish with Us

Follow Penguin

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Follow Penguin Swadesh

‘The rebel is one who lives according to his own light, moves according to his own intelligence. He creates his path by walking on it.’

– Osho