This is the first biography I owned and at the end of reading, left a feeling that is a combination of optimism, enthusiasm and a fire in the belly to accomplish something in life.

Swami Vivekananda, a Saint/Patriot of India is an amazing personality. He is kind of a super-man, with exceptional oratorial skills, unfailing memory, with a mind stretching to the limits and with a heart of gold. There are hatha-yogis, bhakti yogis and raja yogis etc. But Vivekananda is all in one. Above all he seems to be a perfect Karma yogi - which is very difficult to be.

The book starts with his early days of attachment to Western thinking, then suddenly shifts to narrating the life of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Then when the meeting of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda happens - it is the one of the most exciting part of his life and a turning point in Indian history too. Every important part of his life is neatly depicted - his wanderings throughout India, his journey to America, the famous speech in Chicago and his subsequent journeys to the rest of the world. I tried to find the building where the PoR was held in 1893, but I could not. I was told it was turned into "Field Museum", but its Museum Director didnot know when I enquired about it.

I expected the book to contain the original text of his first speech, but it doesnot. This book does not have many photographs too. Anyway reading Vivekananda's life, one is sure to catch his optimism, enthusiasm and purpose of life and indeed think about reforming oneself.

A must for every religion seekers.

DESIRE, ANGER, FEAR, GREED, ENVY & JEALOUSY, PRIDE, WORRY, and INFATUATION. Do you have any problems with these fun puppies? I know that they make me jump when they come up in my inner world. In "What's on my Mind?", Sw. Anantananda gives concise prescriptions for dealing with these "thieves of the heart"-- negative emotions that keep us from experiencing our inner peace-- and inner splendour. His "what to do lists" for each emotion really work! I have a master's degree in Marriage, Family & Child Counseling and consider Anantananda's techniques similar to the cognitive emotive or rational emotive therapies-- with a difference. Anantananda's approach centers on witnessing the mind as it enters the feeling state-- the yogic stance-- and observing the moment of choice we all have before becoming embroiled in a feeling. It's tricky, but it works. He offers chapters on each of the emotions and lists of techniques for dealing with them. The work is illustrated with his own experiences, those of others seeking to become free of the "thieves" & various Hindu texts-- Sw. Anantananda is a Hindu monk, as his name suggests.

Swami Rajarshi Muni is an advanced practicing yogi who has written numerous books. His latest, Yoga: The Ultimate Spiritual Path, is "a remarkable synthesis of yoga psychology and metaphysics."

In it, he traces the history of yogic philosophy and its development over time, emphasizing its role in spiritual unfolding. He does not include any yoga postures, leaving that up to individual instructors. "Yoga is neither a religion by itself nor part of any other religious system," he says, adding that "yoga is universal and a yogi is not necessarily bound to any particular religious faith." He defines it as "the union between the individual self and the universal self." Yoga is available to anyone who wishes to accept its discipline.

Muni discusses yoga practices relating to a variety of areas, such as rebirth, karma, the purpose of life, bliss, human consciousness, and suffering. Although yoga is an ancient practice, its underlying philosophy is timeless and still relevant to those wishing to transform their lives. Classical yoga focuses on spiritual development and the attainment of higher levels of consciousness, and this is what Muni concentrates on throughout his writing.

"Yoga: The Ultimate Spiritual Path provides a comprehensive overview of traditional yoga philosophy for the Western reader and at the same time creates a context that helps us place ourselves on the spiritual pathway, so that we may understand the deeper purpose for our existence." It's essential reading for all those interested in philosophy. It will also satisfy those who've practiced yoga as a physical or mental exercise, but sense that there's more to it than simple exercise.

It's beyond doubt, that Ammachi belongs among the great saints of Hinduism. But the book is rather mediocre. The first part is the biography, then a small section about her particular spiritual states and then a section of reports of devotees. The main purpose of the biography is to claim the status of an avatar for Ammachi. It shows inummerable problems during the childhood of Ammachi and how she overcame those either with continous sadhana or with miracles. Since Ammachi is shown as beeing above all human feelings and behaviour one cannot really identify with her while reading the book, and even less so with the other actors. From several people I know, I've heard, that Ammachi is an outstanding person. And it's definitely good to read about her life, if one is interested into her or her message.

Ammachi has touched the lives of millions by Her physical, mental, and overwhelming loving spiritual embrace. The biography written by Her seniormost disciple, Swami Amritaswarupananda, gives a beautiful picture of Her life. For one unfamilliar with Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Her Biography is very helpful in learning about Her life as well as the lives of other saints and highly spiritual persons. The testimonies given at the end of the book are very exciting and reafirming to the mysterious and unassuming character of Amma. I HIGHLY recommend this book. I found myself immersed being brought to tears of laughter or longing. I have since bought several copies as gifts!

This book gives us a wonderful introduction to one of India's foremost saints- Ammachi. This book describes the ordeals She had to go through as a child, Her unflagging and inspiring Love of God and humanity, and Her spiritual sadhana and its final fruition. Even though no book can adequately describe Ammachi's (or any other Sage's) greatness, theirs being an Inner experience , still the book does give us a good introduction to this outstanding Being and will really serve as a very useful book to read before one actually meets Ammachi in person.

This book is a must read for all seekers on the spiritual path, and it teaches fantastic lessons in surrender and Love through Ammachi's extraordinary life.

Though Jnana yoga is presumably the favorite subject of Vivekananda, he himself is supposed to have quoted that his bhakti is covered by a cloak of jnana, while his guru's (Sri Ramakrishna) jnana is covered by a cloak of bhakti. Whatever he may have learnt from Ramakrishna, who spoke in parables, Vivekananda transforms them into powerful words with striking sentences to give a sublime meaning. He is at his best while expounding the Vedanta philosophy.

His examples simplify the understanding of such a complex and profound philosophy. The way he coins the words and grammar in his lectures is unbelievable. His logic is almost always unarguable. One of the best lectures is "The Real and Apparent Man" where he lays a solid foundation of the nature of man, the support of which comes in later lectures on Maya and Cosmos . The exposition of Katha upanishad is beautiful and one does not get that picture and depth of understanding while reading the original upanishad. The final lectures delivered in Pasadena, California appeals to the unity of religions and friendship with science - a subject which is probably never more important than now.

No wonder during his lectures in America, he was the last to deliver, as the audience would wait patiently to listen to him.

swami vivekananda is/was one of the giant intellects of all time. a direct disciple of the great 19th century indian god-man, sri ramakrishna, vivekananda learned his lessons well at an early age and built upon it to the point of sometimes surpassing his master. especially in the sense of providing a bridge from the worlds oldest extant religious traditions to plain spoken accessability for the spiritual seeker of our own time. jnana yoga is the approach of experiencing oneness with God using the path of knowledge/philosophy/contemplation. this book is among the very best in laying out the methods and ideas the aspirant can use for his own search [ thru the path of knowledge ] of direct experience of God, i.e. being-conciousness-bliss absolute. the book carefully and clearly leads us thru our most primitive lowest levels of humanity up the ladder of understanding spiritually we are truly One with the highest of all realities. that indeed, "thou art that". the good swami's writings on all the yoga paths are among the best the world has yet seen. this particular volume is a must read for the student practitioner of jnani yoga. if i could spend an hour having a cup of tea with any person who ever lived, swami vivekananda might well be the one i would choose. not only for his giant intellect but his purity and holiness and breadth of understanding man's need for transcendence and the ways of actually doing so. this is a great book and not to be missed by he who would be, "the spiritual philosopher king".

This book if anyone was to read it is amazing and I find it difficult to find words of praise that could do it justice. Therefore the best thing would be to read it. Some one said that this 'does not appeal to the modern mind' This is certainly proof that the person has not read the book or read it with closed eyes, what a pity! Vivekananda blends ancient hindu texts, into modern thought and also weaves into his work modern scintific thought into the ever so ancient wisdom of India. Whosoever reads this book is bound to become transformed, trasfigured and awakened to higher truths in this universe. This rare crest-jewel of a book has come from a great soul, and I feel blessed and thrilled to have come accross this precious gem.

Well, $400 is a lot to pay for a set of books, but this will be the best $400 you ever spent, in my humble opinion. Srimad Bhagavatam is absolutely mind blowing, challenging every materialistic paradigm with devastating logic and searing spiritual truths. Described in its own text as the "literary incarnation of God", it aims to bring the reader to pure spiritual consciousness -- and that's in just the first nine volumes. The tenth and largest volume in the set deals with the sublime and inconceivably beautiful pastimes of Krishna, proclaimed by this and all other Vedic texts as the Supreme Lord.

It is a challenging read, not for those who still think that we can make this world into some kind of paradise, maybe adjust things so that suffering will disappear. Those who believe that life is meant for satisifying the senses and the mind will also soon put it down. The Bhagavatam dismisses such notions as utter foolishness. It asserts that the living being is an eternal part of the Supreme Spirit, meant to enjoy unlimited spiritual bliss, but only when he or she gives up the endeavour for material happiness. And it states in no uncertain terms that we do not belong in this world, a world where birth, death, disease, old age, anxiety, pestilence, war and a host of other miseries are ultimately unavoidable. But misery, says the Bhagavatam, can and will be avoided just as soon as we apply in our lives the spiritual science it advocates. That science is the pursuit of transcendence, of a world where misery is entirely unknown, where we experience an ineffable happiness beyond anything ever achievable within the material sphere.

The author Prabhupada illuminates the meaning of every text with brilliant purports. True, they are not always easy to fathom, but the Bhagavatam tells us that the very endeavour to understand its message is itself purifying to the intelligence, and thus the meaning gradually reveals itself, like the sun penetrating an early morning fog.

After almost twenty-five years of studying Prabhupada's Bhagavatam, I think I am about ready to admit that I am in that fog. Now I think it is time to do something about it, and this book, at least for me, is definitely the answer. I will leave you with two of the invocatory prayers.

"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavatam propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva, is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart." (SB 1.1.1)

"This Bhagavatam is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana." (SB 1.3.43)

Om Tat Sat
Vaishnava dasanudas
Krishna Dharma

By far this book is the best piece of literature that I have ever read. The concepts presented here have completely altered the way I see the world around me and has helped me to distinguish reality from illusion. Just the sound of the sanskrit when chanted has a very deeply satisfying and soothing effect on the mind. There is nothing like it. Here is an excerpt from the Srimad Bhagavatama itself:

This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krsna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.

PURPORT by His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Lord Sri Krsna has His eternal dhama, or abode, where He eternally enjoys Himself with His eternal associates and paraphernalia. And His eternal abode is a manifestation of His internal energy, whereas the material world is a manifestation of His external energy. When He descends on the material world, He displays Himself with all paraphernalia in His internal potency, which is called atma-maya. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that He descends by His own potency (atma-maya). His form, name, fame, paraphernalia, abode, etc., are not, therefore, creations of matter. He descends to reclaim the fallen souls and to reestablish codes of religion which are directly enacted by Him. Except for God, no one can establish the principles of religion. Either He or a suitable person empowered by Him can dictate the codes of religion. Real religion means to know God, our relation with Him and our duties in relation with Him and to know ultimately our destination after leaving this material body. The conditioned souls, who are entrapped by the material energy, hardly know all these principles of life. Most of them are like animals engaged in eating, sleeping, fearing and mating. They are mostly engaged in sense enjoyment under the pretension of religiosity, knowledge or salvation. They are still more blind in the present age of quarrel, or Kali-yuga. In the Kali-yuga the population is just a royal edition of the animals. They have nothing to do with spiritual knowledge or godly religious life. They are so blind that they cannot see anything beyond the jurisdiction of the subtle mind, intelligence or ego, but they are very much proud of their advancement in knowledge, science and material prosperity. They can risk their lives to become a dog or hog just after leaving the present body, for they have completely lost sight of the ultimate aim of life.

The Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna appeared before us just a little prior to the beginning of Kali-yuga, and He returned to His eternal home practically at the commencement of Kali-yuga. While He was present, He exhibited everything by His different activities. He spoke the Bhagavad-gita specifically and eradicated all pretentious principles of religiosity. And prior to His departure from this material world, He empowered Sri Vyasadeva through Narada to compile the messages of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and thus both the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam are like torchbearers for the blind people of this age. In other words, if men in this age of Kali want to see the real light of life, they must take to these two books only, and their aim of life will be fulfilled. Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of the Bhagavatam. And Srimad-Bhagavatam is the summum bonum of life, Lord Sri Krsna personified. We must therefore accept Srimad-Bhagavatam as the direct representation of Lord Krsna. One who can see Srimad-Bhagavatam can see also Lord Sri Krsna in person. They are identical.

For the Seeker who is looking for answers that convention and tradition do not provide, this set of books provides insight into ancient thoughts and concepts that are used over and over again throughout the religions, philosophies and sciences of renaissance Europe and the middle East.

The search of mankind to find the meaning of life and existence has continued since the dawn of time. This search has been documented in many forms. Unfortunately the answers are not a group thing.

As a seeker your cup is not quite full, nor is you hunger abated at this point in your life. You are full of definitions that have no real meaning for you. You are full of philosophies that have no relevance for you. You are full of answers that do not answer your real questions in a meaningful and definitive manner. You are the perfect image of the hungry ghosts , with bloated belly full of things that do not satisfy your hunger, constantly consuming but always hungry and unfulfilled. You probably have asked why are the answers so illusive, while the questions appear so simple. You may have found that the extent of mans knowledge in all fields of endeavor reaches an event horizon that is so close and then collapses into itself prior to yielding the eloquent truths that you are seeking. Buddha wakes up, Christ reveals, Khrisna enlightens. Knock, knock Neo the matrix is calling. You may have found that, at a certain point, the concept of Science, a supposed exactitude, dissolves into a metaphysical abstraction, which dissolves into a philosophy and my dissolve into a religious belief system or tradition which may dissolve into a psychology. You may have discovered that the word Religion is as definable as love, bloated of definition and infinite implied meanings to which you cannot relate. You may have discovered that most science at the outer limits of the known and knowable, relies on belief systems and postulates that are not different from traditional religious systems.

The Srimad Bhagavatam is an ancient book of great merit that is required reading if want to understand the precepts of modern religious traditions and where the concepts of today were derived. Nothing is new, only new to those who have just discovered.

My qualification for this review is as an initiate practising samyana for 15 years. Of the many translations of Patanjali's Sutra's this is by far the worst I have ever read. I don't know who Swami Prhabavanda is but he certainly didn't impart any knowledge of value to Isherwood. The description of 'what meditation is' is totally incorrect to the extent of being the total antitheseis of what meditation is in reality, in relation to Patanjali. You can't get your understanding of a thing more wrong than that. Isherwood feels the need on occasions to compare Patanjali with religions such as Christianity, and such comparisons are not only irrelevant but do not hold true. The basic problem seems to stem from the fact that Isherwood has at best only a tenuous grasp of what he is writing about. He understands the words, but the actual concepts behind the words, are foreign to him. There are many far superior translations of Patanjali to be had. Don't waste your money on this one.

Swami Prabhavananda has done an excellent job of translating the sutras into understandable sentences - something that surpasses 90% of all other translators, and for this reason alone the book should be in everyone's library. The commentary however reaches neither the depth of of Satchidananda's "Sutras" nor the the burning insights of McAfee's "Beyond the Siddhis". It is obscure and sometimes confusing. All in all, however, an excellent book to add to the true seeker's bag of tricks.

Although this book is a study of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, it will appeal to devotees of any religion--Hindu, Christian, or Buddhism--or to anyone interested in living a spiritual life. It is not so much a "how-to" guide in knowing God--for "there are innumerable approaches to him" (p. 66), as an examination of knowing one's real Self.

Patanjali's Sutras are dated sometime between the fourth century B.C. and the fourth century A.D. (p. 7), and they offer methods for gaining insights through our own experience into "the Godhead, the Reality which underlies this apparent, ephemeral universe" (p. 15). He observes that in order to know God, one must first cease identifying himself with the mind (p. 213). Our liberation, he tells us, is "retarded" by our past karmas, our fears and desires, our lack of energy (p. 52), our egotism, ignorance, and blind clinging (p. 55), and by such obstacles as sickness, mental laziness, sloth, doubts and despair (p. 64). However, the good news is that no effort to know God, however small, is wasted (p. 52), for God draws us to himself (p. 54). With a little exploration, it is possible to know God everywhere, "both within and without, instantly present and infinitely elsewhere, the dweller in the atom and the abode of all things" (p. 33).

Although I am not qualified to comment on their translation of Patanjali, Christopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda's Vendantist commentary offers worthwhile insights into Patanjali's Sutras.

G. Merritt

On the front cover of David Forsee's book Can You Listen to a Woman? there is a startlingly beautiful photograph of Swami Sivananda Radha as a young woman. Her gaze is deep, direct and passionate, perhaps even urgent as if, already, at that young age there is something she must tell us, if only we will listen. In the title of the book David offers the reader the same challenge that was offered him by Swami Radha: Are you listening? Can you hear me? Can you hear the feminine Divine within your own heart? Can you lower your defences to allow the divine to show you who you really are? David offers us his own story, his personal experience with the many layers that lie under the surface of these questions. This is David Forsee's journey toward the spiritual self. Along the way, we meet him in his earlier life as the young man who loses both his parents in a car accident, as a radio journalist, a logger, and as a husband and a father, who is more surprised than anyone by his attraction to the spiritual life. We accompany him as his friendship with Swami Radha grows and as he and his family make their decision to move to Yasodhara ashram in the Kootenays of British Comubia. Eventually David becomes one of Swami Radha's renunciate desciples and is given the name Gopalananda. His new name reflects his potentail to reach higher conciousness by identifying with the spiritual growth of the youthful Krishna. Understanding that potential, is the struggle of his life. As Swami Gopalananda, David Forsee, the accomplished writer, the gifted spiritual diarist, and superb story teller, brings us into Swami Radha's presence through a candid, intimate look into his life with her. The story of Radha and Krishna and their painful separation is a pivotal theme of the book. In one form or another, separation from the beloved is the most poignant aspect in all our lives. In this ancient Hindu allegory, "Radha's separation from Krishna rapresents the separation of individual conciousness from Cosmic Conciousness." According to Swami Radha's teaching's each event in our lives has a purpose that must be understood if we are to make progress on the spiritual path. Seen that way, the longing that accompanies the loss of a mother or the separation from a beloved becomes the power, the sound of the flute that draws us back to the union with the Divine. The experience of loss, then, rather than building up resistance and defenses, becomes a gift with a purpose. Loss will occur over and over until we go deep enough to find out, "what we really need to know". Even the smallest events can be understood from the perspective of a Divine purpose for life. "Most of the time you haven't listened," was one of Swami Radha's final challenges to Gopalananda, as she prodded him to go deeper into his own knowledge, to listen to the feminine voice within. Perhaps that is the challenge to us all. There is much left unsaid in this story. Beneath the story lie many of the mysteries of yogic practice, and of the guru-desciple relationship, of the meaning of surrender, and of spiritual knowledge from past lives. References to the practice of the Light or the repition of mantra are, for the most part, left unexplained. Let these omissions be an enticement for the reader who is listening and has a desire to know more.

"Go back to the diaries. Read what's there. You must be able to see how far you've come." So the authors guru, Swami Radha, invoked her belief that wisdom and learning was a living process, to be documented, to be renewed. This compelling book is one result of those commands from and older, gentle woman whose ashram Forsee and his family moved to when he left his career as a CBC broadcast journalist. His diaries and memories chronicle an astonishing spiritual and emotional growth in this man, who trusted his teacher to elicit the feminine within himself. The spiritual path of yoga, for this "conventional" North American married man and father, would be no piece of cake. When he made the move to the Pacific Northwest ashram, he became, "uncertain about how to live a married life while trying to give attention to purpose for being here...a stronger sense of devotion in my life." With candor and his polished, reportorial skills, Forsee tells of his transformation, his increasing devotion to Swami Radha and her enlightened teachings, the new purpose for his editorial and production skills. He writes honestly of a three month vigil near the old beach house to reduce his male arrogance. "The weather was grey and sodden with wet snow and freezing rain. Each morning I would go to the prayer room and chant mantra for two hours. At times, the warmth was the only thing keeping me there." Full of hope and inspiration.

Can You Listen to a Woman describes with remarkable insight, sensitivity, and candor the many subtleties of spiritual descipleship filled with lessons big and small - all adding up to the miracle of self-transformation. At the same time, it gives us a rare glimpse into the mind and heart of the twentieth century's most extraordinary female guru - Swami Sivananda Radha. While each person's journey to enlightenment is unique, we can all learn from the triumphs and mistakes of others. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone venturing forth on the spiritual path.

Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D. Author of: The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga

If you're interested in reading books which will advance your understanding of spirituality, look elsewhere. This book tells of the spiritual bliss of kundalini, but doesn't tell you how to achieve it. All the book says is that kundalini must be taught by a genuine guru, but there is no advice on how to find one or how to separate the real ones from the fakes.

This is a must read for anyone who is just learning of the wonderful unfolding of the Kundalini within their bodies. Without having the light of understanding some of the effects of Kundalini awakening can be strange and frightening. This book offers comfort and understanding to anyone who has been touched 'by the grace of a Guru'. Swami Muktananda's way of writing is easy to understand and seems to transmit large doses of love.

Kundalini, written by Baba Muktananda and one of his disciples, is a brief testament to the extraordinary power of the divine energy concealed within each and every human being. The release of the Kundalini energy is accomplished only through the grace of a true guru. That this book is authored by such a being fills it and its readers with the bliss of which it so eloquently speaks. Read it, and then read it again and again.