Like Shakti for Shiva, like Venus for Mars, the Spanda-Karikas are required reading for the person who has delved into Jaideva Singh's compilation of the Siva Sutras.

The Spanda-Karikas are Sri Vasugupta's commentary verses on the Siva Sutras he had received from Lord Shiva. 52 in all, here in this book they are wedded to Sri Ksemaraja's commentaries, plus a bonus 53rd verse from Sri Ksemaraja. Cool hey?!! 11 centuries before music companies started dishing our free bonus album CDs, or MacD's gave the world that extra decked Big Mac, the Kashmiri Saivites had known all about bonus goodies. :-)

The texts are all expertly translated by the incredibly meticulous and conscientious Jaideva Singh. Here, and in his Siva Sutras & Pratyabhijnahrdayam too, Singh (pupil of Lakshman Joo; the last doyen of the Kashmir Trika lineage) really took pains to clarify the teachings of the Trika sect; carefully differentiating the Trika teachings from the strawman fallacies made out of them by careless Western academics. You will be hard challenged to find a better preserver and defender of the Trika philosophy elsewhere.

While the Siva Sutras laid out the foundational doctrines of the Trika sect, describing Supreme Lord Shiva's relationship to the material world and sentient beings, the Spanda Karikas elucidate instead primarily on Lord Shiva's power or ParaShakti, his divine consort. Together, the Siva Sutras and Spand Karikas constitute the cornerstones of Trika philosophy.

This is all I can offer as an intro to the Karikas. You need to study them yourself to get the gist of the Spanda doctrines. They can't be easily summarized. Least of all in a short Amazon.Com review. :-)

Aum Parashaktiye Namaha!
Aum Namah Sivaya!

"Wasting away in holy memory of Him is better religion than going to the temples and becoming redundantly glad by a meaningless ceremony. True worship is in the continuing pang for that Glory."..."Feeling is always new, like the effects of the sky"..."Feeling alone is love, is art, is religion, 'following' is of no particular interest to the artistic seekers of That Noble Reality of a personal feeling."

This is "Spirit" made accessible in poetry as well as prose by a man who delved deep into the Endless and emerged to give us a glimpse of what life is like when one lives wholly through the ecstatic and untainted reality of a "Sikh". These are the experiences of a man in love with ALL.

An amazing book not just to be read and then left to adorn a bookshelf. This is a book to shift one's paradigm; a book to transform the core of our being; a book full of words and images that will not only uplift, rather it will take the reader in it's loving embrace and rise to the Realms of the Spirit. Who would not want to be "SPIRIT BORN"? Other titles in English include- THE BOOK OF THE TEN MASTERS, SPIRIT OF THE SIKH (Part I & II (VOL.I & II)), ON PATHS OF LIFE, SISTERS OF THE SPINNING WHEEL, THE TEMPLE TULIPS, WALT WHITMAN AND THE SIKH INSPIRATION, THE BRIDE OF THE SKY and THE SPIRIT OF ORIENTAL POETRY.

Prof Puran Singh's writing is an intuitive essay on the spirit that drives the sikh religion. A must read for those wishing to learn more about this religion of saint-soldiers. Prof Puran Singh also wrote about the inspiration of Walt Whitman from the sikh religion. An insightful and thoughful read. Highly recommended.

If you are into learning about diffent religions........

If you are into learning about the philosophy of other religions ..........

then this book is a great reource for that of the sikh religion ..........

The "Sri Guru Granth Sahib" is the Key to the Sikhism Faith, If your studying the sikh faith you will need to read the "Sri Guru Granth Sahib" In order to under stand the Religion, Because the "Sri Guru Granth Sahib" is the very heart of the 300 year old Sikhism Faith.

A very well written book with an unusual perspective. It is written both from a medical standpoint as well as from a human angle. Very easy to read and relevant for any women diagnosed with heart disease, as well as those around them. An empowering book for women.

This book, like "The Crown of Life" by the same author, is different in tone and substance from most on such topics in that Kirpal Singh describes phenomena which he himself experienced before sharing them with others. Despite the subject matter it is relatively succinct, readable, but most importantly, it is authentic

This book is edited version of proceedings of the First world Congress on the Synthesis of science and religion held at Bombay, India. The question of synthesis is addressed by various people in this book: religious leaders like Dalai Lama, Karan Singh, Physicists like Charles H. Towens, E.C.G. Sudarshan, AI scientists like J.Weizenbaum. There are five papers which argue for the Bhaktivedanta approaches. The collections is organised in seven sections : The need for synthesis, Historical Perspectives, Search for the Pernnial, Physics and Beyond, Mind,Brain & Coonsciousness, Basis for unity of all religions and pathways to Synthesis. The major attraction in the collections is the set of interviews with Fritjof D. Capra, Eugene Wigner, Charles H. Towens, Rev. John B. Cobb,Jr. These interviews are very liviely and yet deals with serious themes. There is a panel discussion on physics and beyond with Dr. Raja Ramanna as chairman. One can say the physics and beyond section may be the pick of the collections. A good read for anyone interested in synthesis issues.

Kirpal Singh removes all the religious dogmas and presents spirituality as a clear and practical science which one can experience with the help and guidance of a true adept.