Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison

Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison, by Gary Tillery. John Lennon called himself a working class hero. George Harrison was a working class mystic. Born in Liverpool as the son of a bus conductor and a shop assistant, for the first six years of his life he lived in a house with no indoor bathroom. This book gives an honest, in-depth view of his personal journey from his blue-collar childhood to his role as a world-famous spiritual icon. Author Gary Tillery’s approach is warmly human, free of the fawning but insolent tone of most rock biographers. He frankly discusses the role of drugs in leading Harrison to mystical insight but emphasizes that he soon renounced psychedelics as a means to the spiritual path. It was with conscious commitment that Harrison journeyed to India, studied sitar with Ravi Shankar, practiced yoga, learned meditation from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and became a devotee of Hinduism. George worked hard to subdue his own ego and to understand the truth beyond appearances. He preferred to keep a low profile, but his empathy for suffering people led him to spearhead the first rock-and-roll super event for charity. And despite his wealth and fame, he was always delighted to slip on overalls and join in manual labor on his grounds. At ease with holy men discussing the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, he was ever the bloke from Liverpool whose father drove a bus, whose brothers were tradesmen, and who had worked himself as an apprentice electrician until the day destiny called.

Tillery’s engaging narrative depicts Harrison as a sincere seeker who acted out of genuine care for humanity and used his celebrity to be of service in the world. Fans of all generations will treasure this book for the inspiring portrayal it gives of their beloved “quiet” Beatle.

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"Having first known him back in the days when he was called only 'the quiet Beatle,' it thrills me no end that George's inner journey has now been so splendidly chronicled."--Victor Spinetti

A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya

A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya, Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion.It is the most valuable inheritance of the present.It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow. Swami Sivananda Sarswati. This book is the most comprehensive text ever published on yoga. It contains a complete course of 36 structured lessons on all the practices of integral yoga. The lessons were compiled from the teachings given by Swami Satyananda Saraswati and are useful as a practical and theoretical guide for all levels of yoga teachers and aspirants. The book presents a synthesis of yoga in a scientific and systematic manner. The different branches of hatha yoga, mantra yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga and kriya yoga are progressively introduced with special emphasis on practice, theory and application in daily life. Includes line drawings,diagrams and colour plates. The depth of knowledge this book contains provides the link between you,the practitoner of yoga and an experienced guide and teacher.This link is your sadhana(spiritual practice),the beginning of your inner transformation,spiritual awakening and realization of higher ideals in life. The techniques covered in this book have their basis in the ancient vedic (tantric and yogic) shastras and were handed over the centuries from guru to disciple. Now in an age when travel and communication have become almost instantaneous affairs and there are more efficient methods of disseminating wisdom than the human voice and ear,we wish to offer these transcendatal instruments of grace to all who have eyes to read and ears to hear.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati was born 1923 at Almora (Uttaranchal) into a family of farmers. His ancestors were warriors and many of his kith and kin down the line, including his father, served in the army and police force. However, it became evident that Swami Satyananda had a different bent of mind, as he began to have spiritual experiences at the age of six, when his awareness spontaneously left the body and he saw himself lying motionless on the floor. Many saints and sadhus blessed him and reassured his parents that he had a very developed awareness. This experience of disembodied awareness continued, which led him to many saints of that time such as Anandamayi Ma. Swami Satyanada also met a tantric bhairavi, Sukhman Giri, who gave him shaktipat and directed him to find a guru in order to stabilize his spiritual experiences. In 1944 at the age of nineteen, Swami Satyananda met his guru Swami Sivananda and came to live at Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh. In 1947, he took the vow of sanyasin or monastic renunciation and became a swami. He served in different departments at the ashram for over 12 years. He did physical labor, edited the ashram's Hindi journal, wrote various articles and composed poems in both Hindi and Sanskrit. He wrote a translation and commentary in the English language of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad by Swami Sivananda. Upon leaving the ashram in 1956, he wandered throughout India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma and Ceylon for the next 7 years, extending his knowledge of spiritual practices. He eventually found his way to Munger, in the province of Bihar. After establishing himself there, in 1963 he founded the International Yoga Fellowship and the Bihar School of Yoga a year later. He lectured and taught globally for the next twenty years and authored a number of books which are considered among the most revered in the field of yoga and yogic philosophy, and remain popular to this day. In 1988, he retired from active involvement in teaching and handed active work of his ashram and organization to his senior disciple Swami Niranjanananda. He lived in seclusion as a Paramahamsa Sannyasin performing higher spiritual and vedic sadhanas. Paramahamsa Swami Satyananda took "Sajeeva Samadhi" at his ashram in Rikhia, Jharkand on December 5th, 2009.

Ganesha Goes to Lunch: Classics from Mystic India

Ganesha Goes to Lunch: Classics from Mystic India, by Kamla K. Kapur. Epics of ancient India rank with the timeless myths of classical Greece and Rome in the power of their language and the underlying moral lessons. The Ramayana and Mahabharata, both written in Sanskrit, contain vibrant stories of kings and princes, sages and tricksters, demons and gods, damsels in distress and mighty heroes. Ganesha Goes to Lunch collects some of the most vivid stories from these and other early Indian folklore and spiritual texts including the Vedas and the Puranas. These stories feature the gods of India in their celestial and earthly abodes, hapless humans struggling with life's many problems, and gods and humans interacting. Assembled by Kamla Kapur, these stories illustrate the great spiritual and practical themes of the human condition. Kamla Kapur brings her poet’s eye and ear to the retelling of these stories, recreating and dramatizing them to illuminate their relevance to modern times.

Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita

Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita, by Dennis Waite. Advaita is a spiritual philosophy based on the Upanishads, older than most other religious systems we know about but also the most logical and scientific in its approach. This book is a systematic treatment of Advaita which demystifies it, differentiating between approaches and teachers, enabling you to decide which approach is most suitable for you. It compares the scriptures of traditional Advaita with the words of contemporary sages and neo-Advaita. Should we ignore the mind? Is the world real? Is there anything we can do to become enlightened? These questions and many more are addressed, with explanations given in their own words from those who discovered the truth. A massively comprehensive, definitive work.

Deeksha: The Fire from Heaven

Deeksha: The Fire from Heaven, by Kiara Windrider and Grace Sears. On a trip to India’s Golden City, psychotherapist Kiara Windrider discovered that enlightenment — whether called Christ consciousness or that experienced by Buddha — is not based on a particular teaching, morality, or effort, but is in fact a neurobiological process. Under the guidance of Sri Bhagavan and Sri Amma, he learned that over time, humans developed a membrane that separates their individuality from the collective consciousness. Deeksha — the transfer of enlightened energy from person to person — begins to puncture this membrane, allowing humans to experience oneness and divine grace. In Deeksha, Windrider describes his journey to enlightenment, and explains how readers can experience it as well — and how they can pass the gift on to other seekers. The book also includes seven case studies of others who have experienced deeksha, an interview with Bhagavan, and two essays on the science of deeksha.

Power, Freedom, and Grace: Living from the Source of Lasting Happiness

Power, Freedom, and Grace: Living from the Source of Lasting Happiness, by Deepak Chopra. Deepak Chopra considers the mystery of our existence and its significance in our eternal quest for happiness. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where do I go when I die? Chopra draws upon the ancient philosophy of Vedanta and the findings of modern science to help us understand and experience our true nature, which is a field of pure consciousness. When we understand our true nature, we begin to live from the source of lasting happiness, which is not mere happiness for this or that reason, but true inner joy. By knowing who we are, we no longer interfere with the innate intelligence of the cosmos. Instead, we allow the universe to flow through us with effortless ease, and our lives are infused with power,freedom, and grace.

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