namaste, ~I was looking for a book, or books with the teachings or writings of indian, or any spiritual leaders that have been good for you, books that make you think on a higher level, and open your eyes to new thoughts, any good reads lately?~
I finished 'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying' yesterday and would highly recommend it, it was inspiring to say the least, not to sure about Indian stuff though, check out http://www.sacred-texts.com you are bound to find something there.
One of the most influential books is the Bhagavad Geeta. There are hundreds of commentaries on it, but there, the one that truly appealed to me and filled the gaps in my head, was the commentary by Swaim Chinmayananda, title The Holy Geeta. My personal favourite is the Ramayana, for it is in simple palatable story form, yet it contains the very core of all vedanta, at the same time it waters and nourishes the flower of devotion in the heart.
Another great book is Adishankaracharya's Vivekachoodamani. Again, I reccomend Swami Chinmayananda's commentary.
A few ideas - these are mainly books easily accessible to westerners. The gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (kathamrita) 'Autobiography of a Yogi' by Paramhansa Yogananda Collected works of Swami Vivekananda 'How to know God - the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali' trans. Isherwood & Prabhavananda. 'Sri Aurobindo - the adventure of Consciousness' Satprem 'The Life Divine' - Sri Aurobindo 'Pilgrims of the Stars' - Dilip Kumar Roy & Ma Indira Devi
(I said this in antoher thread) easiest introduction to Hinduism is the Mahabharta and Ramayana As retold by William Buck.....Seriously awesome love it love it love it
Ranchor Prime's version of Ramayana is also a very good intro, easily readable and accessible to anyone (ie, without much prior knowledge of Hindu philosophy).
as far as enlightenment in general, i would check out carlos castaneda, anything on kundalini, timothy leary, robert anton wilson, "be here now", "anatomy of the spirit", "I am that", and several others that i can't quite remember right now. plus, if you type kundalini yoga, chakras, any of the previous author's names, or just enlightenment into a web search, you should find a little of what you're looking for. remember-only part of the path has to do with study. a much larger part has to do with practice and experience.
Beyond the Mind, David Frawley I Am That, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj Vigyana Bhairava Tantra, The Book of Secrets, Osho -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Art of Zen Meditation, Howard Fast Zen Meditation Therapy, Tomio Hirai _________________________________________________________________ Freedom From the Known, J. Krisnamurti Mind is a Myth; Disquieting Conversations with the man called U.G., U.G. Krisnamurti How to Believe in Nothing & Set Yourself Free, Michael Misita The Awakening, Steven S. Sadleir Truth Cannot Be Rehearsed, Robert Augustus Masters The Discriminating Mind, Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
alan watts attempted to express in western language some of concepts of advaita (a = not, & dva = two) vedanta in some of his wrintings... maybe _the book_ or maybe _nature, man & woman_ ymmv...
