PRACTICAL TEACHINGS FOR PEACE AND FULFILLMENT In this clear introduction to the Vedanta philosophy of India, you'll discover a new perspective that can bring inner peace, inner strength and improve your relationships for a happier life. This spiritual book written by Paul Hourihan, an American, introduces these ancient teachings in a way that Westerners, in particular, can easily relate to and understand. Why learn about the teachings of Vedanta? - According to Vedanta, ignorance of our real nature is the cause of our suffering and grief. The practical application of this philosophy is the means to Self-discovery, integration and inner peace for those of all faiths and those with no particular faith. - By stressing the universal truths common to all religions, they provide a unifying basis for mutual understanding and peace in a world increasingly fragmented by opposing beliefs. - They provide a foundation for understanding why a moral and ethical life are necessary. - This knowledge gives us the means for realizing our true identity as Children of Immortal Bliss. Using the teachings of the Upanishads, this study covers the main principles and core concepts of Vedanta and covers important subjects such as meditation, nonattachment. It also provides an overview of the mysticism of India and a summary of the Yoga system of thought, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, another key Vedantic scripture. The last section reveals the universality of these teachings through confirmations of great mystics from other traditions including Plotinus, Lao Tzu, Meister Eckhart and the Sufis of Islam. Vedanta shows the way to inner peace, harmony among all peoples, and respect for all life.

At the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda transformed Western thinking. He showed that, far from being an exotic novelty, Hinduism is an important, legitimate spiritual tradition with valuable lessons for the West. Pathways to Joy is a selection of 108 of his sacred teachings on Vedanta philosophy. In accessible and powerful prose, Vivekananda illuminates the four classical yoga paths — karma, bhakti, raja, and jnana — for the different natures of humankind. The messages focus on the oneness of existence; the divinity of the soul; the truth in all religions; and unifying with the Divine within. Invaluable and inspiring, the selections also explore karma, maya, rebirth, and other great revelations of Hinduism.

"It may be that I shall find it good to get outside of my body — to cast it off like a disused garment. But I shall not cease to work! I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it is one with God. " said Swami Vivekananda during the closing days of his life. His idea was to teach unto mankind their divinity and how to make it manifest in every action. These two ideas form the core of this book. This book contains 1863 quotes of Swami Vivekananda which have been divided into 12 chapters namely 1. Make your own future 2. Struggle & Hope 3. Religion & God 4. Know yourselves 5. Universality 6. Day to Day guidance 7. The ideal of service 8. Raja Yoga 9. Karma Yoga 10. Bhakti Yoga 11. Jnana Yoga 12. Practical Vedanta The selection of the quotes have been made in such a way that it can be thought about and incorporated into our daily lives.

Vivekananda was a man with a great spiritual presence and tremendous intellect who was a tireless teacher and writer. He wrote poems and hymns in Bengali, English and Sanskrit, some of which are sung daily in Vedanta centre's worldwide. He was ahead of his time in encouraging women and Westerners to not only practice Vedanta, but to be leaders. Two examples are Sara Ellen Waldo who recorded and collected Swami's talks at Thousand Island Park and Margaret Noble, later known as Sister Nvidia, who devoted her life not only to Vedanta but also to the education of Indian girls.Supreme Devotion, in which forms and symbols fall off. One who has reached that cannot belong to any sect, for all sects are in him. To what shall he belong? For all churches and temples are in him. Where is the church big enough for him? Such a man cannot bind himself down to certain limited forms. Where is the limit for unlimited love, with which he has become one? In all religions which take up this ideal of love, we find the struggle to express it. Although we understand what this love means and see that everything in this world of affections and attractions is a manifestation of that Infinite Love, the expression of which has been attempted by sages and saints of different nations, yet we find them using all the powers of language, transfiguring even the most carnal expression into the divine.

We live in an era of unprecedented growth in knowledge. Never before has there been so great an availability of and access to information in both print and online. Yet as opportunities to educate ourselves have greatly increased, our time for reading has significantly diminished. And when we do read, we rarely have the patience to read in the slow, sustained fashion that great books require if we are to be truly transformed by them. In Reading the Hindu and Christian Classics, renowned Harvard Divinity School professor Francis Clooney argues that our increasing inability to read in a concerted manner is particularly notable in the realm of religion, where the proliferation of information detracts from the learning of practices that require slow and patient reading. Although awareness of the world’s many religions is at an all-time high, deep knowledge of the various traditions has suffered. Clooney challenges this trend by considering six classic Hindu and Christian texts dealing with ritual and law, catechesis and doctrine, and devotion and religious participation, showing how, in distinctive ways, such texts instruct, teach truth, and draw willing readers to participate in the realities they are learning. Through readings of these seminal scriptural and theological texts, he reveals the rewards of a more spiritually transformative mode of reading—and how individuals and communities can achieve it.