'Can anyone imagine that a man with such a strong, continuous and unbroken will has been reaching out to the masses with the goal 'one life-one mission'. He has been travelling the country round the clock and has been meeting lakhs of people every-day and motivating them through yoga. If Baba Ramdev would have been in any other country then there would have been so many Universities that would have done PhD on his life history.' I had once asked Baba Ramdev that yoga gives energy, good-health and zeal but how does it help when you are surrounded with so many problems? 'Baba Ramdev had started his journey for the well being of this country's citizens through yoga, especially for the poor who were not able to afford medicines. After travelling for ten years across the country he noticed that it's not only the health of the citizens that needed attention but also the 'health of the country' so from then onwards he began to voice his concerns related to the dysfunctions of the nation. Baba Ramdev is such a personality who doesn't rest till he achieves his goals.'

How did an ancient Indian spiritual discipline turn into a $20+ billion-a-year mainstay of the global wellness industry? What happened along yoga's winding path from the caves and forests of the sages to the gyms, hospitals and village halls of the modern West? This comprehensive history sets yoga in its global cultural context for the first time. It leads us on a fascinating journey across the world, from arcane religious rituals and medieval body-magic, through muscular Christianity and the British Raj, to the Indian nationalist movement and the arrival of yoga in the twentieth-century West. We discover how the practice reached its present-day ubiquity and how it became embedded in powerful social currents shaping the world's future, such as feminism, digital media, celebrity culture, the stress pandemic and the quest for an authentic identity in the face of unprecedented change. Shearer's revealing history boasts a colorful cast of characters past and present, who tell an engaging tale of scholars and scandal, science and spirit, wisdom and waywardness. This is the untold story of yoga, warts and all.

“Ram Dass lived a full life and then some. His final statement is thorough and, yes, enlightening.” —Kirkus Reviews Perhaps no other teacher has sparked the fires of as many spiritual seekers in the West as Ram Dass. If you’ve ever embraced the phrase “be here now,” practiced meditation or yoga, tried psychedelics, or supported anyone in a hospice, prison, or homeless center—then the story of Ram Dass is also part of your story. From his birth in 1931 to his luminous later years, Ram Dass saw his life as just one incarnation of many. This memoir puts us in the passenger seat with the one-time Harvard psychologist and lifelong risk-taker Richard Alpert, who loved to take friends on wild rides on his Harley and test nearly every boundary—inner or outer—that came his way. Being Ram Dass shares his life’s odyssey in intimate detail: how he struggled with issues of self-identity and sexuality in his youth, pioneered psychedelic research, and opened the doorways to Eastern spiritual practices. In 1967 he trekked to India and met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba. He returned with a perspective on spirituality and psychology that changed millions. Featuring 64 pages of color photographs, this intimate memoir chronicles the cultural and spiritual transformations Ram Dass experienced that resonate with us to this day, a journey from the mind to the heart, from the ego to the soul. Before, after, and along these waypoints, readers will encounter many other adventures and revelations—each ringing with the potential to awaken the universal, loving divine that links us to this beloved teacher and all of us to each other.

The autobiography of Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 - 1952) details his search for a guru, during which he encountered many spiritual leaders and world-renowned scientists. When it was published in 1946 it was the first introduction of many westerners to yoga and meditation. The famous opera singer Amelita Galli-Curci said about the book: "Amazing, true stories of saints and masters of India, blended with priceless superphysical information-much needed to balance the Western material efficiency with Eastern spiritual efficiency-come from the vigorous pen of Paramhansa Yogananda, whose teachings my husband and myself have had the pleasure of studying for twenty years."

The story is told. The curtain has been brought down on it. Two life-sentences have been run. And I have brought together my recollections of them within the cover of this book. They are narrated in brief and put together within the narrowest. When I came into this world, God sent me here possibly on a sort of life-sentence. It was the span of life allotted to me by time to stay in this ‘prison-house of life’. This story is but a chapter of that book of life, which is a longer story not yet ended. You can finish reading the book in a day, while I had to live it for 14 long years of transportation. And if the story is so tiresome, unendurable and disgusting to you, how much must have been the living of it for me! Every moment of those 14 years in that jail has been an agony of the soul and the body to me, and to my fellow convicts in that jail. It was not only fatiguing, unbearable and futile to us all, it was equally or more excruciating to them as to me. And it is only that you may know it and feel the fatigue, the disgust and the pain of it as we have felt it, that I have chosen to write it for you. —Excerpts from this book This is the story of Swatantrayaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar—a great revolutionary, politician, poet and seer who tried to free India from the British yoke! British policy was to torture and persecute the political prisoners/revolutionaries so that they would reveal the names of all their colleagues or go mad or commit suicide. My Transportation for Life is a firsthand story of the sufferings and humiliation of an inmate of the infamous Cellular Jail of Andamans, the legendary Kala Paani. The physical tortures inside the high walls were made all the more insufferable by the sickening attitude of the men who mattered—the native leaders back home. This is a running commentary on the prevalent political conditions in India and a treatise for students of revolution. It is a burning story of all Tapasvis who were transported to Andaman. My Transportation For Life by Veer Savarkar: This book is an autobiographical account by the renowned Indian freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, commonly known as Veer Savarkar. In his memoir, Savarkar recounts his experiences as a political prisoner in British colonial India, his transportation to the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and his enduring struggle for India's independence. Key Aspects of the Book "My Transportation For Life by Veer Savarkar": Political Imprisonment: Veer Savarkar provides a firsthand account of his imprisonment, torture, and life in the notorious Cellular Jail, shedding light on the harsh conditions faced by freedom fighters during the colonial era. Struggle for Independence: The book delves into Savarkar's unwavering commitment to the cause of Indian independence and his enduring spirit even in the face of adversity. Historical Significance: Veer Savarkar's memoir is a valuable historical document that offers insight into the life and sacrifices of one of India's prominent freedom fighters, making it an essential read for those interested in Indian history. Veer Savarkar was a prominent Indian freedom fighter, poet, and writer born in 1883. He played a pivotal role in the struggle for India's independence from British rule. His early activism, writings, and political activities led to his arrest and transportation to Cellular Jail in 1909. Despite enduring immense hardships, Savarkar continued to inspire generations with his unwavering commitment to the cause of India's freedom. "My Transportation For Life by Veer Savarkar" offers a unique perspective on the life and struggles of this legendary freedom fighter.