Separateness: agitated mind and, 321, 356; and body-consciousness, 226; awakening from, 281–282, 287; battle against, 23–24, 46; brings anger, 330; brings insecurity, 327; brings sorrow, 136, 326–327, 359–360; bugs of, 356; building wall of, 106–107; extinguishing, 145, 166, 167, 177, 197, 212, 231, 256, 299, 315, 339; is a mask, 167; is ahamkara, 106; life seen through eyes of, 44, 67; mantram overcomes, 167; obstructs evolution, 39; putting others first overcomes, 256, 356; renunciation of, 298; Booker T. Washington on, 235. See also Consciousness, disunited; Self-will; Unity of life
Sermon on the Mount, 16, 43
Sex: and kundalini, 140; conditioning about, 115; control of, 140; is in the mind, 139; is sacred, 120, 121; memory of, 139. See also Kama
Shakuntala, 262
Shankara, 148, 176
shanti, 140, 141–142
Shiva, Lord, 176, 216
Shivaratri, 176
shraddha, 288–289
shreya and
preya: 27
shunyata, 138
Sita, 145, 169
Skipping a meal, 83, 358
Sleep: amount of, 186, 358–359; awareness of unity in, 309; in meditation, 16, 184, 210, 257–258, 354–355; mantram and, 17, 308–309, 359, 374; pistol-shot sound in, 366
Slowing down, 18, 59–60, 138. Story: running to miss bus, 60
Smara, 139
Smoking: advertising, 311; and apara, 301–302; and physical consciousness, 61, 83; ritual of, 231–232
Sorrow, see Suffering
Spinal column, 16, 352–355
Spiritual aspirant: and teacher, 54–55; must do the work, 340. See also Spiritual teacher
Spiritual association, 20, 278, 298
Spiritual awareness, 278–282: books cannot give, 281; drugs cannot bring, 382–383; E. absorbed his Grandmother’s, 279–280; is caught, not taught, 278; is seeing unity, 190; occasional flashes of, 281–282
Spiritual disciplines, 16–20, 88–91, 286–287: benefits of, 40–41, 89, 91; goal of, is joy, 131; meditation leads to, 286–287; not anxious about results of, 91. Story: it all adds up, 303. See also Sadhana
Spiritual engineering, 61, 234
Spiritual evolution, see Evolution, spiritual
Spiritual laws, 185, 187–188, 292. Story: flying over Lake Merritt, 187
Spiritual life: benefits others, 81; ends boredom, 46; enthusiasm for, 192; goal of, is freedom, 331–332; good health essential for, 157; giving up, 382–385; hearing about, 79–80; is not ‘dropping out,’ 304; is not passive, 152; motivation for, 387–388; overcomes environmental crisis, 118, 297; postponement of, 341; practicality of, 188; transforms family, 38; two approaches to, 269–270. See also Meditation; Sadhana; Spiritual path
Spiritual path, 16–20: association with others on, 20, 278, 298; attitude to mistakes on, 47, 184 192, 241, 286, 314, 341, 365; based on meditation, 334–336; choices on, see Choices; defeat impossible on, 30, 43; developing skill on, 261; difficulties on, 191, 252; doubts on, 53, 382–383; effort on, 261, 365, 381, 384, 386; emphasis on love on, 216; enthusiasm on, 192, 381; guidance on, 192–193; householders’ and monks’, compared, 269–270; incarnation leads back to, 220; is like mountain climbing, 337–339; need for being with people on, 298; need for hard work on, 151, 157–158, 298, 369; pace on, 192; patience on, 191; progress on, 192, 197, 303, 365, 379–380; requirements for success on, 35, 381; suffering leads to, 277; surrender on, 229; taking to, 55, 192. Stories: learning tennis, 261; swimming lessons, 379–380. See also Sadhana; Spiritual life
Spiritual teacher, 54–55, 278–281: absorbing awareness of, 278–281; and satsang, 20; guidance of, 48, 49–50, 192–193; loyalty to, 54; pictures of, 16; points the way, 55, 289, 340; purpose of visiting, 55; selection of, 54; symbolizes the Atman, 280; tradition of, in India, 13, 215; within, 54–55. Story: the escalator, 192–193. See also Spiritual aspirant
Spiritual tradition: unbroken in India, 13, 215
Spiritual wisdom: effect of, on selfish desires, 302; is a raft, 283–284; is based on meditation, 286, 334–335, 391; is not intellectual knowledge, 302, 335; is revealed in action, 147, 301–302; path of, 147, 149, 334–335, 391; reduces unfavorable karma, 286; sharing, 277. See also para
Spontaneity, 198
Sri: defined, 28
stena, 236
Stillness of body, mind, intellect, 316. See also Mind, the still
Stillness of Brahman, 137, 138–139
sthulasharira, 69. See also Body, physical
Stimulus and response, 63, 347–348
Students at exam time, 236
Subtle body, 70
Success and failure, 242, 263, 312. See also Meditation, success in; Spiritual path, requirements for success on; Victory and defeat
Suffering: for others, 47, 48–49; going beyond, 359–360, 363; is necessary for growth, 46, 79–80, 111, 131, 277, 359–360; source of, 326. See also duhkha; Pleasure and pain
sukha, 85. See also duhkha
sukshmasharira, 70
Support: comes from within, 255, 261, 323, 339–340; giving, 27, 320, 338, 347
Supreme goal: attainment of, 13, 329, 333; dedication to, 90–91, 381; harness energy for, 238; is awareness of unity, 12, 20, 326; Jesus’ description of, 330; makes personal satisfaction dull, 326; two obstacles to, 326, 330
Surrender: must be complete, 256; yet taking precautions, 229. Story: Draupadi’s sari, 255–256
svadharma, 197
* * *
T Top of Index
Tamarind tree, 13
Tamas, 93–94, 150, 180, 235–237, 245
tanha 135, 203, 330
Taste, 156, 160. See also Palate, control
of
Tat tvam asi, 9
Technology, 116
Television, 19, 210. See also Mass media
Tension, 248, 348
Thinking, 76: about thinking, 152. See also Mind; Thoughts
Third eye, 373
Thoughts: are action, 244–245; the Buddha on, 245; can wound or cure, 376–377; think us, 378. See also Mind, control of; Thinking
Tibetan Book of the Dead, 328
Time, 59–60: an illusion, 65; awareness of, in meditation, 60; deliverance from, 59, 145–146; tyranny of, 59–60
Tranquilizers, 175, 325. See also Drugs
Transformation, 211–212, 221–222. Stories: mystic who cried ‘wonderful,’ 222; San Francisco mime, 371. See also Meditation transforms; Consciousness, transformation of
Truth, 67
* * *
U Top of Index
Unconscious, the, 249, 354
Unified consciousness, see Consciousness, unification of
Unitive state: and selfless action, 294; and still mind, 41, 319; ends selfish desires, 103, 339; establishment in, 281–282, 339, 345; evolution toward, 39; is evenness of mind, 319; is freedom, 331; meditation and, 282, 360; transforms ordinary people, 41. See also Samadhi
Unity of life, 11–12, 170–173, 287–289, 326–327: all actions must lead to, 277; and capacity to love all equally, 317; and vegetarian diet, 12, 134, 173, 286–287, 372–373; William Blake on, 171; conveyed to children, 172; desire to experience, 241; discovering in samadhi, 12, 289; E’s Grandmother on, 172; ecology is based on, 12, 287, 327; expressing, in all relationships, 39–40, 67, 170–173, 317; includes all life, 12, 134, 170–173, 282–283, 286–287, 318, 327, 372–373; is supreme goal, 12, 326; is yugadharma, 12; living in harmony with, 13, 39–40, 129, 289, 331–332, 347, 392; meditation brings awareness of, 20, 186, 235, 287, 289, 310, 329, 392; Meher Baba on, 11, 236; occasional flashes of, 281–282; realizing, in family context, 37, 39–40, 129, 265–268, 287–288, 336; result of violating, 12, 40–41, 326–327; underlies differences, 11–12, 189–190, 235, 349; violence negates, 189, 289; waking up to, 11, 281–282; Booker T. Washington on, 235. Stories: I am a bush, 318–319; Muka and the jackrabbit, 349
University of California, Berkeley, 247
Upanishads, 9, 14, 16, 104, 176, 189, 360. Stories: a spider brings f
orth its web, 176; the Lord was lonesome, 189. See also Katha Upanishad
* * *
V Top of Index
vairagya, 380
Varshneya (Krishna), 32
Vegetarian diet, 12, 134, 173, 286–287, 372–373
Venitgopala (Krishna), 228
Victory and defeat: accepting both, 257; being alike in, 87, 98–99, 252–253, 257. See also Defeat; Success and failure
View of life: illumined man’s, 134–135; through conditioning, 195; through the ego, 134–135, 313; when identified with the body, 313
Vigilance, 46
vikarma, 245
Violence, 101: and disunited consciousness, 40; and violent means, 30; the Buddha on, 29–30, 251, 342; ceases by nonviolence, 29–30, 245–246, 251–252; conquest of, 249; negates unity of life, 39, 189, 289; renouncing in word, thought, act, 297; problem of the age, 23, 101. See also Nonviolence
Vishnu, 15
Vital energy: desires drain, 142–143; recalling, from past and future, 145; resentment drains, 137–138. See also prana
Void, the, 138
Vrindavana, 217
* * *
W Top of Index
Walking, 116–117: and repeating mantram, 89, 93, 237, 274, 319–320, 333, 366, 373–374. See also Mantram, repetition of
War: and concept of ‘mine,’ 143; and disunited consciousness, 40; in the home, 160–161, 330–331; is born in the mind, 331
War within, 14, 23–47, 85, 104, 130–131, 331. See also Consciousness, disunited
Washington, Booker T., 235
Waters, the living, 96
Worldly life, 90
Wealth, 271–273, 276–277, 290. See also Money
Welfare of all, living for: brings deeper resources, 170, 239–240; brings joy, 110, 220; brings security, 90, 170, 220; E.’s Grandmother on, 239–240; includes animals, 170–173; includes individual welfare, 11–12, 88, 111, 189–190, 310; is a choice, 27, 90, 110, 158, 231, 239, 240; is human dharma, 166, 220; is serving the Lord, 231, 262, 272, 290; using resources for, 271–273, 276–277, 290. See also Needs of others, sensitivity to; Putting others first
Will: and effective action, 35, 147, 301; and grace, 351; enemy and friend, 340, 342; paralysis of, 34–35; restless mind and lack of, 137; strengthening, 110, 140, 354–355
Will Quotient, 110
Women, 19, 38, 161–162, 306: E.’s Grandmother on, 38
Words are actions, 243–244
Work, 94–95, 149–154: avoiding tension in, 247–248; concentration on, 95, 151, 159; E.’s Grandmother on, 157; getting caught in, 95, 150, 159; going beyond, 152–153; hard physical, 150, 157–158, 298, 369; harnesses energy, 94; is necessary, 94, 151, 157–158, 297–298, 369; likes and dislikes in, 151–152, 159–160, 196; under compulsion of self-will, 239, 240; without selfish motive, 158, 167–168, 257, 272, 276–277, 290. See also Exercise, physical; Occupation; Selfless action; Selfless service
Worklessness, state of, 152–153. See also Inaction in action
Wrong action, 245. See also Action
Wrong situation, attitude toward, 102
* * *
Y Top of Index
yajna, 159, 268–269, 271–273, 276–277
Yama, 15
Yield, capacity to, 107
Yoga: integrated, 336; is evenness of mind, 64; is often misunderstood, 88, 291; is skill in action, 101. See also Bhakti yoga; Jnana yoga; Karma yoga
Yogananda Paramahamsa, 344
Yudhishthira, 29n.
yugadharma, 12
* * *
The Books of Eknath Easwaran
* * *
Eknath Easwaran
Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999) was brought up in the Hindu tradition and learned Sanskrit from a young age. He was chairman of the English department at a major Indian university when he came to the United States on a Fulbright fellowship in 1959.
A gifted teacher and writer, Easwaran taught in the West for forty years, living out the principles of the Gita in the midst of a busy family and community life. His translations of the Indian classics, The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada, are all best-selling editions, and more than 1.5 million copies of his books are in print.
* * *
The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation
The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation publishes Eknath Easwaran’s books, videos and audios, and offers retreats on his eight-point program of passage meditation. For more information:
The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation
Box 256, Tomales, California 94971
Telephone: +1 707 878 2369
Toll-free in the US: 800 475 2369
Facsimile: +1 707 878 2375
Email: info@easwaran.org
www.easwaran.org
* * *
Essential Easwaran Library
The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living
Volume 2: Like a Thousand Suns (Chapters 7–12)
Volume 3: To Love Is to Know Me (Chapters 13–18)
* * *
Passage Meditation – A Complete Spiritual Practice
Train Your Mind and Find a Life that Fulfills
“No extravagant claims, no pretentious jargon. Just a clear, insightful exposition of meditation, and an excellent guide to its practice.”
– HUSTON SMITH, author of The World’s Religions,
Easwaran taught passage meditation to thousands of people for forty years, including a course at the University of California, Berkeley. He based his method of meditation on the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, adapting it and systematizing it for modern needs.
Easwaran’s classic manual on meditation is a unique source of practical spiritual support for new and experienced meditators, and gives all the instruction needed to establish a vibrant meditation practice and keep it going. In passage meditation, you focus attention on passages, or texts, drawn from all the world’s sacred traditions. You send them deep into consciousness through slow, sustained attention, prompting you to live out your highest ideals.
Meditation is supported by the mantram and six other spiritual tools to help us stay calm, kind, and focused throughout the day. This book shows how, with regular practice, we gain wisdom and vitality, and find a life that fulfills.
* * *
Classics of Indian Spirituality Series
* * *
The Bhagavad Gita
Easwaran’s clear, accessible translation, with a 63-page introduction.
Other translations in this series:
The Dhammapada
The Upanishads
“It is impossible to get to the heart of those classics unless you live them, and [Easwaran] did live them. My admiration of the man and his works is boundless.” – Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions (Reviewing Easwaran’s translation, The Bhagavad Gita)
* * *
Wisdom of India Series
* * *
Essence of the Bhagavad Gita
A Contemporary Guide to Yoga, Meditation and Indian Philosophy
This completely new book is Easwaran’s distillation of the Gita’s teachings from the end of his life, based on talks given to his close students.
Easwaran places Sri Krishna’s wisdom in a contemporary context and explores the nature of reality, the illusion of separateness, the search for identity, the meaning of yoga, and how to heal the unconscious. The key message of the Gita is how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep unity of life, through the practice of meditation and spiritual disciplines.
Sri Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna what to do. He points out the prince’s choices, and then leaves it to Arjuna to decide. Easwaran shows us clearly how these teachings still apply – and how, like Arjuna, we must take courage and act wisely if we want our world to thrive.
* * *
Essence of the Upanishads
A Key to Indian Spirituality (Formerly titled Dialogue with Death)
The Katha Upanishad, one of Ind
ia’s classic wisdom texts, embraces all the key ideas of Indian spirituality within the context of a powerful mythic quest. A young hero, Nachiketa, ventures into the land of death in search of answers to the age-old questions: “Who am I? What is the meaning of my life? And what will happen to me after I die?” The King of Death emerges as the perfect spiritual guide, challenging, uncompromising, and direct.
But the insights of the Katha, as with all the Upanishads, are scattered, hard to understand. Easwaran presents them systematically and practically, as a way to explore deeper and deeper levels of personality. Illustrating the wisdom of the Katha through analogies and everyday examples, Easwaran’s interpretation of this classic can help us to embark on – and sustain – our own quest into the meaning of our lives.
Also in this Series:
Essence of the Dhammapada
* * *
Other Books by Easwaran
* * *
Gandhi the Man
How one man changed himself to change the world
Eknath Easwaran grew up in India and witnessed how Gandhi inspired people of all races, backgrounds, and religions to turn anger into compassion and hatred into love.
How had Gandhi done this? How had he transformed himself from an ineffective young lawyer into the Mahatma, the “great soul” who led 400 million Indians in their nonviolent struggle for independence from the British Empire? To find out, Easwaran went to Gandhi’s ashram and watched the Mahatma absorbed in meditation on the Bhagavad Gita, the wellspring of his spiritual strength.