Category: Spirituality

Photo: Rebecca Arnett

Translated by Irving Babbitt

New Directions, 1965 (1936)

Back Cover:

The 423 verses in the collection known as The Dhammapada (pada: “the way”; dhamma: “the teaching”; hence, “The Path of Truth”) are attributed to the Buddha himself and form the essence of the ethics of Buddhist philosophy. There are a number of English translations of The Dhammapada, but this version by Irving Babbitt, for many years professor at Harvard and founder, with Paul Elmer More, of the movement known as “New Humanism”, concentrates on the profound poetic quality of the verses and conveys, perhaps more than any other, much of the vitality of the original Pali text.

Babbitt devoted many years to this translation – it was a labor of love. Together with his essay on “Buddha and the Occident”, which is also included in this edition, The Dhammapada was one of the basic Components of his view of world history, a view which has influenced leaders of thought as diverse as Newton Arvin, Walter Lippmann, David Riesman and T.S. Eliot. Eliot, indeed, once wrote that “to have been a student of Babbitt’s is to remain always in that position.”

How Indian Spirituality Changed the West

Harmony, 2013 (2010)     Amazon

Book Description:

In February 1968 the Beatles went to India for an extended stay with their new guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It may have been the most momentous spiritual retreat since Jesus spent those forty days in the wilderness.

With these words, Philip Goldberg begins his monumental work, American Veda, a fascinating look at India’s remarkable impact on Western culture. This eye-opening popular history shows how the ancient philosophy of Vedanta and the mind-body methods of Yoga have profoundly affected the worldview of millions of Americans and radically altered the religious landscape.

What exploded in the 1960s actually began more than two hundred years earlier, when the United States started importing knowledge as well as tangy spices and colorful fabrics from Asia. The first translations of Hindu texts found their way into the libraries of John Adams and Ralph Waldo Emerson. From there the ideas spread to Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and succeeding generations of receptive Americans, who absorbed India’s “science of consciousness” and wove it into the fabric of their lives. Charismatic teachers like Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda came west in waves, prompting leading intellectuals, artists, and scientists such as Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, Allen Ginsberg, J. D. Salinger, John Coltrane, Dean Ornish, and Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass, to adapt and disseminate what they learned from them. The impact has been enormous, enlarging our current understanding of the mind and body and dramatically changing how we view ourselves and our place in the cosmos.

Goldberg paints a compelling picture of this remarkable East-to-West transmission, showing how it accelerated through the decades and eventually moved from the counterculture into our laboratories, libraries, and living rooms.  Now physicians and therapists routinely recommend meditation, words like karma and mantra are part of our everyday vocabulary, and Yoga studios are as ubiquitous as Starbuckses. The insights of India’s sages permeate so much of what we think, believe, and do that they have redefined the meaning of life for millions of Americans – and continue to do so every day.

Rich in detail and expansive in scope, American Veda shows how we have come to accept and live by the central teaching of Vedic wisdom: “Truth is one, the wise call it by many names.”

Reviews:

“American Veda is an illuminating, gracefully written and remarkably thorough account of  India’s spectacular impact on Western religion and spirituality.”  Deepak Chopra

“American Veda shows us how we got to where we are. It chronicles a revolution in consciousness and describes India’s lasting influence on our culture, from gurus, meditation, and yoga to sitar music and aromatic  curries. Savor it.”  Michael Bernard Beckwith, author of Spiritual Liberation: Fulfilling Your Soul’s Potential

“This book demonstrates the far reach of Indian thought into the American psyche and sense of spiritual self. A well written, superbly researched book, it should be read by all the 15 million Americans practicing meditation and yoga!”  Christopher Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount University

“Wonderfully comprehensive, positive, tremendously insightful, and illuminating. For anyone interested in the deep influence of yoga philosophy in American culture, I highly recommended this masterful book.”  John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga

“Immensely smart, wise and brilliantly written. This book should be required reading for everyone interested in ecumenical spirituality which is the one hope for the survival of the human race, and India’s great gift to us in our crisis.”  Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: The Guide to Social Activism and The Sun at Midnight

“In this important and engaging book, Philip Goldberg chronicles the long neglected history of Hinduism’s encounter with the US. He astutely examines how Hinduism has been constructed and consumed within the larger American spiritual landscape.  A must read for those interested in Hinduism and its transmission.”  Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California

“American Veda documents an important cultural change and is an impressive book: informed and informative, well researched and readable.”  Roger Walsh MD, Ph.D., University of California Medical School, author of Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices

“Intriguing reading, fascinating profiles and great storytelling of Yoga luminaries adapting the teachings to fit modern American life. This book inspires us to continue to deepen in our body, mind, and spiritual journey.”  Lilias Folan, PBS Host and author Lilias! Yoga Gets Better with Age

“Goldberg weaves a tale as only a true storyteller can, drawing the reader into this Vedic web that has no weaver, providing us with a fresh view of how Vedic strands have woven their way into the daily fabric of every American. He masterfully unfolds this ancient play of spiritual unfolding that is just now beginning to emerge into early adolescence in America.”  Richard Miller, PhD, author of Yoga Nidra: A Meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing, co-founder of the International Association of Yoga Therapy and the founding president of the Integrative Restoration Institute.

“A breathtaking trek across time, American Veda shows us something extraordinary, surprising, and precious about where we come from, who we are at this moment, and what we may yet become.”  Chip Hartranft, author of The Yoga-Sutra Of Patañjali: A New Translation With Commentary

“In a delightful, compelling way, American Veda shows how India’s ancient wisdom has permeated our lives, including many of the self-improvement teachings that have benefited millions.  I loved reading this book.”  Marci Shimoff, NY Times bestselling author, Happy for No Reason and Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul

“Nothing short of remarkable. Within the pages of this fairly short volume, Goldberg manages to cover every major figure, movement, and idea that originated in India’s spiritual terrain and arrived on our shores to forever alter the landscape of our thought and culture…Writing with empathy and discernment, he covers highly controversial issues regarding the impact of the transmission of Indian spiritual culture in a way that inspires deeper understanding. American Veda is an insightful guide to the fascinating history of a phenomenon that will be seen in the future as one of the watershed moments of American history.”  Rita D. Sherma, Ph.D., Executive Director, School of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Taksha University

“American Veda is a bright light on the historical path to enlightenment in America. Philip Goldberg is an acharya of words and research. Highly recommended.”  Larry Payne Ph.D., coauthor, Yoga for Dummies, Yoga Rx and The Business of Teaching Yoga

“We imagine the United States as a Christian island far from the exotic teachings of India. We imagine wrong. As Phil Goldberg’s masterful American Veda shows we have been under the sway of Hindu spiritual thought for centuries. If you want to understand American spirituality today, and get a glimpse into its future, read this book.”  Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Recovery, the Sacred Art

“This book, American Veda is a landmark! Easy to read it shines a light of understanding on the American Vedic Hindu path which started with the transference of knowledge from India, and equally important by its acceptance by the Americans of western orientation. It is a path on which now, the immigrant Vedic Hindu community and its progeny are grafting on to and traveling along with many in the mainstream community, resulting in, we hope increased understanding. The integrated approach of this book helps fill in the gaps of this historical journey, especially for those of us who see ourselves as fellow travelers working to bridge the east-west divide.”  Anju Bhargava, Management Consultant and Founder of Hindu American Seva Charities

About the Author:

Philip Goldberg is the author or coauthor of nineteen books, including Roadsigns: On the Spiritual Path and The Intuitive Edge. Based in Los Angeles, he is an ordained interfaith minister, a public speaker and seminar leader, and the founder of Spiritual Wellness and Healing Associates. He is director of outreach for SpiritualCitizens.net and blogs regularly on religion for the Huffington Post.

JOB’s Comment:

Then one of course has to start looking at everything described in this book with the proper kind of discernment… It is desperately needed.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on Literature and Language

Maharishi University of Management Press, 2010

Back Cover:

Over the years, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi recorded brilliant and inspiring lectures on the literary process, as well as on critical theory and technique, emphasizing the relevance of the state of consciousness of both writer and reader. He explained how only from an expanded basis can the writer spontaneously experience and express refined emotions and ideas and only from such a basis can the reader hope to understand and enjoy such writings. A fully developed consciousness can express the ocean in a drop, and from that drop flows a river of meaning, power, and enjoyment. Literature itself can be a means to evolve one’s consciousness through sound, rhythm, and meaning, swinging the reader’s attention from concrete to abstract, thus purifying consciousness and producing bliss.

Immersing oneself in the transcripts of Maharishi’s lectures allows readers to feel his presence, to hear his voice, his rhythms of speech, his humor, and to appreciate his skill as a teacher. His exposition of the power of poetry, particularly the poetry of the Veda, gives the reader a taste of his intellect and his profound understanding of language and literature. It is a journey through a great mind and an exploration of a topic familiar and beloved by all.

This volume is a valuable resource to teachers, students, and all readers of literature, to all those interested in higher human development and the literary process.

JOB’s Comment:

The term “abstract”, which appears in the text above, has a special meaning in Maharishi’s works, different from the ordinary;  and both “abstract” and “concrete” are used in senses different from the ones they have in my own philosophical texts. Maharishi’s meanings are close to “subtle” and “gross”, respectively; and especially “subtle” is one of his most commonly used terms.

Falsk och äkta gnosis

Norma, 1984

Baksida:

Det är i den västliga världen – och särskilt i teologiska kretsar – en utbredd uppfattning att gnosis är en form av andlig förvillelse. Tage Lindbom vill med denna skrift påvisa att det finns en äkta gnosis, en mänsklig kunskap om den eviga Sanningen, sacra scientia, att denna universella kunskap vunnit sitt inträde i Västerlandet främst genom Platon, att vi möter denna gnosis i evangelierna, hos apostlarna och kyrkofäderna.

Det är denna äkta gnosis, som kommit att förblandas med de gnosticistiska sektbildningarnas falska förkunnelse under kristenhetens första århundrade. Att hålla dessa isär, den äkta gnosis och den falska gnosticismen, är bokens främsta uppgift. Men författaren vill också följa den äkta gnosis framför allt i kristendomen, påvisa dess andliga rikedomar och livgivande krafter.

Och till slut: är inte gnosis en andlig kraft, som just vår tid behöver? Detta blir bokens slutackord: “förnyelse kommer först när Andens närvaro är erkänd och upplevd, när hjärtat är stilla och ljuset tänds i vårt inre”.

The Islamic Texts Society, 1994

Gallimard, 1977 (1962)

Présentation:

Le présent recueil réunit tous les articles concernant le symbolisme que René Guénon n’avait pas lui-même inclus dans l’un de ses ouvrages. Il constitue la partie la plus importante de ses travaux dans ce domaine, et vient illustrer en quelque sorte la doctrine qu’il a exposée dans toute son œuvre, tout en offrant ce qu’on pourrait appeler les moyens d’une universelle vérification dans la multitude innombrable mais concordante de données sacrées provenant des traditions les plus diverses. Malgré tout ce que l’auteur avait déjà traité en cette matière dans ses autres livres, ce volume constitue un trésor unique de science symbolique et restera comme un véritable monument de l’intellectualité sacrée.

A Personal View

Larson Publications, 1989     Amazon.com

Back Cover:

Paul Brunton is generally recognized as a major contributor to the spiritual renaissance of modern Culture. His first book, A Search in Secret India, was an instant popular success in 1934, vividly recounting his fascinating spiritual odyssey seeking out the genuinely holy men of India. It was followed by A Search in Secret Egypt, which highlighted his awesome experience of spending a night alone in the Great Pyramid. Nine more books followed in quick succession, including his monumental twin works The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga and The Wisdom of the Overself.

With the completion of The Spiritual Crisis of Man in 1952, Paul Brunton refrained from further publication during his lifetime. But he continued to write Daily, capturing frequent flashes of profound inspiration until his death in 1981. These later writings, published posthumously in sixteen volumes as The Notebooks of Paul Brunton, are now attracting widespread critical acclaim and sparking a resurgence of interest in his life and works.

Paul Brunton: A Personal View is an engaging account of a unique father-son relationship. Here we see the man behind the renowned philosopher from the privileged perspective of his only son, who shared a close lifelong relationship with his father. This warmly intimate account chronicles more than sixty years of richly varied memories, offering many surprising glimpses into the personal side of a thoroughly modern man of wisdom. Highlighted is Paul Brunton’s previously unpublished account, in his own words, of his personal experience of illumination – affirming to all sincere seekers that lasting self-realization is possible here and now for those willing to meet its requirements.

Kenneth Thurston Hurst recently retired as president of Prentice-Hall International, the global publishing house. He now devotes his time to researching, lecturing and writing about spiritual subjects.

On Thurston Hurst (1923-2009) on paulbrunton.org (Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation)

Arunachala and Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

“Now the discipline of yoga”, Patanjali says. The atmosphere is pure and peaceful. In recent weeks, you have assimilated the introductory teaching, achieved some basic theoretical understanding of things, as set out not just in yoga but in sankhya and vedanta. You knew it was necessary to approach a real, authentic teacher. You are aware you have been learning about what is truly interesting and important, indeed decisive in life.

You sit still, with eyes closed, relaxed. Your senses are now withdrawn from their outer objects. You remember the clear, well-articulated words of guru, and his presence, through which alone much has been tacitly communicated and transfered to you. You are filled with the impression of the few images of guru and the few, traditional spiritual symbols in the room. Some flowers and fruit lie next to the portrait of guru. There is the aroma – not too strong – of a certain kind of incense, which you will always associate with this moment.

The mantra comes to you. You think it quietly. This practice of transcendence is the central practice of yoga, which, although not in itself difficult, few seem able to practice with the requisite regularity in the contemporary world. You understand that to the seed-mantra some can of course add other strengthening and supporting techniques from traditional yoga. Softly, the mantra begins to penetrate the layers of mental content. You – the conscious self – are immersed, dispersed in that content, the subtle objects of the senses, the images and ideas, the feelings and desires, the mental noise. By a mild, initial impulse of the will and the direction of guru, your attention is focused on the mantra. In this way, you are subtly led in the inner direction. In the stillness, you already sense something of the tremendous potential power of the finer levels of awareness. It is a natural process. Through the mantra, you are silently led out of the many phenomenal identifications of the false ego. Lightly and quietly thinking the mantra, or rather just being aware of it, leads you beyond thinking, beyond the mind.

A path is opened, which you already feel will take you beyond the plurality of manifestation and relativity. You move through the mists of the mind. Thoughts come, images come, plans and memories, you hear a faint sound from the street outside, you note some sensations in your body. But again and again, you return to the pure quality of the soft mental vibration of the mantra. You approach the fuller exploration of consciousness itself, of its true nature. You go deeper and deeper on the subtler levels. You are turning towards home, towards your true self. With the help of the mantra, you are beginning to pass through the cloud. You are quietly pulled towards the field of all possibilities, towards the higher nature of transcendent being, knowledge, and bliss. This is not faith. This is experience.

At some point you stop. You begin to return towards the surface. You come out of the meditation. A small but bright, mild ray of the sun of higher consciousness has been allowed to shine forth in you as you moved through the levels of conditional experience. From the partly uncovered sky beyond, there emanates a force of purity, of freshness, of life, of creative intelligence. You open your eyes. To some extent you already experience the world around you in a different way. You see deeper. You understand there is a truer perspective on everything you have known. That knowledge is structured in consciousness. Your mind is being modified in accordance with the light of right knowledge, which allows you to see everything as it really is.

You feel fully centered, present, crystallized. Finer energy fields are stirring in your vividly felt inner body. You feel in control of enhanced faculties of all kinds. You sense that bad habits and destructive or non-optimal patterns in your life are going to be dissolved of their own accord; that major transformations and developments are available to you, that illusion will fade away. Beyond the modifications of the mind, you will come in contact with the source of happiness beyond outer pleasure, with the highest reality, with the lofty realm of truth. You see how you can become a being that spontaneously works for the ultimate good of society and of all living beings; how you will be able to promote that spiritual good by simply being, by simply being a certain kind of being.

You are already on the way to ultimate fulfillment, higher than and different from any achievement in the transitory sphere of phenomena. You begin to awake. This is the sublime way of realization, beyond the theory of the metaphysical philosophers, beyond the moral and aesthetic discipline of classical humanistic culture, beyond all forms of psychological therapy, beyond any intellectual and professional skill. You are set on the path of perfection, reoriented towards the true goal of life, towards ultimate good, the manifestation of life’s full values on all levels, the actualization of the essence of the beauty and sublime greatness you have had intimations of in art, music, poetry, nature, love. You realize that you can live in, that you can become “oned” (to use Julian of Norwich’s wonderful word) with that very essence. The attainment, in a certain sense, of the fullness of the absolute, of the life of the spirit, of the divine, appears possible. You stand before, and are becoming part of, the Great Tradition. You sense that if you just continue on this path, the insights, the powers, the enlightenment, and the liberation spoken of by the greatest spiritual teachers, seers, mystics, saints, and avatars throughout history is ultimately within your reach.

The path is clear – the path that is no path, the path that is rather the goal rediscovering itself. You remember you have been taught that patient, regular practice is needed, and that you must not make any drastic changes in your life in premature reliance on the increased strength you now feel is yours. Humility is always needed. But it will come naturally. The higher nature of divine being, knowledge and bliss has already begun to penetrate and spread through you. It pulls you, your impulses, your will, and your imagination without resistance towards itself, towards the unbroken continuation of the practice. You begin to desire to become immersed and absorbed in that nature, to make your whole mind and body a translucent medium, entirely shaped by and soaked in it. Your whole existence, inner as well as outer, has already been elevated in a wholly new and beautiful way.

If you do not experience the things here described, it does not mean something is wrong with your practice. The qualities and presence of guru may not have been as effectively communicated as it could have been, the theoretical understanding you acquired may not have been clear enough, and, above all, your mental cloud may be too thick and dark for such experiences to be possible. Still, the practice is the right one and you need only continue it a little longer before these realizations begin to happen.

This first step of practice, added to contact with guru and basic theory, is all that is needed. Even if the force of illusion created by strong attachment to conditional experience should delay you, hinder you, mislead you onto lower paths, it is certain that you will sooner or later find your way back. A different seed has been sown deep inside you. The awakened glimpse of your higher self, of transcendent being, will always attract you anew.