Category: Spirituality

A New Translation and Commentary, Chapters 1-6

Penguin, 1990 (1967)     Amazon.com

The first six chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita with the original Sanskrit text, an introduction, and a commentary designed to restore the fundamental truths of the teachings delivered by the Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield.

About the Author:

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, was born in India, around 1917. In around 1939 he became a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the spiritual leader of Jyotir Math, who inspired his own, later teachings. Since his first global tour in 1958, Maharishi’s techniques for human development have been taught worldwide.

JOB’s Comment:

See also my posts about Maharishi and Brahmananda Saraswati in the Spirituality category, in particular the first one, about this book.

The Notebooks of Paul Brunton

Volume Two

Larson, 1986

Amazon.com

Back Cover:

“Because something deep down in the subconscious knows that the ego is destructible…a longing arises for that which is indestructible…This is the beginning of the quest…” – Paul Brunton

This second volum in The Notebooks of Paul Brunton gives timely, candid, immediately useful advice about the promises and pitfalls of spiritual seeking. Drawing creatively and in a thoroughly unique fashion upon philosophical insights of both East and West, Dr. Brunton shows clearly and simply how the daily experiences and difficulties of modern living can be successfully transformed into meaningful steps on the timeless search for self-knowledge.

The Quest is invaluable for reconciling the voices of authority and individuality in anyone who longs for absolute inner freedom and competent instruction. It presents in depth the first of the twenty-eight categories from Dr. Brunton’s personal notebooks surveyed in Perspectives.

“…a person of rare intelligence…thoroughly alive, and whole in the most significant, ‘holy’, sense of the word.”

Yoga Journal

JOB:s kommentar:

Ordet quest är mycket vanligt i engelskspråkig andlig, esoterisk och i vid mening teosofisk litteratur ända sedan 1800-talet. Jones är ett undantag, som utan tvekan beror på hans avvisande av inställningen av sökande. Intressant nog använder han uteslutande “seeking”. Frågan uppkommer om en eventuell betydelsemässig skillnad. På svenska har vi ingen motsvarighet, och är därmed begränsade till “sökande”. Kvisition?

Éditions Traditionelles, 1993 (1939)

The Timeless Way of Wisdom

Volume One

The Notebooks of Paul Brunton

A Creative Synthesis of Eastern and Western Ideas

Larson, 1984; third printing, 1987

Back Cover:

Those immense silences of the Himalayas…helped me to quet the mind as nothing else…The sharp air freshened the mind, the endless space gave it new perspectives.

Paul Brunton

Perspectives is an inspiring insight into the essence of East-West spiritual philosophy. Going to the heart of virtually every aspect of the spiritual quest, it introduces a major series: The Notebooks of Paul Brunton.

Paul Brunton (1898-1981) was one of this century’s most dynamic spiritual authors. His ten early books (1934-1952) awakened millions in the West to the treasures of oriental wisdom and mystical practice. From 1952 to 1981 he sought relative anonymity and compiled extensive notebooks dedicated to synthesizing Eastern and Western, ancient and modern approaches to the discovery of the Soul. Perspectives is an introductory survey of those mature writings, which he reserved for posthumous publication.

“His ‘Notebooks’ provide a veritable treasure trove of philosophic-spiritual wisdom.”

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“A simple, straightforward guide to how philosophical insights of East and West can help to create beauty, joy, and meaning in our lives.”

“An ethical, sane, and compelling approach to spiritual practice. His keynote is balance, and his uplifting message encompasses all phases of human experience.”

East West Journal

“…a person of rare intelligence…thoroughly alive, and whole in the most significant, ‘holy’ sense of the word.”

Yoga Journal

“Sensible and compelling. His work can stand beside that of such East-West ‘bridges’ as Merton, Suzuki, Watts, and Radhakrishnan.”

Choice

JOB’s Comment:

The only difference from the first printing is the front cover, and an added quote from East West Journal.

The Timeless Way of Wisdom

Volume One

The Notebooks of Paul Brunton

A Creative Synthesis of Eastern and Western Ideas

Larson, 1984

Back Cover:

Those immense silences of the Himalayas…helped me to quet the mind as nothing else…The sharp air freshened the mind, the endless space gave it new perspectives.

Paul Brunton

Perspectives is an inspiring insight into the essence of East-West spiritual philosophy. Going to the heart of virtually every aspect of the spiritual quest, it introduces a major series: The Notebooks of Paul Brunton.

Paul Brunton (1898-1981) was one of this century’s most dynamic spiritual authors. His ten early books (1934-1952) awakened millions in the West to the treasures of oriental wisdom and mystical practice. From 1952 to 1981 he sought relative anonymity and compiled extensive notebooks dedicated to synthesizing Eastern and Western, ancient and modern approaches to the discovery of the Soul. Perspectives is an introductory survey of those mature writings, which he reserved for posthumous publication.

“His ‘Notebooks’ provide a veritable treasure trove of philosophic-spiritual wisdom.”

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“A simple, straightforward guide to how philosophical insights of East and West can help to create beauty, joy, and meaning in our lives.”

East-West Journal

“…a person of rare intelligence…thoroughly alive, and whole in the most significant, ‘holy’ sense of the word.”

Yoga Journal

“Sensible and compelling. His work can stand beside that of such East-West ‘bridges’ as Merton, Suzuki, Watts, and Radhakrishnan.”

Choice

I think Da Avabhasa was what he called himself at this time (although it may still have been Da Free John). See also the essay in which I explain what I find to be his significance.