Showing results by narrator "Eknath Easwaran" in All Categories

Meditation is the key to finding the Self, and Easwaran recommends this prayer, which begins "Lord make me an instrument of thy peace . . . ," as the first passage to use when learning to meditate. In this talk Easwaran explores the four pillars of wisdom and then gives a line-by-line commentary on the prayer.

The Upanishads are among the oldest of the Indian wisdom texts, the records of teaching sessions of illumined sages and their students, who were asking the fundamental questions of life. Easwaran's translation of these classic texts has been highly acclaimed, and in these informal talks to close students he draws out the main themes of eleven Upanishads.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a handbook for spiritual living and perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work after the Bible. Eknath Easwaran draws out the tremendous here-and-now practicality of these teachings in a series of 50 talks. In this bundle of Talks 1 through 10 Easwaran covers Book 1, Chapters 1 through 20. 

A line by line commentary on the Twenty-third Psalm.

Eknath Easwaran grew up in Gandhi's India and was deeply inspired by him. As a young man, he read Gandhi's weekly articles and visited his ashram, walking with Gandhi and observing him in deep meditation during his prayer service. What fascinated Easwaran was Gandhi's magnificent spiritual transformation - from a shy, ineffectual lawyer to the Mahatma, the "great soul" who led millions of Indians in their successful nonviolent struggle for independence.

In this historic recording Eknath Easwaran, who taught meditation and spiritual living for over 40 years, reads his selection of lifeaffirming writings from the saints, sages, and scriptures of the Christian, Hindu, Sufi, Jewish, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions. This collection includes passages from Easwaran’s translations of the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada. Easwaran’s reading is sonorous and deep, slowing down the mind and drawing us into a world of timeless wisdom where our worries and concerns fall back into perspective.

Easwaran gives clear, practical, step-by-step instructions in passage meditation: four talks recorded during an intensive course for the University of California Berkeley Extension. In passage meditation, you focus attention on passages, or texts, drawn from all the world’s sacred traditions. You choose the passages that appeal to you, so this universal method stays fresh and inspiring, 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.

Controlling the mind is easier said than done. Easwaran uses the metaphor of a house, fine on the outside but internally in disarray, to illustrate the challenges in controlling the mind and the techniques we may use to achieve that control.

Anger is a powerful force. Easwaran inspires us to transform it into a constructive, healing friend.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a handbook for spiritual living and perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work after the Bible. Eknath Easwaran draws out the tremendous here-and-now practicality of these teachings in a series of 50 talks. In this bundle of Talks 21 through 30 Easwaran covers Book 2, Chapters 6 through 12.

Easwaran the meditation teacher gives insights into strengthening the mind and the body to help overcome common problems during meditation.

Eknath Easwaran selects key verses from his acclaimed translation of the Buddha's Dhammapada, and explains in these informal talks to his close students how the Buddha's timeless words can guide us in our lives today.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a handbook for spiritual living and perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work after the Bible. Eknath Easwaran draws out the tremendous here-and-now practicality of these teachings in a series of 50 talks. In this bundle of Talks 31 through 40 Easwaran covers Book 3, Chapters 1 through 8.

This is the 41st in a long series of talks Eknath Easwaran gave on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. In this talk, Easwaran reads and discusses book 3, chapter 9, "That all things are to be referred unto God as their last end".

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a handbook for spiritual living and perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work after the Bible. Eknath Easwaran draws out the tremendous here-and-now practicality of these teachings in a series of 50 talks. In this bundle of Talks 11 through 20 Easwaran covers Book 1, Chapter 21 through Book 2, Chapter 3.

In this series of informal talks to close students, Eknath Easwaran comments on short extracts from the Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, a classic 15th-century Christian text. Recognizing that these gems of spiritual counselling are expressed in difficult, medieval language, Easwaran takes care to place them in a contemporary context. He shows how this great text contains much sound, sensitive psychology that can guide us in making wise choices today.

This is the 42nd in a long series of talks Eknath Easwaran gave on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. In this talk, Easwaran reads and discusses book 3, chapter 10, "That to despise the world and serve God is a sweet life".

Easwaran links meditation and the inner spiritual life with the imperative of work in the world.

Easwaran explains how we can clear our minds of the clutter that prevents us from living our lives the way we want to live.

The Imitation of Christ is a classic devotional work on how to live like Jesus. In its entirety, there 50 separate talks, Easwaran goes through each chapter, bringing it to life for the modern listener. This is the first talk in the series.