Nityananda

This compilation of Swami Muktananda's talks and writings about his guru, Bhagawan Nityananda, forms an absorbing biography and loving portrait of one of the greatest spiritual masters of modern India.

Study on the lives of Nityānanda, 1473-1532? and Chaitanya, 1486-1534, Vaishnavite religious leaders of Bengal school of Vaishnavism.

Vivid stories and photographs paint an engaging portrait of the extraordinary, legendary Nityananda--sage, miracle worker, maybe even possessor of divine powers. His varied nature comes to life here, with the holy man's very essence suffusing every page. 5 1/4 X 8 1/4.

The Knee Of Listening has transformed the lives of thousands of secular and religious seekers since it was first published in 1972. Avatar Adi Da& ’ s spiritual autobiography tells the miraculous story of His unique incarnation and revelation in the West for the sake of liberating all beings. This newly expanded edition includes: - An expanded description of Avatar Adi Da's early life, leading up to His Divine Re-Awakening in 1970. - The secrets of Adi Da's & " Pre-History& " before His birth in 1939. - Revelations about the Spiritual Work of the great Realizers in Adi Da's lineage, and His unique Demonstration of the Seventh Stage of Life. - The profound events of & " Yogic death& " (in 1986, 1999, and 2000) that occurred after His Divine Re-Awakening--events that completed Adi Da's process of Incarnating the Divine Conscious Light.

When the charismatic founder/leader of a religious movement dies, the popular belief is that the movement usually disintegrates. However, many new religions not only survive but prosper, despite leadership transition. In this book, prominent scholars examine what happened to eleven new movements following the deaths of their leaders, and why. An Introduction by J. Gordon Melton serves to integrate the case studies.

Yoga, karma, meditation, guru—these terms, once obscure, are now a part of the American lexicon. Combining Hinduism with Western concepts and values, a new hybrid form of religion has developed in the United States over the past century. In Transcendent in America, Lola Williamson traces the history of various Hindu-inspired movements in America, and argues that together they constitute a discrete category of religious practice, a distinct and identifiable form of new religion. Williamson provides an overview of the emergence of these movements through examining exchanges between Indian Hindus and American intellectuals such as Thomas Jefferson and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and illuminates how Protestant traditions of inner experience paved the way for Hindu-style movements’ acceptance in the West. Williamson focuses on three movements—Self-Realization Fellowship, Transcendental Meditation, and Siddha Yoga—as representative of the larger of phenomenon of Hindu-inspired meditation movements. She provides a window into the beliefs and practices of followers of these movements by offering concrete examples from their words and experiences that shed light on their world view, lifestyle, and relationship with their gurus. Drawing on scholarly research, numerous interviews, and decades of personal experience with Hindu-style practices, Williamson makes a convincing case that Hindu-inspired meditation movements are distinct from both immigrant Hinduism and other forms of Asian-influenced or “New Age” groups.

The contents of the book are based upon the materials collected through extensive and careful research, for the preparation of a thesis for a higher degree for the Lancaster University. It deals with the conception of Hindu religion, its history and progress along with the gradual rationalization of the belief and practices with the time, since Rigveda and its effect on the caste system. Special attempt has been made to present many complex theological topics, in a simpler way for the easy understanding of the young generation, on whom the religion depends enormously, for its future growth and expansion. The vast amount of information has been accumulated here in a concise form to make it a useful reference book for the students of religious studies and sociology.