When I was a teenager in the early 1960’s, growing up in the American mid-West, I would go to my neighborhood bookstore and search for books containing the Wisdom of the East. At that time, all that I could find were three books; the “I-Ching,” “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones,” and “The Way of the Compassionate Buddha.” Today, a trip to a major bookstore reveals an entire section of literally hundreds of books on yoga, meditation, chakras, accupunture, Zen, Feng Shui, martial arts, Tibetan Buddhism, and more. A few years ago, I counted at a Borders bookstore in Eugene, Oregon literally 33 different books by the Dalai Lama alone. The European mystics and spiritual pioneers of the 1800’s opened the flood gate for the ancient wisdom of the East to penetrate and transform western civilization.
While western civilization has been familiar with the miracles that Christ performed, such as walking on water, turning water into wine and raising the dead, Indian history is rich with miracles that continue until today. A good introduction to this ancient miracle tradition can be found in “Autobiography of a Yogi,” by Paramahansa Yogananda and “Living With The Himalayan Masters,” by Swami Rama. Both of these highly accomplished yogis and God-realized masters recount vividly their meetings with advanced adepts and masters during their travels throughout India, Nepal and Tibet.
If you have never read these books, I highly recommend doing so. If it’s been a while since you read them, you may find re-reading them to be a deeply rewarding. I re-read both of them in the last few months and discovered within them profound information that was very inspirational. The chapters in Yogananda’s autobiography entitled, “The Resurrection of Sri Yukteshwar,” and “The Law of Miracles,” are two of the best chapters every written in any spiritual book.
If you’re looking for a truly wonderful spiritual book, I highly recommend, “At the Eleventh Hour,” by Pandit Ragmani Tigunait, Swami Rama’s successor. This has become one of my all time favorite spiritual books. I’ve read it several times since arriving in India. It’s full of great stories about yogis, sadhus and avadhuts that Swami Rama knew and learned from during his many years in the Himalayas. Furthermore, it has special relevance regarding darshan of the Divine Mother.
Finally, we can’t speak highly enough about Paramahansa Yogananda’s wonderful “The Second Coming of Christ – The Resurrection of the Christ Within You.” This was the final book written by Yogananda before he left the body and he asked that it not be published until after the year 2000. Obviously, upon completing it, he felt that the world was not ready for the information that it contains but that after 2000 a change would have occurred. You will discover within “The Second Coming of Christ – The Resurrection of the Christ Within You” important information that is highly relevant to our spiritual development today.
Here is a list of books that opened many spiritual doors for us:
- “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda
- “Living With The Himalayan Masters” by Swami Rama
- “At The Eleventh Hour” by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
- “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” by M
- “The Great Swan” Lex Hixon
- “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones”
- “The Bhagavad Gita”
- “The Crest Jewel of Discrimination” by Shankara
- “The Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tsu
- “The Life of Milarepa” by Evans Wentz
- “The Way of the White Clouds” by Lama Anagarika Govinda
- “Miracle of Love” by Ram Das
- “Play of Consciousness” by Swami Muktananda
- “The Buddha Path” by Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
- “Dancing On Rooftops With Dragons” by Yuan Miao
- “Wings To Freedom” by Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath
- “The Second Coming of Christ – The Resurrection of the Christ Within You” by Paramahansa Yogananda
- “Only God – A Biography Of Yogi Ramsuratkumar” by Regina Sara Ryan
What makes these books so important is that they reveal the perennial philosophy, the ageless wisdom, attained through research conducted over thousands of years by great saints and sages in the laboratory of the soul. They are books written by soul scientists. Reading them opens our awareness to the eternal truths of life and shows us what our own true potential is as a divine soul.
The greatest crime in the world is the persistent lie, that is culturally perpetuated, that we are less than divine souls capable of unconditional love and possessing infinite abilities. Each of these authors broke through the wall of culturally accepted mediocrity and strove for the pinnacle of human evolution – enlightenment. Their books point the way, showing us where we came from, who we are, and where we are going.
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