Showing results by narrator "Eknath Easwaran" in All Categories

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

This is the fourth in a long series of talks Eknath Easwaran gave on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis. This talk discusses book one, chapters 8 through 11.

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. These are the first ten talks in the series.

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.

This is the third in a long series of talks Eknath Easwaran gave on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. This talk discusses book one, chapter four, "Of Wisdom and Foresight in Our Actions"; chapter five, "Of Reading the Holy Scriptures"; and chapter six, "Of Inordinate Affections".

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

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

This is the 50th in a long series of talks Eknath Easwaran gave on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. In this talk Easwaran reads and discusses book 3, chapter 18, "That temporal miseries must be borne patiently after the example of Christ".

This is the sixth in a long series of talks Eknath Easwaran gave on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis. In this talk Easwaran reads and discusses book one, chapter 14, "Of Avoiding Rash Judgement"; chapter 15, "Of Works Done in Charity"; and chapter 16, "Of Bearing with the Defects of Others".

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