Sages, Saints & Kings of Ancient India

Sages, Saints & Kings of Ancient India
Author: Swami B. B. Tirtha Maharaja
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2023-03-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

The people of ancient times were inclined to give their attention not only to the external world of inert matter, but also to the world within, the vital world of consciousness. Those sages who understood the importance of such contemplation comprise the prime subject matter of this book. Especially in the troubled world of today, it is by the conscientious study of their activities and teachings that we may come to understand the Absolute Truth, or the Ultimate Reality, and attain lasting peace and joy. The pastimes of such great, sagely personalities have been narrated in detail in an ancient collection of works known as the Puranas, as well as in timeless epics such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and other Vedic literatures. In this book, Srila Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Goswami Maharaja, a bona fide self-realized representative of the bhakti (devotional) lineage, has narrated important episodes and addressed salient points from these literatures. Thus, the avid reader may understand their inner meaning and apply this knowledge to their search for real happiness. Ultimately, such unadulterated, permanent happiness, according to the devotional tradition, is realized as the attainment of pure love of God, Sri Krishna.

Indian saints and sages

Indian saints and sages
Author: Prof. Shrikant Prasoon
Publisher: Pustak Mahal
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2009-07-28
Genre: Hindu saints
ISBN: 8122310621

Indian Saints and Sages presents in short the celestial power, and miraculous and supernatural wonders by numerous Saints who were enlightened and brilliant persons with blissful souls. Their appearance was divine and the departure sublime. Most of them took SamĠdhi alive and in the presence of many; some entered the caves and never returned back, some changed into blazing light and some became flowers. The book tells how the God came to eat from the hands of devotees, played with them, listened to their discourses and hymns and fulfilled their simple, general, esoteric and extraordinary desires. This work describes wonderful and mind-boggling sacrifices. It shows and establishes that man is man only when he achieves distinction in all the four pursuits, PurushĠrth: Dharma, Artha, KĠma and Moksha. Kindness, Charity, Help, Contentment, and Sacrifices are the ways to Salvation, Freedom from the cycle of Birth and Death, and entry to Heavenly Abode. ‘Indian Saints and Sages’ shows the ways and means to all round prosperity, health, happiness, and full and complete living. It shows how to accumulate and spread Sweetness, Light, Delight and Fragrance, ensuring continuity to life and making the earth a better place to live and grow.

Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages

Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages
Author: Robert Ullman
Publisher: Conari Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2001-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781573245074

Organized chronologically, starting with Buddha and ending with contemporary seekers, this book focuses on the moment of enlightenment in the lives of saints and masters that led to their witnessing divine reality.

Wisdom's Blossoms

Wisdom's Blossoms
Author: Doug Glener
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2002-11-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 083482938X

Here is a timeless collection of traditional stories that recount the personal spiritual journeys and true acts of selflessness by saints from various religious traditions indigenous to India, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Sufism. The authors present a diverse selection of these inspirational tales—about both men and women saints, from a variety of time periods, and from all over India—and make them relevant for a modern audience. The stories reveal that, despite their perceived differences, the same spiritual principles underlie all the great religious traditions.

The Science of the Rishis

The Science of the Rishis
Author: Vanamali
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2015-01-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1620553872

A complete introduction to Sanatana Dharma, the spiritual science of the Hindu sages • Examines how many core concepts of Hinduism, including Brahman, Atman, bhakti, karma, and reincarnation, relate to modern science • Explores the scientific discoveries of the rishis, ancient Vedic sages, and how they have only recently been rediscovered by Western scientists • Reveals the concepts of quantum physics hidden within the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Puranas Called “the scientists of Hinduism,” the rishis of ancient India were the scribes of the Vedas. They developed the spiritual science of Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, as their way of ensuring the constant renewal and progress of India’s spiritual tradition and culture. Sanatana Dharma permeates every aspect of Hindu culture, from religion to the arts to the sciences. Woven within its Vedic texts lie all of the essential concepts of quantum physics and other modern scientific discoveries. Providing a complete introduction to the science of Sanatana Dharma, Vanamali reveals how the core concepts of Hinduism, including Brahman, Atman, bhakti, karma, and reincarnation, relate to modern science and how the scientific discoveries of the ancient rishis have been recently rediscovered by the West. She examines the scientific principles within the classic stories and texts of India, including the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Puranas. Within the teachings of the ancient Puranic sages and saints such as Valmiki and Vyasa and legendary physicians and mathematician-philosophers such as Aryabhatta and Varahamihir, the author reveals great scientific truths--not those believed by the ancient world, but truths still upheld by modern science, particularly quantum physics. She explores Desha and Kaala (Space and Time), Shankara and his philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, and the Hindu sciences of mathematics, astronomy, and Vedic astrology. In illustrating the scientific basis of Hinduism and the discoveries of its sages, Vanamali provides a window into the depths of this most ancient spiritual way of life.

Sri Chaitanya & His Associates

Sri Chaitanya & His Associates
Author: Swami B. B. Tirtha Maharaja
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 544
Release: 2023-03-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

"In this jewel-like volume, the venerable Tirtha Maharaja recounts the nectarean activities of the associates of Lord Gauranga and the acharyas of the Gaudiya Vaishnava religion." ––Swami B.P. Puri, Founder Acharya, Gopinath Gaudiya Math Srila Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Goswami Maharaja has gathered a great deal of information about the lives of the devotees from numerous sources, and has made this information more relishable by virtue of his own insight. These biographies of Mahaprabhu's devotees should be read on their appearance and disappearance days, for this will bring great joy to both those who hear and those who read them. In this English translation, it will be possible for devotees around the world to enjoy them. Herein, the author delights in the life stories of Jagannath Mishra, Madhavendra Puri, Ishvara Puri, Advaita Acharya, Srivas Pandit, Chandrasekhar Acharya, Pundarika Vidyanidhi, Gadadhar Pandit, Vakresvara Pandit, Gadadhar Das, Shivananda Sen, Paramananda Puri, Murari Gupta, and many others. Every letter of these accounts is drenched with the nectar of devotion. The sincere seeker will never be able to enter the transcendental kingdom nor to advance in the devotional life unless they also discover this delight.

Of Ascetics and Emperors

Of Ascetics and Emperors
Author: Saralabala Mitra
Publisher:
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2013-10-11
Genre:
ISBN: 9781484805565

Of Ascetics and Emperors: Teachings of an Indian Sage is an English translation of Saralabala Mitra's book, Katha Prasanga (Spiritual Discourses). Here one can find the spiritual discourses of the renowned Indian sage, Balananda Brahmachari. His monastery in India was a place of pilgrimage for innumerable spiritual seekers. Attracted by his presence, people from all walks of life came to him. To each and every one, the great sage gave generously and poured out all the precious wealth that lay in his spiritual treasure chest. Through the ages, India has maintained a tradition of spiritual teachers giving Dharma talks to all who care to listen. Listening to a good teacher can be extremely helpful; however, in the busy world of modern times, it is hard to find such sages and even harder for people to make time for them. This book overcomes the hurdles of time and space by transporting readers to a world where great seers taught the basic tenets of the spiritual path to all seekers. To make the extremely profound, complex, and esoteric ideas of Hinduism accessible to people from all backgrounds, Balananda Brahmachari used a variety of stories, anecdotes, parables, and quotations from real life experiences and the Hindu scriptures. Sometimes the discussions are highly philosophical and sometimes they are delightfully simple. What he says pours forth straight from his heart-the heart of an enlightened one who has practiced and realized what is written in the scriptures. If he could be present, in flesh and blood, before his devotees today and they asked him to say a few words of wisdom to them, here's what he would probably say: "Ulat Jao." This phrase literally means "turn yourself upside down," but the deeper meaning is "turn inwards." This has been the advice of all sages and all religions of all ages; they have all asked seekers to turn their gaze from the outside to the inside, from the mortal to the immortal, from the untrue to the true.

Buddhist Saints in India

Buddhist Saints in India
Author: Reginald A. Ray
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 530
Release: 1999-09-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780195350616

The issue of saints is a difficult and complicated problem in Buddhology. In this magisterial work, Ray offers the first comprehensive examination of the figure of the Buddhist saint in a wide range of Indian Buddhist evidence. Drawing on an extensive variety of sources, Ray seeks to identify the "classical type" of the Buddhist saint, as it provides the presupposition for, and informs, the different major Buddhist saintly types and subtypes. Discussing the nature, dynamics, and history of Buddhist hagiography, he surveys the ascetic codes, conventions and traditions of Buddhist saints, and the cults both of living saints and of those who have "passed beyond." Ray traces the role of the saints in Indian Buddhist history, examining the beginnings of Buddhism and the origin of Mahayana Buddhism.

Sages of Ancient India

Sages of Ancient India
Author: Swami B. B. Tirtha
Publisher: Mandala Publishing Group
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2002-06-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781886069589

The two famous stories of Dhruva and Prahlad tell of the difficulties of the spiritual path and the determination necessary to achieve self-realization. They contain universal truths applicable to all times and ages, inspiring people to pursue an authentic spiritual life. The stories of Dhruva and Prahlad are well known to adults and children throughout India. Dhruva was a young, first-born prince, who was neglected by his father, the king. Dhruva resolves to attain an elevated position in the universe not even his father or grandfather could aspire to. He transforms his wounded pride into genuine self-realization. Prahlad was a saintly boy who happened to be born the son of a powerful demon king, Hiranyakashipu. Though the demon king tried everything to convert the boy, Prahlad held fast to his faith in Vishnu. Includes b&w illustrations and a Sanskrit pronunciation guide and glossary.