Eknath Easwaran
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Eknath Easwaran (December, 1910 – October, 1999) was an Indian-American professor, author, translator, and religious teacher. He was born in a village in Kerala, India. His translations of the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada are critially acclaimed. His best-selling book is called Meditation: A Simple Eight Point Program for Translating Spiritual Values into Daily Life. He was influenced by Gandhi, whom Easwaran met when he was a young man.
Eknath Easwaran developed a method of meditation that he called "Passage Meditation" — silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's great religions. As Easwaran says, "The slow, sustained concentration on these passages drives them deep into our minds; and whatever we drive deep into consciousness, that we become."
Easwaran's program for spiritual growth consists of eight points:
- Passage meditation
- Japam, or the repetition of a mantra
- Putting others first
- One-pointedness
- Training the senses
- Slowing down
- Satsang, or a spiritual fellowship
- Reading the writings of the mystics
Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and Nilgiri Press, which published over two dozen books by him.
What we think about constantly, we become; that is the secret of meditation and prayer.
—The Constant Companion.
[edit] Bibliography
- Meditation: Commonsense Directions for an Uncommon Life, 1978
- The End of Sorrow (The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, Vol. 1), 1979
- Like a Thousand Suns (The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, Vol. 2), 1979
- To Love Is to Know Me (Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, Vol. 3), 1985
- The Bhagavad Gita (Translator), 1985
- The Dhammapada (Translator), 1986
- The Upanishads (Translator), 1987
- The Compassionate Universe, 1989
- Climbing the Blue Mountain: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey, 1992
- Dialogue With Death: A Journey Through Consciousness, 1992
- Love Never Faileth: The Inspiration of Saint Francis, Saint Augustine, Saint Paul, Mother Teresa, with introductions by Carol L. Flinders, 1993
- Seeing With the Eyes of Love: Relfections on a Classic of Christian Mysticism, 1993
- The Play of God: Visions of the Life of Krishna by Devi Vanamali, et al, 1995
- The Monkey and the Mango: Stories of My Granny (Illustrated by Ilka Jerabek), 1996
- Original Goodness: On the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, 1996
- Seeing With the Eyes of Love: Eknath Easwaran on the Imitation of Christ, 1996
- The Undiscovered Country: Exploring the Promise of Death, 1996
- Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day, 1996
- Gandhi the Man: The Story of His Transformation, et al, 1997
- In Quest of God: The Saga of an Extraordinary Pilgrimage by Swami Ramdas, 2002 (Introduction)
- A Higher Image, 2002
- Love Alters Not, 2002
- God Makes the Rivers to Flow: Sacred Literature of the World, 2003
- Your Life Is Your Message: Finding Harmony With Yourself, Others, and the Earth
- Conquest of Mind: Learning to Think in Freedom
- Take Your Time: Finding Balance in a Hurried World
- Thousand Names of Vishnu: a selection with commentary
- The Unstruck Bell: Powerful New Strategies for Using a Mantram
- A More Ardent Fire: From Everyday Love to Love of God
- Supreme Ambition: Life's Goals and How to Reach It
- The Mantram Handbook: Formulas for Transformation
- The Constant Companion
- A Man to Match His Mountains: Badshah Khan, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam
- Kabir: Stages of Desire
- With My Love and Blessings: The Teaching Years, 1966-1999, in Photographs & His Own Words
- Saint Francis: Becoming an Instrument of Peace
