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Recommended Reading

A Yogi’s Recommended Reading List

The following is a list of recommended reading for the spiritual aspirant. First, there are five books whose value cannot be estimated. They are foundation stones of understanding spiritual life and spiritual philosophy. They should be read through many times carefully and reflectively.

Add the “Dharma for Awakening” Series to Your Spiritual Library

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Part 2 of 5 Ways to Grow Your Spiritual Library

Last week we discussed the five ways you can expand your spiritual library: Web content, PDFs, podcasts, eBooks, and printed books. Today we will highlight one of the most important sections on our website, the Dharma for Awakening series. We are working on making all of this content available in all five options.

  • Bhagavad Gita for AwakeningBhagavad Gita for Awakening cover—The endless spiritual treasures of this essential scripture have been mined by saints, scholars, and devotees throughout the ages. Through a unique combination of exhaustive study and scholarship, and insight and wisdom gleaned from personal experience, Abbot George Burke’s commentary offers new gems that will enrich all true seekers.

You can read this online here, or download a PDF from our e-Library. You can get an ebook from Amazon here, as well as a paperback here.

As mentioned last week, you can also find Abbot George’s ebooks on various online sites, including Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo Books, and Smashwords

  • Upanishads for Awakening—Sanatana Dharma in its primal form is to be found in the Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitaryeya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, and Svetashvatara Upanishads. These eleven texts (upanishad means “teaching”–literally “that which was heard when sitting near”) are attached to the Vedas, the ancient hymns of the Indian sages, and also knows as Vedanta, the End of the Vedas. The following texts provide useful commentaries on these important scriptures. By Abbot George Burke

You can read this online here, or download a PDF from our e-Library. We plan to have this available as an ebook and in print in the near future.

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99¢ New Year’s Awakening eBook Sale

Light of the Spirit Press BooksTo start the new year off well, we are offering all of our Amazon Kindle ebooks by Abbot George Burke on sale for only 99¢ until after January 14th.

This includes both of our published books in the “Awakening” Series, The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening and The Dhammapada for Awakening, as well as May a Christian Believe in Reincarnation? and A Brief Sanskrit Glossary.

To purchase and download any of these titles, simply click the links below to the ebooks you desire.

As a teaser, here is a section from The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening:

Children of the Light

Jesus Christ mosaic from Hagia Sophia. Our DestinyYe are all the children of light, and the children of the day (I Thessalonians 5:5).

Jesus said, If they say to you, “Where did you come from?” say to them, “We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.” If they say to you, “Is it you?,” say, “We are its children, we are the elect of the living father.” If they ask you, “What is the sign of your father in you?,” say to them, “It is movement and repose.” (Gospel of Thomas 50)

If they say to you, “Where did you come from?” say to them, “We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.” First let us note what Jesus does not tell us to say. He does not tell us to say that we are creations of God or servants or God–and certainly not sinners.

Our origin reveals our nature. Since we came from the Light, we are ourselves that Light. Quite some years ago a healing group met each week in our monastery. At the beginning of each session we would say some prayers, always ending with: “Christ is the Light; the Light is Christ. I am that Christ; I am that Light.” This is the truth of our real, essential nature. It is not the truth of our temporal, ever-changing nature that is involved in evolution. But it is necessary for us to stop in our evolution dance occasionally and remember who and what we really are.

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