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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Religious life & practice > General
With over four million copies in print, Parmahansa Yogananda's
autobiography has been translated into thirty-three languages, and
it still serves as a gateway into yoga and alternative spirituality
for countless North American practitioners. This book examines
Yogananda's life and work to clarify linkages between the seemingly
disparate aspects of modern yoga, and illuminates the intimate
connections between yoga and metaphysically-leaning American
traditions such as Unitarianism, New Thought, and Theosophy.
Instead of treating yoga as a stable practice, Anya P. Foxen
proposes that it is the figure of the Yogi that give the practice
of his followers both form and meaning. Focusing on Yogis rather
than yoga during the period of transnational popularization
highlights the continuities in the concept of the Yogi as
superhuman even as it illuminates the transformation of the
practice itself. Skillfully balancing traditional yogic ritual,
metaphysical spirituality, physical culture, and a flair for the
stage, Foxen shows, Yogananda taught a proto-modern yoga to his
American audiences. His Yogoda program has remained under the radar
of yoga scholarship due to its lack of reliance on recognizable
postures. However, as a regimen of training for the modern Yogi,
Yogananda's method synthesizes the spiritual and superhuman
aspirations of Indian traditions with the metaphysical and
health-oriented sensibilities of Euro-American progressivism in a
way that exactly prefigures present-day transnational yoga culture.
Yet, at the heart of it all, Yogananda retains a sense of what it
means to be a Yogi: his message is that the natural destiny of the
human is the superhuman.
David Tabor (1913-2005) was a highly respected and much loved
member of the Cambridge Jewish community for almost sixty years.
This book contains his Kol Nidre addresses, Bar Mitzvah talks and
funeral eulogies, as well as a selection of poems, articles and
other talks on Jewish topics.
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not
used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad
quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are
images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to
keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the
original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain
imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made
available for future generations to enjoy.
In Jews, Judaism, and Success, Robert Eisen attempts to solve a
long-standing mystery that has fascinated many: How did Jews become
such a remarkably successful minority in the modern western world?
Eisen argues that Jews achieved such success because they were
unusually well-prepared for it by their religion - in particular,
Rabbinic Judaism, or the Judaism of the rabbis. Rooted in the
Talmud, this form of Judaism instilled in Jews key values that
paved the way for success in modern western society: autonomy,
freedom of thought, worldliness, and education. The book carefully
analyses the evolution of these four values over the past two
thousand years in order to demonstrate that they had a longer and
richer history in Jewish culture than in western culture. The book
thus disputes the common assumption that Rabbinic Judaism was
always an obstacle to Jews becoming modern. It demonstrates that
while modern Jews rejected aspects of Rabbinic Judaism, they also
retained some of its values, and these values in particular led to
Jewish success. Written for a broad range of readers, Jews,
Judaism, and Success provides unique insights on the meaning of
success and how it is achieved in the modern world.
From one of America's most brilliant writers, a New York Times
bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of
meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and
enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The
reason we suffer-and the reason we make other people suffer-is that
we don't see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative
practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world,
including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally
valid happiness. In this "sublime" (The New Yorker), pathbreaking
book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can
change your life-how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and
hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of
other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing
on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an
acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the
culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright's landmark
book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as
he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some
of the world's most skilled meditators. The result is a story that
is "provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding" (The New York
Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating.
Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is
famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual
life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological
distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from
ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
Do your quiet times with God feel disconnected from the rest of your overflowing days? Shouldn't our devotions affect how we live our lives? In this 90-day devotional for women, plain Mennonite mother and wife Faith Sommers helps connect your moments with the Lord to the rest of your life. Steeped in the faith of Amish and Mennonites, who maintain that how we live is as important as what we say, Sommers' words hold gentle warmth and wise nudging for readers tired of disjointed living. Offering daily devotions, prayers, journal prompts, and ideas for how to simplify your life and strengthen your faith, Prayers for a Simpler Life guides readers toward a deeper commitment to the way of Jesus.
Al-Minhaj al-Sawi is a milestone work, the first work of its kind
for many centuries. It is a compendium of Prophetic Hadiths,
categorised under a number of headings and compiled with clear
relevance to the lives and situation of Muslims in the modern age.
The work is authenticated by a rigorous and detailed process of
Takhreej - referencing each hadith to its sources - from a study of
over 300 authentic works of hadith. This work will be useful for
academics in many relevant fields, whether researching the basis of
orthodox Sunni belief and practice, or examining the contemporary
Muslim response to religious extremism. It is split into 2 volumes:
Prophetic Virtues and Miracles and Righteous Character and Social
Interactions. The second part Righteous Character and Social
Interactions presents sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad
concerning interactions with non-Muslims and non-Muslim
communities, his method of prayer and spiritual devotion, his
status and characteristics, and provides clarification of other
important issues of the age, such as Jihad, Khawarijism, and
Tassawuf.
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