The Bhagavad-Gita, the "Song of God," is not only one of the most revered texts of Hinduism, but of world literature and spirituality in general. Its 700 verses make up a small part of the great Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, of which it can be said to be the heart. It consists of a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and Krishna, avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu, about action and nonaction, knowledge and love. The Gita is revered as a concise expression of Hindu philosophy, as a work of profound poetry, and as a guide to enlightened living. It is one of the most often translated of spiritual texts, and, as is the case with other texts of its stature, new translations tend to enhance rather than exhaust our understanding of it, revealing new facets of its wisdom with each iteration. 

Among the oldest of India's spiritual texts, the Upanishads are records of intensive question-and-answer sessions given by illumined sages to their students. Widely featured in philosophy courses, the Upanishads have puzzled and inspired wisdom seekers from Yeats to Schopenhauer. Eknath Easwaran makes this challenging text more accessible by selecting the passages most relevant to readers seeking timeless truths today.

In just 196 short aphorisms, this classic work of Indian philosophy spells out succinctly how the mind works, and how it is possible to use the mind to attain liberation. Compiled in the second or third century CE, the Yoga-Sutra is a road map of human consciousness—and a particularly helpful guide to the mind states one encounters in meditation, yoga, and other spiritual practices. It expresses the truths of the human condition with great eloquence: how we know what we know, why we suffer, and how we can discover the way out of suffering.

Born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on January the 5th, 1893, Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the beauty, nobility and true divinity of the human spirit. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Sri Yogananda was initiated into "sannyas" by his guru Sri Sri Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri. Sri Yukteswar had foretold that his life's mission was to spread throughout the world India's ancient meditation technique of "Kriya Yoga". This autobiography offers a look at the ultimate mysteries of human existence and a portrait of one of the great spiritual figures of the 20th century.

The Dhammapada is the most widely read Buddhist scripture in existence, enjoyed by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. This classic text of teaching verses from the earliest period of Buddhism in India conveys the philosophical and practical foundations of the Buddhist tradition. The text presents two distinct goals for leading a spiritual life: the first is attaining happiness in this life (or in future lives); the second goal is the achievement of spiritual liberation, freedom, absolute peace. 

In this classic scripture of Tibetan Buddhism—traditionally read aloud to the dying to help them attain liberation—death and rebirth are seen as a process that provides an opportunity to recognize the true nature of mind. 

With over twenty-five hundred entries and extensive illustrations, this book combines comprehensiveness with accessibility. The book is arranged and written in a manner that will inform rather than overwhelm the lay reader, while at the same time offering valuable references for the professional researcher and the historian of religion. This new edition includes information about contemporary Yoga teachers. It also provides fuller descriptions and illustrations of Yoga poses, and features additional cross references.

Here is a comprehensive survey of the full breadth and depth of the 5,000-year-old Yoga tradition, emphasizing its potent philosophy and spiritual vision. Georg Feuerstein demonstrates that Yoga is much more than a system of physical exercises—it is a profound path of self-transformation that encompasses a range of teachings, practices, and sacred texts that can help us cultivate wisdom, balance, and inner freedom, as well as physical health.

Author Judith Hanson Lasater writes, "You can't fully understand the dynamic movement of asana without first understanding the basic structure of the human body." Drawing on almost 40 years' experience as a yoga teacher and physical therapist, she focuses here on macroanatomy and kinesiology in relationship to asana practice and teaching.

Winner of the 2002 Benjamin Franklin Award in the category of Health, Wellness, and Nutrition, this authoritative book correlates the practice and discipline of yoga with modern anatomy and physiology. 230 photographs. 120+ diagrams & anatomical illustrations.

The definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga--the ancient healing discipline for body and mind--by its greatest living teacher. Light on Yoga provides complete descriptions and illustrations of all the positions and breathing exercises.

Sarah Powers is known for her unique approach—Insight Yoga—which combines traditional yoga with the meridians of Chinese medicine, as well as Buddhist meditation. Using Yin (passive) and Yang (dynamic) poses, she demonstrates a series of different yoga sequences that bring benefit to organs, muscles, joints, and tendons—as well as the mind. She also provides a foundational explanation of traditional Chinese medicine theory and mindfulness meditation instruction.

When we meditate, our minds often want to do something other than the meditation instructions we've been taught. When that happens repeatedly, we may feel frustrated to the point of abandoning meditation altogether. Jason Siff invites us to approach meditation in a new way, one that honors the part of us that doesn't want to do the instructions. He teaches us how to become more tolerant of intense emotions, sleepiness, compelling thoughts, fantasies—the whole array of inner experiences that are usually considered hindrances to meditation. The meditation practice he presents is gentle, flexible, permissive, and honest, and it's been wonderfully effective for opening up meditation for people who thought they could never meditate.

the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa highlights the most common pitfalls to which every aspirant on the spiritual path falls prey: what he calls spiritual materialism. The universal tendency, he shows, is to see spirituality as a process of self-improvement—the impulse to develop and refine the ego when the ego is, by nature, essentially empty.

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche shows that meditation extends beyond the formal practice of sitting to build the foundation for compassion, awareness, and creativity in all aspects of life. In this booHe explores the six activities associated with meditation in action—generosity, discipline, patience, energy, clarity, and wisdom—revealing that through simple, direct experience, one can attain real wisdom: the ability to see clearly into situations and deal with them skillfully, without the self-consciousness connected with ego.

Life has a way of provoking us with traffic jams and computer malfunctions, with emotionally distant partners and crying children—and before we know it, we're upset. We feel terrible, and then we end up saying and doing things that only make matters worse. But it doesn't have to be that way, says Pema Chödrön. It is possible to relate constructively to the inevitable shocks, losses, and frustrations of life so that we can find true happiness. The key, Pema explains, is not biting the "hook" of our habitual responses.

The cry of the soul in love with God has never been more eloquently expressed than by the great Persian Sufi master Jalaluddin Rumi (1207–1273). Readers have thrilled to his ecstatic songs of divine union for more than eight hundred years. This book is a collection of his most loved poems in a convenient travel size.

In a breathtaking trip from the Big Bang to the Postmodern world we inhabit, Ken Wilber examines the universe and our place in it, and comes up with an accessible and entertaining account of how it all fits together. Along the way he sheds light not only on the great cosmic questions but on various contentious issues of our day, such as changing gender roles, environmentalism, diversity and multiculturalism, even the meaning of the Internet. A Brief History of Everything is the perfect introduction to the great Integral thinker at his wise and witty best.

Integral Spirituality is being widely called the most important book on spirituality in our time. Applying his highly acclaimed integral approach, Ken Wilber formulates a theory of spirituality that honors the truths of modernity and postmodernity—including the revolutions in science and culture—while incorporating the essential insights of the great religions. He shows how spirituality today combines the enlightenment of the East, which excels at cultivating higher states of consciousness, with the enlightenment of the West, which offers developmental and psychodynamic psychology. Each contributes key components to a more integral spirituality.