Author: Ravi Ravindra
Publisher: Theosophical Publishing
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 390
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8170593174
Description
This is a compilation of some of the essays which Ravi Ravindra, a scientist-philosopher, has written over more than a quarter of a century. These essays have been published in a variety of journals and magazines, some of which are not now easily accessible. Brief excerpts from some of his books, Whispers from the Other Shore, Science and Spirit, The Yoga of the Christ, and Krishnamurti: Two Birds on One Tree, are also included in the collection.
Each of the selections here is influenced by yoga and the teaching of Krishna; all of them speak of and are related to the wisdom of the spiritual traditions of India. They range from an exploration of Rita in the Rig Veda and its relation to Yajna and dharma in the subsequent tradition to a reflection upon the influence of the Indian tradition on contemporary spiritual masters such as J. Krishnamurti and G. I. Gurdjieff. Some of the essays deal exclusively with the great texts of India, such as the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita, while some deal with the parallels, which can be found with texts from other traditions, such as The Enneads of Plotinus and the Gospel according to Saint John.
Other essays discuss the interaction of modern science and the spiritual traditions of India and their impact on the life of humanity. Ravindra is at home in the East and in the West; he understands hymns in Vedic Sanskrit and nuances of relativistic cosmology, and he brings insights from both sources. He shares his passionate inquiry about the meaning and purpose of human life and of the cosmos that we might discover if we could hear more subtly and see more deeply. In this, he exhibits a remarkable impartiality which searches for and delights in truth and wisdom wherever they can be found, without an argument for or an exclusive interest in any sect, religion or tradition.
Contents
From the Editor
DHARMA, RELIGION AND THE WORLD
Religion in the Global Village
Alternative Oneself
The Spiritual Quest
The Problems of Modernization in Hinduism
YOGA AND THE TEACHING OF KRISHNA
Teaching of Krishna, Master of Yoga
Yoga: The Royal Path to Freedom
The Dimensions of the Self: Buddhi in the
Bhagavadgita and Psyche in Plotinus
Is Religion Psychotherapy? A Indian View
YOGA, NATURE AND SCIENCE
Perception in Yoga and Physics
The Indian View of nature
Modern Science and Spiritual Traditions
To the Dancer Belongs the Universe:
Freedom and Bondage of Natural Law
Ahimsa, transformation and Ecology
YOGA, YAJNA AND TIME
Time in Indian and Christian Traditions
Is The Eternal Everlasting?
Rita is Founded on Yajna
Can Consciousness Survive Bodily
Birth and Existence?
Self-consciousness in the Yoga Sutras:
Need for an Intermediate Self
YOGA, VEDANTA AND OTHER TEACHINGS
The Gospel as Yoga
The Yoga of the Cross
Uniqueness and Oneness in the Lion’s Roar:
Vedanta and Sikh heritage
The Mill and the Mill-Pond: A Twenty-year
Conversation with J. Krishnamurti
Gurdjieff Work and the Teaching of Krishna
Koham?
Acknowledgement of sources
Glossary of Selected Sanskrit and Pali Words
Index of References
General Index