Sat Yoga Introductory Book List

Many people have asked for book recommendations to deepen their spiritual journey. Our original list contained too many advanced books, and not enough introductory texts. Shunyamurti is now reconfiguring the book list to make it more useful as a bibliotherapeutic itinerary. He will continue to add more books and categories to this list on a regular basis.

May these books serve to deepen your love for God, for the Supreme Real, the One Self. And may they instill compassion for the sufferings of every ego mind, and deeper understanding of the way to heal and transform your life and those of others. May all you read enhance your own psychospiritual development on this great journey to Awakening, Illumination, and Liberation. In-joy!

Advaita Vedanta

If you are new to the study of nonduality, or Indian philosophy generally, then a good place to start is with the work of Sri Ramana Maharshi, since he focuses on practice rather than theory, and his approach is extremely direct. The following books provide easy introductions to his thought:

Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi by David Godman (ed.)

Ramana Maharshi: The Crown Jewel of Advaita by John Allen Grimes

True Happiness: The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi by Arthur Osborne (ed.)

Then you may want to read more of his own words, in such books as:

A Light on the Teaching of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi by Sri Sadhu Om

Guru Vachaka Kovai by Sri Munagala Muruganar

Padamalai: Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi: Recorded by Muruganar by David Godman (ed.)

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi by Sri Munagala Venkataramiah

The Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi by Ramana Maharshi

You may also enjoy books by his disciples, filled with fascinating reminiscences of life with the sage of Arunachala:

Living by the Words of Bhagavan by Sri Annamalai Swami

Reminiscences of Kunju Swami by P. Ramaswami

From there, you may want to dive more deeply into the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and its precursors, especially the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita (of which there are many translations, but the following are considered fairly authoritative):

Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction by Eliot Deutsch

Ashtavakra Gita by Swami Chinmayananda

Asparsa-Yoga by Colin A. Cole

Consciousness in Indian Philosophy: The Advaita Doctrine of ‘Awareness Only’ by Sthaneshwar Timalsina

Duet of One: The Ashtavakra Gita Dialogue by Ramesh S. Balsekar

Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism by Richard King

Self-Knowledge of Sri Sankaracarya by Swami Nikhilananda

The Bhagavad Gita by Winthrop Sargeant (tr.)

The Concise Yoga Vasistha by Swami Venkatesanand

The Heart of Awareness: A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita by Thomas Byron

The Yoga of the Bhagavat Gita by Krishna Prem

Upanishads by Patrick Olivelle (tr.)

Vivekacudamani of Sri Samkara Bhagavatpada by P. Sankaranarayanan (tr.)

Books by other Vedic-oriented modern sages we study include the following:

An Introduction to Ananda Mayi Ma’s Philosophy of Absolute Cognition by Kedar Nath Swami

I Am That by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Sad Vani: A Collection of the Teaching of Sri Anandamayi Ma by Bhaiji

The Radiant Sameness: Satpurusa Maharajsri Mangatramji’s Samatavilasa by Som Raj Gupta

The Synthesis of Yoga by Sri Aurobindo

The Life Divine by Sri Aurobindo

Words of Sri Anandamayi Ma by Atmananda

Nondual Kashmir Shaivism

Another, perhaps even more complete, logical, and practical approach to the attainment of Self-realization is the work of the tantric wisdom schools of medieval Kashmir, culminating in the Trika school, developed into its highest philosophical form by the great sage Abhinavagupta. The following are good introductory texts to read before plunging into the sage’s masterworks.

An Introduction to the Advaita Saiva Philosophy of Kashmir by Debabrata SenSharma

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Trika Saivism by Moti Lal Pandit

From Early Vedanta to Kashmir Shaivism: Gaudapada, Bhartrhari, and Abhinavagupta by Natalia Isayeva

Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme by Swami Lakshmanjoo

Siva Sutras by Jaideva Singh

Spanda-Karikas: The Divine Creative Pulsation by Jaideva Singh

The Doctrine of Recognition: A Translation of the Pratyabhijnahrdayam with an Introduction and Notes by Ksemaraja, Jaideva Singh (tr.)

The Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis of the Doctrines and Practices of Kashmir Shaivism by Mark S. G. Dyczkowski

More Advanced and Scholarly Texts

Abhinavagupta’s Hermeneutics of the Absolute: An Interpretation of His Paratrishika Vivarana by Bettina Baumer

An Introduction to Tantric Philosophy: The Paramarthasara of Abhinavagupta with the Commentary of Yogaraja by Lyne Bansat-Boudon, Kamalesha Datta Tripath

Love Divine: Studies in ‘Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism by Karel Werner

The Isvarapratyabhijnakarika of Utpaladeva With the Author’s Vrtti by Raffaele Torella

Vac: The Concept of the Word by Andre Padoux

Vedanta and Advaita Saivagama of Kashmir: A Comparative Study by Jaideva Sing

Virashaiva School

Shunya Sampadane: The Main Scripture of Veerashaivas by Linga Raju

Yoga

Autobiography of a Yogi: The Original 1946 Edition by Paramahansa Yogananda

The Circle of Fire: The Metaphysics of Yoga by P.J. Mazumdar

The Science of Yoga by I.K. Taimni

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide for Book 1 Samadhi Pada by Baba Hari Dass (tr.)

The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary by Edwin F. Bryant

Theory And Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson by Knut Jacobsen

Yoga Powers by Knut A. Jacobsen

Guru Nanak and Sikh Philosophy

Guru for the Aquarian Age: The Life and Teachings of Guru Nanak by Parmatma S Khalsa

The Socially Involved Renunciate: Guru Nanak’s Discourse to the Nath Yogis by Kamala Elizabeth Nayar & Jaswinder Singh Sandhu

Various Buddhisms

An Inquiry into the Good by Kitaro Nishida

As It Is, Volume I: Essential Teachings from the Dzogchen Perspective by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Critical Sermons of the Zen Tradition: Hisamatsu’s Talks on Linji by Shinichi Hisamatsu

Machik’s Complete Explanation: Clarifying the Meaning of Chöd by Sarah Harding (tr.)

Moon In a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen by Eihei Dogen

Purifying Zen: Watsuji Tetsuro’s Shamon Dogen by Steve Bein (tr.)

Religion and Nothingness, Volume 1 by Keiji Nishitani

The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School and Its Contemporaries by Frederick Franck (ed.)

The Diamond Sutra by Red Pine (tr.)

The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans by Koun Yamada

The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa: The Life-Story and Teaching of the Greatest Poet-Saint Ever to Appear in the History of Buddhism by Garma C. C. Chang

The Vajra Essence: Dudjom Lingpa’s Visions of the Great Perfection by Dudjom Linga, B. Alan Wallace (tr.)

The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind by John Blofeld (tr.)

Vajra Speech: A Commentary on The Quintessence of Spiritual Practice, The Direct Instructions of the Great Compassionate One by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Working Emptiness: Toward a Third Reading of Emptiness in Buddhism and Postmodern Thought by Newman Robert Glass

Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy by Carl Olson

Zen and Western Thought by Masao Abe

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Brahmachari:

One whose consciousness has merged with Brahman, the Absolute, and thus has been liberated from all desire, fear, attachment, and material frames of reference. Thus, a Brahmachari naturally lives a life of celibacy, simplicity, and inner solitude.

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Satsang:

Meditative meetings in which the highest teachings are shared. Shunyamurti also offers guidance during questions and answers to resolve the most difficult and delicate matters of the heart.

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Teleological:

Information, energy, or nonlinear change that occurs as the effect of events that take place in the future and alter the past, which is perceived in the present as non-ordinary phenomena, synchronicities, unpredictable emergent properties or other notable explicate arisings. The source of such forces may also lie beyond chronological time, in higher dimensions of the Real.

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The process of non-process:

Since awakening is instantaneous, along with the recognition that one was never really in the dream, but enjoying the creation of the dream, it must be understood that making awakening into a process can only be part of the dream, and has nothing to do with Awakening itself.

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The Real:

When we speak of the Real, unless otherwise qualified, we mean the Supreme Real. The Supreme Real does not appear. Appearance is not Real. All that appears is empty of true existence. There are no real things. All that is phenomenal is temporary, dependent, and reducible to a wave function of consciousness. The world does not exist independent of consciousness. There is no matter or material world. All is made of consciousness. Pure consciousness is Presence. It is no-thing, non-objective, not in space or time. All that appears in Presence, or to Presence, is an emanation of Presence, but is not different from That. This is one meaning of nonduality.

The Real is also a term used in Lacanian psychoanalysis. What Lacan means by the Real is that aspect of phenomenal appearance which is overwhelming, traumatic, or impossible. We would call that Real One. It is a relative Real, not Absolute. We add that there is a Real Two, which consists of divine love. Love is not an appearance, but it changes appearance, through recognition of its Source, into a divine manifestation, a projection of God’s sublimely beautiful Mind as infinite fractal holographic cosmos. Real Three is the unchanging Absolute, beyond all conception or image.

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Dharma and dharma:

When we use the term Dharma (capitalized), we refer to our dedication to living in accord with the timeless principles of impeccable integrity that keep us in harmony with Nature and our Supernatural Source.

When we use the term without capitalization, we refer to our acceptance of the community’s processes, protocols, and chain of command with the “Haji! Spirit” of going the “extra mile” and working overtime when necessary to make the impossible inevitable, as our unconditional act of surrender to Love.

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