Essential Easwaran Library

Back in the Garden, work was fun. Yet, in today's fallen world, joy and work are rarely used in the same sentence. But God really does intend for us to find joy in our work. Join Raymond Bakke, Brad Smith, and Bill Hendricks as they explore what the Bible says about the purpose of business and our right to a joyful workplace. No matter where you spend those 50 or 60 hours during the week - whether it's in business, government, or the nonprofit sector; in church, at home, or anywhere else - God intends for you to find joy in your work. This 10-week study accompanies Joy at Work, a book by Dennis W. Bakke, co-founder and CEO of AES, a worldwide energy giant with 40,000 employees in 31 countries. Shaped by his faith, Bakke recounts his quest to create the most fun workplace ever - using principles established in the Garden. This study provides the biblical map that he used as he charted and led that journey. Starting with the Genesis record of creation and moving through Revelation, this Bible study supplements Joy at Work with: • Biblical readings that unveil the principles behind each chapter in Joy at Work • A synthesis of theological principles • Reflective questions to prepare readers for small-group discussion • Questions for small-group discussion • Guidelines for immediate and long-term application for business and nonprofit leaders at all levels of corporations and organizations. The Joy at Work experience has the power to profoundly change your workplace and your life.

Getting caught in unwanted thoughts and emotions can feel like an inevitable part of life. But Easwaran, who taught meditation for nearly 40 years, shows a way to break free. Just as a fitness routine can result in a strong, supple body, spiritual disciplines can shape a secure personality and a resilient, loving mind. And opportunities to grow stronger spiritually arise not only during meditation but throughout the day. Working with difficult colleagues, going out to eat, and responding to a child's needs are all occasions to try out different, wiser choices. With humor and empathy, Easwaran places timeless teachings from the Buddha and other mystics into contemporary scenes watching a juggler on the street, taking a tennis lesson, going to the theater. Training the mind is life's biggest adventure, one that brings deepening relationships, increasing vitality, and a greater sense of purpose.

The mantram, or mantra, is a short, powerful, spiritual formula from the world's great traditions, repeated silently in the mind, anytime, anywhere. Examples of mantrams are Rama, Rama, used by Gandhi, or My God and My All, repeated by St. Francis of Assisi, or Om Mane Padme Hum. Easwaran taught the use of the mantram for over forty years as part of his passage meditation program. He explains how the mantram works, and gives practical guidelines for using it to focus our thoughts and access deeper resources of strength, patience, and love. The mantram can help us replenish our energy, release creativity, and heal old conflicts. These resonant phrases work equally well for parents with young children, colleagues at work, couples in a relationship, in illness or depression, and even at the time of death. And Easwaran shows how repetition of the mantram can open the door to a life that is increasingly meaningful and fulfilling.

It's one thing to start a meditation practice, but much harder to sustain it and harder still, once we have finished morning meditation, to keep a calm mind in our media-saturated, time pressured world. A master teacher who is as entertaining as he is authoritative, Easwaran gives all the instruction needed to establish a vibrant meditation practice and keep it going. His classic manual, updated with extensive Q&A sections, offers a unique source of practical spiritual support for new and experienced meditators. In passage meditation, you focus attention on passages, or texts, drawn from all the world's sacred traditions. You choose the passages that appeal to you, so this universal method stays fresh and inspiring, prompting you to live out your highest ideals. Meditation is supported by the mantram and six other spiritual tools to help us stay calm, kind, and focused throughout the day. This book shows how, with regular practice, we gain wisdom and vitality, and find a life that fulfills.

Timeless Wisdom is the companion volume to Eknath Easwaran's Passage Meditation. Passage Meditation gives Easwaran's instructions in his method of meditation; Timeless Wisdom is his accompanying collection of texts that are suitable for study and meditation. In this selection from the great spiritual traditions, Eknath Easwaran brings the world's timeless wisdom within reach of the modern seeker. These passages include flashes of insight from the Hindu Upanishads, heartfelt prayers of the Christian saints, the passionate songs of the Sufis, and thoughtful teachings from the Jewish, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions. An authority on world mysticism, and outstanding translator of the Indian classics, Easwaran chooses texts that are positive, practical, and meaningful for readers today. This anthology is a compact version of Easwaran's God Makes the Rivers to Flow, with a new preface and some new texts. This is a book to read and reread, each time drawing more from the well of inspiration in its pages.