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 on meditation and spiritual living has now been extended by over thirty percent with new material from question and answer sessions with his students, and 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.

The Mantram Handbook

by Eknath Easwaran

Published 7 September 1978
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 Mani 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.

Conquest of Mind

by Eknath Easwaran

Published 1 January 2001
Getting caught in unwanted thoughts and emotions can feel like an inevitable part of life. But Eknath Easwaran, a world-famous spiritual teacher 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. Best of all, these opportunities to grow stronger spiritually arise not only during meditation but throughout the day. Whether working with difficult colleagues, going out to eat, or responding to a child's needs, readers learn how 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, and Conquest of Mind shows how this practice brings deepening relationships, increasing vitality, and a greater sense of purpose.

Timeless Wisdom

by Eknath Easwaran

Published 1 January 2008
These are passages that inform and transform: enjoy their poetry, study their wisdom, or use them for Easwaran's "Passage Meditation"."Timeless Wisdom", the companion volume to Easwaran's "Passage Meditation", is a rich collection of spiritual texts from all the world's great traditions, selected by Easwaran for study and for his method of meditation.Here are flashes of insight from the Hindu Upanishads; prayers of comfort from the Christian saints; psalms from the Old Testament; songs of praise from the Sufis; and, deep wisdom from the Buddhist and Taoist traditions. Some of these passages, such as the Prayer of St. Francis, the Buddha's "Twin Verses", and the Twenty-third Psalm, are familiar and well loved, others may be fresh discoveries - all are beautiful. Short texts, easy to read and memorize, are interspersed with longer ones, which the reader can study in depth."
Passage Meditation", together with its companion volume, "Timeless Wisdom", are the first two books in Nilgiri Press' "Essential Easwaran Library", a series of ten books that defines Easwaran's legacy and represents the heart of Easwaran's teachings for the serious reader, based on the theme of timeless wisdom for daily living.

Passage Meditation

by Eknath Easwaran

Published 2 October 2008
Written by a highly respected teacher who taught meditation for over forty years, this book gives you all you need to start meditating. With quiet humor, realism, and warmth, Easwaran gives clear instructions and points out the pitfalls. He explains the theory underlying meditation, and conveys the deep joy, security, and selfless energy that regular practice can bring.

In Easwaran's universal method of passage meditation, you choose a spiritual text, or passage, from the world's great traditions that embodies your highest ideals. You memorize it, and then send it deep into consciousness through slow, sustained attention. This method of meditation stays fresh because you can vary the passages according to your own needs. With regular practice, the passages become lifelines, taking you to the source of wisdom deep within and then guiding you through the challenges of daily life.

Meditation is supported by seven other points in Easwaran's spiritual program, helping you to stay calm, kind, and focused throughout the day.