Books Am I?

I've recently updated an Amazon Listmania with descriptions so thought I'd post them here:

An Awakening Canon
(course, there are no canons. there are no testaments. there are no teachings. but this is my canon towards a testament of teachings)


1. I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta by Maharaj Nisargadatta

Classic. Pure Satcitananda. This Is That. trans. by Maurice Frydman (David Godman, editor of Ramana Maharshi, Papaji, etc, once asked Nisargadatta: 'In all the years that you have been teaching how many people have truly understood and experienced your teachings?' He [Nisargadatta] was quiet for a moment, and then he said, 'One. Maurice Frydman.') Thus it's filled with wisdom on every page.


2. Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj by Ramesh S. Balsekar

A great work by Ramesh Balsekar that looks at Nisargadatta's teachings in detail, using a mixture of lengthy quotes from the sage, descriptions of the satsangs, and some explanations. N's last days. Balsekar's own writings tend to the overly cerebral, but this one is tempered by his devotion to the Maharaj.


3. Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi by Sri Ramana Maharshi

This is the now-classic rendering of words from the timeless silence of the great sage Ramana Maharshi. Just looking at his photo will teach you more than most books.


4. Maharshis Gospel: The Teachings Of Sri Raman Maharshi by Compilation

David Godman believes the second part of this was edited by Frydman (see comments above). I see why; as in I Am That, there are fearless questions meeting the fearless.


5. Maha Yoga by K. Lakshmana Sarma

A great look at Ramana Maharshi seen through the lens of Upanishadic wisdom.


6. The End of Your World: Uncensored Straight Talk on the Nature of Enlightenment by Adyashanti

Adyashanti's look at the questions that awakening itself asks. I love Adya. His voice itself is a teaching.


7. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle has said he wants his teachings to be the confluence of the streams of Ramana Maharshi and Krishnamurti. He led me to both. And Nisargadatta as well! An important popular contemporary teacher.


8. The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing: The Second Ancestor of Zen in the West by Ted Biringer

This is the one book on zen that I get. Or it gets me. Or rather get gets get.


9. Silence Of The Heart by Robert Adams

Great Los Angeles version of Ramana Maharshi.


10. The Book of Secrets: 112 Keys to the Mystery Within by Osho

So many Osho books, where does one begin. I list this one only to get something tantric in the mix. But most of them revolve around some classic text, teaching, or teacher. He's a coyote, of course, and wise, of course.


11. The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti

This may be his best. It illustrates why pyschological thought is inherently divisional, and therefore love is the only wise response.


12. Standing as Awareness by Greg Goode

Some direct pointing to your self. And since I can't get a copy of Atma Darsan by Sri Atmananda unless I'm willing to pay an obscenely perverted price. But this little book of wisdom stands on its own.


13. What's Wrong with Right Now? by Sailor Bob Adamson

I like Bob.


14. Spiritual Warfare by Jed McKenna

This is his third book, and maybe not the best overall, but I like the take on manifestation. It's more like a novel and so not really pure teaching. But good stuff! Oh, and nobody knows who Jed really is.


15. The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message by Cynthia Bourgeault

Bourgeault may currently be the most important teacher in returning Christ Consciousness to the teachings of Jesus. Her work is outstanding, and comes directly from the heart. This book, in particular, is astounding.


16. The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace by Miguel Ruiz

I include this here because it was so important to my own development. And much of it still stands up to inquiry. If some teachings are kindergarten and some, graduate level, then this may be nursery school. But most never get out of daycare! It is a beautiful book and a great beginning point.


17. The Principal Upanishads: The Essential Philosophical Foundation of Hinduism (Sacred Wisdom) by Alan Jacobs

The fount.


18. The Bhagavad Gita (The divine conversations) by Alan Jacobs

The river.


19. Tao Te Ching by David Hinton

The Tao.


20. Song of Myself (Shambhala Centaur Editions) by Walt Whitman

The first American hymn to the Self.



fyi: covers and links can be found on the right sidebar (and, by the way, Amazon doesn't always get the author's name correct, so I corrected them here. i think.)