Eknath Easwaran
Encyclopedia
Eknath Easwaran was a spiritual teacher, an author of books on meditation and ways to lead a fulfilling life, as well as a translator and interpreter of Indian literature
.
In 1961 Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and Nilgiri Press, based in northern California
. Nilgiri Press publishes over two dozen books he authored.
Eknath Easwaran was influenced by Gandhi
, whom Easwaran met when he was a young man. Easwaran developed a method of meditation
– silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's great religions – which later came to be known as Passage Meditation
.
, British India.
Eknath is his surname, Easwaran his given name. Brought up by his mother, and by his maternal grandmother whom he honored as his spiritual teacher, he was schooled in his native village until the age of sixteen, when he went to attend a Catholic college fifty miles away. Here he acquired a deep appreciation of the Christian tradition. He graduated at the University of Nagpur in English and law. He served as Professor of English literature at the University of Nagpur.
In 1959, he came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley
.
From 1960 he gave classes on meditation in the San Francisco Bay Area
. He met his wife Christine at one of these talks. Together with his wife, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in 1961. After a four-year stay in India, he returned to the Bay Area in 1965
In 1970 he founded Ramagiri Ashram as a community of dedicated followers in Marin County.
He set up a publishing activity, Nilgiri Press, which printed his first book Gandhi The Man
, telling the story of Gandhi as a spiritual as well as a political leader. His first major work was his 3-volume commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, the first volume of which was printed in 1975 and the last in 1984. His book Meditation
on the program of meditation and allied disciplines that he developed first appeared in 1978.
,
or the New York Post
.
, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada
(see article)
have been critically acclaimed. Religion scholar Huston Smith
is cited by the publisher as writing: "No one in modern times is more qualified – no, make that 'as qualified' – to translate the epochal Classics of Indian Spirituality than Eknath Easwaran. And the reason is clear. It is impossible to get to the heart of those classics unless you live them, and he did live them. My admiration of the man and his works is boundless."
In Buddhism: A Concise Introduction Smith and his coauthor Philip Novak
wrote that "Our favorite translation is Eknath Easwaran's The Dhammapada. His Indian heritage, literary gifts, and spiritual sensibilities... here produce a sublime rendering of the words of the Buddha. Verse after verse shimmers with quiet, confident authority. A bonus is the sparkling 70-page introduction to the Buddha's life and teachings."
(see article)
, originally entitled Dialogue with death: The spiritual psychology of the Katha Upanishad, explains how the Katha Upanishad
embraces the key ideas of Indian spirituality within the context of a powerful mythic quest – the story of a young hero who ventures into the land of death in search of immortality. "Essence of the Upanishads is a westerner's guide to this vitally important Indian text and its modern relevance to the Indian mindset and spirituality."
(original title Meditation) describes the Eight Point Program that Easwaran developed, while his book Conquest of Mind goes further into the practice of these disciplines in daily life. Timeless Wisdom is a companion book to Passage Meditation and contains passages for meditation drawn from across the world's spiritual traditions. His book Mantram Handbook: a practical guide to choosing your mantram and calming your mind
addresses The Mantram, the second point in the program.
His book Strength in the Storm is an introduction to The Mantram, containing many stories and practical examples to help the reader learn how to harness the inner resources for dealing with challenges in daily living. His book Take Your Time explores "Slowing Down" and "One-Pointed Attention" in daily lives. Renewal is a pocket book of short readings on themes such as loving relationships, raising children, living simply, and aging wisely; Patience, the second in the pocket book series, shows how to cultivate Patience – "the ornament of the brave" – at any age. Other (older) books describe various aspects of leading a spiritual life: Climbing the Blue Mountain, Compassionate Universe, and Undiscovered Country.
is an anthology of writings from the sacred literature of the world, selected by Easwaran as useful for meditation. A larger (and earlier) version of Timeless Wisdom
, it contains dozens of passages from diverse traditions, and identifies passages for particular stages in life, such as caregiving, families with small children, death and dying, grief and loss, and for building positive qualities such as patience, courage, devotion to God, and putting others first. Words to Live By is a set of daily readings with Easwaran's commentary on applying the reading to daily life.
traces how Mohandas Gandhi transformed himself into one of the world's great spiritual leaders.
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam
is the life story of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
, a Pathan
(or Pushtun) of Afghanistan and a devout Muslim, who raised the first nonviolent army in history to free his people from British imperial rule. This book was favorably discussed in The New Yorker
. The book also inspired filmmaker and writer T.C. McLuhan, daughter of Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan
, to make the film The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, a Torch for Peace
, which won the 2009 Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Film.
, St Paul
, St Augustine
, and Mother Teresa
, Original Goodness is a commentary on the Beatitudes
, and Seeing with the Eyes of Love is a commentary on The Imitation of Christ.
Christian Science Monitor,
and also in the New York Times,
elsewhere in the US,
and internationally.
He also wrote numerous commentaries that appeared in the Little Lamp (1961–1995), and in Blue Mountain (1990–present), quarterly journals published by the meditation center that he founded. In the 1960s, Easwaran published articles in other spiritual journals, such as the Mountain Path
, published by Sri Ramana Maharshi's
ashram.
Before coming to the US in 1959, Easwaran contributed short stories and other writings to literary anthologies, and to magazines such as the The Illustrated Weekly of India
.
, published a well-known vegetarian cookbook entitled Laurel's Kitchen
(1976), later republished in revised form as The New Laurel's Kitchen (1986). The book contained extensive nutritional information from a scientific point of view, and sold more than a million copies.
Outside of the US, Easwaran's life and teachings were profiled, along with those of a variety of other spiritual teachers, in a book published in India entitled Meditation Masters and their Insights.
Easwaran's words have been included in collections of wisdom teachings, such as ones recently published by Chang (2006) and Parachin (2011).
Quotations from Easwaran's translations have been used many times by both scholarly and popular writers.
Easwaran's other writings have also been quoted by various types of authors, including writers of novels and short stories,
popular spirituality,
and articles on management theory.
Psychiatrist Aaron Beck and his colleagues quoted from Easwaran's commentary on the Katha Upanishad
.
Easwaran has been listed in reference works on spiritual and religious leaders.
Indian literature
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
.
In 1961 Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and Nilgiri Press, based in northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
. Nilgiri Press publishes over two dozen books he authored.
Eknath Easwaran was influenced by Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, whom Easwaran met when he was a young man. Easwaran developed a method of meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
– silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's great religions – which later came to be known as Passage Meditation
Passage meditation
Meditation, also published as Passage Meditation, is a 1978 book by Eknath Easwaran.It describes a meditation program developed by Easwaran from the 1960s, first taught systematically by him at the University of California, Berkeley....
.
Biography
Eknath Easwaran was born in 1910 in a village in KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, British India.
Eknath is his surname, Easwaran his given name. Brought up by his mother, and by his maternal grandmother whom he honored as his spiritual teacher, he was schooled in his native village until the age of sixteen, when he went to attend a Catholic college fifty miles away. Here he acquired a deep appreciation of the Christian tradition. He graduated at the University of Nagpur in English and law. He served as Professor of English literature at the University of Nagpur.
In 1959, he came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
From 1960 he gave classes on meditation in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. He met his wife Christine at one of these talks. Together with his wife, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in 1961. After a four-year stay in India, he returned to the Bay Area in 1965
In 1970 he founded Ramagiri Ashram as a community of dedicated followers in Marin County.
He set up a publishing activity, Nilgiri Press, which printed his first book Gandhi The Man
Gandhi the Man
Gandhi the Man is a biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi written by Eknath Easwaran. The book was originally published in the US in 1973. Several subsequent expanded editions have been published. Foreign editions have also been published in several languages.Foreign editions of Nilgiri Press...
, telling the story of Gandhi as a spiritual as well as a political leader. His first major work was his 3-volume commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, the first volume of which was printed in 1975 and the last in 1984. His book Meditation
Passage meditation
Meditation, also published as Passage Meditation, is a 1978 book by Eknath Easwaran.It describes a meditation program developed by Easwaran from the 1960s, first taught systematically by him at the University of California, Berkeley....
on the program of meditation and allied disciplines that he developed first appeared in 1978.
Written works
Easwaran's writings may be grouped into several major categories—primarily books, but also articles in newspapers and other periodicals. Most of his books have been reviewed by spiritually oriented publications or websites, or by nationally known media such as The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
,
or the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
.
Translations
His translations of the Bhagavad GitaBhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada
Dhammapada
The Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. It is one of the best-known texts from the Theravada canon....
(see article)
Dhammapada (Easwaran translation)
The Dhammapada / Introduced & Translated by Eknath Easwaran is an English-language book originally published in 1986. It contains Easwaran's translation of the Dhammapada, a Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself...
have been critically acclaimed. Religion scholar Huston Smith
Huston Smith
Huston Cummings Smith is a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions remains a popular introduction to comparative religion.-Education:...
is cited by the publisher as writing: "No one in modern times is more qualified – no, make that 'as qualified' – to translate the epochal Classics of Indian Spirituality than Eknath Easwaran. And the reason is clear. It is impossible to get to the heart of those classics unless you live them, and he did live them. My admiration of the man and his works is boundless."
In Buddhism: A Concise Introduction Smith and his coauthor Philip Novak
Philip Novak
Philip Novak is a Sarlo Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. He received a bachelors degree in English at University of Notre Dame , and MA and PhD degrees in Religion at Syracuse University .He joined the faculty of Dominican...
wrote that "Our favorite translation is Eknath Easwaran's The Dhammapada. His Indian heritage, literary gifts, and spiritual sensibilities... here produce a sublime rendering of the words of the Buddha. Verse after verse shimmers with quiet, confident authority. A bonus is the sparkling 70-page introduction to the Buddha's life and teachings."
Commentaries
Essence of the UpanishadsEssence of the Upanishads (book)
Essence of the Upanishads is a translation and commentary on the Katha Upanishad, an ancient Indian scripture. Written by Eknath Easwaran, the book was originally published in the US in 1981, entitled Dialogue With Death...
(see article)
Essence of the Upanishads (book)
Essence of the Upanishads is a translation and commentary on the Katha Upanishad, an ancient Indian scripture. Written by Eknath Easwaran, the book was originally published in the US in 1981, entitled Dialogue With Death...
, originally entitled Dialogue with death: The spiritual psychology of the Katha Upanishad, explains how the Katha Upanishad
Katha Upanishad
The Katha Upanishad , also titled "Death as Teacher", is one of the mukhya Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the school of the Black Yajurveda, and is grouped with the Sutra period of Vedic Sanskrit. It is a middle Upanishad...
embraces the key ideas of Indian spirituality within the context of a powerful mythic quest – the story of a young hero who ventures into the land of death in search of immortality. "Essence of the Upanishads is a westerner's guide to this vitally important Indian text and its modern relevance to the Indian mindset and spirituality."
Books on meditation
His book Passage MeditationPassage meditation
Meditation, also published as Passage Meditation, is a 1978 book by Eknath Easwaran.It describes a meditation program developed by Easwaran from the 1960s, first taught systematically by him at the University of California, Berkeley....
(original title Meditation) describes the Eight Point Program that Easwaran developed, while his book Conquest of Mind goes further into the practice of these disciplines in daily life. Timeless Wisdom is a companion book to Passage Meditation and contains passages for meditation drawn from across the world's spiritual traditions. His book Mantram Handbook: a practical guide to choosing your mantram and calming your mind
Mantram Handbook
The Mantram Handbook describes methods of using a mantram — sometimes called a Holy Name — in daily living. Benefits are also described. Written by Eknath Easwaran, the book was originally published in the US in 1977. Several subsequent editions have been published, sometimes under different...
addresses The Mantram, the second point in the program.
His book Strength in the Storm is an introduction to The Mantram, containing many stories and practical examples to help the reader learn how to harness the inner resources for dealing with challenges in daily living. His book Take Your Time explores "Slowing Down" and "One-Pointed Attention" in daily lives. Renewal is a pocket book of short readings on themes such as loving relationships, raising children, living simply, and aging wisely; Patience, the second in the pocket book series, shows how to cultivate Patience – "the ornament of the brave" – at any age. Other (older) books describe various aspects of leading a spiritual life: Climbing the Blue Mountain, Compassionate Universe, and Undiscovered Country.
Daily readers and reference
God Makes the Rivers to FlowGod Makes the Rivers to Flow
God Makes the Rivers to Flow is an anthology of spiritual texts for use in meditation, assembled by Eknath Easwaran. Condensed versions have been published under the titles Timeless Wisdom and Sacred Literature of the World...
is an anthology of writings from the sacred literature of the world, selected by Easwaran as useful for meditation. A larger (and earlier) version of Timeless Wisdom
God Makes the Rivers to Flow
God Makes the Rivers to Flow is an anthology of spiritual texts for use in meditation, assembled by Eknath Easwaran. Condensed versions have been published under the titles Timeless Wisdom and Sacred Literature of the World...
, it contains dozens of passages from diverse traditions, and identifies passages for particular stages in life, such as caregiving, families with small children, death and dying, grief and loss, and for building positive qualities such as patience, courage, devotion to God, and putting others first. Words to Live By is a set of daily readings with Easwaran's commentary on applying the reading to daily life.
The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living
The three volumes of the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living are conceived as handbooks for applying the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to lives today. End of Sorrow concentrates on the individual – how one can discover one's innermost nature, and transform one's life through self-realization, selfless service, and meditation. Like a Thousand Suns addresses relationships – how one can heal divisions in society, within one's relationships, and within oneself, and realize the unity governing all creation. To Love is To Know Me gives a global view, describing what individual readers can do to make a difference in the world today, and ends with a description of bhakti yoga, the path of devotion.Spiritual biographies
Gandhi the ManGandhi the Man
Gandhi the Man is a biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi written by Eknath Easwaran. The book was originally published in the US in 1973. Several subsequent expanded editions have been published. Foreign editions have also been published in several languages.Foreign editions of Nilgiri Press...
traces how Mohandas Gandhi transformed himself into one of the world's great spiritual leaders.
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam is a biography of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan , an ally of Gandhi's in the Indian independence movement. Originally written by Eknath Easwaran in English, foreign editions have also been published in Arabic and several other languages.Foreign editions of Nilgiri Press Books,...
is the life story of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was an Afghan, Pashtun political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British Rule in India...
, a Pathan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
(or Pushtun) of Afghanistan and a devout Muslim, who raised the first nonviolent army in history to free his people from British imperial rule. This book was favorably discussed in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. The book also inspired filmmaker and writer T.C. McLuhan, daughter of Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan
Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist...
, to make the film The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, a Torch for Peace
The Frontier Gandhi
The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, a Torch for Peace, a documentary released in 2008, is the first full film account of Pashtun leader and non violent activist Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Badshah Khan or Bacha Khan....
, which won the 2009 Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Film.
Commentaries on Christian literature
Love Never Faileth is a commentary on the writings of St FrancisFrancis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
, St Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, St Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, and Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, Original Goodness is a commentary on the Beatitudes
Beatitudes
In Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....
, and Seeing with the Eyes of Love is a commentary on The Imitation of Christ.
Newspapers and other periodicals
In the 1980s and 1990s, Easwaran published a variety of commentaries on public events in prominent periodicals, especially theChristian Science Monitor,
and also in the New York Times,
elsewhere in the US,
and internationally.
He also wrote numerous commentaries that appeared in the Little Lamp (1961–1995), and in Blue Mountain (1990–present), quarterly journals published by the meditation center that he founded. In the 1960s, Easwaran published articles in other spiritual journals, such as the Mountain Path
Mountain Path
The Mountain Path is an English-language quarterly magazine published by Sri Ramanasramam, the ashram founded by the devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi. It was originally founded by Arthur Osborne....
, published by Sri Ramana Maharshi's
Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master . He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation , he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus...
ashram.
Before coming to the US in 1959, Easwaran contributed short stories and other writings to literary anthologies, and to magazines such as the The Illustrated Weekly of India
The Illustrated Weekly of India
The Illustrated Weekly of India was an English language weekly newsmagazine publication in India. It started publication in 1880 and ceasing publication in 1993...
.
Eight-point program
Easwaran's program for spiritual growth consists of eight points was introduced with his 1978 book Meditation. Each point had a dedicated chapter:- Meditation: Silent repetition upon memorized inspirational passages from one of the world's great religions. Practiced for one-half hour each morning.
- The Mantram: silent repetition of a mantram, holy name or hallowed phrase from one of the world's great religions.
- Slowing Down: set priorities to reduce stress and hurry
- One-Pointed Attention: give full concentration to whatever matter is currently at hand
- Training the Senses: enjoy simple pleasures in order to avoid craving for unhealthy excess
- Putting Others First: denounce selfishness and cultivating altruismAltruismAltruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...
- Spiritual Companionship: practice meditation in the company of others
- Reading the Mystics: draw inspiration from the writings of the scriptures of all religions.
Other Influence
A variety of influences of Easwaran's life and work have been documented. Easwaran's students, inspired in part by his teachings about compassion and stewardship for the environmentEnvironmental vegetarianism
Environmental vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism or veganism based on the indications that animal production, particularly by intensive agriculture, is environmentally unsustainable...
, published a well-known vegetarian cookbook entitled Laurel's Kitchen
Laurel's Kitchen
Laurel's Kitchen is a vegetarian cookbook, first published in 1976, that contributed to the increasing awareness of vegetarian eating in the US. Its authors were Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey, and its subtitle was a handbook for vegetarian cookery & nutrition. A second...
(1976), later republished in revised form as The New Laurel's Kitchen (1986). The book contained extensive nutritional information from a scientific point of view, and sold more than a million copies.
Outside of the US, Easwaran's life and teachings were profiled, along with those of a variety of other spiritual teachers, in a book published in India entitled Meditation Masters and their Insights.
Easwaran's words have been included in collections of wisdom teachings, such as ones recently published by Chang (2006) and Parachin (2011).
Quotations from Easwaran's translations have been used many times by both scholarly and popular writers.
Easwaran's other writings have also been quoted by various types of authors, including writers of novels and short stories,
popular spirituality,
and articles on management theory.
Psychiatrist Aaron Beck and his colleagues quoted from Easwaran's commentary on the Katha Upanishad
Katha Upanishad
The Katha Upanishad , also titled "Death as Teacher", is one of the mukhya Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the school of the Black Yajurveda, and is grouped with the Sutra period of Vedic Sanskrit. It is a middle Upanishad...
.
Easwaran has been listed in reference works on spiritual and religious leaders.