India Books

A Rare treat, excellent book

first, Geshe Tsephel is my teacher.
The retreat which I received this empowerment for this practice was 7 days long. The commentary of this book provides supports for the short and middle lengths sadhanas by explaining the middle length. The commentary fills the gap between the sadhana and the actual practice. The commitments for this practice is 6 Guru Yoga Sessions a day. Different teachers have different requirements. It is highly recommended to have and do Vajrasattva purification (or Nungdro) practice for a couple years before receiving this empowerment. Allot of difficulties are removed by receiving the empowerment. Without it, the book will be very confusing and difficult to read n understand. Lastly, please get the empowerment before reading this excellent book. This book points the way to enlightment but the Guru is the start and finish of enlightment.

In this story, people save some trees by hugging them, so they don't get chopped down. The pictures are like from a famous artist. They are magnificent. I know this story from a camp. I read it to another kid and myself. Also that other kid liked it too.But I loved it!

According to "World Almanac's Atlas of the World 2008," one hundred percent (100%) of the frontier trees in Europe are gone (frontier forest is the new term for virgin forest), cut for housing, defense, ships, you name it. In Asia sixty percent (60%) of the frontier forest is gone.

"The People Who Hugged Trees" is a 300-year-old story about Amrita Devi and her fellow villagers who defied authority to protect their trees. Adapted by Deborah Lee Rose from a story of Rajasthan, India, this story is first about a girl who loves the trees, then when grown, a woman who does what is needed to keep the trees.

"In long-ago India, when warrior princes ruled the land, there lived a girl who loved the trees." This first sentence is stunning: place, time, political conditions, classic folk/fairy tale opening slightly reworded.
Amrita's village sits alongside the desert and a forest of trees, which protects them from the fury of sandstorms. When she has her own children, she teaches them to love the trees.

Inevitably, trouble comes in the shape of men with axes whose words make her blood run cold: "Cut down every tree you find. The Maharajah needs plenty of wood to build his new fortress." She tries to protect her tree, but the men whack it down. When the villagers come, they, too, stand against the trees and the axemen give up.

When the army of axemen return with the Maharajah and his army of soldiers, the people feel defeated. At that moment, like an ex deus prop, a huge sandstorm hits. Everyone take refuge in the forest. After the storm's fury is spent, the Maharajah relents and allows the villagers to keep their forest. There is a big celebration.

The illustrations by Brigitta Saflund are breathtaking in the rich hues of Indian dress and vibrant greens of the trees set against the dry yellow of the desert. The luxurious palace of the Maharahah is painted in the detailed tiles of cool blues that decorate it.

However, the last page, which is not part of the story, reveals more. In a story for children sometimes details are omitted. The Maharajah did not relent and allow the trees to stay. He had every one of them cut down. In hugging the trees to protect them, over 300 villagers, Amrita included, were killed. As Henry David Thoreau wrote in "Civil Disobedience," a person who commits civil disobedience must be willing to pay the consequences. The tree huggers of Rajasthani have been commemorated by India's first National Environment Memorial. There are still movements in India to protect trees and other natural resources. There's definitely a need, as only 40% of their frontier forests are still standing.

Those familiar with some of Georg Feuerstein's popular books, such as "Yoga for Dummies" may mistake this very short book for something similar, but with more emphasis on theory and less on practice. Despite being brief and -- considering the subject -- clearly written, it would probably be unreadably difficult for someone not already somewhat familiar with at least the names and major tenets of the major philosophical schools of the Hindu tradition, and their various relations (or supposed relations) to Yoga. Despite its brevity (or maybe because of it), this is the sort of book one needs to prepare to read. (Feuerstein's own description on the Amazon site is "for Advanced Students," and he suggests his "Encyclopedia of Yoga" -- there are also several excellent general works on Indian philosophy, including Zimmer's old "Philosophies of India," which I found helpful.)

Feuerstein attempts nothing less than a re-visioning of the place of the Yoga-sutras (attributed to Patanjali) within the development of Indian philosophies (including Buddhism). The book is in some ways a companion to his own "The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation and Commentary," and picks up many of the issues argued there in relation to the received text and its classic interpretations.

Feuerstein also surveys relevant positions taken by modern scholars. His phrasing in these discussions is sometimes, to my way of thinking, a bit unfair (although engagingly lively). For example, Mircea Eliade, whose "Yoga: Immortality and Freedom" is probably still the most widely accepted academic work in the field, is congratulated for disagreeing with his Indian mentors, and blamed for agreeing with them, strictly according to Feuerstein's views on the matter at hand. This is helpful insofar as it makes some of the issues stand out clearly, but I find that it grates a little.

This book is for the intermediate to advanced student or teacher of yoga who wishes to understand the definitions and inter-relationships between the concepts of classical yoga. For those interested in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, this text will help you access the ideas that lead to liberation. A clear understanding helps one's spiritual practice. This is a short book that is read slowly and digested. It serves as a reference to review from time to time as well. Enjoy! It would be a good gift for someone who is really into yoga, but not the choice for the novice.

THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT BOOK BY A REMARKABLE MAN. WILLIAM PENNINGTON JOINED THE BRITISH ARMY AT 14, WENT TO INDIA, FOUGHT THE NAZI'S, THE JAPANESE AND CAME OF AGE AND WISDOM AS A RESULT. HE STARTED THIS BOOK AT 77 YEARS OF AGE AND I CAN ONLY DREAM OF BEING AS LUCID, WISE AND ENTERTAINING AT THAT AGE.

THE HISTORY IS RELEVANT TO TODAY AND IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT IN IT'S TRUTH. THE CBI WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BLOODIEST AND MOST BARBARIC COMBAT IN WW II, WITH MAYBE THE EXCEPTION OF SOME OF THE MARINE ISLAND CAMPAIGNS. YET IT IS STILL NOT A THEATER OF WAR THAT GETS THE PRESS OR THE MOVIES. THE BOOK REMINDS ME IN STYLE OF GEORGE MACDONALD FRASIER'S "QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE". PENNINGTON'S WORK AND "BURMA, THE LONGEST WAR" BY LOUIS ALLEN WILL GIVE YOU SOME GOOD INSIGHTS TO THE CHINA, BURMA INDIA THEATER. I THANK HIM FOR ALSO REPEATING AGAIN, THE INHUMANE, BARBARIC AND SUBHUMAN BEHAVIOR OF THE JAPANESE ARMY, THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND THE FACT THEY STILL HAVE NOT ACKNOWLEDGED THEIR BEHAVIOR FROM 1931-1945. BUY THE BOOK, IT'S ONE OF THE BEST EVER WRITTEN ON THIS SUBJECT.

This is a great book written by a real hero of the British Army
during World War II. From his first assignment in India, to his
escape from the Germans at Dunkirk and his return to India to
fight the Japanese, the reader is captivated by this true story
of a genuine hero. This is one of those books you cannot put down.It is a must read!

This book does a great job of giving a brutally honest, indepth view into lives of Indian women. It illustrates how important context is when explaining oppression of women. Painstaking work goes into giving rich details of the lives of women.

I read this book for a graduate school class and thought it was really amazing. First it is interesting to read about the differences between women living in India, a group of people that a western gaze tends to homogenize. It also shows the struggles that NGO's face, and the conflicts between the bureaucrats of those who run the NGO's and the real women who work for them. I would highly reccommend this book if you are interested in third world feminism, NGO's, and reading about real women's lives.

I loved it, particularly the blending of cultures, religions and personal beliefs. I certainly hope readers, through this book, will come to better appreciate the diversity of the world in which we live. I also imagine a person could read this book several times and depending on their current phase of life get completely different meanings and value from the story each time they read it. It will forever remain in my library!

The Pokhraj is a delightfully written, thought provoking novel that will warm every parent and grandparent's heart.

This book makes a significant intervention in the historiography of India in ways more than one. It furthers a major debate in south Indian historiography. Ever since its discovery, the nature of political order in the Cola state has been a subject over which historians have debated with considerable enthusiasm. Rejecting two of the major formulations, one by Nilakanta Sastri and the other by Burton Stein, Veluthat proposes to examine the validity of the thesis of Indian feudalism in the context of south India.

In so doing, Veluthat also participates in the now famous debate on Indian feudalism. Thus the book is important in two important ways: for the light it sheds on south Indian history as well as for the participation in the debate on feudalism. A hitherto neglected area in south Indian history, namely Kerala, is also brought into limelight in the book. Veluthat uses most sophisticated tools of research and places his data within a sturdy theoretical framework.

This book makes a thorough analysis of the political structure of South India in the period of the rule of the Pallavas, Pandyas, Ceras and Colas. It surveys the historiography of the period, identifying the major points of departure at different stages. It rejects the notion of a centralised empire proposed by Nilakantha Sastri as well as that of a segmentary state suggested by Burton Stein to explain the political structure obtaining in South India in this period. By making a systematic analysis of the epigraphical data, bringing to bear on it a statistical method, the author tries to test the validity of the feudal model for this region. An added attraction of the book is fresh data on Kerala which is not hitherto available in print.

this book is gr8 for boosting positive thoughts and thinking . I strongly recomend this book if your feeling down.

Universal laws work for or against any one of us. A wise person becomes aware of these laws and makes them work favorably. That's the framework Dr. Peale establishes in the first chapter. He follows up in the next chapter by discussing how the plus factor can be linked with creative dreaming to make one's life more focused.
He tells how his own life has been positively changed by applying the principles contained in this book. He adds the stories of other people also.
Buy this book! It is full of practical applications that will improve the quality of your life.

The potential buyer/reader needs to know that "Prakruti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution" is the first edition. The significantly revised second edition is titled "Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution" (Prakriti with two i's, not Prakruti with a u). While it is instructional for the scholar to read and note the differences between the two editions, I recommend the second edition to the first time buyer/reader.

This book got me started on eating appropriately for my body type. My energy level began to increase once I stopped "poisoning" myself. I also gained insights into why I/my body acts the way it does. Thanks, Dr. Svoboda!

Stella Kramrisch has done a brilliant job bringing Shiva to life. I have many other books which contain the stories of Shiva and Parvati; but no other does justice to his fantastic, immense, amazing, mind-blowing qualities. Shiva even has the power to kill with his 'lingam' which can be used as a weapon to annihilate his enemies. For those of you are interested in tantra and Kundalini, you will be delighted to understand that snakes form Shiva's ambience and that this ascetic is also master of the erotic and dance. Stella's translations will stir you imgination back to a more auspicious time. The stories make the conquests of today's corporate rulers seem pathetic.

Stella Kramrisch is transporting us in another world where we have to put aside our Western conditioned mind and to fully open our heart to grasp the complex world of the hindus Gods and particularly of Shiva, the Great God. But more than unveiling the secret stories of Shiva, this book is actually highlighting the "real presence" of Shiva in our current turmoiled World. A premonitory book !