Sri Aurobindo - A Biography

An exhaustive biography of Sri Aurobindo (1872 - 1950) who was an Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, poet, philosopher, and yogi. He joined the movement for India's freedom from British rule and for a duration (1905-1910), became one of its most important leaders, before turning to developing his own vision and philosophy of human progress and a spiritual path which he termed Integral Yoga. He wrote over a hundred poems, many plays and several
books.

In his famous Uttarapara speech, he proclaimed, "I say no longer that nationalism is a creed, a religion, a faith;I say that it is the Sanatana Dharma which for us is nationalism. This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatana Dharma, with it it moves and with it it grows. When the Sanatana Dharma declines, then the nation declines, and if the Sanatana Dharma were capable of perishing, with the Sanatana Dharma it would perish.The Sanatana Dharma, that is nationalism. This is the message that I have to speak to you".

Of India's future Sri Aurobindo prophesied : "India of the ages is not dead nor has She spoken Her last creative word. And that which She must seek now to awake, is not an anglicised oriental people, docile pupil of the West and doomed to repeat the cycle of the Occident's success and failure, but still the ancient immemorial Shakti recovering Her deepest self, lifting Her head higher towards the supreme source of light and strength and turning to discover the complete meaning and vaster form of Her Dharma". 

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Patanjali Yoga Sutra - Sanskrit text with English Commentary by Swami Vivekananda

This book is a commentary on Patanjali Yoga Sutras by Swami Vivekananda. Original Sanskrit sutras, their transliteration and translation are also provided for the convenience of the readers.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (2nd century BCE) is a foundational text of Yoga. In Indian philosophy, Yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras are an enormously influential work on yoga philosophy and practice.

Patanjali divided his Yoga Sutras into 4 chapters or books (Sanskrit pada), containing in all 196 aphorisms, divided as follows:

1. Samadhi Pada - Concentration or Absorption (51 sutras)
2. Sadhana Pada - Practice or means to attain it (55 sutras)
3. Vibhuti Pada - Powers or Manifestations (56 sutras)
4. Kaivalya Pada - Isolation or Liberation (34 sutras)

Patanjali's Yoga is also called "ashtanga yoga" because of the eight "limbs" or steps of this Yoga prescribed in the second pada of the Yoga Sutras viz. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.

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Sri Narayana Guru - Complete Works - Malayalam

This book is a compilation of the complete works of Sri Narayana Guru(1854 - 1928), a great Indian seer of 20th century who visualized the ultimate reality in himself. The Guru was born in Chempazhanthi, Kerala in 1854. A great philosopher-poet of modern India, the Guru, and erudite scholar of Sanskrit, Malayalam and Tamil, belonged to the great Indian philosophical tradition of Advaita. As the force being the social reform movement, the Guru paved the way for a progressive Kerala society. Gurudevan, as he was fondly known to his followers, led a quiet but significant social revolution. The Guru was instrumental in setting the spiritual foundations for social reform in today's Kerala and was one of the most successful social reformers who tackled caste in India.

This book contains 57 works of the Guru in Malayalam, Sanskrit and Tamil. They are categorised into 5 sections:

1. Hymns of Gods and Goddesses
2. Moral & ethical teachings
3. Philosophical Works
4. Translations of Classics
5. Prose works

This volume brings together all the original writings of Narayana Guru in a digitised form for the first time. This work is in the free domain now.

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Ashtavakra Gita - Sanskrit text with English transliteration & translation

The Ashtavakra Gita or the Song of Ashtavakra, also known as Ashtavakra Samhita is an Advaita Vedanta scripture which documents a dialogue between the sage Ashtavakra and King Janaka. 

Ashtavakra Gita presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched. The work was known, appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda, as well as by Ramana Maharshi. 

Ashtavakra Gita states that there is no such thing as existence or non existence, right or wrong, or moral or immoral. In the eyes of the Ashtavakra, one's true identity can be found by simply recognizing oneself as Pure Existence and that as individuals we are the Awareness of all things.

The Ashtavakra Gita teaches that one is already free once one realises one is free. It advocates non-action, the loss of desire and severing of worldly attachments. To free oneself from the cycle of life and death one should withdraw from all Earthly desires, worries and cares. To continue indulging in Earthly things even after one has realised their true nature is said to be foolish and time wasting. Instead it paints a picture of The Master as someone who continues to keep up their responsibilities in the world, not because they believe they have to or due to any worldy attachments, but simply that it is in their nature to do so. To avoid misinterpretation in this regard teachers traditionally recommend that Ashtavakra Gita be pursued by only those who have already advanced on the spiritual path.

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Vijnana Bhairava Tantra - Sanskrit Text with English Translation

Vijnana Bhirava, one of the basic Agamas, is a chapter from Rudrayamala Tantra that contains teachings on Advaita (to be differentiated from Adviata Vedanta). Vijnana Bhairava means "the mystic knowledge of the Ultimate Reality". This text is in the form of a dialogue between the God Siva and Parvati, his divine consort.

Vijnana Bhirava expounds 112 techniques of meditation (Dharanas) or of Union with the Divine. We find in this book an incredible variety of spiritual practices and ways of discovering pure consciousness in all kinds of conditions and circumstances. 

Siva says, "If one is established in any of these 112 ways of meditation, one becomes the Bhairava (Divine) himself".

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Eknath - Biography

Eknāth (1533-1599) was a great saint and prominent Marāthi religious poet in the Hindu tradition in India.

Saint Eknath is believed to be the first person in Middle-age Maharastra who have abolished concept of Untouchability by his actions. His well described poems advocate soft corner and equal treatment among all living beings even with animals.

For his spiritual development in his youth, Eknath had accepted the discipleship of a Guru named Janārdan Swāmi- a saint and scholar and highly ranked minister in the kingdom of Devgarh.

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Sri Ramanujacharya - A biography

Ramanuja (11th Century CE), also known as Ramanujacharya, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete. He is seen by Sri Vaishnavas as the third and most important teacher (Acharya) of their tradition (after Nathamuni and Yamunacharya), and by Hindus in general as the leading expounder of Visishtadvaita, one of the classical interpretations of the dominant Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.

Ramanuja may have written 9 books. They are also referred to as the nine precious gems, the Navarathnas.

1. His most famous work is known as the Sri Bhasya or Brahma Sutra Bhasya. It is a commentary on the Brahma Sutras.

2-4. Gadhya Thrayam (three prose hymns). All three are: Vaikunta Gadyam describing in great detail Vaikuntha, Sriranga Gadyam, a prayer of surrender to the feet of Ranganatha, Saranagati Gadyam, an imagined dialogue between Ramanuja and Shri (Lakshmi) and Narayana where he petitions Lakshmi to recommend Narayana to give him 

5. Vedartha Sangraha (a resume of Vedanta). It sets out Ramanuja’s philosophy, which is theistic (it affirms a morally perfect, omniscient and omnipotent God) and 

6. Vedanta Saara (essence of Vedanta) an appendix to Sri Bhasya

7. Vedanta Deepa (the light of Vedanta), another 

8. Gita Bhashya ( his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita)

9. Nithya Grantham (About the day to day activities to be performed by all Sri 

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Upanishad Vakya Kosa – A Concordance of the Principal Upanishads & Bhagavadgita

One of the major difficulties in appreciating the various commentaries on Vedanta Sutras and other ancient Indian philosophical texts is that numerous citations from the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita are found in them without any exact authenticated reference to the original source. With a view to overcoming this difficulty by providing relevant cross-references, as also to furnishing useful material to students of philology and lexicography, Col. G. A. Jacob has compiled this book. This volume owes its existence to a pressing sense of need.

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Kristumata Chedanam - Sri Chattampi Swamikal - English Translatlion

English translation of Kristumata Chedanam, a Hindu critique of Christianity, written in Malayalam by H H Chattampi Swamikal, a great saint and scholar of last century from Kerala, South India, as a rejoinder to many Christian Missionary books slandering Hindu Gods, scriptures, in the year 1890 when Indian intellectuals did not dare criticize Christianity.

The author examines Christianity from Hindu point of view and points out logical fallacies in christian concepts of "God in Heaven", "Episode of Garden of Eden", "Jesus' Resurrection", "Eternal Heaven and Hell" and "Last Day" and "Judging all humanity on the basis of One Scripture". 


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In Woods of God Realisation - Swami RamaTirtha - Volume 2

This is the second volume of Complete Works of Swami Rama Tirtha that has been compiled in 7 volumes.

Described as “one of the greatest souls, not only of India, but of the whole world” by Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Rama Tirtha (1873-1906) was a living embodiment of the teachings of Vedanta. One of the greatest saints and philosophers of India, Rama Tirtha brought the message of yoga and Vedanta to Japan, Egypt, and the U.S. In the Woods of God Realization is a complete collection of his writings and lectures. In this seven volume work Rama Tirtha presents a practical and inspiring view of Vedanta and also discusses timely topics such as married life and realization, Christianity and Islam, war and peace, and patriotism.


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Bhagavad Gita Malayalam - Text & Translation

Srimad Bhagavad Gita in Malayalam with meaning of all 700 slokas and of Geeta Dhyanam and Geeta Mahatmyam. Bhagavad Gita is the most popular Hindu scripture. It is said in Gita Mahatmya that Gita is the essence of Vedas.

"All the Upanishads are the cows, the one who milks the cows is Krishna, Arjuna (Partha) is the calf. Men of purified intellect are the beneficiaries; the cow's milk is the great nectar of the Gita".

Famous Quotes on Bhagavad Gita

Adi Sankara: From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures.

Aldous Huxley: The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.

Carl Jung: The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states..." behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant." This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.

Sri Aurobindo: The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization.

Note: I express my heartfelt gratitude to my friend, Ramachandra PS (Ramu Vedanta) who was of great help in digitising Bhagavad Gita translation. 

Those who are interested in MS Word 2007 version of the "Bhagavad Gita Malayalam text & translation" may download it from http://www.mediafire.com/?owmrlzh3m53

The font used is 'rachana' which can be downloaded freely from many sources on the internet. One download link for 'rachana' font is given below.

http://www.chintha.com/malayalam_font_installation

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In Woods of God Realization - Swami Rama Tirtha - Volume 3 - 1913 Edn

This is the third volume of Complete Works of Swami Rama Tirtha that has been compiled in 7 volumes.

Described as “one of the greatest souls, not only of India, but of the whole world” by Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Rama Tirtha (1873-1906) was a living embodiment of the teachings of Vedanta. One of the greatest saints and philosophers of India, Rama Tirtha brought the message of yoga and Vedanta to Japan, Egypt, and the U.S. In the Woods of God Realization is a complete collection of his writings and lectures. In this seven volume work Rama Tirtha presents a practical and inspiring view of Vedanta and also discusses timely topics such as married life and God-realization, Vedanta, Christianity and Islam, war and peace, and India's destiny.

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Purnamadah Purnamidam - A Commentary by Swami Dayananda

A commentary on the Upanishadic Shanti Mantra "Puranamadah Purnamidam..." by renowned Vedantic teacher Swami Dayananda Saraswati. "Puranamadah Purnamidam..." is the Shanti Patha of Isavasya Upanishad, one the most prominent ten Upanishads. Swami Dayananda explains that this santi mantra contains the essense of the Upanishadic teaching - "All is Brahman".

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Samskrita Vyavahara Sahasri - 1000 Sanskrit Sentences - Malayalam

This booklet is the Malayalam transliteration & translation of one thousand Sanskrit sentences that will be much useful to those who wish to learn to speak in Sanskrit.

This booklet contains the those sentences and words that are frequently used in different places and contexts such as school, market, kitchen, movie house, office, etc, etc.

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The Scientific Dating of the Ramayana and the Vedas

Quite a number of efforts have been made by various scholars to determine the dates of the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Vedas. Various methods have been used, using historical references in the Puranas, language conditions, archaeological findings etc. A few have used astronomical methods to determine the time of the Mahabharata. It is possible to determine the date of an astronomical reference by considering the movements of the planets including the Sun and the Moon in the various constellations of the sky, the movement of the Earth with its axis inclined to the ecliptic and the precession and nutation of this axis as well as the seasonal changes referred to in the text. 

Dr. P. V. Vartak from Pune carefully studied the astronomical references in these texts and corroborated the same with historical and archeological evidences. All in all, it is possible to state that the dates as derived by Dr. P.V. Vartak are more accurate than the various other dates propounded by other scholars who have been carried away by the statements made by Western scholars who have been prejudiced against the richness of the Indian Civilization in the past and have always tried to attribute much later dates and consequently to denigrate the glorious past of India.

Dr. Vartak concludes that Ramayan must have occurred 9600 years ago, which is 7600 B.C.E.  approximately and that the earliest portions of Rig Veda were composed in 23720 B.C.E. This may prove to be a break-through in deciding the chronology of the events in the history of Bharat (and probably the World). Dr. Vartak has also derived the date of Mahabharata war which has also been published as a book.

Address for Communication: 
Dr. P.V. Vartak, 521, Saniwar Peth, Pune


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The Scientific Dating of the Mahabharata War

Quite a number of efforts have been made by various  scholars to find the date of the Mahabharata War.  Various methods have been used, using historical  references in the Puranas, language conditions,  archaeological findings etc. A few have used  astronomical methods to determine the time of the  Mahabharata. It is possible to determine the date of an  astronomical reference by considering the movements  of the planets including the Sun and the Moon in the  various constellations of the sky, the movement of the  Earth with its axis inclined to the ecliptic and the  precession and nutation of this axis as well as the  seasonal changes referred to in the text. 

Dr. P. V. Vartak from Pune  carefully studied the  astronomical references in the Mahabharata and corroborated the same with historical and archeological evidences. All in all, it is possible to state that the dates as derived  by Dr. P.V. Vartak are more accurate than the various  other dates propounded by other scholars who have been carried away by the statements made  by Western scholars. They have been prejudiced  against the richness of the Indian Civilization in the  past and have always tried to attribute much later dates  and consequently lo denigrate the glorious past of  India.

Dr. Vartak has derived the date of the initiation of the Mahabharata War to be 16th October 5562 B.C.  This  proposed date  has been  examined by a few scholars and has been verified. This may prove to be a break-through in deciding the chronology of the events in the history of India (and probably the World). Dr. Vartak has also derived the dates of Ramayana and the Vedas which has also been published as a book.

Address for Communication: 
Dr. P.V. Vartak, 521, Saniwar Peth, Pune

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Chanakya Niti Malayalam - ചാണക്യനീതി അര്‍ത്ഥസഹിതം

Complete text and translation of "Chanakya Niti" in Malayalam. This book contains nearly 340 verses on Niti (right conduct) in 17 chapters. Chanakya was an adviser and a prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta, and was the chief architect of his rise to power. Kautilya and Vishnugupta, the names by which the ancient Indian political treatise called the Arthaśāstra identifies its author, are traditionally identified with Chanakya.

Though most of these verses deal with Raja Niti, i.e. how a king should deal with his duty of ruling the kingdom, this book is also useful to common man as Chanakya instructs how a man should conduct is various life situations.

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India my love: Fragments of a Golden Past - Osho

India My Love is a mystery tour. Our guide on this journey is Osho, a man with an extraordinarygift of storytelling and a mystic who brings a uniquely contemporary freshness to the tales fo India's golden past. He introduces us to beggars and kings, wise men and fools, lovers and warriors, artists and scholars - and they come alive on the page, animating the enchanted landscape of an India that even today continues to intrigue and attract the seeker and adventurer with us all.

Osho says, "India is not just geography or history, it is not only a nation, a country, a mere peice of land. It is something more: it is a metaphor, poetry, something invisible but very tangible. It is vibrating with certain energy fields which no other country can claim..’’

Contents:

Introduction 

The Universal Dream 

The Flame of Awareness 

Golden Spires of Consciousness 

Fragrance of the East 

Songs in Silence: Sutras in Stone 

A Bolt of Lightning in the Dark Night

Praise for India My Love

"Few people have understood India like Osho. It was an understanding at many levels. The philosophical, the historic, the purely emotional - and even the political and the literary, the wanton and the spiritual. His was a holistic understanding, an understanding that went beyond words, into the uncharted terrain of true love." - Pritish Nandy, Journalist and TV personality 

Visit www.oshoworld.com, to read online and download complete works of Osho and to listen to and watch his audio and video discourse in Hindi & English. 

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Sarva-darsana-sangraha of Madhavacharya

In this fourteenth century text 'A Compendium of all the Philosophical Systems' (of India) the author successively passes in review the sixteen philosophical systems current in India at the time, and gives what appeared to him to be their most important tenets, and the principal arguments by which their followers endeavoured to maintain them. In the course of his sketches, he frequently explains at some length obscure details in the different systems.

The systems are arranged from the Advaita-point of view. They form a gradually ascending scale-the first, the Charvaka and Buddha, being the lowest as the farthest removed from Advaita, and the last, Sankhya and Yoga being the highest as approaching most nearly to it.

The author, Madhavacharya or Madhava Vidyaranya (not to be confused with Madhvacharya, propounder of Dwaita philosophy)  was an exponent of the Advaita school of philosophy in Hinduism. He is said to be the brother of Sayanacharya who wrote a commentary on the four Vedas. 

The present translation was originally published serially in the Banaras Pandit between 1874 and 1878 and was carefully revised and republished in book form later and a second edition was printed in 1894.

Table of Contents

Preface
A Not on Romanization
The Sarva-darsana-sangraha
The Prologue
The Charvaka System (E. B. C.)
The Buddha System (A. E. G.)
The A rhata or Jaina System (E. B. C.)
The Ramanuja System (A. E. G.)
The Purna-prajna System (A. E. G.)
The Nakulisa-Pasupata System (A. E. G.)
The Saiva System (E. B. C.)
The Pratyabhijna or Recognitive System (A. E. G.)
The Resesvara or Mercurial System (A. E. G.)
The Vaiseshika or Anulukya System (E. B. C.)
The Akshapada or Nyaya System (E. B. C.)
The Jaiminy System (E. B. C.)
The Paniniya System (E. B. C.)
The Sankhy System (E. B. C.)
The Patanjala or Yoga System (E. B. C.)
The Vedanta or System
APPENDIX : On the Upadhi (E. B. C.)

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A Vedic Concordance - An alphabetic index of the Vedas - Maurice Bloomfield

A Vedic Concordance by the famous American Sanskritist Maurice Bloomfield was published during the years 1892-1906.

It is an alphabetic index to every line of every stanza of the published Vedic Literature and to the Liturgical formulas thereof, that is an index to the Vedic Mantras, together with an account of their variations in the different Vedic Books.

It affords primarily an easy and ready means of ascertaining the following things: 

1. Where a given mantra occurs if it occurs but once 
2. Whether it occurs elsewhere either with or without variants and in what places 
3. If it occurs with variants, what those variants are. 

One hundred and nineteen texts in all have been drawn upon for contributions to the concordance comprising .The concordance also includes a very considerable amount of material not yet published. This books is equally useful to a Vedic scholar and a beginner studying the Vedas.

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