Hinduism Books

Book SynopsisThe Kathasaritsagara is a combination of simultaneously innocent and sophisticated folk stories bringing forth both common sense and highly sophisticated Sanskrit writing. It paints a vivid picture of a most particular part of India at one moment in history, and yet it tells stories that are the Indian variants – often the Indian sources – of stories told around the world. Arisha Sattar’s translations bring these stories to life in a modern way, while retaining their ancient meanings.

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Book SynopsisWhen Margaret Bendet is told to interview an Indian holy man, she thinks it’s just another assignment—but after speaking with him, she decides to accompany him back to his ashram, hoping to find enlightenment. In Learning to Eat Along the Way, Bendet enters a world that many have wondered about but few have seen: the milieu of a spiritual master. Subtle experiences prompt her to embark on this journey with “the swami,” as she calls the holy man, and to enter into the ashram—but once there, she deals with a host of psychological issues, including intense infatuation and life-threatening anorexia. “Each person comes to the ashram in order to receive something,” the swami tells her, “something to take with you when you leave—something you can eat along the way.” Bendet finds this to be truer than she could have imagined. Clear-eyed and candid, Learning to Eat Along the Way is an honest and often surprising account of one woman’s experience with spiritual work.Trade Review“Learning to Eat Along the Way is a beautifully written, engaging, and powerfully honest memoir of one woman's spiritual process. Margaret Bendet has shared a powerful personal story of her own awakening to the promise of Spirit, and then revealed how she worked through some of the deep psychological issues that can arise on the journey. A profoundly moving and helpful addition to contemporary spiritual literature.” —Sally Kempton, author of Meditation for the Love of It and Awakening Shakti “A fascinating and honest depiction of one woman’s reach toward enlightenment.” —Erica Bauermeister, author of The School of Essential Ingredients and Joy for Beginners “The journey of self-discovery is every bit as perilous as a quest to foreign lands and fire-breathing monsters, and those readers exploring inward and those hesitant to try will find much to enjoy and learn in Margaret Bendet’s thirty-five-year spiritual and psychological progression. This memoir is smart, heartfelt, perceptive and instructive, like a letter from an old friend.” —William Dietrich, author of The Barbed Crown and Natural Grace “Bendet describes her dissatisfaction with her busy job at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and what she comes to realize is a failing marriage. She begins taking yoga and meditating, which leads her to join the pack of followers of an unnamed swami. Ultimately, she accepts help from her spiritual community to heal.” —Publishers Weekly “It was a great delight to savor the reading of Margaret Bendet's exquisite and fascinating memoir. With a deft and tender touch, and with a fierce honesty, Margaret weaves a tale of life adventures, discoveries, and personal struggles. She generously allows us to peer into her encounters and interactions with her meditation teachers. She candidly tells the important story of what it actually took for her to sustain her immersive affiliation with and service to a large spiritual community. Learning to Eat Along the Way makes many valuable contributions, not the least of which is that it adds to the literature of personal encounters and experiences with traditions of Indian spirituality and practice. I really loved this book!” —Paul Muller-Ortega, founder of Blue Throat Yoga “The incredible impact of Eastern spirituality on American culture in the 1970s and beyond is far from adequately documented—and Margaret Bendet's book gives us insight into this formative period from a first-person perspective. Even more importantly, it is honest, raw, warm, funny, and real, and everyone who has committed to deep spiritual work with a living teacher can relate to this story and benefit from Margaret's company in the form of this wonderful book.” —Christopher D. Wallis, author of Tantra Illuminated “This is a candid, insightful and courageous autobiographical narrative of Margaret Bendet’s encompassing spiritual yearning and continuing process of awakening. This book will encourage, inspire, and give support to readers as they reflect on the meaning of their own stories.” —William K. Mahony, author of Exquisite Love

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Book SynopsisAhi?sa in the Indic Traditions: Explorations and Reflections, edited by Jeffery D. Long and Steven J. Rosen, examines the diversity of nonviolent (ahimsa-oriented) doctrines originating in the Indic world, both in terms of interpersonal relationships and how they apply to the rest of creation, including animals. This volume engages the voices of scholars from various disciplines and addresses numerous religious doctrines, including those of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and their related sacred texts. The book focuses not only on past scholarship and intellectual modes of understanding nonviolence, but also on living traditions and the practice of modern and post-modern individuals, from Vivekananda to Gandhi to Prabhupada, and their millions of supporters and followers. The volume shows that the implications of ahimsa are staggering, with reference to interpersonal exchange, vegetarianism, animal rights, climate change, and so on.

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