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Eknath Easwaran (December 17, 1910 October 26, 1999) was an Indian-born spiritual teacher, author and translator and interpreter of Indian religious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads.
Easwaran was a professor of English literature at the University of Nagpur in India when he came to the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright Program at the University of Minnesota before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. In 1961, Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, based in northern California. In 1968 Easwaran established Nilgiri Press. Nilgiri Press has published over thirty books that he authored.
Easwaran was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, whom he met when he was a young man.Gandhi's influence on Easwaran is described by Easwaran or others in a variety of publications, including Gandhi the Man (e.g., p. 6, 1978 edition), The Making of a Teacher (e.g., p. 160, 1989 edition), and The Compassionate Universe (, see chapter 1; chapters 2-8 are structured using Gandhi's "Seven Social Sins"). See also the biography of Easwaran posted at his publisher's website (accessed 1 September 2017). Easwaran developed a method of meditation silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's major religious and spiritual traditions which later came to be known as Passage Meditation.
His teachings inspired some of his students to create the 1976 vegetarian cookbook Laurel's Kitchen.
In 1959, he came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar.Holly Hammond (January/February 1996). " Finding balance in a hurried world." Yoga Journal n123, pp. 86–92, 139–141 .
From 1960–1961 Easwaran gave talks on the Indian scriptures in the San Francisco Bay Area. He met his American wife Christine at one of these talks. Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in 1961. He went back to India in 1962 to fulfill the terms of the Fulbright, returning to the Bay Area in 1965 to continue his teaching. In 1968 he was invited by a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, to teach on a Religious Studies course entitled The Theory and Practice of Meditation – the first in the country offering credits.
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.
By 2018, Easwaran's methods of spiritual practice had been the focus of two major scientific research programs that had produced thirty refereed research reports.
In addition, a large number of Easwaran's recorded talks have been published in video and audio formats.
Since 2009, Easwaran's three translations "have each been the best-selling translations of these scriptures in the USA." In the US in 2016, each of Easwaran's translations outsold the second best-selling translation in its category "by more than 3:1", and the second editions have together sold more than 470,000 copies.
In Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Easwaran places the Gita's teachings in a modern context and comments on the Gita's view of the nature of reality, the illusion of separateness, the search for identity, the meaning of yoga, and how to heal the unconscious. The book views the key message of the Gita as how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep unity of life, through the practice of meditation and spiritual disciplines.
In Essence of the Dhammapada, Easwaran comments on the Dhammapada, sayings attributed to the Buddha himself, presenting it as a guide that gives straightforward teachings about spiritual perseverance, progress, and enlightenment.
His book Strength in the StormSpirituality and Practice, review of Strength in the Storm http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=10113 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 TimeSpirituality and Practice, review of Take Your Time explores "Slowing Down" and "One-Pointed Attention" in daily lives. Renewal
"Easwaran is one of the most powerful Hindu teachers lecturing and writing in America ... this book is meant to be a companion for the difficult but joyous interior work of spiritual transformation that is at the heart of his teachings", wrote Publishers Weekly in a review of the original edition: Henry Carrigan (1996). "Your life is your message: Finding harmony with yourself, others, and the earth." Publishers Weekly, v243 n29, p69.
In 2020 the three-volume set was reissued as a second edition, and as a single-volume ebook.
In Volume 1 (the first six chapters of the Gita) Easwaran explains how readers can begin to transform themselves, even as householders engaged in busy lives. In Volume 2 (the next six chapters) Easwaran addresses the seeming divide between scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom, and explains how the concept of the unity of life can help people in all their relationships. In Volume 3 (the final six chapters) he makes the connection between the Self within and the Reality underlying all creation – and how to make a difference to heal the environment and establish peace in the world.
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam is the life story of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a Pashtun people (or Pushtun) of Afghanistan and a devout Muslim, who raised the first nonviolent army in history to gain Indian independence from British colonial rule. This book was favorably discussed in The New Yorker. The book also inspiredIndia Journal Nov 7, 2008 http://www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=5057 filmmaker and writer T.C. McLuhan, daughter of Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan, to make the film , which won the 2009 Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Film.Black Pearl Award http://www.meiff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/MEIFF-09-Black-Pearl-Awards_Final.pdf
Several dozen of Easwaran's talks have been published as video DVDs, and now as downloadable MP4s as a free subscription from the Blue Mountain Center.Examples of talks by Easwaran published as videos include Kabir: Stages of Desire (containing talks "Desire: Our Real Wealth" and "Meeting the Beloved"), Breaking Chains (containing talks "Breaking Chains" and "Fetters and Freedom").
Before publication as DVDs, videos of Easwaran's talks were first released in VHS videotape format.Examples of talks published as VHS include Saint Francis: becoming an instrument of peace (2002, on the Prayer of St. Francis and its use in meditation) (68 minutes)
Some talks are published in downloadable audio/MP3 formats.Downloadable MP3 talks include 50 talks in the "Thomas à Kempis Series", 9 "Individual talks", and 5 sets of talks or readings by Easwaran in "Following Series", as well as Easwaran (2008), "Following the Teachings of the Upanishads" (178 minutes); Easwaran (2008), "Following the Way of the Buddha" (172 minutes).
Instructions for meditation by Easwaran have been published in audio form as Compact Disc. Meditation (2004, instructions in Easwaran's meditation program), Compact Disc. , , Some of Easwaran's talks were earlier published as Compact CassetteSee Worldcat listings. Examples of talks published as Compact Cassette are Gandhi: a personal encounter (1984, describing Easwaran's visit to Gandhi's ashram, 66 mins) (Petaluma, CA: Nilgiri Press) and The Tree of Life (1975, commenting on ch. 15 of the Bhagavad Gita) (Berkeley, CA: Blue Mountain Center of Meditation). or .Issued as an LP record was a 1969 commentary on the Bhagavad Gita (chs. 2, 12), (publisher: Sadhana Records).
Magazines have reviewed some of Easwaran's published talks, both audioJohn Plummer (2006) Untitled [review of Meditation: A Complete Audio Guide, by Eknath Easwaran]. Quest. (accessed 19 January 2013) See article God Makes the Rivers to Flow. These audio cassettes by Easwaran (1995): ,
and video, The video by Easwaran (2002): , ,
since the 1990s.
Several of Easwaran's written works, including Essence of the Upanishads, Passage Meditation, The Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada and Gandhi the Man, have been published as audio books, as voice-recorded by the British actor Paul Bazely,Audiobooks by Easwaran that are read by Paul Bazely include The Bhagavad Gita (2015, unabridged) (8 hours 54 minutes); The Dhammapada (2016, abridged) (4 hours 22 minutes); Passage Meditation A Complete Spiritual Practice (2016, unabridged) (8 hours 15 minutes); Essence of the Upanishads (2017, unabridged) (8 hours 41 minutes); Strength in the Storm (2009, abridged) (51 minutes); Gandhi the Man (2009, abridged) (137 minutes); Climbing the Blue Mountain (2009, abridged) (68 minutes); Renewal (2009, unabridged) (83 minutes) (all published by: Nilgiri Press) and also the philosopher Jacob Needleman.Easwaran's (1987 original publication) translation of the Upanishads, abridged, read by Jacob Needleman. The Upanishads Audiobook. San Bruno, CA: Audio Literature, 1999. , (ca. 3 hours)
Students of Easwaran, including Carol Lee Flinders, inspired in part by his teachings about compassion and stewardship for the environment, published the highly influential vegetarian cookbook, Laurel's Kitchen (1976), which had a strong impact on the Natural food within the American counterculture. Megan J. Elias (2008). Stir it up: home economics in American culture. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. . (NB: Laurel's Kitchen is discussed in pp. 152-160) A second edition, The New Laurel's Kitchen, was published in 1986.
The book has sold over a million copies.It was later republished in revised form as The New Laurel's Kitchen (1986).The back cover of the 1986 edition states "over a million copies sold" (see link [15]). Laurel's Kitchen contained extensive nutritional information from a scientific point of view.Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, & Brian Ruppenthal (1986). The new Laurel's kitchen. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. . The 1986 edition is dedicated to "our teacher, Eknath Easwaran" (p. 13), and the back cover states "over a million copies sold" (see link [16]). In an introduction to the 1986 edition, Flinders wrote of "the collection of friends who helped produce Laurel's Kitchen ten years ago", that "we share a commitment to meditation" (p. 20).
Easwaran's teachings or practices have sometimes been taught as part of traditional college courses,
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.
Luis S. R. Vas (2009), Meditation Masters and their Insights.
Mumbai, India: Better Yourself Books. . [17] (Easwaran is profiled in chapter 25, pp. 185–195; others profiled include Ramana Maharshi, Thich Nhat Hanh, D. T. Suzuki, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and Thomas Keating)
Easwaran's words have been included in collections of wisdom teachings, such as ones recently published by Chang (2006)
Larry Chang (Ed.) (2006), Wisdom for the soul: Five millennia of prescriptions for spiritual healing. Washington, DC: Gnosophia Publishers. (NB: Easwaran's words are quoted on pp. 100, 160, 235, 279, 316, 485, 515, 548) and Parachin (2011).Chapter 11, "Eknath Easwaran: Inter-religious mystic" (pp. 110–119), in
Quotations from Easwaran's translations have been used many times by both scholarly and popular writers.A scholarly example is:
Kelly James Clark (2000). Readings in the philosophy of religion
Easwaran's method of passage meditation was followed by the poet Robert Lax. Near the end of his life, Lax's only reading each day was from Easwaran's book Words to Live By.
New Hampshire State Representative Latha Mangipudi reported having given then-Senator Barack Obama a copy of Easwaran's book Gandhi the Man in December 2006.Mangipudi (2016) stated that "First time I met him Obama was as a Senator in December of 2006. When he came to New Hampshire, I gave him a book with a personal note wishing him success. The title of the book was '' by Eknath Easwaran. In February of 2007, he came to one of the State Senator's home for a house party where I was also invited as he was my friend. Obama looked at me and said, 'Aren't you the woman who gave me the Gandhi book?'"
Easwaran has been listed in reference works on spiritual and religious leaders.J. Gordon Melton, Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America (1999, 2nd ed.), , p. 174.James R. Lewis, The encyclopedia of cults, sects, and new religions (1998), , p. 84.
In his survey of commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, Nadkarni described Easwaran as "respected worldwide as one of the most profound writers and orators on religion and spirituality". (ebook), (gbook 'about' listing)
Commentaries
Essence of the Upanishads, 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."Midwest Book Review Aug-09 http://www.midwestbookreview.com/wbw/aug_09.htm
Books on meditation
His book Passage Meditation (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 addresses The Mantram, the second point in the program.
(republished in 2009 as ''Renewal'')
Spirituality and Practice, review of ''Renewal'' http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=19302 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 FlowSpirituality and Practice review of God Makes the Rivers to Flow http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=5807 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 BySpirituality and Practice review of Words to Live Byhttp://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=15735 is a set of daily readings with Easwaran's commentary on applying the reading to daily life.
The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living
The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living is a manual for living a spiritual life, comprising a verse-by-verse commentary on India's timeless scripture the Bhagavad Gita. The work is in three volumes, published in 1975, 1979 and 1984 respectively, in hardcover and later also in paperback. When the first paperbacks were published the volumes were given new subtitles: the End of Sorrow;Spirituality and Practice, review of End of Sorrow, http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=1122 Like a Thousand Suns;Spirituality and Practice, review of Like a Thousand Suns, http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=1123 and To Love is To Know Me.Spirituality and Practice, review of To Love is To Know Me, http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=1124
Spiritual biographies
Gandhi the ManSpirituality and Practice, review of Gandhi the Man http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=5135 traces how Mohandas Gandhi transformed himself into one of the world's great spiritual leaders.
Commentaries on Christian literature
Original Goodness is a commentary on the Beatitudes. Love Never Faileth is a commentary on the writings of St Francis, St Paul, St Augustine, and Mother Teresa. 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
The Christian Science Monitor,Eknath
Easwaran (February 11, 1985). Revisiting the Raj an Indian perspective. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 18.Eknath
Easwaran (June 12, 1985). Mohandas K. Gandhi in South Africa. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 15.Eknath
Easwaran (November 13, 1985). India and Pakistan: time to encourage trust. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 17.Eknath
Easwaran (September 17, 1986). Young people, idealism and drugs. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 14.Eknath
Easwaran (December 10, 1988). Gandhi's lesson for the Philippines. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 19.Eknath
Easwaran (August 27, 1990). Find a Peaceful Solution, in the Name of Islam. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 19.Eknath
Easwaran (November 14, 1990). Jawaharlal Nehru's Lesson From Gandhi. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 16.Eknath
Easwaran (April 11, 1991). The Dignity of Ancient Culture. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 16.Eknath
Easwaran (April 17, 2002). An Island of Calm in a Sea of Hostility. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 18.
and also in The New York Times,Eknath
Easwaran (May 21, 1998). " What Would Gandhi Think?" The New York Times, accessed Nov. 11, 2009. This commentary was republished later that week in Dawn (Pakistan), "What would Gandhi think of N-tests", May 22; in The Hindu (India), "Don't imitate the Western folly", May 26; and in the International Herald Tribune, What would Gandhi think?, May 21.
elsewhere in the US,Eknath Easwaran (January 26, 1991). Gandhi's Message of Nonviolence. San Francisco Chronicle.
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.Several articles that Easwaran published in the Little Lamp (, LCCN: 83641607 sn 80000451) appeared later in revised form in his books; most copies of Blue Mountain (LCCN sf92093327) that appeared after 2000 can be downloaded from the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation website. Although primarily quarterly, each of these journals appeared at times on other schedules. In the 1960s, Easwaran published articles in other spiritual journals, such as the Mountain Path, published by Ramana Maharshi ashram.
Before coming to the US in 1959, Easwaran contributed short stories and other writings to literary anthologies,Eknath Easwaran (1958), "The Postmaster" (pp. 39–42). In and to magazines such as The Illustrated Weekly of India.
Video and audio
Many of Easwaran's recorded talks have been published in video and audio formats.See "Easwaran on Video" (42 DVDs listed) and "Easwaran on Audio" (The publisher states "We recorded his talks over several decades")
Eight-point program
Easwaran's program for spiritual growth consists of eight points, and is described comprehensively in his book Passage Meditation A Complete Spiritual Practice (originally published in 1978 as Meditation). Each point has a dedicated chapter: Passage Meditation: The Basics (bmcm.org)
Vegetarianism
Easwaran was a lifelong Vegetarianism.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> "Eating in Freedom, Training the Mind". Eknath Easwaran’s Blue Mountain Journal. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
Other influence
A variety of influences of Easwaran's life and work have been documented.
(2025). 9780313382567, Praeger. ISBN 9780313382567
or as tools for self-management by health professionals.
(see pp. 363–371)
A scholarly example is:
Ramnath Narayanswamy (2008). Why is spirituality integral to management education? My experience of integrating management and spirituality. Journal of Human Values, v14 n2, pp115-128.
A popular example is:
Gayle Clayton (2004).
Transformative Meditation: Personal & Group Practice to Access Realms of Consciousness
Llewellyn Worldwide
Easwaran's other writings have also been quoted by various types of authors, including writers of novels and short stories,
Charles Johnson (2002), Afterword (pp. 229–242) in John Whalen-Bridge & Gary Storhoff, The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. .
popular spirituality,
Elizabeth Lesser (1999). The Seeker's Guide
Random House/Villard.
(p. 346)
and articles on management theory.
Lillas M. Brown (2001). Leading leadership development in universities: A personal story. Journal of Management Inquiry, v10 n4, pp. 312–323. DOI: 1056492601104005
Psychiatrist Aaron Beck and his colleagues quoted from Easwaran's commentary on the Katha Upanishad.
Aaron T. Beck, Gary Emery, & Ruth. L. Greenberg (2005).
Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective (15th anniv. ed.). New York: Basic Books. ("E. Easwaran uses the metaphor of channels in the brain to describe how a person's major concern develops ... Patients respond well to this metaphor," p. 293)
The NAPRA ReView wrote that "The volume of Easwaran's work and the quality of his discourse suggest a man who has had a profound impact on the spiritual lives of many."
Bibliography
Easwaran's books, initially written in English, have also been translated into more than 20 other languages, and published in non-US editions by indigenous (non-US) publishers. Languages in which his books are currently in print include Bahasa Indonesian, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Telugu language. His books have also been translated into Chinese (PRC).Lynn Garrett (January 12, 1998). Gandhi in China. Publishers Weekly, v245 n2, p30. "Nilgiri Press... was surprised to receive an e-mail in September from the Sichuan Copyright Agency in the People's Republic of China, expressing interest in publishing a Chinese edition of its Gandhi the Man (especially since relations between China and India have not always been the best) ... the book will be released in China on January 30" (p. 30).
From 2011, a number of Easwaran's books and articles were excerpted and republished as the series of short ebooks "Easwaran Inspirations":
Contributions to works by others include:
See also
External links
Categories: Eknath Easwaran, 20th-century American Non-fiction Writers, 20th-century Hindu Philosophers And Theologians, 20th-century Indian Translators, Academic Staff Of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, American Hindus, American Spiritual Writers, American Spiritual Teachers, Indian Emigrants To The United States, Indian Vegetarianism Activists, Indian Spiritual Teachers, Malayali People, Malayalam-language Writers, People From The San Francisco Bay Area, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University Alumni, Scholars Of Hinduism, St. Thomas College, Thrissur Alumni, Translators Of The Bhagavad Gita, Writers From Thrissur
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