INSPIRATIONAL SPIRITUAL READING
The following books are ones which inspired me personally and which I can recommend for a general audience of spiritual seekers who are open to both Eastern and Western approaches. Most are written about the lives and teachings of Great Souls and Enlightened Spiritual Teachers. I chose to list books I’ve read which I felt were most “Fun = F” , “Informative = I” , and “Spiritually Uplifting = S” , with regard to helping us on our paths to Self-Realization. I ranked them numerically on a 1-10 scale based upon my own tastes and impressions. It is my hope and intention that these books serve as an introduction to several tremendous Illumined Souls I greatly admire — some of whom I’ve had the sacred honor and blessings to meet. I hope you are encouraged to explore more books about any of these paths and great souls if you find you too are inspired!
This is a very short list, and by all means not comprehensive, and I am open to adding any suggestions for further reading.
(Kindly email me if you have any books which you think I should add, and they will be considered.)
The following titles are presented in no particular order. The starred ‘*’ books are recommended as great first reads.
You may click on a title to see the actual book, but you may wish to search the internet for the best price.
“Autobiography Of A Yogi”, Paramahansa Yogananda
F10 / I10 / S10 *
“Ammachi: Biography”, Swami Amritaswarupananda
F9 / I10 / S10 *
“Awaken Children”, Vols 1-10, Swami Amritaswarupananda
F9/ I10 / S10
“From Amma’s Heart: Conversations With Ammachi”, Swami Amritaswarupananda
F9/ I10 / S10 *
“Play of Consciousness”, Swami Muktananda
F9 / I10 / S10 *
“Inspiring Stories From Amma”, Amma Sri Karunamayi
F10 / I10 / S10 *
“Living With The Himalayan Masters”, Swami Rama
F10 / I9 / S10
“Apprenticed To A Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography”, Sri M
F10 / I10 / S10 *
“The Journey Continues: A sequel to Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master ”, Sri M
F10 / I10 / S10 *
“In Quest of God”, Swami Ramdas
F9 / I9 / S10
“In The Vision of God”, Swami Ramdas
F9 / I9 / S10
“Illusions”, Richard Bach
F10/ I8 / S10 *
“Swami Purana”, Swami Saraswati (Upanishads made fun and simple)
F10/ I10 / S10 *
“Sadhu Sahib: The White Sadhu”, Shree Maa & Swami Saraswati
F10 / I10 / S10
“The Path: Autobiography of a Western Yogi”, Swami Kriyananda
F10 / I10 / S10
“Conversations With Yogananda”, Swami Kriyananda
F9 / I10 / S10 *
“Sri Karunamayi - A Biography”, Murugan
F9 / I10 / S10
“Miracle of Love”, Ram Dass
F9 / I10 / S10 *
“Be Here Now”, Ram Dass
F8 / I8 / S8
“This House Is On Fire: The Life of Shri Dhyanyogi”, Anadi Ma
F9 / I9 / S10
“The Knee of Listening”, Franklin Jones (I read the 1973 Version)
F10 / I9 / S10
“At the feet of the Spiritual Master: Avatar Adi Da”, Gerald Sheinfeld
F9/ I10 / S10 *
“Sai Baba – Man Of Miracles”, Howard Murphet
F10 / I9 / S10 *
“Visits To Saints In India”, Swami Kriyananda
F9 / I9 / S10
“Sai Baba the Holy Man and the Psychiatrist”, Samuel Sandweiss
F9 / I9 / S10
“Life and Teachings of Sri Ma Anandamayi”, Bithika Mukerji
F9/ I10 / S10
“Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint”, Swami Saraswati
F9/ I10 / S10
“Life & Teachings Of The Masters Of The East”, Vol 1-5, Baird Spalding
F10 / I9/ S10
“On The Road To Freedom …”, Vol 1-2, Swami Paramatmananda
F9 / I10 / S10
“The life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba”, N. Kasturi
F9/ I9/ S9
“From Onions to Pearls”, Satyam Nadeen
F9 / I9 /S7
“A Cry In The Desert: The Awakening of Byron Katie”, Byron Katie
F9/I9/S9
“God Talks With Arjuna”, Paramahansa Yogananda (who was Arjuna)
Also see other versions of the Bhagavad Gita
F8 / I10 / S9
“Only God: A Biography of Yogi Ramsuratkumar”, Regina Sara Ryan
F9 / I10 / S10
“Gospel of Ramakrishna: M's Original English Version”, M
F9 / I10 / S9
“Mejda: The Early Life of Paramahansa Yogananda”, Sananda L Gosh
F10 / I9 / S10
“Avadhoota Bhagavan Nityananda”, Swami Vijayananda
F9 / I9/ S9
“Yogananda: A Biography with Personal… Reminiscences”, Swami Kriyananda
F10 / I10 / S10
“Women of Power & Grace: 9 Astonishing Luminaries of our Time”, Tim Conway
F9 / I10 / S10
“The Little Flowers of St. Francis – Entirely New Version”, Raphael Brown
F9 / I10 / S10
“Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism”, Chogyam Trungpa
F6 / I10 / S7
“Amma: Inspiring Experiences With The Divine Mother”, Tedd Zeff
F9 / I10 / S10
“In The Shelter Of Her Arms: My Journey … with Ammachi”, Gretchen Kusuma McGregor
F10/ I10/ S10
“It’s Here Now, Are You?”, Bhagavan Das
F9 / I9 / S8
”India Mirror Of Truth - A Seven Year Pilgrimage”, Steve Briggs
F10 / I9 / S9 *
“Rising In Love: My Wild and Crazy Ride…with Amma, the Hugging Saint”, Ram Das Batcheleder
F10 / I9/ S8
“The Teachings of Don Juan; + Other Titles in Series”, Vol 1-12 Carlos Castenada
F10 / I9 / S8
“Daughter of Fire: Spiritual Training with a Sufi Master”, Irina Tweedie
F9/ I9 / S9
“Ramana Maharshi – The Sage of Arunacala”, T.M.R. Mhadevan
F8/ I9/ S9
“2150 A.D.”, Thea Alexander
F10 / I8 / S8
“Bhagwan Swaminarayan: The Story of His Life”, Yogi Trivedi
F8/ I9 / S9
“Jesus Always”, Sarah Young
F9/I10/S10
“Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras” choose your version
F6/ I10 / S6
“The Holy Science”, Swami Sri Yukteswar
F6/ I10/ S6
“The Ramayana”, modern version, “Valmiki’s Ramayana”, classic version
F10/ I9/ S10
“The Holy Bible”, choose your version and testament
F8/ I10/S10
‘101 Ways To Avoid Reincarnation’—or ‘Getting It Right The First Time’
Absolutely Hilarious Humor — Much Needed At Times On Our Paths!
“Matruvani magazine, reverentially enshrines Amma’s teachings, and the note of devotion is sounded in each of the experiences, reminiscences and essays that fill it’s pages. Each issue also includes reports and updates on the tours that Amma undertakes all over the world as well as updates on the Math's vast network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives”