Millions are wondering what the future holds for mankind, and if we are soon due for a world-changing global shift. Paramhansa Yogananda (author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi) and his teacher, Sri Yukteswar, offered key insights into this subject. They presented a fascinating explanation of the rising and falling eras that our planet cycles through every 24,000 years. According to their teachings, we have recently passed through the low ebb in that cycle and are moving to a higher age—an Energy Age that will revolutionize the world. Over one hundred years ago Yukteswar predicted that we would live in a time of extraordinary change, and that much that we believe to be fixed and true—our entire way of looking at the world — would be transformed and uplifted. In The Yugas, authors Joseph Selbie and David Steinmetz present substantial and intriguing evidence from the findings of historians and scientists that demonstrate the truth of Yukteswar’s and Yogananda’s revelations.

The Holy Science is a book of theology written by Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri in 1894. The text provides a close comparison of parts of the Christian Bible to the Hindu Upanishads, meant "to show as clearly as possible that there is an essential unity in all religions...and that there is but one Goal admitted by all scriptures." Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri was born Priya Nath Karar in 1855 to a wealthy family. As a young man, he was a brilliant student of math and science, astrology and astronomy. He joined a Christian missionary school where he studied the Bible and later spent two years in medical school. After completing his formal education, Priya Nath married and had a daughter. But he continued his intellectual and spiritual pursuits, depending on the income from his property to support himself and his family. After the death of his wife, he entered the monastic Swami order and became Sri Yuktesvar Giri, before becoming a disciple of famed guru Lahiri Mahasaya, known for his revitalization of Kriya Yoga. Then in 1894, Sri Yuktesvar Giri met Mahavatar Babaji, an ageless wise man who is said to have lived for untold hundreds of years. At this meeting, Mahavatar Babaji gave Sri Yuktesvar the title of Swami, and asked him to write this book comparing Hindu scriptures and the Christian Bible. Swami Sri Yuktesvar obeyed. He also founded two ashrams, including one in his ancestral home. He lived simply as a swami and yogi, devoted to disciplining his body and mind, and thus to liberating his soul. Among his disciples was Paramahansa Yogananda, credited with bringing yoga and meditation to millions of Westerners. The Holy Science consists of four chapters. The first is titled "The Gospel," and is intended to "establish the fundamental truth of creation." Next is "The Goal," which discusses the three things all creatures are seeking: "Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss." Chapter three, "The Procedure," is the most practical of the sections. It describes the natural way to live for purity and health of body and mind. The final chapter is called "The Revelation," and discusses the end of the path for those who are near the "three ideals of life." Swami Sri Yukteswar also displays his impressive knowledge and understanding of astrology by proposing his theory of the Yuga Cycle. Each yuga is an age of the world that tracks the movement of the sun, Earth, and planets. Each age represents a different state of humanity. There are four yugas: - Satya Yuga is the highest and most enlightened age of truth and perfection. - Treta Yuga is the age of thought and is more spiritually advanced than Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. - Dwapara Yuga is an energetic age, although not a wise one. During this yuga, people are often self-serving and greedy. The age is marked by war and disease. - Kali Yuga is the age of darkness, ignorance, and materialism. This is the least evolved age. Today, The Holy Science is highly respected among those seeking to understand the relationships between world religions and cultures. While some still believe that we are in Kali Yuga, many others believe that Swami Sri Yukteswar was accurate, and that his calculations correct previous errors that artificially inflated the length of the Yuga Cycle.

A beautifully evocative account of one man’s odyssey to discover authentic and unbroken magical traditions in the East and reawaken them in the West • Details the author’s encounters with the Naga Babas, his initiation into their tradition, and his experience at the Kumbh Mela, the largest spiritual gathering on Earth • Shares the similarities he discovered between the teachings of the Indian tradition and the Western traditions of magic, alchemy, and pagan pantheons • Introduces a wide cast of characters, including Goa Gil, the world-renowned guru of the Goa techno-trance scene, and Mahant Amar Bharti Ji, a “raised-arm Baba,” who for more than 40 years has held up one arm in devotion to Shiva Beautifully detailing his spiritual pilgrimage from West to East and back again, in the age of strife known as the Kali Yuga, Aki Cederberg shares the authentic and unbroken magical traditions he experienced in India and Nepal and how his search for a spiritual homeland ultimately led him back to his native Europe. Cederberg explains how his odyssey began as a search for spiritual roots, something missing in the spiritually disconnected life of the Western world, where the indigenous traditions were long ago severed by the spread of Christianity. Traveling to India, he encounters the ancient esoteric order of mystic, wild, naked holy men known as the Naga Babas, the living source of the Hindu traditions of magic and yoga. Immersing himself in the teachings of the tradition, he receives an initiation and partakes in the Kumbh Mela, the largest spiritual gathering on Earth. With his evocative descriptions, Cederberg shows how traveling in India can be an overwhelming, even psychedelic experience. Everything in this ancient land is multiplied and manifold: people and things, sights and sounds, joy and suffering. Yet beyond the apparent confusion and chaos, a strange, subtle order begins to reveal itself. He starts to glimpse resemblances and analogies between the teachings of the Indian tradition and the Western traditions of magic, alchemy, and pagan pantheons. He meets a wide cast of characters, from mystical hucksters in Rishikesh and the veritable army of naked, chillum-smoking mystics of Maya Devi to Goa Gil, the world-renowned guru of the Goa techno-trance scene, and Mahant Amar Bharti Ji, an urdhvabahu or “raised-arm Baba,” who for more than 40 years has held up one arm in devotion to Shiva. After extensive traveling and immersing himself in the extraordinary world of India, Cederberg returns to his native soil of Europe. Traveling to holy places where old pagan divinities still linger in the shadows of the modern world, he dreams of forgotten gods and contemplates how they might be awakened yet again, reconnecting the West with its own pre-Christian spiritual traditions, sacred landscapes, and soul.

An enthralling tale of many centuries ago, set in the mythical land of Shivpuri in the great Himalayas, Kali Yuga: The Ascension, sets out to answer this question. Guru Parshuram, guide and leader of the five outcast clans of the Rudra Sena-Him Manavs, Bhuals, Aghoras, Nand Garajnas and Agneyas-prepares for the prophesied reincarnation of Lord Anjaneya in one of the clans. What follows is a rollercoaster ride that takes you deep into a mystical, magical world of honour, valour, bravery and self-sacrifice, as the timeless clash of good and evil unfolds...

Humility, being open and receptive to all experience, is the key to becoming one with the spontaneous patterns of the universe • Integrates classic teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism with principles of quantum physics to reveal the science of the enlightened masters • Reveals how we are each capable of shifting from the aggressive path of the warrior to the humble path of the sage • Explains how the key to catching the current acceleration of conscious evolution is humility From Krishna and Lao-tzu to Buddha and Jesus, each enlightened master discovered how being receptive to all experience was the key to becoming one with the universe and its spontaneous patterns of order and chaos. Revealing humility as the purest expression of this receptivity, Jason Gregory integrates classic teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Hermeticism with principles from quantum physics to explain the science of humility as practiced by the ancient masters. The author shows how, driven by fear, the human mind creates the ego. In its greedy and arrogant quest to protect the self and its desires, the ego forges the illusion of separation, weaving complex patterns of reality that shield us from our unity with all beings and result in attitudes of aggression, selfishness, and competition. He reveals how the iconic clash between this complex, aggressive “path of the warrior” and the simple “path of the sage” is reflected in the polarized state of the modern world. Yet this state also reflects the accelerating wave of conscious evolution we are now experiencing. The key to catching this evolutionary wave is humility: the reversal of complexity into simplicity, the ancient science of mental alchemy that represents the Great Work of Eternity.

At times the description of the story of Lord Kalki's marriage with the princess of Srihala Dweep, padma, throws the images also conjured up in the Medieval Hindi epic 'Padamavata' by Malik Mohammad Jayasi.

We live in a world which is highly advanced in terms of science and technology. But there are several fascinating ancient legends, myths and mysteries, which are yet to be explained completely. Archaeologists, scientists as well as interested people travelled to investigate the pyramids of Egypt, the Bermuda Triangle, Eater Island, and several other places to find lost civilizations and other undiscovered treasures. As I came to know about the discovery of an ancient civilization, Dwaraavatii, under the seabed of Dwarka, I rushed to Dwarka to find out the truth of the legend. My mythological book, Last Days of Dwaraavatii, will try to reveal the truthfulness of Shrii Krishna’s reign based on myth, ancient treatise as well as archaeological findings. The reader will get a lot of information about different areas as well as the opportunity to cultivate an interest to learn more. Although the book doesn’t cover everything that’s going on in this world, it is a great reading experience, and it serves as a gateway and an inspiration for further reading.

Combines cognitive psychology with Zen, Taoist, and Vedic practices to empty the mind • Explains how eliminating external stimulation can alleviate stress and anxiety for a calmer state of mind • Details meditation practices, such as open-awareness meditation, contemplation of Zen koans, and Vipassana meditation, and explores methods of digital detox • Draws on classical yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism as well as cognitive science to explain how and why to fast the mind Stop planning, stop comparing, stop competing, stop thinking, and just breathe deeply for a minute . . . Our undivided attention is something we are rarely able to give for reasons ranging from digital overload to the cultural conditioning of equating busyness with purpose. Just as you might choose a fast from eating to detoxify the body, the best way to overcome this modern mental overload is to periodically fast the mind. Drawing on the spiritual philosophies and meditative practices of classical yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism, Jason Gregory explains how fasting the mind directly impacts your habits and way of being in the world to create peace and calmness in your life as well as allow you to build a firm psychological defense against the increasing bombardment of distractions in our world. Applying psychology and cognitive science to samsara--the cycle of suffering created by our attachment to the impermanent--he explains how overreliance on the rational mind causes imbalances in the autonomic nervous system and suppresses our natural spontaneity, feelings, and intuition. When we are unable to relax the mind deeply, we enter a destabilizing state of stress and anxiety and are unable to liberate the true Self from the impermanence and limitations of the material world. Sharing Zen, Taoist, and Vedic practices to help you empty your mind and gradually restore your natural rhythms, the author shows how to give the mind time to truly relax from stimulation so it can repair itself and come back into equilibrium. He details simple meditation practices that are easy to implement in daily life, such as open-awareness meditation and contemplation of Zen koans, as well as the advanced techniques of Vipassana, a Theravadic Buddhist discipline centered on seclusion from all worldly stimuli. He also offers methods for digital detox and ensuring a good night’s sleep, a major support for healing cognitive impairment and restoring a state of equanimity. By fasting the mind we strip away the distractions and stresses of modern life and return to our original nature as it exists deep within. We become more consciously awake in every moment, allowing us to feel the real beauty of the world and, in turn, to live life more fully, authentically, and peacefully.

In The Last Days of Madame Rey, Stephen Raszer—sleuth, scholar, shaman, and private eye—goes to hell and back to save the soul of his client's son, an ambitious and sexually conflicted young lawyer named Fortis Cohn. Fortis has drifted to the wrong side of the karmic tracks, and Raszer has been hired to free him from the spell cast by a neo–Nazi demagogue. On his quest to expose the spiritual hucksters who have duped Fortis, Raszer encounters more than Old and New World mysticism. A series of eerily unnatural earthquakes is rippling through Northern California, and it's possible that the cult behind Fortis's disappearance may be involved. Meanwhile, a cryptic message is left in the hands of a gypsy fortuneteller, and to learn its meaning, Raszer must put his trust in a stunningly sensuous and far too independent–minded operative named April Blessing. He will follow her almost literally to the ends of the earth to unravel the ancient mystery encoded in the gypsy's message. From its pseudo–gnostic predators to its bedazzled souls, The Last Days of Madame Rey is high on humor, rich on adventure, and injected with addictive, heart–stopping suspense.