Reviews Written by David Frawley (Santa Fe, NM)
Vedic Deities by M.P. Pandit Edition: Paperback Price: $7.95 from $4.54
The Inner Meaning of the Vedic Deities, May 5, 2007
The deities of the Vedas are a subject of much confusion and misinterpretation and are often reduced to little more than a primitive nature worship. This remarkable book takes a radically different approach and reveals the inner, mystic, spiritual and yogic meaning of many of the most important Vedic deities. It offers the reader an inner vision not only of the Vedic deities but of the Vedic Yoga, which they personify. As one who has researched the Vedic deities for many years, I find it very helpful for giving us a sense of what the Vedas and their great seers were all about.
Specifically, the book addresses the role of the Mother Goddess, who is often ignored in academic studies of the Vedas, and the Sun God, the Vedic symbol of the higher Divine Light. The author M.P. Pandit notes that it is not just the number of hymns to the different Vedic deities that should be used to measure their importance, but the functions that they perform. Pandit follows the views of his guru, the great Yogi Sri Aurobindo, in unfolding the spiritual meaning of the Vedic sacrifice.
Wisdom of the Veda by M.P. Pandit Edition: Paperback Price: $7.95 from $4.25
The Inner Vision of the Vedas, May 5, 2007
This short and concise volume consists of important selected verses from the Rig Veda, India's oldest spiritual and mystical text. Each verse is explained clearly and consistently according to its yogic implications and the unfoldment of higher consciousness. As such, the book is an excellent introduction to the Vedas for those who are interested in the inner meaning of the Vedic teachings and their continued relevance to the spiritual life.
Having waded through the difficult scholarly renderings of the Vedas out there myself over many years of Vedic study, it is helpful to see the Vedic vision presented so simply and directly. M.P. Pandit, one of modern India's most important writers on all aspects of Yoga, brings his depth of experience as well as that of his guru, Sri Aurobindo, into the book. The Wisdom of the Vedas is bound to afford the reader a much better appreciation of the Vedic mind and world-view.
Vedic Symbolism by Aurobindo Edition: Paperback Price: $9.95 from $4.95
Keys to the Vedic Yoga, May 5, 2007
Vedic Symbolism is an important compendium of the main terms and primary ideas behind the Rig Veda, India's oldest teaching and the source book for all Vedic and Vedantic knowledge. The book contains translations from several important Vedic hymns as well. Vedic Symbolism is especially valuable for those seeking to explore the older Vedic Yoga and its understanding of the powers of the cosmic mind. As a Vedic scholar of many years myself, I find it to be a good reference work to keep close at hand.
The book is based upon the work of Sri Aurobindo, one of modern India's greatest Yogis, who examined the Vedas in great detail in his many published writings. M.P. Pandit, one of his chief disciples, has compiled key information from Aurobindo's approach, presenting the essence of Sri Aurobindo's Vedic views in this particular work. Will definitely provide you a deeper vision of the Vedas.
Flowers & Their Messages, US Edition by The Mother Edition: Paperback from $10.68
The Yogic Meaning of Flowers, May 5, 2007
Flowers are messengers and teachers from the higher worlds of astral light, beauty and devotion. They reflect the soul's stirrings in physical matter and provide us a window to realms of vision far beyond this mortal travail. Each flower inspires our soul in a certain way and directs us to higher knowledge, experience and realization. Flowers and Their Messages unfolds the spiritual secrets of many of the world's most important flowers, both of temperate and tropical regions. As a practitioner in the field of yogic and Ayurvedic healing, I find the book particularly helpful for showing us how flowers work on the mind and soul.
The author, Mother Mira of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram was one of the most remarkable women teachers of the twentieth century. No other western woman residing in India has ever received the degree of adulation and respect that she gained, to whom even Indira Gandhi came for guidance. Mother Mira was the spiritual partner of Sri Aurobindo, one of the towering figures of modern India's spiritual renaissance, and carried on his mission through the Sri Aurobindo Ashram that she directed.
The Mother, as she is called, was an accomplished yogini, mystic and occultist. This book reflects not only her understanding of plants but of the psychic realms to which they are connected. It contains drawings, pictures and relevant quotes from Sri Aurobindo. It is not just a book about flowers but shows how flowers symbolize the unfoldment of the Divine consciousness within us. It shows us how to read the Divine language of form and color, not only in flowers but in the unfoldment of our own inner being.
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