A Guide to Spiritual Life: Spiritual Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

by Brahmananda

Full rendering of Swami Brahmananda's spiritual conversations, originally recorded by his disciples in Bengali. The swami, who was regarded by Ramakrishna as his spiritual son, gives clear and authoritative instruction beginning from the elementary stages of meditation to the most advance states of spiritual life.

191 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1988

Reviews

[Kiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such an interesting read. I am obsessed with The Eternal Companion by Swami Prabhavananda. From that book I always thought the whole of spirituality was meeting Swami Brahmananda and then everything is done. This book really stresses the importance of self effort and the amount of efforts that are needed for realization. This felt like an alarm that wakes you up while Eternal was a blanket that makes you feel comfortable and loved. This major difference forced me to go back and re-read Eternal and I realized that the although both stress the same points, the reminiscences shared earlier in Eternal set the compassionate tone for the whole book and I was way too focused on them than the teachings.

[FAD · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a student of all religious practice, this book is a marvelous addition to the repertoire. Reading this, I am reminded of St. Francis De Sales “Introduction To The Devout Life”. The point of both works, is that true spirituality begins in the everyday life. One need not retreat from the world in order to develop spiritual practice. Perhaps solitude and asceticism are in store for you down the road, but that is the final hurdle in the journey. To forsake the entire journey just for some false sense of rigid spirituality is not the goal and aim of religion, and every time it’s made to be that way it degenerates society. If all is Brahman, then there is no place to escape to where you did not already start to begin with. Alas, the first step of the journey does begin with, indeed so, the first step. Definitely a must-have for Ramakrishna initiates and a good work for those interested in eastern practices towards God.

[Ujjwal Chaturvedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A True Guide to Spiritual Life. It is focused on Monks but householders too can learn a lots of things to advance in their spiritual life.